This Last Decade

[4n01]

This last decade has been such a good one for J-Pop.

It brought us ZONE, of course... and that would be the "Defining Moment" for me. Lots of other good artists came to the forefront over the last ten years, too.

And so here we are, and in a few months it will be the 5th Anniversary of that most beloved and heartbreaking of events: The final concert in Budokan. I've just renewed this site for another year. At least, I really wanted it to still be here on April 1.

I'm hoping, though, that 2010 is a good beginning for the new decade too. I'm not too sure what's going to be happening in the J-Pop arena yet. Will favorite artists fade, or will they get better? Will Miyu make a comeback? Will we ever see Takayo and Mizuho again? Will MARIA top the Oricon charts? How will Tomoka fare with her new career?

The economy's still pretty beaten up here in the US, and I'm sure in Japan, too. That will have an effect on peoples' careers, I'm sure. But just think back... it was 2000, and ZONE was only just beginning... Hasn't it been a great ten years?

[Teck]

Aye Aye.

But I'm glad that within these 5 years that they resurfaced again and even performed together. 

[4n01]

Nice to see you again, Teck. I hope you are happy.

It's just that a lot of New Years' posts talk about the last ten years... what was your favorite music, what events meant the most to you, and stuff like that... and really, it has been such a good ten years. These young women started me on a journey that still means so much to me, and I'll always be grateful to them for that.

It probably doesn't seem like much to a lot of people, and that's okay. It means a lot to me.

[revsfan98]

10 years ago, I was at the beginning of a 3 year stint teaching at a boarding school where we had a large international student program which included many students from Japan.  I left in June of 2002.  Looking back, I wonder if any of the students I lived with and taught were into ZONE.  I also wonder if I would have found out about them if I had decided to stay at that job a few more years.  I'll never know.  Instead, life took me in a different direction and for some reason I guess I was just not meant to find ZONE until 2008.  The journey has only been about 1 and 1/2 years for me, but what an amazing 1.5 years.  I can only wonder where the journey will lead next.  Someday, I hope we can find a way to collectively express to them how special they were.  Their music was so full of heart and sincerity, and therefore also full of power.

I can feel myself about to ramble on, so I'll just say one more thing: 4n01 thanks for keeping this site going.  If for whatever reason zonefan.com is ever in danger of shutting down, promise us you'll let us know so we can all pitch in and help it stay up.

[4n01]

You know, at times it seems impossible to think that ZONE ever had a single bad song, revsfan98... and I still can't pick a favorite, either.

More than anything else, though, they either made me remember how good it feels to listen to songs, or they gave me those feelings for the first time. I really don't know which. I know I was going along trying to create music, and trying to find songs and artists I liked... and the day I found ZONE is the day I put my instruments down... because I just had to stop and pay attention to what they were doing. It wasn't that different from what I'd always wanted to hear. As a matter of fact, they were doing EXACTLY what I'd always wanted to hear.

I never thought I'd be hearing it from five teenagers in Sapporo... but there it was.

Of course, now, I listen to lots of Japanese artists. And I seem to have found qualities to love in every one of them. The point is, though... ZONE opened the door. I still listen to western music sometimes too... mostly to see if I'm missing something, or to make sure I'm not just liking these artists because of having a love affair with all things Japanese. And you know what? It's not that. There really IS something special going on over there!

We can't change the past. And of course bad things happened over the last ten years, too. There's nothing I can think of doing to fix that stuff. The only thing I can think of doing, is continuing to keep the spirit of beautiful things alive, by being here and elsewhere on the web... and sharing thoughts and feelings with others who either feel the same, or are open to new experiences. So I'm not always here, but you know I'm always... somewhere.

 

[zerojinnu]

i dont know why..but to me ZONE is truly amazing, mysterious, and full of compassion..
i thought i knew the reason why i Loved ZONE so Much..but then i realized there's more to that of what i thought..
its just not a simple Reason that we Loved ZONE..and we may never know the true Reason..
but i think that's the Beauty of it...and what fun would that be if we knew it right away right?..

but to me..What i feel for Zone.. i think Will never Fade..no matter how long it takes..no matter how far i am or where i am..

and every time i hear a good j-pop song or any other song for that matter..it just doesn't compare to ZONE..
and thats the mysterious part right there..LOL..

and what 4n01 said that "at times it seems impossible to think that ZONE ever had a single bad song"..i totaly agree..
[it gave me the chills..]

i love ZONE..and i'd do anything for them..and 4n01..like revfan said..if you need help keeping this home of ours running..dont hesitate to come to us for help..we're always here for each other..always remember that..cause we're family under ZONE and GOD...^_^

[revsfan98]

and the day I found ZONE is the day I put my instruments down... because I just had to stop and pay attention to what they were doing.

I still listen to western music sometimes too... mostly to see if I'm missing something, or to make sure I'm not just liking these artists because of having a love affair with all things Japanese. And you know what? It's not that. There really IS something special going on over there!

Funny, finding ZONE is what made me PICK UP an instrument after hating piano and quitting when I was 10 years old!

There is one US artist that I think has a bit of a ZONE feel to her - Taylor Swift.  She has a niche, which is singing about what it is like to be a teenager, and she does it well with sincerity and heart.  But despite liking her personality and music, I don't go out of my way to listen to it and learn about it and feel connected to it the way I do with ZONE music.  What is that X-factor that distinguishes one from the other?  We keep trying to figure that out, and I suspect we never will.

[4n01]

Well just so y'all know, I did make a minor improvement to the site lately. If you check your user profiles, you will notice that they are more like MySpace or Friendster pages now. You can also customize them however you like with code... and of course there's even a media box for embedding your favorite PV's.

Sadly there are no custom url's... but I hope you like the new feature, and I hope it helps make this place feel more like a home.

It's so good to see you still here, zerojinnu! Thank you for your faithfulness!!!

This has been a long journey, guys... and I'm still working hard to help spread the J-Pop word on the web. That's one reason why I'm not here as much as I used to be. I've managed to try a few different things, but nothing worth reporting yet.

I was writing in a J-Pop brother's blog about the ZONE story this weekend, revsfan98... and all the feelings I've had for them are still intact. I thought you might find that comforting. I'll post good news if I get any. I promise.

 

[TheFrustrated]

Hi guys. It's been a while. Just got back from Japan less than two weeks ago. There is a lot to say about my experience there but as far as ZONE goes, let me just say that people still know who they are. Trust me.

As for the topic, it HAS been a wonderful decade. I honestly haven't really sat down and thought about all of the things that this decade has brought us. I guess it's due to the fact that I need more time to do so but I am now, at least, aware of it. It's been almost 10 years since I've known ZONE. And even today, I hold them in my heart as something special--more than just a band, but everything good about the first decade of the new millennium. I don't know what will come about this decade or even this year, but one thing is for sure: I still love ZONE. And another thing...I know that I haven't been as active as I have wanted to lately but I have no plans to leave zonefan whatsoever.

Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu. Yoroshiku.

[zerojinnu]

as they say..once a ZONEfan always a ZONEfan...

thanks 4n01..its always an honor to be here with you guys..thank you so much for having me here..

oh hey if you ever get tired from spreading jpop all over the web..you could always rest here for a while..i mean this is our home away from home..and you made it...and we really miss you being here..mainly because we got no body to pick on anymore..lol..everybody is busy these days..and, or, maybe i really just have too much free time on my hands..lol..but anywho..i kinda miss having to chat and laugh with you guys alot..anyway..good luck with whatever you guys are working on!..and i hope this may be another fruitful year for us ZONEfans..

[4n01]

It already is a fruitful year for me, zerojinnu. Thanks for still being here, and for the warm wishes... again.   

ZONE opened the door to the world of J-Pop for me. They were my first, and still are my best. I'll never ever forget them for that... and there's more.

One thing I'll always be grateful for (besides fine fans like yourself, of course), is a strange thing... ZONE stole my heart right away with their songs and PV's. I didn't get to like them because they were on top of the Oricon charts (they had already disbanded when I found them), or because their songs were used in animes... it really was because their songs were that good. They got me directly into loving the music... because of the music. And the other bands that I've grown to love over the years also got to me because of the songs themselves.

What I'm trying to say is, the only difference between the pop music that I love the most, and the J-Pop that I love best, is that the J-Pop comes from Japan. Such a small difference...

The girls taught me that great music is great music, and great paople are great people... and to not think too hard about where it comes from. I sincerely love that about them. It's funny that, just coincidentally, so many of the songs I love now aren't from the US or England. In fact... none of them are haha... I still don't know what kind of special magic this is, but I don't want to try and figure that part out. Some things are just better when they remain a mystery. Besides, when something feels this... right... it seems wrong to spend too much time thinking about why. My life is so much better for having found this, and really, I don't care why it works so well. What does it matter? It's a kind of love... or it IS love. Either way, I've come home to something. And it's beautiful.

Will        and  ever know that they could do that for someone?

I'd sure like them to know. That's why all of us are here, I think.