BLASTERS: J-pop band FLOW specializes in sheer catchiness and unbridled energy.

CONTRARY to popular opinion, Japanese teenagers don't fetishize what Americans listen to. No, they go crazy for what Americans listened to five years ago. Or 10, or more. That's why the top J-pop acts often give American listeners a sense of déjà vu. And it's why FLOW, who play the MusicFest at the Fanime convention this weekend, had to wait for their fanbase to catch up with them.

The five-piece band formed in the late '90s around the core of two brothers, vocalist Koshi and guitarist Take. But they were a '90s pop band that sounded like a '90s pop band, which isn't necessarily the best play in the world of Japanese music. But in the early part of this decade, they were an indie sensation in their home country, and by the time they signed with a major in 2003, the timing was perfect. Their single "Blaster" sounded like Lit's "My Own Worst Enemy" and other post-grunge hits circa 10 years earlier, with the slightest touch of rap-metal-lite.

"Blaster" absolutely defined them as a group. With a squeaky clean take on hip-hop style (Koshi wears a Clippers jersey in the video), their look was as perfectly constructed as the Backstreet Boys' (another '90s pop icon, of course), with each member standing out in stark contrast to the next. Ironically, the lyrics to the song claim "We don't care how we look," which no doubt ranks as one of the biggest bold-faced lies to be found in any pop hit that year.

FLOW's lyrics are ridiculous in a way that only J-pop can get away with—although, it's only fair to note that few lyrics come well translated from Japanese to English, and these are rough translations at best. Still, "Right now we are a blaster that's starting to shine"? "I stuffed a small fragment of courage into my pocket and ran off barefoot"? Wow, "Flagpole Sitta" suddenly looks like pure poetry!

No, what's most interesting about J-pop is the sheer catchiness of the music and the unbridled energy that bands like FLOW deliver it with. They care about pop music; it's their church. American pop isn't that much different; whether your secret favorite boy band was Backstreet or N'Sync is really just a question of which denomination you prefer. Even those too cool to admit they had one can at least compare it to the thrill of hearing the Runaways' "Cherry Bomb" or the Ramones' "I Wanna Be Sedated" for the first time.

The most popular J-pop acts right now, such as KAT-TUN and Arashi, do the classic boy-band dance-and-look-sensitive bit better (plus, Arashi turned into anime heroes in the video for "Believe," which was really pretty cool), but FLOW is like an encyclopedia of '90s pop music. "World End" sounds like a cheery version of Sponge's "Plowed," "Colors" recalls third-wave ska.

Personally, I prefer some of the more out-there Japanese bands—the bizarre noise-rock band Melt-Banana, the pop-punk Beat Crusaders and of course, Shonen Knife—to J-pop. The term has gotten less and less useful, though—at the same time that "J-pop" is sometimes used as a catch-all for Japanese rock, the music scene in Japan has also been splintered every which way—J-punk, J-hip-hip, J-club, J-whatever-else. Still, J-pop fans show up for their favorites, and that brand loyalty is what has always defined the greatest moments of post-Elvis mass-market music—the fainting, the panty-throwing, the sheer mania of pop.

MUSICFEST with FLOW

Friday, 7–10pm

San Jose Civic Auditorium