I will probably regret this...

[dangermousie]

OK, suppose this is your one chance to convince me to give KAT-TUN a try.

I am curious, if in a rather apprehensive fashion.

Sooooo. What should I check out?

Keeping in mind that I am allergic to too much glitter and rpf-action and am probably not keen on people singing while dressed as a member of the opposite gender.

Or should I check out some other band (Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese) instead? I don't mean a 'proper' rock etc, though recs for these are always welcome, I mean one of those boybandy-type 'idol' things, with guys who all look skinnier and with more eyeliner than me. I am just plain curious about the bizarreness of it...

Comments

[ilanala]

...if you're allergic to too much RPF action, I'm not sure KAT-TUN is the group for you. Although they do sometimes try to seduce the audience instead of each other.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

So, which group should I check out?

RPF=squick for me. I mean, I am not interested in seeing random people I don't know grope each other.

[winterspel.livejournal.com]

Don't do it. I love 'em, but I doubt you will.

Maybe you'd like one of the older groups like Tokio? All Johnnys are going to do fanservice, but they might be more your speed. ilanabean42 hits it on the head.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Heeee. I'll check out TOKIO, then

[gingifere.livejournal.com]

I'd say that if you don't like rpf-action avoid KAT-TUN. They are incredibly touchy feeley with each other. However the PV's aren't too fanservice-y so I'd say give Keep The Faith a go. Its a more rockish sound and you can laugh at Jin's horrendous striped jumper!

But I'd agree with ilanabean42 that TOKIO might be more suited to you. They're older and less likely to consistently touch each other!

[winterspel.livejournal.com]

Also, what about the PV for "You"? It's so pretty and normal, excluding the creepy little girl. And the song is catchy.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I'll stick to audios and PVs then, thanks!

taiwan pride!

[calledinvain.livejournal.com]

fahrenheit - you know wu zun and jiro wang already, and their music isn't awful, though I prefer the first album over their newest. Though the duet on #2 Te amo, is really pretty.

rock/pop stuff - (and people play instruments!)
F.I.R. - just awesome.
sodagreen - an indie/college rock sensibility, and the lead singer's voice is uniquely high pitched - reminds me of the swedish group Mew in some respects.

I have more, but these two are the ones you can probably find the easiest. OH, and Mayday! Mayday do great rock/ballad songs.

oh, and random korean boy band rec (which is ALL kitsune714's fault)DBSK, or TVXQ, or Tohoshinki? (this group has a ridiculous amount of names varying from language/fanbase) who can sing in harmony, dance, and do it in korean and japanese.

Re: taiwan pride!

[joonni.livejournal.com]

I second this recommendation for TVXQ because they are boyband-y but not at the same level of Kat-tun. BTW, I love both TVXQ and KAT-TUN.

I was not opposed to glitter and shine and somewhat synchronized dancing and nasally, often off-key live performances but there was something about KAT-TUN that drew me. I think it's because two of members were in a drama that I liked and they were very pretty. I like their songs and they are fun but you might want to stay away from actual performances.

Re: taiwan pride!

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Oooooh, thanks! And I have heard F.I.R. before (they did theme song for The Outsiders) and loved it.

Re: taiwan pride!

[kitsune714.livejournal.com]

I accept full responsibility for Dong Bang Shin Ki (they have like six different names depending on which language you're speaking) because they can do acapella! They actually can sing! (No, really.)

They do ballads very very well, and incidentally, though they are Korean, my favorite song of theirs is from their Japanese album -- the PV for "My Destiny" is found here. And again, fair warning -- BOYBAND. More in the traditional western sense of the world in this particular PV than the glam rock way, but that's not to say that they too don't bring the glitter when asked.

[booknerd14.livejournal.com]

lol, i don't know about KAT-TUN, but i wanna recommend a korean boy band for you. =D TVXQ/DBSK/Tohoshinki. lol, yes they do have varients in their name since it's pronounced differently in each country. they've more or less grown out of the really really cheesy costumes, so it won't be such an eye-swore. good new is that they can sing. they've got that pop sound, but they do dabble onto a variety of genres. if you're interested, i posted two songs from they're newest japanese album here.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, thanks for the link, will check it out!

[fenrir-khan.livejournal.com]

RUN! RUN IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION AS FAST AS YOU (except if you want to be subjected to pelvis-gyrating and overly high-concept videos... ;)).

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

LOL, I'll see how brave I am

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

You are far braver than I. I tried watching a couple vids a while back...all I remember is 2 of Jin's where all I can think is "superslut and really not in a sexy way"

I shall just watch them in dramas...

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

LOL. Yeah, I'll see how far I go before I ruuuun

[kitsune714.livejournal.com]

Considering your tastes, I'm rather hesitant to bring on the deluge of KAT-TUN clips and PVs. Is it wrong to admit that I actually got into KAT-TUN for the music? No, seriously! I was peripherally aware of them for ages but it was only when I heard an mp3 for "Signal" (which is the catchiest summer song in the universe) that I wanted more -- the album, that is. And then that invariably led into PVs and making of clips and then my slow acclimation to the glittery sparkle of it all, and...well. Long story short? I think that if you'd like to really find out more about KAT-TUN, baby steps are key. ;)

Randomly: you might be interested in this, the music video for the theme song from the new "Kurosagi" movie. It's called "Taiyou no Namida" (Tears of the Sun -- can you say "angst"?), and Yamapi's group NEWS sings it, and apparently the PV is chock full of clips from the movie (I say "apparently" only because I haven't seen it myself yet -- I'm about 3 mouse clicks away from watching it myself for the first time!). You can find it streaming here at YouTube.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, Kurosagi video? LOVES

[scottishlass.livejournal.com]

Okay, Mousie, you know what I'm going to say .... SMAP
Only a slight chance of groing (kissing on cheeks) and no glittery costumes anymore!! Just avoid any lives from 1991 to 1998, and you are safe of the eyecancer endorsing glitteriness that is JE :)

Oh and I second/third TOKIO!!! all in all, you might be quite save with sticking with the sempai groups. Tokio, SMAP, V6 :)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

LOL re fashion.

But can they sing? And dance?

[stillingfleet.livejournal.com]

definitely try listening to a few of KAT-TUN's more well-known songs, like Signal (as mentioned above), Peak, You - basically the more cheery, uptempo, slightly off-beat songs. I'm not one for squicky fanservice either but I've managed to be a fan - principally by only listening (and even then selectively). Their ballads are none too fantastic, imo.

I think you would like clazziquai project, which is quite a cool korean band that has done a few ost pieces. and as mentioned above definitely the taiwanese bands sodagreen and mayday! i would say what's wonderful about them are their lyrics especially, but the melodies and vocals are definitely close seconds. =)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, thanks for the taiwanese band recs!

[grey-fuzzy.livejournal.com]

Don't do it, seriously. Don't subject yourself to JE of your own free will!! I did it, and I personally recommend NEWS as much more adorable than KAT-TUN, ew, (hellooo Yamapi), but seriously, Johnny's are Johnny's.

And don't let anyone convince that kpop is much different. It all comes down to ridiculous crack in the end ;D.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

True, Yamapi...sigh.

I guess I'll stick to drama.

[prettierdanpink.livejournal.com]

I love KAT-TUN but I'm not so sure if you're going to like them T_T They don't sing as good as other bands but I think they have a lot of potential :) They sing ballads better than rock-ish types of songs in my opinion :) Some of my favorites are Precious One, Kizuna, Bokura no Machide and Your Side.

If you want to know more about these guys, you may try watching Cartoon KAT-TUN. AND Kame-idol is different from Kame-actor T_T I like Kame more as an actor, I think. And hmm, cute KAT-TUN > sexy KT. Sometimes they tend to act all sexy and slutty and I don't like it. They look better when they are cute (am i making sense?) Hahaha~

I love Fahrenheit too, since Jiro and Chun is there. Their songs are pretty catchy. They don't dance well though. LOL.

Arashi is good!♥ And Matsujun is there so.. yeah. Jun <333 I love listening to their songs like Wish, Love So Sweet (both from HYD OST) and Sakura Sake :)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the recs!

[miss-dian.livejournal.com]

Keeping in mind that I am allergic to too much glitter and rpf-action and am probably not keen on people singing while dressed as a member of the opposite gender.
ROFL. I think I'll stick to SMAP for the time being. Their songs are okay :) I haven't watched any live performances though. Once I watched an MV of Arashi which allbloomedout linked me to (I think?) and I cracked up. Not in a condenscending manner ('cause I think everyone is entitled to like whatever they like), but because they're just so... not me...? :D

I think you'd probably like Korean singers better. I have a LOT of Korean dorama soundtracks and they're pretty good ^^

[miss-dian.livejournal.com]

Oh sorry. I'm a twit. I've seen SMAP performances in Youtube and they're awesome. Nothing glittery or cross genders and the likes :D scottishlass is awesome did a couple of SMAP pimpin' posts: http://scottishlass.livejournal.com/225713.html and http://scottishlass.livejournal.com/181512.html

Check 'em out :)

[ladysaotome.livejournal.com]

Echoing those above me, Kat-Tun & NewS pvs are safe but you should definitely avoid live performances (although dancing is more common/pronounced in performances). For dancing, Kat-tun's Signal & Real Face are good but I generally prefer their slower, non-dancing songs like Bokuro no Machi de & You.

NewS is pretty much the same way. Some songs have dancing but many have no dancing unless you watch a performance (like Yamapi's Daite Senorita from Kurosagi).

Generally, I prefer Taiwan's Fahrenheit, May Day & Nicholas Teo (although he's just solo - not a band). The pvs & dancing aren't nearly as good quality half the time but the music definitely wins.

I haven't explored very much Korean music yet but a guy-group that hasn't been mentioned yet is Super Junior. They've outdone the other groups out there by being much larger than usual. I believe there's 13 of them. And they're apparently highly well known for dancing - some performances are just dance, no singing. The only pv I've seen is Don't Don & it was pretty good. I've also seen their performance for Man in Love & really enjoyed the music but the dancing was a bit difficult to follow on youtube's wonderful quality.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the recs!