Japanese pop culture can be a wasteland to Japanophiles and expat syndromites alike. everything is very sugar-coated, but the same can just as easily be said about US pop culture. at least this one is new and foreign and sugar coated to me.
but man, j-pop really grates on my ass sometimes. the only pop i have more contempt for is the US brand of it. yeah, i'm an indie snob to the core. get used to it.
ohh but Japanese indie... *drool. it's even better than euro or American indie. it's as if... once you find the good in Japan (in the music landscape and overall i mean), you appreciate that so much more. i am practically obsessed with stuff like Melt Banana, Guitar Wolf, Fullrangecaution, Mono, and Cornelius (the Tokyo DJ i've stumbled upon today that prompted this entry). that seems to be the essence of Japan to foreigners, the endless mandala search--sifting through unburied power lines and big boxes to find a splendid shrine, or having one's ear canals assaulted by saccharin pop daily and then finding a band that is so distinctly itself that the old and familiar things from home pale in comparison. getting your hands dirty and finding gold.
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2 comments:
wow, I have to say I was quite intrigued by your musings. It could be because I'm about to embark on the same journey you took . . . I'm working for GEOS in kagoshima. Anyhow, thought I'd thank you for the insight. Nice to know that there are those who still retain their soul while working in for-profit education; it put me at a little more ease. -Rob
thank you!! wow, that's quite the compliment. really. how do you like Kagoshima? i went there last week during Golden Week. nice place.
and about GEOS, just keep plugging away, dude. you'll get through it. better opportunities abound in Japan than the Big 3, you just have to make the connections and find them.
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