Friends/Family You've Converted/Gotten Hooked

[Nimh]

I have 2 sets of CDs in the car...a normal set for me, and a set of English-only tracks for when I have passengers. It cuts down on the eye-rolling.

[TurtleFu]

I used to give a shit about playing non-English music out loud. Now I don't. If I'm biking, you can deal with Perfume playing.

[deadgrandma]

I used to give a crap about what my friends thought about my music until I realised one key thing: they don't give a crap about what I think about theirs. So FUCK 'EM!

[thespidereggs]

Originally Posted by Nimh

I have 2 sets of CDs in the car...a normal set for me, and a set of English-only tracks for when I have passengers. It cuts down on the eye-rolling.

I've tried that as well, adding English-language tracks to mixes I play in the car. Still, some lyrics are still bound to produce eye-rolls... I'm looking at a certain pro-stitute.

[Scribble R]

My partner will never love Shiina Ringo. But Ikiru from Ultra C is what made him 'see why I like her.' That's good enough for me. I think she went all out in that performance. The ugh, too much factor was what got me hooked in the first place. Ikiru evokes that feeling. It's SR at her ugliest.

[kalmia]

Originally Posted by deadgrandma

I used to give a crap about what my friends thought about my music until I realised one key thing: they don't give a crap about what I think about theirs. So FUCK 'EM!

Well, the real problem here is that we're severely outnumbered. The mentality of the majority is very egotistical and reinforced by society. In other words, they don't care what one person thinks because they know that most people agree with their tastes. There is a lot of security drilled into their thinking. It's not so easy for most people that are the odd man out, but I really do wish more people would think like you. As for me, I'm still somehow a bit embarrassed by my musical interests. I won't ever deny that I like something but I don't flaunt it in the presence of others either. Peer pressure is just really strong.

It is truly difficult to introduce an artist like Ringo to westerners. Not only does she sing in a foreign tongue, but her music is also very unique and different from American music. It is difficult for them to comprehend those differences, so they dismiss the music. I have plans to play KZK (paired with other selections from her discography) to some members of my family later this year. I'm excited but a bit apprehensive about it, actually. As soon as I share Ringo with them, I won't have anything in this world that I love that is uniquely mine (at least within the people know). But how could I keep something so great a secret forever? I'll let you all know their reactions and comments later.

[James Shoegazer]

Well I tried once and will never again
An ex-friend told me her voice sounded like....a foot job
damn...

[kalmia]

Originally Posted by Nimh

I have 2 sets of CDs in the car...a normal set for me, and a set of English-only tracks for when I have passengers. It cuts down on the eye-rolling.

I thought of doing something similar to this. I've collected all of the English tracks that I have knowledge of and am working on finding the best playlist order. I wonder which English songs would have the best impression on English speakers, while also showing off Ringo's versatility. La salle de bain, Sakuran, Stem... Oh, what I would give to have SS, KZK or even MM recorded with English vocals -- just to show it off to those who need their English lyrics. I'm seriously looking forward studio recordings of some of the tracks she's been singing in English. If they're only in Japanese when we finally get them, I'm protesting.

[Inseu]

Originally Posted by kalmia

Oh, what I would give to have SS, KZK or even MM recorded with English vocals -- just to show it off to those who need their English lyrics.

Don't see the point of showing music off to others. People around me listen to classic rock, screamo or rap, I'll never convince them to like Japanese music. And most people don't care for music at all.

The main reason I listen to Japanese music is because I don't have to deal with silly lyrics in English. Ringo singing in clear English sucks. It's only cool when it's Engrish in which I can understand important words like "darling" and "baby".

[kalmia]

Sure, there are people that can't appreciate music for what it is and some people don't particularly take to music at all. But it's just unfortunate to me that some people won't give an artist a fair chance if they don't sing in English. There are plenty of people that would "listen to her if she sang in English". And I think her pronunciation is steadily improving. I was floored when I heard IT WAS YOU for the first time. Of course, the lyrics would not be on par with the Japanese counterparts... but it would mean more people would give a chance to what I really love -- the music. If it meant that some gems had to be downgraded a bit, so be it.

English lyrics can be silly but they can also be serious and heartfelt. Japanese lyrics, too, can sometimes be just as silly. Just because you don't understand the language a song is sung in, it doesn't mean you can or should try to tune out the influence of those words. A song full of lyrical crap in Japanese is still a sung full of lyrical crap. Luckily, Ringo isn't full of crap. To be fair, poor English in Japanese songs does ruffle my feathers sometimes. But when the musician is this talented, I tend to look the other way. I enjoy singing as much as the next guy but the reason I stay is for the music. It's just too bad that not everyone feels this way. And for that reason, I would be glad for more English versions of older songs.