[sycayersou]

Why did I first start listening?
Well, it's a long and boring story.

Here;
I was about six years old, and (a very mature child, surprisingly. What happened? O_o) in love with the masters; Tchaikovsky, Shostakovitch, and Chopin. (My grandpa liked art music, and I spent an amount of time with him)

At the time, I spent alot of time at my best friend's house, and her elder sister's best friend had moved to japan for... work, or college, or something (I forget), and had fallen in love with the visual scene. She sent my friend's sister some tapes (Malice Mizer, X Japan etc) and I just happened to overhear Seraph (Mizer) when I was visiting. I fell in love, and never looked back.

Thinking on it, it was all kinda coincidental, and hugely lucky.
I owe Malice Mizer everything, from my love of Visual Kei (and rock as a whole), to the fact that I'm not a chav.


And there you have it.

Reasons I still like Japanese music;
Well, for a start, it's very innovative alot of the time. Look at Miyavi - how much has he changed, how many times has he reinvented himself, since Due le Quartz?
And then there's the fact that, since I don't know enough Japanese to actually, accurately translate, I have to gain impressions from the music itself, which makes me listen more.
The artists tend to have actual skill, and not just sex appeal (although, the have their fair share of that, too).
Western music has been on a downward spiral since the end of the Punk era, if you ask me.

/mini-essay