J-Pop: Getting Big in America

By Bobby Okinaka

Japanese girl punk bands are cool. Bands like Shonen Knife and Cibo Matto broke into the underground music scene in the ninties with their squeaky Japanese voices and distorted guitar riffs. Now, there is a new generation of Japanese pop music that is looking for an audience in the U.S.A.

The marketing honchos at Sony Music are hoping to tap into an American audience with the release of “Japan For Sale Volume 3.”

The compilation CD contains a range of genres: J-pop, techno, dance, and rock music. Although it seems like most of the artists were chosen because of their potential appeal to the American ear, if anything, this CD is a great sampler of the current music scene in Tokyo.

It’s about time that music made the big leap across the Pacific. If sushi and Pokemon made it, then Japanese raps have the potential to find an American audience too.

The electronic music and remixes can crossover easily because there are no lyrics. One artist featured on the CD, DJ Krush, recently spun his mixes in a tour of North American clubs.

However, songs with words will be a harder sell due to the obvious language barrier. But then again, music is music, and listeners will still enjoy the sound even if they don’t know the meaning of the words.

Music reviewers typically comment on how Japanese musicians copy the West and give it their own Tokyo twist. But that’s not being fair to the creative talents and original expressions of the Japanese artists. When does ownership of the rock guitar or hip hop beats by the West stop and the music becomes just music?

The correct way to view Japan is as a modern society, where kids grow up listening to rock or hip hop and dream of being in a band or performing on stage. It’s easy to compare the music on the CD to its Western influences, but when you listen, you will hear something fresh and exciting.

While there are no girl punk bands on this CD, there are twelve talented bands and solo acts for you to check out. They might not be the vanguard of a revolution in the American music scene, but then again, who would of ever thought that eating raw fish would ever catch on?