ASIA 201 Essay on Japanese Popular Music

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“Seeing you makes my heart ache; You are falling to pieces

You look very beautiful, seeing you from here

So... smile”1 (Matsumoto n.d.)

Rock N’ Roll is supposedly dead; Pop is sugar coating our airwaves – so what are we supposed to do

about it? Eat another jelly donut and expect Britney Spears to be the next Ella Fitzgerald? Is it that we’re

this far gone in our knowledge and passions that we’ve come to a point where we can’t be bothered

listening anymore it’s so sweet and syrupy? Or; may I point out is it the issue that it all starts to sound

the same after a while?

Starting an Essay off with an Introduction full of questions is abnormal; yet informal at the same time.

Does this mean that an informal way I should take what I’m fed and be happy with it? Do you think John

Lennon ever got away with just being THAT GUY? No; and neither has musicians like Yoshiki Hayashi,

Camui Gackt or even Hideto Matsumoto. Far beyond the lengths of your usual cookie cutter Louisa slice;

you have Japanese Rock. Much of it still to this day becoming harder to separate from the Visual Kei

scene; and largely becoming popular worldwide in certain niche markets. Gackt is considered Pop, yet

his music is crossing genres and multi cultural boundaries by each and every album he creates. From

songs like Hoshi No Suna and Freesia; being two of his most romantic type ballads - Vanilla and Another

World which are a cookie cutter Pop aspect, to Lust for Blood; a vampire-esque song filled with

emotion2. While Rock and Pop music are very popular one must consider the other “brother” per se in

the works; Enka is considered one of the most popular formats of Japanese Music3; despite its sales

being largely low it is considered by sheer volume of production to be very popular (Yano 1997). With

that in mind you can imagine all the sub genres of Pop and Rock respectively in terms of American or

British music; and multiply that by almost ten to get the varied types of music in the Japanese scene.

Before continuing this argument of classification and originality; I must explain the marketing and a little

bit of the history included in how Japanese Music is popularized overseas. This is imperative to use

when comparing and researching what is original and what may not be.

1 Matsumoto, Hideto (Lyrics) “Genkai Haretsu” Psyence (Music Album) 1997; Retreived from http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/h/hide/#share 9/20/2010 18:41 PM2 Haldeman, Jillian Elizabeth. Ongaku No Resource (Japanese Popular Music Resource Blog). September 18, 2010. http://ongakunoresource.osharecurry.net (accessed September 21, 2010).3 Yano, Christine. "Inventing Selves: Images and Image Making in a Japanese Popular Music Genre." Journal of Popular Culture, 1997: 115-129.

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Marketing strategies of music tend to either become a part of Animation theme songs such as

TommyHeavenly6’s Pray which was in the Anime series Gintama4; or other television series. Sometimes

these strategies are talent competitions in which popular music bands have been created from.

Marketing5 of course plays a huge part in how the music can be created; mostly in terms of popular

commercialized music (Asai 2008). Figures state year by year in the popular charts magazine Oricon

weekly (the Japanese billboard charts basically.) what has become large on each chart.

A mention is never a mention for music and marketing without the oblivious ANIME MUSIC VIDEO6

(McCormick 2010). Mostly made by fans, these are short song based fan made ‘music videos’ set to

their favorite Animation or sometimes even a Fan Video from promotional and live clips of a music

Artist. These days with the advent of Windows Movie Maker, more musical slideshows and video

representation of Japanese music’s lyrics are shown between Nico Nico Douga (Japanese Youtube) and

Youtube. These are one way to get music across and as Japanese Music largely becomes popular with

subtitled Anime being more readily available; more Japanese music is being used with these. Quite the

marketing strategy, the Internet is a large format for popularizing outside of Asia, what is known as J-

Pop and J-Rock. As well as more recent inclusions of Chinese, Korean and other Asian music formats

outside of Japan.

Although the internet plays a large part in popularizing this outside of Japan; in the last decade Anime

and Japanese Culture Conventions have included acts from many genres that appeal to their fans. Much

of this is to be explained through surveyed research by A Ngyuen of Carleton University7 on Japanese

Rock fans throughout North America. Explaining the works of fans, and the way the fans interact can be

found in Chapters Three and Four; with a lot of information being on popular activities such as fan

fiction; fan art and other typical fandom activities (Ngyuen 2007).

Ngyuen does note that before the prevalence of DSL and CABLE internet services over the last decade;

many fans did not use what is commonly known as “File Sharing”8 (Peer to Peer or otherwise) (Ngyuen

4 Sorachi, Hideaki. 銀魂 (Gin Tama). Japanese Animation, DVD, Manga. Directed by Shinji Takamatsu and Fujita Yoichi. Produced by Sunrise. Performed by Sorachi, Hideaki. 2006.5 Sumiko, Asai. "Firm Organization and Marketing Strategy in the Japanese music Industry" Popular Music, 2008: 473-485.6 Phade’s Guide. Kris McCormic/Anime Music Videos.Org. 2010. http://animemusicvideos.org/ (accessed September 21, 2010)7 Ngyuen, A. Cyber Cultures from the East. Ottowa: UMI Dissertation and Thesis Service, 2007.8 Ngyuen, A. Cyber Cultures from the East. Ottowa: UMI Dissertation and Thesis Service, 2007:68

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2007). Although still considered highly commonly and ethically unsecure and typically illegal; until recent

years many places were not as worried about copyright infringement to such degree as American and

British record companies have been. With the advent of the Viacom Vs Google debate; despite Google’s

winning against the media giant in the United States, it has opened up the proverbial can of worms for

debate on copyright infringement on Asian Music.

Much of the literal copyright infringement is waived on grant access that users of the music purchase

the actual albums. Seeing as that on YesAsia9 even a new album release of Gackt or previous ones from

Hideto Matsumoto are upwards of $40.00 USD, converting that into New Zealand dollars means that

even with such a small fan base it’s hard to be able to purchase official memorabilia and products such

as CD’s and DVD’s of the artists (YesAsia n.d.). Marketing strategies of “bootlegged copies” end up with

fans all over the world finding the music through TradeMe or Ebay, or even trading posts on popular

music forums.

Interconnected global strategies have seen other nationalities enter the charts besides American and

British as of recent years. Moving forward in time, constantly; this industry is constantly making new

moves, another issue to the argument of “is it original”. In recent years music in Japan has almost

revolutionized itself; and created a marketing strategy that is pushing itself forward across globally.

The current trend in Japanese Rock; namely Visual Kei ala X-Japan10 is burgeoning on other venues

including the United States and Canada; No longer is Japanese Rock just a sideline to the Animation and

TV series you’ve seen imported. To take this away from an advertising tone; I should note there is a

constant battle for originality still to this day (The Official X Japan Website 2010). The largest issue in

debunking this myth about Japanese Music; is that the categorization is simply not enough to prove

what is popular and what truly is “Pop”. This rings further into a formation of truth with a study into the

Japanese Rock Promotional Video from the band “The Alfee”. In Refashioning Pop Music in Asia11,

Carolyn S Stevens delves into the motive in a Japanese Rock Video; the aesthetic of pushing boundaries

(C. S. Stevens 2004).

9 YesAsia search term “hide” http://www.yesasia.com/global/search/hide/0-0-0-bpt.48_q.hide-en/list.html (accessed September 21 2010)10The Official X Japan Website. The Official X Japan Website. 2010. http://www.xjapanmusic.com (accessed September 21, 2010).11 Stevens, Carolyn S. "Refashioning Pop Music in Asia." In Refashioning Pop Music in Asia, by Ned Rossiter (Editor), Brian Shoesmith (Editor) Allen Chun (Editor), pp127-143. Routledge, 2004.

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The music in the actual video (Which can be seen in the blog project12 accompanying this essay; and

linked through the bibliography and video sources pages.) is quite unusual and hard to categorize. The

paradox of categorization is tenfold when looking over several categories and sub genres; can you really

put this video in a box with other Visual Kei artists? Style wise; yes – musical wise, well I’m not any sort

of music professional so I can’t honestly answer that in an academic sense. Although of course this

becomes enough alone to raise the question on “Unoriginal or Unimaginative” in terms of Japanese

Popular music; and I continue to look into this question with critical concern. I note my resource

project13, and explain that this critical eye was used in a professional sense (yet not in a formal academic

tone, like the essay.) to explain my opinions and research into this problem (Haldeman 2010). This issue

of unoriginality is largely hard to pin point when you aren’t able to classify properly the type of music

you are listening to.

Where do we start with the accusation that Japanese Music; including Japanese Rock – or even largely

Japanese Rock in a popular format such as this– is unoriginal, very typical and sugar coated with

unimaginative styles of imitative nature. We start by disproving the theory; while maintaining a sense of

security and knowledge over the subject. However; the theory disproval of course has to be broken

down into bits because unlike the American or British music scene, there is a large amount of broad

spectrum area to cover.

Japanese Pop14 no longer just means the same as any other scene; Japanese Rock no longer just means

the same thing as it does on the US Billboard Charts. De Ferranti15 goes on to resourcefully explain

popular music as certain types of artists. These being more the “contemporary” sort (De Ferranti 2002)

i.e.: Ryuichi Sakamoto and other contemporary musical artists. In terms of the basic question of

originality, Japanese Rock became my sole focus because it’s where my knowledge base is. The mark

point of genres lies within the style of Visual Kei1617, a multi categorical, multi sub genre musical style

that marked the late 80s and forward. (Harajukustyle.net 2008) (ROBSON 2009)

12 Haldeman, Jillian Elizabeth. Ongaku No Resource (Japanese Popular Music Resource Blog). September 18, 2010. http://ongakunoresource.osharecurry.net (accessed September 21, 2010).13 Ibid.14 Stevens, Carolyn. Japanese Popular Music. New York: Routledge (Media, Culture and Social Change in Asia Series 2009), 2009.15 De Ferranti, Hugh. "'Japanese Music' can be popular." Popular Music, 2002: 195-208.16 ROBSON, DANIEL. "Versailles get dolled up for visual-kei fest." The Japan Times. October 3, 2009. http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fm20091023a1.html (accessed September 21, 2010).17 Harajukustyle.net. Harajuku Style. 2008. http://www.harajukustyle.net/visual_kei.htm (accessed September 21, 2010).

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While there are little actual books on the official style and music of Visual Kei18, it being a classification of

Japanese Rock I feel that this essay so far has begun to continue the argument of originality. Visual Kei of

course being a sub-classification by default of Japanese Music and Japanese Rock; with the pioneers out

of the 1980s band Boom being X-Japan, Buck Tick and Color. A widely known statement about X-Japan

is that their original name indeed was X; but in order to cause less confusion when attempting a jump

into the American market in 1992, they changed it to X-Japan. There was an LA based band of the same

name (X) during that timeframe. A large issue in originality comes out of the Indies subsection of Visual

Kei and how some of these could be classified as just “copying”.

The disapproving theory of unoriginality is assumed towards all of Japanese Music ; however when

classification comes into play especially in a book like the Ashgate Research Companion to Japanese

Music19; I remember noting the incorrect statement that popular Visual Kei act ‘X-Japan’ was classified

as “DEATH METAL”(Ashgate:2008). As a natural follower of this type of music I was appalled at the lack

of research done to properly look into the sort of music that this was. As my research states in the blog

(Haldeman 2010); there is no real way to classify music like this with the broad spectrum that is

Japanese music. Of course how can you classify this, beyond the broad spectrum from an outside

perspective if you aren’t versed completely in one subject? Would it be alright to reference and IBID

every other referenced book in musical history?

If not let me summarize what I feel; Opinions vary, and when you are doing musical research and you

are unsure of classifications or even how to put something in a box; things can become very hard. Mind

you, which my academic and personal opinion stands on the fact that if you need to put music in a box

to categorize it, then don’t. I do not seriously believe there is ever such a thing as a category for music;

and that the term Rock is just another word, another box to place these things in.

This originality battle is where the proverbial rope is tied to less of Japanese Visual Kei; and more of Pop

and Commercialized Rock. One example of this is Japanese born Crystal Kay20; of Korean and African

American parentage; she is a popular image across the Japanese Hip-Hop scene (CNNGO 2010). While

supposedly very original to the Japanese industry; this sort of music proves to be a dime a dozen on the

American airwaves.

18 Ngyuen, A. Cyber Cultures from the East. Ottowa: UMI Dissertation and Thesis Service, 2007:18-2319 Tokita, Alison McQueen; Hughes, David W Ashgate Research Companion to Japanese Music, 2008: 35420 CNNGO. Crystal Kay guerilla live comes and goes in a flash! June 10, 2010. http://www.cnngo.com/tokyo/life/crystal-kay-guerilla-live-comes-and-goes-flash-917649 (accessed September 21, 2010).

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How can we continue to prove originality when the style; the sound and even the lyrics are very similar

if not almost copying previous hip hop in the United States, as well as in my opinion Utada Hikaru one of

the foremost popular music artists in Japan. We can’t prove literally without directly speaking to the

artists, and their companies themselves; including the fact that we literally cannot prove this even with

previous research. I feel that this is a topic best for a larger research, larger book per se. [With that

notation, I almost feel compelled to be one to do this sort of book; even if in a wording format similar to

the blog.]

Although when it comes to Japanese Rock there is as I have previously stated a large vast spectrum

within that area itself; not just music in Japan, and when you’re off trying to research exactly where the

originality lays sometimes you have to look at the source. Yet; I’m not sure people understand that

when Japanese ROCK is exercised as a word- like the US market; there’s a LARGE difference between

Proper Commercial Candy Rock21 and Commercial Radio Rock. As well as explaining that the music that

pushes boundaries and shakes conservative households is a comparison to Visual Kei. Yes I mean in a

forceful example Alice Cooper, Marilyn Manson and even sometimes Madonna; Visual Kei isn’t always

“ROCK” so I guess my essay is more on the differences on originally between Pop and Rock; and there is

a large difference between VISUAL KEI even in a commercialized format and COMMERCIAL ROCK.

X-JAPAN isn’t directly a Commercial band by nature; they’re Artistic by nature as well as your usual

“Shock Rock” type. While it’s not that Commercial Bands are not artistic, they’re just restricted by what

their labels mainly want; and what the charts are proving in terms of popularity making them very held

back in terms of creative juices. A consideration into the source and influences of X-Japan and other

bands such as Luna Sea starts with the idea that Glam Rock’s death reincarnated itself into Japan22.

Glam Rock started in the 1970s23; and by definition supposedly died with the Disco Era. Many bands

such as T-rex (Marc Bolan), Alice Cooper (He was Glam?), David Bowie, KISS24 and supposedly even Elton

John has been included in many references. While I can literally personally point out examples of

influence and source to shocking people out of their shells; it’s certainly becoming an open

ended anomaly - how do you classify influence, and keywords and compartments on things that are

defying the common knowledge of western music? While there is direct classification of influence from 21 Brownlee, Nick. Bubblegum: The History of Plastic Pop. Sanctuary Pub. Ltd. (U.K.), 2003.22 Haldeman, Jillian Elizabeth. Ongaku No Resource (Japanese Popular Music Resource Blog). September 18, 2010. http://ongakunoresource.osharecurry.net (accessed September 21, 2010).23 D'Agostino, Giulio. Glam Musik: British Glam Music '70 History. I Universe, 2001.24 Thompson, Dave. "20th Century Rock N Roll: Glam Rock." In 20th Century Rock N Roll: Glam Rock, by Dave Thompson, 5-16,126-130. 1971.

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KISS; in interviews etc – how can you go about classifying the other influences when there are language

barriers, and so many other ethical issues in between?

I neglected to answer the question of influence in the essay; because as my research became further I

noticed my opinions were ethically largely based on fandom. When researching against the grain for the

answers on originality; I had to push against my nature of a fan and move with professionalism and

academic nature to look through the magnifying glass. If all of these bands were original; would

influence be needed?

While Hideto Matsumoto has passed away In 199825, many fans will say that his music still lives on in

future formats. The neglecting of answering this question of influence was even further delayed by the

fact that fans have a larger influence on opinion by creating rumors of what could be true. While this

sort of gossip is harmless, and blindingly silly and typical; it can create emotional spats and flame wars

and what is considered displays of ‘drama’. The influence of Hideto Matsumoto’s originality is clear to

many, but unclear to many at the same time.

The grief that has struck family, and friends akin to this man’s passing; as well as the fans which had

even copycat deaths well after his own, only shows to prove that ethically it is not as easy as once

perceived to research what is correct about influence in past and future. In my own research, not all

documented quite as yet (as my plans are to develop this project and essay further after the due date.) I

have noticed the personal connection to the Rock Star that was once considered “Pink Spider”; and the

emotions that these fans claim are “what got them through personal hard and rough times”. Without

discounting the fact that many fans (including myself) believe this, many other forms of music and

coping mechanisms have been in place for even thousands of years.

Is it that adapting and influencing is merely another term for copying and plagiarizing another one’s

style? Maybe not in these days; or even in the 20th century era of Rock – but the question still remains

an open ended anomaly and remains a large problem when opening the proverbial ‘pandora’s box’ of

music. One could certainly argue that no music is original, that evolving doesn’t really exist; that we all

just sample the same notes and same styles as once created in traditional folklore.

Just as with Enka you see that the styles are considered “traditional” almost as if the music is the “heart

of the nation”. This is much comparable even in style to the United States Country Music market, the

heart of the nation and the pride of the nation. Despite maybe not being the popular choice in sales, 25 Seno, Alexandra A. "Isolation in Their Grief." Asiaweek, May 22, 1998: 40-41.

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and everyone on the radio market; one can only imagine the criss cross between line dancing and

sorrowful Enka karaoke in bars.

A quote from a fan inside Ngyuen’s26 research states that largely in the days when internet wasn’t as

readily available for some, that the only bands really known overseas were the major labels. Without

knowledge of personalities, style and other factors it was hard to classify just what indeed this music

really was. Without proper information, fans are quite often lead down a very long path of gossip and

rumors, and sometimes due to mistranslation even further incorrect information is found. I distinctly

remember a time when fans were misleading information about Hideto Matsumoto and X-Japan; and

“hide’s” English language project Zilch.

Many fans were believing it was a form of plagiarism on the former band members part, and that Hideto

Matsumoto had no part and choice in how to make these English based songs; ‘ripping off’ previously

recorded Japanese language editions of popular songs he’d either written himself, or co-written for X-

Japan. Without directly speaking to the ex-members of Zilch, and finding proper translations of

interviews from the late 1990s; we can’t directly pinpoint if a rumor like this is true or not.

So the idea that everything is original; much like an essay or research is a grey area; is research and

looking in books merely plagiarizing and summarizing what someone else feels? Is using influence from

the past the same? Can we say that The Ventures; copied United States bands like the Monkees or the

Beatles? Can we say that Ayumi Hamasaki is merely the Mariah Carey of Japan?

So no; I still do not believe that Visual Kei is unoriginal; but that Commercial Pop and Commercial Rock

are always hard to classify as original. However; the notion of what is original and what is not is always

hard to debunk with so much information and so much little time to process it. Can we as academics

continue to debunk myths like this without spending more than the required time on it? I apologize if I

have created a new can of worms, or offended anyone with this essay; my passion is Japanese Culture –

specifically media and Visual Kei.

So with that in mind; in Conclusion I seriously believe this essay is not finished; not by lack of time or

lack of research by the time due; but by the fact that scholars in this subject should look harder into the

magnifying glass and feature their skills into debunking the ethical nature of a question like this. Can we

source the reason something is unoriginal and unimaginative if most of the music from the American or

British or even Australian and New Zealand scenes are just as unoriginal?26 Ngyuen, A. Cyber Cultures from the East. Ottowa: UMI Dissertation and Thesis Service, 2007:84

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Is there a limit to how much music can sound the same? Can we lyrically copyright a phrase and cry like

a baby when someone takes it for their own song? No, I don’t believe that we can, the ethical nature is

to show that on the whole Japanese Music in its popularity has a lot of originality, but that inside that

you have to use a toothpick to pick literally where these musicians fit in categorically, and even there

many influences can be classified as where artists are “Copying”.

While as unimaginative as J-Pop and Commercialized Rock that isn’t Visual Kei can be; my conclusion

states that the aforementioned question is largely correct. However that it applies to most music in the

sense that even with Classical Music; Jazz and Blues and other popular formats – what can be deemed as

‘influential’ is always seemed to be a ‘ripoff’ to others.

As the final conclusion proceeds to the Essay; my passionate interest in this subject and research will

constantly continue inside what I have created as the side project to the requirement of my Asia 201

assignment. Please note that the bibliography does not include the Video list used on the blog, it will be

on another page. An optional index has been included to reference words and phrases of interest.

Jillian Haldeman 771160 ASIA 201 ESSAY

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Video Source List for Project Blog

Information SourceAMV: SKITTLES, Koopsikeva (also on AMV.org)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIjsPFYdkZY&feature=player_embedded

Candy Pop – Heartsdales http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjNAJRZgPXM&feature=player_embedded

Rapper; HIME http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1VS5mgUCRE&feature=player_embedded

(Live) Miyavi – Pop Is Dead http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jw8vUZmeZH4&feature=player_embedded

(7 Samurai Sessions) Miyavi – Rock N Roll Is Not Dead

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9FQzBteI-Y&feature=player_embedded

Shingo Mama No Oha Rock http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AullHqZomY0&feature=player_embedded

SMUFFY x PUFFY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8i0e4QnQ5w&feature=player_embedded

Chieko Kawabe (Kyandii Beibee) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7S8SZArMmA&feature=player_embedded

Leah Dizon – L.O.V.E. U http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpgZkM3_E_Q&feature=player_embedded

Risa Niigaki – Never Forget http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRzs7uE1hjw&feature=player_embedded

Base Ball Bear Video Unavailable to Embed (Find them on Youtube with keword Base Ball Bear)

Maaya Sakamoto – Gravity PV http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-C9gjmhtxw&feature=player_embedded

Alones~Aqua Timez http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=105202910

Crystal Kay – Kirakuni Live http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSVwgexoD7k&feature=player_embedded

8 Ball – Masquerade http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUYVlagMaL4&feature=player_embedded

Hideto Matsumoto Televised Funeral http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ih8nqabeies&feature=player_embedded

Forever Love (Live Funeral Performance by Toshi)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8SNeBitRz8&feature=player_embedded

Yoshiki’s Television Report on Hideto Matsumoto’s Funeral

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Exq5bv5fyJo&feature=player_embedded

Without You (hide Memorial summit performance)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7xwsv5ZLVk&feature=player_embedded

Luna Sea – Rosier http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6QpDsXeE_I&feature=player_embedded

Dir En Grey Obscure (Un-censored) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xknLWJhCRVE&feature=player_embedded

Dir En Grey Obscure (HQ CENSORED VERSION)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1nFCaZKdr0&feature=player_embedded

Dir En Grey Kasumi http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zirgPKg1H-o&feature=player_embedded

Interview with Daisuke Andou http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iys3fELq47k&feature=player_embedded

DirEnGrey self-interview http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnqxZdfdcVM&feature=player_embedded

Malice Mizer Concert Playlist http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0u7g2Dp4sw&feature=player_embedded

Zilch WHATS UP MR JONES (off the 3.2.1. ALBUM)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clOyjbseZHA&feature=player_embedded

Zilch Space Monkey Punks From Japan http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdJQ7M9FHuQ&feature=player_embedded

Miyavi – Torture PV http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8hf9DyZEZE&feature=player_embedded

Yoshiki 2010 Message to Fans NA tour http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqBDg7FmJ84&feature=player_embedded

X-Japan Saw IV Soundtrack PV http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0-Q25w9si0&feature=player_embedded

SCHWEIN/YOU’RE MY DISEASE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Amgz7pUkazM&feature=player_embedded

Gackt – Vanilla http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOb0yNGW2k8&feature=player_embedded

The Alfee – Love Never Dies http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aFj3BnVHGQ&feature=player_embedded

David Bowie A Space Oddity http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D67kmFzSh_o&feature=player_embedded

David Bowie – Life on Mars http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v--IqqusnNQ&feature=player_embedded

T-Rex Cosmic Dancer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlimsLXEkAc&feature=player_embedded

Morning Musume http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aKBuEt-xj4&feature=player_embedded

X-Japan/Luna Sea- Believe http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApYsJr4s0nE&feature=player_embedded

X-Japan Forever Love http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9C7WIuAsv0&feature=player_embedded

X-Japan Celebration http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a69-gsC0FO8&feature=player_embedded

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Basic Index of Interest Terms

A

Alfee · 5Alice Cooper · 7, 8American · 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 13Animation · 4Ayumi Hamasaki · 11

B

Beatles · 11Blues · 11British · 2, 4, 5, 8, 11, 13

C

Canada · 4Carolyn S Stevens · 5Classical Music · 11Commercial Candy Rock · 7Commercial Radio Rock · 7Commercial Rock · 11COMMERCIAL ROCK · 8Country Music · 9

E

Enka · 9

G

Gintama · 3Glam Rock · 8

H

hide · 9

Hideto Matsumoto · 9

J

Japanese Culture · 11Japanese Music · 2, 3, 5, 6, 11, 13, 16Japanese Pop · 6Japanese Rock · 4, 5Jazz · 11

K

KISS · 8

M

Mariah Carey of Japan · 11Monkees · 11

O

Oricon · 3

P

Pop · 5

R

Refashioning Pop Music in Asia · 5

T

that Hideto Matsumoto · 10The Ventures · 11

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T-rex · 8

U

United States · 4, 7Unoriginal or Unimaginative · 5US Billboard Charts · 6Utada Hikaru · 7

V

Visual Kei · 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 16

X

X-Japan · 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 15X-JAPAN · 8

Z

Zilch · 9, 10

Jillian Haldeman 771160 ASIA 201 ESSAY