Asian music VS. Western music (in terms of creativity)
 

I say Asian :heart

Asian it's why I started to listen to it!

i would take koda kumi & co over anyone in the western market

I can't really say one is more creative than the other but I personally prefer Western music.

I prefer asian music, with western music to me everything sounds the same, all the big pop(and rock) artists basically sound the same, look the same and talk about the same topics, that becomes boring after a short while+ western tv shows are mostly playback...

well, i like both, but i listen more to asian music so yeah, i pick asian :P

Asian music is more ideal
:D

uh...it's really hard to say...there's sooo much music out there...I don't think any one is more creative than another...but I think there are a lot of mainstreamy sound bands in the west...even the indie bands are like mainstreamy sound now lol

So I guess I listen to more Asian music...but there are very few people there I would call "creative" and even less who are in the spotlight...

I think I have to say Western music...but not for the bands and people others would think of. I'd say for people like Dream Theater, Queensryche, Cyndi Lauper, Pat Benatar, Annie Lennox, Metallica (before St. Anger anyway)...all kinds of old people lol

I can't deny what people in the western industry have done for music...the Asian scene just kinda...tweaks stuff, which is nice, because for me, the music is more enjoyable...but in the end...the western scene is more innovative....

hard question.

@emiko you're kinda right, it's like...almost everything came from US and England ^^' And also the artists from Asia make smth that can't be compared to western market. So i guess i really made a hard poll :dead

Western. Most mainstream Asian pop (esp. Korean and Cantonese pop) sounds like rehashes of things Western artists have already done, so I'd have to say Western artists are more innovative, at least. With the exception of CREA lol.

i agree with all of this. most of the asian artists i've listened to borrow elements from western music, but imo a lot of them do it better.

I agree with you.
I mean, I likes both but Western music is more creative :yes

WESTERN for sure... WAY more creative.. unless you're talking about TRADITIONAL asian music, J-pop etc just takes Western foundations of music and adds their own twist

Westerners invented modern music, end of story

asian just because i feel like most western music feel too repetitive to me

Dividing into asian and western it's way too generic to say... But I find a lot of western artists more creative than asian ones

The reason why I started liking Asian music is because it sounds better than western music. I don't care who 'invented' it, I just think Asian music sounds way more interesting, nowadays at least. I hardly think rapping about sex and violence creative :irked
However this is not the case with all western artists of course.

I don't know which to chose because it's all the same to me you know? Music is music.

Asian music, IMO. :)

Good point^^

I started listening to asian music cause i though it was very creative compared to western music... but one day i just understand that they are not more creative, they are just different of western artists...

if u compare western artists with western artists, a lot of them sounds generic

but if you compare asian artists to other asian artists, a lot of them sounds VERY generic too

American music more creative and have much color

Asian music all the way! They have better lyrics!!! I like westren PVs more though, I think the have more of a story to them, than asain Pvs

Asian music .. they're more about the music than the looks (at least at Japan) .. and I've noticed that they're more creative in term of lyrics
western music used to be good before .. but these days, I find that female artists are more like strippers *cough*britneyandthepussycatdolls*cough* than recording artists
and what makes a song successful now is how catchy it is .. and how dirty it is (I swear, my friend whos an American R&B fanatic told that when she sees a song with the word dirty in it, she downloads it without any doubt)
Western music has sank sooo low now that I feel stupid by listening to it

Current Rock bands ftw though :)

Where's the bothoption?

Hmmm, Western then...

I picked Asia. Both countries have produced great music but Western music has a monotonous sound nowadays. Asian music seems to be heading in the same direction but there is still some variety.

western music is tha or-i-gi-nal~

Western music (American, European...)

ummm, i love both. i think people here are talking about mainstream music. i dont care much for western mainstream. they are all so cheap. so if we'll talk about mainstream asian is better. if we talk about music in general im goin with both.

Asian music. Its mostly cuz of how sucky American music is.

Every American song now is R&B pop or alternative, and they all sound similar (within each genre). Not exactly the same, but similar. And the lyrical content is crap. Its all about the same few topics, and none of it has any real meaning. I listen to American music, and I'm like "ugh, gag me with a spoon". American 70s and 80s music was good, but from there, its really gone downhill.

I like some European music, but even then, all Hands-Up and Electro songs at least follow the same formula, even if the music itself is different.

Asian music is more diverse in its genres, at least. And at least with Ayu, the lyrics have some meaning.

I dunno what to choose. I love both, but I find that I really like more 'Western-sounding' Asian artists, or even Western songs remixed in Japan. So, I guess Western?

I'm surprised asian music is winning. I like both, but asian music is realy undiverse, at least the mainstream of it anyways. It seems like there's only like 3 different categories of music in asian music. Its always like ballad, bubble gum pop, and the occasional like rock band or hiphop. There's really not that much more. And on top of that the songs aren't really different. I find a lot of singers to be generic. There's like once in awhile a singer that really stands out for me like Utada hikaru and Ai Otsuka, but overall most singers sound the same. Like I find all the JE bands really similar even if their music is in different genres. THey all share this sound that makes me think JE right away XD. Even like Breakerz still reminds me of JE, but thats just my opinion. I find that asian music doesn't change that much over time.. its prettty consistent. Like its like evolution LOL omg XD it has really small changes which changes little by little until sooner or later they add up to a big change haha.

Western music may have a lot of similar artists, but at least there are at least more genres. I mean there's pop,dance, RnB, hiphop, Rap, rock, and country which are all REALLY mainstream. Altho in each genre a lot of singers are similar at least there are still more genres for me to listen to than in asian music. But even within the similar artists, there are so many artists that each like cluster or similar artists have a uniqueness to them. Like Britney,christina, madonna, and Lady Gaga are all under pop, but I find that all three of them are really different musically. And like Chris Brown and Usher are said to be really similar, but I find their music to be different than lets say Ne-yo. I dunno its just my opinion haha.

asian

Asian. The Western Music simply sucks.

Where did you just get that? I listen to JPOP because it is diverse. Hitomi Shimatani for one has a very colorful discography with many of different genres covered. I am pretty sure that even for mainstream artists like YUI, Koda Kumi, Namie Amuro, NEWS, UVERworld you can't say are similar in any way :). While in the States it's quite obvious that epop, RnB, Hip Hop and Alternative rock bands are ruling atm, the Japanese market has a variety of genres selling and being popular at the same time. For example take some of the notable releases from the last year: Perfume was electropop, Namie released her RnB/Dance 3A single, arashi's crossover "truth" sold like crazy, Ayu released an explosive rock single Mirrorcle World etc. Even if the JE music is mostly similar (cuz they could all be singing each others songs with no prob.) you can't say that the whole Japanese market is not diverse.

Okay it was just an opinion, sorry I didn't put In my opnion but I think I stated later on this was more of my opnion than anything :S. And like I feel the japanese msuic industry isn't diverse at all. With the exception of a few artists it is pretty much uniformed to me, at least mainstream. i don't count non mainstream music because then every country would be diverse :S. A few groups might be popular for RnB and hiphop but overall its not really a mainstream genre =/ Same for epop. YUI is probably one of THE most generic artists in the jpop scene in my opinion. I don't really find her unique at all :S. I think this is just a matter of opinion haha. I really find asian music not that creative at all. I mean seriously I can break the Jmusic scenedown to pop and rock... like there are a few artists in between and such but the majority are usually in these two categories or a mix of it. OH I forgot enka too... I really find it... uniformed... lol. Same for the k-music industry. I mean thats just my opinion. Sure u listed a bunch of artists that are in different genres, but I think I could do the same with the US lol. And for artists like ayu, who jsut experiment in rock and epop, I just personalyl categorize them under pop because they're generally a pop artist. I find that most of the songs taht chart on the top of the yearkly ranks or pop or rock songs, or poprock. Like I said I find the few exceptions, but that doesn't really mean the style is that mainstream there.

I mean I find that at least the US has more than just 2 genres with multiple popular artists. And I think european music is very experimental. its just my opinion, sorry if I didn't make it clear. I wouldn't state anything i say as facts because I'm not going to research about this lol. i'm just surprised asian music is winning because I didn't think it was diverse.

^ while I agree that kpop and cpop are completely generic, I really disagree when it comes to jpop, as I started listening to Japanese music because I thought the "western" music was boring and lacked creativity :) YUI might be generic, but when you hear a YUI song you will know it's hers. But then again if you're only into mainstream it can't be helped :) It just happens that the majority of the genres that the western artists do are the ones I like the least. I guess neither of us can prove the other one right or wrong on this one. I am not surprised the Asian music is winning after all it makes sense that the majority of people coming here like Asian music else they wouldn't be here and if nothing JPOP owns everything else in my opinion, I mean whenever the MTV is on, all the songs sound the same to me with random rappers singing about cars, girls and money or girls singing about their hot bodies. Now I know not all the western music is like that ^^ just that the majority of the mainstream stuff is.

That is a very hard question, because I was listening to Asian music for like 3 years because I got sick of Western music, but the last two years I have "opened" up for other music too.

Now I don't care what country the music is from, if I like it I listen to it. But I have to say that I looove bands and artists who experiment with music. I have got a little tired of mainstream music XD

And I love Swedish music (nothing mainstream Swedish cuz it sucks!) and other European music and so.. and I love Asian...

I want a both button :P

I agree with this. And historically pop music in the west has been more inventive.

RIght now I'm not so sure anymore tbh, at last if we count mainstream music.

This question is like asking 'who do you think is more creative- Westerners or Asians?' (which esentially it is, wince Westerners generally make western music and Asians make Asian music....)

Which is why I think this question is kind of ridiculous. Creativity has to do with the individual, and once you analyze it in a group of that size it's incomparable.

^Exactly. Some people can't decide, and others can. Some listen to only asian, or both or only western. If you can't decide, don't vote; this poll is for people who actually can choose between asian and western music. Music is music. But they can be so different and make different influence on people - language, lyrics, arrangements. I don't see anything wrong with it, so i didn't want on purpose to add "both"/"neither" options.

I listen to Japanese pop music when I want to listen to catchy pop music that doesn't depress me. American mainstream pop music blows. Well, I'm not even sure what is big right now, because I don't pay attention to the billboard hits. Kayne West is pretty sweet, but other than that I don't know much of what's going on.

Every other time I listen to Western classic rock or indie music-- not because I think it is fundamentally better than Asian music-- but it just seems all the serious artists in Japan produce really boring music. The biggest indie bands from Japan just produce either soft, mellow music or that Pillows alternative sound that all kind of sounds the same (although there are standouts). So in terms of creativity I think "Western" music is better, but for pop music Japan produces some catchy stuff.

To each his own though. If you think "Asian" music is the shiznit than that's cool too. I just get made fun of by all my friends for listening to Arashi, AAA and Jpop stuff haha.

^ Actually, i think american music often is more catchy(in terms of pop) but also more boring, thats the feel i get by all the american things we have in our charts here, they all sound the same BUT are catchy.

I voted Asian music but now that I think about it, I think I should have chosen Western music. I originally thought Asian music because it has so many traditional influences, but Western music is what influences the rest of the world. :shrug

I like Asian music more. I can't really say which is more creative though. Seeing as Western music creates more innovative music but then Asian music takes that and adds a creative twist to it. If you ask me, I think Western music from the 70's, 80's and early 90's beats anything that's out today.

Asian Music

I'm gonna have to agree with this.

From a mainstream standpoint though, neither are very creative.
Both have extremely creative and unique artists though. Asian music has artists like Olivia and western music has artists like Coldplay.

Western music. Whatever starts hot here, finds its way East. Wouldn't be surprised if debut Japanese artists start having an electropop, techno, dance, R&B sound that's big now in America and Europe. Younha has a song on her latest Korean album that plays like a Just Dance copycat (though I love it <3).

whats creative about them, every of their songs sound the same xD

Asian, especially Japanese lyrics are far more creative, imo. Sure Asians might "use/borrow" some ideas from Western Music, but they simply make the final product way better.

IMO it would be better to focus on the people that actually drive the industries, asia has people like Tetsuya komuro, DAI and dance man, the west has timberland and max martin.

If this was asked from me somewhere in 2007 or before that I would had said Asian music > Western, but I really fell in love with western music again. Nowadays I even love spending my money on it rather than downloading those songs/albums I want.

So I gave my vote for the western music, it has found a special place in my heart again. Of course I adore asian music but lately there has been times when I just can't make myself listen to it at times. I don't know why so don't ask. :p

Asian music is directly influenced by western music. I listen to more asian music, but western music is definitely more creative!

Asian people have a taste in their music, like said earlier, that is borrowed from western people~

But, i also believe that there are some asian tastes that are borrowed and used in western music as well~

Although, i do believe asians have better projection in their lyrics and song as in they have more thought and maybe ... more meaningful lyrics?? I dont know for sure as i only listen to a handfull of asian artists~ but thats my opinion~

So yes, between western and asian~ I'd go with asian~ ^^, their music touches me more than american songs by miles

AMERICAN MUSIC IS SOOO NOT ORIGINAL. IF I HEAR ONE MORE SONG ABOUT HOW SOME DUDE WANTS A GIRL IN HIS BED OR HOW SEXY SOMEONE IS, I AM GOING TO SCREAM! (yay caps lock :D :D)

I think Western music is more creative than Asian music, especially Mandarin music.
Japanese music is pretty creative too, so it's not as if all Asian music is uninspired.

Yeah...but those ideas for songs are theirs. That's why it was creative...

I think yeah, of course they beat things into the dirt like crazy...which is why Asian music is a little bit more enjoyable for me personally to listen to...but their music is not necessarily original either.

I don't really know if it's possible to even create original music anymore...now it's like...people have gone back or people are moving forward in like electronica...or they're making like hybrid genres.

But even if artists from here or there come along that DO do something original...which, with the sheer amount of music out there, there must be...but that doesn't mean they're popular...

America gravitates toward what's popular. Like Lady Gaga or Britney Spears...that's why they're everywhere.

But Lady Gaga and Britney Spears shouldn't represent the entire spectrum of Western Music...but I guess that's where we have "Mainstream" and "Indie" classifications...

meh it's really hard to say...in the past I think it's been the USA.

Now...everyone's just the same.

You say that like jpop had a HUUUUUUUGE amout of themes... :B
Most of the time, japanese pop music is about the same stuff over and over again too

if we speak of creativity..European come 1st and Japanese2nd

at least the things they generally sing about aren't as shallow :)

the fact is i listen to asian music when im sad and when i need support and comfort or something to cry to, and i listen to western music when i feel sexy and goin out.
but both are creative. you can find lyrics of The-Dream shallow if you want but the fact is he's genius and his production and feel for music are unbelievable. sometimes its not all about the lyrics.

this

That's true, but I guess it's all about what an individual likes and thinks of as "creative". Of course not all is about the lyrics, but I think that the Japanese production owns the NA/US ones, especially when it comes to arranging the songs.

Define "shallow"... And do that without saying that it's "themes you don't like" :P

I don't like most of jpop overdramatic love songs for example, and it seens that every singer has at least 10 or 20 of those... in the end, the lyrics are all the same

So... why u can sing about overdramatic love and not about sex? Sex is bad and evil? :P

No ^^ I didn't say that. I love loads of songs that are sexy in one way or another. However, I can't really say I enjoy people like Britney Spears, Beyonce nor Maki Goto for that matter. There is a limit to everything and I am sorry but most of the western artists tend to go way beyond my limits of tolerance. It's all individual I guess. Same would go for many of Hikki's lyrics on TiTO that I simply find disgusting. Sure there are loads of cheesy lovey lovey songs and I can't argue with that, but I would rather spend my whole life listening to Ayu's or Ku's summer songs than listen to random RnB singer singing about his/her sexual experience with a random guy in a side street. There are things called porn :)

Maybe it's stupid to generalize artists like this, as after all there are examples that could prolly prove both sides right and wrong.

rnb is not all about sex. beyonce is not rnb, she's like black britney

^^ I was just giving an example, the genre doesn't really matter. Insert another name instead of hers or another genre - that wasn't the point. I didn't say it was all about sex. Please re-read my post carefully, I did say we shouldn't generalize.

There are people in the US in the mainstream that don't talk about sex all the time...

Both of the industries are the same. If they weren't, nothing would sell.


The European thing is interesting, because a lot of stuff does start there underground and eventually makes it's way out everywhere else.

Beyonce doen't have much songs about sex... most of her songs are about love or women power IMO, and she and Britney are only 2 western singers (and I only think that Britney is over-sexualized).

sometimes it seens that a lot of jpop fans tends to say that western music is like this or like that but don't really know very much about those artists... The same happens here in Brazil, were most jpop fans don't know very much of brazilian music but says it's bad for a lot of reasons...

Knowing western or eastern music is not a must, but it should be a must for anyone who wants to say that it is bad IMO

:no beyonce isn't like britney at all imo.
i think beyonce is one of the most talented female singer right now. and her vocals are almost always amazing live

@Andrenakoi: I think it's because most people leave the western scene for the jpop scene...

I mean you know, at one point I think we all did...

but I think it is really important to realize that mainstream "what they play on the radio" is not really...It's not everything. It's not really indicative of the sheer amount of artists and their creativity.

There are a lot of really amazing artists in the Western scene right now...but it's just that the target demographics don't really listen to them...

but I mean, who cares...do people at ahs listen to only what the japanese target demographic listens to? No lol to say so would be hilarious.

We might have more a little more in common with them. If they listened to everything we did...stars like Alan would be selling 200K a single lol

Well, the music itself, I say Asian. But the use of voice, I quote myself:

I read a few comments and that whole elitist thing is popping up, again.

At any rate, music should transcend the language and location barriers. I hope I'm right in my belief that I'm able to find something I can appreciate in any piece.

Be it mainstream, underground, or anything inbetween. I wouldn't cut myself short and think I found the ultimate by only focusing on one outlet.

Music is one of the most influential things. Artists all over the world find inspiration from others in different places.

I agree :) The last time I heard American mainstream music - I didn't like what I heard, I left for JPOP a long time ago.

I still love and respect EvaneScence, Withing Temptation and Blackmore's Nightm and I am a fan of Jade Valerie and GEO's works.

And you're right most of us don't really listen to everything that's mainstream in Japan.

Well... i understand that someone can totally ignore western music scene, there is no problem with it... I just don't like when people who obviously don't now anything about it starts talking about how bad it is... not everything that is hot in the US is hot in the rest of the world, not all big american singers/bands are big world singers/bands... and even when we talk about the ones that are big worldwide, there is aways something like "omg! beyonce is so ****ty and aways sings about sex!" when she is one of the most classy half-naked pop singers overthere, for example.

North American mainstream music scene has a LOT of variety, Europe's one too... Even Japanese mainstream acts aren't all the same... I can't really say that one of those is crappy, cause there are the ones where I don't know many artists (I LOVE Mylene Farmer, think that Kylie is ok and that Laura Pausini is boring... but other that, I don't know anything about EU music), and the scenes I kown and dislike there is aways some artist I love (I don't really like Japanese scene, but I LOVE Hikki and Ayu).

Western female pop singers like to use sex-appeal... But men in Japan thinks that kawaii girls are sexy, so, in the end... when Britney is naked doing all the "i'm so hot" faces and Ai Otsuka is talking with a childish voice, isn't it all the same? Using what that culture thinks it's sexy in order to sell music? And when random pop singers releases recyclied sexual music over here and random pop singers releases cheese love songs over there, isn't it the same thing again?

well... this is it... I just think that if u r going to say that this or that music market is bad, you need to know it and understand it's context

I left the western popular music scene as a child because everything was about sex. I come back to it a bit as a teen/adult, and it's still about sex (only ten times worse) lol. People like Beyonce and such I don't mind, she's probably my favorite western artist. But other artists where sex is their whole persona are just... disappointing. For example - and I'm not bashing her by any means - Lady Gaga has a very interesting style to her, her music is catchy enough but the sexual overload that comes off her [personality] is... disappointing. I'd seriously rather hear her talk about her art and music influences all day everyday than hear once that the only thing a guy needs to be with her is... a "large endowment." It's just makes me think there's not much to her despite the fact she says she's "complex." (In fact, I'd love it if she were just mysterious. Shut up and let me wonder about you Gaga xD; lol)

And that's how I feel about a lot of pop music in the west. It's interesting, catchy, intriguing but when you strip it down, there's not much to it... And I'm not saying that makes jpop better by default, that's just what I feel about western pop music period.

Yeah, and it's very unfortunate really D: People usually make up their minds about western music based on what they're bombarded with on a daily basis. But all western music isn't sexualized pop culture... -_-;

Despite it's faults, I still stand by the fact western music has offered much more creativity in its history. But I prefer Asian (Japanese in particular) music much more.

it was beyonce weekend on vh1 the other day and i watched all her videos and i realized its all about sex. she's acting very sexy in her every video. you cant concentrate on a song cuz she's shaking with her ass lol. sorry for bringing that up.

and yeah njanjayrp i get you. we shouldn't generalize.

For gosh sakes, YES! I love you. I've been checking this thread waiting for a comment like this.

Sure it's different, but IMOmainstream japanese can be music is less "safe" and more progressive (within certain limits) because fans are extremely loyal compared to western fans and buying patterns. A japanese idol in will more often than not offer a much bigger musical variety over a much shorter span of time than any western band/artist's entire carreer, even a band like morning musume. Ayu took ten years to explore the same amount or more genres as madonna explored in 25.

ALso, due to this one might argue that there is more variety in the songs that appear in the top 10 on oricon than on the billboard charts in the US or on europan charts.

I love how certain people think that all j-pop is squeaky-clean and that Western music is ALL about sex when pop culture in every country of the world is like that. Besides, saying that j-pop is deeper and more "innocent" or whatever is making YOU seem like you're generalizing and that you don't know what you're talking about. I agree with what Andrenekoi said about cultural messages and context. Besides, people like Koda Kumi and Namie Amuro can release some pretty hot 'n heavy songs and people get their panties in a bunch over it because they have the wrong idea about what j-pop is. It's just one big cycle of ignorance. On the other side of the spectrum I see people complaining about Lady Gaga's sex-filled songs when you enjoy Namie Amuro's and Koda Kumi's songs all the same. I don't get it.

It's no secret that Japanese contemporary music is heavily inspired by the West. I do think that they took it and made it their own though... which is essentially what j-pop is. They can copy, but I think they make the final product better. XD

seriously...I don't know about anyone else...but the lolita complex people have in Japan is just not for me. This is a perfect example of how the industries are the damn same lol
that's fine...I mean that's what you like. And I mean, if we're going to talk about like stuff we like, I'll say that I like artists to be artistic and whatever...but I also like artists that are really fun as well, and who also have fun music. This is one of the reasons why I love Koda. Her music isn't groundbreaking, her vocals aren't that great, she's not really an artist per say...but her music makes life more fun lol

I feel the same about Gaga. But that's just my sense of humor ;)

But I mean...there are always going to be artists in music that are more artistic than others and whatever...and others that like to do this and that...and (here's my music elitist persona) there will always be artists that have more "musical" music than others...artists that are better musicians whatever...and there are a lot of bands that, I really respect as musicians over other artists...(ex. As a musician, I would choose hikki over ayu ANY day lol)

but we have to remember when listening to music and discussing it whatever...that not everyone is a musician, not everyone is a writing enthusiast lol, not everyone wants to listen about love songs, or about overcoming your obstacles...or listening to your heart etc.

What I had to learn about music and people listening to music is that...every artist contributes somehow to the industry by appealing to a certain group of people, because there are just too many differences...you can't please everyone, and also, you can't let down everyone.

The music that say, elitists see as crap, lady gaga for a good example, may appeal to a lot of other people because, it's what they want to hear, what they want from their artists, even though it's not technically great music, or it doesn't have great lyrics or whatever.

Some people like sex. Why not? People are interested in it. Some people like it in their music.It's not for everyone though, and that's fine. I personally hate like cheesy love songs. Other people love them.

======

I don't think it's really okay to say something like "sex overload" is disappointing. Gaga is making her music the way she wants, and the rest of us have to take it like it is.

If we still don't like it, there are plenty of other dance/electro/whatever-she-is artists out there to listen to.


None of this really negates the fact that she's extremely popular and that the radio is in love with her...I know it's really annoying...but this is why I <3 my ipod lol

I guess it's just kind of like...another one of those things...the majority of our society likes that music. I wonder what exactly that says about us.

I think it's interesting lol

(sorry for the long post)

Agreed^^

I think that if an artist is selling and being popular... they r doing something right... and when a singer like Britney, that people like to bash saying is untalented, well... she is over here for 10 years... some people may not like her but she IS doing a lot of things right.

It doesn't matter how hyped u r, or how good ur marketing is... people will only buy ur products (albums, concerts, dvds, etc.) if they like it. simple as that. If someone buys u and don't like the result, u just lost a consumer.

So... yeah, I dislike Koda, Britney, Miley, Christina, japanese boybands... but THEY ARE doing their things right, that's why they are selling^^

No, I think you misunderstood me ^^; It's not her music I find disappointing because of the sex overload, I actually got over it. I'm cool with it again LOL. It's her as a person. Like I said, I have a very hard time dissociating person from music (as far as being a fan and being interested in an artists). It's hard for me to say I'm a fan of Gaga if I can't stand her but love her music. So instead I'll say I like some of her songs. It is personally disappointing for me that her personality isn't as interesting as her persona lets on.

I'll be the first to admit I haven't seen/heard/read all of the interviews she's ever given in the history of her career, but the ones I have are a hit or miss for me :shrug . I can't deny she's dedicated and passionate about her music but at the same time I find her distasteful and simply has no class (I rather not even call her "lady" gaga, just Gaga). Not every artists in the world has to be a goody goody, censored or politically correct for me to like them. But it's a bit boring to know despite her artiness, passion and catchy music... she's not much different from everyone else in my opinion. Even though she says she wants to bring something new to the table. That to me is disappointing, but maybe I'm seeing her in one light (which is the only light she'll let me see her in damn it xD; ). But yeah, her music is fine, whatever lol.

I have the same "problem" I can't say I like an artist if I don't like the person behind the music, people think I'm crazy because of that xD

i;d say western... but i love japanese~

We can be crazy together lol. :hi5

I've been a member of various Asian pop forums since 2002. I've seen threads like these ever since then and it's a shame.

For the record, mainstream Western music isn't all about sex. To say it is such, speaks that many people don't know too much about it other than Britney Spears, Beyonce, and other singers of their ilk.

Pj Harvey, Adele, The Mars Volta, Bjork, Sigur Ros, Massive Attack, Imogen Heap.

If you've never heard of these people give them a listen. Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, Beyonce, even the "sex" concept and dirty lyrics hardly applies to the entire Western music industry.

The musicians I listed are just a small fraction of artists that are mainstream, still active, and have meaningful lyrics and concept albums. Instead, like some people have done in this thread, they get over looked in the category of Western music. Britney Spears is always used as an example of the epitome of all Western music, and it is henceforth downgraded by fans of Asian music. I like Asian pop, particularly Japanese and Korean. But to say Western music has no creativity when the Genre was first started in the West is confounding. The ground work for what the Japanese are currently doing, and continue to do was started by Americans, Canadians, and the Brits. Many musicians in J-pop even sound like their Western counterparts. Their is no difference in their music style other than the language. Their is so much creativity in both industries, and their is also garbage in them. Currently, the U.S. in particular has seen an influx of popular singers and musicians that are mediocre at best. Yet, this doesn't erase musicians like Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, The Pixies, Aretha Franklin, The Beetles, Led Zeppelin ... I can go on with talented artist's from the past. It also doesn't erase the many that actually put life and touch others with their clever lyrics like Pj Harvey and Imogen Heap.

The point of music is just like literature or any other artistic medium; it's not to be pitted against Country versus Country. It's supposed to be a uniter not a divider. I'm just sad that 7 years later threads like these still pop up now and again. For all the open mindedness that people have to branch out and listen to music in a language they don't understand, it's saddening that they tear down another; disregarding many talented musicians, mainstream or not, in the process.

Creativity? Western with no doubt.

I don't know very much about some underground japanese music (if there is any) but all I have heard is pretty much firmly rooted in pop, rock and urban. With few experimental and harder rocking music. I haven't come across many (if any) trip-hop asian artists for example, or freak folk from Asia? those things are not there, and inversally, the styles used in Asian markets, ARE in the western ussed in more or less quantity.

Yea, the thought of an under-aged 15 or whatever year old with not yet fully developed body posing naked, topless, or skimpy is disgusting to me. I'd rather see a legal woman with a body up and shaking because it's more... right lol.

That's one reason why I don't dislike Kumi as much as I used to. Actaully, I sort of like her. She's confident in her body to show off and it's fine with me because she has the body to do so. Dunno about everyone but the thought of Kumi in something skimpy is bette for my brain then knowing photobooks of Morning Musume. girls in binikis are being made and sold. I'm 17 and just hate when like one fifty year old looks at me, gosh I couldn't imagine like 20-50 times that.

Same goes for Britney, I listen to her when I wanna shake my ass. Ayu and few others for something deeper.

Really,the music industry wouldn't be as entertaining or fun or great if either of the extremes and those inbetween were gone. Being that music is an universal thing, if not probably the most, there's something out there even for one person. Kinda astonding that something like music can satisfy every person's needs though if doesn't fulfill everyone the same way.

Yeah, it's individual after all ^^

I think it really depends on the artist. There is no one comparable to Ayu or Utada in the West (unless you're comparing their fashion sense, which doesn't have much to do with their music).

Generally, though, Western music is definitely much more creative and interesting. I've never heard of anyone like Pink Floyd coming out of Asia. With a few exceptions, music from Asia seems to be ridiculously naive and badly produced. Even more so than a lot of what's popular in America today (Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, etc).

Soulmate!:colorjump

I think European music is more creative than American or Japanese. <3 I live in Europe and I've listened to "our" music more. It's very nice and original. I, for myself, like the music from my own country, Finland, but also Brittish music has found its way to my hear (yet I should listen more of it). <3 But I do like japanese music a lot. Most of the artists that I'm listening to are very highly influenced from western music. But I really like that vibe. I also love sexy songs a lot. I even like these songs more than ballads. And I'm pretty much a R&B and hip hop person. :3 I love this kind of music. It's more like me. I've listened to R&B since my childhood so I guess it has some "familiar" feel to me.

And Lady GaGa... Well, I haven't listened to her songs so much but I do like the singles that I've heard. She has good songs and I don't really care about her sexual appeal. To me music is MUCH more important than the way the artists look like. Same goes for European and Japanese artists (Koda Kumi who I LOVE so much). I don't even take those overly sexual lyrics seriously. Most of the time I just lol at those but I still listen to those. It doesn't matter from where those songs are from. I just say "lolled" and keep listening to it. I've gotten over this over sexualized images/thingies/whatever it is appeal. :D

But sure, I still think that western music is nowadays a lot more creative than japanese (I don't listen to korean or chinese music, I'm not very interested so I won't be talking about Asian music as a whole) but I think that Hikki and Kuu can still be a lot more creative than Ayu to me nowadays but these are just examples. I should listen to a more underground music of Japan as well. Maybe I will change my mind. :D

And now I forgot what else I wanted to say. Well, I'll post again when I come up with something. But I gotta say that I LOVE this topic. <3

This is what i said XD ~! of course if we look at underground and stuff like that every country is going to be equally creative, but if we just focus on the mainstream this is how I felt too.

I just think it is weird how everyone can be so against the sex appeal. I mean it is just a look. Shouldn't the music be more important? Anyways I think it is better for a woman to be able to do what she wants... Personally if they want to use the image to sell they should be allowed to do it without discrimination... I mean lots of male singers ***** off their bodies to the public and get away with it. A tonne of asian singers just try to follow the cute look and try to sell. I think a sex appealed singer who makes music I can apperciate is worth a lot more than a cute singer who makes distasteful music to me... ( agrees with powwo pretty much. I personally believe european is the most creative)

I think lady gaga is an amazing person personally. She makes really good music and she knows how to grab the media's attention. Even if she dies out, I'm pretty sure we're all going to remember her for that image haha. She might've not brought a new image to the table, but she definitely took the sex-appeal to a new level LOL. she's pretty damn smart to me too. I think for sales in term of music, attention is the most important. As long as you have good music, people will buy it even if your image is bad. I think this is how madonna startd her career too. Very smart IMO : )!

Asian Music (Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Malaysian, Thailand... But I never like Chinese songs)

There comes a time when you realize that the mainstream, no matter what country you're in, sounds exactly the same. All American mainstream songs sound like every other mainstream American song, and all Japanese mainstream songs sound like every other Japanese mainstream song. When one reaches that point, you learn that creativity is limited to a select plethora of artists who control their careers versus the artists who's careers are controlled by their labels. You have your Britneys in America, your Hello!Project and Johnny's in Japan, where every single one of them sounds the same and they make basically the same kind of music with little to no originality. And then you have your creative people. They can be broken into two categories, massively successful or massively unsuccessful. You have your Ayumis and Madonnas on top because they were able to keep their music in line with the mainstream, but also include their own flare and spice to it, and then you have your indie artists who go completely out of left field, and usually aren't noticed because their music isn't considered "safe" and not played because the supposed lack of an audience.

Both Western and Eastern music industries have their fair share of people who are incredibly creative and massively talented, it's illogical to say that one is more creative then the other.

I do agree with this but I think the poll is asking you to choose which mainstream sound you prefer over the other. Although, I do agree that “all American mainstream songs sound like every other mainstream American song, and all Japanese mainstream songs sound like every other Japanese mainstream song”, which mainstream sound do you prefer to hear, the Western one or the Asian? And, this may be only MY interpretation of the poll question, but I don’t think its asking you to choose which one is more creative, but which one’s creative style appeals to you the most, as a whole.

To tell you the truth, I only started listening to Asian music because I was bored of the very similar-sounding Western music that kept coming out. It was then when I was err... ‘convinced’ that Western music had really lost its touch. But, you know what? I was wrong. Western music HASN'T exactly lost its touch, I think I just needed a larger variety of artists/styles to listen to, which is why when I started listening to Asian music I thought it was much better at the time.

For the past couple of years I've been hooked to Asian music but I know a time will come when I'll be sick of that too. Of course there are a few Western singers/bands who, I believe, are very unique and creative Coldplay, Radiohead, Madonna just to name some. And I don’t think even the greatest of Asian artists could match up to them. Just like I believe that there are many Asian singers/ bands that are way better than many of the other Western artists that are quite popular today. So, I really don't know how to judge these two.... especially in terms of creativity since both are really creative in their own ways.

Thiiiiiiiiiiiiiis.

Though two of my favorite all time artists are Asian (namely Japanese) I still can't badmouth the entire Western music industry just for a lot of bad apples. I mean, take a look at Sufjan Stevens or St. Vincent, Murder by Death, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Placebo, The Dresden Dolls, Regina Spektor, Rammstein, OOMPH!, Blue Foundation, Portishead, Radiohead... they're all fantastic western acts whose Asian duplicates (or near cousins) I've yet to see. Of course I'm not saying there aren't Asian artists who dapple in the genres the bands above fall into, but I just haven't found them yet!

I still really strongly agree with Cory's point, though. This question is very vague because when you ask a question like this you have to take so many things into account: is the artist motivated by their own creative disposition to create music or are they a manufactured act who gets their songs and lyrics handed to them (effectively making them a mouthpiece for the songs and albums they churn out)? I'd say in terms of mainstream acts, Asian artists win hands down, but Asian artists also have innovators in their genre. Just look at Dir en grey. They started out as a visual kei act and broke away from it by their third album--hell even on their second album they were experimenting with their sound. Today they sound totally unrecognizable from any other Japanese metal/rock band that's on the scene, and you can't really find their western equivalent, either.

Also, the west brought us the geniuses known as Frank Zappa and Mike Patton. Gotta give some love for that, those men were/are phenomenal.

lyrically, i believe asian music takes the torch. but instrumentally, western music reigns supreme.

and since ayu is really the only asian singer i listen to now, i would say western music remains as the most creative to me.

Asian, without a doubt
In UK, all the hit songs are all about sex and violence.
I think Koda, Namie, Ayumi, Ai & Ami should go into US market. They would be a breath of fresh air