I was entertained, at least briefly. Interesting to imagine a time trip where they play Hamburg in 1962.
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Love or hate the genre, they are talented.
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I've been a metalhead my whole life, and Baby Metal is certainly not my cup of tea. It's probably because I take myself too seriously 
The band is definitely talented...it's the vocals I can't get over.
The band is definitely talented...it's the vocals I can't get over.
I've been a metalhead my whole life, and Baby Metal is certainly not my cup of tea. It's probably because I take myself too seriously
The band is definitely talented...it's the vocals I can't get over.
I thought the vocals was the best thing about it but then again, I'm not into Power Metal type stuff. And I use the term Metal very loosely.
The amount of kawaii "cuteness" that has penetrated every facet of Japanese culture is nauseating...
Grats putting words in my mouth.
Here's the deal: NO ONE is getting paid. My band does OK; when people hear us they like us. That doesn't matter though because there is no pay day for local bands. The ladder out is gone.
What does that have to do with Babymetal?
This is pre-packaged sensationalism and people are eating it up. How many great bands are getting ground down or will simply never happen because of money? Meanwhile something like this is baked like a cake and given a massive budget to get their name out there. Then people say "Babymetal isn't boring to watch like other bands." Babymetal basically cheated their way to the front of the line. Give one of your local bands big label support, big venues full of people, and a gaggle of handlers to make them look "right" on stage and they could do really well too.
The point I keep trying to make is that the performers are all talented in their ways, but NONE of it would matter if it wasn't for the spectacle of it. Without the money and the polish, this act would never get off the ground. Beyond the jarring juxtaposition of J-pop vocals with super generic metal riffs that don't transition well, and the slightly creepy idea behind putting 3 Japanese minors in front of a crowd of drunk metal dudes, there is the sad fact that people are distracted by shiny objects. The builders of this group are cashing in on other people's desires for brain numbing entertainment. Its A Brave New World.
If you're good with that; enjoy.
It is from Japan ... they don't have the same culture as us and who knows, I also doubt they play in front of drunk dude, it isn't very japanease to make a fool of yourself in public.
Also school girls, is something they like over there.
For you it is creepy, for them is pretty much basic.
What we see here is a clash of culture.
I could be wrong but I think I disagree with this. Take an average band and throw money at them does not guarantee they will be largely successful. Most of these big acts are produced for the average listener and most smaller acts can often be stuck with a specialized smaller audience. I think I am some proof of this as I cannot stomach most metal I hear and quickly move on whereas I watched this with some enthusiasm. Not because of shiny and bright either but because the sound was more universally produced for a broader pallette. I also hear many metal bands can't make a buck at all, whereas playing in cover bands I make pretty good money and still get to play and have a great time, even while changing up the tunes to fit our sound and its because we play music the average listener wants to hear.
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I get what you're saying. Honestly, I do. I think most of us do.
The point I was trying to make earlier is that there's nothing new about it. At all. This has been the pattern for as long as there has been a record industry.
The period during which big record labels were willing to take a chance on up and coming artists was really a lot shorter than most people realize. Maybe fifteen years, tops, and those fifteen years ended about 30 years ago. The fact that very few big record labels even exist anymore means they are even less inclined to develop artists if they can make a bigger profit on manufactured fluff, but there's nothing new about this model and BabyMetal is hardly novel in that regard.
So, again, I ask: what does it have to do with this thread? You've stated that you don't care for the aesthetic or the music and that's fine; the OP asked (sort of) if we liked it and you don't. Cool. You also stated that you feel that, while the players are obviously technically accomplished, that's not necessarily a measure of "talent". Cool. I'll buy that, too. Right on topic.
It's where you start getting into the inequities of the music business/entertainment industry that you lose me. I see how BabyMetal can be used as an example of those perceived inequities (okay... they're not perceived, they're real), but it's not really what the OP was about at all. The OP was simply pointing out that the people executing this pop fluff were, at least somewhat, talented.
I don't think anything you've said has been wrong, I just don't don't feel you directed it at the right thread. Just my perception. I'm really not trying to fan any flames.
+1000 Most metal I hear there is little that can be discerned in the mix - its more about the emotions the energy evokes I guess, an extreme example for me would be Swan - I just don't hear music but that is a perceptual and subjective statement. I don't understand Japanese, but I bet if I did I could tell what she was singing about. But I am not young anymore, metal I grew up with still had parts that you could pick out and words that you could sing to. But really, to each their own.
Check Band-Maid all female Japanese hard rock band. They play the instruments too.
Band-Maid - all female Japanese hard rock band
Band-Maid - all female Japanese hard rock band
I agree. I was innocently enjoying my tequila when I came a across it and decided to see what people thought. 90% of the responses are what I expected, but there will always be a few that use it to launch a discussion about something they feel strongly about. I really don't disagree with most of the complaints, I worked my tail off in the late 80's to write and record good music. Got a lot of positive feedback and a possible prospect. It never went anywhere. I ended up in cover bands for the next 25 years playing stuff that was so far beneath our ability it was painful. Met a lot of people along the way who had similar stories, probably most TBers do as well. It's not about what's fair, it's about what sells.
This is Babymetal's debut.... in 2010.
Small stage in the Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse. This act was a sub-group of a larger teen-idol group (Sakura Gakuin) that obviously took off. Only in 2012, did they actually use the live backing band (Kami Band). The music is from different composers that are in their own bands... and perhaps not as popular world-wide.
I don't listen to Babymetal, but I do listen to other J-Pop acts. Some are pure J-Pop idol music, some are hybrids of rock and/or hip-hop. And while I do recognize I'm not listening to Talkbass' preferred styles of talented music, I listen to it because I simply enjoy it. Not to break down the music theory or production values. Or even learn the songs - because my cover band unfortunately doesn't listen to what I like. And neither do any local bars and venues.
What I'm getting at is this isn't just an overnight sensation. This is a six year old group that continues to gain new fans by finally enjoying worldwide exposure.
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As for me, I'm just in a band to entertain folks, not show off my mad bass playing skills. If that means a 10-minute rendition of "Mustang Sally" and people are dancing, it doesn't matter to me that Johnny McBassmaster is giving me the stink-eye because he knows he can outplay me.
Small stage in the Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse. This act was a sub-group of a larger teen-idol group (Sakura Gakuin) that obviously took off. Only in 2012, did they actually use the live backing band (Kami Band). The music is from different composers that are in their own bands... and perhaps not as popular world-wide.
I don't listen to Babymetal, but I do listen to other J-Pop acts. Some are pure J-Pop idol music, some are hybrids of rock and/or hip-hop. And while I do recognize I'm not listening to Talkbass' preferred styles of talented music, I listen to it because I simply enjoy it. Not to break down the music theory or production values. Or even learn the songs - because my cover band unfortunately doesn't listen to what I like. And neither do any local bars and venues.
What I'm getting at is this isn't just an overnight sensation. This is a six year old group that continues to gain new fans by finally enjoying worldwide exposure.
---
As for me, I'm just in a band to entertain folks, not show off my mad bass playing skills. If that means a 10-minute rendition of "Mustang Sally" and people are dancing, it doesn't matter to me that Johnny McBassmaster is giving me the stink-eye because he knows he can outplay me.
