Shameful Otaku Secret!

What a Wonderful Day

I hope I didn’t lose all of you to this new column by first off calling everyone a weaboo, and secondly featuring a raucous early hardcore band for my first installment. But I just wanted to show everyone that this is SERIOUS BUSINESS. There are way bigger anime nerds out there, but by the time I die I will be Music Nerd Ichiban! So… Shoukichi Kina.

Born June 10, 1948 and still going strong today, Shoukichi Kina (or, I suppose, more properly Kina Shoukichi) is a shamisen player, singer, and songwriter from Okinawa. As with many aspects of Okinawan culture, the music can be far different from the traditional tunes of the rest of Japan. Not to mention, Okinawa has spent most of its postwar life occupied by an American military force it doesn’t agree with. Combine these factors with the charged energy of the 1960s, when the entire world seemed to become aware of counter-opinions, and you get Kina-san’s band Champloose — the politically charged group of folk-rockers known as “Okinawa’s only garage rock band.”

Now, being led by a shamisen player, you won’t find a trace of American-style garage rock in here — in fact, it’s very much a pleasant folk-rock sound, but the punk energy and raw rocking feel make it a truly unique experience.

The Facts

• Genre: Folk/Pop
• Location: Okinawa
• Active: 1967-current
• Album to get: Peppermint Tea House (Luaka Bop)

The tunes

The songs are really what make Kina a legend. He wrote one of his best known songs, “Hasai Oji-san” (in which an upstart youth gets schooled by an elder in the ways of getting women) when he was only 16 and locked up on pot charges. Here’s one of Champloose’s classic singles, Shimaguwa Song.

Kina kept trucking through the 1970s and 80s, and by far his best-known (and possibly best) recording hit in 1989. It’s called Blood Line, and it’s probably best known to Westerners because of the inclusion of guitarist Ry Cooder. One of my favorite tunes off here is this combo, “Mimichiri Bozu/Danju Kariyushi” (”Ear Cutting Samurai Monks/ What a Wonderful Day”).

Get together, y’all

There are a few threads that run throughout his music. One is of course, the shamisen, his instrument of choice. Another is the chorus of squeaky-voiced girls who trade vocals with him. Along with his amazing gift for melody, they add a lot to the main trait of his tunes: A sense of overwhelming joy and love. He’s often compared to Bob Marley, probably because the two were friends later in Marley’s life, but also because of the power of each’s music to inspire people. Rather than force politics angrily into his music, Kina choose instead to fill listeners’ hearts with a sense of togetherness and happiness.

The rock continues

Kina is now a member of Japan’s House of Councillors, and it’s been a while since he released a record of all-new material.

Fortunately, it’s very easy to come across a best-of compilation on this side of the Pacific, thanks to Talking Heads’ David Byrne, whose record label Luaka Bop released the mouthful Asia Classics 2: Peppermint Tea House — The Best of Shoukichi Kina. It’s available in stores and as downloads from Emusic, Amazon (higher quality cheaper, and DRM-free) and music overlord iTunes. Note: That’s not an affiliate link, just convenience. I urge everyone to try this stuff out; I feel like such a cheeseball that it makes me so happy, but that’s its power.

There’s a lot more to read at Champloose’s official site, that is if you can read Japanese.

Ask Sheryl

Diru Sheryru,
All my friends have breast implants and cybernetic vibro-tron vaginas. Then I see these monstrous Zentradi women with their blue hair and easy upskirt potential. How can I compete?
-Sadly My Assets a Little Liliputian, Tiny In the Torso

Dear Small Tits,
Don’t worry! I don’t know if you’ve heard this, but I’m alllll natural. In this day and age, especially on Galaxy, that’s really the exotic thing. By not sticking out, you’re standing out. By the way, have you heard the term “loli?”
♥Sheryl

Dear Sheryl,
I recently started dating a really sweet guy. He’s smart, a little bit of a bad boy, and he races cars! Problem is, I’m worried that he might be prettier than me. I’m no slouch, but his hair is just lustrous, and his skin is like soft porcelain.
-Worried, Hesitant About Trap

Dear What,
Oh, honey, if this is the least of your problems, then let it go! Don’t you know that men that pretty are all self-absorbed and wouldn’t dare be seen with a scrub? That must mean there’s at least something hot about you, even if it’s just your fashion sense. Take it as a compliment, but don’t let it go to your head. You’ll keep him around as arm candy a lot longer if you make him think he’s still the fanciest frog on the lily pad.
♥Sheryl

Oh Sherry,
I recently got dumped by my boyfriend. He was a pilot. You know, like the song? This is a little embarrassing to ask, but frankly I’ve been… frisky lately, and unable to shall we say vent the tension? I know you spend long periods of time on tour, and I thought maybe you might have some advice.
-Holding Out for Really Nice Yeoman

Dear Horny,
First, don’t invoke Steve Perry, you know those are old wounds! Second, do you have a cell phone?
♥Sheryl

Dear Sheryl,
How do you keep inspired? I’d like to become a singer too! I am small, but I have big dreams! I do have a muse, though. He’s very pretty.
-Hopeful Optimist On Frontier

Dear Hoof (?),
There seems to be a theme today. Well, at any rate, what you need to remember is that inspiration can strike you at any moment, so be prepared for it! I carry a pen and paper all the time in case I need to write lyrics, and if my stupid date has used all the paper to make paper airplanes, I’ll improvise if I have to. Also, rest assured: there will always be a backup band when you really need one.
♥Sheryl

Editor’s Note

Well, it’s a good Macross post if I spent entirely too much time on it. With Ranka’s surprised and disappointed glimpse at Alto and Sheryl on their “star date,” as the episode is titled, trace the exact moment that the Macross Triangle Effect began in earnest. The internet is ablaze this week with people absolutely loving Sheryl, in spite of the internet’s tendency toward rampant pedophilia (was that overly mean?), and I’m with them! Her Bitch Quotient is way down, but that might be because nothing’s standing in her way right now. She says (quite sexfully) that she likes Alto because he doesn’t treat her like a star, so what happens when the Kabuki Novelty is over?

Animation quality, on the other hand is sinking almost as fast as Leon’s rep. I hope they’re not running out of cash already. No bother, though — it’s still good, and hopefully they’re just saving for the next space battle. Either way, Macross is still my jam for this season. Also, have some ice cream.

Distorted Japan

Like most anime lovers, I’m gay for Japanese things in general. But me, I’m a huge music nerd above all else. Even above cartoons. Yeah. I love all kinds of music, from Napalm Death to Neil Diamond (for real — irony is a crutch for those too weak to admit they actually like something cheesy). But aside from J-pop and those weird-ass Visual Kei bands, what kinds of Japanese music do us weaboos normally listen to? I aim to expose everyone to something a little different, so here begins a series that I hope to include bands and artists as varied as Zeni Geva, Merzbow, Shoukichi Kina, Boris, Yellow Magic Orchestra, and of course Guitar Wolf. But let’s start with the first band to truly be included in one of my favorite genres, Japanese hardcore: Gauze.

The Facts

• Genre: Hardcore
• Location: Tokyo
• Active: 1981-current
• Album to get: Equalizing Distort, 1981

In the beginning, there was the Stalin. Japan’s first punk band. Formed in 1980, they had a more traditional punk sound, but by the time their first album was released, they’d grabbed the guitarist from a band called Typhus. Typhus had a sound more obviously influenced by the faster, louder hardcore bands, especially of the metallic UK variety. But even more importantly, another Typhus member whose name escapes me formed Gauze in 1981.

The birth of J-Core

It’s a weird phenomenon, but for some reason a huge number of hardcore bands outside of the US and UK rely solely on the UK’s Discharge for their inspiration, hence the genre “D-Beat.” Sweden is most famous for it, though Japan has been big on the Brits’ sound for a long time, too. But the real sound of Japan was born with Gauze — a sound far faster and nastier than Discharge’s, faster than most bands’ in fact. Gauze’s aim early on was to play incredibly fast, but also to sound like they were playing even faster than they actually were.

Gauze are still around these days, still rocking like they always did in spite of the fact that they are like ancient masters who’ve left an indelible impression on their country’s music scene. It’s hard to listen to a Japanese hardcore band and not hear Gauze’s influence somewhere. Gauze are also one of the few J-Core bands to get enough momentum behind them to play the US a few times.

The Tunes

As with any music though, it’s better to hear than to hear about.

Here’s the tune “Crash The Pose.”

Gauze back in the day performing “Distort Japan”