And yet, given city pop’s prevalence in the vaporwave and future funk genres, it feels surprisingly contemporary, and maybe even a wee bit futuristic.Īnd so I recently found myself going down a “Plastic Love”-inspired rabbit hole on YouTube. And I’m no different every time I listen to the song, I feel like I’m opening a time capsule into another era. (The song ends with the following refrain, sung in English: “I’m just playing games/I know that’s plastic love/Dance to the plastic beat/Another morning comes.”)ĭespite being 35 years old, the song has taken on a life of its own in recent years, with adoring fans gushing about the song and the nostalgic urban fantasies that it inspires in YouTube comment sections. Originally released on Takeuchi’s 1984 album, Variety, “Plastic Love” feels like the platonic ideal of city pop thanks to its breezy horn and string arrangements, some tasteful guitar licks, and funky rhythms - and all of it wrapped up in production that’s been polished to within an inch of its life.Īnd then, of course, there’s Takeuchi’s lovely voice, which walks a fine line between coy, plaintive, and heartbroken, which makes sense given that “Plastic Love” is about a woman coping with heartache by indulging in shallow, empty behavior. (Mariya Takeuchi) - Plastic Love (Romanized) Lyrics: Totsuzen no kisu ya atsui manazashi de / Koi no puroguramu wo kuruwasenaide ne / Deai to wakare jouzu ni uchikonde / Jikan ga. There’s a lot of great music to be found in the genre - a YouTube search for “city pop” will return any number of mixes - but for my money, one of the definitive city pop songs is Mariya Takeuchi’s “Plastic Love.” Retrieved 10 November 2021.About this time last year, I discovered “ city pop,” an ultra-slick and highly polished form of pop music that emerged from Japan in the early ’80s, and served as a celebration of the upscale, urban living brought on by the country’s economic success. ^ "Variety(2021 Vinyl Edition)" (in Japanese).^ "Variety(30th Anniversary Edition)" (in Japanese).^ "Variety -30th Anniversary Edition".Mariya Takeuchi Official Website (in Japanese). Nippon Broadcasting System (in Japanese). Album notes for Variety by Mariya Takeuchi, vinyl back cover. "Mariya Takeuchi: The pop genius behind 2018's surprise online smash hit from Japan". "Honki de Only You (Let's Get Married) " (本気でオンリーユー) "Shetland ni Hoho wo Uzumete" (シェットランドに頬をうずめて)ģ0th Anniversary Edition bonus tracks No. Nobutaka Tsugei (background vocal arrange) "Honki de Only You (Let's Get Married)" (本気でオンリーユー) On November 3, 2021, the 30th Anniversary edition of the album became available on music streaming services like Apple Music and Spotify, the same date when the 2021 vinyl reissue has released.Īll tracks are written by Mariya Takeuchi. The version included a previously unreleased track, "Aka no Enamel" ( 赤のエナメル), both club remixes from the single release of " Plastic Love", and karaoke versions of four tracks. Ī 30th Anniversary edition was released on 19 November 2014. The album topped the Oricon Albums Chart. #MARIYA TAKEUCHI PLASTIC LOVE RAR FULL#A promotional single, "Mou Ichido", was released on 10 April 1984, followed by a full release on 25 April. Yamashita originally planned for Takeuchi's comeback album to be written by other songwriters, but changed his mind after listening to some of Takeuchi's work. Meanwhile, Takeuchi began writing some of the songs which would be included in Variety. ĭuring her break, Yamashita left his record label, RCA Records, for the newly-founded Moon Records. She went on hiatus at the end of 1981 due to a sore throat, as well as to marry Yamashita in 1982. Takeuchi's five albums released before Variety were mostly written by other songwriters which, although featured industry stars such as Haruomi Hosono and members of Toto, left her feeling "exhausted".
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |