9 comments on “Tsunku♂ and The Beatles

  1. Henkka, I’d be interested to read more about Beatles references in H!P songs. For instance, the songs you posted in this article probably were influenced by them, but in what way? Are you planning to write more about this topic? I’m a newbie when it comes to Western music as I was barely exposed to it before listening to j-pop. I think getting into an iconic band like The Beatles through H!P could help me broaden my knowledge of popular music in general. It would also make me appreciate Tsunku’s work even more! Maybe there are other H!P fans who would be interested in reading a piece called “A H!P Fan’s Guide to The Beatles”!

    • Here are a couple or examples, off the top of my head:

      On Otome pasta Ni Kandou, there is a short guitar riff, just before the first verse. It is a reference to the opening guitar riff of the Beatles song “Getting Better” from their “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” album. Then the following verse probably was influenced by “Got to Get You Into my Life” from the “Revolver” album, IIRC.

      The second example that comes to mind is the B-Side from “Shabondama”, “Dekiru Onna”, which was clearly influenced by “Fixing a Hole”, that too from the “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” album. There is even a bit of “Being for the Benefit of Mister Kite” in that song too (“Sgt Pepper’s” again).

      As for getting to know the Beatles, you need to listen to the Red and Blue albums to get insight as to what are the Beatles about. First, you listen to the Red Album, which has songs from the early years (1962-66). They start out poppy, then get increasingly more experimental. Follow it up with the Blue album (1967-70) when they go out full experimental with songs from what is arguably the greatest rock album of all time, drumroll…. you guessed it, Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. From there on, they cement their legacy.

      My favorite album: all of them (except, well, I don’t really love the “Let it Be” album).

      Short personal note: while many people think the Beatles came into their own starting with Sgt. Pepper, most experts call to the preceding album, Revolver, as the turning point. I always thought I was alone in thinking it was Rubber Soul (the one before Revolver) that was the turning point and am glad someone else (Tsunku) feels the same as I do.

      Thanks for the translations Henkka. The Tsunku and Tsunku music translations are always my favorites. And I prefer Paul too.

    • Hey Mixi. I’m glad if the post piqued your interest in the band. And yes, the H!P songs I threw in this post all more or less have that “Beatles sound.” With that said, that’s probably all I’m going to be doing on the topic. If you’re looking to get into the the Beatles, probably the best thing you can do is to… listen to the Beatles. It’s never too late! Just listen to Revolver or Sgt. Pepper or Abbey Road and you’ll be on your way.

  2. A few disconnected thoughts:

    Based on Tsunku’s vision of what it is to be rock’n’roll, Bob Ross with his “happy little accidents” must be super rock’n’roll!

    Fun to hear about Tsunku singing fake English in his car. I’m sure many of us have done the reverse with his music.

    Wikipedia’s page for Lennon-McCartney says they’re jointly credited with 180 songs between 1962 and 1969. That’s no small amount, but still Tsunku is way more prolific. Looking at a similar time period, 2002-2009, he’s got 600+ H!P songs.

    I heard Paul McCartney recently announced a Japanese performance. Safe to assume Tsunku will be in the audience.

    I’ve been exposed to the Beatles throughout my life, as is the case with most people in our culture born in at least the last 45 years. However, it’s all been pretty passive. Sooooo thanks to Tsunku’s cover album being in my frequently played random H!P playlist, it’s quite possible at this point I’ve spent more time listening to Tsunku singing the Beatles than the Beatles singing the Beatles.

  3. *whew*
    I’m finally all caught up on the posts here. The new format with all the translations in one place works really well. :)

  4. Oh man, this is making me wanna dig through the Wayback Machine for that Beatles roundtable IntlWota did back in the day…

    I was in a similar position as Mixi, where I only recently listened to the original Beatles recordings, after being inundated with their legacies, whether in covers, or heir pervasiveness in Jpop. My motivation was to confirm if some of the Momoclo and Buono songs I had instinctively classified as “the most Beatles songs ever” were accurate.
    Honestly, it was kind of muddled. I could no longer tell what aspects of the Beatles’ songs came from their keeping up on the trends of their day (they were also masters of throwback blues and folk), and which were aspects originated by the Beatles, but honed in the decades since. And which aspects were more Phil Spector/Motown than Beatles, or George Martin, for that matter. It’s a testament to how inextricably tied to music history, in both directions, the Beatles are.

    Thanks so much for these translations. This brings so much insight into the way Tsunku approaches music and the industry, and the power that the Beatles have, after all this time. Although it is interesting in another way, in that aesthetically, Tsunku more resembles Bowie, hah.

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