Why is Super Eurobeat so appealing?
-
- Bad Bad Bad
- Posts: 1
- Joined: 23 Apr 2008, 03:44
Why is Super Eurobeat so appealing?
I am absolutely obsessed with the Super Eurobeat series. It's what I listen to almost exclusively, and has been for years. I can't believe I haven't thought to look for like-minded forum-goers earlier. So, hi
I have always wondered why SEB is so appealing to me, yet 99% of my friends (I'm American and so are they) just shrug it off as cheesy pop music. I've been an active listener for the past six years, and even now, I still get that energized feel good feeling when listening to SEB. Totally rocking out to "My Sweet Forever" (184) at the moment, totally mind blowing to me. I guess it just really annoys me to have such a passion for something that no one else can relate to on a daily basis.
The one friend that encompasses the "1%" that didn't shrug it off as meaningless crap music keeps his liking of SEB secret. He calls it his "guilty pleasure," and being my best friend, he'll tell me that, but like at social situations, he'll deny liking any kind of dance or techno music. I hate that SEB has such a position/reputation (in America at least). Why is it *that* bad or embarassing to others?
I have always wondered why SEB is so appealing to me, yet 99% of my friends (I'm American and so are they) just shrug it off as cheesy pop music. I've been an active listener for the past six years, and even now, I still get that energized feel good feeling when listening to SEB. Totally rocking out to "My Sweet Forever" (184) at the moment, totally mind blowing to me. I guess it just really annoys me to have such a passion for something that no one else can relate to on a daily basis.
The one friend that encompasses the "1%" that didn't shrug it off as meaningless crap music keeps his liking of SEB secret. He calls it his "guilty pleasure," and being my best friend, he'll tell me that, but like at social situations, he'll deny liking any kind of dance or techno music. I hate that SEB has such a position/reputation (in America at least). Why is it *that* bad or embarassing to others?
I think eurobeat is great, but then again, I'm kind of an outsider at school with a ton of unique interests. To me, it really just has to do with the current music trends in America - most people aren't used to music that's so fast and so in-your-face as eurobeat - that's why I like it - because it's music that gets me moving, never loses its replay value, and stands out like crazy, but since it's so different from anything else, it's probably hard for most people to settle into it.
-
- Euroheater
- Posts: 1624
- Joined: 17 Sep 2005, 18:50
- Location: Wichita, KS, USA
- Contact:
In my opinion, eurobeat (like happy hardcore, gabber, and hyper techno) will always have a niche audience. It's just that rap and rock will be the main stay of American music for a while.
Since I started listening to eurobeat about four years ago, I haven't stopped loving it. In a way, it's a guilty pleasure because it's never going to be accepted by Westerners. I have to deal with that fact. BTW, would you really want Eurobeat to be popular in the West? I say no. It would be used by singers (somehow I'm imagining Gwen Stefani or Madonna doing euro....sickening) in the mainstream....bad idea.
I think we should really appreciate the fact we love such a niche genre of music. I'm an outed "eurobeat listener" if you will. I'm cool with that even if it's a bit annoying to be made fun of for listening to that "techno shit"
Since I started listening to eurobeat about four years ago, I haven't stopped loving it. In a way, it's a guilty pleasure because it's never going to be accepted by Westerners. I have to deal with that fact. BTW, would you really want Eurobeat to be popular in the West? I say no. It would be used by singers (somehow I'm imagining Gwen Stefani or Madonna doing euro....sickening) in the mainstream....bad idea.
I think we should really appreciate the fact we love such a niche genre of music. I'm an outed "eurobeat listener" if you will. I'm cool with that even if it's a bit annoying to be made fun of for listening to that "techno shit"
Why is it that every other person here needs to berate 'mainstream' artists in some way to highlight how much better eurobeat is? I fail to see why artists like Madonna and Gwen Stefani covering eurobeat is your biggest concern about popularizing eurobeat in western society. Why would they want to cover eurobeat when they aren't even known to cover classics? A much bigger concern is the producers changing their sounds to appeal to a society with such broad and diverse music tastes, therefore steadily losing the elements of eurobeat we've come to love. Music = money after all.para_rigby wrote:It would be used by singers (somehow I'm imagining Gwen Stefani or Madonna doing euro....sickening) in the mainstream....bad idea.
You say that we need to appreciate eurobeat for what it is, yet you're being hypocritical when you make these silly observations about other artists and genres that some people here (like myself) may enjoy.
-
- Euroheater
- Posts: 1624
- Joined: 17 Sep 2005, 18:50
- Location: Wichita, KS, USA
- Contact:
Jay wrote:Maybe this is taken of context here. I'm saying that I wouldn't really like having mainstream artists doing eurobeat.para_rigby wrote:You say that we need to appreciate eurobeat for what it is, yet you're being hypocritical when you make these silly observations about other artists and genres that some people here (like myself) may enjoy.
Re: Why is Super Eurobeat so appealing?
Welcome to the forums. We share quite a common opinion already. :3Myrothantos wrote:I am absolutely obsessed with the Super Eurobeat series. It's what I listen to almost exclusively, and has been for years. I can't believe I haven't thought to look for like-minded forum-goers earlier. So, hi
I have always wondered why SEB is so appealing to me, yet 99% of my friends (I'm American and so are they) just shrug it off as cheesy pop music. I've been an active listener for the past six years, and even now, I still get that energized feel good feeling when listening to SEB. Totally rocking out to "My Sweet Forever" (184) at the moment, totally mind blowing to me. I guess it just really annoys me to have such a passion for something that no one else can relate to on a daily basis.
The one friend that encompasses the "1%" that didn't shrug it off as meaningless crap music keeps his liking of SEB secret. He calls it his "guilty pleasure," and being my best friend, he'll tell me that, but like at social situations, he'll deny liking any kind of dance or techno music. I hate that SEB has such a position/reputation (in America at least). Why is it *that* bad or embarassing to others?
The thing about Eurobeat that drives away most American listeners is... well, it's actually a few things. (Note: My use of "we" is meant to imply the Average American listener/listening audience. Yes, I'm stereotyping, but it's only for the sake of speed, aheheh.)
1) We're not used to pop music being so consistently cheerful, nor to the extent at which Eurobeat almost consistently is. This puts some listeners off right away (especially stateside, where such ideas as "Cut yourself" or "kill yourself" or "kill everyone" or "b*tches & h*es are the answer to your sucky life's problems" sell incredibly well).
2) Eurobeat is not always (or even often) written in perfect English, at least, not enough for MOST Americans to understand right off the bat; as such, we're not as easily able to derive a meaning (if any) from the music. Even if a song is pointless, many listeners like to understand it.
3) We're used to slower tempos (usually) in our mainstream music (over here, most varieties of dance music are niche, even if we've had a few breakouts, mostly from Europe). As such, we're not used to Eurobeat's nearly "blaringly fast" tempo. Even some "mainstream" metal doesn't hit Eurobeat's 155~175 BPM. It gives the music almost a "sugar rush" feel to it. (Add to this that most Eurobeat that folks have heard were sung by high-pitched Japanese girls and/or related to even FASTER, Chirpier, higher-pitched songs on DDR, and their opinions are practically set in stone that Eurobeat is "Syrup".)
4) Most Americans have distaste for the kinds of timbres (specific sounds) of Eurobeat singers. (There's some even I can't stand, and I've been keeping with the system for a few years.) (See above for more on this)
5) We're not used to some of the QUALITY of music found in Eurobeat. We're used to 3+ chords with a beat, and that's on a GOOD day. Take most popular music over the last two decades; three chords, the right sounds, cuss words and/or relations to sex, and the rest of the song doesn't matter. Eurobeat goes FAR more complex than that, on frequent occasions. Chord changes, harmonies, majors/minors/7ths/13ths... all eschewed by the average "pop" communities in the USA.
6) Americans relate more to individual acts, a LOT of them under one label, producing a few songs a year. Eurobeat is MUCH harder to follow; an artist can have as many as, what, 30+ titles? Besides that, they produce songs almost MONTHLY. That's a huge difference. Also, in Eurobeat, there's only a few individuals attached to a given Eurobeat label (big names like Time and SAIFAM included, if only counting Eurobeat artists). Plus, over here stateside, we relate a sound of an artist to the artist (or a (set of) producer(s) at one given studio at the time... or whatever). In Eurobeat, the sound is more specific to one or two producers, and THAT Record Label's sounds. Would you listen to, say, Metallica, and say, "Oh, that's classic Warner Brothers sounds!" While with Dave Rodgers, you can say "That's ABeatC in a nutshell". Or X Eurobeat Artist, you can say "That's Y Eurobeat Label". Harder for American listeners to understand/get into.
7) Dance music has a HUUUUUGE connotation with homosexuality here in the states (SAIFAM/Boom Boom Beat/Asia even has specific compilations for that variety of music). Essentially, if you want to "pick up chicks"... don't be blaring SAIFAM Eurobeat. (Lesson learned the hard way on my part... and I wasn't even trying to "pick anyone up"!) This is done, ironically, in the face of the fact that most rap/pop acts these days not only use dance drum machines/synthesizers, but have Dance REMIXES. The hypocrisy and irony are thick enough to make HOUSES out of.
It appeals to, I tend to find, much more musically-inclined listeners that don't mind some of the differences of Eurobeat. I found myself attracted to the sheer musical technicality/ardence of the synth lines (wasn't too fond of the vocalists at first), and have grown to like Eurobeat more and more since then. I imagine you share similar tastes to myself, at least in that sense.
A lot's changed in the decade and a half I've been here.
Full-time eurobeat producer, full-time musician, part-time Vtuber. #JessaIsReal2021
Join me on an Odyssey.
Full-time eurobeat producer, full-time musician, part-time Vtuber. #JessaIsReal2021
Join me on an Odyssey.
-
- Eurobeat Master
- Posts: 682
- Joined: 17 Oct 2005, 07:27
- Location: Montreal, Quebec
- Contact:
Re: Why is Super Eurobeat so appealing?
This point I believe is the biggest reason. Even the majority of my friends who will be into other styles of Electronic music find it hard to enjoy Eurobeat. Compared to a lot of other genres it is a genre that can have a LOT going on at any given moment in the track, especially during the intro (synth line). I've already had numerous people tell me they felt overwhelmed and that it caused them to feel anxious with everything going on musicallyzoupzuop2 wrote: 5) We're not used to some of the QUALITY of music found in Eurobeat. We're used to 3+ chords with a beat, and that's on a GOOD day. Take most popular music over the last two decades; three chords, the right sounds, cuss words and/or relations to sex, and the rest of the song doesn't matter. Eurobeat goes FAR more complex than that, on frequent occasions. Chord changes, harmonies, majors/minors/7ths/13ths... all eschewed by the average "pop" communities in the USA.
-
- Eurohero
- Posts: 836
- Joined: 11 Aug 2005, 05:39
- Location: varese, Italy
- Contact:
Re: Why is Super Eurobeat so appealing?
How about Aishu Eurobeat songs like Sophie, Norma or Madison?zoupzuop2 wrote: 1) We're not used to pop music being so consistently cheerful, nor to the extent at which Eurobeat almost consistently is.
They're not necessarily consistently cheerful.
bitches and what?"b*tches & h*es
sugar rush means fast as sugar spills?:?"sugar rush" "Syrup"
Syrup is the stuff that goes on pancakes?
Sorry, I can't grasp the meaning from the context.
Re: Why is Super Eurobeat so appealing?
Mm. You'd almost have had me were it not for my use of "almost". A vast percent of what many of us would consider the "Top 40" Eurobeat (meaning, most popular) tends to be very upbeat and energetic. I would at least predict that Aishu would confuse the average American listener (the use of faster tempos than we're used to, followed by the attempt at darker subject matter), before he/she dismissed it as "Japanese Techno".oresama-chan wrote:How about Aishu Eurobeat songs like Sophie, Norma or Madison?zoupzuop2 wrote: 1) We're not used to pop music being so consistently cheerful, nor to the extent at which Eurobeat almost consistently is.
They're not necessarily consistently cheerful.bitches and what?"b*tches & h*essugar rush means fast as sugar spills?:?"sugar rush" "Syrup"
Syrup is the stuff that goes on pancakes?
Sorry, I can't grasp the meaning from the context.
If I must use the word... h*es was meant to censor "hoes". As in, derogatory term for a prostitute, usually in rap/hip-hop circles.
A sugar rush would best describe that energy high you get when you've had too much sugar. All the sugar has a sort of "rush" effect on your nervous system, followed by a longer "crash". A similar high is reached on most things that give you "forced" highs (energy drinks, those pills college students buy like "no-doz" or whatever they're called, etcetera).
A lot's changed in the decade and a half I've been here.
Full-time eurobeat producer, full-time musician, part-time Vtuber. #JessaIsReal2021
Join me on an Odyssey.
Full-time eurobeat producer, full-time musician, part-time Vtuber. #JessaIsReal2021
Join me on an Odyssey.
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: Ahrefs [Bot] and 4 guests