BABYMETAL has been mentioned by Marty Friedman once again in an interview. This time Marty was interviewed by Tokyo Shimbun (Tokyo Newspaper) to talk about J-Pop. He praised the Japanese lyrics and mentioned how BABYMETAL fans are learning Japanese thanks to the inspiration of the lyrics. Read an excerpt of the interview below.
Marty Friedman praise BABYMETAL singing in Japanese on Tokyo Newspaper
Excerpt of Tokyo Shimbun (Tokyo Newspaper) interview with Marty Friedman. Issue August 28, 2016.
J-POP IS SUPREME. HAVE MORE CONFIDENCE!
Interviewer: It seems so hard for Japanese musicians to rank highly in the charts of Billboard, right?
Marty: "It’s language. The weak point of music fans in the US is depending excessively on English. I wish the tendency like that would attenuate little by little. It’s natural that everything gets difficult in another country. But I can’t agree to write lyrics in English expressly to be popular in the United States, while it’s splendid if their music would be loved, staying just the way they are.
For example, thinking about BABYMETAL holding awesome concerts in the US, foreign fans are longing to know the meaning of their words. So they've started to learn Japanese. In this case, Japanese has become the magic and the charm point instead of an obstacle. That’s a wonderful phenomenon I think."
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Translation by: Shotablue.
Picture by: Unagi Inu.
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BAT-METAL (Tuesday, 06 September 2016 12:46)
I've been learning to sing-along with KPP's lyrics as well. She, like Suzuka, makes the words dance! I don't know if all Japanese sing / write lyrics like this, but to me KPP lyrics in particular are very similar to Rap, in that every syllable gets its own beat and note. So fun! I love this lyric from KPP, who just spits it out the syllables like hard rim-shots:
Azayaka ni koi shite ninja re bang bang
Nandaka ninja re bang bang
bloom bloom bloom, hanabira mo mau
Tonde'ke ninja re bang bang
Joushiki wo kaetara odoroke ga nichijou ni.
So fun to sing along with! Plus, Japanese do much better puns. Like, they will pun an English word that only sounds like a Japanese word, then try to find something common to riff on some more.
These girls to NOT sound like they are from the same universe as Toshiro Mifune though!
BAT-METAL (Tuesday, 06 September 2016 12:51)
"In this case, Japanese has become the magic and the charm point instead of an obstacle. That’s a wonderful phenomenon I think."
Absolutely! And Babymetal Krew? Don't let America ruin your awesome band! America is finished as a cultural center. It's a disaster. yes, we have money, but we have no taste in Art or Music at all anymore. We have Taylor Swift. The rest of the world gets BABYMETAL. The problem is not with Babymetal!
So, please do not change ANYTHING for the US market! You are absolutely perfect. If US doesn't respond, it's the US's loss.
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