Popularity of Jrock in Europe/Western World - Up to us, or them? [Archive]

Kinsao

Oct 31, 2005, 18:53

I think the internet makes a big contribution to making music of all kinds better known. A year ago, I'd only listen to the music that I could buy from your regular HMV or second-hand music store. I had no idea there was a good rock scene in Japan! It was discovering about different types of music that encouraged me to get broadband, so that I could listen to more, and of course once you have internet access it opens up the ramifications of ordering albums/singles online, too. :-)

So I think there should definitely be more accessibility for people who aren't lucky enough to have easy and/or quick internet access. For instance, music shops should broaden their stock to include more different countries. (Mind you, I was pleased to see that my local music shop - musical instruments, not CDs - has a poster for the Melt Banana album! :cool: )

But as far as plugging music to your friends goes - yeah, go for it! In fact, I don't understand how anyone can not do it! When I'm enthusiastic about something, whether it's a book, a sculpture or a band, I want the whole world to share it... which might be a bit irritating for other people at times... :bluush:

Of course, there is some responsibility to the bands and/or record companies themselves to promote their music more widely, including other countries. I guess there are many reasons they might not - if it's not financially viable, they don't have the time, or feel that their energies would be better spent on other things. However, I think it is worth their while for their marketing agent(s) or whoever to take a scan of "interest" (especially through online activity), which would give them a good idea of where there are potential markets. I expect big-name bands do this as a matter of course anyway, but it would be more difficult if not impossible for indies bands. A shame, but hardly surprising.

And, yeah, keep making great music! When all is said and done, that's what will get and keep fans. :p

Yokan

Oct 31, 2005, 19:18

Hmm, actually, come to think of it, I've turned my friend Natalie into a Dir en grey fan. Yeah about HMV, they actually do have alot more than they used too. Well, the one in belfast does. Do you shop in Forbidden Planet at all Kinsao?

Yokan

Oct 31, 2005, 19:20

OMG, I JUST RELAISED, IT'S HALLOWEEN :D :lol: and it's pouring down in rain and i'm meant to be seeing my girlfriend today in belfast. ¬_¬ *rings her*

Kinsao

Oct 31, 2005, 19:24

I do indeed shop in Forbidden Planet occasionally, Yokan! :cool:

Yokan

Oct 31, 2005, 20:14

Cool, so do I. Mostly to get manga books and posters lol. They have a wide range of Japanese games(for the consoles) I'm not a big game person, tho i have a gamecube. Too bad they don't sell Jrock. =(

Enora

Oct 31, 2005, 20:26

Hello!!!

@Kinsao, Yokan: Sorry to disrupt the conversation but do you know if there are Jrock evenings in some bars or clubs in London??????

Thank you

Kinsao

Oct 31, 2005, 20:37

Yeah - there's occasionally a jpop evening in London. There is someone called Paul B who started a thread for that, and whenever there's going to be another one, he pops the thread back up to the top with news of the date/place. :-) I can't remember when the last one was... :clueless:

Afraid I don't know about anywhere else... I'm so not with it... :blush:

advigilo

Oct 31, 2005, 20:44

melt banana is going too play 2 concerts in holland, and some in belgium (november, december).

i thinks might bring a lot too the promotion of jrock, thinking that one of the concerts
in holland is in a very famous club.

Yokan

Oct 31, 2005, 20:57

Yeah, that's right. In London there are quite a few jpop related gigs/concerts.

advigilo

Oct 31, 2005, 23:12

tough i dont like melt banana very much....

Yokan

Oct 31, 2005, 23:43

Too bad. =/

Godrina

Nov 1, 2005, 12:26

I don't know too many people irl who like jrock, and when I do we're all OMG YOU LIKE DESPA? ME TOO! HAVE YOU HEARD NIGHTMARE? NO? YOU MUST! YEAH, I SHOULD LISTEN TO GAZETTE MORE!

Yeah, it goes on like that, sorry for excessive iframes. I know D'espa had a concert near me recently, but nobody that I knew irl went.

Most people I know that love jrock ended up getting into it through anime...

For me, cause I'm not really an anime person, I was off and on with it for awhile, when I accidentally found my first song (umbrella by diru) accidentally a long time ago. Kingdom Hearts reminded me with it's spiffy little J-pop theme, and only recently did a friend of mine drag me back into it with her obsession for Shin and Isshi from Kagrra.

Eep, that was a long, dragged out explaination.

I remember calling the local radio station (it's called wrrv here) and begging the guy to play Reila by Gazette for me, but I think he had no idea what I was talking about.

Sadly, it's still not all that popular here, even with the large number of anime geeks that you'd think would fall into the blissful wor-I'm going off on a tangent. Anyway, not even the local suncoast (which is an hour away, mind you) has more than two L'arc albums and the ONE X-Japan one that I bought in Boston last year. Eep....I feel musically deprived now.

Yokan

Nov 1, 2005, 17:19

Well i'm worse, I can't get anywaything musically Japanese in this country. unless it's Spirited Away Album which i bought I awhile back, and Princess Mononoke. :lol: Yeah I have this idea to send a big long letter to the BBC and asking them to play this song for me. Any jrock song, I would put a cd in it for them. :relief: They should considering they did that Japanorama show. ^^

Anchyyy

Nov 1, 2005, 18:39

I'm not so sure they will do what your letter says Yokan :souka::relief:
You are like the only one in your place who likes Jrock :worried:

Yokan

Nov 1, 2005, 19:24

Dear BBC,
I am writing not to complain, but to comment on your radio stations music choice. Well, what I am going to say really does go to every single radio station in the United Kingdom. Your meant to be a learning program. Where people can learn about all cultures and musical types. Seems to me the only music you ever play is Rap, Rock, and Pop from America and our own country. Most of those people mime and can’t actually sing. You can’t possibly like Kylie Minogue, the only thing she is good at is waving her so called ‘sexy’ bum about! These rapers are also a bad influence on are kids of today. Turning them into gangsters themselves, making them want to follow the example of, for instance, 50 Cent. The music now is getting dire, and people are running out of ideas. Well not so much out of ideas, but the ideas aren’t getting any better! Really this is my own debate for the UK, but as you are a TV program, I thought you would want to hear what I think, as you are good in that way.
Japanorama, the show you did a couple of years back, you included an interview with one of the greatest jrock band at this current time, Dir en Grey. Dir en Grey are a band I listen to all the time, and I like many others which I will get too later. I just want to take this time to congratulate you on interviewing them, as they are very interesting, BUT they are not a ‘gothic Japanese rock band.’ If you must say that, it is called Visual kei, when a band dresses up or/and uses make up. Many other bands do this which you did not mention such as Malice mizer, Gazette, kagerou, Kagraa, Nightmare and when X Japan were still in bandment they used Visual Kei as well. It was a good interview otherwise, and I enjoyed it myself. Good to see them on UK television!
My type is very rare, I am a jrock fan. I only know 2 in England, and, to my knowledge, I may only be the only jrock fan in Northern Ireland. So why is that you ask? Simple, the music of Japan is not accessible enough to Great Britain. Last time I went into HMV, the only thing I saw musically Japanese was the soundtrack to Princess Mononoke(a anime by the creator of Spirited Away)!! So I feel, and my jrock fan friends also feel that the music should be shown, and played on local radio stations. The music is not ‘weird’, or ‘strange’, the only difference is that it is sung in Japanese! But actually, most will sing in English as well. You may want to ask me back ‘Why do you like jrock/jpop?’ This is a question I have asked myself after seeing this thread on a forum which I am Yokan on it - http://www.jref.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20065&page=3&pp=25
I suppose I like to be different. A lot of people are taken back when I say I like Japanese rock, or else, if there just a know it all teenager like in school, they will call it ‘weird’, but, well, these people have NEVER heard jrock in their lives, so how can they judge?

THAT'S IT SO FAR!! lol! :relief: of course they will listen, it is the BBC HEHE :D

Anchyyy

Nov 1, 2005, 19:29

I hope you are right!! :D

Hyde_is_my_anti-drug

Nov 1, 2005, 22:48

The problem with them not being main stream is this: even on amazon.com you still have to Import any J-Music that you order meaning it costs $40+ per CD!!!! :shock: I mean, how in the heck do they expect us to pay that?! And because the only way to get their music is Import stores over here don't carry any J-Rock/Pop Artists...unless you count Puffy Ami Yumi :okashii: which I don't.
The band that's closest to getting main stream over here is L'Arc~en~Ciel, they've actually performed here and released their latest two albums here but one band isn't enough. So the problem is, we can spread the J-Music verus to others all we want but it won't make a bit of difference if we still have to Import.
The bands need to get smarter and release albums over here, and the fans need to push for it with all their might. But if bands continue to not release albums over here then there's really nothing we as fans can do. Which irks me :auch:

Kinsao

Nov 1, 2005, 23:08

I guess one of the problems is, if they're going to produce albums at their foreign markets too, they'd have to produce probably at least twice the quantity of the albums, which would obviously be more expensive for the record company. So I guess they'd only do that if they were pretty damn sure of making a profit on it.

My feeling is that as more people get the internet access, and new communications (and audio) technologies become mainstream and more accessible, the music industry will begin to become global in the same way that other industries have already. I wish it would happen quickly... but... I think it will take some time... :(

In the meantime, we can just carry on supporting the artists by buying their music, downloading what we can't afford (yes I do think it helps rather than hinders as long as people still buy CDs too - it enables the markets and potential markets to be tracked, and for bands to find out where they have a strong following), and introducing other people to jrock! :cool:

Hyde_is_my_anti-drug

Nov 1, 2005, 23:16

$40+ per CD is still way too steep. I'm broke so I can't buy albums and I can't download either. I've been getting a lot of my J-Rock from my girlfriend lately. It sucks 'cause the only whole albums I have are "Rebirth" by Gackt, "Smile" and "Awake" by L'Arc~en~Ciel. And the only reason I have the last two is 'cause they were released over here. And I had to Import "Rebirth" which cost a LOT of money. I was saving up for MONTHS to get it.
I need to move to Japan. I hate living here if for no other reason then I can't get my J-Rock fix easily over here.

Kinsao

Nov 1, 2005, 23:32

I know - albums are waaaay expensive. I also have the poverty problem. :(

Hyde_is_my_anti-drug

Nov 1, 2005, 23:45

Yeah, I'm an Actress so I have no money. It sucks and not in the good Yaoi way.

Godrina

Nov 2, 2005, 08:12

40 bucks? X.x I didn't think amazon carried it but nevermind anyway. That's rediculous. I'm a high school job AND college hunter, I can't afford that for one lousy cd at all! I know suncoast sells L'arc and one X-Japan album...but that's too long a drive for me anyway, considering it's in NYC. Yeah, sure, I'm gonna go to the city to buy meself a cd.

Well, maybe when I'm in college in manhattan...but no, definitely not now. Since most of the kids nearby like emo (which I don't, I like all kinds of music but emo just...I dun like it), I have a very slim chance of getting too many people into the music. Maybe people are too closed-minded anyway, I don't see how you can just listen to one kind of music and ignore all others.

Eh, this probably is just nothing but nonsense now XD...so I'm gonna stop...

Hyde_is_my_anti-drug

Nov 2, 2005, 21:47

No, what you're saying makes sense. And you think $40 is bad? Some Gackt Albums on amazon.com get up to near $50!!!! :shock:

advigilo

Nov 3, 2005, 00:48

Rancid__

Nov 3, 2005, 01:04

Well, in Bosnia there are two fans, me and a friend of mine. I download most of the music and PVs. But buying an album is something that will never happen here, since the country is in a financial crisis. So, the downloading is the only way I can get anything I want. Im trying to get more people listening JRock, but its mostly girls. I have to find a male fan :-)

Enora

Nov 3, 2005, 01:07

Thank you for your answers Kinsao and Yokan... I knew about the jpop nights but its expensive and i was thinking of something more "rockish".......

Anyway i think i`ll hang around camden to find people like me! lol

Godrina

Nov 3, 2005, 09:56

XD I know a male jrock fan...but the two others I know are girls.

Nowhere around here sells jrock, so even though it's supposedly illegal to download, I have no other way of getting the music.

Myself, I've never been to a concert, of any kind, so that's kind of ruled out too. Sure, bands will go to NYC, but no one wants to go with me, (I only have 3 friends who like jrock), it's too expensive, and the show is usually sold out before I find out about it.

Yokan

Nov 4, 2005, 03:16

Kinsao

Nov 4, 2005, 06:35

Hey Yokan - about your letter... can I say a suggestion? If I was you, I would write to a specific DJ. Y'know, someone from Radio 1, like Zane Lowe or Mike Davies (the lockup is one of the few radio programmes that actually play good music! :p.... too bad I don't listen to it much anymore... the time thing... :( ) or whoever DJs the programme that you think plays nearest to the sort of music you like (if that makes any sense).

Then you can include your CD and hope that your letter grabs their interest enough for them to have a listen. Include a good varied mix of top songs, but not too many or they might get scared off and not bother to listen at all. :okashii:

I'm going to be really mature and moderate here and suggest that you don't slag off the mainstream music too much - not right at the beginning of the letter, anyway. :blush: Maybe I'm seeming characteristically restrained and non-confrontational, but bear in mind that you're giving them an impression of yourself. You want them to carry on and read your letter right to the end - and that's only the start; after that you want them to act on your suggestions. So you want to give the impression that you're a "reasonable" person rather than someone with an axe to grind. If I were you I'd concentrate on the interest of the music you're trying to "sell" to them! :cool:

Your angle about them being about "learning" is nice... :relief: because they will be wanting to "sell" themselves, as well. You could emphasise something about the growing number of fans in the UK, and about how it's becoming an increasingly important sub-culture in Britain. And of course, the most cutting-edge radio stations, especially those that already play rock, metal and punk, will want to stay at the cutting-edge and play stuff that they really think is going to grab their listeners. As far as radio DJs in the UK go, jrock is an incredibly deep and as yet untapped source of interesting good music. If you can get that across to them, and get them to think that there's some depth there, something that's worth their while to explore... then they'll be interested to listen to your CD.

I don't mean to tell you how to write your letter, sorry... :bluush: ... just a few of my thoughts...

Yokan

Nov 5, 2005, 02:12

lol, thanks, I will change it. I sent it to something to do with the BBC but they ignored it. ￢_￢ *notes to hate the BBC except Eastenders from now on*:D:D:D

SaKeVi

Nov 5, 2005, 04:55

I don't know what to think...

As always... talking about punk, japanese punk is getting an amazing popularity around the world, now, you can talk about bands as Abraham Cross, Framtid, Acid, Rapes etc etc and people understand what you're talking about!! no more boring explanations like:

- Have you heard Disclose??
- Uh?? where are they from??
- Hmmm, they're from Japan... they are a D-beat raw punk band
- Never heard of them...
- Ok... :okashii:

I hope one day, the same thing could happen to the rest of japanese music...

See you!

DemonHunter

Nov 5, 2005, 05:25

i dont like Abrahm Cross that much,but they were not bad on the All Crusties Spending Loud Night 2002

Yokan

Nov 21, 2005, 09:13

Yokan

Nov 21, 2005, 09:18

I didn't end up sending that letter well, by email. to the wrong place. :D I think tho working locally would work more, rather than just jumping to the nations most watched TV program XD. such as cool fm(Belfast) or Citybeat. ^^

Yokan

Nov 22, 2005, 08:09

Yami_no_Hikari

Nov 22, 2005, 08:17

Everyone around where I live are too caught up in being Emo to even consider new types of music. :okashii: Of course, I shove it in their faces whenever possible. :blush:

I think they should make things like CDs and DVDs more accessible to fans in the west, though. The only place I can get anything would be Anime Cons. Because my parents hate the internet. >.<; They're so afraid of identity theft. I don't really blame them there, though. And at cons everything is freakishly expensive. $35 for a CD wth like.. 4 songs on it? No way. :okashii:

Of course, I have friends who's parents buy things online often, so maybe I can talk them into getting things for me.

So until more J-stuff comes to the US, I'll just keep trying to increase the fanbase here. Everyone hates me for it, though. :blush: :D :D :D

Yokan

Nov 22, 2005, 08:23

I'm the same lol. SOOO many Emo's here. >_> guess you live in UK then if you know about Emos? :D Do you not download songs. www.emule-project.com and soulseek, and also limewire(tho i find emule the best) get you quite high search results!

Yami_no_Hikari

Nov 22, 2005, 08:31

Oi, I do. I'm like the biggest download ***** ever. :lol: It's just that I have dial-up AOL, and it takes forever. :okashii: And I love supporting the bands I love. :D

Actually, I live in the heart of emo-land, the US of A. :lol:

Kinsao

Nov 22, 2005, 08:54

Just had another thought. The question on this pool is 'up to us(the fans) or them(the bands)?'. On another point of view, you could ask 'can the UK accept this type of music?'

Alot of people are racist in our country, or, perhaps, could not be bothered to listen to a new type of music. Then again views on jrock is that most of songs are about death(X Japan), love(GACKT), random stuff. :lol: (Dir en grey). I suppose when a english person hears about japanese rock,they may automatically assume that it is what they would call 'rubbish'. Obviously not, if they attempted to show an effort to listen.

Well, I'm a little older so maybe people's reactions are slightly different to me, but often when I say I listen to Japanese music people are... either they are interested because it sounds like something different, or else they think I'm being pretentious. :okashii: :blush: Far from assuming it's rubbish, they tend to ask me questions especially about the ways it is different from English music. I guess I must meet the open minded people somehow! :souka:

drain_away

Nov 22, 2005, 09:28

ah, i usually avoid telling people i listen to jrock...i get made fun of a lot for it...:? it's really sad, actually...people here are super close-minded. it doesn't help that the city i live in has a HUGE and well-known military base, and therefore the surrounding area is very conservative. i am originally from San Francisco which is MUCH more liberal than the area i now live in, so maybe i'm just not used to it. anyway, like i said, it's a really touchy subject for me. i get made fun of quite a bit, especially when people see pictures of my favorite bands. it's really quite depressing, actually. i only let my REALLY good friends in on it, because i KNOW they won't make fun of me or hurt my feelings by saying things like "WTF, why do you listen to gay people!? they're all gay, look at how they dress! whatever, your music sucks". because that is what people say to me, and it is very hurtful. mostly because i didn't ask to like this kind of music. i have always been really into history and other cultures, so to me it's only natural that i love this kind of music. it's just who i am. so it's hurtful when people trash it like that.

as far as bringing Jrock to the western world, i'm all for it. i would LOVE it if people could come to accept what i love and appreciate it. it would make me so incredibly happy to just flip on the TV or radio and here some Jrock song or see the brand new music videos of my favorite bands. to have complete access like that would be so amazing. i really do envy everyone in Europe because you guys have more access than we Americans could ever dream of having. you have concerts, you have programs that even occasionally feature japanese music. for me occasionally is MORE than enough. the oppourtunity to see my favorite bands live...to know that they would becoming to MY contry for ME and for other American fans like me...that would be so amazing i can't even begin to tell you how happy that would make me. but i guess for now i can only hope.

and oh my goodness, my school has been over run by "emo" kids and "sceensters". it's sickening, the little lemmings...*kicks them* don't get me wrong, i love the music and the fashion style (OMG hot guys in tight pants!! :cute:) i just hate all these spoiled brats running around my school pretending like their life is so terrible they should kill themselves. honestly. they have clothes, they have houses, they have food, they have their health. but, oh no, they're sitting in the corner slitting their wrists because they are grounded for the week and thus can't go see their favorite band preform songs like "stab my heart because i love you and stabity stab stab". i just wish they would all get over themselves, seriously, ahh...

sorry, people like that REALLY bother me...:relief:

Yami_no_Hikari

Nov 22, 2005, 09:36

I know exactly how you feel. :okashii: But since I flaunt my love for it about, I've stopped caring what these losers think of me. If they're gonna say my music sucks, then they're gonna say it. I'll just let them know how I think about their music. :lol:

As for friends.. Wow. Okay, so I have one friend who sort-of likes JRock, and one who doesn't really care, but doesn't say anything mean to me about it. The other two are 'I don't care [about what you listen to, or you for that matter.]' <-- Oi, she's got problems and she won't let anyone help her and so I have taken it upon myself to make her not depressed-ish. :D It's just the way she is and I know she cares more than she lets on. My other friend constantly makes fun of me for it. It's kind of annoying.. She always calls them 'girly men' which they kind of are.. But she's not allowed to say that since she's mocking them. :okashii: She's the one who compared TMR's voice to CHER. I.. Was ready to kill her.

Oi, my one friend who kind of likes JRock is into L'Arc~En~Ciel and Gackt. She's a massive homophobe, though, so I'm constantly telling her of all Gacts little acts. :blush: I'm so evil. :D :D

Oi, the emo kids here are posers. They think they're emo. It's kind of annoying, too.. And when I cosplayed to school Friday as Reita from Gazetto.. They were all like 'OH YOU SHOP AT HOT TOPC.' But I could have sworn I got cheap clothes to studded-ness-up from Goodwill? :lol: I was just like 'Sure, Goodwill is so Hot Topic.' They're the ones that wear the clothes from there. :lol: Such hypocrites.

drain_away

Nov 22, 2005, 09:40

:relief: yeah, i just wish i didn't care so much...

my friends call them girly men, too...:sick: and gay... :sick: but at least none of them compare them to CHER...:auch: i would be so ready to stab their eyes out and ENJOY IT IMMENSELY...:evil: MWAHAHAHAHA...:evil:

haha, good job! :D i would do that too! :D

Yami_no_Hikari

Nov 22, 2005, 09:50

.. Which brings me to the point of Jrock needs to be more over here because then I can flaunt it at more people easier because my dial-up sucks for downloading music! :lol:

Yeah.. But her bird just died.. Another one.. So I can't hurt her right now because it would be too mean. :(

Kinsao

Nov 22, 2005, 18:24

Got to admit that people tend to ask me about my music tastes at random times, like in the middle of a work meeting or at a party, so I haven't actually shown them pictures of j-rockers like: "see, here are the musicians". I've always been only explaining their music, so I don't know what their reactions to the pictures would be. My mom has seen pictures because they're round my house, but she doesn't make any comments because (a) she's not homophobe and (b) I've always put up 'weird' (by some standards anyway :okashii: ) pictures and she likes 'em. :smug:

Mind you, I do have pictures of j-rockers as backgrounds for all of my electronic document files at work (and that's a lot!). Makes a glorious technicolor visual experience for any of my colleagues hunting through my files..... :blush: They seem to appreciate it :giggle: but I don't think they associate the pics with my taste in music! :lol:

I feel sorry for anyone surrounded by closed-mindedness. My worst barrier is apathy. People are really not particularly interested! :o Most of my closest friends aren't even really into music apart from turning on the radio every now and then. :(

drain_away

Nov 23, 2005, 01:26

yeah...i carry around my binders at school which are COVERED in pictures...i had to stop bringing my one with picture of Aya because people kept bothering me...:( it was so pretty, too...:( now i have one that has one side Diru, and the other side just Daisuke. but it's sad because people will look at Daisuke and say he's a woman. okay okay, Shinya i can understand...but don't say stuff like that about my future husband, people!! :( what's worse is they even think Ka-chan looks like a girl, and the pictures i have are really RECENT pictures...:( it's so sad...:( at least the kids in my art class have gotten used to it, so they don't say anything anymore. they actually look at the PICTURE as a whole, rather than focusing on the subject. so most of the time they'll just say stuff like "hey, cool picture". which is awesome, to me.

my mom used to be really awkward everytime i mentioned jrock, but i think she realised i had stopped talking about it because it bothered me, so one time hile i was listening to music she came over to me and said "i'm sorry i don't have the same exact taste in music as you, but i really do care if you like this kind of stuff, and i fully support anything you appreciate. i do care." i was so happy...:( *happy tears* i'm really close to my mom, so i talk to her a lot, and it was sad for me to not be able to talk about something i love so much. heheh...of course now she knows their names (not by heart, but if i start talking about Miyavi, she won't look at me like i'm an alien...:D) and she actually Plastic Tree and Ayumi Hamasaki. every time i mention Ayumi Hamasaki she says "oh, she sings beautiful songs, i like her." and because i've gotten really into Plastic Tree lately, she knows a lot of their songs. she also likes "Reila" by Gazette...:smug: although she got frustrated at me once because she said she got it stuck in her head at work and she couldn't sing along...:D :D she hasn't said anything, but i've always had a feeling she appreciates Miyavi, too...although she really dislikes Diru...:( she says Kyo-kun's voice is weird...which...i can't entirely dispute...:? :D but i still loves him...:blush:

i can't understand people who don't listen to or really like music. i guess it's just the way i was raised, but i just don't see how they could be HAPPY... i literally don't go anywhere without music. my mom always complains that i can't get anything done without listening to music...and it's pretty true...:D i just like the way it makes me feel...you can communicate such intense emmotions through music. that's what i love about it. :blush: i had a friend once who didn't really like music...er...we never got along very wel...:relief: heheheheheh...:D

Yami_no_Hikari

Nov 23, 2005, 04:45

I hate my mom. :D :D She's always.. Not.. Nice to me. And whenever I listen to my Jrock in the car she's like 'Oh no not THAT stuff.' Thanks. :okashii:

Ahaha, I printed off SO many Gazetto pics that reside in my backpack.. I kept trying to explain Reita to people and they didn't understand so I brought pictures to show them. :blush: When they were like 'That looks like a girl.' I brought in pictures of the rest of the band. :lol: I love people's reactions. Especially because they can't do anything about what I like. Just wait until I make them LISTEN to it. :-) They'll insist I see the guidance counsolers. :lol: My school is so close-minded.

drain_away

Nov 23, 2005, 05:14

ah...that's so sad...:( sorry...

wow, i really wish i could be more like you...i care way too much about what other people think...i'm so jealous...:blush: i try to be more like that a lot, but it never works because i am a HUGE crybaby...:relief: :D

Yokan

Nov 23, 2005, 05:21

Well, I'm a little older so maybe people's reactions are slightly different to me, but often when I say I listen to Japanese music people are... either they are interested because it sounds like something different, or else they think I'm being pretentious. :okashii: :blush: Far from assuming it's rubbish, they tend to ask me questions especially about the ways it is different from English music. I guess I must meet the open minded people somehow! :souka:

Yeah, people are just plain weird to me if I say i like jrock. :D Tho some people are taken back.

drain_away

Nov 23, 2005, 05:23

for me too...:relief: :D

Nana007

Nov 23, 2005, 07:31

In highschool I knew very few people who liked J-Rock, and those who did like it, we didn't click to good. You would think that we would click cause as little j-rock fans there was in my area we could bond over our love of j-rock. They were either close minded or racists $hit$. I'm black and went and lived in a pretty colorless area, out of 3500 students at my school only about 700 of them were black. And they must of thought that it is inconceivable that a black person like any music besides hip hop r&b and rap. And while I mostly dress hip hop cause that is my style preference, my music choice is anything but mostly hip hop. Hell they even thought it weird that I liked J-Urban which is the closest thing to american urban music. Whatever.

Anyways in college I had better experience, it must have been fate that we met, cause we all lived in the same dorm in the EXACT same hall. 4 of my college mates loved J-Music in general, and not only that but we are all black. Yea it must have been fate. We spread our love of J-Music to anyone who would listen. I even got a few other people into J-Urban, not j-rock.

Yami_no_Hikari

Nov 23, 2005, 07:45

That's so cool! I hope I can meet friends like that who won't make fun of me for my likes. :okashii: Especially when I go off to college and have to leave the friends I have now. :(

So then, it's up to us AND them.. We'll spread it all if they provide us with the resources. :lol:

Yokan

Nov 23, 2005, 08:47

Most of my friends respect me for my musical taste. And i wouldn't care if they didn't, it's what i like. lol.

drain_away

Nov 23, 2005, 12:40

you are so lucky, nana! i am always afraid of what will happen in college. i can't live without my music, so what will my roomate think when i have posters of femmie asian men and am blasting japanese music?? i am so worried...:relief: ah, i guess i can only hope for the best...:relief:

but...what is j-urban?? :clueless:

Nana007

Nov 23, 2005, 14:55

j-urban is stuff like rap, r&b, and soul, except its in japanese. Groups like Chemistry, M-Flo, Move, Orange Range, and Crystal Kay.

drain_away

Nov 23, 2005, 23:58

i LOVE Crystal Kay!! :cute: she's so pretty! i wish i could dance like her, though...hahaha *dances*

Orange Range is considered j-urban?? :clueless: i alway thought they were rock, because that's what they sound like to me...:clueless:

Yokan

Nov 24, 2005, 01:20

I like Moves song for final fantasy: unlimited. XD

Yami_no_Hikari

Nov 24, 2005, 01:30

Ahh, we went to a m.o.v.e concert last Friday. They were so cool. The producer played the bass.. And he had THE COOLEST HAIR EVER. :cute:

Too bad we missed the autographs. :(

Nana007

Nov 24, 2005, 01:41

drain_away

Nov 24, 2005, 03:49

which song does moves do?? :clueless:

ah, i see. :p i like that kind of stuff, too though. i am a big fan of nobody knows+, orange range, SOUL'd OUT, Crystal Kay, and some other stuff like Sowelu, Nami Tamaki, BoA (i know she's Korean, but i love her Japanese music...especially the song she did with SOUL'd OUT), Ayumi Hamasaki, SOULHEAD, and some others...i really like a variety of music, so i listen to everything. :blush:

Yami_no_Hikari

Nov 24, 2005, 11:03

You went to anime USA Yami, I was there also, but I missed the Move concert, I had work....

I consider orange range to be a mixture of bothe urban and rock, cause they rap, but do play rock type music.

Ahh! Really? Did you cosplay? :happy:

Aww, and it's too bad you missed the concert. It was really good. Though.. Pretty much the whole time I was going 'I wish it were Gazetto.' @_@;:lol: :lol:

Tokyoite

Nov 24, 2005, 21:52

strange, some people like our fukin music.
thanks for your interest.

any laymen/women can become singer if their appearances are cool and
they are backed up by the japanese media.

for instance, Johnnys or Momusu' musics are really pathetic.
they are a kinda noise pollution.

anyways, the japanese society for music need a fundamental restructuring..................................... ...........................

hebiichigo

Nov 24, 2005, 22:19

Wow, that's a nice attitude, Tokyoite... awful music exists in every country :box:

Kinsao

Nov 24, 2005, 22:30

Aha, Tokyoite - Japan does produce some great music, y'know! :p Like Hebiichigo said, every country produces its share of crap music, and Japan is no exception - but there are some really good (genuine) musicians there too! :-)

Hehe, there's some British music that I can't imagine anyone would actually like... but I seem to be wrong because someone obviously buys it... :o

What music do you like to listen to, Tokyoite?

advigilo

Nov 25, 2005, 06:01

i think j-music is pretty 'clean' compared to the music in general (mainstream all over the world).
it isnt bounded by all kind of rules... like on stage, during intervieuws and such.
and the still do fun things... like making funny movies.
where do you find that in other parts of the music industrie?

there and no stories of fights or rivality under jrockers.
and the really have fun!
the dont care if others dont like them (indie most of the time) while in most mainstream and other forn (forener) indie bands care about what is said about them and no matter how the always in time bump against the mainstream pop hip hop and such.

okay im rambling, and talking chaoticlly but i hope it makes any sense.

about others liking jrock:

my friends think its kinda weird, the cant get there heads around
why i like "girly men". the say (this also includes other people) that the look like girls. and the sure wouldnt like the music :-(
i know from hearing that some girl in my town, she goes to the same
school as my friends likes jrock, and of course demonhunter likes j-music to.
but other than the i dont know any who like it.

so NANA consinder yourself pretty lucky ;-)

drain_away

Nov 25, 2005, 06:08

i agree with you guys. every country produces music that's good and music that's bad. i know the US sure makes a lot of crap music...:relief: but it has it's share of good music, too. the same with Japan. there are some japanese musicians that, not to be harsh or anything, but they really really SUCK. :souka: at least in my opinion, anyway. but other people must love them because they are well known and they sell their music. it just depends on what your tastes are, i guess. :souka:

advigilo

Nov 25, 2005, 06:29

j-urban? something like the thai artist se7en?

drain_away

Nov 25, 2005, 06:38

hm, never heard of them. :clueless:

Kinsao

Nov 25, 2005, 16:25

I've heard of Se7en, but I've never heard any of their music.

drain_away

Nov 26, 2005, 18:46

where are they from? Thailand?? :clueless:

Mycernius

Nov 26, 2005, 20:41

Just a quick word. I noticed that some of you will buy your CDs from amazon.com or .co.uk. These, of course, are at a higher price because of import duties and the rarity of getting them. I have found the easist way is to order direct from amazon.co.jp. The CDs are cheaper and with the post paid on them it is usually about the same price or even slightly cheaper than going through .com or .co.uk sites. As amazon use a standard set up on their sites the Japanese site is fairly easy to navigate even if you do not speak japanese and some pages have the option to translate into English. Just one word of warning, only order one CD at any time or you could get hit with import duties in your own country because of the cost. Got caught with this once:okashii: I know this might only be an option open to the older fans, as you need a debit or credit card to do this.

hebiichigo

Nov 26, 2005, 21:09

where are they from? Thailand?? :clueless:
Where is Se7en from??
Se7en is from South Korea, but he's popular in Japan, too, and has Japanese songs... He's pop, really.

Just one word of warning, only order one CD at any time or you could get hit with import duties in your own country because of the cost.
Really? I've ordered multiple CDs many times, and I don't think that's ever happened to me.. :souka:

Ashe_chan

Nov 27, 2005, 00:36

hi! ^-^

well here in germany are many reports in TV an magzines about VK/J-Rock.... but most of the fans don't like this....because VK is getting mainstream... u.u''' no one of my friends I've asked want that!!! and me too.... I like it when people are staring and wondering about me when I'm walking through streets in maybe Dir en grey outfit.... it would be a bit boring if they would say: look theres a toshiya! .... am I wrong???

newasian

Nov 27, 2005, 01:04

But they are from china....
So Jpop lover / japanophilic European/American is deemed to be china lover.

drain_away

Nov 27, 2005, 03:29

Ashe_chan: hmm, i don't know. all i can say is that i'm really jealous because we have none of that in America. i wouldn't go as far as to say i DON'T want it...and i also wouldn't go as far as to say that VK/Jrock would become mainstream in my own country...it isn't even mainstream in it's OWN country, let alone foreign ones. mind you, i cannot speak for Germany as i am not from there, but i believe that Jrock and VK are underground by nature, and therefore probably never be in the fore-front in ANY country. i personally am glad that Jrock is spreading. i am glad for the bands because they are doing what they love and we, the fans are supporting them. it's very good for THEM to have so many fans overseas. it can only help them become greater. it can also make there music more readily available to foreign fans which is GREAT, i think.

really though...like i said, i don't think Jrock and VK will ever be mainstream anywhere (yay! :yeahh:) so i don't think you need to worry. :-) of course, like i said, i don't know about Germany, so it might be different, but that's what i think. :blush:

ah, welcome to the forum, by the way. :yeahh:

Kinsao

Nov 27, 2005, 07:30

Ashe_chan

Nov 27, 2005, 20:57

i hope so.... :worried: well.... but if it will become like that... I think i will be proud to be one the first fans who loves VK, not because of its getting mainstream and all people can see this in TV.... and i think i will hate the newbiews xD *baka desu* ayee....gomen for my english... :sorry:

hihi... :hihi: thanks ^-^ this site is pretty cool :-)

Mycernius

Nov 27, 2005, 21:55

Really? I've ordered multiple CDs many times, and I don't think that's ever happened to me.. :souka:
Probably a UK thing. With our current government it is a case of if it can be taxed, tax it. I hate labour:okashii:

.::b|ue Ash::.

Nov 28, 2005, 03:55

I'll tell you a little something about this situation.

Nothing happens unless the bands promotional team decides it will. Lack of good and proper promotion is the quickest way to kill any band, it's a form of sabotage.
The only thing we can do is offer the music to other people, and make websites. But even that will make little impact.

The bands are not going to come here unless there's a big audience, it simply won't be worth it. I think a few of them might have done very small select shows for fan clubs, and that's how a lot of bands start.
But once again that goes back to if their label thinks it's worth it or not.
The promotional materials, travel, bookings, they are all very expensive.

In short you can make a difference to get them noticed, it will just be exceptionally hard and all your efforts may not be as rewarding as you had hoped.

Riyko

Nov 28, 2005, 15:09

Kinsao

Nov 28, 2005, 16:43

wow cool! Wish I had an aunt who could do that... :kanashii:

daemonette

Nov 28, 2005, 17:32

i wish i had an aunt like that too that sends me pretty asians :love: thats effing awsome o.o

Ashe_chan

Nov 29, 2005, 00:37

waaiiii :o meeee waaant thaaat toooooo!!! xD but i would be more glad if i would have a japanese boyfriend :cute: or a female penfriend :-)

Kinsao

Nov 29, 2005, 01:06

Be warned, though - not all Japanese boyfriends are worth having. :okashii:

lastmagi

Nov 29, 2005, 01:24

True. Isn't Japanese society fairly patriarchal and wanting in terms of equal rights for all its members?

Ashe_chan

Nov 29, 2005, 01:25

they're very shy aren't they?! :relief:
buuuut sooo cute!!! :cute:

Kinsao

Nov 29, 2005, 03:25

lol! My (Japanese) ex is neither patriarchal nor shy. :hihi: Tis just... well, Japanese guys are no more perfect than men of any other nationality, is all. ;-)

advigilo

Nov 29, 2005, 17:30

i agree :-)

but people from other country's/cultures
can be more attractive than youre own ;-)

.::b|ue Ash::.

Nov 29, 2005, 23:45

I wouldn't really know about japanese boyfriends, all asians seem to avoid me like the plague o____o

Ashe_chan

Dec 1, 2005, 01:14

haihai... but not every japanese boy is like yours, isn't it?! Maybe i'll find a nice one... xD~ *dream*
I think they looke better than the boys around me... :(

Yokan

Dec 4, 2005, 06:27

I would have loved to have a Japanese Girlfriend, or at least an Asian/Chinese one. They seem more attractive. Although, As most of you know, i have my hands full in a 9 month relationship(so far!) at the minute! :lol:

Yokan

Dec 4, 2005, 06:28

but attractive-ness doesn't make a persons personality different, take that into consideration.

lost

Dec 4, 2005, 06:54

I don't know anyone around me that likes Jrock, but it doesn't really bother me none of my friends here even like the same things as me. Anyways, the first band I've listened to was X-Japan and that was back in 1986, my parents would put their tape on for me every single night to get me to sleep, but later on I got into La:Sadies and then Dir en grey. Anyways, I get all of my cd's for free because my aunt buys them and sends them to me.

me too! i dunno anyone who likes jrock cept for my sister. sometimes it sucks cause i can't share things wit anyone cept for her but sometimes it's great because no one is here to fight wit me for favorites...hehehe...
most of my friends dun like jrockers esp the visual kei ones and i hate cause they insult them and it makes me wanna beat my friends up sooo badly! AHHH!!!!! Riyku...you so lucky! i wished i had someone that nice to me!

looks can't make a person's personality different but you gotta admit it...looks does make you look at a person different.

Ashe_chan

Dec 4, 2005, 22:26

I know i know....:worried:

Kinsao

Dec 5, 2005, 02:42

Yeah, but it's also true that not all Japanese boys (and girls for that matter!) are better looking than all European ones... It just depends who you find. :-)

Ashe_chan

Dec 6, 2005, 01:36

hm...sounds like we're talking about 'love at first sight' xD ( i hope it's right so... ^^''')
...:? we're getting off the topic, aren't we??? xD~

Yokan

Dec 6, 2005, 06:52

haha, very true! *thinks more about topic XD*

Ashe_chan

Dec 7, 2005, 00:44

:giggle: ^^ ehmm...what was the topic? xD
ahhh yes... i've seen a Hyde album 666 in a normal store!!! :shock: hihi...I hid the album so nobody can buy it xDDD

advigilo

Dec 7, 2005, 20:50

:giggle: ^^ ehmm...what was the topic? xD
ahhh yes... i've seen a Hyde album 666 in a normal store!!! :shock: hihi...I hid the album so nobody can buy it xDDD

OMG LOL
i do that like all the time in the libary :-) when i forgot my
pass for like the .... time again:okashii:
And then even when i wont go to the libary for a week or so,
the book will still be on the same spot :blush: .
Finding youre book back is another thing tough....

And in a normal store???
LUcky Lucky you are....
what was the price? Cause most of the time its very expensive :-(

YOURE store is COOL :-)

Yokan

Dec 8, 2005, 03:09

okay going off topic again, but does anyone listen to the podcasts on www.podomatic.com ? I start next week. ^^ hopefully.

Yokan

Dec 10, 2005, 05:45

It's not necesserally true that jrock fans are the only people who listen to Japanese music. Seemingly Goths listen to bands such as Dir en grey, Despairs Ray, Malice Mizer in particular, etc etc. Bands like them would Apply to them, and songs like 'no.666, Yuugure No Shazai, and Tainted World' would be popular among them. ^_^

Ashe_chan

Dec 11, 2005, 01:25

hm...no this store sucks! xD it's so expensiv there!!! :okashii: but the cd cost
maybe 15 euro... in the J-Store cost 19 euro.... so it's cheaper.... but i wont buy this. ^^''' i don't know why... maybe i'm baka... xD

Ashe_chan

Dec 11, 2005, 02:32

ah i've forgotten to mention: I found lots of german artikels about Diru O.O
I can show you if you want.. but well it's in german.. ^^'''

exist something like that in your country too??? :?
I'm scared... x,D

Yokan

Dec 11, 2005, 20:16

That would be because jrock is popular in Germany. ^^

Ashe_chan

Dec 11, 2005, 22:40

yeah... i know.. u.u'''
ah you're not far away from me... O.O so maybe J-Rock could become famous in your country too :blush: ^-^
but not evry magazine likes J-Music... there are very bad articles... :auch: veeeeeryyy bad ones.... *hit* xD

Kinsao

Dec 12, 2005, 03:50

I can't see J-rock being 'marketed' in the UK, because the industry is obviously going to promote its home-grown music the most. I mean, intrinsically J-rock is a very marketable commodity in any country, especially when you consider all the visual bands... its got the potential to be huge. But even if the media here suddenly 'discovered' it (which I'm sure they will do before long, if they haven't already) the chances are that they'd keep it under their hat in the fear of inadvertently ousting some of our native musicians who are making money for our economy. Sorry to sound cynical, but it's in no-one's commercial interests to promote J-rock in the UK. :okashii:

Of course, they can't stop us, the fans.......... muahahahaha! J-rock will rule you all........ :D

Yokan

Dec 12, 2005, 05:53

Me and Kinsao have been discussing the ways in which Jrock can be distrubuted in this country, through the fans. This conversation aroused when we began to speak of the interview of Dir en grey in the BBC program 'Japanorama'. I personally feel that Diru got ripped off by this show, for a number of reasons. It feels weird watching the show, because for 99% of the UK's population it will be new to them. XD Whereas, we're experts.

The show focus's mainly on the bands appearence, and performance visually. How they use blood guts and so on, with shocking lyrics. As Kyo recalls, he wants to 'aim to shock' (A unique factor). However the show doesn't really let us here toom much of the music. Who cares if they look like 'goths' and use blood, of course to Britain, music is the most important. They were in my opinion, showing them ina very negative way, as if they were a cult band....ugh. To continue this point they didn't give any points on how to learn more about Diru and buy the music...truly awful. If they cared so much, that is what they would have done.

We spoke of the issue of how we might see a new music revolution very soon in the Western World music scene. This being a jrock 'fan' band, or a VK band, those of which are more common to orginate in America. The amount of VK bands is increasing, and some day we will see one of these bands make it big. The Loudness were influenced by legends such as the Beatles and Alice Cooper, then the Loudness influenced X Japan, and also hideto was influenced by Kiss, and in the style he played. As many of you know, X Japan and Malice Mizer have then become a popular choice of influencial abilities among modern jrock bands. In this, we trace the roots of Japanese rock/Visual-kei, as being American music. They took one Idea - and made it into their own thing mixing it with their own ideas. This, on the other hand, can be copyed - us for example.

I hopefully plan to make my own band someday based on jrock. ^_^ as I am beginning to learn guitar. Many of us are on our own, as jrock fans. We don't have any friends to share this music with, that we like. Many of us don't want to share it, and like to keep it as a unique thing about ourselves. Perhaps what i am trying to say here is, that jrock 'fan' bands are the way forward, or for a certain extent. Me and Kinsao think it is a good idea, but does have it's faults as far as the British attitude goes. Would we sing in English, or Japanese being influenced by them? O_O If we sung in all Japanese the British would mock us, think we are what they say is 'weird' and think that there is no point in singing in English. Then again, we could sing in english and they be happy XD, but then it would be to a certain extent, 'British/Americain' rock. So we agree that it would be sung in Japanese and english, as X Japan did, to get over seas fans and to make their songs more unique. After all, a person who is ''remotely musical can't put too much emphasis on lyrics''. XD We feel this is an option to gain the British interest, and media, etc etc etc.

uhh...I spent to long on this. >_< what do you think? :wave:

Nana007

Dec 12, 2005, 06:29

In my opinion. J-rock will never really be mainstream in western society. Because except for a handfull of people, they are closed minded. I'm not sure about Europe, but I know in the U.S. people (the majority) don't watch movies that have subtitles, cause they are to lazy to read. Then for many in America, the image will be simply to much.

Like my personal example, dispite the fact, that I am so not Goth at all, my parents think I am turning goth, cause I like these japanese musicians who in their eyes look goth or weird. And my aunt says its not normal. All this because some of the bands with their VK style looks goth, but their music isn't even goth.

The image, despite it sometimes being sim to 80's glam rock, will be to much for most to handle, especially the feminime looking ones. Cross dressing is not excepted at all in american society.

Then even none VK bands will have a problem because of the language, difference. How can you listen to something that you don't understand?

If it does come to the west it wont be mainstream, at most it will be a bigger role in the anime subculture, like it already is.

Hopefully most bands can tour with out it being anime conventions, especially those bands who don't do anime songs. (I know some bands do hold concerts outside of cons like the despair ray tour that just past (and one that was only an hour away from work but i couldn't go to cause stupid boss wouldn't let me off) but most bands do cons.)

Also a lot of Japanese music fans, only listen anime music, and while anime music is good sometimes, some won't venture out.

Yokan

Dec 12, 2005, 08:12

Very true about the goth image. There are many people out there that judge a bands catagorial status as 'punk, goth' etc (Emo to certain extent. ¬_¬). But language wise, i suppose it would be an encouragement for more people to learn Japanese, or have the urge to go and visit Japan. I can't really picture it, but it matters what way a non-Japanese Visual Kei band goes about it. Perhaps distribute their music first, then reveal their VK image later on. If a band was dressed up as Malice Mizer, JESUS THE AMERICAINS WOULD MURDER THEM! :D But for a band such as Dir en grey, Gazette, Kagerou etc, it wouldn't be a problem as such, tho you'd still get the people that think it's stupid.

They don't necesserally have to be Visual-Kei bands, but a band that sings and performs in a jrock way. I don't know why, but I just seem to think there is a huge difference sound-wise between the Eastern and Western music worlds. Here I am listening to Alice Nine randomly. I'd rather listen to Alice Nine than Blink 182(just an example). But who knows why. I suppose Americains and japanese have different factors they look for mainly in jrock. For Western World the lyrics are important, and it must always be in tune. Whereas the japanese...uhh....FREE WORLD! XD well it would appear that way that bands such as the Pillows, Diru, Laruku, X Japan and Kagerou seem to improvise alot, which in fact shows potential in a band. Showing they have knowledge of harmonisation, chords and the classical features of playign with one another. But don't forget, there are many types of jrock, and Americain Rock.

jrock -
Progressive rock - The Pillows
Alternative Rock - X Japan
heavy rock/rock/heavy metal/slow rock - Dir en grey

American rock -
Heavy metal/gothic - Maryln Mansonn
Progressive rock - The Pixies(well i think so)
Emo rock(KILL) - H.I.M

Americains catagorise rock-type music into Emo, Goth, Millie etc etc etc...I find that stupid honestly. The Japanese on the other hand catagorise it into proper terms. A band is a band, and I think bands themselves in America are dim-minded. Maryln Mansonn will JUST play heavy metal, whereas Dir en grey plays ballads, synthesised rock tunes, almost heavy metal like songs.

Sorry to focus on America just, but alot of this type of attitude we speak off comes from there. :sorry: I like the music Sweden produces, and Germany. But America and the UK are the culprits. :wave:

Yokan

Dec 12, 2005, 08:16

Also matters on the band attitude - are they ready to take on discrimination in order to sucessfully make jrock more commonly known. And forgot to mention, I'm not intending that jrock become main-stream. In my opinion Rap will always be the top, along with somethin else(POP, rock, hip hop, but they change from time to time), but just to let jrock have a more known presence through shows such as MTV. It's only a matter of time anyway, you can see it in America. They are losing ideas, movie-wise and music-wise, so they'll do what they always do, steal others ideas..but this time be jrock!! XDXD

Nana007

Dec 12, 2005, 08:35

Yea, I have a dream that one day one some music channel possibly fuse cause fuse is more open minded than mtv, that probaly at some obscure time, that I could host my own weekly j-rock hour, and have artists come and do interviews and show j-rock vids. Thats like a really big dream I want to do.

Kinsao

Dec 12, 2005, 19:06

I can see J-rock-influenced bands becoming more popular in the US and UK, naturally as J-rock becomes more well known. As I've said, I don't think J-rock will ever be actively marketed in the west because, well, there's nothing in it economically, is there? :okashii: But of course, no one can stop the fans being fans, supporting their fave bands and spreading the love! :yeahh:

And, it's natural for people becoming musicians, to be influenced by their fave bands like the examples Yokan said, so I think there will become a greater number of small bands influenced by J-rock. I'm thinking really of high-school/college bands here, and then maybe (as they get older! lol) of amateur bands playing tiny gigs in local pubs etc. (IMO often where you hear the most interesting of native UK music these days!)

The thing is, I'm sure a lot of these bands will be pretty crappy. Not to slag them off (before they even exist!) or anything, but you get what I'm saying... I mean, hell, if I was to join a band tomorrow and we started to write our own material, I'm sure that'd be crap too - out of all the many people who love making music, there's only a tiny percentage that actually make great music.

BUT - it only takes one or two of these embryonic J-rock-influenced bands to get well known, to make a huge impact on influences in the UK. You only have to look at the impact of The Beatles and/or Kiss and/or Alice Cooper, and you can see how only one or two bands can start a snowball of change rolling. And I personally think it will happen, eventually, because even though music is largely controlled by the industry, there are still some forces which are unstoppable.

However, I don't think there's much point in putting too much emphasis on the VK aspect (even though there are a lot of fans who got hooked in by that, and even some shallow fans who only like it because of that :okashii: ). Don't get me wrong, I love the concept of VK - but I see it more as a lifestyle thing than a musical thing. VK is about appearance, and the reason I love it is because there is an interest and freedom in the VK 'look' which happens to appeal to my nature. Musically, I don't associate it. By which I mean, there is a total distinction for me between my 'pin-up boys' and the music I listen to. :blush:

Maybe VK will take off as a style in the UK. Heaven knows it's probably the most marketable aspect of J-rock. :okashii: I can see some British designer 'discovering' this and deciding to capitalise on it. However, as far as 'real' J-rock goes, I think it will be the bands influenced by it that really drive any musical things that happen. Especially in the UK (as opposed to US) where we've traditionally been downbeat about our looks! (yeah, we do the 'costumes on stage' thing a bit, but one thing the Brits hate is to be thought to take themselves too seriously. XD)

One way that I personally think J-rock bands are 'special' compared with most UK bands at the moment, is that their music has a kind of freshness and enthusiasm which seems lacking in our music. It's like we 'did' the whole glam-rock thing, and now it's so yesterday, and not worth going on with... whereas with J-rock bands its like they've just discovered all this stuff and are like boys in a playground. And that shows through in their music (I'm not talking costumes here).

The key words I think of are: energy, enthusiasm and sincerity. If J-rock bands inspire UK bands to have those same three things, they will inevitably percolate through British music, regardless of what clothes the bands are wearing. :cool:

Ewwwww and that show with Diru... :sick: I said to Yokan it made me feel kind of strange... There was a bit of their music playing, but at no time did it really let you hear what they sound like. :okashii:

Thinking about it, what really pissed me off was that they seemed to be trying to portary Diru not only as a 'cult' band, but what they were emphasising... it was all the shock factor... As though they were trying to put Diru across as the most shocking, the most violent, the most explicit, blahdeblah... and this annoys me because in a way it's setting them up for a fall, because they're not the loudest, heaviest, most violent, most gory band out there and they never pretended to be and they're not trying to be.

Not to mention that it totally misses the point.

Actually I think it's a bad idea for any show about J-rock (at least initially in the UK) to focus on only one band. They need to do their research properly, and... oh, but don't even get me started! :sorry: *clears throat* "now in my perfect world...."

advigilo

Dec 12, 2005, 20:15

Kinsao

Dec 12, 2005, 20:21

on the channel ARTE in germany the aired a show about visual kei in japan
and the talked a bit that there where more and more people in Germany
becoming fans.
It tought that is was a good show... a not at all like you describe how
the portraitet diru in the show you name above.

That's cool! :cool:
I wish there would be a good show like that in the UK... :(
The trouble with the Dir thing is, it was too short, they couldn't really do anything other than a few clips of the band live, snippet of interviews, and a quick show of some cosplayers. Whereas on the show from ARTE it sound like a bit more in-depth.

advigilo

Dec 12, 2005, 21:42

i think i have the clip somewhere on a cd, but im not sure :-(

if so then ill upload it.

Yokan

Dec 13, 2005, 02:12

i think i have the clip somewhere on a cd, but im not sure :-(

if so then ill upload it.
Please! ^v^

Yeah I forgot the fact that on Japanorama they called them a 'cult' band. ¬_¬ Which they have no right to see, as I'm pretty sure Dir en grey don't call themselves a cult band. O_O

There will be for certain loads of fan jrock bands which are, weak. :relief: But then again that all goes down to their own attitude, and how they go about promoting themselves. i think it's best to start small(locally), otherwise British people may be put off by this sudden new type of music(to them). It's not so much about good instrumentation and good singing, really it's about ''energy, enthusiasm and sincerity'' in their performances and recordings, as you say kinsao. Tho perhaps many jrock fan bands and a few really really marvellous ones is what we need!

We should play jrock to people more. XD To prepare them for what is ahead. That way even people in bands can be inspired to start their own type of 'fan jrock'. If that makes sense. :lol:

One way that I personally think J-rock bands are 'special' compared with most UK bands at the moment, is that their music has a kind of freshness and enthusiasm which seems lacking in our music. It's like we 'did' the whole glam-rock thing, and now it's so yesterday, and not worth going on with... whereas with J-rock bands its like they've just discovered all this stuff and are like boys in a playground. And that shows through in their music (I'm not talking costumes here).

hehe, school boys in a playground. :blush: that would be me!:wave: But very true about the whole 'glam' rock thing that 'we' developed. It's not so much that we did it. Bands such as Queen, the Beatles, Ozzy Osbourne just happened to be British. T_T Bands such as Franz Ferdinand, kaiser Chiefs [even Mcfly i guess] etc, I think are very amateur-ish, I'd know about franz ferdinand since i was at one of their concerts with my girlfriend a while ago. ^o^ It was okay, nothing marvellous tho. Tho in comparison with a Dir en grey concert, it does seem quite slow-ish in their movements on stage, whereas Diru act like dare-devils. :D Jrock bands do have a uniqueness.

ps. SENOR SENORA SENORITA!!!!!!:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

Razzle

Dec 13, 2005, 02:55

I think it would be great, for lots of J-rock amateur bands. It doesn't matter if they are bad... anyway, many amateur bands are bad! The more people who love J-rock, it is the better. :cool:

Small and locally is the best way for bands, always. They will do the hard work with ambition to one day become famous and convert people to their music... another way is made by music industry, that's not so good, it makes the 'plastic' bands. :okashii:

Maybe J-rock music is not so different from European music rock... it is different... but not sufficient different to off put fans of European rock. I think rock fans largely like to hear a good guitar and a good bass and the good singer. It is the lyrics in Japanese which is really big difference.

Yokan

Dec 13, 2005, 04:15

Then again, i like amateur bands. o_O intresting to see different points of views and way of playing. ^^

Kinsao

Dec 13, 2005, 04:35

Yeah, me too. I think that bands can lose something if they become very popular/major. Maybe because there is more at stake for them and more hanging on what they do. :? Of course, mainly bands improve on their technical skills, but also you can hear very interesting things of well known bands when they weren't well known. For example, to hear La:Sadies compare with Dir... different... I can like Dir better because I can hear better skills, compositions etc... but at the same time there is interest to listen La:Sadies, too. :-)

Yokan

Dec 13, 2005, 04:48

good point. :) same goes for MYV and Due le quartz.

Nana007

Dec 13, 2005, 05:56

So true, MYV and Due Le Quartz are two completly things, Just like Dir Eng Grey and La Sadies, Hell even Indies DeG sounds completely different from now DeG there single I'll is perfect example. And DeG as a cult band is simply wrong and the interviewer had absolutely no understanding of the band.

I'm not saying it won't happen, cause didn't Time or some other big magazine include The Brilliant Green (an awesome band btw) in the top 10 international bands. Yea and as far as them being boys on a playground that is so true, they are willing to do alot more experimental stuff, than alot of other Mainstream bands.

And as far, as kids forming J-Rock (not neccesarilly VK) style bands. I think while it would be good for introducing people to jrock, IMO it won't be J-Rock, it in the west would simply be this New Style based on J-Rock. Mainly cause they are missing the one important thing that makes it J-Rock. Is that its JAPANESE ROCK. If you aren't Japanese, and or you aren't singing in Japanese its not Japanese Rock. Its Just Rock. And lets say you do sing in Japanese your going to get alot of people who will be like your some Wapanese poser.

I know my last post was a bit pessimistic but I sincerly do want for doesn't matter if it is J-Rock or J-Pop music to succeed in the U.S. I mean I had such hopes for Utada when she was crossing over, but she just flopped. As far as J-Music goes, as Anime is becoming more in more mainstream people are going to hear the music, like it wonder who or what that person is and its going to suceed. From anime music they will eventually discover J-Rock.

Thats how it happened with me, I discovered anime in the Good old days of the ORIGANAL toonami. I was in middle school at the time, and didn't know it was anime or even what anime was. I simply went online looking for more info on my three favorite shows (Sailor Moon Gundam and DBZ) and discovered it was japanese and anime. After discovering it was originally Japanese I wanted to find out more about it. So after searching endlessly for an anime shop in the N.O (pkk you should know this one the one on Elysion Fields (if its still there)). I watched the origanal versions of the shows, and heard this great music. And as I became more and more of an anime fan I started liking the music more and more so I started buying anime soundtracks. And then if I had a fav. Song on the soundtrack I would wonder who the artist was and then buy a CD by that artist. And thats how I became an J-Pop music, fan. Then in HS I became a J-Rock fan because this girl in the anime club introduced me to 3 bands Dir en Grey (who at the time didn't like it wasn't until the last year 2 years that I started getting into them) L'arc~en~Ciel (who I loved) and Malice Mizer (who I loved the music but the imagery was to much for me). And the rest is as they say is history.

This is an edit. I talked about J-Rock and how the goth loser's treated me in another forum, then I talked about in H.S how another girl introduced me. I don't want people to get mixed up. I went to 4 diff HS. An all girl Catholic School In New Orleans, which I transferred from Mid Year to go to an HS in VA. Then I moved to texas for my sophomore year, and I went to school. When we moved from apartment to a house the next year my old school wasn't in my district so I had to go to another school. The school in VA is where I was introduced, and my last HS in Texas was where the goth thing happened.

Yokan

Dec 13, 2005, 07:25

Intresting. ^_^ in terms of anime music, I found shows such as Inuyasha and Rurouni kenshin, my two favourites, very helpful. They introduced me to bands such as Do as infinity, BOA, l'arc~en~ciel, Ayumi Hamasaki, Utada Hikaru, Puffy ami yumi, Shonen Knife etc. I was never really too much into anime music till recently, otherwise I just got info on bands from websites forums such as this one, this one being the best of course!! XDXD I never really found animes useful, unless it was jpop.:p

Kinsao

Dec 13, 2005, 07:39

I've never even watched a complete anime! :o I found J-rock by accident...

they are missing the one important thing that makes it J-Rock. Is that its JAPANESE ROCK. If you aren't Japanese, and or you aren't singing in Japanese its not Japanese Rock. Its Just Rock.

Yeah.... of course Japanese rock has to be Japanese! :relief: But... I don't see that it matters... :? because after all, it is just another one of those useless music classifications. To me J-rock is just - well, it's just rock music which happens to be Japanese... the only reason I like many J-rock bands better than many UK rock bands is just that I personally find the music better and/or more to my taste...=)

... if some things of the style of music becomes 'imported' back to UK, it's not J-rock anymore if it's being made by British people... but... I don't care what it's called or who makes it as long as it's good music. :dance:

And lets say you do sing in Japanese your going to get alot of people who will be like your some Wapanese poser.

Well yeah. And I think you would be, really, to sing all in Japanese if you're not Japanese. :okashii: but I think it could work if you sung mostly in English but with some Japanese, because after all J-bands use English in their lyrics too. Breaking down the barriers is good =) as long as it's genuine and not done in a poser sort of way... and I reckon you'd want ur main audience to understand ur lyrics, yeah? because no matter how much we say lyrics aren't everything, they do add to the message. And sometimes the language can be part of the message (like if you have a special reason to sing in that language, for difference in sound or cultural implication)...

Ashe_chan

Dec 13, 2005, 22:08

hm... but there were another report about visual kei.... and they said that visus were depressed before they heard J-Music... -.-'''
for everybody who want to see:

http://www.rbb-online.de/_/polylux/aktuell/beitrag_jsp/key=rbb_beitrag_mini_3306302.html

:-)

advigilo

Dec 13, 2005, 22:40

visus? i dont understand :?

Yokan

Dec 14, 2005, 06:28

http://rapidshare.de/files/9119488/jrock_collection.zip.html As the link says. :) i think that is what songs which would become very popular in britian if promoted. Jame isn't very helpful, it only like describes 2 bands almost. O_O

Ashe_chan

Dec 15, 2005, 04:20

oi... I thought everybody knows... we call people like that who dress Visual Kei ^^ it's just an (german) abbreviation
Gomen neee... :gomen:

Kinsao

Dec 15, 2005, 22:22

Check out this guy's MySpace:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=13720288

He's a musician who takes influences from western and Japanese bands. :cool:

"I would describe my style as an interesting mixture between Jrock and English rock."

I think there will become more musicians like that, as J-rock becomes more well known via the net. :-) There will be many bad 'fan bands', but also good ones too. (I don't know what his music sounds like - I sent him a message so if he replies, I will ask whether he can send to me a sample, maybe. :happy: ) And... music draws people in... maybe some people just start off with playing guitar or something because it seems cool, but then... it's an addiction... :mad: (omg... I was doomed from the start... right from the moment I was lying in hospital in the baby cot and my proud Daddy looked and said "ah! Good guitaring fingers!" :D :D :nuts: )

Ashe_chan

Dec 19, 2005, 01:39

waiii how cute!!! :cute:
..hehe...the next Kaoru or Die!!! xD
:D

Kinsao

Dec 20, 2005, 02:45

Well... I'd like to know what his band sounds like.

Anyways - straight from Kerrang! December:

Black Sabbath axeman Tony Iommi is joining radio station Planet Rock to present Black Sunday, beginning on December 18 at 7 pm. Each week Tony will be joined by colleagues and friends and will be sharing his experiences from over 30 years at the top table of rock's aristocracy. He'll also be showcasing demos from unsigned bands. If you want to try and get played on his show, send your demo to: Tony Iommi, Planet Rock, 7 Swallow Place, London, W1B 2AG. You can also request your favourite tracks by emailing the man himself at tony.iommi@planetrock.com. Planet Rock is available on DAB digital radio across the UK, 861 Sky, ntl 880, telewest 924 and at www.planetrock.com.

Strikes me as the kind of person we ought to be emailing about... certain bands... :p

Ashe_chan

Dec 22, 2005, 23:24

hm...<.< ...so if you want to see hyde, diru, nightmare, mucc, kagerou, moi dix mois or merry live on stage...you must come to germany!!! :lol:
well...next year I'm really broke.. :giggle: myyyy moooneeyy...:(
but I'll see naiiiito... naaaaaiiiitoooomeeeaaa*luv* :p

Kinsao

Feb 1, 2006, 19:37

I'm resurrecting this thread because of an interesting discussion on Batsu. Some of you might have already read it. It's called "Do you think there can be a VK scene outside of Japan?" The link is here if you want to read it.
http://batsu.org/viewtopic.php?t=10767&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

It's interesting that the OP used the term "VK scene" instead of "jrock", which indicates that he or she was thinking about the visual aspect more than the music - so in my "summary" (if I may grace it with the name ><) I've kept more to that aspect.

On reading that, I wondered what people here think.

Here are some of the points people put forward.

For the VK scene possibility in other countries:

-- There have already been similar bands who do visual, such as Alice Cooper, Kiss, New York Dolls and others, so the concept of costumes and performance isn't totally new.
-- The VK scene in Japan isn't actually as big as people tend to think it is, neither.
-- There can be fans of a particular type of music and/or style anywhere!
-- It's a very marketable type of fashion.
-- Music-wise, there are bound to be rock bands outside of Japan that get influenced by jrock, music is like that...
-- ... and if bands are good and play well, chances are, people will like them. If on top of that, they can put on a good visual show, that will add to the attraction.
-- VK might take off more easily in smaller countries like the UK, as opposed to the US, because the "scene" operates under similar conditions to Japan (higher population density etc.).
-- It's a natural consequence that fans will dress up like their fave bands, so if jrock becomes more popular, the VK scene will too.
-- People want to see "strange and new" things.

Against the VK scene possibility in other countries:

-- Other countries are bigger and have larger populations - this makes touring, especially for smaller bands, more difficult and expensive.
-- There is a prejudice against non-Asian people "doing VK".
-- There is a different media set-up outside of Japan. For example, major radio stations don't really play indies music.
-- There is a different venue set-up.
-- There is no pre-existing set-up (e.g. in Japan there are labels that sign VK bands already).
-- There are different views on masculinity. Also, Japanese people have a smaller bone structure and find it easier to look "feminine", which is a part of the VK "look".
-- VK would be labelled "gay".
-- The West is too "grimy and realistic".
-- VK style elsewhere would just be a "cheesy knockoff".

Do you agree and/or disagree with some of the points? (Not my points btw - various issues raised by debators on Batsu, you can see who they are if you visit the site, and I apologise if I've inadvertently quoted anyone who doesn't want to be quoted or feels their views have been misrepresented. ><)
Have you things to add?

Your thoughts...?

Hide My Heart

Feb 1, 2006, 19:50

While I think VK is a very marketable thing here in the states (and else where for that matter) I dont think non Japanese bands could really call themselves vk. I mean there are plenty of artists over here that fit the discription yet they're still not VK. I think its just something that is very distinctivly japanese. Not that I feel bands in other places shouldnt go for that look if they want, but rather that we should awknowledge them as their own seperate thing. Like Gwen Stephani and her Harajuku girls...

Yokan

Feb 12, 2006, 02:21

They don't dress in cultural Japanese clothes, so to be honest they aren't perfect Visual-kei artists. Just Cross dressers. I think some non-Japanese bands would be able to do a Visual-kei tho!

Nicky

Feb 12, 2006, 18:31

I know I'm probably I bit late on this subject but:

I believe the popularity of Jrock in western world depends entirely on each country's music industry.

The bands themselves and the fans can try as hard as they can but unless the music industry in the western countries become more open to non-western bands, japanese bands will have a hard time getting in and having their cd's stocked/sold in local music stores.

The music industry won't change unless it thinks the music will sell. Lets face it, no matter how much word of mouth the fans do, we can't create that many other fans, at least not enough to make records company say "hmmm.. Maybe this WILL sell". And considering how hard it is to get cd's. Many people will most likely just say "I like this band but I don't have money or time to go through with all the online ordering. There are plenty of western bands I already like so I'll just listen to them instead".

Then there's the problem with bands that really don't offer anything spectacular to westerners. For example, lets say there's a japanese punk band, there is probably a western equivalent that sounds similar. And westerners are most likely going to buy western equivalent's album because at least they can understand that one. The only time where this doesn't come into play is when the band's sound is so unlike anything here in the west that there just isn't anything like it. But a downside to this is if a band is too different people might be turned off and think "what the hell is this". Songs that are too "different" usually take a little while to grow on you. I think sometimes those of us who listen to Jrock forget that the average music listener isn't as open minded. If the first impression is "eh? what?" then that will probably be the last impression.

...but this is just a personal opinion. I guess a quick summary of what I said would be

A) You'd need to convince the music industry/records that Jrock will sell.
B) You'd need to choose your bands wisely. Nothing too generic or "western" sounding otherwise people would probably just go buy "western" music instead of imported western music.
3) Nothing too weird sounding though.
D) I am fully aware that I jumped from B to 3. I.. I meant to do that.
:souka:

By the way I disagree with however said "These rapers are also a bad influence on are kids of today. Turning them into gangsters themselves" on the first page. As far as I'm concerned the music isn't to blame. Music cannot make someone do something bad, they choose to do it themselves. If rap wasn't around the kids would still be bad, they'd just be bad while listening to different music and while wearing different clothes. I've been around rap ever since I was wee little girl and so has every person I've ever grown up with. Not one of us is a "gangster". What makes us different than the little kids who became "gangsters" because 50cent told them it was cool?
Mind you I grew up during the gansta rap movement. So I was bombarded with "*****, youse bout to get shot" in song form and the infamous "cop killer" song nearly everyday. I have yet to kill any cops nor do I know anyone who has, And I'm miraculously free of bullet holes. :evil: