E6系 Posted May 19, 2014 Share Posted May 19, 2014 (edited) Who knows? Are there any pop songs about Japan? I seem to remember a western song in 1984 called "Big in Japan". But I don't know of any others. Edited May 19, 2014 by E6系 Link to comment
bill937ca Posted May 19, 2014 Share Posted May 19, 2014 (edited) Big in Japan http://youtu.be/Q06V5Xg5rL0 There was a Buck Owens (country) song Made in Japan. http://youtu.be/BcNRnDp7s-A Kyu Sakamoto's Sukiyaki charted in North America with full Japanese lyrics. He died in a plane crash, maybe in the 80s. http://youtu.be/_zpOc9n7dlI Edited May 19, 2014 by bill937ca 1 Link to comment
Claude_Dreyfus Posted May 19, 2014 Share Posted May 19, 2014 (edited) Turning Japanese by the Vapors http://youtu.be/gEmJ-VWPDM4 Japanese Boy by Anekahttp://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nCH1IlOfDTM&feature=kp Edited May 19, 2014 by Claude_Dreyfus 2 Link to comment
cteno4 Posted May 19, 2014 Share Posted May 19, 2014 Oh man do I remember the buck Owens from childhood! Turning Japanese from college days. Jeff Link to comment
the_weird_one Posted May 19, 2014 Share Posted May 19, 2014 (edited) Deep Purple - Woman from Tokyo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVZxqY4bNOs Not so much a pop song but tis a classic And yes I was there along with a group of friends who managed to be the only people on our feet for the whole gig Edited May 19, 2014 by the_weird_one Link to comment
cteno4 Posted May 19, 2014 Share Posted May 19, 2014 Doh how could I have forgotten that one!! 1 Link to comment
Kabutoni Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 (edited) Oh man. Songs about Japan? Let me tell you a little story about Italo Disco and Eurobeat. These related music genres from Italy (actually lots made by the same people and studios under different names) were first intended for the European market in the early eighties. With the popularity of Italo Disco declining in Europe in the mid-eighties, the focus in the music turned to Japan. The style turned from relaxed synthesiser disco to a more higher paced style, which was more popular in Japan. Italo Disco, or in Japan known as Eurobeat, evolved to the faster paced Super Eurobeat, which was ragingly popular in discos, and later parapara clubs and the street racing scene in the nineties. There are dozens upon dozens of songs about Japan and related themes in these genres, so I'm going to give a few examples of how these genres evolved through time. All have Japan related themes (a bit hard to find within the eras they were in though). Fun Fun - Living in Japan (1985) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U85YQbekB0Y Brian Ice - Tokyo (1986) Alpha Town - Japan (1990) Wain L - Rhythm in Japan (1992) Michael Fortunati - Nippon Cha Cha Cha (1993) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhcPkVYuA58 Same song as above in Japanese used as the opening of Kobo-chan DJ NRG - Kamikaze (1993) including ParaPara routine Dr. Money - Roppongi Nights (1995) D-Essex - Tokyo Tokyo (1995) Luke Penn ft. Time Force - Halleluya Tokyo (1997) Mega NRG Man - Take Me Back To Tokyo (1999) Jimmy Bravo - All Right Nippon (2001) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBVnKua_3Uw Dave Rodgers - Ale' Japan (2000) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKJ3qMUwxIM Matt Land - Night Flight To Tokyo (2004) Edo Boys - No One Sleep In Tokyo (2007) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUAr2lWXen4 I think that should do it for now :P Edited May 20, 2014 by Toni Babelony 4 Link to comment
marknewton Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 (edited) Martha and the Muffins - Was Ezo, from the album "Trance And Dance". It's a song about Hokkaido. No video that I can find, sadly. Great thread! :) All the best, Mark. Edited May 20, 2014 by marknewton Link to comment
marknewton Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 Oh man. Songs about Japan?... Ah, Tony, you've done a great job posting these songs. When I have some free time tonight I'll give them a whirl, and expand my musical horizons - cheers mate! :) All the best, Mark. 1 Link to comment
katoftw Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 And Inital D is all coming back to me now with those Eurobeat memories. :laughing3: 1 Link to comment
Davo Dentetsu Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 (edited) Not forgetting "the terribly retitled but probably made all the more charming for it and hit of the early sixties" Sukiyaki.EDIT: Oh, already mentioned. Erm... Enola Gay. A rather long stretch to make it relevant really, but got to give an OMD plug now and again. Epic band. Edited May 20, 2014 by Azumanga Davo Link to comment
Kabutoni Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 I'm glad people like my contributions. As a massive fan/nerd of these genres, I just had to do a few :) Link to comment
JR 500系 Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 And Inital D is all coming back to me now with those Eurobeat memories. :laughing3: Yes! Add some tyre screeching noises and we're there! Kinda bring back memories watching the men dance para-para... Haha! I'm quite a Para-para fan myself before! Used to love those Para-Para machines in the arcade, and the long rows of people behind the dancer! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCAWFArUVRo 1 Link to comment
Davo Dentetsu Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 I now blame Toni Babelony for filling up my good playlist with what I can only describe as "phat choons". :D Link to comment
E6系 Posted May 21, 2014 Author Share Posted May 21, 2014 WoW ... what a great list! Many song I've never even heard. I am also collecting now. Very interesting. Thank you to everyone who contribute to this list. Link to comment
Davo Dentetsu Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 Koto got mentioned earlier on this forum somewhere. Their band name counts too, I guess. Didn't they have a Japan themed title as well? Link to comment
Kabutoni Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 (edited) Koto got mentioned earlier on this forum somewhere. Their band name counts too, I guess. Didn't they have a Japan themed title as well? LOOK AT THE RELEVANT ARTIST NAME. LOOK AT THE RELEVANT TITLE. LOOK AT THE RELEVANT COVER. A not super legendary song in the SpaceSynth scene, but a song delivered by the original Italian artists (Anfrando Maiola and Stefano Cundari). Later the name 'Koto' was taken over by Michiel van der Kuy (Netherlands), who made hits that were more related to space and sci-fi themes. Edited May 21, 2014 by Toni Babelony 1 Link to comment
Dave1960 Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 This is a great list with one obvious exception (for me anyway). How about 'Life in Tokyo' by Japan. Dave Link to comment
marknewton Posted May 29, 2014 Share Posted May 29, 2014 I innocently wondered what "parapara" was, so I googled the word... Now my eight year-old son and I have a new favourite song! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xa2-PTtrhck So thanks Tony, like Dave we now have a heap of phat choons to enjoy! All the best, Mark. 1 Link to comment
E6系 Posted May 29, 2014 Author Share Posted May 29, 2014 Go Ike-Ike !!! Go Hinoi Team hmmm .... 4 to choose from .... I miss being a teenager .... Link to comment
Kabutoni Posted May 29, 2014 Share Posted May 29, 2014 Ike Ike. That song was originally from Tri-Star: The melody however is from the Dutch band Vengaboys: Not my favourite song on the scene though. Link to comment
JR 500系 Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 Ike Ike? Haha ~ Suddenly the Ganguro; especially tanned girls who purposely go for extreme tanning, that was at one time very popular in Japan, come to mind... Then there was the ultimate, Velfarre 2000~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkExHnSHAkI Once our favourite dance, when I was young. Very fun.... Now became a Para-Para thread... There was once a group call parpa-para all stars which were really good and had instructional videos from 1 to 7. I have all their videos, and we love to learn the special performance from each series. We did a performance once at Old folks home and it was fun and young... Those were the days... Link to comment
dabsan Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 (edited) The Stranglers - Outside Tokyo. :happy7: Edited May 30, 2014 by dabsan Link to comment
Mr Frosty Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 Deep Purple - Woman from Tokyo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVZxqY4bNOs Not so much a pop song but tis a classic And yes I was there along with a group of friends who managed to be the only people on our feet for the whole gig Awesome. I last saw them at Hammy Odeon about 4 years ago. :headbang: Link to comment
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