J-rock, slowly going away

I notice in japanese teen rock music, it is getting more and more like American rock, it's like soon there will be no difference anymore, but why?

Bands like: one ok rock, my first story, SiM, swanky dank and others

but other bands like: KANA-BOON, noisemaker, blue encount, girugamesh and others are also very popular with teens but still keep the japanese influnce

so why are certain J-rock leaning towards American style?

Different bands have different styles and fans they cater to. ONE OK ROCK is more "mainstream" while some of the other bands you listed are not. When bands go mainstream they often must tone down their styles and make them more appealing to a larger amount of people. This is common in both the US and in Japan.

And just like in the US, there are people interested in "indie" style bands because they aren't mainstream and therefore can be more free to create a specific look or style.

ONE OK ROCK, for example, has also had some roster changes due to a scandal of one of the members a few years back, so they had to change some of their sound.

Anyway, I don't see Japanese bands losing what makes them unique; there's always a new indie band coming along, and they come and go.

But look at older bands like X Japan and LUNA SEA, they kept more japanese influence then others today.

X Japan was influenced somewhat by the glam style of rock popular in Britain in the '70's and went on to pioneer Visual Kei. Bands get influence from all over for their work. Nothing's changed in that respect; Western rock is and always was an influence, and recently with the famous Japanese bands, the influence is going to other way too.

I'm not saying X Japan didn't do something unique, because they did, but they were still influenced by Western style trends at the time, then taken past that.

I don't agree today's bands are somehow "less" Japanese because their influence is still often Western Rock since that is typical with all the bands listed. I don't know where you're getting this "Japanese influence"... different bands have different sounds, and that is what appeals to a large array of people. Even if you don't like bands like Girugamesh, you may like ONE OK ROCK, and that's fine. It doesn't make them "less Japanese" somehow.

A certain percentage of rock groups always followed the more American style (and British style and other styles) than Japanese, every since the birth of rock'n' roll in the mid 20th century. And before that there was American style jazz, blues, big bands and so on.

X Japan and LUNA SEA, they kept more japanese influence then others

Whoa, there seem to be a whole world of Japanese major rock bands you haven't heard yet.

I was just putting out an example, I know the rock duo the B'z, mr.children and much more.

No, I'm only saying that if you think X Japan and LUNA SEA are bands that had kept more japanese influence then others, then you haven't seen bands that truly kept Japanese influence such as all the Ikaten bands, mentai bands, ani-son bands and so on. Because to me, X Japan and Luna Sea aren't really bands that have kept Japanese influence. Nothing wrong about that though.

I see, I know some bands that I listed were from the Visual Kei movement, I just thought Visual Kei is the best Japanese Signature.

Okay. As implied, visual-kei was originally influenced from 70s British and New York bands as well as more modern Scandinavian bands. But yeah, teenagers abroad seem to like visual-kei the best. In Japan, other genres were always more popular.

If you REALLY want to listen to bands that are the heaviest in "Japanese Influence", I think you should look for those that use traditional Japanese instruments in their music, such as shakuhachi, shamisen, koto, etc.

Unfortunately, Kagrra, disbanded, but they are a good example. I don't know if Rin' is still around either, but they are also good. Also, for example the Yoshida Brothers are shamisen players that do a lot of collabs with big name singers/bands/etc., and while their style is both traditional instrumental and sometimes pop, they've done collabs with rock bands too so you might find a few songs you like.

These days I'm a bit out of touch with the most recent bands, so I can't give any newcomer recommendations off the top of my head, but maybe someone else will chip in with some suggestions.

I hope those are rock bands and not just old traditional japanese music bands.

Kisukeyo- no those bands they mentioned such as Kagrra are not old traditional bands, they are modern bands but mix in Japanese instruments/melodies into their rock music.

Just for reference, this is a list of top 12 bands that members of university band circles in Japan like. The list was updated as of September 2014, based on a questionnaire. I don't know if they would appear "American" to you or not, but to me, they look like everyday college students in Japan and yet different from bands in the American top 10.

http://matome.naver.jp/odai/2141126889714010601

...why would I list "old traditional Japanese music bands" in a thread about JRock? Yes, they are modern rock bands, which happen to include traditional Japanese instruments for a unique sound.

And at this point to most teenagers X-Japan and LUNA SEA and the like ARE "old Japanese music bands", just as an FYI.

Sorry because you said traditional instruments I just thought it was old japanese traditional music, I know that X japan and LUNA SEA are old japanese music but there are not traditional, they are legendary aren't they? I know L'Arc~en~ciel is legendary being the first Japanese band to perform in madison square garden.

L'Arc~en~ciel is legendary being the first Japanese band to perform in madison square garden.

I didn't know that. Again, they're much popular overseas than they are in Japan where Gackt has more exposure.

I have to disagree with that, Most of the time, the reason why an American can know about japanese music is through anime, every single American person that I have ever met has to like anime to know about japanese music, I don't know one one American person who listens to japanese music and doesn't like anime, they know japanese music through anime, and anime isn't too much popular in America, so the same will go for it's music. Think about it, I spoke to a japanese friend once and he said Hyde is way popular in japan, I can't find anyone in America who likes hyde and knows about him. Even though some Americans like ONE OK ROCK it is still extremely popular in japan because the only people who like ONE OK ROCK in America, are anime lovers.

The post as of 2014/11/6 00:32 doesn't contradict with my last post.

It does.

Given that you are in Florida and have limited access to Japanese media, and only have rudimentary Japanese language skills, do you really think that you have a handle on the entirety of the current J-rock scene?

Seems much of your opinions come from fellow Americans who listen to Japanese music and watch anime. Wouldn't that group be predisposed to prefer J-rock which leans towards American style?