Posts Tagged ‘music’

Yukio Hatoyama sings “Take HEART”

Ever since I’d heard about Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama’s 1988 single “Take HEART – Fly, Dove of Peace,” I’ve been looking for a good copy of it. Here’s a YouTube video containing about a minute of the song:

“I never imagined that there would be a day when this tune would come into the spotlight,” said Teruaki Asanuma, a 65-year-old dentist in the Hokkaido city of Muroran who wrote the song at Hatoyama’s request.

Hatoyama had wanted Asanuma to write a tune featuring a Japanese-dance rhythm, but Asanuma said he recommended a more pop-oriented record reflective of the “urban atmosphere” Hatoyama had created.

Only a short recording session was required, Asanuma recalled, adding that he thought Hatoyama was “quite accustomed to singing.”

The title of the song plays on the similarity in sound between “hato” (dove), the first part of Hatoyama’s surname, and “heart,” according to Asanuma.

“Now I hope he will help to guide everyone to happiness as suggested in the lyrics of the song,” he said.

And here’s a video clip of it being played at a party held by Hatoyama supporters:

Does anybody know where one can find a longer and better quality copy of the song?

Because of its limited release, it’s become a rare collector’s item. One vinyl record recently sold for 35,000 yen in an online auction.

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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
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Japanese rock concert held on the USS Missouri

Japanese rock group VAMPS recently held a special concert on the deck of the USS Missouri, a battleship best known for hosting Japan’s war surrender ceremony on September 2, 1945.

Flanked by the ship’s 16-inch guns and with the stars and stripes flying behind them, the band performed 20 songs, including the upcoming release “Sweet Dreams.” About 600 fans paid $150 each to see the unique show. Vamps was formed in 2008 around L’Arc en Ciel frontman Hyde and Oblivion Dust guitarist K.A.Z. The lineup also includes bassist Ju-ken, who has performed with Gackt and X Japan’s Yoshiki. They have released one album and three singles. The tour took in 60 shows in Japan and the U.S. and finishing off in Hawaii, which is in more than one way the meeting point between the two countries, was heavily symbolic. Hyde said, “I think it’s great that an instrument of war can be used to send out a message of peace like this.”

According to the “Mezamashi TV” clip, about 600 Japanese and American fans attended the concert.

[hat tip to The Other East]

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Related video clip: a newsreel from 1945 showing the surrender ceremony:

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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
• Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)

Japanese moonwalking champions

TV Tokyo’s “Champions” recently held a competition to see which Michael Jackson mega fan could perform the fastest 30-meter moonwalk (English captions have been added to explain what’s going on):

The first contestant is wearing an afro wig with black face paint, probably out of a desire to mimic the appearance of a young Michael Jackson. Kind of odd, considering the fact that he didn’t moonwalk back in the Jackson 5 era…

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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
• Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)

Andrew W.K. Gundam Rock

Andrew W.K. of “Party Hard” fame was featured on “Mezamashi TV” yesterday because he’s created a new album to mark the 30th anniversary of Mobile Suit Gundam:

Gundam Rock will be sold through Amazon.com starting on September 15th.

Update: Here’s the music video of his Gundam main theme song cover. (Via Matt Alt)

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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
• Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)