The other day Spice sent me a link to this article in Slate about Japanese pop and how it's totally awesome but iTunes is run by idiots who won't let you buy from the Japanese iTunes store. However, Slate pointed out, you can hear these tunes on YouTube. This inspired me to find a couple of my favorite J-pop tunes of all time and share them here.
Best pop song ever: "Robinson" by Spitz. I'm sorry, you don't believe me? Then you'll have to see it for yourself. YouTube seems to have taken down the actual video, which is just as well, because it has some unfortunate resonances with David Brent's video for If You Don't Know Me By Now. So here's a live version for your viewing pleasure:
Liked that? Now here's the first Japanese pop song I ever fell in love with. This girl group, Speed, was huge. Huuuuge, I tell you. They broke up shortly before I left Japan, and let me tell you, it was a big deal. The song, as you may discern from the chorus, is called "All My True Love." The girls, as you may discern from the opening notes, are squeaky. It is pure J-pop genius.
Ahhhh. Makes me want to go out for some Japanese-style karaoke.
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And I should note that, like the girls in the front row at the Spitz concert, I know every word of that song.
The second video is Spicegirlstastic. Which one marries the soccer player and becomes anorexic and alien-looking?
The day after I read that article (which mentions the Fratellis, a kick-ass Glaswegian band whose album is not available on iTunes), I saw an iPod commercial featuring... the Fratellis. WTF? I guess we're all supposed to just buy their EP on iTunes, then wait for the Apple gods to deign to sell us more.
OK, the top group was kind of enjoyable. Especially the dude with the bleached hair on cool shades and sleeveless jacket showing off his massive guns. I especially appreciated the shot of the all the girls bobbing their heads singing the words.
But boy oh boy, those girls... can neither sing nor dance. I couldn't watch more than half of that video, although the comment from J. Bro is making me curious about the reset.
Sophist, you did NOT just insult my girls in Speed! Ok, ok, singing and dancing aren't necessarily their greatest talents. But how awesome and boppy is the song?
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