Japanese Music
Crap
Japanese music is renowned for being highly-processed, sugary pap. It's true. The major industry sellers consist of generic boy bands, and generic young female singers. Of course, this mirrors the American music industry as well.
And the names! Where else in the world would you have such meaningless and bizarre names as Gackt, W-inds, and Bump Of Chicken? Lyrics bounce between Japanese and English, despite the fact that the majority of fans have a tenuous grasp of the English used, at best:
Koi ni shibarareta specialist (A specialist bound by romance)
Atsui menazashi ni wa ecologist (With hot looks like an ecologist)
A crew sees cring knees (A crew sees cring knees)
I wanna need. Not betray! (I wanna need. Not betray!)
- Vanilla, Gackt.
Any self-respecting J-Pop star will be sure to ensure the following:
- Hairspray
- Teased hair
- Dangling earrings
- Foundation
- Shaved or sculpted eyebrows
And thats just the men.
Gackt
Gackt used to be in a band called Malice Mizer before doing his solo thing.
SMAP
These guys are bigger than big in Japan. They're a boy band, but they've been together over 10 years. Two members, Katori Shingo and Kusanagi, seem to have the most popular appeal, so you see them quite a bit on various TV shows.
Ubiquity Index:
- 1 soft drink.
- 3 magazine covers at the train station newsstand.
- At least 4 TV shows each week, including SMAP Bistro and Shingo's Variety
Ayumi Hamasaki
Ayumi Hamasaki is quite possibly the most annoying, vapid, so-called tarento in Japan. Her stupid, sappy songs, her strange, public-surgery-enhanced eyes, and her grating, pseudo-child voice - how the hell is someone like this even popular?
Whatever the question was, plastic surgery is not the answer. If there is a weirder-looking Japanese person than Ayumi Hamasaki, I am yet to see her.
Morning Musume
From little things, big things grow. Morning Musume started with about 6 members, and this has grown to about 14. They are, of course, a big hit with the primary and junior high school girls. There are even spin-off groups, like Mini Mono, just to ensure they are kept in the public consciousness.
Others
The following are bands which seem to be popular among the kids of today (well, my junior high school students,
anyway):
- Da Pump
- W-inds
- Kinki Kids
- Dragon Ash
- Kick The Can Crew
- Mr Children
- Bump of Chicken
- Pornograffiti.
