I could say I have my "roots" in japanese and asian music. Even if I grew up listening to The Carpenters, The Beatles, and Peter, Paul and Mary, what really got me into music was the japanese pop/rock scene. I could name the main bands for me - AnCafe, the GazettE, Miyavi and GACKT, mostly - and I can still sing along to many of their songs, even those I haven't heard in ages.
No, I can't say I stopped listening to them after discovering new music, I just left the news behind when before I was the first to know. A great part of that was due to AnCafe having gone on hiatus last year, and not coming back yet. But it's all very important to me, because this band saved my life - literally -, and my first real concert ever was Miyavi's show in October 2009. I could list many things, actually, but I won't.
The point of this post isn't to talk about my life story in relation to asian bands, but to how little people see of them. Yes, those bands have a huge fandom outside of their country, at least some of them do, but they're still not as hugely recognized as others. Bands from many countries have gone to the top charts and magazines in other countries, while it's hard to see a band from Japan in those. Also, some people generalize things. I've heard many times that people won't listen to asian music - because it's asian, and therefore, they conclude it must be no good. I have a listening history with most genres, a great variety of bands, and I consider myself to have a good ear. At least to my personal taste. And from that, I can tell you one thing: some of these bands are amazing.
I don't have much time to write now, but I'll be forever wondering if GACKT is David Bowie's long-lost japanese twin brother.
-Kimberly
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