so whats the general opinion on Jap. Music?

[WolfWoodCr0ss]

is it accepted?
or frowned upon?
i'd really like to find a few people who like this kinda thing

[Radical Dreamer]

Japanese music?

As in, J-Pop, J-Rock, etc.?

I'm pretty sure you'll find a lot of fans of both genre here. I know I enjoy scattered J-Pop and J-Rock artists and songs, and I know that about half the site enjoys it too, probably more than I do. XD But if you're looking for a general opinion--as in, people that aren't anime fans--then I can't really say much there, I guess. XD;

[Alexander]

Where there's a Japanese J-pop fan, there's anime connected with it. XD

I myself like to listen to specific music from both animes series and video games. But I'm also expanding outside of that and just discovering new artists.

So my answer would be yes.

[ShiroiHikari]

I love Japanese music!

[Eric]

Japan has a rather large death metal scene as well.


http://www.myspace.com/jpdeathmetal

[WolfWoodCr0ss]

indeed...though the death metal and Visual Kei genres mix...

[ShiroiHikari]

So, WolfWoodCr0ss, what kind of Japanese music do you listen to? I mostly listen to a lot of anime opening/ending songs, but I'm also a huge fan of L'arc-en-ciel and Gackt.

[Callisto]

To be perfectly honest, I listen to far more Japanese music than Christian music. I just can't find many Christian bands that appeal to me.

What Japanese bands/musicians do you like? I like quite a lot so I won't bother listing them because I don't want to write a novel here.

[Blitzkrieg1701]

There are a lot of Japanese rock bands that I really like, though they're not what most people think of when they use the term "Jrock." My favorites are more underground/alternative bands. (the pillows, who did the FLCL soundtrack, are probably the best known example)

[EricTheFred]

Saying "What's your opinion of Japanese Music?" is like saying "What's your opinion of American Music?"

By "American Music", what would you mean? Leonard Bernstein? The Cars? Willy Nelson? Louis Armstrong? Scott Joplin? The term just covers too much territory.

I actually have a great deal of admiration for several fine Japanese musicians and composers, and my exposure is largely due to their work in Anime. I am a huge fan of Yuri Kajiuri, Yoko Kanno and Susuma Hirasawa, all eclectic composers who I largely became familiar with due to Anime.

I never had much liking for American Hip-Hop or Rap, but the Japanese version (often a sort of Hip-Hop/Disco blend) can be very enjoyable. The purchase I am currently waiting delivery on is 'Cyborg Oretachi', the newest album by Halcali, a band that can very much be described this way. Except the recent use of their first hit, "Tandem", in the 'Mr. Stain' series, they have no connection that I know of to Anime, but they typify current J-pop a lot better than typical Anime music does.

I have been a fan of Kitaro for many many years, and I don't think he has ever turned up on a soundtrack. On top of this, one of my favorite orchestral conductors is a man named Seiji Ozawa, and one of my favorite violinists is a woman named Midori (she uses her first name only on-stage).

If you put all of the above together, you find there is no common ground at all between the people I have mentioned except they are Japanese and what they do is described as 'Music'.

[creed4]

havn't heard enough to make a decision.

[ShiroiHikari]

I actually have a great deal of admiration for several fine Japanese musicians and composers, and my exposure is largely due to their work in Anime. I am a huge fan of Yuri Kajiuri, Yoko Kanno and Susuma Hirasawa, all eclectic composers who I largely became familiar with due to Anime.

My favorite works by Yoko Kanno are the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack and the Turn A Gundam soundtrack. She's just brilliant.

Yuki Kajiura I'm not too familiar with, but I really like what I've heard.

Susumu Hirasawa is someone whose work I'm very interested in hearing more of. I've only heard one song called Bandiria, but it's amazing and I've been wondering if his other work is as good.

Also, I've been listening to some Shuntarou Okino lately, and he's really good too. Ever seen Last Exile? He did a couple of songs for that, most notably Cloud Age Symphony. Great stuff.

[Radical Dreamer]

Susumu Hirasawa is someone whose work I'm very interested in hearing more of. I've only heard one song called Bandiria, but it's amazing and I've been wondering if his other work is as good.

Actually, Susumu Hirasawa did Paprika's soundtrack, which you can find on iTunes. He's done the soundtracks for other works by Satoshi Kon as well, including Millennium Actress (which has this one vocal track called "Rotation" that I like) and Paranoia Agent too, I think. I've been able to enjoy what I've heard from him, though. The Paprika OST is especially good.

[WolfWoodCr0ss]

I like WAY too many to mention, and basically all genres...

[That Dude]

I generally enjoy the J-rock and alternative Japanese music. Some bands being...

Dir En Grey
D'espairs Ray
The Pillows
B'z
Naiad
Aural Vampire
Coalter Of The Deepers
Boom Boom Sattelites.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

I'm mixed towards Japanese Music. I dislike stuff like Visuel Kei, but I do like some assorted songs here or there.

The only bands I like (Both that I don't listen to that much anymore) are AKFG and Polysics. I like SOME J-pop here and there, but I don't follow any artists that much.

[beau99]

I'm also mixed when it comes to j-rock and j-pop.

Dir en grey, L'Arc~en~Ciel and the pillows all get semi-heavy rotation on my playlist, while I don't really like anything else. I do once in a while play a song by Utada or PUFFY.

[Eric]

indeed...though the death metal and Visual Kei genres mix...

um, no...the two are totally unrelated....unless you think Dir En Grey is death metal....

[beau99]

I need to point out something.

Visual kei is not a genre. It's totally unrelated to the type of music.

[rocklobster]

I like Asian Kung Fu Generation, Yoko Kanno, and Joe Hishani (sp?)

[Blitzkrieg1701]

I guess I never really mentioned enough actual artists in my previous post to keep it from being totally uninformative, huh?

GO!GO!7188
The Captains
Advantage Lucy
The Cymbals
Triceratops
The Spiders
Happy End
Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re
Thee Michelle Gun Elephant

...and a whole bunch of others

[Tommy]

Not a fan, but I remember when I was into anime, there were a lot of OPs I found catchy and enjoyed.

[Eric]

I need to point out something.

Visual kei is not a genre. It's totally unrelated to the type of music.

I already know that.

Name me one actual death metal band that dresses like that, because I have yet to see any. They all look like every other death metaller out there. No self-respecting death metal musician would ever dress as ridiculous as visual kei.

[beau99]

I already know that.

Never said you didn't.

Most people don't, however.

[Mave]

I like Japanese music the same way I treat every type of music out there. I hear it, I like it, I buy this.

Maaya Sakamoto, Globe, Two Mix, Hirai Ken, Asian KungFu Generation, Porno Graffitti, L'Arc-en'Ciel, Yoko Kanno and a bunch of random anime music and Jpop/Jrock music

[Technomancer]

I have been a fan of Kitaro for many many years, and I don't think he has ever turned up on a soundtrack.

He's got good stuff. Personally, I think his best work was for the NHK series 'Silk Road'.

As far as Japanese music goes, I'm not a huge follower of the scene. There's a fair bit of traditional or quasi-traditional stuff that I like, although I'm not a big fan of much of the contemporary stuff. I do like Shonen Knife and some of Hiroshima's stuff, as well as some of the anime soundtracks.