Japanese Culture and Comm 8: Popular Music

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  Tome, Tohoku, Japan
Friday, March 20, 2009

Although I don't claim to be the leading expert in Japanese music, I am kind of the go-to person if you ever want to know about current Japanese pop and rock artists.  My love for J-music began with anime songs, and then I discovered J-rock and visual kei, which I thought my parents might approve of a little more than the rock bands I liked at the time on the basis that they were Asian (boy was I wrong).  Since college, the dominant language on my playlists has been Japanese.  It's not that I don't like music from other countries (I love music regardless of language), but J-pop and J-rock have filled in the gaps I found with American and even Chinese musical genres.  They are also more image conscious, which appeals to a visual person like me.

I attempted to write up descriptions of the most popular singers and groups around, but that went on for pages.  What I decided to do instead is to provide a very short description on how they fit in the music industry and let you look up the names.  If you want to know my opinion on any of them or song recommendations, comment here or email me.  So here goes.
 
The one J-pop artist you should take away from this
Ayumi Hamasaki - #1 diva, Madonna of Japan
 
There are two more names you have to know, but they're not groups.  They are companies that release the hottest boybands and girl groups since the 90s.
Johnny's & Associates - forms new boyband every couple of years; biggest names are SMAP (their first really big group), Arashi, KAT-TUN, and the most recent Hey!Say!Jump!
Hello!Project - uber cute girl groups; if you hit a certain age, you "graduate" from the group and new members come in.  Their main group is Morning Musume.
 
Other popular J-pop artists
Hikaru Utada - the anti-Ayumi; her focus is on her songs and not her image (except for when she tried to break into the U.S. )
Koda Kumi - sexed-up R&B/soul diva, Japanese Christina Aguilera
Mika Nakashima - adult contemporary diva with a bit of gospel and punk (as Nana) thrown in the mix.
Angela Aki - most popular pianist right now, queen of the ballad
Exile - non-Johnny's boyband with a more mature and more R&B sound
Dreams Come True - highly influential songwriting duo, less pop and more soul/jazz/acoustic rock
 
Now we get into the world of rock, which as you know, can be split up into many subgenres.  The main distinction I am making here will be J-rock vs. visual kei, the image-conscious glam rock genre.  Visual kei bands are the ones with the elaborate costumes.
 
J-rock singers and bands to know
Gackt - the closest thing to a male Ayumi, just as versatile and flamboyant
Mr. Children - adult contemporary pop-rock group; has most #1 albums for an all-male group.
L'Arc~en~Ciel - former visual band that gotten poppier through the years.  When Rachelle first saw their music video, she said that hyde, the lead singer, was a Japanese David Bowie .
Glay - another enduring rock band that started visual and is now more pop-rock.
GReeeeN - currently the biggest pop-rock band, more radio friendly than L'Arc~en~Ciel or Glay
Orange Range - popular pop-rock-rap group
Luna Sea - Another influential rock band that's no longer visual.  Their sound is more alternative, to me anyway.
 
Visual Kei bands to know
X Japan - One of the most influential Japanese rock bands of all time.  They are responsible for making visual kei and J-rock what it is today.  Think epic stadium rock and hair metal (in their old days)
Malice Mizer - Gackt's former band and another huge influence, especially on the visual aspects.  They're like the aristocratic version of goth.
Alice Nine - probably the biggest visual kei band today.  Looks and sound are more toned-down, which is the trend these days.
 
Miscellaneous
Shuuchishin - pseudo-boyband consisting of 3 actors/TV personalities. 
Yajima Beauty Salon - gag group of comedians pretending to be the Dream Girls
Yoshida Brothers - They do crazy things with the shamisen (a traditional Japanese stringed instrument).  You've heard them on the Wii commercials.
Monkey Majik - Not exactly popular, but the band was founded by an ALT so I think they deserve special mention.

An interesting thing to note: if you looked up the top singles from 2008 on the Oricon music charts, you will see the domination of Johnny's.  However, while the groups release many singles each year, they are nowhere to be found on the albums charts.  From what I've encountered, the adults tend to listen to the artists that make the top album charts.

Top 10 Songs of 2008 (from Oricon, the Japanese version of Billboard)
1. Arashi - "truth/Kaze no Mukou e"
2. Arashi - "One Love"
3. Southern All Stars - "I Am Your Singer"
4. GReeeeN - "Kiseki"
5. Shuchishin - "Shuchishin"
6. Mr.Children - "Hanabi"
7. Thelma Aoyama feat. SoulJa - "Soba ni Iru ne"
8. KAT-TUN - "Don't U Ever Stop"
9. KAT-TUN - "Lips"
10. Arashi - "Beautiful days"
 
Top 10 Albums of 2008
1. EXILE - EXILE Love
2. Namie Amuro - Best Fiction
3. Kobukuro - 5296
4. EXILE - EXILE Catchy Best
5. Hikaru Utada - Heart Station
6. EXILE - EXILE Ballad Best
7. B'z - B'z The Best "ULTRA Pleasure" (1st edition)
8. Ayumi Hamasaki - A Complete ~ All Singles ~
9. Dreams Come True - And I Love You
10. GReeeeN - Ah, domo. O hisashi buri desu.

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