“They both imagine how great it would be to love without the drug: no steal, no clients, no ice age in the pupil, real emotions, -true worlds. The title of the track being “Big in Japan” (which is a phrase referencing a Western band’s popularity with Japanese audiences rather than their home country), is fairly misleading as the song is not about being popular in Japan, but actually tells the story of “a couple of lovers trying to get off Heroin”, Alphaville lead singer Marian Gold told German online magazine “Re.flexion” in 1998. “Big in Japan” comes from their 1984 album “Forever Young” and is the third track on the album. While Japan’s own music and art did not inspire the song, there is a fascinating cultural link between the West and Japan that Gold is referencing one that really gets the cogs turning.Alphaville is a German synth-pop / new-wave band that were particularly popular in the 1980’s. The idea of Japan being a whole other world that offers new opportunities and successes for some people is an old tale, and one that Gold explores here in a clever allegory. The link to Japan being that, like Gold said, you might be a loser in your real life, but you can find success in another world. If you wanted to become famous, what you should do was to form a hard rock group and then release an album over there it would definitely sell well… so the story went …”īig in Japan is actually about washed-up people dreaming about being drug-free. “As you know, there’s a considerable musical market in Japan. Though, in this instance, “inspired by Japan” isn’t entirely accurate, but it is culturally interesting. Released in 1984 on their album Forever Young, Big in Japan is perhaps the most famous pop song inspired by Japan you’ll ever hear. It can feel like I’m performing what I think I’m supposed to be like.” Lianne La Havas – Tokyo I dissociate when bad things happen to me, but also when good things happen. About being in Japan for the first time, somewhere I’ve always wanted to go, and playing my music to people who want to hear it, feeling like I’m living someone else’s life. It’s simple but paints a clear image of the common sights seen by first-time visitors to Japan. ![]() Kyoto’s opening lyrics describe a Buddhist temple, a 7-11 convenience store, and the shinkansen bullet train. While the track is, allegedly, about Bridgers’ relationship to her father, the lyrics bring the streets and common sights of urban Japan to life in a vivid and satisfying manner. ![]() The song’s video places Bridgers in front of a green screen, on which typical tourist photos of Japanese landmarks and common urban objects can be seen, as well as footage of and from city trains and shinkansen. Kyoto is a hugely popular track by American singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers. The Lonely Harps Club’s debut album, Long Game, also features other songs inspired by Japan, including the track Left, which describes leaving Japan, and the track In Bloom, which actually features a shamisen in its instrumentation. We were lucky enough to see The Lonely Harps Club perform this song live in a Tokyo club, and it proved to be just as hypnotising live as the dream-like atmosphere of the recorded track would have you believe. The formerly Tokyo-based British singer-songwriter Julia Mascetti, who performs as The Lonely Harps Club, took this term, blended it with her own experiences of living, working, and performing in Japan, and composed an ethereal track with Nommunication as its title. The mere existence of this word says a lot about both drink culture and communication in modern day Japan. It combined the Japanese verb nomu (to drink) with the English word “communication”. Nommunication is a term used in Japan to describe the need for alcohol to get a conversation going.
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