Why do you think the pillows aren't as popular as some of the other bands on the Oricon charts.


Is it the music they play?

Or is it the look?

Or is it something else

many ppl simply have bad taste in music

I don't care if they're in the top ten or not.

My only guess is that they're just an older band and don't fit in with whatever the trend is these days.

^That doesn't make sense at all since they are more popular in Japan now than they have ever been in the past.

I never said it was a good guess. I never was aware of this unpopularity to begin with, so I guess that's the best I can do.

Uh, yeah. About 3-4 years ago would have been a good time to ask a question like this. While they may not be "super popular", they certainly used to be a much more obscure band. It's hard to say they're not popular when everything they release nowadays charts in the top 25.

[quote="ryzingsun11"]many ppl simply have bad taste in music[/quote]

In terms of chart-topping ability though, I'd say Japan has a lot more good artists performing well in the charts than America does.

^I have to agree here. Some of my favorite recent Japanese music were #1s or top 10s at some point in time. Still, there is a lot of crap up there as well *coughPERFUMEcough*

[quote="Tidusauron12"]Still, there is a lot of crap up there as well[/quote]

Oh totally, I apparently don't have a big enough fascination with cutesy pop stars, but overall it's an improvement. I'll take Mr. Children and B'z over Nickelback and The Fray or whatever the hell any day.

One of the reasons a majority of us actually ever heard of the pillows was because they appeared in an "anime" show. I don't know about japan music that much .But I always hear people talk about Japan singers that have only been in an anime at one point or another. Like larc guy >.> i like that ready steady go! song because of Full metal alchemist.

Maybe if the pillows had been exposed in a lot of anime shows we've been having a whole other conversation. Like " are the pillows over rated or something"

Well it's obvious that the genenral Japanese public love Pop music and I sorta feel that the pillows didn't really have much of that Pop sound(I'm not saying they are Pop) until they moved onto Avex. I think their highest charting single was while they have been on Avex;might be wrong there.


Metal2Hedgehog said:
[quote]Maybe if the pillows had been exposed in a lot of anime shows we've been having a whole other conversation. Like " are the pillows over rated or something" [/quote]

Their music was used through out the whole flcl anime as a soundtrack how much exposure do you want?
You have to remember that not everyone gets into Japanese music through anime and even so if a Japanese bands music is played as an ending or opening to a anime doesn't mean it will be popular or help gain an audience overseas.

I don't really think the move to Avex has influenced their sound much, it's been a continuous progression, and the record label isn't really to blame there.

I think that their lack of huge popularity is what made the band last for all of these years. I honestly can't think of a band that has as many albums as the pillows. Their sound has changed so much over the years, and yet they have stuck together, and have created music in harmony. If popularity would kill that, then it isn't important.

[quote="First Dinosaur"]Well it's obvious that the genenral Japanese public love Pop music and I sorta feel that the pillows didn't really have much of that Pop sound(I'm not saying they are Pop) until they moved onto Avex. I think their highest charting single was while they have been on Avex;might be wrong there.[/quote]

It's true. Tokyo Bambi, New Animal and Ladybird Girl are the top three and most recent singles from the pillows, all of which have been released under Avex Trax. After that, there's the next recent single, Scarecrow (which was King Records), but then it goes all the way back to Ride on Shooting Star for their #5.

[url]http://www.oricon.co.jp/artists/27739/[/url]

The fact that Scarecrow is their number four seems to hint that they've been building since before they moved to Avex. I don't think the Record label switch has much to do with it; rather, the pillows' sound has been changing more and more into a pop sound that Japan likes to hear.

Yeah, I say whatever Avex is doing, they're doing it well because the pillows have received a lot more publicity than they had in the past. I guess Avex is just the better publicizing label.