Tokyo a la Mode. Web Magazine for Japanese Fashion and Urban Culture

American Idoru

By Bobby /Jul 07, 2006
(0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

Once upon a time, it was as rare to find Japanese music in America as acting in a Keanu Reeves movie.  But that was before anime soundtracks, downloadable mp3’s and music videos on YouTube.  Now you can find Gackt fans in Georgia and Polysics fans in Pennslyvannia, and more Japanese bands than ever are performing live in the U.S. to the delight of many fans (proving that the language barrier is not an obstacle when it comes to music)—the time for Japanese music has come. 

Check out some of the performers who have been or will be touring the U.S. this summer:

The Pillows - Whisky a Go Go show in Hollywood packed to capacity
Hyde (from L’Arc~en~Ciel) - sold out shows at the Anaheim House of Blues and Slim’s in San Francisco
Dir en Grey - joined the Family Values Tour with Korn
Puffy AmiYumi - The dynamic duo return to the U.S for a July tour of parts east of the Mississippi
Electric Eel Shock - This indie punk band will shock ya ‘n rock ya!

Dir en Grey - their latest look steers away from their Visual Kei background

Below is a quick primer of the main genres:

J-pop: Yeah it’s commercial and the talent is suspect, but J-pop is also fun and sexy and a guilty pleasure we can’t resist.

Ayumi Hamasaki, BoA, Mika Nakashima, Hikaru Utada, Ai Otsuka and a bunch of Japanese boy bands like SMAP and Arashi

J-rock and Visual kei: There is a slight difference between J-rock and Visual kei and it’s mostly based on appearances.  An easy way to describe Visual Kei is to think if Marilyn Manson was born in Tokyo.

X-Japan, Dir en grey, Malice Mizer, Psycho le Cemu

J-rap: Believe it or not, hip hop is the most popular youth movement in Japan today.  Watch MTV Japan and you’ll see Japanese rappers sporting corn rolls, wearing oversized NBA jerseys and carrying enough bling to make Snoop Dogg blink twice.

M-Flo, Orange Range, Rip Slyme, Dragon Ash

Indie: Japanese indie music covers a wide range of genres from punk and noise to 60’s surf rock.  Osaka trio Shonen Knife is legendary for establishing an American fan base 20 years ago.  Today, a number of indie bands have followed in their footsteps.

Guitar Wolf, Asian Kung-Fu Generation, The 5,6,7,8’s, Polysics, Petty Booka, Afri Rampo

For more info on Japanese music, check out Nippop.