Kpop is coming
Been reading a lot of Manga lately. Shouldn't read too many different series in one go. All I have right now is Black Butler, Ouran High School Host Club and Absolute Boyfriend. Out of these titles I definitely like Black Butler and Ouran. Black Butler is still going so I won't rush with that series.
On the subject of Kpop, I recently discovered that a Central London HMV store are starting to sell physical copies of Kpop albums. Will have to go see what is available as I am going to Central London this Saturday anyway (going to try to catch Jersey Boys singing in department store). I remember seeing one or two Jpop CDs a very long time ago in HMV Piccadilly Circus store. They had Gackt, BoA and Hamasaki Ayumi from what my memory tells me. I think one band that might have trouble finding a specific shelf is Dir en grey as I've seen them in the World Music section and another store had them in the metal area. Either way I think it's great that Kpop is starting to surface into the public eye through HMV. It will probably appeal to RnB and hip hop fans in the UK more than Otakus who have dug deep into Animanga, Jpop and Jrock.
I still think Jrock (and I guess Jpop) is going to have a difficult time being taken seriously and remain underground, accessible to those who have that interest and who stumble across it through the power of the web or word of mouth. It just saddens me how people mock the very idea of Visual Kei or how Japanese metalheads can't rock out like their favourite bands from this side of the globe. That's cultural division for you.
I was reading through old posts and remember I wrote about the BBC board. My previous post about a Britishchineseonline.com thread in regards to the Korean wave and how popular it was. The rather annoying elitism in the posts was a reminder of why I have this ongoing grudge against the Kpop fandom which has easily caught up with the same leve of insanity as Jrock fandom drama.
On the subject of Kpop, I recently discovered that a Central London HMV store are starting to sell physical copies of Kpop albums. Will have to go see what is available as I am going to Central London this Saturday anyway (going to try to catch Jersey Boys singing in department store). I remember seeing one or two Jpop CDs a very long time ago in HMV Piccadilly Circus store. They had Gackt, BoA and Hamasaki Ayumi from what my memory tells me. I think one band that might have trouble finding a specific shelf is Dir en grey as I've seen them in the World Music section and another store had them in the metal area. Either way I think it's great that Kpop is starting to surface into the public eye through HMV. It will probably appeal to RnB and hip hop fans in the UK more than Otakus who have dug deep into Animanga, Jpop and Jrock.
I still think Jrock (and I guess Jpop) is going to have a difficult time being taken seriously and remain underground, accessible to those who have that interest and who stumble across it through the power of the web or word of mouth. It just saddens me how people mock the very idea of Visual Kei or how Japanese metalheads can't rock out like their favourite bands from this side of the globe. That's cultural division for you.
I was reading through old posts and remember I wrote about the BBC board. My previous post about a Britishchineseonline.com thread in regards to the Korean wave and how popular it was. The rather annoying elitism in the posts was a reminder of why I have this ongoing grudge against the Kpop fandom which has easily caught up with the same leve of insanity as Jrock fandom drama.