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AM Foreign World Cup: Round 1 - East Asia (Part 1)

I had considerable difficulty finding all the songs for this week, so my apologies for this being up a little late. This week's region is dominated by Japan, so I made no effort to avoid countries facing eachother. Deadline is midnight January 8th.

Bracket 3.1.1
Japanese Koto Orchestra - Otone No Nagare Ni Sote (This one is pretty long, sorry for that, but I thought it was worth it. No Youtube video)
Snakeman Show - 愛の嵐

Bracket 3.1.2
Pizzicato Five - Twiggy Twiggy
Hanggai - My Banjo and I

Bracket 3.1.3
Tokyo Jihen - Kurumaya-san
Ruins - Love of Sun (No Youtube video, but this should work)

Bracket 3.1.4
Ryuichi Sakamoto - Riot to Lagos
Takashi Hirayasu & Bob Brozman - Chon Chon Kijimuna

Re: AM Foreign World Cup: Round 1 - East Asia (Part 1)

Bracket 3.1.1
Japanese Koto Orchestra - Otone No Nagare Ni Sote

Bracket 3.1.2
Hanggai - My Banjo and I

Bracket 3.1.3
Tokyo Jihen - Kurumaya-san

Bracket 3.1.4
Ryuichi Sakamoto - Riot to Lagos

Re: AM Foreign World Cup: Round 1 - East Asia (Part 1)

Yes, Stephan, these songs are difficult to find. On my Spotify playlist of this week you can only find 3 of the 8 songs, and 2 of these 3 were my own nominations.


Bracket 3.1.1
Japanese Koto Orchestra - Otone No Nagare Ni Sote
Snakeman Show -愛の嵐
Yes, it's long, but also hypnotic and fascinating throughout. The Snakeman Show tango is brief instead but maybe too bizarre for my taste.

Bracket 3.1.2
Pizzicato Five - Twiggy Twiggy
Hanggai - My Banjo and I
Pizzicato Five was my nomination because it showcases the fascination of many Japanese musicians for Western culture, especially for the more kitsch aspects. P5 was the most important band of the Shibuya-kei style, named after a district of Tokyo known by its fashion and nightlife, a style with notable influences of easy listening, French yé-yé and electro-pop.
Anyway Hanggai has been a surprise to me, like a Chinese Pogues, Mongolian folk-punk.

Bracket 3.1.3
Tokyo Jihen - Kurumaya-san
Ruins - Love of Sun
Two Western-sounding songs, I’ll opt for the band commanded by Ringo Shiina.

Bracket 3.1.4
Ryuichi Sakamoto - Riot to Lagos
Takashi Hirayasu & Bob Brozman - Chon Chon Kijimuna
Modernity against tradition. I love the early Sakamoto output but I’m going to vote for my nominated song, one of the most delicious results of the fruitful team of two splendid guitar players, Hirayasu singing and playing the sanshin (a Okinawan three-stringed banjo) and Brozman superbly playing steel guitar.

Re: AM Foreign World Cup: Round 1 - East Asia (Part 1)

3.1.Bracket 3.1.1
Japanese Koto Orchestra - Otone No Nagare Ni Sote
Snakeman Show - 愛の嵐

The Snakeman Show song is interesting I suppose, but it's no match for the Koto Orchestra beast.


Bracket 3.1.2
Pizzicato Five - Twiggy Twiggy
Hanggai - My Banjo and I

When I first heard these two songs I was almost tempted to change the bracket, because these two songs are a ton more awesome than the rest.


Bracket 3.1.3
Tokyo Jihen - Kurumaya-san
Ruins - Love of Sun (No Youtube video, but this should work)

I love the Tokyo Jihen clip, and the song is also a little bit better.



Bracket 3.1.4
Ryuichi Sakamoto - Riot to Lagos
Takashi Hirayasu & Bob Brozman - Chon Chon Kijimuna

Pretty decent electronic music versus pretty decent folk music. I'm gonna have to go with folk.

Re: AM Foreign World Cup: Round 1 - East Asia (Part 1)

Bracket 3.1.1
Japanese Koto Orchestra - Otone No Nagare Ni Sote

Bracket 3.1.3
Tokyo Jihen - Kurumaya-san

Bracket 3.1.4
Ryuichi Sakamoto - Riot to Lagos

Re: AM Foreign World Cup: Round 1 - East Asia (Part 1)

Bracket 3.1.1
pass

Bracket 3.1.2
Pizzicato Five - Twiggy Twiggy

Bracket 3.1.3
Tokyo Jihen - Kurumaya-san

Bracket 3.1.4
Ryuichi Sakamoto - Riot to Lagos

Re: AM Foreign World Cup: Round 1 - East Asia (Part 1)

Bracket 3.1.1
Japanese Koto Orchestra - Otone No Nagare Ni Sote

Bracket 3.1.2
Pizzicato Five - Twiggy Twiggy

Bracket 3.1.3
Tokyo Jihen - Kurumaya-san

Bracket 3.1.4
Takashi Hirayasu & Bob Brozman - Chon Chon Kijimuna

Re: AM Foreign World Cup: Round 1 - East Asia (Part 1)

Bracket 3.1.1
Japanese Koto Orchestra - Otone No Nagare Ni Sote
Snakeman Show - 愛の嵐

Bracket 3.1.2
Pizzicato Five - Twiggy Twiggy
Hanggai - My Banjo and I

The first time I heard music from the Shibuya-kei genre was only a few days ago when I listened to an album called Camera Talk by Flipper’s Guitar for next month’s 1990 poll. And I really liked it, which didn’t surprise me because I like the Western genres that influenced Shibuya-kei (easy listening, French yé-yé and electro-pop, as Honorio pointed out above). Pizzicato Five sounds even better, so I’ll definitely check out their albums.

Bracket 3.1.3
Tokyo Jihen - Kurumaya-san
Ruins - Love of Sun (No Youtube video, but this should work)

Bracket 3.1.4
Ryuichi Sakamoto - Riot to Lagos
Takashi Hirayasu & Bob Brozman - Chon Chon Kijimuna

Re: AM Foreign World Cup: Round 1 - East Asia (Part 1)

Go Hanggai Go !!

i'm a dreamer; I always forget that this forum doesn't like roots music that much. So my carefully chosen picks fail one after the other against urban and Westernized music.... I don't know why I stay here on this forum after so many years. Must be because I love you bastards

Pizzicato 5 is cool, but a little too superficial for me. There's this great organ sound in the end that saves the whole song, but a great organ sound will never make a song for me. Pizzicato 5 is like a sweet (or a toy like Keith Richards said once in an interview. I've never cared for sweets. Prefer real dishes (meat and vegetables). Everytime somebody brought sweets or chocolate at my old job I was always was puzzled by seeing how people would finish them within an hour while I had barely touched them (or out of politeness).

sorry for this interruption and thanks to the folk lovers here (Steph, my bro Greg and also Dan but he loves sweets too).

Re: AM Foreign World Cup: Round 1 - East Asia (Part 1)

^ Tasty post.

That Hanggai song is wonderful. But I'm on a diet this month, so maybe that's why I'm craving Daifuku more than Peking Duck this week.

Re: AM Foreign World Cup: Round 1 - East Asia (Part 1)

Truth is I'm happy that you guys have heard these songs, even if they didn't win in the end

I remember when I was younger I started discovering music and all i wanted was to share it but it was 1987 and there was no internet but just my parents and sisters and a few friends. Now the whole world is just available and this forum is such a blessing

Re: AM Foreign World Cup: Round 1 - East Asia (Part 1)

Japanese Koto Orchestra - Otono No Nagara Ni Sote 10
Snakeman Show- ‪愛の嵐‬ 5

Something divine versus 'Japan does over the top European melodrama'

Pizzicato Five - Twiggy Twiggy 5
Hangai - My Banjo And I 7

Help! I'm drowning in syrup! Throw me a banjo!

Tokyo Jinen - Kurumaya-san 6
Ruins - Love Of The Sun 6

Two American Rock influenced songs, both kind of lame.

Ryuichi Sakamoto - Riot In Lagos 7
Takashi Hirayasu & Bob Brozman - Chon Chon Kijimuna 6]

Nice texture on the first one.

Kind of an underwhelming week, except for the incredible 25 minute first one.

@Nicolas

I tend to think all cultures should be influencing each other, trying to take the best of everything. Is a rock song any worse coming from an Eastern country than a Western one?

Is it too late to change out my Dalriada pick in the Eastern Europe bracket for a different Dalriada song? When I was glancing over the song names I picked the wrong one by mistake.

Re: AM Foreign World Cup: Round 1 - East Asia (Part 1)

nicolas
So my carefully chosen picks fail one after the other against urban and Westernized music....

Well, that's not completely true except for the first edition (North Africa part 1). In the second edition your choice won (the delicious tune from Iran). And you got really bad luck in the Brazil pairings, your (great) choices met with classics like Jorge Ben or Milton Nascimento (the first time our nominations face each other).
We face each other again in this edition, but the result is not decided yet, isn’t it?
nicolas
I've never cared for sweets. Prefer real dishes (meat and vegetables)

Dan M
But I'm on a diet this month, so maybe that's why I'm craving Daifuku more than Peking Duck this week.

Funny that last week we ended talking about tropical cocktails and now about Japanese sweets. In my case my favourite Japanese sweet is Azuki beans ice-cream.
So, nicolas, in fact I like sweets a lot, that's why I like Pizzicato Five also. And don't get wrong, Pizzicato 5 got a long (from 1985 to 2001) and consistent career, with a peak during the mid-90s when they signed with Matador Records. Their consistency does not only rely on their music influences (pointed previously) but also on the cover art of their albums and their clips. And they are more representative of the Japanese idiosincracy (well, really Tokyo and not Japan) than any folk act. And moreover they usually sang in Japanese despite their European and American influences.
You may find interesting this link to a YouTube playlist, you can find there real jewels like "Happy Sad" (#4, Japanes funk!), "On the Sunnyside of the Street" (clip #9), "A Message Song" (#10), "Triste" (#12) or especially Magic Carpet Ride. But be careful and don't see all the videos, eating a big box of sweet may produce sugar overdose.

Re: AM Foreign World Cup: Round 1 - East Asia (Part 1)

Bracket 3.1.1
Japanese Koto Orchestra - Otone No Nagare Ni Sote 8
Snakeman Show - 愛の嵐 5
Japanese Koto Orchestra is beautiful, long but never boring, while Snakeman Show is weird for the sake of being weird


Bracket 3.1.2
Pizzicato Five - Twiggy Twiggy 6
Hanggai - My Banjo and I 7.5
Japanese" have always been excellent at recycling. Hanggai is a surprising Chinese/Mongolian band with a folky sound

Bracket 3.1.3
Tokyo Jihen - Kurumaya-san 7
Ruins - Love of Sun (No Youtube video, but this should work) 5
Tokyo Jihen's song sounds really good, the video is a little too arty for me but I don't watch videos anyway. Like most chinese rock, Love of Sun sounds a little immature but exotic.


Bracket 3.1.4
Ryuichi Sakamoto - Riot to Lagos 6
Takashi Hirayasu & Bob Brozman - Chon Chon Kijimuna 7.5
Sakamoto's track isn't bad (my son loved it, thought it was African !!) in a Berlin era Bowie way, but I love the intricate guitars and pleasant feel of Chon Chon

Re: AM Foreign World Cup: Round 1 - East Asia (Part 1)

Bracket 3.1.1
Japanese Koto Orchestra - Otone No Nagare Ni Sote

Bracket 3.1.2
Hanggai - My Banjo and I

Bracket 3.1.3
Tokyo Jihen - Kurumaya-san


Bracket 3.1.4
Ryuichi Sakamoto - Riot to Lagos

Re: AM Foreign World Cup: Round 1 - East Asia (Part 1)

BillAdama
Is it too late to change out my Dalriada pick in the Eastern Europe bracket for a different Dalriada song? When I was glancing over the song names I picked the wrong one by mistake.
Sure.

Re: AM Foreign World Cup: Round 1 - East Asia (Part 1)

Bracket 3.1.1
Japanese Koto Orchestra - Otone No Nagare Ni Sote
Snakeman Show - 愛の嵐

Bracket 3.1.2
Pizzicato Five - Twiggy Twiggy
Hanggai - My Banjo and I

Bracket 3.1.3
Tokyo Jihen - Kurumaya-san
Ruins - Love of Sun

Bracket 3.1.4
Ryuichi Sakamoto - Riot to Lagos
Takashi Hirayasu & Bob Brozman - Chon Chon Kijimuna

Re: AM Foreign World Cup: Round 1 - East Asia (Part 1)

Stephan
BillAdama
Is it too late to change out my Dalriada pick in the Eastern Europe bracket for a different Dalriada song? When I was glancing over the song names I picked the wrong one by mistake.
Sure.


Make it Mennyei Harang then.

Re: AM Foreign World Cup: Round 1 - East Asia (Part 1)

Bracket 3.1.1
Japanese Koto Orchestra - Otone No Nagare Ni Sote - 10
Snakeman Show - 愛の嵐 - 0

Bracket 3.1.2 has the first scenario in which we have a draw. The numbers between brackets are the votes with comments, making Hanggai the winner.

Bracket 3.1.2
Pizzicato Five - Twiggy Twiggy - 5 (2)
Hanggai - My Banjo and I - 5 (3)

Bracket 3.1.3
Tokyo Jihen - Kurumaya-san - 10
Ruins - Love of Sun - 1

Bracket 3.1.4
Ryuichi Sakamoto - Riot to Lagos - 6
Takashi Hirayasu & Bob Brozman - Chon Chon Kijimuna - 5

Re: AM Foreign World Cup: Round 1 - East Asia (Part 1)

So sad to say goodbye to Maki Nomiya from Pizzicato Five. Almost!