Introduction

This is Konno, a member of the OKUDAYA CONNECT management team.
Last time, I shared the third album that I was really into at the time: Myths of the Near Future by Klaxons.
https://open.spotify.com/intl-ja/album/6NfykVXaIiJG0JkkNI3Ubg

Klaxons is a Western band, and this time, I’d like to introduce the album that first got me into listening to Western music.

When I first started getting into music, my parents had cable TV installed at home, which gave us access to a wide range of channels. Among them, the three music-focused channels—MTV, MUSIC ON! TV, and Space Shower TV—were the ones I watched the most. I remember having them on almost all the time whenever I had a moment to spare.

Since there weren’t many people around me who were into Western music, I didn’t listen to it regularly, and I had this perception that it was somehow difficult to get into.

Encounter with Pop Punk (Melodic Hardcore)

At the time, “Welcome to My Life” was being heavily promoted as a must-listen track, and as I watched the music video, I found myself thinking, “It’s Western music, but it’s super easy to listen to!”
In that moment, the mental barrier I had built up around Western music suddenly dropped.
https://open.spotify.com/intl-ja/track/714Lw0m2SmCEhKSPw0Dn8J?si=f441ba63df384cba

As usual, I rushed off to the CD shop.

Album Title: Still Not Getting Any…
Artist: Simple Plan
https://open.spotify.com/album/7l3v1MPa9GlbxbVJmaVrVd?si=zYNjP9uDQL6V8FiNwWZx8A

This was the very first Western CD I ever bought.
Of course, the songs were easy to listen to, but more than that, the vocals were clear and easy to understand—even for a junior high school student who had just started learning English!
(That was my impression at the time.)

1. Just listen to it as-is
2. Wonder what the lyrics meant
3. Realize what the song was actually about
   …That cycle had me playing the album over and over again.

The lyrics, especially, really hit home for teens going through adolescence and dealing with various personal struggles.
To be honest, if I were to hear this album for the first time at my current age, I probably wouldn’t have gotten so into it.
Thinking about that made me feel a little… well, like I’ve gotten older, and I’m not sure how to feel about it.

While writing this article, I did a bit of research again and found that the genre is generally classified as pop punk.
Back then, I thought it was part of the genre known as melocore (melodic hardcore), but it turns out that “melocore” is actually a term used mostly in Japan.

(In Japan, bands like Hi-STANDARD or 10-FEET are well known in that genre, right?)

After I started listening to Simple Plan, I also got into other bands within a similar genre, like Sugarcult, Yellowcard, and Good Charlotte.
Up until then, I had mostly been listening to Japanese music, but I think that was the turning point when I truly started getting into Western music.

I don’t listen to it at all these days, but when I look back on my personal music history, this album still stands out.
I thought it might be nice to introduce albums like this to my child when they reach adolescence—but by then, music trends will probably have changed even more. So maybe I’ll pass on that idea.

This is the kind of album that might make you think, “Wow, I used to worry about things like that…” and bring back memories of your teenage years.

If you’re interested, please give it a listen.

Date of Contribution: November 2025
Author: Daiki Konno
Development Department
Okudaya Giken Co., Ltd.