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Tag Archives: twee as fuck

Afflac Advertisement Song “Manekineko Duck No Uta” Movin’ Up The Charts

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This Afflac ad starring the apparently famous all over the world Afflac duck and a cat has been running on Japanese TV a bunch since about mid August. It’s got cute music, cute dancing animals and I’m sure great information about insurance. Watch it, it’s charming.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j15ZDcXz3Ds&hl=en&fs=1&]

Turns out the “cute music” in the ad is actually a full-fledge song. And said tune currently sits at the six spot on some sort of mobile J-Pop store. It’s only one ranking on one chart I just found out existed, so this isn’t like the Crazy Frog epidemic from a few years ago. But still interesting. Here’s the full song, complete with a video so cute it makes every twee band I’ve ever posted here look like Black Flag.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oq9ytQ83Bu8&hl=en&fs=1&]

First, I have to reiterate, damn that’s cute. The “quack quack quack” bit rules. Second, there is absolutely no point to talking about the artistic merit of this song because it’s an unabashed jingle – nobody disects Mac Tonight. So what to make of “Manekineko Duck No Uta?” It’s a nice little musical curiosity that has more to say with Japan’s obsession with cuteness (a very real thing) than anything about the music scene here. Though “cuteness” definitely can propel an artist up the charts, this being a very extreme example.

If nothing else, anyone who downloaded this ad jingle from a few years back shouldn’t feel so ashamed.

(Big ups to JPop Lover, a very nice blog all about J-Pop and other forms of Japanese music for posting the chart originally.)

A Smattering Of Music: jenny on the planet, Three-Weeks-Old Lovesick Puppy, Balloon Skirt

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This blog is currently so young (and I’m still so new to life in Japan) that trying to carve out an identity proves to be tougher than originally imagined. Should I strictly write about contemporary artists, or should I take a broader look at Japanese music, including older acts? And how does mainstream Japanese music fit into all this? The right answers is “all three,” but getting into a rhythm takes time. Case in point: still need to finish the “about” page, yikes. So, today I’m just going to list a few artists I’ve stumbled across recently that I’m enjoying, even though they may not have anything recently released.

jenny on the planet

This Osaka bands minimal slowcore has really stood out recently. jenny on the planet keep their songs sparse, the vocals taking center stage ahead of faint guitars and drums that sound like they could have been recorded from the next room over. The tunes posted on the group’s MySpace follow this slowly-unfolding pattern…save for the seven-minute standout “Still.” jenny on the planet devote almost half of the song to formless noise before falling into a dreamy swirl of voices that help “Still” drift away.

If you don’t have any Halloween plans, check out jenny on the planet at Nanba Bears this Saturday in Osaka.

Three-Weeks-Old Lovesick Puppy

That so-twee-I-want-to-vomit name doesn’t tell the whole story. Three-Weeks-Old Lovesick Puppy certainly makes cheery and snuggly indie-pop sure to get the anorak-set going, but the group adds an electro-feel to some of these songs to make them very danceable. If twee-pop could ever be suitable for the disco, Lovesick Puppy has the best chance at making it. Check out “Stop” in particular, over here.

Balloon Skirt

Second straight indie-pop band, I know, but the fall is just the perfect backdrop to this stuff. Balloon Skirt doesn’t add any dance-flourishes to their music, but they know how to craft a fine bit of pop. The guitars on “Favor Cycle” (check it out and one other track here) sound so smile-worthy the bells thrown in seem redundant. If you like the patchwork pop of Three Berry Ice Cream, Balloon Skirt is bound to please.

Cute Overload: Soda Fountains

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Photo courtesy of liltree on Flickr under Creative Commons
Photo courtesy of liltree on Flickr under Creative Commons

Japanese indie-poppers Soda Fountains serve as a sort of cuddly litmus test: if you can’t handle hearty handfuls of cute in music, you’ll detest this group. But if the word twee turns you on, and tunes about sunny picnics and rainbows get you going…meet Soda Fountains. They have a new album out on Oct. 28, titled Rainbow Sprinkler, and have released a teaser video previewing most of the new songs. Pay special attention to the almost-disco twee of “Picnic,” a standout among these cuddly-but-sorta-sad songs.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Al13OwGpXF8&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=ja&feature=player_embedded&fs=1]

If tons of cuteness is your thing, check out Rainbow Sprinkler when it drops on Oct. 28.

Hideki Kaji Brings Strawberries And Cream

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Indie-popster Hideki Kaji will release a new full-length, Strawberries and Cream, October 21. I love this guy’s work (though at glance at his discography reveals I have a lot more albums to hunt down) and this LP has jumped near the top of my “most excited” list. Watch Kaji’s extremely cute video starring a pineapple for the relentlessly upbeat “Passion Fruits,” a song that achieves the rare 2009 feet of making children singing not annoying.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJmAnW-ZRU4&hl=en&fs=1&]

Are Cassettes Passe Yet? Love And Hates

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Not actually Love and Hates. Photo courtesy of ret0dd on Flickr under Creative Commons
Not actually Love and Hates. Photo courtesy of ret0dd on Flickr under Creative Commons

At the sundae bar we call music, irony takes the role of the extra-sugar sprinkles at the end of the table. A few spoonfuls aren’t bad and could even add some flavor, but too much ruins a perfectly good treat. This year has seen an epidemic of artists loading up on irony and absolutely shooting themselves in the face by going for the “LOL.” EAR PWR and YACHT torpedoed otherwise interesting music by singing about waterslides and cracking T-Pain jokes, respectively. Don’t think this is a Williamsburg problem exclusively – 3OH!H climbed the charts by imploring listeners to “do the Helen Keller and talk with your hips” while fellow all-caps-ers (seriously, why do they all have to be in all-caps???) LMFAO gained notoriety for dropping this this turd on the world.

Surely Japan, a country where this isn’t played for laughs, wouldn’t fall for the same trappings wearing a “World’s Best Grandpa” shirt. Enter rap-ish duo Love and Hates. They are part of the Flake Records 3rd Anniversary Party concert this Saturday in Osaka, and are certainly the most unique act on the bill. Watch this live video of Love and Hates performing live and play “spot the ironic gestures” with me.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksqzqJAq3_s&hl=en&fs=1&]

OK, got them all? “Thug” posing, Burger King crowns as hats, chains as bling necklaces and the chopped-and-screwed voice babblin’ on about ice cream at the beginning. Couple all of this with the duo’s MySpace page (sound described as “toy-tasted crunk hiphop,” some sort of connection to Vice and their latest release being on cassette) and you wouldn’t be blamed if you destroyed all traces of Love and Hates from your computer.

And yet one shouldn’t dismiss Love and Hates based on initial impressions. Unlike a lot of artists up in the first paragraph, the forced goofiness doesn’t carry into their actual music…at least not the lyrics. “Party Trash” never overreaches for a joke, instead letting the duo shout while the beat stomps forward. “Hate,” featured on their MySpace page, gets a little bit more adventerous lyrically, but doesn’t grate – mostly because it’s LCD Soundsystem for beginner’s, and they pull it off. No raps about manatees or “crankin’ my Batman,” sounds good to me!

The determining factor in whether you’ll dig or ditch Love and Hates is whether you’re turned on by the idea of twee-laced crunk. If beats straight out of Toys ‘R’ Us featuring enough slide-whistle to make Sideshow Bob blush get you going, this is the duo for you. You either are going to think it’s neat or view it as the ironic smirk that can’t be reconciled with. I love nearly anything twee, so I’m coming around to this. I hope to make it out to the Flake show this Saturday, so hopefully I can get a better understanding of Love and Hates then.