Make Believe Melodies For October 10, 2023
In This Edition: Topics I Know A Lot About, And Topics I Know Nothing About!
e5 — GIRLS DAY
Music coming from artists with different experiences and existences than you shouldn’t be gated off nor should it be interrogated in a way to ignore the intent. Rather, treat it as a way to encounter the whole spectrum of life, even if it will never apply to you personally.
The latest EP from e5 revolves around themes both broad and private, with the constant being they are things I’ll never have any real insight on. Zooming out, it’s about exploring the feelings and expressions of women on their period and especially experiencing PMS. As e5 herself writes in great detail in a post-release Note, it’s also a reflection of her own experiences as a young person, including a rough sounding breakup with an ex who cheated on her and appears to have treated her very poorly. To only make it more out of reach on a representational level…lyrics are inspired by and vocal samples come from Gossip Girl (missed it), while she deploys slang really making my bones feel dusty.
This ability to turn the specific into audio whirlwinds, though, has been core to what makes e5 one of the most exciting young artists in Japan today. GIRLS DAY finds her edging away from the SoundCloud disruptions of her early uploads to create electronic songs where her voice can come through more clearly. While the digital dampness has been cleaned up a little, e5 remains a lover of how sounds can roll off one another — nobody is mixing Japanese and English like her right now, somehow blazing through her native language to drop a beautiful “bitch” out of nowhere — and here displays it over the bleary-eyed electronic streaks on the pal-celebrating “Friends” or by going scorched-earth on broadside “No Cap No Mush.” Playful touches reflecting both her internet upbringing and the rougher-edged Tokyo community bubble up too, from the warped hook of “Access” to the gleeful chorus of high-pitched e5’s blissing out with her on “Do.”
None of the central themes or stories can really connect with me…but the sounds she creates to share them remain invigorating, while e5 herself continues to change up and improve as a creator. It’s not meant to be universal, but e5 knows how to make the personal pull anyone in. Listen below.
Hoshimiya Toto And TEMPLIME — “Tarinai”
One of the better creative partnerships of the last five years returns with a semi-silly, semi-blurred dance-pop number constantly on the verge of dissolving. “Tarinai” is a fun little dash of a song including lines about wanting a hamburger and generally wishing to live a fun life…but features so many sonic twists and turns and sudden pitch shifts and like song-breaking-down moments to put a surreal edge to an otherwise sunny bounce. Listen above.
CANDYGIRL — “WATERFALL”
Look, I hate pushing this round-up back, especially because it usually means I end up writing this late Tuesday night / early Wednesday morning (hello from the latter), the time when a whole slew of new Japanese music releases come out digitally. I could stay up until 5 a.m. writing this, but I’m trying to improve my sleep health slightly. Anyway! Here’s the one post-midnight arrival I’m including here, because I love how CANDYGIRL create dramatic tension building towards a loopy electronic tumbler of a hook. Listen above.
Nintendo Experimental Sounds — N.E.S.
Old machines and technology shouldn’t be tossed into history’s dumpster…rather, let’s celebrate efforts to find new life out of them, especially on the artistic front. The Nintendo Entertainment System continues to provide a sonic palette creators find inviting, and this compilation allows a wide range of creators — some chiptune-centric, others from different electronic worlds — to play around with 8-bit sounds and find new perspectives on them. Listen above or get it here.
Sayonara Ponytail — “Lucia”
Long-running idol group returns with a galloping number offering constant movement and some nice electronic touches rippling off behind the guitar rush. Listen above.
Foodman — “Pichi Pichi”
God bless Foodman. I’m burning out right now, but listening to what sounds like a slightly distorted old man express how much he wants to eat potatoes and curry over an experimental hiccup of a beat from the Nagoya creator just brightens my situation up. This comes from the wonk-master’s newest EP, which is a year-closing highlight in the making. Listen above.
Oricon Trail For The Week Of September 25, 2023 To October 1, 2023
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.
AKB48 — “Idol Nanka Janakattara” (368,017 Copies Sold)
Idols know what they are doing. It’s one of the most charming elements of this corner of pop music — there’s a self awareness to weaving a fantasy, and like professional wrestling or social media influencers, plenty of winks aimed at the in crowd that can often be misinterpreted by those on the outside. It’s part of AKB48’s idol genetics, from multi-layered videos about entertainment vs. reality, arcade shoot-em ups, and maybe the entire “festival of democracy” that was the annual group election, an event so ridiculous that you start kind of getting really into it in the same way I really wanted the Hardy Boyz to win the tag team titles at Wrestlemania.
“Idol Nanka Janakattara” is a song about a love that could be…if only the protagonist wasn’t devoted to being an idol. Shout out this English translation for making it all clear — this isn’t some commentary on “love bans,” but rather a bittersweet ode to rejecting their feelings for the greater service of being an idol set over a very AKB-ish idol backdrop. Let’s take this as kayfabe — while melancholy, the real message is “look how much I love you, dear fans, for I will even reject a normal life to make your dreams come true.” That’s all an act of course…but then again, when the song builds to its conclusion and our protagonist seriously considers throwing it all away for love…damn, they know what they’re doing, and how to build some good ol’ fun drama. If YOASOBI’s “Idol” is an anime-powered slicing of the entertainment onion, AKB’s latest is a big tray of nachos swamped with idol-y cheese sauce. Listen above.
News And Views
Do we keep calling this Johnny’s round-up or go with something like “Name TBD Talent Agency Report?” Whatever it is, here’s your big photo moment.
The agency removed the “Johnny & Associates” signage (and go-to media photo) from their Nogizaka office last week in accordance with their forthcoming name changes. Fans snapped final photos of the building as it was, and now…we wait to see about what the heck replaces it.
Meanwhile, former V6 member Junichi Okada announced he will leave the agency at the end of November, while the actual biggest news of the week came from a bit of an oopsie out of the much-covered press conference about the name change as Japanese press learned that Johnny’s had an “NG List” (No Go, if you aren’t up on your acronyms) of journalists in attendance they shouldn’t call on when it came time for questions. This spurred social media anger about press freedom and made many wonder if the agency’s reputation for total control remained in place.
That’s all case specific — a running theme in all of this is, turns out doing bad and shady stuff for decades will be tough to shake off! — though gotta say as someone operating on both sides of this world that….this is commonplace in Japan (and like…“kisha clubs” are nothing new either) and elsewhere, a fact that should be clear when you realize the PR firm hired to help Johnny’s is Western. Frankly, half the problem is just wording…”NG List” sounds dramatic…while the other part is you probably shouldn’t let this come out (hire better firms!). Personally I think it’s a bit of an overblown story but a good reminder that the talent agency at the center of all of this is going through a type of scrutiny it never really has before, which is overall a good development.
Oh hey and then someone alleged Johnny Kitagawa assaulted a teen in an NHK bathroom, which is a reminder of why this company is getting put under the microscope.Kohaku rumor season…and not Johnny’s related, rejoice! Sponichi writes that ATARASHII GAKKO! is in consideration for a debut appearance on the NHK year-end bonanza. Honestly, I’ll go a step further…I can’t think of a better lock for a new performer on the show then them, seeing as they have one of the biggest viral songs of the year, foreign buzz and they appear in like a bunch of ad campaigns (they have a coffee tie-up right now, and anytime I use the subway I see them posing in front of giant plastic bottles). If they don’t make it on, I’d be stunned.
In other Kohaku news, the theme this year is “Borderless” which…actually makes sense for the above group too! Sponichi on the year-end beat writes that this means there’s a rumor five K-pop groups would perform at the event: TWICE, SEVENTEEN, NewJeans, IVE and LE SSERAFIM. That’s really not that interesting if we’re being real, seeing as three of those groups performed last year, so it isn’t like a shocker, more like par for the course in the age of Korean groups with Japanese members (though hey, NewJeans, maybe they’d make a NewJeans Ojisan joke).
Much more interesting is the rumor Olivia Rodrigo would appear. Dubbed the “next Taylor Swift” by Sponichi (hire music writers, people), their evidence is that her song “Vampire” serves as the theme for a new J-drama, trailer below. I think that’s still a long shot…but, if the rumors of reduced Johnny’s involvement pan out, maybe NHK opens up the wallet a bit more.
(On the topic of “Borderless,” the description of this theme emphasizes the importance of sports so…get ready for a ton of Samurai Japan focus. Also, to complicate it a bit, this description…shared on October 6…also emphasizes the ongoing war between the Ukraine and Russia. And uhhhhhh other geopolitical developments might wedge their way into the show now too. So yeah, Misia appearing to do a let-us-get-along number is a lock).Billboard Japan now specifically tracks how Japanese songs perform in a variety of countries, leading to some interesting insights! While ultimately a very niche chart from an organization specializing in them, it does reflect how far Japanese music travels now and how many people are interested in listening to it.
Mariya Takeuchi BACK.
aespa provides ending theme for Beyblade. Damn, they can’t even get in the Kohaku rumors…
Tone Glow (specifically Ryo!) talks with Hakushi Hasegawa.
A new ‘zine about kaigai idols…honestly, pretty cool, check it out!
Minami Minegishi still out here thriving in her post AKB days. Living that sauna life.
Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
Twitter — @mbmelodies
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