[Everyneurotic]

Originally Posted by atsonicpark

... I mean, they're certainly more well-known here in American in 2008 than.. um.. Throwing Muses or something.. That's a completely off-the-wall example... ignore that.

you're talking about a band that's incredibly closely associated with a label that's considered to be defined and over by the end of the 80's (early 90's tops) compared to a band that's not only still contemporary but also ahead of it's time in a way.

Originally Posted by atsonicpark

...One of Matt Groening's favorite bands is Boredoms! (he also wrote an essay about his love of Trout Mask Replica -- he's a cool guy)

he also wrote a fake residents biography.

Originally Posted by atsonicpark

Also, Boredoms have been covered in every single major U.S. publication multiple times.

i insist, boredoms fans tend to be rock writers/critics, so of course they are going to find a way to get to write about them.

the thing, you hardly meet somebody who knows onanie bomb meets the sex pistols or can recognize between songs or know one of their side projects other than OOIOO, yet they can tell you they love chocolate synthetizer and eye and yoshimi. i mean, i think what i'm trying to say it's that there's a difference between being very well known and actually being big (at least sonic youth like big). like i said before, they have their fans, lots of them, but the bulk aren't that much of fans as much as casual approving listeners.

If you get bored sometimed, go to last.fm and see how many plays Boredoms have.. it may shock you.

also, keep in mind they have albums that have a lot of short songs, go see how many plays anal cunt have.

Originally Posted by atsonicpark

And, Melt-Banana, I mean, the touring with Tool and the appearance of Perfect Hair Forever has cemented them as a pretty large band as well. Not large enough where they don't play house shows, but EVERYONE who is into music that's below the "mainstream" barrier a bit knows who they are.

masonna opened for slipknot, he is still not a household name outside people who listen to noise.

and i really doubt people who are into, say, clap your hands say yeah know who melt-banana are.

then again, they are playing here and they are playing in a huge cabaret-like venue. what i said before, from my observations, is that people who love noise, noise rock and avant garde shit love them, and the punks and metalheads who know them love them, even if not all of them know them, so i can see a good size crowd in there.

Originally Posted by atsonicpark

At least that's how it is in Indiana... can't speak for the rest of the U.S....

indiana seems to be pretty enlightened, more than, say, spain from what i've seen.

Originally Posted by atsonicpark

But certainly there's a huge scene for "Japanese music" over here. At that Polysics show I went to a few months back in Ohio, GO!GO!7188 was mentioned by a middle-aged MOM that was there. This mom accompanying her daughter. And we got into this in-depth discussion and like 3 or 4 random people came up and started talking about them. It just blew my mind. "Jet ninjin!" Either she's the coolest mom ever or there are people who aren't just super-hip underground assholes like us who, y'know, appreciate good music from other places.

my mom loves later boredoms, fushitsusha, boris, bambi's dilemma, OOIOO, mono, otomo yoshihide, kousokuya, acid mothers temple, ruins and omoide hatoba, out of japanese rock music.

Originally Posted by atsonicpark

On the other hand, will this music ever be big enough to get super-mainstream-success? Not likely, but look at Dir En Grey. They're fucking HUGE (in America!) and have very few words -- except "fuck" -- in English. Someone did make a point a few posts ago that a lot of Japanese musicians don't purely sing in English which probably equals mainstream failure, and I tend to agree with that. Most people, for some reason, don't like music with lyrics they can't understand. I guess that's understandable. I typically hate all lyrics so it's never bothered me much, but yeah. I can see that.

dir en grey's success is with anime/manga comicbook types and hot topic metal and goths who are into them because they are japanese and weird but not as weird as, say, the boredoms. it's like the 5, 6, 7, 8's song, a novelty for them to be into such a band. still, they are big with a few people and not a majority.

and people into anime and manga don't like underground stuff, they are into idoru, visua kei and all the mainstream shit that's big in japan. you know what band these people (and the japanese) consider an underground band? puffy amiyumi.

Originally Posted by atsonicpark

I'm going down to a convention in Florida next week and they always have tons of Japanese CD's and shit that sell like hot cakes. Even if most of that shit is visual kei shit... but yeah.. that whole scene is bigger than most of you think...

i think it's that lots of isolated pockets of people like them, and when a concert or a convention occurs, these people get together and realize there's more than you think. but how many are really fanatical about these bands and how many are just there because it's something to do is what's being debated here.

reminds me, last year when otomo yoshihide came here and played with fred frith, gael garcia bernal came to see them, acting like a big shot; by the end of the show, people were flocking to him for autographs and crap while otomo was packing his pedals and guitar by himself.

(awesome dude, have fun).