What are your music standards?

[Hoshi no Suna]

EDIT: Any language has the same possibilities. Any country can produce a meaningful, beautiful song.

Don't we all agree?



The rest of my opinions are stated in posts below.

Feel free to share your thoughts on music in general, Japanese or not.

Oh, and Ignore the poll, it's impossible to delete, therefore it'll serve as an unattractive decoration from now on.

[XFER]

Well, your choices leave no option but to not vote, I don't fall on those categories. I don't stick with one kind of music or music from one country or region. I love to listen to music from Japan, France, Italy, Mexico, US, UK, sometimes Russia, Spain, South America and all the places I can. Doing this, I have discovered so many artists, even from places where the common mainstream music sucks, that are brilliant. Don't close yourself to only japanese, try music from all over the world and you'll eventually be rewarded.

[primavera♥]

Btw..welcome to the forum, hun ^__~
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I like what XFER1 said. There is other music besides japanese and english language music

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I listen to what I like...but what I love gets a lot more listens than what I like. In jpop I adore Ayu, Hikki, and Eiko Shimamiya. Eveyone else gets occasional listens
Same with my fav jrock bands which come after the three girls I mentioned

My fav western (english) music is a different world. But I have adored artists there. Because not all of those artists are how u describe them and many are very artistsic. It depends on where your looking

Anyway I also listen to a few artists just a bit from places like France and others.

But what u say about japanese music will always completely elude me because a lot of generic (and not good at being generic like some can be) artists exist that I can't listen to. Actually some of the ways u describe english music I could describe as japanese music
But all music no matter what language or country has these artists imo. Some I like; some I don't

But I do understand some people favor one particular area of music

My fav artists are japanese but I definitely wouldn't call half of jpop amazing. But the part of it that is, the ayu and hikki part make it well worthwhile. And the other artists I enjoy make me a fan of it.

That's just me. U and I, and probably everyone else think differently. As long as u aknowledge that not all of english (western or american/british I think may be a better way to describe it) music is the way u described, then I'm okay and quite intrigued by your views and anyone elses.

But I can't vote. No option for me. I can't cut myself off from any music. Its all music. If I love it, I love it, whether its german, italian, korean whatever lol

Sn: oh but why do u ask if western artists can make their own music. As opposed to japanese artists
Some do, some don't. Not everyones Utada Hikaru lol

[emi♡]

Okay. So...the problem with this is, that these industries, I'm just gonna use Japanese vs American, are really, the same.

I think the biggest difference between styles, as far as mainstream music, is that hip hop has very nearly completely immersed itself, into every aspect of pop music in the US, where as in Japan, pop, in it's purest form, is what is more popular.

So you have to understand, why the songs in the US sound the way they do.

Secondly, I think you have to understand that, music is different for everyone, and everyone looks for different things in their music. You have to get away from this idea of "quality", and I know, god I know, it's NOT easy.

But, the best thing to do, is to try and look at all music and all artists, from different perspectives, and see their pros and cons.

You also have to realize the truth in, why you actually like a particular type of music, and why you don't like others.

Honestly, all of these things, take a little bit of "growing up" on your part. They happen with time. Not overnight.

For me, I think, I like all different types of music, possibly, every type. I like those American songs with catchy beats, and repetitiveness, because, I like to dance, and I like to be sexy, and these songs, are great to dance and be sexy to lol


In terms of particular artists and "quality" let me give you my biggest example. Koda Kumi. I LOVE Koda, beyond words. She is one of my favorite artists, and one of my favorite people, in the whole world.

Her music? It's not ground breaking lol It's not extremely personal a lot of the time, it's not written by her, sometimes the compositions aren't the best either. She doesn't always write all her lyrics, and a lot of them certainly aren't "true" or "sincere".

But I love her music. I love the sound she produces, a mixture between hip hop, R&B, and pop. I love that her music is GREAT for dancing. I love that I'm never ever sad when listening to her music, and that her songs, not only make me feel happy, but they also make me feel empowered and sexy. I love her vocals, which are nearly flawless, even though her voice is "unique".

None of these things, have to do with, the actual way in which the music is made. The song could be totally repetitive, and unoriginal, and mainstream, and not unique, but I've found that, that isn't the most important thing sometimes.

And while those things are wonderful, and can produce AMAZING results...they aren't everything, and honestly, there are some artists who produce such amazing, original, pieces of art with their music, and I just don't like it at all.

I don't want to listen to GREAT music that I don't like. I want to listen to music that I like, good or "bad".

Another thing I realised today, is that, it's not really so bad when an artist repeats a certain type of sound for a song. For people who love that kind of song, hey, they just got another song they can love too.


You seem kind of "new" to all this, so let me just say that, there are as many overproduced, talentless, unoriginal people in the Japanese industry, as there are in others. There is as much SEX in the Japanese industry, as there is in others. It's just more camouflaged, and actually, imo, more disgusting, but that's just me.



To answer your question, I can't cut myself off from any "type" of music, and certainly not any music from any particular country because, it's all music, and it's all the same.

I don't think Japanese music is the best type of music either. I certainly love it more, but that doesn't make it better.


so anyway...sorry for long post lol

@strawberi: lol we always write a lot XD

[primavera♥]

@emiko: lol I can't help it and I guess neither can you

And u summed up my feelings for kuu and artists like her. I like her mostly for fun. And I never see a problem with that.
When I'm at my homecoming dance or my friends party I do not need emotional experiences lol.

This is why kuu stays as a fav jpop artists of sorts. She's essential. And not just necessarily her. Others too.
Lol now I'm going ot

But yeah I agree also with emikos (very long) statement.


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I just say its true about music. Even japan has those artists u describe. Many places do

[emi♡]

^Oh I totally cant lol

Exactly. Koda is just pure fun and thats why I love her~ Man you and pommy, you guys are so quotable lol

[love in music]

I was introduced to ayu and I honestly did not know it was possible for me to love music so much. I didn't know that music could make me FEEL different emotions. I always thought music was just there.. I never got a feeling from American music that the people singing the song actually sung it with their feelings, and it never made me feel good or bring me to tears or make me want to dance. If anything, it made me cringe because of the horrible lyrics in most music I would hear on the radio.. then I went off and would try to discover some unpopular artists to see if they were any better and they really weren't much better. I just remember before I got into Asian music, I tried so hard to find American music that I liked.. but I couldn't. The lyrics always bugged me so much. I don't have this issue with Asian music because honestly I find the lyrics to be 100x better and even if there are some I don't like too much from reading the translations, I can just ignore them since I can't understand what they're saying anyway when I listen to the song. Also the songs themselves.. the arrangements/compositions are just so much better than what I would ever hear in American songs. I just think now that Asian music is of a much higher quality, and I prefer it to American music. After seeing how good music could be, why would I want to settle for less?

[Hoshi no Suna]

identity you just summed up my exact story.

Originally Posted by emiko

You seem kind of "new" to all this

I'm not new to this, I'm aware that the music of any origin is versatile, and there are artists better, and worse, some to which my words from the main post apply, some that are the opposite etc. I've listened to songs from all over the world, whenever I come across something new, I have a tendency to download most of their albums at once and then listen to all the songs. And fail, every time. One song here, two songs there, and still no improvement.

I'm not saying that everything with the stamp "Japan" on it is amazing. I don't listen to every single musician from that country. But I have my favourites, and when I compare those to the better ones (better in my book) from another country, Ayu, GACKT and others win. I care about the lyrics, and theirs are magnificent.

I hope I didn't come out as closed minded though, 'cause I surely am not.

[Piccolo]

I like how people treat American music like it's so inferior to Japanese music, learn to listen to songs. You're either a) super biased, or b) listening to bad songs and stereo-typing everything.

[Kanzaki]

I listen to everything so I don't know. I used to be like "if it's not japanese, I won't listen to it!" Back when I didn't care that much for music in general, and when I'd just discovered Ayumi.

I "english music" bores you, you didn't dig deep enough, that's my opinion on that. I used to say that music from my home country (Denmark) was really boring and unappealing, but then I discovered that there was so much more lying underneath the surface.

@Piccolo Yup. I noticed that too.

[love in music]

Originally Posted by Piccolo

I like how people treat American music like it's so inferior to Japanese music, learn to listen to songs. You're either a) super biased, or b) listening to bad songs and stereo-typing everything.

imo, it is. I tried out possibly hundreds of American artists/bands over many years - popular and unpopular, and failed to really love anything. It only took me a couple of songs to get into Japanese music so I pretty much stick with that and other asian music. I can't be bothered to search for more and more years anymore to try to find good American music when I can easily try out new asian artists and 9 times out of 10 wind up loving them.

[emi♡]

Originally Posted by Hoshi no Suna

identity you just summed up my exact story.

I'm not new to this, I'm aware that the music of any origin is versatile, and there are artists better, and worse, some to which my words from the main post apply, some that are the opposite etc. I've listened to songs from all over the world, whenever I come across something new, I have a tendency to download most of their albums at once and then listen to all the songs. And fail, every time. One song here, two songs there, and still no improvement.

I'm not saying that everything with the stamp "Japan" on it is amazing. I don't listen to every single musician from that country. But I have my favourites, and when I compare those to the better ones (better in my book) from another country, Ayu, GACKT and others win. I care about the lyrics, and theirs are magnificent.

I hope I didn't come out as closed minded though, 'cause I surely am not.

Well sorry. You came off sounding very....young.

I think both you and identity should try and figure out why you're being attracted to this type of music, and not any other type. If you really care anyway.

My opinion is with Kanzaki. Perhaps you guys just prefer the sounds/lyrics that are more dominant in Japan than in other places.

That's fine. There's nothing wrong with that. I'm sure many people feel the way you do, but I think it's very vital for everyone to understand that those things don't actually make the music any better, and why that is.

And I know, it seems kind of trivial, but it's actually important to help you see things better. Some people dont care to...as a result, they'll never possess the full wisdom of what music is.

Ah, I'm an idealist. The world would be so much better if people possessed the full wisdom of things wouldn't it? lol But usually, they are satisfied with their half-truths. Wisdom is difficult anyway...makes life harder. People don't want that.


ANYWAYS...there are treasure troves of music in every industry, and for every person with their individual tastes, the amount of digging in each one is going to vary.

If you can't be bothered, you're simply going to miss out. And it's up to you to decide whether you care or not.


Personally, I mean, I love the Japanese industry, and probably most of my music comes from there, because for the past year or two, I've been really diligent in searching it out...so like, I probably understand your feelings about that...but I don't agree just about the parts about mainstream music in other places.

I like hearing about how they do it with their boyfriends lol

[TITANIC]

for me it's like Japanese VS American or british because only those 2 options have the best quality of music. other than Japanese, American or british are just Meh for me but American music owns my hear for the most creative

[Hoshi no Suna]

Originally Posted by emiko

I think both you and identity should try and figure out why you're being attracted to this type of music, and not any other type. If you really care anyway.

Figure out? What is most wonderful doesn't need a reason.

Originally Posted by emiko

And I know, it seems kind of trivial, but it's actually important to help you see things better. Some people dont care to...as a result, they'll never possess the full wisdom of what music is.

Ah, I'm an idealist. The world would be so much better if people possessed the full wisdom of things wouldn't it? lol But usually, they are satisfied with their half-truths. Wisdom is difficult anyway...makes life harder. People don't want that.

You say their half-truths, and yet you say it would be better if we possessed the full wisdom. The difference in my truth and yours lies precisely in the word their, as in mine, and yours. Our tastes vary, as do our opinions. You claim to understand, and yet you don't seem to be comfortable with accepting that someone may dislike music other than Japanese.

But fair enough. If we compare music to a painting, abstract art is composed of many colours, shades. I may notice all those shades in a song, but are they all pretty and genuine? Since we like different colours, what is pleasant to my eyes, may be painful to yours. That doesn't necessarily mean it is; it exists there, and is liked by a group of people. Those who aren't fond of it, will move towards what they enjoy. I take my time to understand all the shapes, but no person likes everything.

I've come to appreciate Chinese music to an extent, there are French singers whom I enjoy, and Chopin among other pianists inspires me to play the piano. Unfortunately those artists don't live in the present time.

Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron's OST is in English, and it's a mesmerizing piece of work, but I still prefer GACKT's music over Bryan Adam's, even though Hans Zimmer's compositions are some of the best. Music alone without words is beautiful, and when there is no singer, the significance of the words that the composer would speak fades away, because they aren't there.

Does being judgement-free make life harder? You tell me to dig deeper, and I do, although what I find doesn't impress me.
You however, seem to have an opinion about me already. I wonder how much you found out based on two posts.

Anyway.
I see art in a small percentage of music.
Perhaps I'm blind, wouldn't you say?
You may also say that my taste lacks wisdom.
I'll give anyone a chance.
Then I'll listen to what I deem good.

"Let's eat all the things we like, and throw away the things we hate"
Like Ayu would say.

It's just the internet. No point in arguing.

[jbrat2219]

Quality and standards are going to vary from person to person. I don't really believe there is any definitive standard or definition for music quality that is universal in a sense it can not be disputed. It's all based on opinion. emiko used Koda Kumi as her example of quality music, however I love Koda just as much but from my perspective Koda hasn't produced quality up until her recent release. Do that mean Koda hasn't make quality music and emiko's wrong? No. It's subjective.

It's the same thing with Western vs. Non-Western. People could argue for or against Western music having no standard or that Japanese music is just screechy stupid pop music but in the end there are going to be some people who prefer slvtty dance music over grand emotional ballads and vise versa. It doesn't make either type of song worse than the other.

[Mai82Go]

It all comes down to personal taste. I understand where you come from, though for me it is not like that for japanese music - I only love Ayumi Hamasaki that much and not japanese music in general. Her music is the only music that ever gave me goosebumps - I never thought this was possible through music and always wondered what people were talking about, too. Other than that I'm too close to western music, growing up with it - for example my very much beloved Take That (they're from England). But I know that I usually don't really like modern German Music. Understanding the lyrics head on is always a factor. Who sings is also a factor. What do you know about that person, what kind of image do they have? Does it comply with your views and expectations of the world?

Soundtracks are also interesting - you usually have no singers and it is often classical - but I think this music also lets you feel emotions. Especially because no one is singing and it's up to your imagination what the general meaning of a piece of music is. It is kind of like the difference between a book and a movie - but more wide. I also love to listen to monks who sing gregorian chants one of the oldest form of singing there is. Very interesting and for me very calming. When I was younger and didn't understand english I used to make up my own lyrics to songs in an imaginary language. For me the lyrics are important but melody and the general feel of a song, too.

So I seriously just got this thread by looking at the poll options. You're putting it as fact that Japanese music is the superior type of music.

Even if it's not as good as Japanese (or Asian), I listen to other music as well

That's kind of weird. I'm sorry, not trying to offend anyone.

Try broadening your music tastes. There is a lot of good music outside Japan, just like there's a lot of "bad" music in Japan. I mean, it's fine if you prefer it, but just remember you might be offending someone who likes western music better. As stated, it's opinion. No music is better than another type.

[koumori]

I fail to see your point, I'm really sorry.

As someone who has lived in the U.K all their life, I have obviously experienced english music all my life too. And even though I guess on the 'surface' of the industry, English-languaged music has seemed to take a different route to Asian-languaged music, I will always remember the music I grew up with.

How anyone can say bands such as The Cranberries or The Cardigans are as generic as modern day bands astound me, and also I have to put in a band called James, who I've always listened to - whose lyrics and energy also bring me to tears as much as someone such as Ayu might.

There's always going to be that golden memory of discovering asian music if you're not actually from an asian country; I still remember mine with fondness and with certain aspects of what is in kind an 'arguement' in defence of your love of asian music, I can kind of agree - since I love asian music that much as well. My top five Japanese singers/bands are Ayumi Hamasaki, SCANDAL, alan, Koda Kumi and Utada Hikaru, and I genuinely love everything they put out there, how they talk and communicate to the fans, and just how differently they forward their careers. English music, drastically different in a lot of ways, still puts forward the same feelings for me.

I can't cut out English music for me, because as Emiko said, English music in turn you can dance to, make you feel sexy - there are gems in the forms of either single songs from different artists or artists as a whole in the English/American industry.

I grew up with English music and I'm guessing you did too. It's part of your culture, and as you said, it's music 'you can understand on the first listen'. Maybe that's why you don't like it as much, I don't know. But there are strong, meaningful artists that speak English and I just don't understand why you're ignoring them based on just the language they speak.

Asian music yes, is different in ways, but there's always going to be a side to the music industry you don't like. You're either ignoring or haven't discovered that side to the Asian music world yet, probably because you're not Asian. But you are concentrating on the 'bad' side to the English music industry, and with no offence this is very narrow-minded and naive.

And I also slightly take offence, at you saying the very native language I speak can't be turned into a meaningful song - which I believe, and many will agree, it can be.

Personally I listen to more 90's music than modern day English bands, just because that's where my tastes lie. You need to experiment much more and broaden your horizons alot more. There's always something.

Ayumi Hamasaki is inspired by English artists as are other Japanese singers/bands, and I'm sure English/American artists are inspired by Japanese singers/bands. If they can see the good music no matter what language, I'm sure you can make more of an effort.

[Hoshi no Suna]

@Koumori, you misunderstood me.

I don't like Japanese music because it's Japanese.

I fell in love with it, because the lyrics amaze me, and the arrangements generally fit my taste.

Once again, I never said that all of it is amazing. My interest in the language has got nothing to do with it, it's the meaning behind each song. English songs, just as any, can be meaningful, I don't deny it. (I never said they can't be, so I don't know why are you saying that I did) I just don't enjoy them to such an extent.

Why be offended by someone's opinion that is not directed at you? I live in England as well.

I truly dislike being perceived as narrow minded. That is the exact opposite of what I am.

The bottom line is, there is no good, or bad. It's simply a matter of taste.

[happiholic★]

There is no poll option for my feelings. I love Western music just the same as I love Japanese. Daft Punk and Britney Spears can stir up emotions just like Ayu can for me. Not the same ones, of course, but I feel just as strongly, independent of what those feelings are. There are so many Japanese artists who are full of fake, and so many Western artists who dedicate their lives to quality music, I really can't judge.