Why do I listen to something so "stupid?" Even though YOU won't read this, here ya go. It's all I'll ever say.
So this band I like, they’re called the GazettE. They’re Japanese. They barely speak English, and when they do it’s hard to tell that it’s English. Things are worded in a different way, and some phrases get "lost in translation." It’s a pronunciation and syllable emphasis thing too. Combine all of that and then add some screaming/growling and I doubt even someone who is fluent in both languages will understand what’s being said.
For whatever reason, I've got some people wondering why the hell I’m listening to music that’s in a language I don’t understand. I know more Spanish than Japanese, so if I want to listen to foreign music why don’t I listen to some nice, soothing, high-pitched Enrique Iglesias? More than that, gosh, they just dress so weird! And omg, look at their hair!
Grow. Up.
Isn’t music supposed to transcend race, time, and culture? Isn’t it supposed to reach to the masses of people around the world despite the language it’s sung in? I always thought so.
I think part of my attraction to this band is purely because I can’t understand what they’re saying.
When I listen to music, the analytical writer in me goes into full blown critique-mode and rips the lyrics apart, tries to find meaning in them for me and the artist, then proceeds to ponder over the words being said and their context. It’s just what I do. Every song, every time. While the lyrics are important, what happens to me is that I lose the overall meaning and feel of the song. I get too wrapped up in those lyrics. I concentrate on the words and lose the emotion. It’s like having tunnel vision, and as a result I lose the entire song.
Anyway, by-the-by, I learn of this band. So I burn myself a mix CD for my trips to Wausau. Thirty minutes is usually enough for me to decide whether or not I like a band. I listen to a couple songs, thinking they’re pretty okay, then this one comes on. It’s titled “Filth in the Beauty,” and oh my god, now I know what it means when a song speaks to you. Because I couldn’t tear the lyrics to shreds (I didn’t even know if they were in English), all that left me with was the sound.
The Sound.
It’s strong. It’s haunted. It’s brazen. It’s eerie. It’s composed. It’s wild. It rattled me straight to the core. And it wasn’t just the instruments I was listening to. I could feel Ruki’s voice. The tension, the rue, the overwhelming desperation and vehemence and triumph all pulled together into four minutes and eleven seconds of not a song, but a story. It didn’t matter what the words were because the Sound was all the meaning I needed. It had fervor, sincerity, hell, it shook me in a way that doesn’t happen often.
I…I don’t have words for how that song makes me feel. Or the playlist I jigsawed together which features mostly songs from the GazettE, but also some other bands I’ve come to adore.
In short, I listen to this genre of music because I like it.* And if I need to give a longer, more in-depth reason than what I’ve already written to justify myself to others, too bad. If they don’t get it when I say it short and sweet, then they won’t get it if I expand it either.
*Isn’t that the reason for any preference? Not only music, but food, movies, books, clothing, colors, etc?
Afterthought: Filth in the Beauty - the GazettE
13Stairs - the GazettE (maybe my favorite song of theirs)
No comments:
Post a Comment