Listen up guys! We are in court now!! Court in session!!!
In case you, the reader, is wondering what this section is all about, you are about to find out.
This is mainly me blabbering on and on about the members of GLAY,in short, defending them, because I feel that they are in need of defense. Many people slam GLAY without even listening to their music, calling them "pretty boys". In this case, first impressions aren't that important.
If you would like to defend GLAY, please send me e-mail and i will post your "defenses" on this section. I will write my defenses down as well.
RULES:
1. You HAVE to defend GLAY or one of it's members, not slam them or criticize them. DO that and DIE! +just joking!+
2. If you would like to defend just one member, that's fine.
3. Please be diplomatic! Don't dis other bands because I don't want anyone fighting on my website! You can say which type of genre of music you don't like. That's basically it!
TAKURO = How can you 'dis' this guy? He is a genius!!!! He writes poetic, meaningful lyrics and composes them perfectly. He's also very suave, and through him, you can show GLAY are not just a bunch of "pretty boys". His lyrics and the music he composes are way, way better than most stuff out there. (Trust me).
HISASHI = This guy's guitar skills are amazing, and everyone agrees. What I gotta defend him about is his masculinity!!!! Kougaiji, my onii-chan, said that he would be better off as a girl than as a guy!! I kinda agree, he looks quite good as both sexes. Still, he proves he is confident about his masculinity by not acting macho and stupid. Think about it. 'Sides, he's probably doing it for the image. I'm sure off stage he's a nice guy.
JIRO = I hear people talking about him the same way as HISASHI but I mean, he's just soo adorable! C'mon, a girl needs eye candy PLUS, they couldn't help being born good-looking! I never really paid much attention to the bass till this kawaii bassist came along! ^ v ^. He is a definite lady-killer. 'Nuff said!
TERU = I placed TERU last because he needs the most defending. +he's also my favourite! Run!!!+ Er-hem! He's gorgeous and charming, we know. But his VOICE!!!! Ahh! We all know he wasn't meant to be the vocalist of GLAY! Some people say his voice stinks, some say it's technically not good but compliments the music, and some say it's beautiful. I opt for no.3. The first thing I noticed about GLAY was the deep, husky voice of the singer. +I never saw GLAY until later+ I thought that it was such a beautiful voice, nothing wrong with it! AND! I think TERU is a VERY passionate singer +equipped with strong lungs too!+ and I have never seen anyone sing like he does, all worked up and stuff, during videos, lives, +I call it kissing the microphone during lives!+ and even in just the song itself!! You can see he is so into the music... and that's all I have to say.
Still think GLAY are a bunch of "pretty boys"? They are, but they are more than "pretty" and they are "men" not "boys". Never judge a book by its cover. My cousins +who think they are very manly+ say GLAY look like girls. Well, I admit Hisashi looks like one, but Teru and Takuro? So I'll teach you guys this retort if they say they are not manly : "Well, at least they are manly enough to attract more girls that you!" +To boys, of course!+
I'll start out with a couple of reasons as to why Glay is such a great band.
1)Heart. When you hear almost any Glay song, you'll find that they really put their hearts into it everytime. Teru always sings as if his larynx will explode tomorrow and the others support him as best as they can. This is why their music is so emotional, so affecting. A sign that these guys are true musicians and not plain popstars.
2)Music. I may not be technically well-versed in music but I know a good tune when I hear it. All their songs (including most of their weaker ones) possess this quality that makes them very listenable and very pleasant to the ear. A song, to me, should always have a nice tune that ought to feature prominently in the chorus (although Glay tend to shift the focus more on the verses... more on that later). But if anything, one can't deny that their songs are just as catchy as any other mainstream hit, with twenty times the depth. Kudos to Takuro, the band leader and main songwriter, who should take a large part of the credit for this.
3)Style & attitude. This doesn't deal with the looks aspect (although I do agree that the are quite well-dressed most of the time) and I think my sister can fill you in on this better than I can. But they do have a certain aura about them that makes them seem reasonably cool, yet unthreatening at the same time. I like the fact that they don't go all out to promote themselves through notoriety and scandals and in fact, they don't even seem to want much time in the limelight. They just seem like a bunch of nice guys who want an honest living out of making good music. What more could you ask for?
4)Words. We may not be the best people to judge Glay in this department but from the translations I've read, their words run very deep and are way more meaningful that majority of standard western songs. Besides, even if you don't understand it, you can always gauge the meaning from the feel of the song and the Japanese language just seems to flow so beautifully along with the music... hey, you don't need to understand Italian to appreciate opera!
5)Pop & rock. Finally, a word about the pop-rock divide. I agree that Glay's version of rock is, at best, described as mainstream rock. I agree that they lean more towards pop than towards genuine rock. However, what's so wrong with that? A nice song is a nice song, no matter what style it incorporates. I guess this really depends on personal taste but see, I've always liked mainstream music so perhaps this is why Glay really appeals to me. However, it's wrong to diss Glay on the basis that they produce pop because you have to remember that most rock bands in general ARE very mainstream, especially the famous ones (U2, Aerosmith, etc...). Whilst not exactly pop, they have songs that exert pop-like qualities, not too unlike Glay (in fact, I think Glay shares a lot of similarities with the two bands I mentioned).
Unless, of course, you hate these bands as well that is. Having said that, I know that majority of you people are pretty mainstream (that's why they call it mainstream!) so I'm sure that this perfect mix of pop and rock will suit you all as it does Lilin and I.
6)Individual bits:
a)Teru - gets the most mention in my reviews because he is the singer. Not to say he's the most important member but he is essential. His voice is very unique and he sings with the utmost passion and soul. A lot of people argue that his voice is poor but that's cause they're looking at it through a too conventional light and probably aren't used to that tell-tale rasp.
b)Takuro - the actual leader. His songwriting is brilliant but I've already mentioned it above so I won't go into that here. He is also a very talented guitarist but unfortunately gets overshadowed by Hisashi.However, he can hold his own quite well, such as in 'Acid Head' and 'Winter, Again'.
c)Hisashi - the most talented instrumentalist in the group and one of the most talented guitarists I've ever come across in general. Takuro made a good decision when he managed to recruit him all those years ago. His solos form essential parts of the band's songs and he is a damn fine songwriter as well. Also the coolest one of the bunch.
d)Jiro - As talented as any other member in the band (excluding Hisashi), Jiro unfortunately also gets overshadowed by them all. This is because he plays a very subtle role in the form of the bass, which you can rarely make out on its own. Still, his performances have proven to be outstanding in songs like 'Haru...', 'Heavy Gauge', 'Mermaid' and especially 'Shutter Speeds no Theme' and they should give him prominent roles more frequently. He is also a good vocalist and an excellent songwriter... sort of the all-rounder in the group.
e)The supporting musicians... namely Toshi on drums and Shigei on keyboards (Nobumasa and D.I.E. in the past). They have always been instrumental in adding more depth to Glay's music so some applause has to go to them as well.
Minor niggles:
-Most of their weaker songs sound too drab because of a weak chorus that sounds too much like the verses, giving a monotonous feel. I've touched on this a few times in my reviews but it isn't a major problem.
-Sorry, but from a guy's point of view, it gets a bit disconcerting sometimes to see them prancing about looking like women.
-A third of the 'Unity..' songs. Please, let this just have been an experiment gone wrong.
Lastly, it takes an open mind to really appreciate Glay. They try their best to cater to different tastes so be thankful that they are putting in extra effort to please as many people as posible. But if you hate them, that's fine. If you dislike something, who am I to say that you have to like it because I can't change the way you are feeling inside; that gut feeling is what you have to follow. So to the detractors, you can do whatever you want, from continuing to diss Glay to giving it a few more listens. But if you diss them, keep it to yourselves and your fellow detractors and please don't diss their fans because they have a right to their own opinions and you can't decide how they should feel about Glay.