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Celedam wrote:

Zunu wrote:I agree, but it works both ways too. I mean, I wasn't into metal before. It would be weird to suddenly be into it just because j-idols.

Why? As silly as sub-genre hairsplitting can be sometimes, BABYMETAL's "kawaii metal" truly does not sound the same as, say, '80s hairband metal or Norwegian black metal. Those idol pop hooks can make all the difference, both for the metal purists who don't like them and for the idol fans who do.

I guess that's true. I retract what I said earlier.

I came across a Fukuoka based group named GALETTe the other day, singing their latest single "She is wannabe." Unfortunately YT only has the 30sec promotional clip




but here's a link to the entire video:
http://www.jpopasia.com/group/galette/v ... 47171.html

It has a jazzy sound that reminds me of J=J a bit, and one of the girls
(Nonoko)

sorta gives me a Kanyon vibe.

Celedam wrote:

Zunu wrote:I agree, but it works both ways too. I mean, I wasn't into metal before. It would be weird to suddenly be into it just because j-idols.

Why? As silly as sub-genre hairsplitting can be sometimes, BABYMETAL's "kawaii metal" truly does not sound the same as, say, '80s hairband metal or Norwegian black metal. Those idol pop hooks can make all the difference, both for the metal purists who don't like them and for the idol fans who do.

AyuHikaru wrote:I have no idea what age has to do with it. Is there some cut off point to enjoying music or something? As we get older, the artists debut age is going to get further and further away from us. Are we just not supposed to like their music because of it?

Unspoken accusations of pedophilia resulting from psychological projection and a poor understanding of what pedophilia actually is.

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Anyhow…

In high school I used to listen to Rock and Metal music. I have a love for a wide range of music genres. I love Techno/dance/dubstep . I love pop music and jpop music.

Its even better when you combine them. I LOVE the EDM direction Morning Musume has taken because its a mix of J-pop and techno/dubstep/dance music.

Which is why its so natural for me to just adore Babymetal and its blend of metal and j-pop.

I absolutely hate music purists who think they are somehow superior because they listen to strict definitions of their preferred genre.

I love music and I am not going to put myself into a specific box to impress anyone.

Also having the love for idol music and knowing about how the j-pop idol world works means I don't have the moral dilemma that many metal lovers have when listening to baby metal. None of those "oh but they are young" "oh but they don't write their own music" and the "oh they didnt even know what metal was" stuff bothers me even the slightest.

The energy at the concert was amazing. Everyone was really cool. The mosh pit got crazy. I stayed a safe distance from it because I didn't want to die, but it was awesome to watch. This one older Japanese guy was super into the concert and dancing to himself. He disappeared and suddenly i saw him in the mosh pit. Rock on random Japanese dude.

Celedam wrote:

AyuHikaru wrote:I have no idea what age has to do with it. Is there some cut off point to enjoying music or something? As we get older, the artists debut age is going to get further and further away from us. Are we just not supposed to like their music because of it?

Unspoken accusations of pedophilia resulting from psychological projection and a poor understanding of what pedophilia actually is.

Also somewhat related:

When I was in middle school I really liked Mai Kuraki and was saving pictures of her from a school computer. Like totally normal pictures, not even in bikinis or anything (I don't even think she even had those pics). Anyway, one of my classmates asked if I was a lesbian for saving all these pictures of a girl.

^ And if you're a guy, they also think you're a homosexual if you're a fan of girl pop. Whatever.

Whatever really is the bottom line.

I'm so used to this or that person not approving of (or misunderstanding/misinterpreting) what I do, say, or like that a lot of it just goes right by me. When I was younger, it was almost a game to not fit into anybody's idea of what was normal or understandable (including the prevailing standards of "underground" hipness). That's a game that gets old pretty quickly, needless to say, but it left me with a pretty good picture of just how far I could go toward being weird and socially unacceptable in matters of taste. expression, or style -- which turns out to be quite far, largely because once you step too far out of other people's frames of reference, they simply have no coherent context in which to understand you.

The girls slayed New York's Hammerstein Ballroom on Nov. 4, playing a high-energy set that lasted less than an hour-and-a-half, but was packed full of non-stop singing, dancing and shredding. Check out our eight takeaways from the very loud, very cute night below…

http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6304542/babymetal-debut-nyc-concert

Babymetal fans are rabid, and dedicated but who are they really? I was surprised to see a mixture of dudes, girls, young people, old people, fans of Japanese culture, and good old fashioned traditional metalheads. I decided to compile a bit of a photo essay to showcase the variety of fans in attendance…

http://www.metalinjection.net/photos/these-are-the-people-who-saw-babymetal-last-night

11. Are Babymetal going to sign a ginormous U.S. album deal?

It would appear that way. All sorts of label brass were in the house, and I have it on good authority that they’re working on something with a major label similar to what Unlocking the Truth got. Unlocking the Truth were in attendance, by the way… so take that for whatever you think it’s worth. Future label-mates, or just friends (who can’t communicate with one another)?

12. How many albums are they capable of selling?

Industry vets I talked to seemed to agree that 50k was a fair estimate for total sales for one album.

http://www.metalsucks.net/2014/11/05/fifteen-burning-questions-babymetal/

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And finally, the ultimate fan cam…

New BABYMETAL song "The One" debuted at yesterday's concert in London…



Supposedly it was produced in collaboration with DragonForce guitarists Sam Totman and Herman Li. That could be some serious metal cred, depending on how you feel about DragonForce.

Better video but worse audio here…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ht_F3Cn0nVg

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Also, new WORLD ORDER…



I'm losing interest, though. The clumsily inserted politics are a turn-off. His "We Are All One" message a few years ago was blandly well-meaning, but the more attention he's received as an artist, the more… conspicuous he's become as an activist. I find that to be an unattractive trait in any person, for a variety of reasons.

PERFUME performing in L.A./Hollywood tonight at the Hollywood Palladium for their World Tour




https://vine.co/v/OiAuDhLW2Ov
https://vine.co/v/OiAAiir5wOB
https://vine.co/v/OiAXW1bE7D5
https://vine.co/v/OiAgdpxzYg9
https://twitter.com/smajapan/status/531 ... 96/photo/1

next stop, New York.

It's good to see Japanese artists getting more recognition. I like this trend. More concerts in the US please.