I am looking for almost anything from Bubblegum on up. I don’t particularly like rap or hip hop so those can be left out. After you make a suggestion, tell me why I should buy their album. Thanks.
Cornelius, especially the song Cannibis. He blends a variety of pop styles into his own thing- the song I recommended is a samba with a few electro touches.
Pizzicato Five, especially the album The Sound of Music because they are extremely upbeat and cheerful- until you read the lyrics. The lyric from the song Airplane thet translates as: “I’d compare you to Holden Caulfield, but you’re the type who would take that as a compliment” (approximately) is one of the wittiest lyrics ever written IMHO.
Let’s see . . . there’s the Boredoms, who are a loud, loud noise-rock band. I’ve seen them play twice, once opening for Nirvana and the Meat Puppets, and once opening for Sonic Youth. At that show, when SY played “Nic Fit,” they had the Boredoms’ lead vocalist join them. Thurston Moore introduced him by saying, “This guy’s name is Eye, and he’s going fuck you up.” That about covered it. He vocalizes while holding onto a board full of guitar effects pedals, into which his mic runs. It’s something to see and hear.
Thanks to the Washington City Paper, I recently discovered a band called Puffy AmiYumi, who perform an eclectic blend of pop/disco/folk/rock. . . I haven’t bought the album, but I plan to.
There’s always Shonen Knife, of course, the female power-pop trio. It’s impossible to not have fun listening to one of their albums, if only because of the fractured Engrish and the great song titles. (“Tomato Head,” “Flying Jelly Attack,” “Public Baths” . . .) For extra fun, pick up the tribute record If I Were A Carpenter, and hear their spirited version of the Carpenters’ “Top Of The World.”
I kinda like Tokyo Ska Orchestra, if only because of their rather kick-ass cover of the theme song from Lupin III…
I can’t believe I forgot Guitar Wolf, who are basically the Ramones on overdrive.
I would go for the **Mad Capsule Markets ** A great speed metal/techno band that is much like Sister Machine Gun and KMFDM. Awesome live I hear too
Check out their great video for their song “Pulse” here. Very Counterstrike!
I only know of one Japanese band. Yoko Kanno and the Seatbelts. They did the music for Cowboy Bebop. Tank! is great.
Did somebody already mention Pizzicato Five? They did? Well, I’ll mention them again. Everything about them is cool, and I don’t even understand their lyrics (too lazy to read the liner notes). The Sound of Music is a great one to start with, but my favorite of their albums is Happy End of the World.
A pretty good sampler is Readymade Records Remixes. It’s got remixes of a few P5 songs and four different versions of the theme from Lupin III, but it was the first I’d heard of a few groups like Fantastic Plastic Machine.
(And incidentally, if you’re interested in FPM, I’d say that his best album is Luxury).
Gods dammit, my two suggestions (Puffy Ami Yumi and the Seatbelts) have already been made. 
Ah, well…seconding them.
Puffy’s got two albums released in NA so far, BTW (Spike and An Illustrated History.).
The only bad thing about Japanese bands is they make almost everything else sound like crap.
Balzac
BALZAC
BALZAC
Toast
Slight Slappers
Gauze
Senseless Apocolypse
Lipcream
Carcass Grinder
Real Reggae
Romantic Gorilla
Sink
Gaia
CFDL
Confuse
Need I continue?
Amen! Shonen Knife rock my world.
Also, try Cibo Matto for some super-sophisticated melodic funk.
That sounds like a place to start. Do any of them sing in English?
YESYESYESYESYES!!! Guitar Wolf fucking rocks! They’re loud, they sing in Japanese with the exception of a few covers (like the Rolling Stone’s “Satisfaction”), and they’re crazy high energy! Just what rock and roll should be. But get your eardrums preped, because it’s hard, unrefined, and did I mention Loud?
I kinda recommend Speed. They are the epitome of bubblegum pop. They make Britney Spears look like Mozart by comparison.
Of course they’re pretty good if you do like bubblegum pop.
(No, I won’t tell you if I do or not. :p)
I forgot all about the Seatbelts! I bet I was even listening to one of the Cowboy Bebop soundtracks as I was typing, too. (It’s a safe bet, because that’s about all I listen to nowadays.)
Yoko Kanno is such a genius it’s borderline scary.