Women going crazy for pictures of shirtless guys at Japanese subway stations

OK, this was the scene at various subway stations on Sunday while I was making my way back home and I could not really figure out why… Can anyone enlighten me? There were actually security guards telling the women to not stop for taking pictures since they were making it very difficult for the other travelers going through the station. At this point all I can say it is something that will happen on the 9th but… that’s about it. Oh, and I think these guys are from a music group (boy band) though I am not sure which one.

“The only flower in the World”

I know I haven’t written in far longer than I really thought was appropriate but what was I expecting when one combines laziness with being on holiday? In my defense though at the hotel I was staying at by Kawaguchiko (河口湖) did not actually have internet in the rooms. I still survived the two and a half days I was there though which in an odd way impresses me. But I digress… I am not going to write about my trip just yet however – I just lack the time and will needed for such a sizable entry.

I will instead write about this song that got stuck in my head. One of the places I visited during my holiday was the “Music Box Museum” and one of the most popular pieces the little contraptions they sold at the gift store played was a song by the Japanese group SMAP, called “世界に一つだけの花” which I guess roughly could be translated into “The only flower in the World”.  The song dates back to 2003 and it has a very catchy tune. The lyrics are also pretty inspirational – not something typically found in songs by boy bands. Anyway, below are two videos – the original, and an “unofficial English version” which has the translated version. I really can’t get this song out of my head – tonight I must have listened to it at least 15 times, different versions combined.

Original version by SMAP

English version

The song that just got stuck in my head

J-Pop, Japanese Pop Music, is pretty popular in Anime circles as well as in a lot of Asian countries and one can try to keep up with all the new Anime songs or try to follow the Japanese Billboard charts online but I think nothing quite matches the exposure one gets from living in Japan. One not only can hear about the chart topping songs online or on TV but you might also hear something completely unexpectedly and fall in love with it instantly. Case in point – the song that plays as the credits roll for 婚カツ – a new, very popular Japanese TV drama that I started watching from the first episode (it’s on the 5th episode as of now). I finally found a video of the credits with English subtitles so I finally get the song. The lyrics are pretty cute and the song has a nice feeling to it (though granted, reading the lyrics does change the perspective one would have about the content when oblivious to the language.) The song also goes really well with the subject matter of the series. I read that the song itself is actually a “re-interpretation”/cover of a song of the same name - “Wedding Bell”. This new version is by the Japanese duo, Puffy and I just can’t get it out of my head….

The Japanese shower radio

I bought this little radio to listen to while I am taking a shower. One thing I did not take into account was, well, the fact that the shower is like a metal box, reinforced to be a safe room in the case of an earthquake, and therefore it has almost zero reception of electromagnetic signals like radio waves. The door is not metal though and the radio does get some reception from there but out of the whole range I get only one channel loud and relatively clear – America’s Forces Network (AFN) on AM. The songs are nice and stuff but the ads/infomercials they put in the middle can sometimes be a bit weird for anyone not in the army, like telling soldiers that “sexual harassment creates friction which affects the running of the engine that is the army” or that their family members may be under the jurisdiction of local authorities but the service members are under shared jurisdiction with the army. It is not quite as weird as the AFN TV that I could watch at the hotel in Seoul but still… interesting experience… If you live in Tokyo you should be able to pick up the signal too – just search on your AM band.

どうもありがとうミスターロボット! (Thank you Mister Robot)

I was watching the Oscars on Monday (WoWoW showed it both in the morning [live] and at night) and I couldn’t help but crack a smile at Kunio Kato’s speech. His English was not the best but he kept it simple and smart, finishing with a reference to the song by Styx. It is a pretty well known fact that Japanese people are into robots of all kinds (even if the statement may not be all that factual) and when one says “robot” these days after a few animated offerings, one of the first things that comes to mind is Honda’s Asimo or Sony’s Qrio and Aibo.

So here is the speech and the song:

Oscar speech

 

Mr. Roboto by Styx

Fazil Say concert at Sumida Triphony Hall

As I mentioned in my previous post, Fazil Say, the famous Turkish composer and pianist was in Tokyo, giving a concert. I really enjoyed the music and how he uses the piano in pretty creative ways (check out the video in the previous post about his "plucking" piano strings, making it sound almost like a guitar...).  He is clearly one of the most gifted people I have ever seen in my life, harnessing creativity with a natural talent for piano. I have listened to his music, both with him playing his own compositions and him playing classics, and have always enjoyed the experience but listening to it live and seeing him "perform" is a completely different beast.

The Triphony Hall is about 5-10 minutes walk from the 錦糸町駅 (Kinshicho Station). It is not the biggest concert hall I have seen but it definitely has a nice aura about it. The hall has nice acoustics and if the pamphlets they gave on the way in are any measure it is very active with lots of Japanese and international talent performing for the audience. I have always been very much impressed with the big pipe organs in concert halls but alas, perhaps quite unsurprisingly, it was not used for this event either.

For this concert I was lucky enough to get a front line seat (second time in my life for any live performance, after a Cirque du Soleil show in Seattle) so I caught a close ups of one of the notes on the stage. You can check out the hall and get more information through their official website.

Fazil Say was in Tokyo

Fazil Say, who is a very famous pianist and composer from Turkey, was in Tokyo giving a series of concerts. I was lucky enough to attend one which I will write about tonight or tomorrow but I came across this video clip, introducing him to the Japanese audience on TV and it also has him re-interpreting one of my favorite piano pieces - 君を乗せて from "Castle in the Sky" in the end of the clip. It is worth watching even if you don't know a word of Japanese :)

Piano ー Fazil Say
by wonders465

This is another interpretation of the song from "Castle in the Sky" with scenes from the movie... If you have not watched it, I strongly recommend it. It is clearly one of Miyazaki's masterpieces.

Jero(ジェロ) - A surprising Enka(演歌) singer

It was actually a CNN article that got me searching for who this American guy from Pittsburgh was who came to Japan to sing Enka/演歌 - the traditional Japanese songs usually sang by older singers wearing a kimono. Jero is doing the same while wearing a hip-hop outfit ;) He is pretty famous around here. Anyway, here is his first video. I personally like the song...