Make Believe Mailer Vol. 31: Can't Stop Fallin' In Love (With Propaganda)
Tomohiro Osaki has a great story in the Japan Times this week about how Shinzo Abe has approached the mass media during his second go as prime minister. It touches on a lot of (very important) corners of his current run, but I was most fascinated by the sections focused on social media, specifically how Abe used Facebook and other platforms as a way to kick back against the mainstream media...and rile up his supporters in his favor. Osaki brings up Donald Trump...but I just thought about Enon Kawatani.
Make J-pop sadsack again
You don't need this TinyLetter to tell you that social media has completely flipped the relationship between artist and publication on its head. The West, after all, is actually way ahead of Japan (and Korea) on this one...why does a pop star need to deal with some desperate website when they can just connect directly with fans via Instagram or Twitter? It's been a massive game changer in American music media to say the least, and something that J-pop hasn't quite embraced yet. Thank years of digital skepticism, and the fact agencies and artists basically ran the show out here for decades — Johnny's could get magazines to put silhouettes on their covers, for goodness sakes —and they didn't have to worry about anything, really.
Yet that's changing. As Osaki's article makes clear, Abe was ahead of this trend before anyone, but 2018 has found J-pop artists (and beyond) really getting into it. The critical shift — or at least the moment that made itself clear to opportunists — came via Tetsuya Komuro's scandal at the start of the year. After years where Shukan Bunshun was lauded for its scoops aimed at celebrities, this one caused people online to go the other way and have sympathy for Komuro. Which is maybe fair...but the way other celebs reacted is far more telling.
Click that blue link above — I wrote about how many famous folk previously wronged by Shukan Bunshun used Komuro's scandal as a way to swipe back at the publication, from tech gurus to potentially washed-up starting pitchers. And people agreed with them, because they like Komuro so much and because his situation was so complicated. Even one of the more loathed celebs online of the last few years jumped in, and got some support — yep, Enon Kawatani, who went from tweets to a big, angry video about celebrity scoop culture.
Yet maybe in a way that even Abe isn't experiencing, I think this celeb kickback is working. Kawatani is still pretty hated — but he's also featured prominently in one of the year's first half breakout songs. Fans have always backed the artists they love, but it feels more pronounced in 2018's J-pop scene — just look at the current TOKIO scandal, which finds plenty of people coming to the group's defense (and, in some cases, Tatsuya Yamaguchi's side). Abe probably wishes he had some more hardcores who would go to bat for him like that. Maybe he should try dropping a single.
News And Views
Nothing is bigger in Japanese news this week than the aforementioned TOKIO scandal, which continues to dominate headlines.
BABYMETAL have their own US-based label now? Maybe they should try releasing music through it, just a thought.
Produce 48 draws near, and I really think it's going to be a glorious mess.
In last weeks newsletter, I focused on how traditional talent agencies were losing the power they once had in the Japanese entertainment. I focused on the music side of it, but the biggest sign of this shift might actually be happening elsewhere. Mark Schilling has a great article this week about actor "Beat" Takeshi's departure from his agency, and what it signals for the industry as a whole. Music comes up too, but I do think Takeshi might be more central to the average consumer of Japanese entertainment (in Japan), and his story might be central to whatever happens next.
Make talent agencies....uhhh, go away?
Oricon Trail For The Week Of April 23, 2018 To April 29, 2018
Nogizaka46 — along with sister outfit Keyakizaka46 — is the rare Japanese idol group that actually can lay claim to a mainstream popularity that AKB48 can't in 2018. Still, it's important not to go overboard and recognize that current Oricon chart-topper "Synchronicity" isn't the type of inescapable song found all over the country at this moment — those might not exist anymore! It's a pleasant enough song, taking the familiar AKB blueprints and speeding it up while leaving familiar elements in (that whirr in the back, for example). But it's ultimately more pleasant than anything else, and isn't going to be discussed come the end of the year, I'm guessing.
Perfume's GAME (33 1/3)
My entry in the 33 1/3 Japan series is out now! Get a copy at Bloomsbury or Amazon. Or at Kinokuniya bookstores in the US. Like many other people, I was charmed by the New York Times video on how Zedd, Marren Morris and Grey's "The Middle" came together, while also being hyper jealous of how Joe Coscarelli's ability to make facial scruff look good (I look like a potato if I don't shave everyday). The fact pop songs get put together by committee like this isn't a new fact, and I feel it's mostly the same in J-pop today (though maybe not quite as complicated as this, at least when done domestically). That makes how GAME came together all the more remarkable, at least when looked at from 2018 — it was all done by one person (Yasutaka Nakata) without outside pressure from labels (and minimal pressure from commercial entities, which became more prominent in the future). All a matter of timing, but one of the reasons I think it's a J-pop classic and a fascinating one to dive into.
Look At Me!
No better way to start this than with the most self-indulgent announcement of all — I'm taking a short Twitter break, partially to get caught up on work, partially because someone called me "bro" and my baby-like feelings got hurt. Anyway, I'll be back by Wednesday, but for the few people who I had conversations going on with...sorry for the delay! Hit me at patrickstmichel@gmail.com.
Talked to Nariaki Obukuro, who made one of my favorite albums of the year so far, for The Japan Times. Really enjoyed this interview, Obukuro is one of the sharpest guys going.
Two for Pitchfork this week: a review of The Vegetablets lovely indie-pop number, and an album review of "krautrock" fanatics Minami Deutsch's latest, which is a big step up from their debut (well, for me at least).
Blog highlights: cero, a compilation inspired by public baths, Emerald Four, an Ano(t)raks compilation.
Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
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