Why is "rock music" so big in Japan but no Japanese band has made it big on the world stage?

Question

Apart from the The 5,6,7,8's who are an exception to the rule

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBBqOTd5qzE

mister-damus · Accepted Answer

You can say that about a lot of countries where rock music is big (latin america, france, germany, italy, Norway, Russia, etc.).

Also, since english is the lingua franca now, of course american and british bands will dominate (even the non-english speaking bands who happen to become famous out of their own countries a lot of times sing in english or no one will listen to them).

Gimme a break, dude.

harbingerscott · Answer

Dunno.
Most big-time bands sing in English, even those like ABBA, who were not from English-speaking countries. I suppose any Japanese band would have to write their songs in English to make it world-wide. Only problem is, the Japanese usually have trouble pronouncing the "L" sound, since it's not in their vocabulary. That is not to say that Japanese singers could not overcome this difficulty with practice. And besides, there may come a time when Japanese language pop songs "break into" the US and world the same way that Japanese anime has gone worldwide. There was a time that only American rockers were big-time, and look at what the Beatles did! Perhaps someday there will be a Japanese version of the Beatles.

Elaine · Answer

Based on How they are in their own Genre – 11s -- Budgie, Hawkwind 10s -- Traffic, Tomorrow, Velvet Underground, Gentle Giant, Caravan, Renaissance, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Suicide, actually "Crass" should get a 10 for "The Feeding of the 5000" - an important Punk album 9s -- Spirit, Love, Bloodrock, Tony Williams Lifetime, U.K., X 8s – Armageddon, Skyhooks, It's a Beautiful Day, Mason Proffit, United States of America 7s - Badger, The Seeds, Pavlov's Dog, Grobschnitt 6s - The Fugs, Glass Harp, Kraan 3 – Flipper Have not heard enough (or any) to judge -- Music Machine, Sir Douglas Quintet, Sir Lord Baltimore, Butts Band, Van Dyke Parks, David Ackles, Jorge Ben, Gilberto Gil, Fela Kuti, Merzbow, Fear, Big Boys, Weirdos, Aorta, Head Hands & Feet, Kollectiv, Primevil, Left Banke BQ -- I was not aware of this album!! It looks really interesting -- I love Blows Against the Empire.

Predator · Answer

I dont think rock is any more popular in Japan than for example Poland or France... and how many Polish and French rock bands do you kow? (No, actually I think its even less popular in Japan...)

Other than that, I hear Boris and Gallhammer from Japan are gaining popularity (theyre a little more than rock though).
Also, visual kei bands like Dir en grey, Alice nine, Gazette, MUCC and such are quite popular in some European countries and even in the US.  Dir en grey has toured in the US a couple of times and was even on the Family Values tour in 2006, other visual kei bands have often had concerts in different places in Europe.

chippie_minton · Answer

Shonen Knife!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9RAbi2xEvo

Anonymous · Answer

If you want to know a very good vocal coach try to visit https://tr.im/g6bfM an online vocal coaching tutorial. Everything, ranging from breathing fundamentals, vocalizing exercises, techniques on singing high and low notes, how to not go off-key/out of tune/off-sync, musicianship and music theory, proper diction and articulation, and a lot more are covered, all in our native language. It can be quite technical in nature, but it really helps since it covers the musical aspect of singing deeply and not just concentrates on how to impress people with your vocal range, riffs and runs and other cliches that do not necessarily make one a complete vocalist.

Anonymous · Answer

Because most native English speakers prefer to hear music in English, hence why Britain and America have always dominated rock music?

Alipatta · Answer

Now come on.... what about VowWow? They were HUGE (ahem) in the 80's.... they even had a bona fide bass player in Neil Murray from Whitesnake playing for them....
okay... you're right.... i've no idea, I think they got into the top 40 - ish in the UK with their version of Helter Skelter but beyond that, nowt.

Paul M · Answer

Probably because the Japanese like things Western, yet as they mainly sing in their native tongue, us Westerners perhaps don't like listening to non-English language music.