Enka Gets Funky
Okay. I get the Jero thing.
He’s of mixed race, from the States, with a Japanese grandmother to whom he promised he would one day be an enka star. And now he is. Hip hop costume and all.
Not many people sing enka these days. Hitomi Shimatani, a fading pop-star, originally debuted as an enka singer, before moving on to do, well, pop. So, I think it’s incredibly cool that Jero has carved out a place for himself. Plus he sounds lovely.
You don’t necessarily need to understand Japanese to get the start of this video, which displays photos of Jero as a youngster, and shows him winning a “Japanese gong show” type program on NHK. Later, he’s challenged to see how many Enka songs he actually knows out of over 100. He wins every challenge. If you stick out to the end of the video, you’ll see him bust out a few dance moves.
I came home with the Jero single. I would never do the same for that other contrastingly talentless import. Now I am playing the sad, sad Umiyuki song over and over.
I’m not a particular fan of Jero or enka in general, but I had to chime in re: Leah Dizon. I didn’t know her name but I’ve seen her in ads and on variety shows, and my reaction is always damn she is creepy looking.
May 14th, 2008 at 1:41 pmThough I had heard about him, I saw Jero for the first time on TV last night. He seems like a really decent kid.
As the following video shows, he also is introducing some hiphop moves into his enka routine. I wonder how the purists feel about all of this.
May 14th, 2008 at 2:28 pmYou listen to Enka and I listen to Western classical music.
Here, Maki Mori sang ” Quando me’n vo ( La Boheme, Puccini ) “.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdnHvxmo2N0&feature=related
On the same TV program she sang other stuffs including Haendel’s aria which grabbed my heart.
She is known internationally among opera lovers in the world.
May 14th, 2008 at 7:24 pmhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzLsZ5AMQfU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWeeU6df174
Thanks for the introduction! I’d heard this guy’s name before but I didn’t really know what all the fuss was about. Enka and hip-hop, quite the fusion.
May 14th, 2008 at 9:59 pmHa! Well, I used to be a classical musician, so I’ve listened to plenty of classical music, believe me. And that scene from Der Rosenkavalier is one of my favorites. I have two classical musician friends who got married–he proposed to her with a glass rose.
I found Jero kind of fresh and really talented, and it’s nice to see an old art form embraced by someone who really cares about it. And, yes, he seems like a nice kid.
I’m curious too, Ed, as to what the purists think. And I wonder just how the hip hop was incorporated–if it is a marketing move on the part of his managers, or something he wanted to do.
May 14th, 2008 at 10:15 pmThis was funny
May 15th, 2008 at 10:06 amhttp://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=AdF84FcHIJg
Oh pardon Marie-san. It’s sometimes quite an awkward topic to talk about which music genre you prefer. For many years I’ve been almost exclusively listening to classical music. Now I listen to pop music more than before because it’s good for pastime.
To be honest, I don’t like Enka and other Japanese folklore music. Some years ago I tried to listen to Noh and Johruri as well. Nevertheless, I can’t explain why I won’t ever love those music.
Actually I had quite miserable experiences, I almost felt a bit kind of insulted or scorned by some people who would only love Pop/Rock, Jazz, or conventional classical music (from Barock to late Romantic). They criticized contemporary classical music for almost paranoia or mentally sicken, after they learned I also loved that type of music (such as Berg, Schoenberg, Webern, Messiaen, Xenakis, Nono, Lutoslawski, Takemitsu, Ligeti, Rihm, Ades and many others).
Regarding aversion against certain music style, it seemed to me like the feeling of repulsion against religious heretic or the communistic ideology, or a pagan. But come on, this is just about your music taste.
May 16th, 2008 at 4:19 pmOh dear. I’m so sorry if you feel awkward. That was not what I meant for you to feel at all! I always find your comments interesting and smart and unique, and it isn’t everyone who likes Strauss.
I think sometimes my tone is lost in translation–that is, I mean to be friendly or silly, but I sound strange. And it’s a measure of sensitivity if you felt scorned by people who only love one type of music, I think.
Your tastes are very, very far ranging and quite mature! I have not listened to Takemitsu. I’ll have to ferret him out.
May 16th, 2008 at 6:22 pm