Japanese Music or Western Music?

Japanese Music or Western Music?

To me I think I prefer Japanese music, especially rock. This doesn't mean I don't like Western Music, I do actually think some bands are marvelous such as Linkin Park and others, it's just that I'm more into Japanese music.

What about you? Which do you prefer and why?
Let's discuss this everyone :D

If this thread is out of place bmw, then sumimasen! It's just I thought that this is the more convenient area because of the Japanese Entertainment Discussions!

I thought there was a similarly titled thread...? :headscratch:

I'll have to check.


BTW, for me: it's Western music... I love Japan, the culture, the people, the traditional J-music, but the J-pop music doesn't work... Besides the J-pop is an adaptation/variation of Western music... Without the quality. :beaten:

bmwracer wrote:I thought there was a similarly titled thread...? :headscratch:

I'll have to check.


BTW, for me: it's Western music... I love Japan, the culture, the people, the traditional J-music, but the J-pop music doesn't work... Besides the J-pop is an adaptation/variation of Western music... Without the quality. :beaten:

I looked and looked before starting this thread, did I miss it @@?
lol, I'm not into pop that much, I <3 ROCK! and I kinda agree, Jpop sometimes doesn't work, oh well depends on people ne :) ?

Lifo wrote:I looked and looked before starting this thread, did I miss it @@?

I did a search and didn't find anything... :sweat:

lol, I'm not into pop that much, I <3 ROCK! and I kinda agree, Jpop sometimes doesn't work, oh well depends on people ne :) ?

Even J-rock is just a adaptation of Western rock... But it just doesn't have "it."

I guess it's a generational thing: I grew up with 60's and 70's rock and R&B, and 80's punk/new wave.... Anything after that is inconsequential for me. :beaten:

Well, it's something great that people have different tastes :hehe:

I guess it's a generational thing: I grew up with 60's and 70's rock and R&B, and 80's punk/new wave....

I believe that Western music during the 70s - 90s is much better than these days! I'm kinda into techno too. Jazz and Classics are on my list also :)

good question :applaud:

of course it depends, coz everyone has their own tastes

for me, currently i prefer j-music since i cant dig akon and beyonce and other rnb stuff. and i agree that western music from 70s-90s are the best! from sentimental love songs to aerosmith!! yeah!!!

Generally speaking, I prefer Western music. I don't like a lot of JPOP, only really like Otsuka Ai, Nakashima Mika and YUI. I have yet to find a male JPOP artist whose voice I like... same goes for most JPOP female artists, as far as that goes. But also i'm not into the style of music that you get from the likes of Koda Kumi or Ayumi Hamasaki.

I like music in general.

Though i think western music has it's roots in eastern music. It's a very WIDE net to call "western music" a genre as opposed to Japanese music.

Yeah, true..

I think you'll find that most Japanese music is made to appeal to Japanese tastes: they don't really have much interest in selling outside of Japan, or perhaps outside of Asia. So they make music that appeals to their audience.

Coming back to what bmw said, I don't think that all Japanese music is an adoption of Western music. Take Visual Kei bands for example, were there Western Visual Kei bands to start with? So that's a point.

I think both Western & Japanese music have their own style.

Though i think western music has it's roots in eastern music.

Who knows? That might be an option too :hehe:

And what exactly do you mean by eastern? Arabic, Iranian, Hindi, .. etc music ?

For me it's not a question of what to prefer. I love music in almost any form, exept especially rap and r'nb. What I like about the Japanese music is that it is fresh to me, and that the stars really does not seem like primadonnas or are bigger then the world, exept Erika Sawajiri maybe.Hehe ;). Ok I have just listened to Otsuka Ai,Sawajiri and Hikki mostly so far so I may be wrong. But in general it feels like Japanes artists are more down to earth then the rest of the world. And that is really a positive thing.

This from a guy who attended a Nightwish concert on saturday, just to give an example of my range :)

Depends...

Folk... only Irish, Scottish and Japanese.

Lately I've become quite fond of enka.

Rock... hmm, well... the only real rock'n roll is from the 50s and 60s, everything after that... bwahahaha... children... No one can ever beat Elvis. He's the King for a reason. The Stones, for example, are also only good with their old songs (their new songs, I don't give a crap about those, I don't want to hear them at a concert... I want... SATISFACTION! YEAH BABY!)

Pop... bleh... the old pop was good, sometimes, because it was new, it was innovative, original. There are a few good Jpop artists (Hikky for example, I really like her voice). But most pop today is really just crap. Clones of clones of clones. Heck, when I hear some of it I always come to the conclusion that it sounds all the same. And some artists even look the same... Attack of the clones. Mass production of music. Disgusting.

The Blue Hearts! OH YEAH!

doesnt matter to me either.. whether its oldies, rock, pop, hip hop, Jpop, Jrock, OPM etc.. as long as the music is good i'll listen to it.. :)

and thank you for making Linkin Park one of a marvelous band. i like them very much. in fact im a big fan of them. :)

Takekaze wrote:There are a few good Jpop artists (Hikky for example, I really like her voice). But most pop today is really just crap. Clones of clones of clones. Heck, when I hear some of it I always come to the conclusion that it sounds all the same. And some artists even look the same... Attack of the clones. Mass production of music. Disgusting.

I pretty much agree... Most music today looks to be cookie cutter: nothing original, unique or fresh... Just repackaged.

Lifo wrote:Take Visual Kei bands for example, were there Western Visual Kei bands to start with?

They're just spinoffs/variations of Glam, Goth, and similar bands... With some added androgyny. :bleh:

Seems like they're more focused on the look and posturing rather than the music... :shakehead:

and thank you for making Linkin Park one of a marvelous band. i like them very much. in fact im a big fan of them. :)

Well, Yup ~ They are xD!!

They're just spinoffs/variations of Glam, Goth, and similar bands... With some added androgyny.

Seems like they're more focused on the look and posturing rather than the music...

You've got some point there, but I also think you don't dig them either :hehe:

bmwracer wrote:
They're just spinoffs/variations of Glam, Goth, and similar bands... With some added androgyny. :bleh:

Seems like they're more focused on the look and posturing rather than the music... :shakehead:

I agree with you up to a point. I am a huge VK fan and I will admit that alot of it has to do with looks. Thats why it is called Visual Kei. However alot of them are actually good. Gazette (one of my personal favs) is an example.

Also there are some VK bands in the US. Mainly they are from the past. David Bowy is a prime example. So is KISS and Slipknot.

Some good VK bands are Gazette, Girugamesh, Nightmare, and Rentrer en Soi (whom I got to meet :mrgreen: )

Lifo wrote:You've got some point there, but I also think you don't dig them either :hehe:

Yeah, I don't...

There's nothing special about most of these singers/groups other than them being Japanese and in the present day... Been there, done that, IMO.

shiroi_tora wrote:I agree with you up to a point. I am a huge VK fan and I will admit that alot of it has to do with looks. Thats why it is called Visual Kei. However alot of them are actually good. Gazette (one of my personal favs) is an example.

Also there are some VK bands in the US. Mainly they are from the past. David Bowy is a prime example. So is KISS and Slipknot.

Some good VK bands are Gazette, Girugamesh, Nightmare, and Rentrer en Soi (whom I got to meet :mrgreen: )

As I mentioned before, I'm from an earlier generation, so I've seen Bowie, KISS, et al, when they were a new thing... The VK acts and other Japanese groups/singers aren't treading on any new ground, so it (unfortunately) gets a shrug from me...

Guess I'm dating myself. :sweat:

bmwracer wrote:

BTW, for me: it's Western music... I love Japan, the culture, the people, the traditional J-music, but the J-pop music doesn't work... Besides the J-pop is an adaptation/variation of Western music... Without the quality. :beaten:

Same here except for my beloved Supercar (but they are a copy of My Bloody Valentine, a British band).
Funnily, if I am not mistaken, a lot of JE songs are written by Swedish producers. :sweat: