I know that it's rather uncommon to like music from a different country (and indeed, having a taste in Japanese rock or "visual kei" - or simply VK - has earned me the title of weaboofag from many people), but I was wondering if you guys might possibly be interested in hearing some.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_Kei - Here's the wikipedia entry, in case you're too lazy to look it up on your own; however, that doesn't cover all of it. If you're interested, I'll try and sum it up, but here's the basis of what I've got to say: Even though it's in a language that I can't understand, I enjoy the sound of it and it makes me happy. Most of the time the emotion of the song comes through as well; and it doesn't hurt that the people making the music are, by my standards, very attractive (to be a shallow asshole about it). True, the guys look like girls and the girls look like guys, but who cares? VK blurs the line between male and female in its image, but really what I like best is the music.
I'd like to give you a list of some good bands to check out, if you're interested, and I'll provide links to downloads of their best if I find them.
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Dir en GreyWe'll start, of course, with a classic, and one of the most popular Japanese bands out there. Dir en Grey was heavily influenced by Luna Sea - however, I don't like them much, but I do reccommend you check them out if you want to know the older bands - but they soon travelled in a direction all their own. The fans might be annoying, and lately the music has turned into stale, repetitive J-Metal, but their old stuff is truly wonderful. Raison d'Etre is one of their classic songs, one of their best, and I highly reccommend it.
http://www.4shared.com/file/37360346/9c4fe27e/Dir_en_Grey_Raison_etre_PVBy_JoRuK.html?s=1-
X JapanX Japan, along with BOOWY, was the biggest thing in Japan for a long, long time (until their breakup and the untimely death of their guitarist, hide) and it's really obvious why; X Japan had talent. They do sound like 80's hair metal, but that's because they were - but they were good at it, and while many of their songs will strike you as funny because Toshi, the lead singer, doesn't sing in English very well, he has a lot of emotion and a very pretty voice.
http://www.4shared.com/file/39919951/282b08eb/x_japan_-_rusty_nail_WwWImpact-VisualBlogspotCoM.html?s=1-
hide with Spread BeaverThe ex-guitarist of X Japan (hurr hurr, he's ex-X, yes) was truly remarkable; he had a bright personality, a wonderful smile, and amazing guitar skills, as well as a wonderful voice and a mind sharp as a steel trap. His lyrics are very beautiful, if not pretty creepy and sad, and though the subject matter may be very dark, almost all of his music is a good, fun listen. He is one of my favorite Japanese artists, and it's a tragedy that he's dead (the tenth anniversary of his death was May 2, for those curious).
http://www.last.fm/music/hide/hide+BEST+PSYCHOMMUNITY-
KayaKaya works with Hora, I'm pretty sure; they were both members of Schwarz Stein so I'm pretty sure they work together still. Regardless, Kaya's music is a little bit electronica and a LOT bit beautiful. He has an amazing range and a very sweet voice, and the messages in his songs (once, of course, you find the translations) are very heartfelt and sweet; I've found myself crying just reading the lyrics to Silvery Dark off of his Glitter album. Chocolat is his newest single, and it's very beautiful; I've been listening to it a lot.
http://www.4shared.com/file/45133610/457e840/single_23042008_Kaya_-_Chocolat.html-
Malice MizerOne simply cannot forget Malice Mizer in a list of good Japanese artists; they were a truly excellent band of musicians. Their sound was very refined; indeed, they tried to make cliassical music with modern instruments and had a fair bit of success. Their vocalists did a wonderful job of matching the previous ones' tones, and so all the lineups sound remarkably the same; Tetsu was rather... erm, not good, but Klaha and Gackt - yes, THAT Gackt - sounded remarkably good. Their passion and emotion were very clear, and the music has a dark and exciting tone to it; it can be calm and sweet, or dark and fast, or sedate and yet creepy; there is a wide range. While I haven't downloaded this single yet, their song Gardenia is very thrilling and very wonderful to listen to.
http://www.4shared.com/file/16154407/eb33412c/Malice_Mizer_-_Gardenia__single__5-30-2001.html?s=1-
BUCK-TICKAtsushi, the vocalist of this band, is peerless in all ways. He is just... wow. Conventional words don't suffice and I might just have to start making some up. But he really is very, very, very, very good; my favorite vocalist. Whereas hide with Spread Beaver is my favorite for guitar and music with energy and vitality, BUCK-TICK is my favorite band for passion and a really lovely, smooth sound. They are just... so good. It makes my brain short-circuit trying to really find the words to correctly describe them. Just... listen to them. MUMA: THE NIGHTMARE is really an amazing piece of music.
http://www.last.fm/music/BUCK-TICK/_/Muma+-The+Nightmare-
MiyaviMiyavi is so incredible. He is, without a doubt, my favorite artist. The front he puts up for the camera is not really who he is at all; though he seems energetic and peppy, a lot of his lyrics are very sad. He often writes from a woman's perspective; he writes about being raped, being abused as a child, being a mistress of a wealthy man and wanting him to love him and not his wife... and yet there are some songs that are just sweet and happy, like Peace Sign and Aishiteru Genki ni Naare. His voice is very sweet, no matter what he's singing about, and his guitar work is truly amazing; he's an acoustic artist, with a lot of success.
www.imeem.com/people/IOGONO/music/nImQ90fO/miyavi_baka_na_hito/This is only a short list of the artists that I really enjoy... but I haven't got any more time to write about them, so this is all I'm posting for now. If I get enough interest in the topic, I'll post a few more - but I'd like your opinions and your feedback on the music!
