J-Pop > Pride and Prejudice

Personally, I enjoy listening to Japanese music much more than reading a book like Pride and Prejudice. Sure, Pride and Prejudice is cleverly written, but it's extremely boring to read (I mean watching paint dry is probably more exciting.)
Sure, great classics like Pride and Prejudice have a lot of literary value, but doesn't J-Pop, or just good music in general, have important literary value as well?

This is the point where some narrow-minded people may argue that literature has to be written down. But, let me reminds those individuals that oral literature and storytelling existed far before any written languages. Songs have words and sounds that convey meanings and emotions. In fact, for any good musical piece, every note has meaning, or can induce a specific emotion. They can induce a happy or depressed mood in our minds, even without words. In this way, songs may even have more literary value than written works, because there is the tone of voice conveying emotion along with the actual words.
Most importantly, almost all J-Pop songs tell a story with important universal themes, which is basically what literature is all about. A vast portion of J-Pop songs are about love in one form or another, so you can see from the music itself that this niche of modern Japanese society is quite romantically oriented. As a whole, I personally think that modern Japanese songs now have a lot more work and artistic value put into them than American songs. I prefer to listen to music that makes me feel a mix of emotions rather than just blasting rap or metal into my ears - music which numbs my mind.

Below, I have included 2 examples of typical J-Pop songs below. The first is by a relatively famous singer - Choucho, while the second is by the band Altima, who do a lot of songs for anime series.

This first song is obviously about a failed relationship or forced separation, with the girl reminiscing back and wishing how it could have turned out.
The second song is a bit harder to figure out since there are no english subtitles, but it is basically about the power of love and uniting as one (hinted by the title).

By the way, there's no way you can seriously listen to either of these songs without feeling emotion. Actually, it's probably impossible even if you try.

When the First Love Ends - Choucho

Here's the lyrics (Japanese and English) to "When the First Love Ends" in case anyone is interested.

(http://www.animelyrics.com/doujin/vocaloid/hajimetenokoigaowarutoki.htm)

One - Altima (From Shakugan no Shana Final)

Here's the lyrics and English translation to "One" by Altima in case anyone is interested.

(http://www.animelyrics.com/anime/shana3/shanaone.htm)