― Patrick South (Patrick South), Thursday, 12 February 2004 04:57 (twenty years ago) link
I will cop to less familiarity with the later period and shouldn't generalize. Looking forward to checking out the reissues.
― (Jon L), Thursday, 12 February 2004 05:24 (twenty years ago) link
― Alex in Doncaster (Alex in Doncaster), Wednesday, 12 May 2004 21:55 (nineteen years ago) link
― mzui, Thursday, 13 May 2004 08:03 (nineteen years ago) link
my YMO 10 right now
1. Taiso2. Rydeen3. Firecracker4. Tighten up5. Tighten up (I can do this!)6. You've got to help yourself7. Light in darkness8. Nice Age (perverse!!!!)9. Day Tripper10. Absolute Ego Dance
B-2 Unit is indeed an excellent record. I'll have to check out 1000 Knives. I've been tetchy with Sakamoto solo releases as he's rather ...inconsistent. Haruomi Hosono's Monad Box isn't really worth it either.
I have still not ponied up for any Sketch Show releases! *forehead slap*
Ally's mom in the car when Tighten Up came on the stereo: "They sound like they're making fun of japanese people!"
― TOMBOT, Thursday, 13 May 2004 13:43 (nineteen years ago) link
― cºzen (Cozen), Friday, 10 September 2004 19:02 (nineteen years ago) link
― (Jon L), Saturday, 11 September 2004 06:31 (nineteen years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 13:48 (eighteen years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 14:14 (eighteen years ago) link
I can gmail/YSI you guys sick Yamantaka eye remixes also!
― Open your eyes; you can fly! (ex machina), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 15:16 (eighteen years ago) link
― milton parker (Jon L), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 17:33 (eighteen years ago) link
― vahid (vahid), Wednesday, 27 April 2005 18:41 (eighteen years ago) link
― joseph (joseph), Thursday, 28 April 2005 01:19 (eighteen years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 25 May 2006 19:32 (seventeen years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 25 May 2006 19:38 (seventeen years ago) link
Solid State Survivor's so outstanding I can't believe I didn't happen upon it earlier, the perfect synthesis of their pop orientalism and mastery of electronic texture -- the "Japanese Kraftwerk" thing really plays here, with "Behind the Mask" (bizarre history notwithstanding) something of an antidote to "The Model" (there's an absolutely hideous YouTube clip of Sakamoto playing this in the 90s that makes me shivver to even think about). "Insomnia," too, with the noirish vocoder melody that appears in the last third.
I'm only digging into BGM now, but Technodelic seems to get seriously short shrift -- the sound develops by leaps and bounds here, with "Taiso" birthing Nick Rhodes perhaps even more than Richard Barbieri ever could. Transitional, but not the worse for it. Shades of the Beatles, which would show up later on with "Lotus Love."
With Service and Naughty Boys, the music becomes extremely...digital, more symphonic. Some great stuff -- "Limbo," "Wild Ambitions" (featuring Bill Nelson's eBow pretty prominently), "Kai-Koh." These records almost sound like a different band, featuring little of the wit or bounce that kind of defines early YMO songs like "Absolute Ego Dance" and "Firecracker," with much more of an opaque Ippu-Do thing going on.
Still digging in, but with such a diverse profile, it's hard to believe these guys were left with such a niche reputation.
― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Thursday, 2 November 2006 05:54 (seventeen years ago) link
― Zachary Scott (Zach S), Thursday, 2 November 2006 06:22 (seventeen years ago) link
― Patrick South (Patrick South), Thursday, 2 November 2006 07:01 (seventeen years ago) link
It's great! "Epilogue" should reduce many a grown man to sobbing.
― LC (Damian), Thursday, 2 November 2006 12:06 (seventeen years ago) link
with "Taiso" birthing Nick Rhodes perhaps even more than Richard Barbieri ever could
Clearly I meant "Light in Darkness" here.
― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Thursday, 2 November 2006 13:20 (seventeen years ago) link
― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Thursday, 2 November 2006 16:52 (seventeen years ago) link
can someone recommend some other Haruomi Hosono projects aside from YMO (solo or otherwise)?
― amateurist, Tuesday, 4 August 2009 14:49 (fourteen years ago) link
Haruomi Hosono
― damo tsu tsuki (r1o natsume), Tuesday, 4 August 2009 14:52 (fourteen years ago) link
Paraiso is really good. Tropical music with a bizarre electronic twist. Very odd and affecting, and quite catchy as well.Cochin Moon is an early electronic classic. Really neat stuff.His Nokto de la Galaskia Fervojo soundtrack is chilling, it's minimal (as is a lot of Hosono's stuff) but very cold and moving. Love it.
― frogbs, Monday, 15 November 2010 19:26 (thirteen years ago) link
so glad this was revived. just found a mediafire folder with all the albums and needed some guidance.
― brotherlovesdub, Monday, 15 November 2010 21:58 (thirteen years ago) link
really loving these stripped down live versions YMO have been playing this year
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NTnIJ61z1w
― missingNO, Saturday, 25 December 2010 03:16 (thirteen years ago) link
Love the synth trumpet!
― Naive Teen Idol, Sunday, 26 December 2010 17:47 (thirteen years ago) link
Whoah, YMO doing "Thank You For Talkin' to Me Africa"!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWPbDsPYxZM&feature=related
― Naive Teen Idol, Sunday, 26 December 2010 17:48 (thirteen years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEZ3VxGWwjM
excellent video (if you can ignore the camera effects). kinda weird to see a shorthaired 70's Hosono funking out by himself. they really did keep it tight though.
― frogbs, Tuesday, 30 October 2012 12:23 (eleven years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0adjDQyYSI4
― Late night with Amazing Bo (MaresNest), Sunday, 31 March 2013 23:48 (ten years ago) link
amazing find
― original bgm, Monday, 1 April 2013 00:20 (ten years ago) link
i think cindy crawford is in one of those!!
― frogbs, Monday, 1 April 2013 02:10 (ten years ago) link
hah, she is! I caught her posing dramatically with a piano while randomly skipping around.
― original bgm, Monday, 1 April 2013 04:38 (ten years ago) link
Somebody really needs to write me a good, thorough examination on YMO and the Japanese New Wave (400 pages at least). I like the process of rooting around and finding out little bits and pieces of information but I need some cultural CONTEXT dammit!
― Late night with Amazing Bo (MaresNest), Monday, 1 April 2013 16:42 (ten years ago) link
I'm thinking that Nick Kent (the guy who runs technopop.info) could probably do something like that. YMO are interesting enough to warrant their own book but Japan is such a small country that all that stuff really ran into each other at some point. Like there's 3 degrees of seperation between pretty much every one of those bands. Most of it is probably through Harry Hosono, who seemingly appeared on everything that came out of Japan from 1976 to 1990 or so.
― frogbs, Monday, 1 April 2013 17:42 (ten years ago) link
Too true, Hosono is a walking infographic.
― Late night with Amazing Bo (MaresNest), Monday, 1 April 2013 17:50 (ten years ago) link
a book like that would leapfrogbs to the very top of my reading list, for real
― your holiness, we have an official energy drink (Z S), Monday, 1 April 2013 17:51 (ten years ago) link
it's weird how popular ymo seem to be when reading about them, but every time i've asked a native japanese if they've heard of them, they haven't. maybe it's a generational thing?
― 君ちゃん (clouds), Monday, 1 April 2013 18:16 (ten years ago) link
I've experienced this a couple of times with some Japanese aged under thirty or so, although they seem to know Sakamoto for some reason.
What's interesting is that if they are aware of YMO they're often interested that a westerner would be bothered listening to 'old' Japanese music, or even Japanese music period.
― Late night with Amazing Bo (MaresNest), Monday, 1 April 2013 19:19 (ten years ago) link
yeah it seems like japanese don't have the same retromania that americans do, but i have no idea really
― 君ちゃん (clouds), Monday, 1 April 2013 19:40 (ten years ago) link
― Late night with Amazing Bo (MaresNest), Monday, April 1, 2013 5:42 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
I've not felt the urge to write about music much over the last few years, but I *really really* want to write a longform piece on Jun Togawa. Never going to happen without a rudimentary knowledge of Japanese, though.
― emil.y, Monday, 1 April 2013 19:42 (ten years ago) link
If you want to blow the mind of a 40+ Japanese person, tell 'em you love Ippu-Do or Guernica.
― Late night with Amazing Bo (MaresNest), Monday, 1 April 2013 19:43 (ten years ago) link
I know a lot of big music nerds who have no idea who Kraftwerk are, for instance...some people just don't really care about anything older than they are
― frogbs, Monday, 1 April 2013 19:46 (ten years ago) link
You know, I heard an phone interview on Resonance last week with Akiko Yano (interspersed with some of her music), it was a show called Clear Spot. Maybe you could speak directly to Jun herself? If she speaks Eigo of course.
― Late night with Amazing Bo (MaresNest), Monday, 1 April 2013 19:46 (ten years ago) link
emily - have you read this?http://www.groundzeromongkok.com/2010/12/memory-and-gender-in-music-of-jun.html
― frogbs, Monday, 1 April 2013 19:47 (ten years ago) link
oops, XP
― Late night with Amazing Bo (MaresNest), Monday, 1 April 2013 19:47 (ten years ago) link
Frogs, yeah, it's a good piece (and I love the toilet ad it links to), but I want more! I guess really I want something book-length, with a really good biographical content as well as analysis.
― emil.y, Monday, 1 April 2013 19:51 (ten years ago) link
basically, a book version of this would be the most amazing thing:http://park10.wakwak.com/~techno/jgenealogy.html
― original bgm, Monday, 1 April 2013 21:53 (ten years ago) link
and yeah, togawa is really fascinating. would read all of these imaginary books.
― original bgm, Monday, 1 April 2013 21:54 (ten years ago) link
Wow - I need to hear that Akiko Yano Resonance show.
― That elusive North American wood-ape (Capitaine Jay Vee), Monday, 1 April 2013 23:49 (ten years ago) link
Oops, meant to fill in that time-stamp. Second verse starts around 1:27.
― TheNuNuNu, Sunday, 28 January 2024 15:31 (two months ago) link
had no idea the lyrics to Ongaku were so cute. I knew it was a tribute to his daughter but that's it.
Takahashi, for all his talents, also seems to be an incredible lyric writer? idk I never see that mentioned but the dude is pure class
― frogbs, Monday, 29 January 2024 00:06 (one month ago) link
Right?! I think you would have to be in a band with, uh, Hosono and Sakamoto to be THIS good at what you do and still end up kind of overshadowed. I loved those two right away (Kazemachi Roman, Thousand Knives of), Takahashi took a bit to grow on me, but the longer I spend with his work and the closer I pay attention to what he's doing, the more I adore him.
― TheNuNuNu, Monday, 29 January 2024 04:07 (one month ago) link
Focus -- the story of a guy nursing a broken heart, wandering around town in the evening, who accidentally photographs his ex out on a happy date. In what I believe is typical Hosono style (developed during the Happy End days as a defense against being in the same band with Takashi Matsumoto; Hosono felt he couldn't compete with Matsumoto where narrative and emotional weight and imagery were concerned, so when he started writing lyrics for his own songs on the band's third album, he leaned heavily into wordplay -- not that he didn't get good at all those other things too, but the wordplay remained prominent), there are probably lots of puns and double meanings that went over my head -- and I don't know photography so I can only guess at the technical bits too.
An example: the word for "end" that Hosono chose for "end of the world" is a homonym for the Japanese word for "weekend," a word that only appears in the song in English.
In any case, the rhythm of the falling words is probably more important than the words themselves, in this song's case. Those English line endings (weekend! TRY-X! weekend! focus!) are so satisfying.
...
Seems it's happened again --somehow the day grew dark while I wasn't paying attention.What's out of the ordinary is the envy burning inside me.
An ordinary weekend in the city.The position fixed, the shutter set.A noisy weekend in the city.The focus suppresses nausea.
Abruptly, on the street corner, I'm conquered by jealousy.A face I could never forget, accompanied by a secret silhouette.
(You'll be burning with a new love tonight,and I'll be burning old pictures on my mind.)
An unexpected weekend --crushing the TRY-X in my hands.A weekend like the end of the world --you there, in distinct focus.
That smile, frozen in place, has forced me to shut my eyes.The girl who turned towards the camera is a star in the firmament now.
(You'll be burning...)
― TheNuNuNu, Monday, 29 January 2024 23:54 (one month ago) link
Speaking of Haruomi Hosono and imagery, here's Lotus Love.
A feeling that doesn't change,eternally returning and reverberating.(I love you.)Petals in the inner corner of the eye,the accustomed incantation in the throat.(I love you.)
(Baby!) Come leap through time.(Baby!) Let's meet outside the world.
Sitting in the dusk.Words that no one can see.(I love you.)In times of fatigue,I become like snow melting in the sunlight.(You love me.)
(Baby!) Come leap through time.(Baby!) Let's meet outside the world.(Baby!) Let's meet outside the world.
An incantation surreptitiously grazingthe mouth glimpsed in a dream.(Love, love, love.)
― TheNuNuNu, Tuesday, 30 January 2024 06:56 (one month ago) link
Hosono seems he would be a high-maintenance boyfriend
― frogbs, Tuesday, 30 January 2024 14:28 (one month ago) link
Ah, that cracked me up.
Got a good listen to Service in today -- remains the YMO I'm least familiar with. That Sakamoto-saturated bridge in You've Got to Help Yourself is fantastic. The Hosono tunes sound like they're already halfway to S-F-X.
― TheNuNuNu, Tuesday, 30 January 2024 15:49 (one month ago) link
remains the YMO I'm least familiar with
Except Technodon, I forgot Technodon. Everyone always forgets Technodon.
Here's Expecting Rivers, aka bliss embodied in song. Until I wrote the lyrics out structurally like this, I had no idea the chorus happens five times. You need to have written an incredible chorus to repeat it five times and not even get me to notice.
Considering also Opened My Eyes ("I couldn't sleep in my bed at night, I didn't have any appetite ... for ANYTHING"), YT lyrically owns Naughty Boys.
(Dreams fly byIn a starless skyDreams fly by)
Now and then, on a pitch-black night, I go out walking.We drift and fumble along.
The riverside is drifting too.The water is the color of tears.You have lost your way.And me, I'm turning.
(Dreams fly by...)
The riverside is drifting.The water is the color of tears.You have lost your way.And me, I'm turning.
Now and then, on a pitch-black night, I go out walking.We were drifting, we were fumbling along.
Above the slippery river.The water is brimming over.You are trembling.And it's time, so I'm rising.
We set out rowing.We make good progress.We're rowing against the current -- yes?And we're laughing?
― TheNuNuNu, Wednesday, 31 January 2024 13:12 (one month ago) link
I miss seeing Yuki looking stylish on social media in some little cafe with his dog and his friends.
― MaresNest, Wednesday, 31 January 2024 14:19 (one month ago) link
there's so much reverb on Naughty Boys that everything is kind of disorienting, in the best way of course. I almost wonder if there's something sinister hiding behind some of these lyrics, especially given the stuff they were writing around this time.
does Technodon even have any Japanese lyrics? I really don't remember. and I like the album! but most of the singing is in English...and "Nanga Def" I don't think is Japanese is it?
― frogbs, Wednesday, 31 January 2024 14:33 (one month ago) link
I almost wonder if there's something sinister hiding behind some of these lyrics, especially given the stuff they were writing around this time.
Sinister, -- like, in a "we're touching on the dissolution of our own relationships" kind of way?
I've still got Technodon ahead of me! Been exploring moooore or less chronologically, so I want to get properly acquainted with what Hosono and Sakamoto did in the latter half of the '80s first -- Hosono plenty of really weird stuff, and Sakamoto seeming to lean weirdwards in his own way too (Futurista and Neo Geo sound pretty out there -- plus I haven't heard Illustrated Musical Encyclopedia or Esperanto yet). I have some catching up to do with Takahashi too. His solo albums tend to sound dull to me on first several listens, and I have to push myself to listen, but given enough time, I end up figuring out how wonderful everything actually is -- happened big-time with Murdered by the Music, and it's happening again now with Neuromantic. What Me Worry was love on first listen, though. Half of it sounds like it could have been produced by Hosono himself.
― TheNuNuNu, Wednesday, 31 January 2024 16:09 (one month ago) link
yup those 3 YT albums are great. I like Tomorrow's Another Day too. some of those later 80s albums aren't all that great but I think his 90s work is really nice. Technodon probably sounds the most like Hosono's Medicine Compilation, which I think came out after, but it's got a few tracks that would slot right in.
Illustrated Musical Encyclopedia is very good, though you probably want to get the original version called Ongaku Zukan, especially the one with the bonus 12 inch ("Replica" is one of his prettiest tracks). Esperanto is pretty odd, I think some ILXors really like it - IMO the best way to experience it is through the video that was released alongside it, just to immerse yourself in total 80s digital mayhem:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-nJPWJE0cs
― frogbs, Wednesday, 31 January 2024 16:21 (one month ago) link
Illustrated Musical Encyclopedia is AMAZING, so many catchy melodies. There’s a brilliant rocksteady track, even.
― brimstead, Wednesday, 31 January 2024 16:52 (one month ago) link
this is a really really cool comp of Ryuichi productions/solo work that was apparently only ever released as a promo with one of his CM music compshttps://www.discogs.com/release/6005544-Ryuichi-Sakamoto-Gem
― brimstead, Wednesday, 31 January 2024 16:54 (one month ago) link
I have (mp3, sadly) and love that GEM collection.
― completely suited to the horny decadence (Capitaine Jay Vee), Thursday, 1 February 2024 05:00 (one month ago) link
Here is it as Flac files - https://we.tl/t-1y4VKQ6cIE
― MaresNest, Thursday, 1 February 2024 14:11 (one month ago) link
Grabbed that, MaresNest, thank you! And thanks to Brimstead and Jay Vee for the recommendation.
("Replica" is one of his prettiest tracks)
I downloaded Replica after seeing your recommendation in the Sakamoto thread for it (you said something about icy synths, and I am always game for icy synths) and then played it about a hundred times.
My Naughty Boys translation project ended prematurely, when I realized that there's already an excellent translation of Kimi ni Mune Kyun up on Genius. Here I was bracing myself to wrestle with a Takashi Matsumoto lyric (Happy End's drummer/lyricist) and then -- aha. I was glad to be spared the struggle but it was also kinda anticlimactic. But then I thought, hold on...
Chaos Panic, to the rescue! There was no Chinese cheatsheet this time (the comments on the streaming app generally amount to, "Holy hell, this has a vocal version?!" along with a "I thought Hosono's vocals were actually David Sylvian") so, fair warning, this may be rougher / more approximate / just plain wrong than usual.
(You got me shaking and quakingYou got me shaking and quakingShaking, quaking, my world is turning upside down)
(HH vox)Autumn showers in the east.In the west the sun goes down.Love is a gazethat shakes violently and sways.(Earthquake! Earthquake!)
(YT vox)You say love shouldn't be treated like a game?Well then, I'll say it straight out:I love you!
You say times of happiness always come to an end.Be that as it may, the fact right now is thatI love you!
(You got me shaking and quaking...)
(repeat Hosono verse)
(YT vox)Leave everything to time.We sway and rock as one.I love you now!
When we embrace,I go floating through the sky.I love you now!
― TheNuNuNu, Thursday, 1 February 2024 15:19 (one month ago) link
^^ this song will always be special to me, my first YMO was a pretty odd compilation album which had this and this was the song on it I really got obsessed with. though for a while I thought the lyric was "you got to shake it and break it"
― frogbs, Thursday, 1 February 2024 15:30 (one month ago) link
I think Hosono would be happy with that mishearing, Frog.
Here, for reference / to satisfy the completist in me, is a copy & paste of user handle qomolangma's translation of Kimi ni Mune Kyun for Genius. I would've kept the unforgettable onomatopoeia and rendered the title as "My Heart Goes 'Kyun' for You' -- but Qomo's "I've Got a Crush on You" gets the spirit across, and anyway, anybody interested in an English version of the lyrics will already have the four letters KYUN written across their heart.
... (cheers, qomo)
I've got a crush on you! During this summer of desirePlace your hand on my shoulder.I've got a crush on you!"Have you noticed?" I asked that timidly.
A line dance that moves like a rippleIt's just a plain waste of timeA high voltage glanceas things get heated up
I've got a crush on you!We printed out a photo of our summerWe're just getting sunburntI've got a crush on you!To me, this is uncharacteristically platonic
The cruel sea breezemeasures the distance between our heartsThe yearning I felt when you momentarily lowered your glance felt so wonderful
(the Italian bit)
I've got a crush on you! "I love you." I can't say that out easily.
But you often see thatin Italian movies too.
I've got a crush on you! "I love you."I can't say that out easily.I've got a crush on you! We run along the beachAs we get shrouded within the shadow of the fog
― TheNuNuNu, Thursday, 1 February 2024 15:42 (one month ago) link
listening again to Naughty Boys now that I know some of the lyrics, and yeah can confirm it's still the best pop album ever made
― frogbs, Saturday, 3 February 2024 04:58 (one month ago) link
I haven't done a proper reckoning in a while but I think it's crept into my all-time top ten.
Really interesting stuff in the Gem collection, thanks all! Gave my first listen to Ongaku Zukan as well -- wonderful. So much reggae! (which for me is a huge plus.)
― TheNuNuNu, Saturday, 3 February 2024 06:50 (one month ago) link
I didn't realize how awesome the lyrics to Camouflage and Mass are. Good, more reasons to adore BGM.
― TheNuNuNu, Friday, 9 February 2024 03:00 (one month ago) link
I'm definitely interested in the BGM lyrics, I know someone translated the middle section of "U-T" and it was very weird and meta. I can't find it now though!
― frogbs, Friday, 9 February 2024 04:36 (one month ago) link
Here's the UT bit, edited for clarity.
Hosono: Hello, I'm your host, Hosono. Appearing on the show today are Yellow Magic Orchestra's Yukihiro Takahashi and Ryuichi Sakamoto. Welcome, gentlemen.
Takahashi: Thank you.
Sakamoto: Thank you.
Hosono: First, I’d like to ask Mr. Takahashi...
Takahashi: Yes?
Hosono: Do you know the word U•T?
Takahashi: Well, I know YT, but this is the first time I've ever heard of U•T.
Hosono: Is that so? Well, then, Mr. Sakamoto, what does the word U•T mean?
Sakamoto: It means otherwordly existence.
Hosono: Is that so? By the way, Mr. Takahashi's drumming on this song is amazing, isn't it?
Takahashi: Yes. It is amazing.
Hosono: Yes. Well then, will you listen to this song when it comes out on BGM?
Takahashi & Sakamoto: Of course not!
― TheNuNuNu, Friday, 9 February 2024 09:36 (one month ago) link
Gradated Grey and Key back to back are just unbelievable.
― TheNuNuNu, Saturday, 17 February 2024 02:51 (one month ago) link
Today I heard my way into the Simoon bassline. I don't think I'll be able to notice anything else about the song ever again.
― TheNuNuNu, Thursday, 21 March 2024 20:21 (one week ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l79HgXvxP8
― Maresn3st, Thursday, 21 March 2024 21:53 (one week ago) link
^^ hah, just coming to post that. it's from the same guy who did that "what's on the Genesis floppy discs" video which I know some ILXors liked.
― frogbs, Wednesday, 27 March 2024 17:49 (yesterday) link