Rock music in general isn't really all that widely known in Japan. There are a few acts that are huge, but it's generally stuff like B'z and whatnot. For example, of the 20some students in the English club I helped out at, only two or three people (all of them girls) were into Japanese rock music, and only one of them had heard the pillows before (though they had heard of them).

The pillows are not popular in Japan at all. Out of my 60 or so Japanese friends, only 3 or so like the pillows. The rest have never heard of them.
Rock is not popular, thats true. It's kind of a generational thing. Everyone knows the names X Japan or Luna Sea, but they've never listened to them. Well, at least their names are known whereas the pillows aren't.

The only rock groups which consistently sell is stuff like b'z and bump.

Rock is more popular with girls in Japan, as are the pillows.
Japanese music has gone to shit though as evidenced by AKB.

[quote="discovolante"]To chime in, I lived in Sapporo and still no one had heard of the pillows. I'd sing them at karaoke all the time and my friends would be like "who the hell is this?" I began to feel that they're more popular in the states than they are in Japan.[/quote]
I came to that same conclusion. I was shocked when talking to a friend of mine in Japan that she had no idea who the pillows were (and she was a music major and into rock music). I was under the impression that they had a cult following in America, but that they at least they were somewhat known in Japan, but now I think they have a cult following wherever they are.

[quote="zorahk"]Rock is more popular with girls in Japan, as are the pillows.[/quote]
Yeah, I can confirm this. My mom, who is Japanese and also really likes the pillows (after I showed them to her), once asked me, "Umm, you do realize that most pillows fans are girls, right?"

[quote="Orochi"][quote="zorahk"]Rock is more popular with girls in Japan, as are the pillows.[/quote]<BR sab="726">Yeah, I can confirm this. My mom, who is Japanese and also really likes the pillows (after I showed them to her), once asked me, "Umm, you do realize that most pillows fans are girls, right?"[/quote]

Don't see what's wrong with that at all.
I know where I'm going sometime next year.

[quote="Orochi"][quote="zorahk"]Rock is more popular with girls in Japan, as are the pillows.[/quote]
Yeah, I can confirm this. My mom, who is Japanese and also really likes the pillows (after I showed them to her), once asked me, "Umm, you do realize that most pillows fans are girls, right?"[/quote]
It's kind of obvious through their lyrics...You guys didn't figure as much?

Oh yeah, the pillows do love songs.

On the popularity of the pillows:
5 different people I talked to last night listened to them.
Perhaps they're more popular in the States?

[quote="Blank"]It's kind of obvious through their lyrics...You guys didn't figure as much? [/quote]
I just never really thought about it. I mean, like Octave_Flow was saying, woo love songs! The most generic category of songwriting in existence!

[quote="Orochi"][quote="zorahk"]Rock is more popular with girls in Japan, as are the pillows.[/quote]
Yeah, I can confirm this. My mom, who is Japanese and also really likes the pillows (after I showed them to her), once asked me, "Umm, you do realize that most pillows fans are girls, right?"[/quote]

ah, you're half?

well I mean all rock is pretty much more popular with girls, except for certain stuff like the back horn and luna sea for example, which i both think have more of a male following.
even v-kei bands were more popular with girls anyway.

hell i mean japanese music isn't that popular in japan to begin with aside from akb. everyone just listens to american or korean shit.
fuck kanryuu

normally I feel really awkward speaking to other japanese in english, but since this is the internet I can't see your face and so I don't feel weird. lol.

[quote="zorahk"]even v-kei bands were more popular with girls anyway.[/quote]
From what I've noticed, this seems to hold true in the U.S. as well. But I think this has to do more with the VK "look" and less to do with the actual music itself.

[quote="zorahk"]ah, you're half?

[…]

normally I feel really awkward speaking to other japanese in english, but since this is the internet I can't see your face and so I don't feel weird. lol.[/quote]
Yep, I am half-Japanese, but most people don't realize it until I tell them so. Also, most unfortunately, I actually don't speak that much Japanese; there's probably a good number of people on this board who know more than I do (I only had 4 years of high school Japanese, which is super rusty by now).

We should tally up how many times the pillows use the words/phrases "yakusoku," "namida," "hitori ja nai," "itsu made mo," "zutto," and "hikari." (feel free to add more)

Or how many times they reference sharing an umbrella! I know this is somewhat common love song imagery but come on. I can name at least Girlfriend and Patricia off the top of my head...

[quote="discovolante"]We should tally up how many times the pillows use the words/phrases "yakusoku," "namida," "hitori ja nai," "itsu made mo," "zutto," and "hikari." (feel free to add more)

Or how many times they reference[b] sharing an umbrella![/b] I know this is somewhat common love song imagery but come on. I can name at least Girlfriend and Patricia off the top of my head...[/quote]

[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vF3RbEO_UhU]Or borrowing one...[/url]

Man, it's like some people just discovered that song's existence or something.

[quote="Orochi"]To derail the thread for a moment: you can't generalize that to all of Japan, though. Down south in Saga and Fukuoka, which is where I spent most of my time during my visit several months ago, no one I knew had even [i]heard[/i] of the pillows. The record stores had Comic Sonic on display and most of their discography (plus stuff like AMAP), but they weren't any more pronounced than other artists. On the other hand, the B'z were prominently featured on tons of billboards and displays, and everyone was familiar with who they are (especially since the guitarist won some kind of award recently, I heard).

Are you specifically referring to seeing all this in Iwate? If so, then perhaps it's because it's in northern Japan and somewhat near Hokkaido? You know, since the pillows are from Hokkaido and all? I dunno. *shrug*[/quote]

Seen it in Iwate and Osaka. Most people I've asked don't know The Pillows - of all the Japanese bands I like, Ling Tosite Sigure seems to be the best-known right now - but the surprising amount of in-store marketing makes them seem more popular than they are. Avex tries to promote them like they're a big act, I guess.

Come to think of it, most of the people I know who are really into music here are girls. Even indie stuff that's not really girl-oriented, I guess.

I like Disco's idea. We should cook up a fake Pillows song with as many stock phrases as possible.