J-pop industry taking the music out of music business

By Masaky Ogasawara

I have this recurring dream. It is more like a nightmare actually. I am walking along a dark, narrow hall, getting closer and closer with each passing second to the red door at the end of the tunnel. For some reason, I am not afraid. Instead, my body is filled with a certain sense of anxiety, an anxiety I cannot fully understand. As I open the door and walk into the room, I see a round table, dusty, withered with the passage of time. I see seven people sitting around it; it kind of reminds me of C.M. Coolidge`s 1910 painting Looks Like Four Of A Kind, known more commonly as Dogs Playing Poker.

As I inch closer I begin to recognize their faces. I see Jim Morrison and Freddie Mercury sharing a toast of what appears to be vodka. To Freddie`s right is Janis, wearing a satin dress, fiddling around with the keys to her psychedelic Porsche. I see Jerry Garcia and Jimi lighting up a couple of smokes taken from a box of red Gitanes. Finally, I see John Lennon talking politics and war with a thin Elvis. “Surely this has to be what Robert Smith was thinking about when he wrote The Cure`s “Just Like Heaven,” I say to myself. And then I panic. The seven faces turn to me in unison, their glares cold and dark. Slowly, one by one, they take off their masks and the terrifying truth dawns upon me; I scream. They are not musicians! They are J-pop idols!

I swiftly wake, covered in sweat, saddened to realize I am not a child of the 1960s, but a 28-year old living in 21st century Japan. I live in a time where music has lost all purpose and meaning, a time where lyrical expression and instrumental virtuosity has been replaced by a group of young Japanese boys and girls with an entire industry behind them, an industry more than willing to spend millions of marketing yen each year in the attempt to sell everything from lipstick to lunchboxes and T-shirts, while hiding the little musical talent of their proteges behind great production and a pretty face.

When I think of J-pop, I think of Toyota and Sony, I think of Panasonic and Nintendo, I think of an industry, a streamlined process, a packaged good created in a factory under strict and meticulous supervision. The components are different; there are no doors, seats, high definition screens or chips. Yet, the formula and ultimate outcome is the same, just as precise, equally profitable. We have A, a young guy (4 or 5 young guys to be more exact) or girl with a pretty face and a 1.5-octave voice. We have B and C, a catchy electro/hip-hop beat and a dance coach. We have D, a song in Japanese with a chorus including two or three lines in English saying something like “I love you,” “yes I can,” or “do your best.” We have E, F, G, and H: an apt photographer, an image consultant, a tough-as-nails, no nonsense PR rep, and a spot in primetime television. I is the last piece of the puzzle, a short, overweight, balding producer in charge of putting the parts together. A+B+C+D+E+F+G+H+I = J-pop, assembled, packed, and ready to go.

“Come on man, it`s a business,” my friend tells me. “The formula has worked for decades. If it were my cow, I would milk it just as much…wouldn’t you?” I answer with a resounding NO, hoping to myself I have yet to become so cynical. But I see his point. I understand his argument as I remember the words of Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke from an interview a couple of years ago: “Being genuine…that`s a tough thing for anyone,” he answers when asked about the seemingly never-ending struggles associated with making a decent album.

I, for one, wish they would at least give it a try.

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Latest 15 of 62 Total Comments Show All

kakikaki at 06:32 PM JST - 9th February

Side Note: Most peeps on here probably just look the 10 standard channels in japan, as they anyway won't live here long enough to pay the complete payTV. Japan has very good music TV shows, even showing the underground stuff from other countries, you will never see on normal TV oversea.

So please don't rant about Arashi, as this is absolutely not relevant for the true japanesee music scene.(even if it is also music and has a right to exist)

Other thing also many peeps posting here don't get is the fact that J-Pop is no clear definition. J-Pop is not only the mainstream stuff from TV, the magazines and general Music stores.

And then ask your self the question why should you listen to some original underground music from some ultra creative artist from the London gutter, when you actually listen to Parfume? Well the answer is : because you like to listen to Parfume and you have a god damn right to listen to it.
gaijintraveller at 07:23 PM JST - 9th February

Masaky Ogasawara,this really is a well-written and amusing article. I enjoyed reading it.
555Book at 10:02 PM JST - 9th February

Guys, I am not entirely familiar with the J-pop industry but I enjoy listening to Seiko Matsuda, Hitomi Shimatani, Mika Nakashima and Shokotan; are these crap music too?
SaruTobi at 10:25 PM JST - 9th February

I think the author of the article is a newcomer who doesn't understand Japan's music scene.
shouganaika at 10:50 PM JST - 9th February

I agree with taiko666. it's a big plus to living near Tokyo ot Osaka
resetsurvivor at 03:05 AM JST - 10th February

I'll take J-pop over any of the crap they throw out over the American airwaves any day. Real music is always out there in your local bar scene but no one really wants to support them. Welcome to the world of remakes and recycling! Go 2000's!
ca1ic0cat at 06:04 AM JST - 11th February

I guess I don't see what the change is. Hasn't J-pop been more about the personality cult than the music for about 30 years? There was some real music in Yoyogi Park on Sundays a while ago but I haven't been there in a while.

At least with J-pop I don't have to worry about what the kids are listening too. Try that with Rammstein!
Jericho8 at 09:10 AM JST - 11th February

Utada Hikaru > any American female artist
bushlover at 10:25 AM JST - 12th February

UA, Dreams Come True, Southern All Stars are good. Not too much these days I like but also liked Bz, Wands, T-Bolan. God I must be showing my age. Utada is ok. and my favorite not because of her music but her ... stunningly sexy look is Amuro chan. Her music though is an acquired taste. I'm still having a bit of trouble with that part of her.
trente_sylphs at 04:19 PM JST - 13th February

Wow.. what a great article! I'm with ya 100% on this! for J-pop as well as American pop music.. But then again, its just that..P-O-P Its sad and it sickens me :(
earthcreature at 04:21 PM JST - 13th February

Megumi Hayashibara is my hero!! she is the best singer ever!!
gooner at 07:26 PM JST - 13th February

j-pop is just one of the many sides to the fantasy that the j-people take part in

in my church, growing up, there were about 10 singers who sounded better than half of these 'artists'..

why do they sound so nasally when they're trying to sing pop but kind of sound normal when they sing enka?

if they're so great why don't they tour internationally?
cwhite at 11:20 PM JST - 13th February

If 1% of J-POP is good then thats good enough for me. 1 out 100 is not bad and probably better than many other countries. You'll be lucky if you find 1 out 100 good books, movies, games.... from the thousands out there. That said I listen to more J-POP then Western POP which I find sounds all the same anyway.
Akemike at 05:29 AM JST - 14th February

Mongol800 (from Okinawa) made it big without any advertizements, commercials, or music videos. Good on them!
GJDailleult at 07:37 AM JST - 14th February

There is some decent music in Japan, it's just hard to find it in the tsunami of crap. The problem is that the Japanese music business itself is rotten to the core, and seems to exist mainly to provide "product" for the TV networks.