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interesting read
May. 1st, 2013 03:31 pmarticle:
Tedious love: Prof decries modern music's lack of passion
April 26, 2013
Yasuhiko Mori / The Yomiuri ShimbunOSAKA--Most of J-pop, or Japanese popular music since the 1990s, seems to have consisted of love songs. One survey even puts the love song proportion as high as 97 percent. In contrast, songs of love accounted for only 7 percent of popular tunes in the Meiji era (1868-1912).
Are young people of the current Heisei era, which began in 1989, really that much into love?
According to Kazuhide Nabae, a professor of British and U.S. literature and culture at Kobe College who wrote the book Koisuru J-pop (J-pop in love) in 2004, one driving force behind the increase in love-themed songs was "Ai ga Tomaranai" (Turn It Into Love), a big hit by female duo Wink in 1989.
"As the title shows, the song urged young people toward love. Subsequent popular hits in Japan also rushed headlong into love-themed songs," Nabae said.
The love-soaked J-pop lyrics deeply influence the worldview of young people, who adopted it as their own reality--or at least their ideal view of reality. In essence, they have tried to live out the stories prepared for them by songwriters.
"Ai ga Tomaranai" is a cover of the original "Turn It Into Love" by Australian singer Kylie Minogue. The original is a Eurobeat dance music piece with electronic instruments.
Since the success of "Ai ga Tomaranai," J-pop's evolution to higher levels of sophistication has continued to include the absorption of elements from Western music.
However, Nabae complained that the lyrics accompanying the J-pop numbers have an unfortunate tendency to repeat mediocre and poorly considered patterns.
In addition, "Love as presented in J-pop lyrics has an air of fatigue or confusion regarding relations with the opposite sex, rather than expressing sexual intoxication or the torrent of passion," Nabae said.
Take for example "Calling/Breathless," the 40th single of idol group Arashi, which ranked first in the weekly hit chart in March.
Arashi's fans tend to be attracted by the group's energetic dance moves, but the lyrics include a line meaning, "I'll never let you go." Love is clearly the basic theme of the song, but it includes lyrics that undermine the hope of romance, such as "as if it were an endless maze" and "infinitely deep blackness."
Enka songs, many with themes of tragic love, were most popular in the Showa era (1926-1989). The basic ethos of enka songs was "strong men and weak women."
However, for better or worse, the sex roles of men and women as presented in J-pop songs are vague, and relationships with the opposite sex tend to be unstable.
"In addition, Heisei-era material culture, which makes love just another commodity, casts a shadow over J-pop songs," Nabae said.
In Japanese pop group ZARD's 1995 single "Ai ga Mienai," the female vocalist Izumi Sakai sang, "Ai ga Mienai Imano Jidai" (Love is unseen in this day and age).
But since then, an ideal image of love has yet to emerge. Nor have lyrics that stick in one's mind been written. Young men and women are constantly singing love songs as if being in love is a burdensome task about which they have no choice but to forge ahead.
Nabae says his own female students often seem to be weighed down by the drab view of modern-day "love" they have absorbed through J-pop numbers.
"They probably think love is too much of a bother. They surely have opportunities for intimate encounters, but they feel they don't need to become romantically involved. Even when some of them are in love, they never seem to be in a buoyant mood. What love means is totally changing from what it meant before," Nabae said.
source: yomiuri
First, the citing of Arashi-songs makes me weirdly proud.
Second:
I found this article on Twitter - and it reminded me of Mark D. Wests thesis of how japanese love works - based on how it is ruled by law and/or judges. Having West in Mind I doubt it's something which has such a strong connection to the lyrics of love songs as suggested above. Rather I think the song expressing something already layered in the society. But I agree that putting it upfront that way could be one reason why this negative view of relationships or love persists. But it won't be the sole or even main reason for it. It's just some easy way to shift the blame away from deeper social aspects to Pop-culture (b/w this instisting on WESTERN influence is somewhat disturbing, since it implies the western way to love is this kind of negativ strained) - instead of the emotional and passionate "traditonal" (as much as Enka is tradition) japanese way of Love ~ which is, in my eyes, illusional (delusional?)... Hen? Egg?
Thoughts?
Tedious love: Prof decries modern music's lack of passion
April 26, 2013
Yasuhiko Mori / The Yomiuri ShimbunOSAKA--Most of J-pop, or Japanese popular music since the 1990s, seems to have consisted of love songs. One survey even puts the love song proportion as high as 97 percent. In contrast, songs of love accounted for only 7 percent of popular tunes in the Meiji era (1868-1912).
Are young people of the current Heisei era, which began in 1989, really that much into love?
According to Kazuhide Nabae, a professor of British and U.S. literature and culture at Kobe College who wrote the book Koisuru J-pop (J-pop in love) in 2004, one driving force behind the increase in love-themed songs was "Ai ga Tomaranai" (Turn It Into Love), a big hit by female duo Wink in 1989.
"As the title shows, the song urged young people toward love. Subsequent popular hits in Japan also rushed headlong into love-themed songs," Nabae said.
The love-soaked J-pop lyrics deeply influence the worldview of young people, who adopted it as their own reality--or at least their ideal view of reality. In essence, they have tried to live out the stories prepared for them by songwriters.
"Ai ga Tomaranai" is a cover of the original "Turn It Into Love" by Australian singer Kylie Minogue. The original is a Eurobeat dance music piece with electronic instruments.
Since the success of "Ai ga Tomaranai," J-pop's evolution to higher levels of sophistication has continued to include the absorption of elements from Western music.
However, Nabae complained that the lyrics accompanying the J-pop numbers have an unfortunate tendency to repeat mediocre and poorly considered patterns.
In addition, "Love as presented in J-pop lyrics has an air of fatigue or confusion regarding relations with the opposite sex, rather than expressing sexual intoxication or the torrent of passion," Nabae said.
Take for example "Calling/Breathless," the 40th single of idol group Arashi, which ranked first in the weekly hit chart in March.
Arashi's fans tend to be attracted by the group's energetic dance moves, but the lyrics include a line meaning, "I'll never let you go." Love is clearly the basic theme of the song, but it includes lyrics that undermine the hope of romance, such as "as if it were an endless maze" and "infinitely deep blackness."
Enka songs, many with themes of tragic love, were most popular in the Showa era (1926-1989). The basic ethos of enka songs was "strong men and weak women."
However, for better or worse, the sex roles of men and women as presented in J-pop songs are vague, and relationships with the opposite sex tend to be unstable.
"In addition, Heisei-era material culture, which makes love just another commodity, casts a shadow over J-pop songs," Nabae said.
In Japanese pop group ZARD's 1995 single "Ai ga Mienai," the female vocalist Izumi Sakai sang, "Ai ga Mienai Imano Jidai" (Love is unseen in this day and age).
But since then, an ideal image of love has yet to emerge. Nor have lyrics that stick in one's mind been written. Young men and women are constantly singing love songs as if being in love is a burdensome task about which they have no choice but to forge ahead.
Nabae says his own female students often seem to be weighed down by the drab view of modern-day "love" they have absorbed through J-pop numbers.
"They probably think love is too much of a bother. They surely have opportunities for intimate encounters, but they feel they don't need to become romantically involved. Even when some of them are in love, they never seem to be in a buoyant mood. What love means is totally changing from what it meant before," Nabae said.
source: yomiuri
First, the citing of Arashi-songs makes me weirdly proud.
Second:
I found this article on Twitter - and it reminded me of Mark D. Wests thesis of how japanese love works - based on how it is ruled by law and/or judges. Having West in Mind I doubt it's something which has such a strong connection to the lyrics of love songs as suggested above. Rather I think the song expressing something already layered in the society. But I agree that putting it upfront that way could be one reason why this negative view of relationships or love persists. But it won't be the sole or even main reason for it. It's just some easy way to shift the blame away from deeper social aspects to Pop-culture (b/w this instisting on WESTERN influence is somewhat disturbing, since it implies the western way to love is this kind of negativ strained) - instead of the emotional and passionate "traditonal" (as much as Enka is tradition) japanese way of Love ~ which is, in my eyes, illusional (delusional?)... Hen? Egg?
Thoughts?
