Japanese Pop

These export/tourist albums should not be mistaken for pop records made for Japanese consumers. The first popular lps of Japanese music (in America) were marketed as mementos for U.S. servicemen who had been stationed in Japan at the end of World War Two. Interest in Japanese music also gained when Hawai'i became a state. There are Japanese entries in the two chief, exotic lp series, Columbia's Adventures in Sound and [Capitol's] Capitol of the World. Dozens of labels issued Japanese koto and samisen albums, from classical to jazz hybrids. And airlines issued travelogues: "Come to Japan -- your stewardess is a geisha!"

Hawai'ian and exotica artists, such as Gene Rains, Arthur Lyman, and Martin Denny, hired Japanese musicians (some playing samisen and other traditional instruments), covered Japanese standards, and composed their own impressions. Progressive records from Japan offered amazing glimpses into the rapid transformation of Japan into a modern, more global society. And Latin music had an enormous impact on Japanese music, as in the U.S.

The classic, smash hit exported from Japan, not counting Godzilla soundtracks, is comedian-actor-singer Kyu Sakamoto's "Sukiyaki" (or, "I Look Up When I Walk"). Even today the great influence of this song is acknowledged by Japanese pop recyclers, The Pizzicato Five. But it was the ultra-cute Peanuts who brought everything together: Latin and American hybrid pop, exotica ("Yellow Bird"), and even Godzilla soundtracks. From the ashes of all this embarassing cheesiness, the noisier, hipper Japanese [punk, metal, grunge, bossa nova...] bands of today lumber forth, like resurrected, fire-breathing monsters thrashing up the next wave. "Eeeeeaaah!" screams Godzilla. (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

Buying: Snap up any Peanuts. The several LPs on Hawaii's 49th State label are authentic and mostly very worthwhile. Some of the Capitol and Lyrichord LPs are fantastic, and the ritual/temple music and chants of Japan are "out there."