Japanese Punk and The American Music Sponge
It's 2008. And now, the world of music snobbery has turned against me. Japanese Rock, or J-Rock, has taken a foothold in the hipster scene. I have in my possession three mixed cds from my various cooler-than-me friends, who unknowingly, thought that I'd like the noisy, whiny, costumed music.
It seems like Japanese rock takes all the worst elements of punk, garage, girl rock, and techno and manages to ruin it. Bands like Hi-Standard, Hawaiian6, Snail Ramp and Huskingbee took Japanese punk, or no wave punk, to huge levels of popularity. A lot of J-pop and J-rock rejects the Japanese ideals of harmony and conformity. Good for them. Bad for my ears.
The onslaught of J-Rock in the American urban scene was exacerbated by the popularity of the anime Fullmetal Alchemist. Everyone watches this poopie McPoopie show, and it's winning awards for it's awesome music. Huh. I hate you.