Make Believe Mailer 21: Hey! Say! SLUMP (Music Magazine's Best 100 Albums Of The 1990s List)
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It’s far too soon to figure out just what the legacy of the 2020 (in 2021) Tokyo Summer Olympics will be. The nation is still digesting and arguing about the Games as they happened, with the current flavor of discourse focusing on all the artists who spoke out negatively against the gathering who went on to play at music festivals in the weeks after.
One development with long-term implications stemming from the Olympics that feels here to stay, though, is a re-evaluation of the 1990s. Again, it all comes back to the cursed Opening Ceremony. Controversies swirling around Keigo Oyamada (aka Cornelius) and comedian Kentaro Kobayashi originating from actions they took in the ‘90s (gloating about sadistic bullying and making a joke about the Holocaust, respectively). It’s tempting to view this from the lens of modern online ethics — holding people responsible for transgressions or “going woke” if you are on the Bill Maher side of the political spectrum — but that’s not it.
Rather, it’s rethinking the values celebrated during the heyday of Heisei, a period enjoying waves of nostalgia in Japan over the last few years. What the Opening Ceremony kerfluffle brought to the forefront of public discussion was that era’s “kichiku boom” or “aku shumi boom,” translated roughly as “bad taste boom” and sometimes linked to being a Japanese version of political incorrectness (for a deep dive, the Japanese Wikipedia entry on it is a must). It’s a defining trait of ‘90s pop culture both under the radar and mainstream — this is when comedian-helmed variety shows were at their most violent and outrageous, and off-color jokes were all over. Kobayashi’s Holocaust joke offers a late-decade example, while Oyamada’s puffed-up celebration of borderline torture1 makes a lot more sense viewed from perspective…as does the magazine’s that ran these interviews joy in featuring them in their pages.
Online discussions about why “bad taste” was such a cultural presence have proliferated for years, but the double whammy of controversies from this summer sparked a whole new focus on those times, with articles and Twitter talk revisiting how Oyamada fit in to that era and the downsides of it all in retrospect.
From Doctor Head’s World Tour, #4 Of The 1990s
It’s not just questioning of the behavior of prominent artists from the 1990s springing out of this summer. People picked up on how the creative team for the final Opening Ceremony plan reflected the style and values of ‘90s entertainment, from the music (heavy emphasis on Shibuya-kei, the sample-happy pastiche pop defined by Oyamada’s Flipper’s Guitar and Pizzicato Five) to the humor (lots of gags and goofiness, with even the whole “Olympig” thing being a particularly boneheaded manifestation of “bad taste culture”). It’s a narrow slice of the decade, and one that has aged poorly, at least for future generations.2
Which brings us to Music Magazine’s “Best 100 Albums Of The 19990s” list, released in the summer of 2016. It’s maybe the most buzzed-about effort at building a Japanese music canon I can remember, standing out because it emerged at a high point for ‘90s nostalgia. It’s also just a rich period for the country’s music industry all around. Overall, it’s a good list, doing what Music Magazine efforts at ranking do best, which is offer enough variety while still devoting significant space to their favorites.
It’s also a list that, based on shifts in taste and how the ‘90s are remembered, will look nothing like similar efforts that could emerge in the decades ahead.
From Kuchu Camp, #2 Of The 1990s
Not to say the music highlighted on the list has wrongfully been elevated. Taste quibbles aside, Music Magazine’s ‘90s ranking celebrates massive J-pop debuts from Sheena Ringo and Hikaru Utada, devotes ample space to the then-emerging sound of hip-hop and even fits in dance music. Their decision to go big on Fishmans love — two albums in the top ten with another further down — looks savvy as that group continues going from a Rate Your Music cult favorite to something bigger in music fan circles internationally. There’s also plenty of Shibuya-kei, for better or for worse. While always over represented in conversations about ‘90s Japanese music, that’s partially because of how great a huge amount of it was, reflected here3.
The obvious mental challenge for any future effort at a ‘90s Japanese list will be figuring out how to deal with artists like Cornelius and the other controversy-mired acts scattered throughout here. That’s an ethics colliding with criticism question that has always been present, and that I’m not interested in now, because just as importantly is remembering that the people who made this list exist from a very specific corner of that decade’s pop culture scene, one closer to the folks put in charge of the Opening Ceremony.4
I don’t think the way they look at music or pop culture is going to stick around in re-evaluations. You can tell because of what’s prominently not featured on this list.
From Sweet 19 Blues, Not A Best Album Of The 1990s
What was clear even when this list came out in 2016 was in their effort to build a canon, Music Magazine was declaring “Tetsuya Komuro…not important.” Bold, considering a huge chunk of ‘90s J-pop was produced by him, and you could argue “J-pop” as a concept wouldn’t exist without his take on dance music. No Komuro also means no Namie Amuro, globe, Tomomi Kahara and many more. There’s a related snub, of Music Magazine ignoring Eurobeat-derived pop, which was massive at the time and tied to the Komuro boom.5
Everyone has different taste blah blah, but why I think this original list won’t hold is because a new generation are embracing Komuro and the pop world he represented. As part of the ongoing ‘90s revival, Eurobeat appeared anew, both as ironic reference via acts like Thelma Aoyama, and as legit mainstream super hit via DA PUMP. Now these ‘90s sounds just appear in all kinds of contemporary music, and has been gobbled up by the country’s own HyperPop scene. That extends to other critically ignored strains of J-pop — few critics are going to laud “La La La Love Song,” yet today rappers are sampling it.
That’s why this list in particular is so interesting — it came out at the one moment where looking back at the ‘90s was done with glee rather than suspicion, and right before younger listeners declared “this is how we remember the ‘90s / imagine the ‘90s best.” It’s a time capsule in many different ways worth diving into.6
Music Magazine's Best 100 Albums Of The 1990s List (Originally Published In July 2016, Links When Available)
From LIFE, #1 Of The 1990s
Kenji Ozawa LIFE
Fishmans Kuchu Camp
Cornelius Fantasma
Flipper’s Guitar Doctor Head’s World Tour
Yasuyuki Okamura Kateikyoushi
Utada Hikaru First Love
Sunny Day Service Tokyo
Fishmans Uchuu Nippon Setagaya
Sheena Ringo Muzai Moratorium
Kirinji Paper Driver’s Music
From SCHOOL GIRL DISTORTIONAL ADDICT, #16 Of The 1990s
Scha Dara Parr Wild Fancy Alliance
Soul Flower Union Electro Asyl-Bop
Yura Yura Teikoku 3 X 3 X 3
Boredoms Super æ
Denki Groove A
Number Girl SCHOOL GIRL DISTORTIONAL ADDICT
Hi-STANDARD MAKING THE ROAD
Spitz Hachimitsu
Crazy Ken Band Punch! Punch! Punch!
Nobukazu Takemura Child And Magic
From Doopee Time, #29 Of The 1990s
DJ KRUSH STRICTLY TURNTABLIZED
Supercar Three Out Change
UA 11
Blanky Jet City BANG!
Rashinban Rago
Kimidori Kimidori
Flipper’s Guitar Camera Talk
Yann Tomita Music For Astro Age
Doopees Doopee Time
Mayumi Kojima Blues De Cecile
From Bossa Nova 2001, #31 Of The 1990s
Pizzicato Five Bossa Nova 2001
Boredoms Pop Tatari
Soul Flower Mononoke Summit Asyl Ching-Dong
Original Love LOVE! LOVE! & LOVE!
Tavito Nanao Ame Ni Utaeba…!disc 2
Ken Ishii Jelly Tones
Scha Dara Parr 5TH WHEEL 2 THE COACH
Pizzicato Five Soft Landing On The Moon
Sunny Day Service Sunny Day Service
Kenji Ozawa Inu Wa Hoeru Ga Caravan Wa Susumu
From Mercy, #43 Of The 1990s
shing02 Midori Koshokujinshu
Pizzicato Five This Year’s Girl
Sandii Mercy
Newest Model Universal Invader
Quruli Sayonara Stranger
Microphone Pager Don’t Turn Off Your Light
Scha Dara Parr Scha Dara Daisakusen
Buffalo Daughter New Rock
Yoshinori Sunahara Take Off And Landing
King Giddra Sora Kara No Chikara
From Mother Father Brother Sister, #56 Of The 1990s
THA BLUE HERB STILLING, STILL DREAMING
Tokyo No. 1 Soul Set Triple Barrel
Thee Michelle Gun Elephant Chicken Zombies
Moonriders Christ, Who’s Gonna Die First?
Mr. Children Atomic Heart
Yura Yura Teikoku Me No Car
The Yellow Monkey Sicks
The Blue Hearts Stick Out
Kenji Endo Yume Yo Sakebe
From Kaze No Uta Wo Kike, #63 Of The 1990s
Mitsuyoshi Azuma & The Swinging Boppers Stompin’ And Bouncin’
Omoide Hatoba Suichu Joe
Original Love Kaze No Uta Wo Kike
Kiyoshiro Imawano Memphis
Mishio Ogawa 4 to 3
Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra Ska Para Toujou
Denki Groove Vitamin
Carnation Edo River
Fishmans Long Season
Carnation High & Low
From Big Youth, #79 Of The 1990s
Paradise Garage Jikken No Yoru, Hakken No Asa
Cocco Bougainvillea
Vibrastone Entropy Productions
Phew Himitsu No Knife
SMAP SMAP 007: Gold Singer
Boredoms Chocolate Synthesizer
Takuya Fujimoto Aibo
UA turbo
ECD Big Youth
Raizou Raizou Sanjo
From ROCK ALIVE, #88 Of The 1990s
Shikao Suga Clover
Motoharu Sano THE BARN
Soul Flower Union Winds Fairground
UA Ametora
Guitar Wolf Missile Me
Mr. Children Shinkai
Buddha Brand Ningen Hatsudenjo ~ Prologue ~
Chisato Moritaka ROCK ALIVE
Phew And Seiichi Yamamoto Shiawase No Sumika
Spitz Namae Wo Tsukete Yaru
From Junior Sweet, #97 Of The 1990s
Keiichi Suzuki Suzuki White Report
Denki Groove Dragon
United Future Organization Jazzin’
Rankin Taxi Wild De Iku Zo
Original Love Soul Liberation
Omoide Hatoba Kinsei
Chara Junior Sweet
Thee Michelle Gun Elephant cult grass stars
COMPOSTELA Aruku Hito
The Collectors UFO CLUV
Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
Twitter — @mbmelodies
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Not to derail this, but “bad taste culture” was such a force in the ‘90s that plenty have theorized that Oyamada’s bullying claims could have been exaggerated by Oyamada himself to look cooler. Who knows, but it’s not like regular bullying is something to brush off even if that is the case.
Sorry to veer into “I swear I saw a tweet about….” territory, but I swear I saw a tweet about how the Olympic version of “bad taste” seemed particularly out of step with the dominant musical taste of young Japanese people today, the post-Vocaloid glum pop of YOASOBI or Ado among many others. I think part of that stems from economics — young people today have limited opportunities and reduced income, while many of the ‘90s artists celebrated (especially from the Shibuya-kei world) are hyper privileged. They could spend all day flipping through obscure bossa nova albums because they didn’t have to work a real job.
Including Fantasma, a truly fantastic and groundbreaking work overshadowed by its creator’s shitty behavior.
Though to be fair, the actual space-taking releases on this list reflect an even older sensibility…one of the albums here is like, unironic swing music built for a Bubble-era flapper bar.
Komuro, though, has plenty of his own problems, but the public has largely been…able to separate the artist from the art, in his case? Whereas following the Oyamada stuff, people were like, ready to throw the entirety of Shibuya-kei in a dumpster.
For any curious readers…after years of thinking it over, I feel pretty confident in saying my pick for #1 of the ‘90s would Denki Groove’s A.