Make Believe Mailer Vol. 20: Perfectly Viral
In terms of J-pop in the Western world, the only word that matters at the moment is "Babymetal." The trio have nabbed no shortage of digital headlines thanks to their much-talked-about show at London's Wembley Arena or their even-more-talked-about appearance on Stephen Colbert's show (my mom: "they were interesting, but the guys behind them creeped me out"). Beyond the "look at this thing" takes dictated by the Internet, deeper dives into Babymetal have ranged from the classic "are they metal or what?" debate to the somehow more detestable "are they really idols or what" argument. They made legit history in the process, too.
The world...heck, your precious inbox space...doesn't need another article about Babymetal now. Besides, I'd rather pitch those ideas and maybe be paid for them in a couple of weeks, when they play shows in the U.S. Instead, let's look at something rarely talked about in English media, for obvious reasons -- Babymetal are a product of the internet's unpredictable "viral" economy, catching the eye of those all over the world thanks to a YouTube video. So...in 2016...what music is going viral in Japan?
It's these guys.
Since being posted in late January, this live clip of the musical project Radio Fish has been viewed over 28 million times, a very impressive number (that has admittedly plateaued at this point...don't expect a huge bump in views going forward). It's the most viewed music clip of the year so far...all from a group that is, primarily, a comedy vessel. The two singers in Radio Fish are the comedy duo Oriental Radio, joined by street dancer Fishboy (and a few other people who can't be crammed into the title). They've released other singles, but "Perfect Human" is the one that has gone big.
Fish Dab
So...how did this go from novelty to something capable of inspiring parody versions and wedding ceremony dances? Partially, it's just the latest in a trend -- comedians have been releasing songs that are half jokes, but half serious, and usually one or two rack up come the end of the year. Last year, the comedy duo Kumamushi's "Attakaindakara" ended up one of the year's biggest songs in the country, and plenty others have explored similar territory. It isn't new, either -- comedians have, since the '90s, tried to launch straight-faced music careers or be outright goofballs. Recently, they've fallen somewhere in the middle, evidenced by "Perfect Human" -- it's silly (the hook! Nakata's dancing!) but far more sophisticated (it's a really good take on the still-booming EDM trend in Japan right now).
Radio Fish will most likely never transform into something as formidable as Babymetal, but they have already achieved a success that, while not long lasting, will certainly leave their imprint on 2016. Or until the next comedy duo comes around and captures the Internet's attention.
Japanese Music Highlights Of The Week
Lots and lots of collabs! Mikeneko Homeless teams up with Happy Machine AND idol Nemoto Nagi for the Shibuya-kei-meets-Jersey-club banger "Peppermint Escape Plan," while Tomggg matches his hyper-cute production with Bonjour Suzuki's hushed singing on "Tick Tock Skip Drop." Elsewhere, Crunch hooked up with North Carolina's Alex Ruby for "Murasaki."
Babymetal aren't the only artists out of Japan who have ever sniffed Western media attention! Two accustomed to it -- Shugo Tokumaru and Tricot -- released new video recently.
Emerald Four released a very real contender for my favorite album of the year (well, so far).
How do you want your nostalgia? Funky and fun? Vaporous and wavy? Crushing and bleak?
Firedrill's Shimokatastrophe got me pumped for a weird interview I had to do, and will surely make your week better.
Troye Sivan's "My Youth" is a mostly forgettable slice of "Tumblr generation" baiting, the sort of thing selling itself has new when it is the same message reheated for the billionth time (bad news kids, you get old). AND YET that post chorus drop gets me every time...because it sounds exactly like what Taquwami was doing three years ago. He's always been way ahead of everybody else...so get comfortable with his incredible 2016 live set, which probably predicts 2018's batch of pop hits now.
News And Views
I guess every group at Johnny's & Associates is in a race to load up on cool young performers in an effort to appear less mannequin-ish. A bit after SMAP welcomed cero on their show, Kanjani8 featured Suiyoubi No Campanella on their TV program. Watch some un-synched footage here.
Kamen Joshi's attempt at getting Donald Trump to retweet their meme-y "Idol Magic For Trump M-A-G-A!" didn't work, but god bless their effort. Too bad they weren't the first to celebrate Donald Trump in song.
Writing this newsletter kills my soul every time
The fun world of Arashi concerts gets even more joyful with the addition of face scanners.
Worth noting one more time...Babymetal made pretty big history for a Japanese act with Metal Resistance.
Look At Me!
Talked to Ryoma Suzuki, who founded the label unBORDE for The Japan Times. Great guy to talk to, and he was surprisingly open about the Enon Kawatani / Becky scandal (as open as he could be).
In non-music writing, I dove into the world of Japanese YouTube agencies, which is the future (until the tourism bubble bursts). Related, who wants to make a YouTube channel with me, I don't know what we will do but Stamps.com would probably sponsor us.
Reviewed that other sorta viral Japanese piece of music from the last couple of weeks...Toyomu's "Imagined 'Life Of Pablo'."
And that's it! Didn't write anything else! Didn't talk to any pop groups whose label then stressed me and my editor out for about two weeks straight!
Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
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Header by Alan Castree (AC Galaga)