[merylsilverburg]

Originally posted by Redpyramidhead

I can relate to this question, also. I have up until recently spoken very little and understood very little spanish, but I have always loved latin music just as much as anything else. Mainly because I do not focus on the lyrics, but instead the instrumentation in songs, and also because the music and the voice gets to me in a certain way and makes my soul move....I honestly think some of it may be in my blood. Maybe Meryl feels the same way about songs sung in Japanese.

Yes, I do feel the same way. To me, even though I don't understand Japanese, I love the sound of the language, so Japanese music just sounds good to me. Also, it may be just me, but I feel that Japanese music have more heart and emotion put into it than US music.

Hey meryl... may I ask if you are familiar with any japanese metal bands? I've heard there are some really good ones but I've never had a chance to listen to them. Anything from heavy metal to all out brutal death metal Oh, and I've heard some of the best ambient and industrial and techno also hails outta Japan! I don't think I'd be much into J-pop, but the others, definately. Then again, it's possible a country other than the US might have a superior form of pop music that I'm not familiar with.

Thanks ahead, chica!



_RED_ stuff

Unfortunately, I don't know any heavy metal bands because I haven't found any. I've only heard 1 heavy metal song and I don't know the band's name because I didn't catch it. This song was played on this Japanese TV program I used to have and when I heard it, the song was really good, but I stupidly missed the name. -_-;;; I'm really sorry...I could find out more information for you, but there might be a little problem regarding the sound. You see, I think the Japanese interpretation of heavy metal music is more softer than the US/European sound. What sounds like Japanese heavy metal, might be so tame that it's laughable to you. ^^;;; For example, I bought this CD that is supposed to be punk music sung by various artists/bands. Well, it turns out the songs are more like pop-punk than actual punk and that's what I mean. But, I could be wrong...I haven't heard many which is why I created this thread.

As for the techno/electronica sounds...you might like this band called "m-flo". I'd say they are a very unique band...their music consists of electronica/techno/R&B. What makes this band unique are the members: Lisa does the vocals and she's Colombian-Japanese, Taku does the turntables/vocals and he's pure Japanese, and there's Verbal who is Korean and he does the rapping and vocals. Put together, their sound is very unique, but I think this band is kind of unappreciated. Unfortunately, Lisa left the band in 2002 to pursue a solo career, so now m-flo consists of Taku, Verbal, and a new lead singer I don't know. Lisa's voice is very nice and beautiful...it's such a contrast when you compare it to the music and Verbal's rapping. Not my favorite band, but a really good one.

Red, if you like to listen to some heavy rock/metal/industrial music, I would recommend a lot of the Visual Kei bands. These bands are the ones that dress up in wild gear/clothing or feminine clothing. Their music ranges from rock to metal to industrial...they sing all sorts. I know they look a bit awkward, as Cannibal said, but their music is really good if you like that sort of sound. Visual Kei bands/artists include: X-JAPAN, Dir en Grey, Penicillin, Pierrot, Pyscho le Cemu (the most visual visual band as of now...and their music is pretty cool), Janne De Arc, La'cryma Christi, Lareine, Malice Mizer, Gackt Camui, Hyde, Hide and more. X-JAPAN is very popular...was considered the first band to introduce the Visual Kei style (dressing up). Dir en Grey and Penicillin are more of the heavy rock sounds that you might be looking for, so check them out first.

The Visual Kei category has some sub-categories. These include the gothic rock/metal sounds such as Malice Mizer and the J-Rock bands such as Luna Sea. Malice Mizer is the most popular gothic bands and the lead singer, Mana, has a solo album as Panuru mentioned. The previous lead singer of this band is Gackt Camui. His music is very nice...ranges from soft ballads to industrial sounds. He is notorious for changing his styles frequently.
The J-Rock bands include: L'Arc en Ciel (which you might've heard their music...they sang the ending theme to "Final Fantasy: Spirits Within"), Hyde (which is the lead singer for L'Arc en Ciel...he has a solo album out called "666"), Luna Sea (but they broke up in 2000/2001), The Yellow Monkey (this band is my second favorite band...their songs are more rock and they have a lot of rock ballads), GLAY (this band is a bit curious because they don't really fall into J-Rock or J-Pop...their music is too pop to be rock, but yet too rock to be pop...*shrugs* my ultimate favorite band), TM Revolution, and others. J-Rock bands/artists do not sing much heavy metal or industrial.

As for the J-Pop, I must admit I don't like many J-Pop myself...I only like SMAP, a group of guys who does disco/pop music...so upbeat and sugary that it can kill you, but I like them. Other bands/artist of the genre: Ayumi Hamasaki, Utada Hikaru, BoA (who is actually Korean but speaks Japanese fluently!), Hana Hana, SPEED, Dreams Come True, Morning Musume and others. Mostly females as you can see, so that's why I don't like them. They sound too much alike, apart from Dreams Come True and Hana Hana.

Sorry for the long information, but I just wanted you to get a better understanding of the music. If you want more information, please PM me. ^_^