So, I bet you're thinking to yourself, "Who's the number one selling band in Japan right now?" You are, aren't you? Well, that would have to be Glay. Yes, Glay. They're top of the J-Pops right now with their song "Love is Beautiful." Perfect for all those valentine's celebraters out there. And not only is Love beautiful, Glay themselves are beautiful. Look at these pretty guys. I would hope they would send me a valentine, or sing me one of their emotionally intense power pop songs. They've been a hard-working band for 10 years and have attained quite a bit of popularity in Asia -- as well as with J-Pop fans around the globe. The description of their name is wonderful: GLAY's name (pronounced 'gurei' in Japanese) is a deliberate misspelling of Gray/Grey and was chosen to mean 'that which is neither white or black' to illustrate the type of music they wish to play, i.e. rather than limiting themselves to pop or hard rock and roll/rock.
From the samples I've listened to [from the official Glay Site], they seem comparable to a more emo/R&B version of Fall Out Boy or Taking Back Sunday. Though they definately do have something in common with their Shibuya-Kei genre comrades, Puffy Ami Yumi. I could picture some of their music backing up a cartoon of some sort.
It's good to get out of your own backyard and take a listen to what other parts of the planet are digging. We can see a reflection of our own culture and maybe have a new appreciation for what we gloss over, yet others revere.
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