Japanese music has largely not penetrated the consciousness of the west. And for good reason- the vast majority of it is pretty darn terrible. A nearly endless parade of unremarkable female singers singing forgettable songs about interchangeable boyfriends. Now, don`t get me wrong, most music that is made anywhere is bad, but most Japanese pop music has melodies so trite, lyrics so saccharine sweet, that even June Cleaver would call it lame.
Ok, its hard to get away from the lyrics that, when translated into English, would make the teeniest of teeny-boppers cringe… But there are a few bands worth listening to. One of these is a punk band from the late 80`s and early`90s called The Blue Hearts.
While they still occasionally suffer from the sappy-lyric syndrome, they did manage to get themselves banned from television for a year due to their habit of cursing between songs and spitting on a camera. In addition to their relatively harsh sound, a lot of their popularity was due to the energy and charisma of their lead singer, Komoto Hiroto. (His charisma stemming largely from the fact that he acted like a total crack head on stage, yet very humble when he gave interviews.)
Unfortunately for them, their sound was ten years out of date by the time they started playing and the era of punk music that they would have been perfect for had already passed them by. But in a country that is notorious for carefully scripting and crafting every aspect of a public figure`s life and performance, they are one of the few examples of a musician able to do largely what they wanted.
The band broke up in 1995. The lead singer reformed a band called The High Lows, then a succession of increasingly obscure bands. His insistence on only playing music that he wanted to meant that his sound was increasingly irrelevant to the people that actually bought albums and concert tickets.
Here you can find their two biggest hits- Train Train and Linda Linda.
Being to belt out either one of these at a karaoke bar in Japan will make you be crowned karaoke hero for the night. 100% guaranteed.
My personal favorite is Jyounetsu no Bara (Rose of Passion)
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