Make Believe Melodies For May 31, 2021
J-pop Grab Bag Edition
Take it all in, if you missed it.
ASP — ANAL SEX PENiS
WACK knows exactly what they are doing, and props to Junnosuke Watanabe for still finding ways to shock after a decade of fostering “alternative idols.” This is 2021’s “get a load of this” entry in J-pop, as I’ve seen tweets from the expat community about it while also receiving texts from friends who don’t care about Japanese music asking “what’s the deal with ASP?” And why would that not be the case? Just look at that album art, sent to websites across the internet and blown-up big on the side of Shibuya Tower Records. Are you going to take a stroll towards Harajuku and not stop, mouth agape, at “ANAL SEX PENiS?”
ANAL SEX PENiS delivers one other shock too — it’s a pretty good album! I’d say it’s my favorite WACK-associated full-length in quite some time, pinballing between the “alternative idol” rock sound this company has down pat in 2021 alongside more stupidly fun shout-a-longs (“BE MY FRIEND,” “GO STRAIGHT”). I think the secret for me is how it isn't eyeing the upper echelons of J-pop (see BiSh or EMPiRE, the latter being a solid project saddled with Avex-sized aspirations) while still letting that catchy all-together-now idol energy bind a number like “WAiT AND WASTE” together, without going too deep into the “dark” stuff that some projects in this zone venture into. They have that album title bringing in eyeballs…the music can do so much more. Listen above.
Kenshi Yonezu — “Pale Blue”
Let’s check in on Japan’s biggest musician going. Kenshi Yonezu’s new single “Pale Blue” reminds of his attention to details within his songwriting, something always present even in the kids-powered version of “Paprika,” but driven home in the slowly unfolding pace of this song. Strings! Scattered electronics! Hoppy piano melodies scampering through to add some mirth! The highest compliment I can pay this is it’s a J-pop ballad that ends up being so much more interesting than most J-pop ballads, thanks to how the song itself plays out and for Yonezu’s voice, adding character while still fitting in. Listen above.
STUTS, Takako Matsu, BIM, Masaki Okada, 3exes — “Pressence II”
Beatmaker and Hoshino Gen associate STUTS has been rising up in the mainstream conscious for the last few years, mainly thanks to that association with Gen — he’s in the “IDEA” video — though now he’s enjoying some newfound shine with a fresh set of names. His “Pressence I” became a viral hit thanks in part to being the ending theme for a drama series about a woman with three ex-husbands (are…are they the 3exes featured here?), featuring the lead actress herself providing vocals. “Pressence II” is just “Pressence I” with a different rapper joining STUTS and the crew, and I lean towards BIM’s laid-back delivery over KID FRESINO’s always-turning-around-nervously flow. The key though is STUTS’ beat, adding touches of “modern city pop” flair alongside his love of sampling to create something smooth and slightly tipsy. Listen above.
Kizuna AI And Moe Shop — RADIO LOVE HIGHWAY
Virtual YouTuber Kizuna AI feels like a relic — albeit a trailblazing one — at a time when Virtual YouTubers have blown up. Like all influencers physical or digital, she’s also been keenly aware that she needs to branch out to keep her career going, and that has included a lot of dabbling in music. RADIO LOVE HIGHWAY stands as her best release yet — marking a major leap in quality from the last set to hold that title, last year’s Replies — largely because of who she chose to work with. Moe Shop nails the intersection of French Touch and J-pop in their music, and here they offer AI a fittingly rumbling sound for the title track, complete with room for silly spoken-word interludes. “Notice” might be even better, with Moe Shop really letting loose with Parisian funk-tinged electro-pop that nails the audio equivalent of a strobe light going off. The novelty of Kizuna AI, digi pop star, has faded as virtual YouTubers routinely release singles, but she’s hit on top-shelf quality with these two songs. Listen above.
Pick Me Pick Me Pick Me! POD48
As mentioned last week, Allen Huang and I launched POD48, a podcast series digging into Produce 48. Episode one is now live over at Anchor.fm, and will eventually find its way to other platforms too. Check in, as we talk about the road to Produce 48…and all the yogurt wasted in the years after.
Oricon Trail For The Week Of May 17, 2021 To May 23, 2021
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 the 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.
King & Prince “Magic Touch / Beating Hearts” (463,795 Copies Sold)
It’s not a question of “if” Johnny & Associates acts are trying to step out into the world — the talent agency, once reclusive and making only half-hearted efforts to test international waters, is clearly realizing a post-Johnny-Kitagawa reality (coupled with global listeners opening up to Asian music) offers new chances. You don’t need to be some J-pop insider to see this — in recent months, groups like SEXY ZONE have released English-language singles that the majority of the planet Earth can actually see on YouTube. Arashi’s late-career hail mary towards the States was more like resume padding than a real push, but a lot of the lessons learned from that — be on YouTube, be on subscription streaming, be accessible — have trickled down to young agency outfits such as SixTONES and Snowman, allowing them the chance — if they choose to run with it — to actually build from the start rather than two decades after they debuted.
King & Prince opening an official YouTube channel and launching social media presences might be the shift for the agency. This group carries the flag for Johnny’s in Japan moving into the 2020s, achieving great sales and TV attention alongside all the minutiae of J-popdom. SixTONES and Snowman are still new enough they can go in whatever direction they want — King & Prince could stick to domestic-only and be set for life. Yet here they are on “Magic Touch” (above), rapping the word “finito” over a sparse beat before letting crystalline synths wash over them en route to the chorus, a sort of mutant “My Love” minus the Timbaland touches, all while taking visual cues from…Official HIGE DANdism? It’s all English, hip-hop grounded and available to everyone — it’s very un-Johnny’s, or at least Heisei-era Johnny’s. Here’s the moment J-pop’s biggest agency, long secretive, sees where things are going and adjust, signalling an epoch shift for the industry at large. Now, to see if the world goes along with it.
News And Views
Let’s not even waste time looking at lesser news…the Especia Twitter account shared a cryptic hello recently after being silent for like three years.
What does it all mean???????? Turns out it was…for at least now…to promote a special “Especia medley” performed by former members HALLCA and Monari Wakita at the final event to ever be held at Daikanyama Loop (which…oh no, a live venue closing, a reminder of how the live industry isn’t out of the clear yet). That happened tonight, and it appeared to be a delight.
Really, this is just a reminder that Especia were ahead of everything and Gusto probably is the best J-pop album of the 2010s. Also that it’s a shame Pitchfork didn’t include my review of their follow-up album…the first J-pop idol review in the sites’ history, truly groundbreaking stuff…as an “important review.”
Digital advertising company Cyber Agent is now the biggest shareholder in Avex. That Umamusume: Pretty Derby money must be helping a lot.
Perfume and Otoboke Beaver are set to play next year’s Primavera Sound, which looks absolutely stacked.
Last year’s biggest Japanese hit, “Yoru Ni Kakeru,” is a seemingly upbeat song with extremely downer lyrics about jumping off a building. After amassing well over 220 million views, YouTube decided to slap a “warning” on the video for YOASOBI’s breakthrough hit last week.
YOASOBI's "Yoru Ni Kakeru" -- the biggest song of 2020, and boasting over 223 million views -- has suddenly become age restricted on YouTube. Was literally watching it yesterday without that so...real sudden
I noticed this after writing last week’s round-up and noticing a fair amount of Takayan songs getting the same treatment, though that at least kind of makes sense given the far-more graphic art accompanying the songs. “Yoru Ni Kakeru” — not nearly as visceral, making this kind of a surprise development. I’m the type to balance on a beam besides both sides — seems ridiculous to slap it with this warning after it became a massive hit, though I’m also open to the approach to allowing folks who don’t want to encounter this type of content a chance to get out (though lolz apply those standards to, oh, 30 years of American music touching the same emotional valleys while you are at it then) — though I think a platform being capable of this decision is in and of itself kind of the bigger point (not just a YouTube issue!) than just zeroing in on this tune1. Though in the case of “Yoru Ni Kakeru,” it’s mute now, as the video can be watched by anyone again.
The Masked Singer is coming to Japan, specifically Amazon Prime. Can’t wait to see some LDH guys dressed as a cactus or something!
BoA is about to celebrate 20 years in the Japanese market, and her team is rolling out a lot of material to commemorate it, starting with this “prologue” video (English subs available).
With all due respect, I feel like the re-issue train for ‘80s Japanese releases is starting to dry up a bit.
maison book girl suddenly “deleted” themselves. Great group, and this remains a highlight personally.
A nice Japanese deep dive into young Vocaloid producers to keep an eye on, especially as the reach of that community continues to grow.
Speaking of, I interviewed Ado for The Japan Times. My main takeaway from it was could you imagine being 18 and suddenly creating the most popular song in your country and being thrown into the media deep end, including having to talk to some schmuck about Sweets Paradise? That’s a lot to handle for anyone, but Ado is navigating it in her own way, and found her a very interesting person to talk to, with all kinds of surprises in store (her love of Disney really caught me off guard).
A deeper look at “Curry Police” courtesy of Priyanka Borpujari.
Nina Kraviz…virtual DJ.
Eric Margolis’ look at where Cool Japan (the government initiative) is at a decade after formally launching is a great dive into one of the more polarizing efforts the government has made in the 21st century. That said, I don’t really buy the quotes from the people interviewed for the piece offer up about how, actually, it kind of worked, save mayyyyyyyybe for the food ones. Cool Japan’s job was to highlight and help specific exports to the world and it failed at that — despite so many non-related pop cultural creations hitting it big, with this year really highlighting that — and folks trying to save their funding with “but, uhhh, jobs!” overlooks that.
Creativeman wants Supersonic to be the first fest in Japan this year to have international acts playing. Vaccine optimism has arrived!
Perhaps they can spray “VIRUS BUSTER WATER” on everyone coming into Haneda, soak The 1975 in it.
AKB48's tweet on May 23, now deleted, showing fans sprayed with "Origin VIRUS BUSTER WATER" is still causing controversy as experts condemn it as being useless, possibly harmful, and giving an incorrect message. Probably not the publicity either wanted.
Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
Twitter — @mbmelodies
Though it speaks to a larger trend playing out as Japanese media makes more inroads into the West — a far bigger and more influential example of this came when Demon Slayer: Mugen Train was slapped with an R rating, signalling to some that there was no way it could be a hit in the States. Except it was, breaking box office records in the U.S. After a decade of being dismissed as “kawaii” and “infantile,” Japanese pop culture crossing over is…really adult? More so than a lot of what’s coming out of the States itself and other countries flirting with global attention.