Japanese Rock

[SwordofWhedon]

Unlike America, they still remember what things like "Guitar solo" are over there. I realize the market here may be small, but once people discover how incredible they are to play, and of course all these tracks will do very well for the asian releases

X-Japan(X, weekend, Kurenai,Art of Life (that could be the new freebird, it's one of the hardest metal pieces ever), B'z(too many to list, Tak Matsumoto is amazing), Luna Sea, L'arc-en-Ciel.

There is a fanbase here, there's a fanbase over in Asia, just please cut the deals to make these tracks available to US players.

[benjamin]

Your opening sentence is amazingly condescending and derogatory. So much so that I feel justified in using two words with almost the exact same meaning to describe it.

[c0nd0rd4myt]

i got a better idea: take ANY power metal band. not only do they know what rock means, but many of them do sing perfect english, which is remarkable since most power metal is prevalent in sweden, and some of the more popular bands like hammerfall are deeply ingrained in a fantasy feel that would make Tolkien proud.

[SwordofWhedon]

\Your opening sentence is amazingly condescending and derogatory. So much so that I feel justified in using two words with almost the exact same meaning to describe it.

Unfortunately also true, no matter how sad it is.

I want you to name me an American band that has achieved long lived mainstream acceptence in the last decade or so that fits those criteria.

I haven't heard the swedish acts, but I'll look them up. Just please make sure eveyrone can play everything and everyone will be happy.

[c0nd0rd4myt]

Unfortunately also true, no matter how sad it is.

I want you to name me an American band that has achieved long lived mainstream acceptence in the last decade or so that fits those criteria.

I haven't heard the swedish acts, but I'll look them up. Just please make sure eveyrone can play everything and everyone will be happy.

true or not, there is a HUGE stumbling block that you completly forgot about.

people would have to SING in JAPANESE.

[c0nd0rd4myt]

i think you need to remember that most bands, even the most succesful ones. rarely transcend over 10 years, and those that do usually go through some form of a regime change (metallica and judas priest being great examples).

also, the 90s as whole were not good for traditional rock music. you had the emergance of grunge bands like Nirvana in the early 90s that totally killed hair metal. and for a large part thereafter you had alot of bad, highly overpaid, POP bands.

however, i will say that Metal bands (which i consider part of rock) did do well. Nine Inch Nails, Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson all enjoyed a long period of success in that point.

I will also say that the last 7 years have been better for rock as a whole with bands like The Darkness, Jet, and the White Stripes succeeding more and more.

that, and ill also ask you for one of your own. you name me one J-Rock band that meets the same criteria that you hold americans too.

[SwordofWhedon]

true or not, there is a HUGE stumbling block that you completly forgot about.

people would have to SING in JAPANESE.

I do it with my band all the time. It's not hard, especially when you have romanji(english letters) lyrics. And what's keeping you from playing the guitar/bass/drums and skipping the vocal?


i think you need to remember that most bands, even the most succesful ones. rarely transcend over 10 years, and those that do usually go through some form of a regime change (metallica and judas priest being great examples).

also, the 90s as whole were not good for traditional rock music. you had the emergance of grunge bands like Nirvana in the early 90s that totally killed hair metal. and for a large part thereafter you had alot of bad, highly overpaid, POP bands.

That's what I'm talking about, however I will say that there's bands like Pearl Jam that did quite nicely in terms of rock.

NIN, Zombie and Manson have never really achieved mainstream success. Nowhere close to something like a Zepplin or Guns N Roses. I'm not denegrating their talent, they're awesome, but you don't tend to catch their songs on the radio anymore, so I wouldn't tack that as a mainstream thing.


that, and ill also ask you for one of your own. you name me one J-Rock band that meets the same criteria that you hold americans too.

Last decade, or in general?

In general- B'z, X, Luna Sea

Last 10 years- Dragon Ash, while not traditional rock ha brought a punk/hiphop/folk/and now Santana/reggae fushion into a completely unique sound that's been very musically satisfying (once they got out of the middle years of too much gangsta infusion).

Glay just had their 10th anniversary

One thing you have to understand is that the huge people in the music industry here, the players like Slash all know and work with the Japanese guys, and they respect each other

Look at something like this;

X Japan- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94b9kCCYkI4&mode=related&search=

B'z- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTuuoo0Nzw4

Glay- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4yzxbrdZWo

Can you seriously deny their rock, and that these songs wouldn't be great to play in the game? That 2nd is from B'z's show in the middle of a typhoon!

It's not about whose country is "better", it's about dying techniques, and great artists that you haven't heard yet, and making sure that all fans of all bands who might have songs in the game can play them. I'm not asking for them to be on the main US disc, simply that we can get them over live or whatever.

[c0nd0rd4myt]

actually, just the other day i heard three Zombie tunes, a NiN, and Mansons new Single "heart shaped glass" on the radio twice. so by that means, they are still more mainstream than your Japanese bands.

and yes your band does sing Japanese, but i hardly consider that to be "the norm", same way i keep telling my friend and his bandmates that the cowbell is not a major musical instrument.

and i'm not saying that US is better than Japan (or sweden or finland or whatever, though i do tend to like those bands quite a bit). what i'm saying is that your assertions that traditional Rock in America is dead, is substantially wrong. is it what it used to be? no. but than again nothing now is what it was 10 years ago, wether its Rock, Blues, Pop, Movies, Video Games, Books, whatever.

you like J-Rock better, because it emulates the older styles of rock, and thats cool. more power to ya. but what you need to ask is "does a large enough percentage of the world population". many countries beside the US listen to American Music, of all genres, and several bands have had great success with worldwide tours. however, i cant say thats the same for your J-rock or my Swedish Power Metal. if they wanna launch the game internationally (which im pretty sure they have done and will do) they gotta go with a language that people understand in the most ammount of countries, and that (like it or not) is English.

[SwordofWhedon]

and i'm not saying that US is better than Japan (or sweden or finland or whatever, though i do tend to like those bands quite a bit). what i'm saying is that your assertions that traditional Rock in America is dead, is substantially wrong. is it what it used to be? no. but than again nothing now is what it was 10 years ago, wether its Rock, Blues, Pop, Movies, Video Games, Books, whatever.

It's not dead, merely dormant. Actually from what I'm seeing with all the teenagers getting into Zepplin, GnR and other great bands en masse, in 10 years I'm seeing huge hope for a revival.


if they wanna launch the game internationally (which im pretty sure they have done and will do) they gotta go with a language that people understand in the most ammount of countries, and that (like it or not) is English.


But that's not what I'm asking for. I'm asking for the international songs (as there's going to be songs exclusive to each region) to be available on Live or PS Marketplace for everyone to get, to make sure the licensing was in place for that. I realize we'd never see J-rock or S-Rock on the main disc, but it should be there for the fans and for the curious.

That way, everyone wins.

[benjamin]

Your criterion of the last ten years is somewhat excluding in that the major rock movement about 10 years ago was grunge, the antithesis of soloing music.

But even then, ten years ago we had Sublime come out, and Sublime understood a solo, listen to Santeria, that song is a masterwork, the solo included.

[Trevor]

sword of wheldon. you are arguing to a whole bunch of americans about japanese rock. you aren't gonna try to win. Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters, Nirvana, Metallica, Rage Against the Machine, Sublime, Pearl Jam.

there you go. 7 bands that had extreme success, and had the solos that you want.

and my chemical romance (even though probably no one likes them because they are emorock) are breaking on to the scene with solos.

go to youtube and look up buckethead.

[benjamin]

I like MCR. Though they are not Emo rock. Emo stands for Emotive Hardcore a genre from the 80s. I don't know what MCR is.

[SwordofWhedon]

Sublme was again underground. We're talking major acts with huge, arena rock success.

[benjamin]

Sublime was a big success, there singer simply died too early.

But you still have Pearl Jam, RATM, RHCP, Pantera, Foo Fighters, Franz Ferdinand.

[damnfinecat]

Japanese music is just now making it's way through rehashing the "hits" of the eighties. Dave Barry once noted that Japan does what America does, just 20 years later.

[damnfinecat]

MCR is typically called "Pop-Punk" or often is just adressed by "emo". Nobody knows what Emo is in this day and age. The Rites of Spring must spin in their grave.

[benjamin]

Japanese music is just now making it's way through rehashing the "hits" of the eighties. Dave Barry once noted that Japan does what America does, just 20 years later.


I have that Dave Barry book, he does good work, even if his jokes about music make me feel horrendously young.

[c0nd0rd4myt]

Japanese music is just now making it's way through rehashing the "hits" of the eighties. Dave Barry once noted that Japan does what America does, just 20 years later.


and its not just in music, but in movies, books, video games, whatever. they try to emulate our culture but are never on the cutting edge of it (think about the distance between the game Donkey Kong, and both the movie King Kong that was made by paramount and the original book).

[benjamin]

That King Kong analogy was not so good.

I think the difference between US RPGs and JRPGs is a better example.

[c0nd0rd4myt]

i meant differance in math terms (differance is usually meant to infer a subtraction)

[SwordofWhedon]

There's an original book of King Kong?

RKO, now owned by Warner made the original, Universal made both remakes.

And actually, Japan is usually no more than 5 years behind, and that barrier has been closing

In some cases, things never change, for example boybands never go out of style there (unfortunately). They have one act, SMAP that's been going for 15-20 years now.

[benjamin]

i meant differance in math terms (differance is usually meant to infer a subtraction)

But you used the word distance in your statement, plus how would you find the mathematical difference between Donkey Kong and King Kong?

[c0nd0rd4myt]

between when either the movie or book of King Kong was released, and when the game Donkey Kong came out.

take the year DK came out and subtract the year the original KK movie (or book) was released.

[benjamin]

Still a bad example as video games were not out in the 1930s and even then Donkey Kong is not just a King Kong rip off.

[SwordofWhedon]

While the damsel aspect is KK inspired, "Kong" is just Japanese slang for apes, particuarly large ones(and yes it's sourced in KK)

[c0nd0rd4myt]

Miyamoto himself has expressed that the idea for the game came from watching the movie

[Brock_Landers]

But that's not what I'm asking for. I'm asking for the international songs (as there's going to be songs exclusive to each region) to be available on Live or PS Marketplace for everyone to get, to make sure the licensing was in place for that. I realize we'd never see J-rock or S-Rock on the main disc, but it should be there for the fans and for the curious.


Much agreed. I don't expect it on the retail disc, but it'd be great to see as DLC.. especially given that the kareoke aspect of Rock Band, well it's much more the Asian territories big "thing" than it is Westerners. So I could definitely see licensed J-Rock/Chinese-Rock/whatever doing huge overseas.. all I'm asking is that those of us who want to get a chance to grab it too.

and since we're talking about it, you gotta have >>this song<< (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJljjtdMkT0) in as DLC! (don't underestimate the power of the American otaku community that would chomp at the bit to play this, Harmonix! :P)

P.S. that X Japan track is pretty sweet, Whedon