J-Rox (2nd Edition)

(This is a recycled article with some minor editing)

Some people are wondering why I listen to mostly Japanese songs most of the time? To be honest, it’s not that I am a real J-Rock fan. It’s just that most Japanese songs happen to sound like a music to my ears because for me, music must be something that entertaining and amusing, not just for happy-fun purpose like what imposed by 99.99% of englische songs. Besides, most englische songs are only love-themed which makes me sick all this time. No, it’s not that I hate love, but repeatedly listening to the word ‘love’ over and over again is too annoying. Love is not the only most beautiful thing in the universe y’know? There are many other beautiful things that can be considered and turn them into a song.

Now, how do I manage my playlist? I am extremely strict when it comes to selecting songs. It’s not that I listen to any/all available Japanese songs out there. First, I only listen to anime and games OST because for me, being and OST, those songs are like, the best or ‘the chosen one’. I only listen to OSTs of anime/games that I like. Therefore, even if the anime/games that I hate (like Narutah) have some good theme songs, I won't allow myself to get them. Then, from those songs, I will choose those that sounds more ‘rock’ than pop. Normally, pop songs are discarded at this stage.

Other than rock-themed OSTs, I also 'heavily' listen to classical(orchestra) or Celtic themed OSTs like those composed by Kou Ootani (Haibane Renmei/Ailes Grise), Yuki Kajiura (Xenosaga - my favorite games), Kousuke Yamashita (Xenosaga The Animation) as well as Nobuo Uematsu. Uematsu's works are great to certain extent and I have both of his band's album (The Black Mages I & II). The Black Mages are compilation of Final Fantasy theme musics, presented in vintage rock style version. If you like 'Deep Purple'-ish classic rock music, I'm pretty sure you'll like this. My only comment is they rely too much on synthesizer that reduced some of the 'rock-factor'. I hope if they ever manage to release the 3rd album, they will refrain from using it.

Next, I will search for the available englische translation for the lyrics to give me the rough idea of what's those songs are about. Frequently, love-themed songs will be discarded at this stage. Only remaining songs that passed all this filtering process will manage to enter my playlist. Strict ain’t it?