I wonder if they listened to the whole song?

[mbarker]

On NHK (Japan Public TV) there was a transition just now to a short piece about an artist's eco residence... and during the intro, the background music had a few recognizable phrases, and I found myself humming along...

...he shaved his legs... take a walk on the wild side...

I have to admit, I laughed long and hard. Then I went and found the words, just to check my memory. Right, Quincy Jones, Walk on the Wild Side... and... oh, yeah, those lyrics... I'll bet they didn't translate all of those into Japanese. They used the English lyrics, just a couple of clips almost inaudible behind the announcer, but... I heard it.

It does sound nice, though. And for those who recognize the tune or words, it is kind of a nice break to hear that kind of a song on public TV. We are the people our parents warned us about, I guess...

Comments

[saruby.livejournal.com]

Isn't it Lou Reed?

Kind of a new half thing.

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Might be. I just looked up the lyrics and guessed they had the singer right. But there's something about public TV running this as background music for an announcer. Sometimes I think Japan is secretly one of the more subversive countries of the world. New half... you know that they are relatively popular on Japanese TV? Good for them!

[saruby.livejournal.com]

Definitely subversion, but not unexpected in a society that has historically been very structured, although you must know more about that than I. Actually, I have this thing for Visual Kei j-rockers, who, if not strictly new halves, certainly straddle the gender line. Miyavi (my personal fave) wears black and pink, which no western rocker I know would ever consider. So, subversive, yes, but also in a challenging way. And a lot of "am I or aren't I"?