Japan vs. USA: Music Video Shoot-out!
I'm COMPLETELY out of the loop again when it comes to Japanese music which I haven't been following in months . . even more so with Western music since my radio died in the '90s. So, thought I'd put a fun spin on catching-up and do a music video shoot-out:
USA's Billboard Hot 100! VS. Japan's Countdown TV Top 100!
No, I'm not gonna watch 200 videos, so whichever country gets ahead of the other by 3 points first wins! (So technically, this post could end after 3 rounds and save me a bunch of time, but Don King I am not ;) ). As always, I judge more on look than song when it comes to music videos.
* Please note that the music industry hates Youtube, so some of these videos might be gone by the time you read this. (So let me know if you find any "dead videos" ;) )
Round 1
Fergie - London Bridge (3m30) VS. Arashi - Aozora pedaru (6m10)This is the first time I've heard Fergie sing since her Wild Orchid days, and I think I liked her more in Wild Orchid. Still, her infiltration of Buckingham Palace kept my attention longer than Arashi painting a wall did. Though I do appreciate Arashi sticking in some sorta story rather than the usual Johnny's dance-off, and bonus points for the amazing HanaDan actress. Bonus points taken off for not giving her any lines. :P
USA 1 - Japan 0
Round 2
Gnarles Barkley - Crazy (2m57) vs. GLAY feat. Kyosuke Himuro - ANSWER (5m09)Gnarles Barkley = Charles Barkley's musical sibling? (Seriously, I swear I saw Sir Charles' head pop up in this video several times). The ink blot idea is very creative and psychedelic to watch . . GLAY singing and jumping around in a cathedral, not so much.
USA 2 - Japan 0
Round 3
Nelly Furtado feat. Timbaland - Promiscuous (4m) vs. Koda Kumi - 4 hot wave (JUICY + With your smile + I'll be there + Ningyohime = 19m16s)Huh? I first heard Promiscuous on SNL months ago . . it's still here?? Kumi's single is actually 4 singles in 1 with a music video each and connected by a very, very thin storyline. I like "Promiscuous" better than any of Kumi's new songs, but as a video, it's just conventional dance club crap so Kumi's very, very thin storyline for the win.
USA 2 - Japan 1
Round 4
Cassie - Me & U (3m18) vs. WaT - Hava Rava (5m15)"Me & U" is pretty much just eye candy set to the most boring song I've heard in years . . even Cassie sounds like she's falling asleep. Sure, you could say "Hava Rava" is eye candy too, but at least they're doing *something* and doing it to a high tempo beat at that. Plus, I always prefer goofy videos over serious ones. ;)
USA 2 - Japan 2
Round 5
Pussycat Dolls feat. Snoop Dogg - Buttons (3m57) vs. Otsuka Ai - Yumekui (5m22)WOW. Yumekui blew me away -- the watercolors give it a wonderful dream-like feeling. I'm positive this will win some awards at next year's MVA. That aside, wazzupwitdat flying whale? o_O Meanwhile, Buttons is just another boring dance video, so Otsuka Ai knocks Snoop Dogg out of the ballpark.
USA 2 - Japan 3
Round 6
Sean Paul feat. Keyshia Cole - (When you gonna) Give it up to me (3m56) vs. Uverworld - SHAMROCK (4m9)Bleh, both these videos suck. But I'm gonna go with SHAMROCK just because it doesn't stick in clips from a movie every couple of seconds.
USA 2 - Japan 4
Round 7
Panic! At The Disco - I Write Sins Not Tragedies (3m4) vs. KinKi Kids - Natsumoyou (5m13)Holy crap, Panic has been on here for 23 weeks, has 5 million Youtube hits, and this is the first time I've heard of them. o_O This is one creepy video, with a rather creepy Willy Wonka lookalike. Natsumoyou doesn't make me as uneasy with all its happy natural colors, but at the end of the day, the spectacle of Sin is far more impressive and creative than KinKi Kids staring out the window.
USA 3 - Japan 4
Round 8
[MIA]Christina Aguilera - Ain't No Other Man (4m48) vs. Bank Band - to U (??)
Too bad Sakurai Kazutoshi hates YouTube, and has removed nearly every Mr. Children PV -- same goes with his side project Bank Band. So Christina wins this round . . though she probably would've anyway because I really dig the retro nightclub look mixed with modern dance.
USA 4 - Japan 4
Round 9
[MIA]
Ne Yo - Sexy Love vs. KAT-TUN - SIGNAL (3m45)Hm, even though there's over a hundred fan videos of Sexy Love, I can't find the music video itself. So KAT-TUN and its cheezy intergalactic dance machine gets spared.
USA 4 - Japan 5
Round 10
Young Dro feat. T.I. - Shoulder Lean (4m13) vs. Kiyokiba Shunsuke - believe (4m42)Shoulder Lean: Something really funny about a singer stopping his song to eat breakfast. And the bouncing ball! Haven't seen that in ages. Believe: Whoa, Shunsuke quit EXILE? Anyway, he really surprised me with how much he's changed his look and style (he can play a guitar? o_O), plus singing on a floating barge with VIOLINISTS~! is a neat effect. Unfortunately, he doesn't do much else, so gotta give it to Young Dro feat. scrambled eggs and bouncing balls this time.
USA 5 - Japan 5
Round 11
The Fray - Over my Head (Cable Car) (4m) vs. Teshima Aoi - Theru no Uta (5m13)Over My Head uses an interesting gimmick, but doesn't really explore its potential. I say can all band appearances, and just focus on the lipsyncing kid for the whole video. Theru no Uta is slow, not much going on, but it's just incredibly beautiful to watch and listen to and sounds true to Ghibli. Man, Hayao's son appears to be imitating his father right down to the music. ;)
USA 5 - Japan 6
Round 12
Beyonce feat. Jay-Z - Deja Vu (4m12) vs. Berryz Koubou - Waracchaou yo BOYFRIEND (3m52)This marks the first time I've heard Beyonce sing (minus Goldmember), and it's my favorite song so far in this shoot-out -- very high energy accentuated by a very high energy video. Lots of weird people are demanding that she reshoot this video though. o_O On the other extreme, Waracchaou yo Boyfriend may just be the most annoying song I've heard in my entire life (which probably means it'll get stuck in my head eventually >_<). There's at least one member that looks too young to be singing. As for the video, really bright happy backdrop, but it looks really cheap and static and they don't really do much with it.
USA 6 - Japan 6
Round 13
[MIA]
E-40 feat. T-Pain & Kandi Girl (3m28) - U And Dat vs. Kobu Kuro - Kimi to iu na no Tsubasa (??)Even if Kobu Kuro's video is not on Youtube, I cannot in good conscience let E-40 win. I almost went blind and deaf watching it -- it's stuff like this that I wish the RIAA would pull. >_< Besides, I did catch the Kobu Kuro video a few days ago before it was pull, and it was a really good and inspirational. Will link it if it ever shows up again, but for now, just trust me on this one. ;)
USA 6 - Japan 7
Round 14
Cherish feat. Sean Paul Of The YoungBloodZ (4m4) - Do It To It vs. BUCK-TICK - Kagerou (4m53)*sigh* Do It To It is just another uncreative dance club video. And Kagerou? Visual Kei still scares me, but eh, at least it's got a more interesting look to it than Do It To It.
USA 6 - Japan 8
Round 15
Yung Joc - It's Goin' Down (4m17) vs. SEAMO - Lupin the Fire (4m25)Great, another generic rapper with a generic video featuring "Hey I'm rich, I got a car, I got lots of girlfriends, let's house party!" Is there such a shortage of rap artists that studios hire anyone that auditions? :P Meanwhile "Lupin the Fire" has retro, disco, lots of great Engrish, and By God Lupin the 3rd, on its side. I can't believe I'm saying this, but America should learn how to make rap videos from Japan. ;)
USA 6 - Japan 9
And thank you SEAMO and Lupin for finally putting an end to this long-winded shoot-out!!
Japan Wins!
Favorite videos: Yumekui (Round 5), Lupin the Fire (Round 15)
Favorite songs: Promiscuous (Round 3), believe (Round 10), Deja Vu (Round 12)
I gotta say, I'm disappointed in the American music videos I've seen so far. For me, music videos are an extention of a song -- it's a chance for an artist to interpret the song himself/herself . . to give the music a context. But so many videos nowadays are just all dance, which really blows a chance to tell an interesting story or create an interesting visual to compliment their music. I also expected American videos to look more polished, but surprisingly, it's Japanese videos on average that look more expensive even with a much smaller budget.
Other observations:
Japanese videos sure are longer than American ones . . maybe it has to do with less commercials per hour.
America's charts are really static, with most of the songs in the Top 20 being around for more than 10 weeks. Japan's charts are much more unstable . . it's really hard to keep your spot for more than a week. Maybe radio isn't as popular in Japan?
American artists sure love to collaborate with each other lately. Of the Top 15, 7 "feature" someone else. Japan's Top 15? Zero. ^^
Japanese artists love English titles.
Y'know, looking at Japan's Top 10 and Japan's mid-year best-sellers, I get the impression that the music fanbase in Japan is predominantly female. Meanwhile in America, I notice a rise in popularity for black artists, though I doubt that reflects a predominantly black fanbase. I'm sure most people are like me and just listen to anything that has a good sound. Probably why I never listen to Chinese music. ;)
The end.
USA's Billboard Hot 100! VS. Japan's Countdown TV Top 100!
No, I'm not gonna watch 200 videos, so whichever country gets ahead of the other by 3 points first wins! (So technically, this post could end after 3 rounds and save me a bunch of time, but Don King I am not ;) ). As always, I judge more on look than song when it comes to music videos.
* Please note that the music industry hates Youtube, so some of these videos might be gone by the time you read this. (So let me know if you find any "dead videos" ;) )
Round 1
Fergie - London Bridge (3m30) VS. Arashi - Aozora pedaru (6m10)This is the first time I've heard Fergie sing since her Wild Orchid days, and I think I liked her more in Wild Orchid. Still, her infiltration of Buckingham Palace kept my attention longer than Arashi painting a wall did. Though I do appreciate Arashi sticking in some sorta story rather than the usual Johnny's dance-off, and bonus points for the amazing HanaDan actress. Bonus points taken off for not giving her any lines. :P
USA 1 - Japan 0
Round 2
Gnarles Barkley - Crazy (2m57) vs. GLAY feat. Kyosuke Himuro - ANSWER (5m09)Gnarles Barkley = Charles Barkley's musical sibling? (Seriously, I swear I saw Sir Charles' head pop up in this video several times). The ink blot idea is very creative and psychedelic to watch . . GLAY singing and jumping around in a cathedral, not so much.
USA 2 - Japan 0
Round 3
Nelly Furtado feat. Timbaland - Promiscuous (4m) vs. Koda Kumi - 4 hot wave (JUICY + With your smile + I'll be there + Ningyohime = 19m16s)Huh? I first heard Promiscuous on SNL months ago . . it's still here?? Kumi's single is actually 4 singles in 1 with a music video each and connected by a very, very thin storyline. I like "Promiscuous" better than any of Kumi's new songs, but as a video, it's just conventional dance club crap so Kumi's very, very thin storyline for the win.
USA 2 - Japan 1
Round 4
Cassie - Me & U (3m18) vs. WaT - Hava Rava (5m15)"Me & U" is pretty much just eye candy set to the most boring song I've heard in years . . even Cassie sounds like she's falling asleep. Sure, you could say "Hava Rava" is eye candy too, but at least they're doing *something* and doing it to a high tempo beat at that. Plus, I always prefer goofy videos over serious ones. ;)
USA 2 - Japan 2
Round 5
Pussycat Dolls feat. Snoop Dogg - Buttons (3m57) vs. Otsuka Ai - Yumekui (5m22)WOW. Yumekui blew me away -- the watercolors give it a wonderful dream-like feeling. I'm positive this will win some awards at next year's MVA. That aside, wazzupwitdat flying whale? o_O Meanwhile, Buttons is just another boring dance video, so Otsuka Ai knocks Snoop Dogg out of the ballpark.
USA 2 - Japan 3
Round 6
Sean Paul feat. Keyshia Cole - (When you gonna) Give it up to me (3m56) vs. Uverworld - SHAMROCK (4m9)Bleh, both these videos suck. But I'm gonna go with SHAMROCK just because it doesn't stick in clips from a movie every couple of seconds.
USA 2 - Japan 4
Round 7
Panic! At The Disco - I Write Sins Not Tragedies (3m4) vs. KinKi Kids - Natsumoyou (5m13)Holy crap, Panic has been on here for 23 weeks, has 5 million Youtube hits, and this is the first time I've heard of them. o_O This is one creepy video, with a rather creepy Willy Wonka lookalike. Natsumoyou doesn't make me as uneasy with all its happy natural colors, but at the end of the day, the spectacle of Sin is far more impressive and creative than KinKi Kids staring out the window.
USA 3 - Japan 4
Round 8
[MIA]Christina Aguilera - Ain't No Other Man (4m48) vs. Bank Band - to U (??)
Too bad Sakurai Kazutoshi hates YouTube, and has removed nearly every Mr. Children PV -- same goes with his side project Bank Band. So Christina wins this round . . though she probably would've anyway because I really dig the retro nightclub look mixed with modern dance.
USA 4 - Japan 4
Round 9
[MIA]
Ne Yo - Sexy Love vs. KAT-TUN - SIGNAL (3m45)Hm, even though there's over a hundred fan videos of Sexy Love, I can't find the music video itself. So KAT-TUN and its cheezy intergalactic dance machine gets spared.
USA 4 - Japan 5
Round 10
Young Dro feat. T.I. - Shoulder Lean (4m13) vs. Kiyokiba Shunsuke - believe (4m42)Shoulder Lean: Something really funny about a singer stopping his song to eat breakfast. And the bouncing ball! Haven't seen that in ages. Believe: Whoa, Shunsuke quit EXILE? Anyway, he really surprised me with how much he's changed his look and style (he can play a guitar? o_O), plus singing on a floating barge with VIOLINISTS~! is a neat effect. Unfortunately, he doesn't do much else, so gotta give it to Young Dro feat. scrambled eggs and bouncing balls this time.
USA 5 - Japan 5
Round 11
The Fray - Over my Head (Cable Car) (4m) vs. Teshima Aoi - Theru no Uta (5m13)Over My Head uses an interesting gimmick, but doesn't really explore its potential. I say can all band appearances, and just focus on the lipsyncing kid for the whole video. Theru no Uta is slow, not much going on, but it's just incredibly beautiful to watch and listen to and sounds true to Ghibli. Man, Hayao's son appears to be imitating his father right down to the music. ;)
USA 5 - Japan 6
Round 12
Beyonce feat. Jay-Z - Deja Vu (4m12) vs. Berryz Koubou - Waracchaou yo BOYFRIEND (3m52)This marks the first time I've heard Beyonce sing (minus Goldmember), and it's my favorite song so far in this shoot-out -- very high energy accentuated by a very high energy video. Lots of weird people are demanding that she reshoot this video though. o_O On the other extreme, Waracchaou yo Boyfriend may just be the most annoying song I've heard in my entire life (which probably means it'll get stuck in my head eventually >_<). There's at least one member that looks too young to be singing. As for the video, really bright happy backdrop, but it looks really cheap and static and they don't really do much with it.
USA 6 - Japan 6
Round 13
[MIA]
E-40 feat. T-Pain & Kandi Girl (3m28) - U And Dat vs. Kobu Kuro - Kimi to iu na no Tsubasa (??)Even if Kobu Kuro's video is not on Youtube, I cannot in good conscience let E-40 win. I almost went blind and deaf watching it -- it's stuff like this that I wish the RIAA would pull. >_< Besides, I did catch the Kobu Kuro video a few days ago before it was pull, and it was a really good and inspirational. Will link it if it ever shows up again, but for now, just trust me on this one. ;)
USA 6 - Japan 7
Round 14
Cherish feat. Sean Paul Of The YoungBloodZ (4m4) - Do It To It vs. BUCK-TICK - Kagerou (4m53)*sigh* Do It To It is just another uncreative dance club video. And Kagerou? Visual Kei still scares me, but eh, at least it's got a more interesting look to it than Do It To It.
USA 6 - Japan 8
Round 15
Yung Joc - It's Goin' Down (4m17) vs. SEAMO - Lupin the Fire (4m25)Great, another generic rapper with a generic video featuring "Hey I'm rich, I got a car, I got lots of girlfriends, let's house party!" Is there such a shortage of rap artists that studios hire anyone that auditions? :P Meanwhile "Lupin the Fire" has retro, disco, lots of great Engrish, and By God Lupin the 3rd, on its side. I can't believe I'm saying this, but America should learn how to make rap videos from Japan. ;)
USA 6 - Japan 9
And thank you SEAMO and Lupin for finally putting an end to this long-winded shoot-out!!
Japan Wins!
Favorite videos: Yumekui (Round 5), Lupin the Fire (Round 15)
Favorite songs: Promiscuous (Round 3), believe (Round 10), Deja Vu (Round 12)
I gotta say, I'm disappointed in the American music videos I've seen so far. For me, music videos are an extention of a song -- it's a chance for an artist to interpret the song himself/herself . . to give the music a context. But so many videos nowadays are just all dance, which really blows a chance to tell an interesting story or create an interesting visual to compliment their music. I also expected American videos to look more polished, but surprisingly, it's Japanese videos on average that look more expensive even with a much smaller budget.
Other observations:
The end.