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[Ruby Moon]

I don't know if here anyone is interested in this kind of things, but I wanted some advice on most famous J-rock bands. I only know few names, so I can't tell which ones are the most famous and which ones have the best songs.

I found some info on Malice Mizer, Glay, Luna Sea and L'arc en Ciel. I looked at their pics and they were so....weird! I hope their music is better than the way they look
Which one out of these names should I try for first?

Can you help me?

[Reid]

I'm not a huge fan of J-music, but one J-rock band I really liked was the pillows.

If you're into other types of Japanese music, other than rock, check out The Seatbelts or pretty much anything by Kanno Yoko. It's pretty good stuff.

[Pu the Owl]

I've heard those names, but I'm not very prepared

I think meryl could help you. At least, I think she can

[007_JamesBond]

I am not familiar with the subject, so in turn I dont think that I will be able to help you out

[kupoartist]

I only recently found out about J-Rock (When someone tried to explain why Kuja dresses like Kuja) and ended up finding out some stuff about them. Weird is a word to describe their "visual" style (guys wearing Dresses ), but I must say i'm intrigued as to what the music sounds like, especially as it was described as being Rock, Pop and even Trance (not sure how that works...)

[Cannibal Clown]

Maaya Sakamoto. I loove her music, and a lot of her songs are in English too. I just finnished downloading 16 of her songs onto my computer along with her Escaflowne songs and her Record of Lodoss War music as well.

And I agree with Reid. I love Yoko Kanno's music. Everything that she did from Escaflowne, Macross Plus, and of coarse Cowboy Bebop. And I don't know of any other songs from the seat belts other than Tank from ,of coarse, Yoko Kanno.

[merylsilverburg]

Ahhhh! Yay! Something I can relate to! Okay, well, I personally LOVE Glay, and yes, they do look weird in the beginning, but they begin to look okay if you start getting into their music. Glay is extremely popular, mainly because they sing J-Rock and J-Pop and the whole band blends well together. The vocal singer, Teru, has a slight scratchy voice, that is terribly unique, you can distiguish him from most Japanese male singers because of it. While he's the main vocalist, this band allows their bass player, Jiro, to sing some songs on his own. He has a unique low voice, which is cute, especially when they sing certain upbeat songs. This band is inspired by The Beatles, so you'll be hearing a lot of Beatle-like tunes. I have heard Luna Sea and L'Arc en Ciel, and personally, I don't like them as much. Luna Sea broke up, however, so it's only L'Arc en Ciel and Glay that are slightly competing. Luna Sea's songs are different, but the tunes are not suited to my style. Others may think differently. L'Arc en Ciel's main vocalist has a rough voice, and their tunes, I also don't like. He knows a little English...if you bought the Final Fantasypirits Within soundtrack, L'Arc en Ciel sings the theme in it. It's in English, for the American audiences. Malice Mizer....I've never heard of their songs, though I plan to someday. They are extremely popular too, but they sing J-Rock and they are a MAJOR visual band. The main vocalist likes to wear "horror" like contacts to make him look insane. The entire band dresses in Gothic clothes....the main vocalist is the only one to wear guy's outfits, while the other three wear dresses. It's cute. There's other bands of J-Rock, such as the scarily popular band, X JAPAN. However, they broke up because two members committed suicide, so they had no choice. A member, I believe the former vocalist of X JAPAN, went solo and his name is Hide. There's also this other band, which I also like, called Lucifer or Aucifer. They also sing J-Rock/J-Pop, and the main vocalist is fairly young, but his voice is pretty powerful. Hmm....well...it really depends on whether you like J-Rock or J-Pop, but if you don't mind both, most bands sing both, so you don't have to worry stressing yourself over it. One band, called SMAP sings not J-Rock, but J-Pop but their songs are so very......disco-like and upbeat. But, it's sounds good anyway. There's other bands I'll name off, but I've only heard a few of their songs: Sophia, Love Psychedelic, TM Revolution, The Yellow Monkey.....ahh...there's others, but I can't remember all of them. Most of the bands I name off are Visual Bands and are mostly all guys; the people who sing J-Pop are people like: SPEED, Do As Infinity, Hikaru Utada, etc. Mostly girls. One solo vocalist named Gackt Camui is so scarily popular too. His songs are okay to me, but I think it's his looks that draws people in. Squall Leonhart from Final Fantasy VIII was modeled after Gackt, because Gackt looks so....pretty. He is Japanese, but he wears blue contacts and his face is very anime like, so he looks almost unrealistic. Also, if you like British Punk Rock, there's this band called Judy and Mary, which consists of a female vocalist, and the other three are guys. She's the main singer, and they're songs are very.....punk rock. However, they broke up as well, but Yuki, the main vocalist, has her solo single out and she's the drummer for an all girl band now. Whew!! I guess that's it. If you need any more help, ask me and I'll try my best. I hope this helped!!

[Pu the Owl]

meryl, is Dir en Grey also a J-rock/J-pop band?

[merylsilverburg]

Yes, I believe Dir en Grey is also a J-Rock and J-Pop, but I think they sing a little more J-Rock. They are also a visual band and they're popular too. But, I've never heard their songs before.

[kupoartist]

Originally posted by merylsilverburg
There's other bands of J-Rock, such as the scarily popular band, X JAPAN. However, they broke up because two members committed suicide, so they had no choice. A member, I believe the former vocalist of X JAPAN, went solo and his name is Hide.

Through the little I actually know, I believe Hide was one of those who commited suicide, shortly after his first album was released (and sucessfully as well...). Loads of people alledgedly attended the funeral, and a number of them tragically followed his lead...

[merylsilverburg]

Hmm....maybe you're right. I'm not so sure because I never listened or follow the story of X JAPAN, so I'm not quite sure. I think I was thinking of another guy who goes by the name of Hyde....yeah, I think that's the one. Sorry for any confusion I caused!

[Mana]

I've looked at some pics and read some info about it, and I think Gackt Camui is the actual singer of Malice Mizer, isn't he?
I don't think there are others Gackt Camui around

Odd that reading this stuff I discovered one of Malice Mizer's members name is Mana! Well but he's a guy...

[wasat]

COULD SOMEBODY TELL ME WAT THE HELL J-MUSIC IS . WERE DO U ALL COME FROM JAPAN OR SOMEPINT

[Pu the Owl]

wasat, please stop using caps in your posts.

[psyke]

Tell me, why do you people call it J-rock ?

and yes I know it stands for japanese rock.

[Pu the Owl]

It's only a definition used for this type of music. Like Rap, Country, Noise or whatever. It's the definition used for Japanese Rock, so there's nothing special about the name :p

[psyke]

Alright, I think I'll go listen to some white pop, or maby some american punk...

[merylsilverburg]

White pop? Hey, look man, there's no need to using that kind of negativity....couldn't you just say "Pop" music or something? I understand that Japanese Rock and Japanese Pop isn't something that everyone likes or should like, but still....and just like Fortune said, it's only a title so that way, the bands could be differentiated. I mean....wouldn't most people be confused if this thread was just titled "Rock" when Ruby Moon really meant Japanese Rock music? And why the title? Some bands, like Dir en Grey or Malice Mizer do not like to be put under the sugary-sweet stuff of Japanese Pop music, so they're put under J-Rock. And, chicks like, Ayumi Hayasaki or Hikaru Utada are put into J-Pop, because they sing pop music. It's almost like....oh, I dunno.....what's a good example? Oh, like the Backstreet Boys or NSYNC or whatever....they belong in Pop. While.....a band like Creed belongs in Alterna/Rock. See my point? Also, wasat, what's with the attitude? Just because some people (like myself) enjoy J-Rock/J-Pop doesn't mean we all come from Japan. If you have a negativity towards Japan or their culture, that's cool, but why all the shouting? You'd be surprised about a lot of people who enjoy or are leaning towards Japanese music, because now, everything Japan is the rave, so there are a lot of Americans who now listen to the music and they don't even understand it! As for myself, I don't understand it either, but I enjoy it anyway, because it's different and unique from any of the music we have here in the US. Though I haven't heard any other bands from Europe, the Japanese LOVE Europe, so a lot of their music is more influenced by European punk/rock/pop bands. Well, anyway, I'm not sure if anyone else can see my point, but I'm just a huge fan of J-Rock/J-Pop, so it's kinda tiring when people have to literally scream in my ear, "WHY DO YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO THAT S***?!" It's not s***, it' music which not everyone has to enjoy. Just how I don't like any pop bands in the US (BSB, NSYNC).

[Pu the Owl]

I completely agree with meryl: many people around the world listen to this kind of music, even if they're not Japanese and even if they cannot speak a single word of japanese language. You're free to like it or not, but there's no need to be harsh with the ones who like this music. Everyone is free to choose among all the music artists available and if for example someone likes Indian Folk music, you don't hve to say you like it if you don't.
I'd suggest only one banal thing: before you think what others like is crap, it's better for you to give it a try. Then you can decide which one you like the best.
I can't stand those who like to criticize others' taste without knowing anything about it.

[merylsilverburg]

Exactly! Thank you, Fortune! I hear a lot of people tell me to stop listening to this music, it sucks and it's crap and if you can't understand it, why bother? I just feel like shouting, "Can't you open your mind up just a LITTLE bit?!" And besides, some people tell me to listen to my own culture's music, which is basically Taiwanese or Chinese or Cantonese....but I did hear them, and they are horrible. I don't care if others like it, but as for myself, I personally do not like it. It's sounds soo noisy. But, hey! I'm not stopping anyone from liking it or forcing them to stop listening to it. It's everyone's choice and if you don't like that I listen to J-Rock/J-Pop......then, tough. Deal with it.