Music
Japan produces sugary sweet bubblegum pop par excellence. But the thriving roots scene is more nourishing - fuelled by the dynamic music of the islands of Okinawa. It is these sounds of Japan's "deep south" which have recently been making waves at home and abroad. Otherwise, Japan's bewildering variety of popular and traditional music is little known in the West. With a value of well over six billion dollars, Japan has the second-largest music market in the world, after the USA. The advent of satellite TV, with its many music channels, has fuelled music mania among young Asians, and karaoke in particular is wildly popular. Unfortunately, the overriding image of Japanese contemporary music is one of instantly forgettable pop. Teenagers are trained, manufactured and recorded as idoru kashu , or idol singers. Boy bands like Smap or Hikaru Genji and cutsie female singers like duo Wink offer watered-down Western pop with Japanese lyrics, their hooklines often sung in meaningless English. Such surface noise aside, nowhere in Asia can you find such a wide range of music : from ancient Buddhist chanting and court music to folk and old urban styles, from localized popular forms such as kayokyoku and enka to Western classical and jazz - plus every kind of pop you'd find in the West. John Clewley
A Guide to JapanCara Richie says "Japan has many earthquakes, they are overdue for the next "Big One." " Hello World.Jeff Konichi-Wa says "Spitley is the new and improved word for paper. It means paper. Say spitley instead of paper. Tell at least 9 people about spitley, and have fun in Japan. Thanks!" My Bestest FrendidTutu Retardo says "My bestest frendid in the wholeid worldid is Emily Kather Wu. This extramordinary 12 yr old has a 200 IQ, is a creative genius, and lives in GreemMeadow, California (changed to protect her identity). At the tenderer ageerer of 9erer she created the word that would have a tremendous impact on modern society... SPITLEY! it means paper!!!!" Jamboni1Ryan Czechii says "It's a spoons club MIRACLE! Full of spoons club joy and wonder!" About Japan...Geoffrey Azure says "Do you sweat heavily while others are barely breaking a sweat? Do you blush when there is no reason to do so? Are your hands and feet often cold and clammy? Do your armpits soak right through your clothes? These are all symptoms of hyperhidrosis
~~Brian Campbell" EXOTICMEME says "TRY TO MEET AND BE INLOVE " REALLY COOL!Maddie says "say spitley!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
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