9. J-Pop/Punk

J-POP/PUNK

The music genre of my magazine is based on the sub-genre of pop/punk under the main title of rock music, however, with my music magazine I still want to press onto this genre of music, but also explore this musical genre in another part of the world. Japan is the second most succesfull part of the world with music. J-Pop is one of the most popular genres, however J-Pop/Punk also has a large popularity.

I have decided to use this genre of music within my music magazine, because it is something very different, and I have a personal love for Japan. Secondly, I am a big fan of pop/punk music and I wanted to explore how it is percieved in a different culture with my music magazine and this will also help me to see what magazine conventions are used in another culture as well.

NIGHTMARE

Nightmare are one of the most famous J-Pop/Punk bands in Japan and have recieved commercial success with their released albums and singles. They came together in 2003 through highschool friendships and soon gained popularity by playing in local venues, creating a popularity. Once they recieved their commercial success in Japan and became signed, they moved onto larger venues, eventually landing sold out gigs. After a few years of touring and releasing popular music, the band then donated two of their songs (one of them called The World) and they were used as the themetune of one of Japan's most legendry animes, Deathnote (the first 19 episodes).

They have released 11 albums in total since 2003:

Ultimate Circus (December 25, 2003)


Livid (November 25, 2004)


Anima (February 22, 2006)


Gianism Best Ofs (June 21, 2006)


The World Ruler (February 27, 2007)


Nightmare 2003-2005 Single Collection (January 30, 2008)


Kyokuto Symphony ~The Five Stars Night~ @Budokan (February 27, 2008)


Killer Show (May 21, 2008)


Majestical Parade (May 13, 2009)


Gianizm (January 1, 2010)


Historical ~The Highest Nightmare~ (October 20, 2010)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nightmare_(band)

Their style of music in the Western world would be considered as typical pop, however due to the heavy use of electric guitar riffs and powerful drum beats, Nightmare are considered as rock and punky pop in their home country. Nightmare's lyrics are also very poetic, like a lot of Japanese lyrics are, so they conform well the the typical Japanese style of music and lyrics.

Nightmare conform with their image to the pop/punk genre well, but also keep up the typical style that Japan has. Each member is equal within the group, therefore all of their articles of clothing are very similiar, whereas American pop/punk bands seem to have a frontman/woman to reach out to a specific audience. Nightmare all wear dark colours to conform to the 'emo' title, and heavy accessories and wild hair is also used to highlight the culture that they come from. They do not look like a typical 'put-together' American band, but they are from Japan, the other side of the world, a different perception of their style within a different culture.

HIKARI UTADA

Hikari Utada is one of the many popular music artists within Japan, and one of the most famous too. She is also an international star and has achieved a lot of success in America and Europe. She will be one of the many influences of my musical artists with reaching out to different cultures with her music.

Utada (stagename) came to the spotlight in 1998 with her first album First Love. She is one of the most honest acts within the Japanese Pop circuit due to her having a different aim with her music than other female artists. While many want to be percieved to their fans as 'idols' Utada is more focused on the sound of the music rather than the image she puts across. This is heavily shown in the image on the left. Where most female Japanese acts would wear wacky fashion to stand out, Utada wears simple jeans and t-shirts, so her music stands out rather than her as a person.

Utada's first compliation album Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol.1 set a record for her. Due to the exceptional success of the album in Japan, it became the best-selling album of 2004 in Japan, and it made Utada the only solo or group artist to reach number 1 four times in a year. She is also famous for promoting her songs on the Kingdom Heart's video games, so this has helped her to promote her music to a gaming audience also, due to video games being a craze in Japan.

Once again, in typical Japanese style, Utada's lyrics are written poetically, for example in the chorus of her song First Love:

You will always gonna be the one

And you should know

How I wish I could have never let you go

Come into my life again

Oh, don't say no

You will always gonna be the one in my life

So true, I believe i can never find

Somebody like you

my first love

In conclusion, Utada conforms to the J-Pop scene, due to her poetic lyrics relating to heartbreak, which is something every teenager faces, so her target audience is also teenagers.

 

THE J-POP ICON

Referencing back to Utada and her trying to break away from the female trend of being an 'icon' with their music, it is a common thing in Japanese pop/punk acts to create a character within themselves with their fashion to create someone that their fans strive to be like, so of course, they are percieved as an 'idol'.

 

One example of an icon within the Japanese music circuit is a band called Lazy. When they were signed they were originally a traditional hard-rock band, however their record company envisioned them to be icons, therefore they changed their music to become poppier, and transformed their whole image. Gone were the typical rock pieces of clothing and these were replaced with monikers, costumes and well-balances singles. This transformation then created a dislike in the band, eventually leading to their break up.

 

From that, as well as the fun and brightness that Japanese music has, it does have its downfalls within the music industry. From Lazy's story it seems that many artists may not be writing and expressing what they truly want to in songs. They are all conformed to the target genre that the record companies want them to target. Pop and pop/punk in Japan are the most popular genres of music, and the rest of the world recognises Japan through that sound. However, it does seem to come at a price, so these artists have to sacrifice their creative preferences with their sound and create a different one to attract a specific audience.