2001年12月23日 日曜日
Travelling...
by Justin Hall
Music
December 17, 2001, Time Magazine in Asia devoted a large story to a Chanpon, Hikaru Utada, a New York born, Tokyo educated Japanese pop star who has decided to educate herself in the States:
Diva on Campus
"Freshman Utada Hikaru hasn't picked a major, but she has launched a career � she's Japan's biggest pop star"
Posted by Justin Hall at 2001年12月23日 10:07
Comments
I am trying to get Justin to send me a stack of Utada's albums. How did I hear about her? It was yesterday morning. I am having trouble remembering the specifics, but I had searched on Google for BBC Pop Bands hoping to find something about that BBC show that is similiar to American Bandstand. I think my connection was a hyperlink to an Utada fan site that had real audio clips with midi playing over them (so as not to violate copyrights?). I was immediately taken with her voice.
I have known for some time that the Japanese make better punk rock than contemporary Americans. New punk music from America is weak and infused with a desire to be top forty. When I lived in Austin, Texas, I would go to South By South West music festival and all the bands would be bla bla. Then I would go to the lesser stages that were not offiliated with the festival. The better music would be there. One time I was at a punk showcase at the Hole in the Wall listening to what I thought was an excellent set of punk bands from the local area. Then a foursome of spaced out hunch backed japanese girls with mop hair and painted on dimples moves slowly onto the stage. The moment the music starts, they transform from lumpy tired people to punk rock energy force of nature. They were like a hurricane. All preceding bands were blown off the stage. I was blown off my bar stool. This band went completely insane in a loud way.
I don't remember the name of that band. Perhaps they had a good following in Japan. I will never know. I attribute my own interesting in hearing Utada Hikaru to that punk band I heard six or seven years ago. I want to capture that sense of musical force that I don't hear in music on the radio.
I know what you are thinking, "but she is the Britney Spears..." The only BS I have heard was in Pepsi ad in Thailand, and when <a href="http://www.etonline.com/celebrity/a10514.htm">Austin Powers is beating her head into the ground</a> for being fake on a recent Pepsi ad. I am admitting that my scope of Japanese music was previously limited to the Boredoms. Someone could surely school me. None the less, I would really like Justin to buy my <a href="http://www.musicwhore.org/artists/discog.php?artist=214">some Utada Hikaru albums</a> because I cannot afford to spend fifty dollars on one from Amazon.com.
i finally got one of Utada Hikaru's albums: Deep River. despite the name, it is really good!
I'm glad you finally got one - I didn't pick up any last time I was in Japan, sorry about that.
Give us some details - what's the appeal? What do you like about it? Does she sing in English you can understand? A mix of languages? Or just in Japanese? (Do you understand that as well?)