Web Culture Killed My... Music Edition

The Anime Connection

2006-05-30T21:57:00.000+10:00

I have this theory about JRock subculture in Australia and it's that its a very isolated experience. I think that you get into it through anime/manga and through people telling you about it. I don't think that the idea of Japanese musicians playing music that we might like crosses people's minds randomly.

Like any subculture there's a certain amount of cultural capital and specific terms that are important and only understandable within the community. In this case some terms are specific to JRock and some are terms adopted from Japanese (sometimes even Japanese subcultures) by the western Anime and Manga fans. These terms can be learnt through glossaries on the web or even from fairly hip language teachers but most terminology comes through initiation into the subculture.

Anime and Manga is much more accessable in the last few years with Tokyopop (one of the largest Manga distributors) increasing its range of titles dramatically. The success of Studio Ghibli (Princess Mononoke, Howl's Moving Castle, Spirited Away) has also contributed to eyes on the Japan as a new source of products to be repackaged and sold to the West. The increased use of the Internet by teen and geek markets has been able to contribute to its spread. Manga is often bought in Japanese, translated by small groups of fans and then distributed via IRC and 'manga scanlation' sites. Often these are then picked up by Tokyopop and other distribution companies and the 'scanlation' stops. All of this interest, and the accessibility through the internet, leads to an expanded interest in the wider Japanese culture.

In Brisbane, there are two competing anime societies, regular anime film festivals, three comic book stores (and Borders and Dymocks) in the CBD that stock manga and in the last six weeks both the Supanova and Animania fan conventions. There is a very active anime community.

Of course this doesn't necessarily translate into interest in Japanese music as a lot of Anime and Manga fans are not necessarily music fans and can listen to an eclectic and very situational selection of music. So while, in Australia at least, most JRock fans have had a connection with Anime and Manga, not all Anime and Manga fans have a connection to JRock.

Some of this relates to the music style, as previously stated some of it can be quite hard-rock/metal/industrial and some can be quite pop/dance. It's also ridiculed (partially by people who haven't listened to it) as 'Engrish' (really odd misuse of english words - All Your Base are Belong To Us is a famous example). The tones of the language also comes up as a reason why some westerners don't like the music.

JRock fandom is therefore a small section of the Japanophilic geek communities, because these are the people who have access to cultural resources to acquire the cultural capital to search for JRock. Without knowing the terminology, or the names of some of the bands, its nearly impossible to find.

Finding other people who are into the music is as difficult as a quick survey across some of my social network identified two other people in Brisbane that identify (or others identify as) JRock fans. A search on Myspace found four Brisbanites who listed JRock as an interest and MeetUp found thirteen in the Greater Brisbane area. I couldn't find any livejournal communities or Yahoo mailing lists which are Australia specific although I found a club in Perth that plays JRock and Industrial (thumbs up to the mix).

A quick glossary (some of the sites in the last Jrock piece will have better glossaries):

JRock/J-Rock - Japanese Rock : JPop/J-Pop - Japanese Pop : CPop - Chinese Pop : KPop - Korean Pop
Indies - Bands on independent labels, tend to be the harder rockier bands like Dir En Grey, Malice Mizer, X-Japan, Buck Tick
Visual Kei - The style presented by a subset of the Indies. Cross dressing and androgynous singers, gothic/industrial/glam presentation with lots of dark imagery, Gothic Lolita. Kagrra, Malice Mizer, Alice Nine
EGL (Elegant Gothic Lolita)/Gothic Lolita - A particular fashion style based on Victorian childrens clothing, often associated with the Harajuku district of Tokyo. Very popular in the west, particulary with the importable Gothic Lolita Bible of which Mana from Malice Mizer is a major presence
Scanlations - translations of scanned manga
Shonen Ai - boy love manga
Yaoi - explicit gay manga aimed mostly at women
Kawaii - cute in Japanese

30STM...

2006-05-16T22:44:00.000+10:00

So did anybody actually know that Jared Leto is in a band?

I was looking at a site about jc chasez, looking at his new single (which I'm pretty sure I don't like), and there's this link to a Jared Leto fan site, and I'm all: Jared Leto, yum. So I click. And then this music starts playing (and it's not the Creative Commons site (CCmixter) where I'm looking at CC'd samples for mixing. I am so not planning on mashing up a JC song. No No No) and then I look and it's Jared Leto in a band. They're called 30 Seconds to Mars (which is a cool name) and cite 'Pink Floyd, Nine Inch Nails and The Cure' as influences. And there's a clip where he looks, well emo, or at least swampy in one of those long black jumpers that all the cool kids wore in the late eighties and I am not saying anything about the scene where he pushes an alternative himself against a wall and really gets in his space. No No not a thing...

So, um Jared Leto, in a band. Yum.

also While I haven't come up with something for the Emo vs Doof Deathmatch, I thought I'd share this parody of emo vid. There are amusing bits but some of it might be quite offensive, just warning!

J Rock...

2006-05-13T21:13:00.000+10:00

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

New Scientist - 'Goth Subculture May Protect Vulnerable Children'

2006-04-16T12:52:00.000+10:00

A friend sent me a link to this article in the latest New Scientist.

Its a look at self-harm and suicidal behaviour in adolescents and its study shows a couple of interesting results: about half of people who self-identified as Goth had at some time self-harmed or attempted to commit suicide but most of this behaviour started before they joined the subculture. They suggest that becoming goth actually provides support and understanding.

I liked this quote about Goth: "But it is a strongly non-violent and accepting subculture, which teens may find offers a supportive environment." That idea's coming up in a couple of places and its interestingly in conflict with the media image of Goth particularly post-Columbine.

Pansy Division - Queercore

2006-04-13T16:01:00.000+10:00

Pansy Division are a Queercore band - punk with queer themes. They've got a great sound to them, very pop punk and you can hear the earlyAmerican punk influence from artists like Modern Lovers and The Ramones.

If you go to the Audio page on their website, you can download twenty-ish songs. Alternative Tentacles, the label most famous for Jello Biafra and Dead Kennedy's have a whole pile of download mp3s as well (you have to search for the band to get to them but its also got a good bio there)

My fave tracks from the mp3s are Cowboys are Secretly Fond of Each Other, HWMAIT,TIFHAIB (acronymed for the swearing) and Can't Make Love (which has Green Day's drummer Tre Cool guesting).

These guys have just released a 30 song compilation The Essential Pansy Division which I think I'll shout myself ;)

Music Meme

2006-04-12T22:06:00.000+10:00

Music Meme gacked from Polrua via lj

List 10 bands you like in no particular order.
1. Snake River Conspiracy
2. XTC
3. The Living End
4. Garbage
5. Voltaire
6. They Might Be Giants
7. Blur
8. The Faint
9. The Damned
10. Depeche Mode

What was the first song you ever heard by 6?
OMG, that's actually really hard to remember... Um, Ana Ng or Birdhouse in My Soul or Statue Got Me High - It was about the time that Flood and Apollo 18 came out so maybe even Theme from Flood

What is your favourite album of 8?
Wet From Birth. It took me a couple of listens but then it just seeped into my soul.

What is your favourite lyric of 5?
God is a liberal
God is a democrat
God wants you to vote republican
never trust a man who puts his words in the mouth of god (GOD THINKS)

Fangs were flying, capes were torn
Hell hath no fury like a Vampire scorned (THE VAMPIRE CLUB)

How many times have you seen 4 live?
Once in Bristol and they totally rocked - in a smallish venue (maybe a few hundred people) and the music is much more like their latest album live. Shirley Manson was doing a androgynous look and was absolutely fantastic.

What is your favourite song by 7?
Ouch. I mean do you know how many albums they've done? If it was Pulp it'd be easy (I Spy) so I'm gonna go with one of their songs that I always smile and enjoy: Far out.

Is there a song of 3 that makes you sad?
Not really *sad* but there a are a lot of their lyrics that have real meaning for me. For example this lyric means Brisbane during the Joh era (and dancing with my sister)
No time to let the concrete set before it's broken up again
Don't care if it's historic; don't really care at all (ALL TORN DOWN)

What is your favourite lyric of 1?
In my dreams I still see us in a tight embrace
In spite of all the things people say when they stare
That's how I know I'm in love with you and your friend
Honest I do, I can't see you and me and her without each other
And I hope you feel the same way too (you and me and her) (YOU AND YOUR FRIEND)

What is your favourite song by 9?
Eloise or their cover of White Rabbit

How did you get into 3?
Well in the mid-nineties who didn't? Prisoner of Society is a pretty cool anthem. But what made me stick was their lyrics, their energy, their musicality and their mix of ska and punk. I just love the sound.

What is your favourite song by 4?
Another ouch. It's All Over But The Crying or Medication or Parade or Androgyny

How many times have you seen 9 live?
One. But their an ancient band and I can be forgiven. Late nineties at the Roxy and me and my friend where pseudo flirting with the same guy and it was a lot of fun.

What is a good memory concerning 2?
Dancing to Green Man at Prime or at home at 414 or when I was working at Nature Loo. Buying the albums in the UK. Dancing to Sense Overtime in the loungeroom as a kid.

Is there a song by 8 that makes you sad?
Hmm does everything have to make me sad? Cause No. But Wet From Birth amuses me... None of them make me Horny either (but Placebo...)

What is your favourite song of 1?
You and Your Friend or Breed

How did you become a fan of 10?
Osmosis. Seriously, osmosis.

Q Magazine Punk'd

2006-03-31T17:20:00.000+10:00

I picked up the March 2006 of Q Magazine because I had some spare cash and it promised to be a special on Punk. I've got the NME Punk special from a few years ago and a volume on Electro music and they start a game with me and my SO of what have we got and what should we go look for.

This issue offers 50 free Punk MP3's through Napster. Of course it's one of those subscribe for a month, download, then unsubscribe/regular withdrawal deals. (We've already got all but 6 of the tracks, so not worth it) It's a pretty decent selection with all the usual suspects (Sex Pistols, The Stooges, DK's, Bad Religion, XTC, Ramones, Buzzcocks) and while you could question how punk some of the bands are, they are pretty much what has come to represent punk 30 years on. They include Sound of The Suburbs, The Members; Debaser, Pixies; No More Heroes, Stranglers and Another Girl, Another Planet, The Only Ones - all of which I love (NMH is one of my favourite songs of all time). But they also leave off some fantastic stuff like Oh, Bondage Up Yours, X-ray Spex or Ca Pleine Pour Moi, Plastic Bertrand both of which caused more of a furor at the time than songs like Heart of Glass, Blondie.

After a long hiatus from purchasing music magazines (about the time the frustration with never seeing anything about the music I want to listen to set in) it's really interesting to see the way that 'new media' has truly infiltrated this magazine. On nearly every page there's a note to 'download song' and it's designed to look like a button on a website to reinforce the notion of connection between the page and the web. In fact most of the features are designed using web conventions which is an interesting development in terms of the ongoing debate between old and new media.

It's also interesting that their suggested downloads are through itunes, napster and wippit. Although the whole download symbolism has an aspect of 'free' implicit into it, like when we download program updates or utilities, all of the downloads offered in the magazine are tied in some way. From the main page on the website, and the advertising in the magazine, the essential 50 downloads for the month are highlighted. For free you get 30 second samples - the files themselves are available to download, mostly from Itunes which brings me to draw the conclusion, tongue-in-cheek, that the Q stands for Quicktime who must own the magazine with all its advertising revenue.

Teenage Vampire - Killing Miranda

2006-02-27T22:57:00.000+10:00

I was a teenage vampire
I was James Dean in a velvet gown
She was a bride of Frankenstein
A chopper chick from Zombie Town
I was an easy rider
Bloodsucker
An adolescent Antichrist
Like Elvis I will never die

I was a teenage vampire

I was a thing from outer space
Come to destroy the Human race
She was Peter Cushings daughter
My devil doll senorita
Unleash the power of my libido
A juvenile superspy
Like James Bond I will never die

I was a teenage vampire

Killing Miranda Website
to get a copy of the track follow the links to Audio and then the bottom link to old downloads - all of the tracks are a lot of fun to listen to