If you'd never heard Japanese music, what would you be listening to?

[CAT5 9075]

Considering that listening to Japanese music helped open my mind up to music of nearly all styles and languages (including my own - English ^^, I'm positive that my taste in music would be much more narrow.

Basically, I'd probably only be listening to hip hop, soul music....and maybe a little trip-hop and downtempo stuff. hahaha...

[LIDL 692]

nothing happened, music wise.

Since i usually open minded with any genre of music, even country or some locale music from places i visit,

as long as it sounds good.

But, i may not talk more than 2 languages if not started listening to Japanese music.

From there, it helped me to discover my interest with languages.

Still suck at any languages i try to learn, but at least i know some basic lines hahah

[Zeus 7997]

Probably the really bad hip-hop and tolerable R&B that most of the people around here listen to, sprinkled with the 1:24 anime openings that I could get off Limewire. That's what I listened to before I got heavily into VK and then rock music anyway. I hate to toot my own horn but I probably have the most diverse musical taste out of all the people in close proximity to me.

[anieresus 270]

Well I would have stayed with my electro/trance music, and pop, another metal band here and there.

[CAT5 9075]

Probably the really bad hip-hop and tolerable R&B that most of the people around here listen to, sprinkled with the 1:24 anime openings that I could get off Limewire.

oh man...that was me 9 years ago haha. Except I was using kazaa.

GAHT DAYUM I feel old

[ronluna 17]

probably i am still listening in those common mainstream western bands

[LIDL 692]

^ linkin park/STP ftw, well for me anywayz xD

[Prism 8]

Not sure. Before I got into Japanese music I was mostly listening to your usual "big" "metal" bands. Slipknot, Trivium, System Of A Down, all that crap. Because when you're 14/15, those are metal... jeez.

I think I could possibly say... possibly... that getting into Japanese stuff is partly to thank for what I listen to now. Since I got so fucking sick of being so deep into the J-Rock/VK fandom it made me want out and to explore everywhere else as quickly as possible. Right now I pretty much will just listen to anything, though I'm mostly quite firmly in the metal camp. I still have a soft spot for some Jayyyy Rawwwwk of course, but just not nearly as much as I used to. Getting out of that restriction was the best thing I could've done.

But in any case, had the discovery of Japanese music not broadened my horizons like I think it did, I'd probably be a fairly mainstream fellow. Which rather frightens me to think about.

[doaseternity6 93]

Hmmm... Before I got into Japanese music I listened mostly to Hip-hop, soul, Jazz, Blues, Funk, a-lot of old-school musicz, some opera, some pop/soft-rock and the occasional Liberian music. Mostly the same stuff my dad listens to since he's the other resident musi-holic (the collection that rivals my own grr.) minus the country.

Before I got into J-music I was just starting to branch out into heavier rock music, mostly the popular stuff but I was getting there so I can't say that J-music opened up my horizons to various genres of music. I think that would've happened anyway since I was always pretty open with listening to new things but what it did do was it broke down the language barrier. I mean besides Liberian music (and the only reason that because half my family is Liberian) and the occasional opera, I never bothered really with music from other countries unless they were kind of known in the states already. I'd say Japanese music probably did more for me in other areas in life then actual listening habits. Post-J-music introduction, I still listen to a lot of the stuff I listened to then but now It's mixed with a plethora of different genres and languages a like, so it certainly didn't hurt either.

[Champ213 1858]

Difficult to say. Before starting with jrock my musical interests ranged from Britpop (Suede) over EBM (Project Pitchfork), punk rock (Die Ärzte, New Model Army) to 80s music (Depeche Mode) and other classic (The Beatles). When I started listening to jrock I would still keep on listening to those bands, at least occasionally. (And still do now.)

However for a few years there were little new non-japanese bands that would be added to my music catalogue. But among those that were, most were kinda mainstream indierock (oxymoron, I know XD) like Franz Ferdinand or The Killers (both of which I still moderatly enjoy today). So maybe I would have went more strongly into this direction if it wasn't for jrock. However, I can't imagine that I would ever have given up my love for heavier/dark/gothy stuff, so it probably would have been a mixture of indie/alt rock, goth (metal) and electronic/industrial stuff, plus my old favourites.

My love for death metal is relatively new though (3 years or so), because before that I couldn't really warm up to death vocals in general. XD

[TheBistroButcher666 228]

I'd probably be a narrow minded metal head bitching about how this metal band is MOAR TR00 then that band and can probably beat up your band because they're vikings. Y'know, the usual typical tr00 metal rants

[saishuu 3220]

I'd probably be listening to your usual mainstream pop/rock, like Matchbox Twenty, The Fray, Paramore, Keane and James Morrison - things I still love and listen to -, as well as pop, hip-hop and R&B (all the so-called "divas" included).

I also had a "metal phase" when I was teenager, but that didn't long until I discovered Japanese music and honestly, there were only a few things out of it that I could truly enjoy, so it's most likely I'd be done with it too.

[Number Girl 48]

Lol. . .it would probably be an odd mixture of mainstream rap and hip-hop like Drake, Lil' Wayne, or Young Money and mainstream poppish-country like Taylor Swift, Rascal Flatts, and Keith Urban.

Before I got into Japanese music, I didn't much care about music at all, really. Just whatever came on the local radio. ^^

[Guest o hai itz will]

If I had never found J-Rock, I'd probably still be listening to shitty classic rock.

[allisapp 303]

Hmm, I think that I would still listen these band which I still do; System of a Down, (old) Metallica, Kotiteollisuus, Marilyn Manson and finnish "classic-bands", which are band like Eppu Normaali, Dingo, Leevi and the Leavings etc. But yeah, I think that my music taste wouldn't have changed much, because I've always liked same kind of bands. (Because of my brother, who civilize western bands to me)

[jarrad 1]

I have no idea really... because before I got heavily into Jrock I listened to metal (folk, melodic death etc.) but before that I used to listen to anime openings and stuff because I was obsessed with anime. But it was an anime opening and ending that got me into metal (Maximum the Hormone lol) because before that I despised any music with screaming in it. Maximum the Hormone however showed me that it could be good so I got curious about other metal with screaming in it and you know progressed from there.

So I would say if I had never listened to any Japanese music before I would still just listen to whatever was popular and on the Radio frequently. Which is all shit, so you know... Japanese music has done a bit for me lol.

[Hakoniwa 222]

Hmm.. japanese music helped open my mind up to music too, but I think I already liked different kinds of music since before, because of my parents and my brother. Also, my father and brother are musicians, and my mother loves music just as much as I do, so I've always been surrounded by music of all kinds.

Even so, I guess I'd be listening to the same kind of things they've always listened to at home, like Pink Floyd, Scorpions, The Beatles, and a lot of bossa nova and MPB (Brazil's Popular Music....even though it's a genre itself, and it's not even that "popular" nowadays anymore lol). I've always hated the same genres I hate today, so I don't think I'd be going to those.

So anyway...I think I'd be listening to a lot of proggressive rock, hard rock.. and heavy metal. And lots of MPB. I've gotten used to those since forever, so it would be the natural path, I think...

Even though this doesn't sound so bad... I think I'd be less open minded to music, and would miss a lot of good things.

Thing is, I only really started feeling music the way I feel now because of a japanese band (Do As Infinity), and I've been listening to them (and others) since then. There were some bands I enjoyed back then, but none I'd like enough to make me an obsessive fan like DoAs did at first listen. This is why it's kinda difficult to tell...

But there's more... I think sometimes the music you listen to can translate who you are. There are many people I got to know because of japanese music, and they became great friends... always supporting me and helping me grow as a person. If I hadn't met such people, I'd probably be a bit different, so who knows what I'd be listening to...

[Tokage 5930]

Probably hipster indie rock, electro and stuff similar to that lol

[Seiji 156]

Before listening japanese music, I was just listening to all kinds of english and german metal.

Like many others here I became much more open minded through japanese music.

Now I'm listening to all kinds of music, as far as I think it sounds good. I give nearly everything at least a try.

I think if I never started listening to japanese music, I'd stick with metal until now and would be vocalist in some generic metalband

[finnthesubhuman 26]

God forbid I'd still be listening to grindcore ><"

Hearing Japanese music has made me find a place where music subjects mean nothing and it's all about how the music gets the point across, like it should be. Not lyrics. It's all about the art when you can't understand a thing they say XD

[tosinn 3]

The bands that I listen to now apart from j-rock, which are mainly indie rock. Like Tegan and Sara, Metric, An Horse, Stars, Ra Ra Riot, DCFC, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, etc.

I'd also listen more to System of a Down and Slipknot.

[Tohya 2]

i think i'd had stuck at bands like green day, the living end, the blackout and stuff.

i'm listening to them next to the japanese music also.

but the japanese music is 90% of my library, so... XD

[Aion 184]

probably Britpop and sort alike music as Kaiser Chiefs, Editors, Killers (yeah, I know they're not Brittish, but they sound like one ), Franz Ferdinand, The Kooks etc...

[Kanopi Kanae 0]

Evanescence, Lacuna Coil, Within Temptation and Nightwish I guess :C

[Cas 4]

Hmm, I'd probably be listening to a lot of rock and metal music. However, I doubt that I would have gotten into electronic and pop music.