Make Believe Mailer Vol. 63: So.....What Next?
Sorry for no newsletter last week...too much work to catch up on!
The NGT48 scandal -- a refresher, here -- has reached somewhat of a cooling point at the moment in Japan. But that comes after a stretch where it was one of the biggest stories period in the country, with the removal of the group's manager and Sashihara Rino's TV showdown with Hitoshi Matsumoto being a few recent flash points. But right now, it has shifted towards an investigation from both NGT48 and a third-party to figure out just what happened here, and to proceed from there. It's quiet now, but don't expect it to just vanish.
The Japanese idol industry has been pushed into the spotlight for justified judgement plenty of times before, but the recent NGT48 situation feels different. So...what happens next, and what does this say about idol music in 2019? Because idols aren't going anywhere, meaning fans and observers alike need to think about what comes next.
Maho Yamaguchi's ordeal, coupled with stories from 2018 also related to idol injustices and the steady drip of other entertainers starting to share experiences online, shows the Japanese entertainment industry is at least creeping towards the same place where most other nations find themselves today, which is an environment where entertainers (and others in the industry) can't simply sweep away gross behavior and treatment. The Japanese press has always loved a good scandal, but something like the Enon Kawatani / Becky affair (or even last year's TOKIO assault case) had more of a classic tabloid feel to it, less about social justice and more about entertainment gothca. While I don't know if anyone is going to be apologizing for associating with AKS going forward, the NGT48 scandal feels like part of something bigger, and I think this approach to entertainment scandals is only going to become more common.
That will include anything tied to AKB48 and associated acts. And zoom out a bit, and all the biggest question marks surround the flagship group. AKB can't take five months off to recoup -- they are "idols you can meet" after all, and have to be present. They have shows and appearances and an election coming up. And even the brand itself has to carry on, with more international groups debuting soon and others trying to gain momentum. And is it a good look for Japan to have its most prominent soft power export in Asia a group now associated with one of the worst entertainment scandals of the young year?
Domestically, I think this will speed up a change that already felt in motion -- one pushed forward by AKS already. Idol groups eyeing a more general audience rather than a niche -- outfits like Keyakizaka46, or even IZ*ONE, which debuted their first Japan single this week, which splits the difference between idol song structure and K-pop flash -- are going to become more common, and I wouldn't be surprised if a group like AKB48 tries to pivot that way as well. And expect a lot of new groups to debut presenting themselves as "a new kind of idol for a new era" or something, with the end of the Heisei Era giving them a good hook.
All of this is just speculation, but the one thing that seems cloudiest going forward is the ethics of being an idol fan. This is something fans of all music have to stare down -- they've always had to face, but which feels more urgent in 2019 -- but the idol industry presents special wrinkles, such as the relation between fan and performer being far more important. In general, the NGT48 situation has shown that fans both Japanese and international are more than capable of grappling with all of this, but what all of this has shown is the industry as a whole has tons of problems. I have no doubts fans can figure this out...but at what point do you question the support of the whole thing? I've bought CDs by idol groups and bought tickets to live shows and streamed singles...but am I helping prop up something that needs reform? Would I be better off never spending another dime and avoiding coverage of them? I sincerely don't know! But it has been on my mind, and something that will be hashed out in the near future.
News And Views
Daichi Miura has worked with a lot of great artists over the last few years, such as Seiho, Carpainter and LDN Noise. Joining those ranks -- the Emperor and Empress of Japan. The song will be performed as the current Emperor prepares to step away from the throne and end the Heisei Era in the process. Look forward to his Trekkie Trax debut a few months later when he has more free time.
Recently, it was revealed that deteriorating vocal chords played a part in Namie Amuro's retirement last year. Ayumi Hamasaki keeps on trucking forward, though.
Bohemian Rhapsody crossed the ¥10 billion mark this past week.
DA PUMP met The Backstreet Boys.
Given the state of NGT48 (see...all those words up there) and the similarly tense state of music fandom everywhere in 2019, it's interesting seeing singer Eikichi Yazawa kick rowdy people out of his fan club and bar them from live shows in order to create a more inviting atmosphere at his concerts. This is partially because Yazawa's image since the 1970s has been that of an old-school yakuza, which prompts a lot of wanna-be crime lords showing up to his shows and try to strut like the Yamaguchi-gumi. But it's still an interesting development to keep an eye on.
Hikaru Utada shared a special web site where you can see the stats for her theme song to the latest Kingdom Hearts. The data age of music -- really boring, and just a lame way of letting fans tell you how popular their faves are in Finland, like that means anything artistically! And they couldn't even pull stats for Estonia.
Whatever music videos come out in the next month will almost certainly fail to match the genius of Powder and AC-bu's "New Tribe" clip.
Not all idol news is bad! Look, Morning Musume reunions.
It's freezing outside in Tokyo as I type this, but time to already start prepping for the summer festival season. Summer Sonic announced the headliners for their 20th anniversary edition, and they are Red Hot Chili Peppers (who also played Fuji Rock's 20th birthday), B'z (the first Japanese act to headline the event, and bound to be the most popular one) and The Chainsmokers (they like Beach House).
Vampire Weekend returned with two new songs recently, and one of them samples Haruomi Hosono's music for Muji stores made in the 1980s. Until Post Malone raps over a Mariah sample or something, this might be a peak for Japanese ambient music.
Finally, here's a really interesting article from Foreign Policy about how Japanese pop culture (primarily, anime) has gone huge in China, and how that's creating a dilemma for many. It is full of great details ("The mischievous intent behind Doraemon is easy to see") and is highly relevant (you could have written something similar to K-pop back when that got banned from China for a bit), but the gold nugget for my purposes is a paragraph on how the Communist Youth League uses videos to combat Japanese pop...which includes their own nationalistic songs using a Chinese Vocaloid. The wars of tomorrow will not be lead by generals, but by Kizuna AI.
Oricon Trail For The Week Of Jan. 14, 2019 To Jan. 20, 2019
Near the top of my long list of "2019's goal" is to spend significant time figuring out what the new Oricon chart rankings really mean. The top spots for this week aren't shockers -- V6 takes the singles spot, while Little Glee Monster win out on the album side -- but when you start going lower in the rankings, changes start appearing. The most notable is Kenshi Yonezu's "Lemon" sitting at two when factoring in all sales and streams, but dropping down a bit without. So many changes happening!
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.
Look At Me!
Talked to Sean Miyashiro, founder of 88rising, for The Japan Times. I'm not the biggest fan of the artists they have under their roster -- Higher Brothers can be good -- but this ended up being an interesting chat with someone who seems pretty curious about learning about Japanese music. Still not sure I'm sold on the idea of Japan being the coolest Asian country going, but then again China wants to ban Doraemon because that cat is subversive so maybe I'm off.
In this week's Pulse, I wrote about continued nostalgia for the Heisei Era online in Japan. Skeleton goods are coming back baby!
I've written a lot about Marie Kondo in the past two weeks. Sounded off about her Netflix show for The Japan Times, then wrote about how said program ties into shifting perceptions of Japanese TV abroad for Newspicks (in Japanese).
Over at Bandcamp Daily, wrote about Korean artist Mid-Air Thief's Crumbling, which featured some of my favorite moments of any album I heard in 2018. I actually have an interview with Mid-Air Thief that couldn't make it into this piece...so any kind editors out there looking for an interview piece, get at me.
Blog highlights; Puni Puni Denki, Feather Shuttles Forever, Metome
Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
Make Believe Melodies / Twitter / Facebook