Make Believe Melodies For April 11, 2022
I, Too, Am Not Dead
Lucky Kilimanjaro — Tough Play
Lucky Kilimanjaro can not stop moving, for even like one second, or else they might die. “I’m NOT Dead” the sextet shout at times on the Tough Play opener of the same name, and when they aren’t emphasizing this point regarding their current mortality status, they stress that long as they don’t stop dancing, they can’t die. Just look at the lyrics for the peak action of the song…this is what it looks like to be the hummingbird of modern-day J-pop.
The Japanese is like, “I’ve gotta dance!” (source)
I’m pretty sure every song on Tough Play mentions dancing, including the number specifically about relaxing and maybe taking a vacation to Hakone, a place I’m certain has no clubs (at least good ones). Perhaps they don’t literally, but Lucky Kilimanjaro’s whole vibe throughout their entire career is “dance dance dance dance dance.” They are eternal optimists even as pop trended dour. While all of J-pop got melodramatic, this group turned to a weary country and said, “Daily Bop, anyone?” They are your annoying friend telling you to perk up a bit and not be so salty all the time…and they’re right. Snap out of it!
Tough Play sounds a touch more dramatic and catchy than the very good Daily Bop, though really every Lucky Kilimanjaro album serves as a celebration to being, powered forward by house-indebted melodies, a bit of rap swagger and a lust for life. The group’s full commitment to the ever-chipper sound and at times ridiculous positivity — this is Neo Shibuya-Kei on uppers, en route to a motivational speech — makes everything click, and the best moments on Tough Play are some of the most rapturous J-pop of 2022 so far.
And, as that first song hints at, not totally devoid of dread. They get that too feel happy…stupidly so…requires being aware of how death lurks in every corner. Maximize every second, savor every drop and never stop moving, because as Lucky Kilimanjaro reminds, you’ll be underground soon enough. Listen above.
HYRADIANCE — HYRADIANCE I
Few musical experiences bring more pleasure than simply being swept up in sound and tossed around by a song. Hiroki Yamamura, recording as HYRADIANCE, excels at this feeling, and their newest EP is just pure pinball. Yamamura remains grounded in Chicago juke, with the four songs here maximizing repetition and knowing how to craft glee through sampling (“Pachira”). That’s joined by maximalist experiments like “Ruby,” already operating at lightspeed before Yamamura blasts it open midway through by upping the percussive power. Get it here, or listen above.
Tim Pepperoni — “DINO! DINO!”
Good enough song albeit one that runs out of steam quickly, but including anyway because of 1.) the basketball mask Tim Pepperoni wears in the video and 2.) the deployment of the term “T-Rex vibe” frequently throughout. Listen above.
Chilli Beans. — “Vacance”
A band usually best at zooming ahead slows it down just a touch and milks a little extra drama out of their rock. “Vacance,” a standout from Chili Beans. latest EP, is also a reminder of how rock bands aren’t binding themselves purely to traditionalist formats or sounds — throughout, they pepper in electronic touches (including on the vocals themselves) and toss in vocal ad-libs to add a playful energy to this one as it builds up. Listen above.
Homecomings — “i care”
I’ve been in a very reflective mode recently and revisiting a lot of the music emerging in Japan in the years where I first started covering it (stay tuned). Said exercise in nostalgia trips offered a surprising reminder — Homecomings, a band I interviewed in 2013 behind the strength of like a few digital loosies and a Second Royal EP, still going strong! The Kyoto group champion the school of doing something really well and sticking with it. For them, that’s delicate guitar rock with a short story perspective, turning an under-five stroll like “i care” into something rich both in the longing present in the lyrics and the structure of the song. Listen above.
Various Artists — “Hokudai Keiion 2021 Omnibus”
Hokkaido University’s light music club teams up with local Sapporo indie rockers for a charming display of the ol’ college try! A rare peek into a place where a lot of prominent Japanese bands emerge from — Homecomings, for one — but a space you rarely hear from. Which, sort of understandeable, given how rough edged it can get. But that’s part of the charm! Plus, a few gems in the mix too, courtesy of CHEMTRAIL’s fuzzed-out scream-alongs and For Sibyl’s pop-punk punch. Get it here, or listen above.
Oricon Trail For The Week Of March 28, 2022 To April 03, 2022
Back in the day, the Oricon Music Charts were the go-to path to music stardom in Japan. Acts of all sorts traversed these lands, trying to sell as many CDs as possible in order to land a good ranking on a chart choosing to only count physical sales, even as the Internet came to be and the number of versions offered for sale got ridiculous. Today, with the country finally in on digital, these roads are more barren and only looked at by the most fanatic of supporters needing something to celebrate. Yet every week, a new song sells enough plastic to take the top spot. So let’s take a trip down…the Oricon Trail.
Snow Man — “Brother Beat” (787,578 Copies Sold)
Sorry to drag my ~ personal life ~ into Oricon Trail but…my wife came across the “dance practice” video for this song on her own and asked me “are they a comedy group?” Well…depends…
This is as perfect a summary and execution of the Johnny’s house style possible. I don’t feel out of line here suggesting music is but a mere molecule of the greater structure of a Johnny & Associates act. So credit to the moments when a group under that umbrella gets the chance to do something genuinely head scratching with it…and kind of pull off a banger by being as out of step with everything. “Brother Beat” chug-a-lugs ahead behind some ‘50s guitar, like the most basic RC Succession song in their catalog, topped off by lyrics about the challenges of society, hikikomori existence and eating sweets. It’s all jarring…until the “huh” of it all becomes charming, a welcome breath of fresh air from overly serious K-pop efforts flooding J-pop’s trending tab right now.
The secret behind “Brother Beat” is it’s a tie-up song for a recently released Osomatsu-san live-action movie. I’ve heard nothing about this film…and haven’t heard anything about the anime it is based on in like five years, sorry…but I think the lighthearted source material allows Snow Man the chance to just get goofy, and offer up a nice single all their own.
News And Views
Ayumi Hamasaki back! A new single is coming, and more is certainly on the horizon.
Vinyl…it’s popular, everywhere. This story from The Mainichi covers a lot of familiar territory, but does feature a good look into how HMV…owned by Lawson…saw the tides shifting this way ahead of everyone else.
While only being partially related to music, Japan-based content creation group Breaker was just acquired by some music tech start-up. I wrote about them back in 2016, but beyond navel gazing, they do dabble in music as well, and obviously being gobbled up by some vague “music start up” implies…musical things?
The Asahi Shimbun talks to a seasoned concert promoter, who has stories galore. John Williams…gets to sprawl out on the Shinkansen and get piggy-back rides.
Kis-My-Ft2 join the growing trend of Johnny’s artists…and the 2010-era trend of all musical artists…launching a YouTube channel. Snark aside, an important thing to keep in mind is artists and artist managers ultimately have the say on whether to embrace this stuff or not…younger Johnny’s groups are much better at this than the older ones, like in this case, and it shows.
Natalie has a great timeline looking at the history of BoA and…more notably, on the occasion of its 20th anniversary…her Japan-centric career.
The Japanese government is considering offering discounts for sports events and concerts for vaccinated folks, under the incredible title “Waku Waku Event.”
English-language VTuber Mori Calliope signs with Universal Music, prepping big debut this summer.
Pikotaro NFT
Team Shachi “graduating” from unBorde, launching own label.
Great audio piece on Japanese electronic artist Susumu Yokota over at Dublab.
Finally…the Grammys happened last week, and thankfully the world moved on after a day (meanwhile, still talking about “The Slap…”). Yet I’d be foolish not to point out that a “Fusion Big Band” version of “Meta Knight’s Revenge” from personal Blockbuster-rental-favorite Kirby Super Star won an award at the ceremony. Lot of goofy ways I could take this minor achievement — city-pop-ification of everything!!! — but it’s really a beautiful example of the “cool, Japan!” principle of soft power, which states that while the Japanese government has failed to push modern Japanese pop culture towards the world, the long-simmering cool around all kinds of Japanese offerings has made it into a force in the 2020s. Which is to say…an obscure song from a ‘90s game I binged on while I was in elementary school (old!) flourished enough to eventually be covered by a big bang and win a Grammy (and, uh, top the Japan Viral 50 on Spotify). Beautiful.
Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
Twitter — @mbmelodies
