ANDROGYNOUS ~MINDS~
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE JAPANESE MUSIC WORLD

I ONCE WROTE THIS AS A GENERAL PREFACE.

 
BEING OBLIVIOUS OF THE JAPANESE MUSIC SCENE, WHICH IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST SELF-CONTAINED YOU WILL ENCOUNTER, IT WILL PERHAPS INITIALLY STRIKE YOU AS KITSCHY, FLAMBOYANT, OVER-PROMOTED, EVEN SYNTHETIC. HOWEVER, IF YOU GENUINELY LIKE MUSIC AND SPEND SOME TIME ADJUSTING TO THIS, YOU MIGHT (HOPEFULLY) UNDERGO A MORE OR LESS EXTENSIVE INFATUATION. THIS, OF COURSE, WOULD BE THE RESULT OF A MYRIAD OF FACTORS.
JAPANESE POP MUSIC (INVOLVING THE SORT OF ROCK MUSIC PRESENTED HERE) PUTS A LOT OF EFFORT INTO STYLE AND PRESENTATION. SOLO ARTISTS AND INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS OF GROUPS/BANDS HAVE A CONTINUOUS SPOTLIGHT ON THEM, HIGHLIGHTING NOT ONLY MUSICAL CONTEXTS, BUT ALSO ANY PERSONAL CHITTERCHATTER THAT MIGHT BE OF INTEREST TO ANY MORE OR LESS DEVOTED FAN. THIS HAS A PLEASANT SIDE EFFECT IN THAT "FRONTMEN" DON'T REALLY EXIST, OR AT LEAST DON'T OVERSHADOW THEIR FELLOW MUSICIANS TO OBLIVION. ALSO, EVERYTHING, AS IMPLIED PREVIOUSLY, IS VERY STYLISH AND WELL-DESIGNED, NO MATTER IF YOU LOOK AT MUSIC VIDEOS (WHICH TEND TO SOMEWHAT BE A DISPLAY OF THE ARTISTS RATHER THAN TO TELL ANY STORY), CD BOOKLETS (PROBABLY THE BEST DESIGNS I HAVE ENCOUNTERED IN THIS RESPECT ORIGINATE IN JAPAN), LIVE SHOWS (ELABORATE BACKDROPS, COSTUMES AND CHOREOGRAPHIES ARE MUCH MORE COMMON, IMPLYING ROCK OR OTHER ARTISTS YOU WOULD NEVER CATCH DOING THAT IN EUROPE OR THE US), OR THE MUSICIANS THEMSELVES, WHO ARE LIKELY TO BE POLISHED BY A RANGE OF MAKE-UP ARTISTS, HAIR STYLISTS, AND FASHION ADVISORS AS SOON AS THEY HIT THE SPOTLIGHT (NOT SO SUPRISING FOR POP ACTS, BUT HARD ROCK BANDS AGAIN ARE NO EXCEPTION HERE). I DON'T THINK THAT ANY OF THIS IS REALLY UNPLEASANT, AS IT ADDS TO THE PERFECTION OF THE OVERALL MUSICAL "PRODUCT" YOU'LL GET, AND YOU CAN BE ASSURED THAT (AT MOST OCCASIONS) A LOT OF CARE HAS BEEN PUT INTO EVERY DETAIL.
I SUPPOSE THAT ROCK MUSIC IS MUCH MORE POPULAR IN JAPAN THAN IT EVEN HAS BECOME, SAY, IN THE US, WITH ALL THOSE "AMERICAN ROCK BANDS" THAT COME AND GO. (I'LL MENTION JROCK AGAIN LATER ON.) JUST AS WELL, JPOP ALSO ENJOYS UNRESTRICTED POPULARITY AND A HOST OF STYLES CAN BE ENCOUNTERED - CUTE GIRLISH SINGERS, GIRL AND BOY GROUPS, CUTE MALE PERFORMERS AND SONGWRITER/MUSICIAN-SINGER COMBOS WILL PERFORM SMOOTH R&B, HAPPY BUBBLEGUM POP, 80S STYLE GUITAR POP, LIGHT TO HARD POP ROCK, AND THE CULTISHLY POPULAR RETRO-FUTURE-KITSCH-LOFI SORT OF STUFF (WHICH STILL GOES UNDER THE WORN-OUT "ALTERNATIVE" OR "INDEPENDENT" LABEL OUTSIDE JAPAN - THINK OF PIZZICATO FIVE) - ANYTHING BASICALLY.
IN CONJUNCTION TO THIS, IT'S WORTH BEING MENTIONED THAT JAPANESE MUSICIANS (OR WRITERS FOR POP STARLETS) APPLY LITTLE TO A LOT OF ENGLISH IN THEIR LYRICS, EVEN THE OCCASIONAL FULLY ENGLISH SONG; SONG TITLES ARE APTLY ALSO MOSTLY HELD IN ENGLISH. (THE OCCASIONAL FRENCH, GERMAN ETC. WORD, SENTENCE OR TITLE MIGHT ALSO OCCUR.) THIS ENGLISH IS FREQUENTLY FLAWED AND MIGHT SOMETIMES NOT EVEN MAKE MUCH SENSE, BUT THIS "ENGRISH" IS ABSOLUTELY COMMON AND NOBODY IN JAPAN WILL POSSIBLY OBJECT TO IT.
AS I SAID, ANY OF THE AFOREMENTIONED PECULIARITIES MIGHT WELL APPEAR STRANGE TO SOMEONE WHO HASN'T BEEN EXPOSED TO JAPANESE MUSIC BEFORE, BUT I DON'T THINK ANY OF IT SHOULD BE HELD AGAINST THE MUSICIANS - IN JAPAN (WHICH IS, NOTEABLY, THE SECOND LARGEST MUSIC MARKET IN THE WORLD, AFTER THE US), WHERE THE MUSIC IS AFTER ALL AIMED, THIS IS THE STANDARD AND A JAPANESE PERSON IS POSSIBLY JUST AS LIKELY TO FIND THE EUROPEAN/AMERICAN MUSIC SCENE STRANGE IN COMPARISON TO THEIR "HOME" MUSIC WORLD.
JROCK AND VISUAL ROCK BANDS, WHO I FEATURE ON THIS WEBSITE, ARE FINALLY ALSO WORTH "EXPLAINING" A BIT. JROCK, AS A LABEL, ENCLOSES ANY ROCK MUSIC THAT'S "MADE IN JAPAN"; VISUAL ROCK IS A PECULIAR STYLE THEREIN. THE LATTER SCENE EVOLVED IN THE LATE 80S WHEN BANDS LIKE BUCK-TICK, BY-SEXUAL AND X (WHO ARE PROBABLY MOSTLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE EVOLUTION OF VISUAL ROCK - THEY LATER TOOK ON THE NAME X JAPAN) STARTED TO PLAY AND "LIVE" A FRESH STYLE OF ROCK MUSIC. THEY WORE (SOMETIMES HEAVY) MAKE-UP (AS INFLUENCED BY THE FEW EUROPEAN/US BANDS WHO BECAME POPULAR WITH OR EVEN THROUGH THIS "WEIRD" STYLING) AND DIDN'T FEAR FEMALE DRESS SENSE EITHER; THE MUSIC POSSIBLY WAS ALSO NOT AFRAID OF PUSHING ANY BOUNDARIES (X PLAYED MONUMENTAL CLASSIC HEAVY METAL; BUCK-TICK STARTED OFF IN POP ROCK AND QUICKLY MOVED TOWARDS A STRANGER, MORE ATMOSPHERIC STYLE). THIS ENTAILED A WAVE OF NEW BANDS AND THE SCENE CONTINUEDTO BLOSSOM - FORMATIONS THAT ARE NOW HOUSEHOLD NAMES, LIKE L'ARC~EN~CIEL, KUROYUME, LAPUTA, PENICILLIN, GLAY, AND OF COURSE LUNA SEA, HIT THE SCENE IN THE EARLY 90S. NO MUSICAL BOUNDARIES MATTERED, AS EACH BAND BROUGHT IN THEIR OWN TOUCH OF SOUND, BE IT INDUSTRIAL-ISH HARD ROCK, TUNEFUL HEAVY METAL, WEIRD BAROQUE-ISH SYNTH ROCK OR MORE POPPISH ROCK. THE VISUAL STYLING EVOLVED AS WELL - ANY LOOK FROM DOLL-ISH CUTE TO SOMBER GOTH LEATHER-AND-LATEX TO ARISTOCRATIC-FLAMBOYANT TO ELEGANT SILK-DRESS WOMANISH TO SIMPLISTIC DESIGNER SUIT CAN BE ENCOUNTERED, IN ANY CASE IT WILL ALWAYS BE DISTINCTIVE AND QUITE ELABORATE.
AS UNIQUE AS THESE MUSICIANS TRY TO BE VISUALLY (HIDE FROM X JAPAN COINED THE PHRASE "PSYCHEDELIC VIOLENCE - CRIME OF VISUAL SHOCK"), THEY ALSO OFTEN PRODUCE THEIR MUSIC THEMSELVES SOLELY AND, OF COURSE, WRITE ALL THEIR STUFF THEMSELVES AS WELL. THROUGH THE COURSE OF TIME, MANY "OLD-SCHOOL" VISUAL BANDS BECAME LESS AND LESS EXTREME-LOOKING AND GRADUALLY TOOK ON MORE DOWN-TO-EARTH LOOKS, AS THEIR POPULARITY INCREASED EXPONENTIALLY. NATURALLY, MANY NEW BANDS CONTINUOUSLY TAKE OFF AND INJECT NEW LIFE INTO THE GENRE (ALTHOUGH OBVIOUSLY PRODUCERS SEE THE PROFITABILITY OF VISUAL ROCK AND THROW IN THE ONE OR OTHER MORE "MANUFACTURED" BAND FROM TIME TO TIME).
SO - HAVE YOU READ THIS FAR? THEN I HOPE THIS INTRODUCTION MIGHT HAVE SERVED ITS PURPOSE. BUT ANYHOW - AFTER ALL IT IS ABOUT GOOD MUSIC AND ALL SURROUNDINGS AND LABELS ATTACHED TO IT SHOULD COME SECOND. AND I HOPE THIS SITE SHOWCASES SOME GREAT MUSIC, EVENTUALLY AND BASICALLY!

 
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