TROUBLE TOUR 2019-2020 A -misunderstood- II

[rikku1994]

She's pulling off a Cher farewell tour... And that lasted for a long time. Tho who knows maybe we'd get something before tho 2020 dates start. I'm digging her looks lately tho, from Ariana to Namie...

But gosh jpop in general is boring nowadays, Namie retired, Utada's new music all sounds the same except for that KH3 theme song... But yea

[SunshineSlayer]

^ It really has been the end of an era of Jpop. Smap is gone as well and Arashi are following soon. And no one new has really caught my eye (or ear) in a long time.

[summerain]

I'm satisfied with Utada newest releases (Hatsukoi are one of her best albums imo) and I'm following Otsuka Ai and Shiina Ringo. The only new act that caught my attention was Vickeblanka (I really really like him) and I liked some stuff Reol released, but didn't dig too deep into it.

[Andrenekoi]

Well, people age, and so do the their relationship with the public and their creative output. What Utada is doing what fits her nowadays, Namie wasn't really into the whole popstar life thing for a while, Ayu is taking her time after almost 2 decades of nonstop releases and groups are tricky to keep around for long...

What really bothers me in a way it's the lack of soloists who become cultural phenomenons and icons... We had Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, who, let's be fair, it's more noticed due to her visuals than she is for her music (and I'm saying this as someone who actually does like her music) and groups like AKB48, but I'm not really into groups.

But I guess this is jpop's natural cycle in a way? An era filled with idols groups and another one filled with soloists with strong personality. I just wanted someone who actually shake things up a little like Ayu Hikki, Namie, Shiina, and gosh, even Koda did.

Until there... Vickeblanka and Reol are releasing some pretty interesting music.

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

What really bothers me in a way it's the lack of soloists who become cultural phenomenons and icons... We had Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, who, let's be fair, it's more noticed due to her visuals than she is for her music (and I'm saying this as someone who actually does like her music) and groups like AKB48, but I'm not really into groups.

But I guess this is jpop's natural cycle in a way? An era filled with idols groups and another one filled with soloists with strong personality. I just wanted someone who actually shake things up a little like Ayu Hikki, Namie, Shiina, and gosh, even Koda did.

It is cyclical, but this has been going on for a loooong time now. I would say about ten years even? Ugh. I actually believe there is a cultural component. I feel like Japan has actually regressed and become more insular again and that's what's fueling this dirth of creativety and individuality. Yes, there are more male soloists now, but....they are really boring and imo aren't that different than the homogenous idol groups out there, at least from what I've seen.

[Andrenekoi]

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer

It is cyclical, but this has been going on for a loooong time now. I would say about ten years even? Ugh. I actually believe there is a cultural component. I feel like Japan has actually regressed and become more insular again and that's what's fueling this dirth of creativety and individuality. Yes, there are more male soloists now, but....they are really boring and imo aren't that different than the homogenous idol groups out there, at least from what I've seen.

Macro tendencies usually goes for a whole decade +-. It's the time it takes for a new generation to come up and negate the past one. I do feel like the newer acts I found by chance over youtube tend to be more creative, even if none of them actually made it big so far... What may be just a matter of time.

[tokyoxjapanxfan]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

Macro tendencies usually goes for a whole decade +-. It's the time it takes for a new generation to come up and negate the past one. I do feel like the newer acts I found by chance over youtube tend to be more creative, even if none of them actually made it big so far... What may be just a matter of time.

Aimyon’s success, as well as Yonezu something or other, shows there’s definitely a shift happening. So I agree that it’s about a decade.

But the issue in J-POP is that, imo, most Japanese kids aren’t interested in domestic acts. It’s mostly K-POP. Until K-POP dies down, I don’t think japan will see any strong acts...

Considering Japanese pop culture popularity throughout the world lasted from the 80s to mid 00s, that could be another 15 years from now. Lol

[Corvina]

Apart from idols, this is an era of soloists, male soloists mainly.
Kenshi Yonezu and Gen Hoshino are two of the hottest acts right now. Nissy, too.
And for females we have Aimyon.

[njanjayrp]

Reol and Aimer are currently the two acts I am interested in. Aimyon has a few interesting songs, but she is very forgettable. Hatsukoi was oke to listen to as a whole, but not many songs stand out on their own, so definitely not her best effort.

JPOP has changed a lot and not for the better. It would be nice for ayu to do a huge, well-produced, single and come back with a bang, but chances of that are very slim xD

[jbrat2219]

I was listening to some classics today and I don't what J-Pop will be like without ayu... No one else catches my ear either

[Chris85]

I think LDH are doing a good job with EXILE, Sandaime J Soul Brothers, Generations, etc. They've been consistently releasing good material for years.

[njanjayrp]

Originally Posted by Chris85

I think LDH are doing a good job with EXILE, Sandaime J Soul Brothers, Generations, etc. They've been consistently releasing good material for years.

I’ve yet to find a single EXILE track I can stand listening to O_O

[Zeke.]

Originally Posted by njanjayrp

I’ve yet to find a single EXILE track I can stand listening to O_O

Oh I found a few! Mainly Christmas / winter tracks. They throw it down pretty well for the holidays. Lmao.

[primavera♥]

Originally Posted by njanjayrp

I’ve yet to find a single EXILE track I can stand listening to O_O

Originally Posted by Zeke.

Oh I found a few! Mainly Christmas / winter tracks. They throw it down pretty well for the holidays. Lmao.

This exchange made me cackle. Idk if I'm just tired, but it's hilarious - maybe because it's relatable.

[Chris85]

Originally Posted by njanjayrp

I’ve yet to find a single EXILE track I can stand listening to O_O

Well, it's a matter of taste, right? They wouldn't be touring domes if all their songs were bad.

[thinkingoutloud89]

Originally Posted by Chris85

Well, it's a matter of taste, right? They wouldn't be touring domes if all their songs were bad.

That's a logic that does not apply to japanese idols by any means. SMAP did only bad songs with the worst vocals ever. The production quality of AKB48 is also horrible. The appeal lies soley within the idols themselves - they could sell trash if they wanted to.

edit: I'm listening to AKB48, but at least I know it's all bad. It's a guilty pleasure. But people who say EXILE/AKB songs are good must be tone deaf. EXILE is cirngy as hell most off the time too.

[Chris85]

Originally Posted by thinkingoutloud89

That's a logic that does not apply to japanese idols by any means. SMAP did only bad songs with the worst vocals ever. The production quality of AKB48 is also horrible. The appeal lies soley within the idols themselves - they could sell trash if they wanted to.

edit: I'm listening to AKB48, but at least I know it's all bad. It's a guilty pleasure. But people who say EXILE/AKB songs are good must be tone deaf. EXILE is cirngy as hell most off the time too.

EXILE is not an idol group, it's a boy band meets dance group. It has 2 main vocalists, sometimes they add 2 more from EXILE THE SECOND, but the rest are dancers. Takahiro is not a very good singer (mostly because they make him sing way too high for him, so you can tell it's hard for him), but Atsushi is exceptional, he sings like on CD, huge talent. People from all over the world work for LDH, their production is very HQ. I don't enjoy many songs EXILE make, but there are a lot of I like and I'm not ashamed to list them, because they do sound great: Rising Sun, I Wish For You, BOW & ARROWS, EXILE PRIDE -こんな世界を愛するため-, No Limit, NEW HORIZON, AMAZING WORLD, Heads or Tails. I prefer their upbeat, dance songs.
It's not correct to compare them to AKB48, who has tons of singing girls who can be easily replaced. I do agree that the looks are very important and LDH uses some "idol tricks" to make money - like making the singers star in movies and TV shows.
Anyway LDH treats people they audition for new bands very seriously, they train them for a very long time. If you sound live like Ayu, you won't make the cut.

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by thinkingoutloud89

That's a logic that does not apply to japanese idols by any means. SMAP did only bad songs with the worst vocals ever. The production quality of AKB48 is also horrible. The appeal lies soley within the idols themselves - they could sell trash if they wanted to.

Well, that really is a matter of opinion though. SMAP actually has some very nice songs, especially from the 90s and only Nakai had a laughably bad voice (and he knew it). The rest were average with Kimutaku being above average. Early morning musume had some very, very nice songs as well (it helps that their producer was primarily a musician before all else), they also had personality to spare. They had personality in their looks, their voices, and many of them were genuinely funny. Go even further back to the 80s and idols like Akina Nakamori, Seiko Matsuda, and then further back to the 70s, Yamaguchi Momoe; all excellent with great song writing and voices and they were idols.

I agree, in general, about most idol groups today though. Bland, generic, no personality or creativity imo. Japan DID have a history though of very nice music from idol groups. That's why today is pretty frustrating.

If anyone ever has the opportunity to go back and watch old Music Station Super Lives, I highly recommend it. I've seen a few from the early and mid-90s and the crowds are like night and day compared to today. They felt more "free", if that's the right word. You can literally see the entire crowd head banging (yeah, actually head banging) to groups like Luna Sea and X-Japan, even B'z, and then next have tears in their eyes for a moving ballad by an idol. Compared to watching those shows today, it's like you can literally see Japan regressing back inside itself and shutting off emotionally it feels like. That was also generally my experience living in Japan as well - people in the 40-60 age bracket were actually generally more outgoing, spoke their minds and seemed to have an interest in all things western dating back to the time they were children, compared to most young people these days where it would be like pulling teeth to get them to express their actual thoughts and feelings. That's why I'm not so sure that the "cycle" this time is going to come back around. It's all generalizations, I know, and I can only speak from my own experience.

This is why Ayu is one of the few artists that endures for me; she still has that connection to music and live performance that seems to be lacking these days.

Originally Posted by thinkingoutloud89

It's not about the music, as I said, it's about the humans who perform it and it is all very different from someone who makes and produces his own visions like Ayumi for example, who also is an idol at the end of the day.

So gotta disagree here. Ayumi does not fall into the category of idol. She did back before her Avex career though. Ayu was always referred to as an artist, not an idol post-Avex. Writing your own music, lyrics etc. means you are not an idol usually in Japan. By the western definition of idol, yes, she's an idol.

[njanjayrp]

^ It certainly doesn’t mean it’s good either. JPOP is predominately trashy. Most of them are just making very generic pop music. In Japan selling music like crazy doesn’t mean you’ve produced something that’s actually good. Heck you don’t even have to know how to sing properly...

Originally Posted by Chris85

Well, it's a matter of taste, right? They wouldn't be touring domes if all their songs were bad.

Yeah I was talking from my own perspective. The way the EXILE songs sound is too cringe worthy for me. The way they sing, the awful RnB-ish tunes with notions of folk remind me of Balkan turbo folk which I despise.

[Zeke.]

Originally Posted by njanjayrp

^ It certainly doesn’t mean it’s good either. JPOP is predominately trashy. Most of them are just making very generic pop music.

Idk today’s music in America is also pretty trashy (Cardi B ). It can be torturous to listen to.

Besides that, other music tends to follow a formulaic approach that’s very similar to each other. Nothing can really be deemed innovative.