J Rock...

My second assignment has had a shift of topic, as you could probably guess I was going to talk all about Goth. I had about six ideas but then realised that it's really to broad a topic to go into at this stage (I'd like to look at the way local scenes transform the meaning and imagery of a global subculture to represent the local politics and values... but that's pretty complex and probably thesis level interrogation with stuff about the way culture is transmitted etc).

The new topic, which is more focussed but relates to one of my other interests (the internet) is JRock/JPop. When I threw it past Cory he suggested, to my amusement, that it might help if I actually explained what JRock/JPop is.

Hmmm. In a really simplistic sense JRock and JPop is music that comes from Japan. Despite their quite different sounds, both tend to be listened to by JRock fans in the west.

JRock bands such as Malice Mizer, Buck Tick, Dir En Grey, Janne Da Arc, Kagrra and Penicillin tend to have quite hard rock sounds with a mix of synth. The JPop of artists like Hyde (and his band L'arc en ciel), Gackt (who is ex-Malice Mizer), Hamasaki Ayumi and Hayashibara Megumi are much more melodic and often play to stadium crowds across Japan. These artists also tend to connect into the anime fandom which is where many J fans arrive from: Hayashibara Megumi is the singer of the theme song for Neon Genesis Evangelion and Slayers. Interestingly bands like Shonen Knife and Guitar Wolf who have a cult status within western alternative music scenes are rarely recognised by the young western audiences of JRock/JPop.

The easiest way to find the music to listen to is through sites like the mp3 rotations that I've previously written about here. I've also included a clip for Gackt who is one of the biggest stars in the western J subculture.

The subculture itself tends to fit with McRobbie's bedroom cultures as it is mostly accessed by young women in the comfort of their bedroom computers. Music is exchanged through the net and websites, forums and mailing lists. Listening to JRock and JPop is part of a japan-ophilic subculture that watches anime, reads manga and often flirts with gothic lolita and harajuku fashion.

Yaoi and Shonen Ai (Gayporn and Boy-Love stories written for a female market in Japan) are an important part of the subculture and slash fanfiction is often written about different band members. Gackt/Hyde is a major pairing and the video I've included is a performance by Gackt in a stadium environment where he performs 'fan service' or simulated sexual performance with one of his band members. This clip is one of the important pieces of cultural capital within the JRock/JPop western subculture; it's one of the reference points that are used by participants to show the level of their knowledge of JRock and JPop. It also shows one of the differences of Japanese versus western culture where the bands themselves participate in the queer readings of their audiences.

J-Fan: A good directory of links to J Rock sites
Wikipedia entry: This has a good list of bands but doesn't really expand into the western subculture
The J-Rock Saga: A list of J-Rock resources
Play-It-Loud: A webring for mp3 rotation sites that has a lot of J-Rock links

J Rock...

My second assignment has had a shift of topic, as you could probably guess I was going to talk all about Goth. I had about six ideas but then realised that it's really to broad a topic to go into at this stage (I'd like to look at the way local scenes transform the meaning and imagery of a global subculture to represent the local politics and values... but that's pretty complex and probably thesis level interrogation with stuff about the way culture is transmitted etc).

The new topic, which is more focussed but relates to one of my other interests (the internet) is JRock/JPop. When I threw it past Cory he suggested, to my amusement, that it might help if I actually explained what JRock/JPop is.

Hmmm. In a really simplistic sense JRock and JPop is music that comes from Japan. Despite their quite different sounds, both tend to be listened to by JRock fans in the west.

JRock bands such as Malice Mizer, Buck Tick, Dir En Grey, Janne Da Arc, Kagrra and Penicillin tend to have quite hard rock sounds with a mix of synth. The JPop of artists like Hyde (and his band L'arc en ciel), Gackt (who is ex-Malice Mizer), Hamasaki Ayumi and Hayashibara Megumi are much more melodic and often play to stadium crowds across Japan. These artists also tend to connect into the anime fandom which is where many J fans arrive from: Hayashibara Megumi is the singer of the theme song for Neon Genesis Evangelion and Slayers. Interestingly bands like Shonen Knife and Guitar Wolf who have a cult status within western alternative music scenes are rarely recognised by the young western audiences of JRock/JPop.

The easiest way to find the music to listen to is through sites like the mp3 rotations that I've previously written about here. I've also included a clip for Gackt who is one of the biggest stars in the western J subculture.

The subculture itself tends to fit with McRobbie's bedroom cultures as it is mostly accessed by young women in the comfort of their bedroom computers. Music is exchanged through the net and websites, forums and mailing lists. Listening to JRock and JPop is part of a japan-ophilic subculture that watches anime, reads manga and often flirts with gothic lolita and harajuku fashion.

Yaoi and Shonen Ai (Gayporn and Boy-Love stories written for a female market in Japan) are an important part of the subculture and slash fanfiction is often written about different band members. Gackt/Hyde is a major pairing and the video I've included is a performance by Gackt in a stadium environment where he performs 'fan service' or simulated sexual performance with one of his band members. This clip is one of the important pieces of cultural capital within the JRock/JPop western subculture; it's one of the reference points that are used by participants to show the level of their knowledge of JRock and JPop. It also shows one of the differences of Japanese versus western culture where the bands themselves participate in the queer readings of their audiences.

J-Fan: A good directory of links to J Rock sites
Wikipedia entry: This has a good list of bands but doesn't really expand into the western subculture
The J-Rock Saga: A list of J-Rock resources
Play-It-Loud: A webring for mp3 rotation sites that has a lot of J-Rock links