“One of the most incredible feelings in the world is the first time you hear a song you later learn to love. The more you listen to any piece of music, the more it will lose its magic – it’s the first few times through you can lose yourself in the music the moment you want it, you better never let it go. or something like that.

“”Dear lord! This melody is TOO catchy.”"

“”Man, this song has SUCH an insane guitar solo.”"

“”I ABSOLUTELY love this song’s lyrics.”"

Lyrics, this is where the discussion really begins. For reasons unbeknownst to even myself, I have always been infatuated with Japanese music. Is it really different than American music? Is there something about the music I listen to that can’t be bought at the Border’s in Redmond Town Center, Washington?

Maybe, maybe not. There is too much music out there for anyone to draw cultural borders. But, Mr. Arbitrarily gave me a list of recommendations and I began listening to a wide spectrum of Japanese music when I started high school. Since then, I’ve developed a love for three artists in particular:

Shiina Ringo
Bonobos
THE BACK HORN

Of the three artists mentioned above, I own every song ever released. Moreover, every song by THE BACK HORN is directly from the CD’s that I imported from Japan (ouch, my wallet). Bonobos have been received from itunes, and Shiina Ringo from Kinokuniya in downtown Seattle. Purchased music holds a certain intangible value over the music you’ve downloaded illegally. You’ll be more inclined to listen to it time, and time, and time again. Yes, I am passionate about these musicians and I do not intend to cheat them for anything less than what they are worth. For years more than 90% of the time I’m listening to music, it’s one of the three ingenious artists listed above.

BUT. It wasn’t until this month I began to understand the lyrics. Of course I could look up the English translations anytime, but that’s a different thing entirely.

“”Anata ni atte, kodoku wo shitta.”"

and

“”I met you and knew lonliness.”"

just don’t hold the same ring. + there are many elements of Japanese culture often worked into these songs – things I could never relate to until recently. So, here we wrap ourselves back to the start.

I am listening to songs I’ve been hearing dozens of times daily, for years, but finally starting to realize the meaning behind the music. I’m having the surreal experience of listening to my all time favorite songs, for the very first time. Every sentence amplifies each song to a whole new, glorious level. The synergy has finally been activated – music with words instead of music and words. Now if that isn’t cool, I don’t know what is.

But then I wonder if it’s just my $500.00 headphones?

nah.”

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