There's J-pop, which is the light, fluffy, happy, bouncy form of Japanese
popular music, the bubble gum rock of the Pacific Rim. Then there's J-rock,
a harder guitar-based sound, which mixes Goth-style costumes with performers
who carry an unearthly beauty on stage. J-rock is as much cosplay as it
is playing music, and J-rock costumes have become popular at conventions
in recent years. Many female costumers have evolved into J-rock fans, carrying
the look of the performers to conventions. A group of those fans held an
Ohayocon panel to talk about the art form that has entranced them.
Groups like Malice Mizer are populated with extremely beautiful men,
often wearing dresses (as in the case of former group member Mana). Costumer
Yaya explains the men-in-dresses practice this way: "In Japan, when they
describe a beautiful man, they say he's as beautiful as a woman. So, beauty
is androgynous. That's why you have so many bishonen in manga." And while
some North American male fans might not understand the appeal of beautiful
men, Yaya said that performers such as Mana "drive the women crazy."
But is the J-rock ideal so foreign? No, it resembles an heightened
version of the U.S. glam-rock of the 1980's that produced Kiss and the
Rocky Horror Picture Show. Have you ever been at a Rocky Horror performance
where the audience dresses like the characters and sings along with the
score? The way costumer Cristi describes a J-rock audience, Rocky Horror
fans would be at home at a Japanese concert. "When the audience sings along
with the bands, it's like a chorus," she said. And on both sides of the
Pacific, J-rock fans can't wait for their favorite performers' latest albums
to be released.
