I have a million thoughts here because this is *my* era. Specifically the first half of the aughts (I know every single one of the songs, at least half by heart) - not that anything was wrong with the second half, just that my only Jpop discovery method (Oricon charts) became terribly unreliable with the rise of the non-H!P idol groups. It is interesting that less than 1/5th of the picks came from 2006 or later (and 3 of those were Perfume!)
A few points:
-While they aren't pandering in the same way that western lists do, they are pandering to snobs (technical term - great discussion of it here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3qlb28OTFWoRXTtguoAbeC?si=443cdce44fd1449b). A snob doesn't care about the omission of Ayu, but you can't leave out Ayu AND Amuro. A snob will read this article because "Come Again" is ranked so high, and they'll read the next article because they bothered to include "Rollin' Rollin'" at all.
-Acknowledging "the internet" is correct in retrospect, which is why it's important to do this in retrospect, and not right at the end of the decade. At the end of, and throughout the aughts, the average listener had nothing of value to say about it.
-Most important to me (lol) is do we see iri at all in the 2010s list? Following the same logic here, she's the one who gets a mention in the 2020s, but potentially nothing in 2010s (mayyybe 'aitaiwa' if they want to acknowledge the importance of tiktok at the end of the decade, and likely Wonderland, if only to appease the snobs). In the same vein, I could make the argument that Suchmos has more of an impact TODAY with all the copycat groups than when they were active.
-When the BONNIE PINK revival comes, just know I'm armed with my CD single of "Thinking of You"!
It’s always interesting to analyze why these lists from past decades turn out the way they do from a current perspective, with all their pros and cons. Personally, I realized a while ago that the people who contribute to this magazine have very specific tastes and interests. For example, it’s no surprise they left out AKB48 and Ayumi Hamasaki knowing the magazine’s history… though this time I have to admit I was really surprised to see they included people like Arashi. Namie Amuro showing up four times isn’t weird since she’s already been included in other “mumaga” lists of the best of the decade. Like I said, they definitely have their favorite artists.
A couple of things: the absence of Soutaiseiriron is because I think I read that the list consists of singles that entered the Oricon charts (the band’s first single —excluding collaborations— I believe was Tama Tama New Town, well into the next decade). In the case of Shugo Tokumaru, I think it’s because he didn’t release singles or didn’t enter the Oricon charts.
On another note, I’m glad to see Halcali there twice. Alongside people like Zazen Boys, Cornelius, Ajikan or Ging Nang Boyz (I do miss them on the list since they had great tracks like Boys on the Run, Hikari, I Don’t Wanna Die…), they were what I listened to most in the second half of the 2000s. Yeah, I’m happy they remembered these girls 🥲.
I have a million thoughts here because this is *my* era. Specifically the first half of the aughts (I know every single one of the songs, at least half by heart) - not that anything was wrong with the second half, just that my only Jpop discovery method (Oricon charts) became terribly unreliable with the rise of the non-H!P idol groups. It is interesting that less than 1/5th of the picks came from 2006 or later (and 3 of those were Perfume!)
A few points:
-While they aren't pandering in the same way that western lists do, they are pandering to snobs (technical term - great discussion of it here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3qlb28OTFWoRXTtguoAbeC?si=443cdce44fd1449b). A snob doesn't care about the omission of Ayu, but you can't leave out Ayu AND Amuro. A snob will read this article because "Come Again" is ranked so high, and they'll read the next article because they bothered to include "Rollin' Rollin'" at all.
-Acknowledging "the internet" is correct in retrospect, which is why it's important to do this in retrospect, and not right at the end of the decade. At the end of, and throughout the aughts, the average listener had nothing of value to say about it.
-Most important to me (lol) is do we see iri at all in the 2010s list? Following the same logic here, she's the one who gets a mention in the 2020s, but potentially nothing in 2010s (mayyybe 'aitaiwa' if they want to acknowledge the importance of tiktok at the end of the decade, and likely Wonderland, if only to appease the snobs). In the same vein, I could make the argument that Suchmos has more of an impact TODAY with all the copycat groups than when they were active.
-When the BONNIE PINK revival comes, just know I'm armed with my CD single of "Thinking of You"!
Hey Patrick, great post as always.
It’s always interesting to analyze why these lists from past decades turn out the way they do from a current perspective, with all their pros and cons. Personally, I realized a while ago that the people who contribute to this magazine have very specific tastes and interests. For example, it’s no surprise they left out AKB48 and Ayumi Hamasaki knowing the magazine’s history… though this time I have to admit I was really surprised to see they included people like Arashi. Namie Amuro showing up four times isn’t weird since she’s already been included in other “mumaga” lists of the best of the decade. Like I said, they definitely have their favorite artists.
A couple of things: the absence of Soutaiseiriron is because I think I read that the list consists of singles that entered the Oricon charts (the band’s first single —excluding collaborations— I believe was Tama Tama New Town, well into the next decade). In the case of Shugo Tokumaru, I think it’s because he didn’t release singles or didn’t enter the Oricon charts.
On another note, I’m glad to see Halcali there twice. Alongside people like Zazen Boys, Cornelius, Ajikan or Ging Nang Boyz (I do miss them on the list since they had great tracks like Boys on the Run, Hikari, I Don’t Wanna Die…), they were what I listened to most in the second half of the 2000s. Yeah, I’m happy they remembered these girls 🥲.
Great post! Brought back a lot of memories haha