test 3

utada and the bie lie of selling abroad

so, "utada" aka utada hikaru is about to release her english-language record EXODUS in America, which is obnoxiously being referred to as a "debut album". the single "easy breezy" is definitely the most irratating song i've heard in ages, and its main refrain alone - "you're easy breezy/ and i'm japaneezy" (!?!?!) - has set back Japanese-American relations by twenty to thirty years. (the next single will feature something like a pun on "cool" and "coolie.") her makeup in the video is some kind of mock-asian-American fashion, totally alien to japan - like an Iranian putting a red dot on his forehead to appeal to a "south Asian" market.

everyone in Japan is on the edge of their seats: will she do it? will she actually become a star in america??!? can she finally beat sakamoto kyu's record with "sukiyaki"?

well, of course not.

every couple of years, some one like matsuda seiko or puffy feigns like they are "trying" for stardom in the united states, and the japanese collectively hold their breath until the lackluster results trickle in.

all of these musicians have one thing in common: they are at the end of their careers in Japan and have nothing better to do than go abroad and pretend to "conquer" the barbarians. they didn't send puffy to America in 1997 or 1998 at the height of their popularity; they sent them in 2001, when the dream for ami and yumi was already over. their single this year barely charted in Japan, and now, they play the highly-glamourous anime convention circuit in the States.

the latest video for the kings of avex hack-rock do as infinity features their magnificient exploits during a show in new york city. some nice camera trickery hides the fact basically the entire audience is Japanese.

(the big question mark is, how did washed-up pink lady get a television show in America??? i can't prove it, but obviously the Japanese dished out a lot of cash behind closed doors. )

Posted by marxy at October 7, 2004 09:41 PM