Made fun of for liking J-pop?

[VidelCoolGirl]

Whenever I tell any of my friends that I listen to J-pop, they all laugh and say it sucks. Now I can see where they are comming from for not being into Japanese culture usually and all that, but do a lot of you get annoyed by this if it happens to you? And that everlasting question, Why do you listen to it?

[kenshinbebop]

Of course. Mostly get it from my friends, my mom doesn't care about music unless its country really, and my dad likes some of my japanese music.

When I get told that the pillows suck, I usually shake it off with a comeback. Something like:
"Pillows suck!"
"No, actually they rock. Go listen to your Gwen Stifanni."
That is insult enough, it doesn't even matter it is not a good comeback!

Or I square 'em in the jaw.Kapowie! :naughty:

I've beenasked it all. Why do I listen to it? It's better than 95% of american music. "Do you understand it?" Some of it, but who cares. If the beat is right, I'll listen all night. I don't understand half of what the pillows say, but Sawao's voice mesmerizes me, and the instrumental is liek heaven on earth. I've even gotten the occasional "Do they come out wearing pillow cases?" That is when I stare at them in stupidity until they are forced to walk away or I have to do the ever so frequent"...no...j-just no...."
So, yeah. Bottom line, I'm sure everyone gets heckled for it, but its all good. :D

[Sushikins]

I've had people give me looks about me listening to Japanese music, I just ignore them. As for why I like J-pop, well, I enjoy listening to the music in general, plus there's something about the Japanese language that I makes me want to listen to it.

[VidelCoolGirl]

I like it becasue even I can;t understand what they might be saying, trying to imagine what they could be singing about through the feeling and the way they sing the words is more enjoyable to me. I do that a lot with Do As Infinity songs.

[kenshinbebop]

^Yeah. Just through their emotion, you can almost feel what their saying. Thats what happens to me, I think about it, look up the lyrics, and am 30% of the time right.

ESPECIALLY the pillows' Blues Drive Monster. Or "Brues Dlive Monstah" as Sawao sings. God I love that. Everytime I hear it, I get a feelin' in me tummy. And when I looked up the words, I really felt it. It's so powerful. I adore that song. I love their standpoint 'bout music in Blues Drive Monster and Instant Music.

[VidelCoolGirl]

On the song "Under The Moon" by DAI, I figured out what they were pretty much saying. You have to be really into the song to understand what they're talking about by not reading the lyrics.

[tntgm]

Of course. Mostly get it from my friends, my mom doesn't care about music unless its country really, and my dad likes some of my japanese music.

When I get told that the pillows suck, I usually shake it off with a comeback. Something like:
"Pillows suck!"
"No, actually they rock. Go listen to your Gwen Stifanni."
That is insult enough, it doesn't even matter it is not a good comeback!

Or I square 'em in the jaw.Kapowie! :naughty:

I've beenasked it all. Why do I listen to it? It's better than 95% of american music. "Do you understand it?" Some of it, but who cares. If the beat is right, I'll listen all night. I don't understand half of what the pillows say, but Sawao's voice mesmerizes me, and the instrumental is liek heaven on earth. I've even gotten the occasional "Do they come out wearing pillow cases?" That is when I stare at them in stupidity until they are forced to walk away or I have to do the ever so frequent"...no...j-just no...."
So, yeah. Bottom line, I'm sure everyone gets heckled for it, but its all good. :D


Pretty much the same deal with me, i find it more entertaining than american music and i understand some of it. The music sounds good to me so ill continue to listen to it :)

[Malchiel]

I think there're a lot more good Japanese music than there're American music they know how to make a really good, tight fitting melody.

What do you consider Yuki Kajiura's music anyways?

[Gasaraki]

that's a good question, of course I don't really have good genre name knowledge anyway though.

One thing that I think is intresting is how alot of people(non-JP only I'm assuming) lump stuff into simply jrock or jpop as if there's no other kind of genre. Some of the "jpop" stuff could be called House or Happy Hardcore(Electronic genre's) rather than really just being jpop. Same goes for quite a bit of stuff labeled as jrock, but oh well, obviously not many people care.

[seba_boi]

I once featured a Yoko Kanno website for my website multimedia project.... They were impressed by my work (;)) but they were kinda laughing that I like this little Japanese girl's songs... They were like, "You should marry her"... I said, "Nah, she's already married."... Haha... It was cool... It was cool to make them listen to some of her works...


Actually, I made a CD for my work with the works of Shiro Sagisu, Yuki Kajiura, and Yoko Kanno, Joe Hisaishi... Only instrumentals with mostly piano pieces... And the customers LOVE the music...

[GreatNekoKoneko]

... because nothing says mahou shoujo more than Under17/Haruko Momoi... i don't hear anybody in today's music industry doing the twirly thing while singing, "Ai no Medicine". no siree.

[Yukito Kunisaki]

Schoolmates never said anything. I know they didn't like it, but lets put it this way... I was that kid they were afraid to approach. They thought I would kill them someday, so they just never even talked to me much, but knew I liked Jrock because I would watch Diru MVs in class *THAT should show why they feared me ;P* I love being so...like that xD

[shezaei_neko]

Yeah sometimes some of my school mates make fun of me with it....or just say: "oh...." and look at me in a strange way......, but hey, I don't care what they might think 'cause Japanese music rocks! not only J-pop...

Why I like it?..... 'Cause the lyrics are awesome, the rythm is wonderful and the singers have incredible voices.
I like j-pop the most but I also hear many anime songs that aren't j-pop or j-rock.....I don't really know how to clasify them....
Just like some of Kajiura's works, or Kanno's. But anyway, I like to hear jap. music. sometimes I don't get all the lyrics, but in that way I can practise....

[FURUBA4EVER]

...I don't usually let people know that I listen to J-Pop. I tell them if they ask what kind of music I like, but, then again, I rarely talk about my interests since some people just don't understand.

But...I know that my parents have said a few things to me about listening to Japanese music. I don't let it get to me, though, if they do say anything to me. (They usually don't have much to say about it.)

Anyway...I've come to appreciate Japanese music much more than most of the American music I keep hearing nowadays. Music is a type of art, and I think many music artists are beginning to forget that fact (thus why we hear crappy music running on some radio stations). At least with Japanese music, most of the artists still care about the feeling and sound that needs to be put into songs to have the message reach the listener. ^_^

[DazzleKitty]

I have gotten some sarcastic remarks or odd looks from some people at school. Some people in my family think it's weird. I have showed some people a few songs, and most of them don't like it except for my lil' cousin who likes a few songs. People say they don't like it becuase they can't understand the words. Honestly, that's one of the reasons I like it. Lots of American music these days have such stupid lyrics that they detract a lot from the music. I usually just enjoy listening to the combination of the music and the sound of the singers voice, but bad lyrics can just ruin a song. Plus, I just love the style of J-Pop. They have so many pretty songs.

Heh, my racist grandpa said I should just listen to intrumentals if I hate American lyrics so bad. He's so irritating. :P

[GreatNekoKoneko]

...its just fun to listen to. not like this emo crap.

[EdWorshiper]

If they really bother you so much, they aren't very good friends.

[Khorell Nataz]

Well as an old timer lemme tell you: at 31 the people that you will meet for the most part still might not accept it lol....

I have enough problems just showing up to work with my Hellsing workbag...but that's another story.

I like all kinds of music. I live in Georgia so the most popular music here is "krunk" music, then hip-hop, rock, etc etc. And most of the people that you meet here are open to other types of music, however try playing some of your favorite j-pop hits and see what happens. I've gotten these kinds of comments before:

"That's um....interesting...."

"It sounds like whiny little girls are singing it!"

"It's japanese music huh? How the heck do you know what they are saying?"

"WTF? That's garbage, yo!"

"Don't you have any black music?"

"Don't you have any music that sounds good?"

"Oh that's your japanimation music....how cute!"

"Um I decided to bring my own cd's to listen to....let's check em out!"

So in short, that's how some people are. I think the best way to look at it is you like what you like...screw everyone else.

Don't let it get you down....like what you like. Although throwing on a Bleach OST at a cookout is not neccessarily the best thing to do. Especially if there is a pool around.... ^_^

[Nano]

I like J-pop, but where do your guys get you J-pop from?

[GreatNekoKoneko]

...^from, dare i say it, THE INTERNETS! (gasp)

[Nano]

Yeeeaah.......jokes aside.....

[Milky Mixer]

I say like what you like and don't worry about what other people think... but then, I live in my own little world half the time (it's not so bad).

Jokes aside, I believe Anime Nation can import or special order stuff for you. You may also want to try YesAsia. CD Japan is a good place, too, but you'll have to shell out some bucks for shipping.

Sometimes if I'm looking to try something new, I'll just hit up the Sony Japan site and catch some of the clips they've got playing, then head over to a site that sells Japanese cds. And of course there's always the "OMG, what is that song?" when you catch an anime. It's not uncommon for me to dig the music but not the show, heh!

[VidelCoolGirl]

"Don't you have any black music?"


If it's one question I hate will hate than any other, it's that one.

[Kohauru]

I love J-pop. If I'm playing DDR, I refuse to play with any English songs. (Except Butterfly, that's the closest I get)

I think my favorite thing about J-pop is that it's not all about dying and it's not all depressing. It makes me happy when I listen to it, and even though I can barely understand it, I love it.

By the way, I listen to Japan-a-Radio. It's free, and they have a lot of anime and j-pop selections.

I get a lot of weird looks when I tell people I like J-pop.

[CrimeofPassion]

If it's one question I hate will hate than any other, it's that one.

Well, it is the only kind of music the "popular" radio stations seem to play.

Seriously, though. It's shocking when you hear a white person singing on, like, Kiss FM. :lol:

[Midoriko87]

"Don't you have any black music?"

:lol: Indeed. Black Music. If they're referring to R&B/Hip Hop, then there's plenty of that. Diggy-MO' and Brotha Hi (the human beatbox) from the J-Rap group Soul'd Out are big fans of American Rap Artists such as Jay Z, the Roots, Snoop Dogg and the Fugees.

Sowelu, a J-Pop singer, stated that her favourite singer was/is Beyonce Knowles.

Why I like J-Pop and such? Well, I like good music/beautiful singing. Not to say all J-Pop is great (I'm looking at you Nami Tamaki), but I've found some good artists. And, at this point, I don't think anyone cares what I listen to. Although, imo, it's really hard to tell where the lyrics will go with a song you like. I mean, of course, you don't really need to read lyrics to understand the emotions behind a song, but it can be disappointing when you hear a really nice song, look at the actual lyrics, and "yeah...that sure is somethin'..."

And about the "Well, they're not very good friends" statement. Um, that kinda sounds a little one-dimensional, and it kinda sounds like a child's logic (good/bad, black/white, either/or). Reminds of that South Park episode with the home-schooled kids. "My Word, are you boys enemies?!"

[Athena]

I must say, when I first started hearing anime themed J-Pop music several years ago back, I felt awkward hearing it in front of my family or my friends, and I took it portable most of the time. At first they started to question me why I'm listening to music to a language I don't even know, then after a while they didn't bother telling me anymore and I actually got my sister to like it too. Nowadays, they don't care anymore.

[Meganly-chan]

Nobody really cares. For awhile Jpop was all I was into, and I got teased for that ("You're not Japanese!" and the like), but as long as it don't bring it out into the open or force people to hear it in the car or something (they always nix that idea) I don't let it bother me.

I generally like Jpop because it's so fun and cute.

[Yukito Kunisaki]

Honestly, WE should make fun of THEM, haha. The majority of people who listen to american music listen to rap....so put it this way...atleast we LISTEN TO MUSIC xD. No Instruments = No Music =O

[Samurai Drifter]

Not as much as I've been made fun of for liking anime.

But meh. I drive around with my windows down listening to anime music.

[Khorell Nataz]

As do I...just something about going down 75 with the windows down playing the GITS:2nd gig soundtrack or a little of high and mighty color. Good times...good times....

[Samurai Drifter]

^ Ha ha, I do the same thing with the same song. :lol: It's just such good cruising music.

[Lankard]

Eh, i get that some times, but hey, its mostly from people with different music tastes, it doesnt bother me too much, but if in a joking manor they decided to make fun of it my making "ching, chang, chong" sounds i'd probably be taken to prison for turning my Utada Hikaru Exodus Cd into a weapon to cut out their tongue. Btw, DDR: butterfly rocks

[Suiko Eiji]

If they really bother you so much, they aren't very good friends.

I disagree; ragging on your friends keeps your relationships with them interesting. My friends and I rag on each other for nearly everything, but it's all joking and in good fun - we don't take ourselves too seriously.

Actually, enjoying J-Pop is one of the things I take the most flak from them about (well, that, my weight, and "women issues"). And its probably because I give some of them **** about my one best friend's "emo" music. They're of the typical thought that if it's in Japanese, it's J-Pop, even though I'm fairly sure I listen to much more Anime music than actual J-Pop.


One thing that I think is intresting is how alot of people(non-JP only I'm assuming) lump stuff into simply jrock or jpop as if there's no other kind of genre. Some of the "jpop" stuff could be called House or Happy Hardcore(Electronic genre's) rather than really just being jpop. Same goes for quite a bit of stuff labeled as jrock, but oh well, obviously not many people care.

I agree; if I've not seen them on Music Station, they're not pop.

As for why I listen to it - it's for the sound. I like a lot of Japanese music that has similar flavor to the English-language music I listen to. I like 175R, Siam Shade, Bz and probably Every Little Thing the best; some of my favorite EL groups are BTO, ELO, KISS and The Clash. I'm not really a diversified music person in terms of genre, I suppose, just the words coming out of people's mouths.

Trust me, I don't think that Japanese artists are superior to their Western counterparts; Hamasaki Ayumi is just like Christina Aguleira, Gakt would be the male counterpart to that; Amuro Namie is a lot like Britney Spears. It's not a matter of that, just in my personal tastes.

[Dj_Saito]

As do I...just something about going down 75 with the windows down playing the GITS:2nd gig soundtrack or a little of high and mighty color. Good times...good times....


lol same here XD

I get made fun of sometimes because people know i dont understand what they are saying. My response to them is that ive been in the music game for a while and i dont need to know what they are saying because i can feel it.
ohhh yoda style i just dropped a bomb :D

[Shiryu]

I love J/Pop and J/Rock and everything Japanese. Many people think Im weird for doing so but so what? You do your own thing. We are all different.

[MirKz]

I don't think I have listened to J-pop much, we don't have much of it over here in Australia, from what I can tell :(
I love Japanese music though (the stuff I DO have..) my friends sometimes think I am a little wierd, but they always have when it has come to music, I like what I like for various reasons, I don't like stuff because its 'cool' to do so.
My mum loves some of the Japanese music I have, and my brother likes some of it too, they've just gotten used to me watching fan subs, listening to Japanese music etc and being into the culture a little that they have gotten used to it themselves.

Your friends are just narrow minded, like the majority of todays society, which is a shame, as I love indulging myself with Japanese culture etc.

[Suki]

I'm sorry, but J-pop does indeed blow. You should be made fun of. Visual Kei ftw.

[Haro!]

I don't think I've ever been made fun of in a non-friendly way for listening to j-pop. A lot of my friends like Utada Hikaru so they don't mind japanese music much in terms of its sound. They do make fun of me cause i'm getting in touch with my disconnected culture. One of my best friends to this day calls me "jap lover" (to which I respond "korean wanna-be", she's taiwanese). So its all in good fun.
I mostly listen to Chemistry, toshinobu kubota and similar artists so when people listen to it, its not something very out of the ordinary, and they accept it. Folks at work give me the typical "that sounds hot but do you know what they're saying?" and nothing more. My university is filled with nerds so they know more about j-pop than i do and have a higher tolerance for the occasional wierd vocalist.

[Suiko Eiji]

I'm sorry, but J-pop does indeed blow. You should be made fun of. Visual Kei ftw.

Oh, I find so many things wrong with your assertion...

[Suki]

Oh, I find so many things wrong with your assertion...
Of course. That's how ironic and biased I am.

[Suiko Eiji]

^Fair enough; at least you're honest about it :lol:

[predecessor]

...its just fun to listen to. not like this emo crap.
don't make me do the speach...

and i've only gotten bugged by one person by it. a former friend. he had it in his mind that because i listened to japanese music that i'm gonna grow up and be a fat anime nerd with no job, no life and retarded anime tattoos. completely serious too. i've put visual kei stuff mixed in with some other bands i like*this certain cd had Thursday, nevermore, Hopesfall, anberlin, dir en grey, mudvayne, 12012, d'espairs ray, hot cross and misery signals* and played it during art class and no one said anything bad about it or anything

[Horizin]

People ask all the time why I listen to that music if you don’t understand it I tell them that most people today listen to rap and you can’t understand most of that.

[VidelCoolGirl]

People ask all the time why I listen to that music if you don’t understand it I tell them that most people today listen to rap and you can’t understand most of that.

Hate today's Rap. Now And Forever.

But not Rap from like the 90's and before. Kool Keith and Run DMC are always favorites. Arrested Development, all that is good stuff.

[Professor Funk]

I can't understand how someone would like rap or J-pop, In my opinion they are both horrible forms of music. Now if you want to discuss "music" we can talk about classic rock or metal.

[predecessor]

I can't understand how someone would like rap or J-pop, In my opinion they are both horrible forms of music. Now if you want to discuss "music" we can talk about classic rock or metal.
what if your like me and listen to everything but modern and pure country and modern rap? i like everything under the sun. try switching from the doors to gackt to necrophagist to BoA to swallow the sun sometime on itunes random and you would have viewed a very small piece of my musical world

[Suiko Eiji]

what if your like me and listen to everything but modern and pure country and modern rap? i like everything under the sun. try switching from the doors to gackt to necrophagist to BoA to swallow the sun sometime on itunes random and you would have viewed a very small piece of my musical world

I can't say I like any of the same music you do. I do enjoy the classic rock and metal that Professor Funk mentioned, but even then, they tend to belnd together in sound and style. J-Pop is my beath of fresh air*.


*I'm not trying to make it sound like J-Pop in itself is the most original form of music, but only comparitively speaking to American/Western Classic Rock and Metal.

[Suki]

The reason why I hate J-Pop is because it sounds like a horriblely mixed tape of Eurobeat and Happy Hardcore with annoying high pitched japanese girls.

Classic rock and heavy metal is the way to go ^^.

[Suiko Eiji]

The reason why I hate J-Pop is because it sounds like a horriblely mixed tape of Eurobeat and Happy Hardcore with annoying high pitched japanese girls.

Fair enough. I can't stand Visual Kei because of all of the whiney androgeny(sp?). Oh, and Gakt and his mouthing crotch.

Classic rock and heavy metal is the way to go ^^.

Strongly agree.

[Sendo Takeshi]

I can't understand how someone would like rap or J-pop, In my opinion they are both horrible forms of music. Now if you want to discuss "music" we can talk about classic rock or metal.




I don't know what rap you're listening to. But, rap/hiphop wasn't always like it was in todays sh!tty era. Go listen to some Illmatic or 36 Chambers and that opinion will change drastically. Throw in some Gangstar in there and you're good to go.

And I do agree with Suki. J-pop blows. I tried sitting down and listening to it. But in the long run its just eurobeat. Its melodic yes, but its just not different. Pillows are good though. But thats mainly because I listen to a lot of rock.

Biased opinion ftw?

[Danju]

I can't understand how someone would like rap or J-pop, In my opinion they are both horrible forms of music. Now if you want to discuss "music" we can talk about classic rock or metal.
See, we've all got this thing called an "opinion". No one who likes rap or J-pop gives a damn if you think they're horrible forms of music. If you want to discuss "music" then you can discuss anything you damn well please.

[Animematt55]

Videl...your friends are ignorant. I get that a lot. They say it sucks cause they can't understand what is beign said. Well...DUH....it is in a foreign language.
I like almost everything, except country, and rap. I like German rock too. Jpop/rock. etc
So basically, dont listen to those friends of yours.

[Suki]

Well, there are basiclly 2 forms of Visual Kei. Softcore and Hardcore.
I mostly listen to hardcore which you hate Suiko.

Yet most people prefer the softcore like Janne Da Arc, or Gazette.

[Spadesy]

Just ignore 'em. You like what you like and that's it.

That, or you can have fun by slinging shizzle right back at them.

"What do you like?"
"J-Pop."
"Bwhahaha!"
"Oh, so what do you like?"

And if they say anything (with the exception of metal of course), laugh right back at them. It's all a matter of taste my friend.

And if they say that they like something particularly emo, give them two laughs for that.

[kenshinbebop]

I don't know what rap you're listening to. But, rap/hiphop wasn't always like it was in todays sh!tty era. Go listen to some Illmatic or 36 Chambers and that opinion will change drastically. Throw in some Gangstar in there and you're good to go.

Add in Run DMC and your good to go.


And I don't really listen to JPOP, I listen to JROCK. And that my friends, is the way to go.

[Suiko Eiji]

Well, there are basiclly 2 forms of Visual Kei. Softcore and Hardcore.
I mostly listen to hardcore which you hate Suiko.

Yet most people prefer the softcore like Janne Da Arc, or Gazette.

Actually, (http://www.somethingawful.com/index.php?a=2618) subcatagorizing (http://www.somethingawful.com/index.php?a=2645) drives me nuts, too. (http://www.somethingawful.com/index.php?a=3023)

I now hate Janne Da Arc and Gazette because they are a subcatagory of Visual.

[Suki]

Actually, (http://www.somethingawful.com/index.php?a=2618) subcatagorizing (http://www.somethingawful.com/index.php?a=2645) drives me nuts, too. (http://www.somethingawful.com/index.php?a=3023)

I now hate Janne Da Arc and Gazette because they are a subcatagory of Visual.
Janne Da Arc is amazing. They just sound like classic rock.

[Ninja337]

It depends. If you can't speak Japanese and you are listening to jpop, you might deserve to be made fun of. You could be listening to some guys saying, "yeah those anime fans, they are so dumb, they get our music off the internet, they don't know what we are saying, Japanese people laugh out loud!"
If you like those Engrish bands I also wonder what your problem is. They aren't really funny, they can't sing English that well, sometimes they even require translations to be listened to. They are very inferior to j-rock bands that speak Japanese.

If you speak Japanese, then I don't see how anyone could have a problem.

But I do agree Japanese music sounds much better than music elsewhere. Listening to jpop is a little weird and maybe even not that smart, but whatever you want.

[Thorn King]

one of my friend barrows my mp3 player then when he sticks the plug to his ears he says "What is this? Jap? What..." then he passes back my player.

actually i am so happy when people does that to my player. purely because they can't understand it. :)


the Thorn King

[Cha0tika]

When people say to me "Why?" I'll just say "Why not?" And half of them aren't intelligent enough to follow through with a reason. I don't like being defensive, it shows that you know people don't like it. I act oblivious to this, kind of like "What? You don't like it?! How obnormal :P " It sure does get annoying when I get told what to like and not to like :(