Ian Martin's Aug. 30 column on Japan's live-house scene, "The customer is right, that's what's wrong," asks if most bands performing on live-house stages are mere hobbyists.

Of course, that's all they are. Playing in a band these days is all about pretending you're a rock star, and Japanese venues provide safe environments for young hobbyists to live out this fantasy.

The vast majority of these groups are, without even realizing it, making anodyne and pale imitations of music bands that played 30 years ago. However, there is plenty of alienation and dissatisfaction among today's Japanese youth to fuel a new, dangerous and unique musical expression.

Martin wastes his time worrying about live-houses; they are designed to accommodate unchallenging music for audiences that are looking for superficial and trivial, albeit loud, entertainment. However, he's onto something when he mentions the "DIY scene."

If one wants to create a truly unique, exciting, threatening, perspicacious and artistic musical expression, how else is one to do it except by DIY?

The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.

brett gross