21st century Protest Songs
Iwashita Keisuke Sardine
1. I believe
A surprising country and western style opening number. The reason I wrote this song was because when I went to a constitutional defense rally, I thought there was a need for a new song that everyone could sing.
Respect for fundamental human rights is part of the philosophy of the Japanese Constitution. That’s a reason to believe.
2. bungalow
Folky hip hop fake.
I wanted to write a song full of masculinity. I was tired of my own incompetence and lack of confidence. The content of the rap was influenced by a documentary by Takao Saito that he was reading a lot at the time. Those are typical “wanna be” lyrics. I didn’t put much effort into the arrangement, and just played the synths etc. as they were.
3. Waltz America I
At the end of the last century, I wrote many songs that could be played on an acoustic guitar. In a Bob Dylan style. I love the visual feel of the middle eight, but when I listen to it now, the rhythm pattern feels a bit noisy. Anyway, I tried to depict the American dream, ideals and reality in a road movie style.
I once played a demo of the song, recorded with just an acoustic guitar, for a friend who works at a record company. He advised me that the ending was abrupt, so I should not sing the part “Good night, sleep soundly, tonight” all at once, but instead leave a space and say “Sleep soundly (with a pause) tonight.” This is the version I remade following his advice.
4. Halation on the beach
The melody is influenced by Leonard Cohen. I thought I was writing about Okinawa, but now it sounds like I’m singing about Japan. The arrangement is conscious of “contrast” such as perspective and light and shade.
I believe I have achieved sound that evokes images, including collage.
5. You should meet him
Dylan and Cohen, and next song are influenced by Paul Simon. However, I think I was able to achieve comedy-style lyrics that are free from the idiom of the singer = protagonist, which is prominent in J-pop music. Bass guitar is playing an active role.
6. Monolith
My lyrics often have double meanings, but this song tends to be misleading. This is a song about memory and recording.
The original melody was a light bossa nova-like song, but when Nascimento-style scatting and tight rhythms were added, it became a grand rock song.
The line, “Destroy it, this useless monolith,” is a warning against the over-concentration of information.
7. I want to be your shadow
It’s a song that draws on enka and mood music. Teresa Teng and Akiko Kobayashi may have been conscious of it. I won’t go into the details of how it was created, but when I applied the specified conditions such as melody and vocal range, the finished product was more interesting than I expected, so I decided to keep it on hand rather than releasing it to the public. It became such an important piece to me that I later wrote a novel titled “Tower of Song” using this song as a motif.
I believe that the counterpoint in the middle eight is a very intricate piece.
8. Alone, my friend
I’ve never experienced separation or divorce, but I wanted to portray the feelings of being single, the empty ease of it all. I imposed the situations sung in REM’s “Pop song 89” and Gladys Knight’s “Superwoman,” but it’s basically simple folk rock. Oh, did you notice that I used a children’s xylophone?
9. Ressentiment
Someone pointed out to me that it sounds like Roy Harper’s song, but if you write a song in open tuning, it will inevitably sound traditional. I like it because it creates a unique sound with a basso continuo. I consciously chose the lyrics to be as difficult to understand as possible. They express a strong resentment towards an unequal and absurd society.
10. Rock me Baby
I could have scrapped this song, but it surprisingly fit well when I put it here. I thought I’d record my own R&B on it.
When I connected the rhythm machine to a BOSS overdrive and distorted it, the sound had more depth.
By the way, did you notice? This song is a variation of “I believe,” which opens the album. I realized this much later.
11. Sweet imagination
That’s the case, then this is my own version of glam rock. It’s a pastiche that I made while recalling the sensations I had when I first started listening to the radio, from the Kinks to Marc Bolan, Steely Dan to Suzi Quatro, but I think Ric Ocasek might chuckle if he heard this ending riff.
12. How many obligations should I fulfill?
This musical idea is a homage to Pete Townshend. I wanted to write serious songs about life and death, society and the individual, work and life, like Pete, not just songs about the initial impulse of love (which is the majority of J-pop music). I was influenced by many artists, not by their style, but by their spirit. and I felt like it was about time to settle things.
13. Forever and ever
So what is the uniquely Japanese pop music? When I thought about it, this pentatonic scale melody came to mind. It’s a melody similar to Takamine Mieko’s “Minami no Hanayome-san,” but a jazz guitarist asked me, “Is it Black Market (by Weather Report)?” but I said it wasn’t. I wish he had pointed out the French pop-like vocalization.
If I had to sum up the worldview of the lyrics in one word, I’d say “the eve of war.”
14. Waltz America II
The third song, “Waltz America,” is about an ideal America full of friendship and love. But when I wrote this song, the America I was thinking of reminded me of, for example, Rufus Wainwright’s “Going to a Town” (although I wrote it first). So I wrote “II” to pair with “I.”
I poured all my skills and ideas into this song. I think it’s Keisuke Iwashita’s masterpiece.
15. 4000 miles
I recorded this song with a premonition of the end. The TEAC 4trk recorder 234 that I had been using for many years was already pretty worn out. When the play button broke, I muttered, “Ah, it’s over.” The arrangement of this song was inspired by the new wave of the 80s. In other words, it’s a Swan song.
16. Good morning, Good morning, Good morning
I was going to end the album with the previous song, which covered all the genres that influenced me. But I thought it was too hopeless. Being an optimist at heart, I wanted to end the album on a bright note. So I prepared a song about “make love.” The twin lead guitars, reminiscent of Wagner and Hunter, are like a fanfare to a new path. “No matter what hardships they face, a new morning will eventually come for two people who love each other.”
This “21st Century Protest Song” may not be a purely resistance song, but I believe it stands out from the familiar pop songs that fill the world today.
I resisted the preconceived notion of what pop music should be. In that sense, I consider this a record of a struggle.
鰯 (Sardine) 2024/05/05
