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Review Summary: The power of culture and music I discovered Japan for the first time two weeks ago, and whew. What a journey it’s been. The country is amazing and its traditions floor me, but this revelation has not been without its pressures. Everyone has seen and heard everything, and it is difficult to initiate. Anime is the hardest for me so far - since it does not pre-date Weebism, there is considered no excuse not to know absolutely everything from day one (this is how I knew that Junko’s family name Yagami is in common with the protagonist of Death Note, in case you were wondering. I am actually quite glad that she did not release this album under her full name, because I still have not seen Death Note and don’t want to rush into it).
On the other hand I’ve found it much better to go where no-one has gone before. The key is to go back to the roots of Japanese music, such as city pop, from before the internet made it easy to absorb all of culture. It’s been easy to relax without pressure this way. If you haven’t heard city pop yet but want to be authentic, I suggest starting with someone like Yukika. She’s very good and has a song that sounds like Dua Lipa (still trying to learn more about who that person is).
Junko isn’t entry level city pop but you can get into her quickly if you try. Her music is old and comes from a time with a different rhythm - it’s not as frantic as the present day, but in stark contrast to the stagnant seventies, the pace of life was fast in 80s. This is the inspiration for the second track on Communication, in which Junko speeds up the bpm and races between the beds of many lovers like the cheetah the song is named after. Although some of its percussion is sharp, Communication is a very smooth album. It emphasises the value of natural communication - Japanese can be an easy language in the right hands, and Junko knows this. She speaks it so smoothly on the title track that you hardly notice when she changes to English - this is how cultural barriers are lost.
There are other innovations on the album. Johannes Bach’s basslines explores frequencies and tonalities that Western techno-kayo wouldn't find until the advent of the moog organ. There is also a strong Caribbean influence in this song - as an advanced first-world country, Japan shows once again that it is developed enough to appropriate a range of rich cultures, not just British drum machine boogie. But that boogie, a key part of city pop, is very great in its own right - for example the light trance of BELIEVING soothes my soul like moonlight. All the tracks on this album are great and I find it to be a classic not just of city pop, but of all 1980s Japan.
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Album Rating: 5.0
First review! I tried to say everything I was thinking about this album. It is a great album!
| | | Album Rating: 3.9
Wow how convenient! Guess i won't have to review this after all @baselineOOO
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wat
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“She’s very good and has a song that sounds like Dua Lipa (still trying to learn more about who that person is).”
Hmm
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You discovered Japan for the first time? Do you mean you started listening to Japanese music? It sounds like you meant you traveled there for the first time.
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nah im pretty sure op is the explorer who discovered japan
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
I guess there actually is somebody out there who loves me (not Johnny). Eh. I mean thanks for the review but I'm not impressed, I could write a better one in 10 minutes without much preparation. I've specifically requested Johnny to review this because only he can do it justice (and not even that is certain). Who even is this user? What does he want from me? What's next? Trifolium and parksungjoon attempting to win my heart by reviewing Susumu Hirasawa, lol? I'm taken guys, and not so easily moved.
And what's up with the forced 5 star rating? This is objectively nowhere near 4 stars. The art of reviewing is about words, ideas, and describing your love for high art, not about flaunting who's got the bigger rating and cultural background.
Meh.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
this album is such a banger. I actually wasn't impressed first time i heard it, but it quickly grew to be one of my favorite Japanese 80's pop album.
I think the review for this could be a little better, but i'm still glad to see it get some spotlight on sput. hope some folks check it out
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Agreed, the album takes a couple of spins to fully kick in. The first three songs made my summer so much better, they're literally perfect! Reaching Out is also brilliant. Some middle tracks are a bit gray-ish but I can live with that.
| | | Album Rating: 3.9
The first two were probably my least favourite :[[[
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Derp opinion lol. What's your star sign? Aries, Taurus or Sagittarius?
| | | Album Rating: 3.9
EWW none of the above how dare you (PS it's really obvious!)
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
this is a fun jam so far
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sockpuppets taking the piss get millions of pos votes but how many for our boys in blue :[
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Johnny I mean you're hyperactive, a master of words and consistently untrustworthy, so you could be a Gemini like me, Trump, Peterson, Kanye etc. Gemini radiate charisma even when we reveal only 10% of our character, even our haters are fascinated by us. Still... yes, you are of legendary qualities, however, not a genius intelligence-wise, so I'm more inclined to say that you're a Leo, because Leos love the spotlight, they're tight and love the company of Gemini for some reason. Definitely not a Sagittarius or Scorpio, you're not particularly skilled with women.
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Thanks for reminding me of the junko furuta case
| | | Album Rating: 3.9
Okay as a parody level Gemini, I feel severely @'d right now
Mildly offended that you think I'm principled enough to be a Leo, but you do make a respectable case
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
tracks 5-8 are so good
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
^ yes... track 5 'Miss D.J' is so catchy, I love the back and forth vocals in the chorus. track 4 '1984' is one of my favorite J-pop ballads too.
You should check out her album Full Moon Steak, it's a little stylistically different but still really good.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
will do my man
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