J-Pop Write-Up

Today, I listened to Chara’s “Crazy for You,” released in 2006 on the Universal Music Japan label¹. To me, this song represents the collaborative spirit of Japanese popular music. The collaboration between Chara, Brilliant Green guitarist, Ryo Matsui, and Shibuya-kei DJ fantastic plastic machine or “FPM” (Tanaka Tomoyuki) works so well, and could potentially draw popularity in the West. Anyone who stumbles upon this song will find something that shines in a completely unconventional way.

Let’s start with the things I didn’t like (‘cuz I don’t play). The song’s tempo of 122 has a kinda neither-here-nor-there feel to it (though good for head-bobbing ala Haddaway’s immortal 1993, “What is Love?”) that leaves me a little flat at the end. FPM’s tasteful additions help keep things bouyant. There’s certainly a freshness to his sound, though I find myself recently yearning to hear something that isn’t quite so trademark FPM. I feel that he could have stretched himself further as a DJ, but the production value of this track is overall high. And, as soon as I get a little bit more quirk from Ryo Matsui in his bridge material, rife with chromaticism, the moment of freshness is quickly made stale by the frumpy chord progression in the chorus.

But, if it’s frumpilicious we’re serving, Chara’s got everything covered with her 森ギャル (forest gal) outfit in the hipster-sheened-out garden. I love it. I’ll have all of it: the vintage tableware, the pastel cotton balls, embroidered flowers and mossy AstroTurf. Her hair — texture, volume, insanity, nattiness. Yes. I think Chara’s hard work really shows in this single. Her lyrics are hauntingly poignant (呼んでいるの今／夢 is particularly heady) and relate well to the feeling of the video… WHAT IS A DOLL?!?! She unleashes quite a bit of creativity, but levels that with a technically brilliant vocal performance. Chara’s delivery as a performer and artist definitely come through, and obviously the Japanese public sensed that talent, as Chara’s following album, Union, achieved a record of 4th place in the weekly Oricon charts in 2007. After all of FPM’s bells and whistles, and Matsui’s hard rockin’, it’s Chara’s voice that keeps me engaged throughout the song. She pulls it off.

So, in short, definitely repping for Chara this week! To the Japanese music industry, I say, please keep supporting artistic collaboration!! And, if you live in Tokyo and you want to support Chara, you can do so at the Liquid Room on May 27th at 18:00².  Remember, the fan power starts with… you!!! o(≧∇≦o)(o≧∇≦)o

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Today’s Japanese music term (which I may (or may not) continue from here on out): 編曲 【へんきょく】 (n) (1) arrangement; (vs) (2) to arrange; to orchestrate 
彼はそのピアノ曲をバイオリン向きに編曲した。 He arranged that piano music for the violin.³