Monday, February 4, 2013

Music from an Osaka Point of View

Today, we would like to talk about music.  We love music.  Japanese teens think music is universal.  How about you?  We often listen to music everywhere, like on the train every day.  We especially like western music and J-pop. 

Among our friends, Miley Cyrus, The Beatles, and One Direction are popular.  In Japan in general AKB48 and groups produced by Johnny and Associates, or "Johnny's", are popular, but in our school One OK Rock and SCANDAL are more popular. 
Here is a video of One OK Rock:


SCANDAL first started playing live right here in Osaka at Osaka Castle Park.  Here is a video of SCANDAL:



The students in our school listen to many other kinds of music, too.  For example reggae, Japanese reggae, and K-pop (Korean pop music).  Shonan no Kaze is a popular Japanese reggae group.  Here is a video of Shonan No Kaze's song, "Pure Love Song/Junrenka":



We like to listen to music on our iPhones, iPods, and Walkmans.  Sometimes we listen to CDs.  We never use records.  Do young people in your country still listen to records.  We also often use YouTube to listen to music.  YouTube has many videos, so it is convenient.

We would like to introduce you to a song by Bump of Chicken.  Our class member Burian (T.) picked the song.  Bump of Chicken is a Japanese band.  The members are Fujiwara Motou (voice and guitar), Yoshifumi Naoi (base), Hiroaki Maukawa (guitar), and Hideo Masu (drums).  They love to make music and they love the planet.

The Song we picked is called, "Tentai Kansoku."  In English it means "Observing Celestial Bodies".  But we think a better title is Star Gazing.  We translated part of the song for you:

Star Gazing

At 2AM at the railroad crossing
I carried a telescope
A radio tied to my belt
It looked like it would not rain.
2 minutes later you came
On your back
you carried too much baggage
Let's start stargazing
and search for a broom star
I'm was just trying not to get swallowed up
in a deep darkness
On that day I tried to take your hand...

...Then, if you notice,
when was it,
earnestly searching for something
a definition of happiness
or a place to put your lonliness
from the day you are born
to the day you die
always searching
anyway, let's start stargazing
and search for a broom star
I remember everything I have found
and the hurt of not taking your shaking hand

Trying to know things I didn't know
I looked into the telescope
I looked for a faint light like a light in the dark
I still remember that hurt I knew
The broom star that is now
by myself I chase it even now...


You can watch the video for Star Gazing here:



We hope you will leave us a comment and tell us about the music you like.  We are also looking for other English students who have an English blog or other classes who have an English class blog.  Please tell us about your blog so we can visit it!

7 comments:

  1. Hi, I'm an English Teacher in a middle school in Busan South Korea.
    I love your blog :-) I've posted a link to it on my blog for my students and told them to check it out as they are crazy about all types of music, especially k-pop!
    You can see some of my students work here, including some videos about music:
    http://gemmalunn.wordpress.com/
    Keep up the good work!
    Gemma.
    P.S. I'm from England so I'm glad to hear you like some English music! You should also check out The Wanted - a popular boy band from England.

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    1. Hi, Gem. Thank you for your comment. We are so happy to hear that you ove this blog and posted a link to our blog on your blog for your students. We hope your students will comment on our blog.

      we visited your blog. It's so wonderful. We love your blog, too.

      S.(chan)

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  2. Have you heard The Polyphonic Spree? Probably not. Check them out, they're my favourite band :)

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    Replies
    1. Barry

      I didn't know this band.so I listened to tgeir music.It's really cool. I likeit.

      a student

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  3. I don't know people that listen to records, but i DO know that there are some that just love them - they say it's a more authentic sound. Meanwhile, learning some new music from your selections above! Thanks!

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  4. You all have helped a lot of people know a lot about the music taste of high school students in Japan--most informative. I hope you share what you have written as well as the video clips with your parents so they can better understand your lives.

    John Fanselow

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  5. Greetings from Lapland in Finland, particularly from one of the towns where Japanese tourists come to see the Northern Lights. I came across your English class blog while searching blogs about Osaka since I will be travelling there in May. Just want to say that a moment ago I was listening to Japanese music in my iPod such as KAT-TUN, Koda Kumi, Namie Amuro and so on because I like Asian music more than Western. There are a lot of fans of J-pop and other Asian entertainment in Finland. :) It's wonderful how music is universal and it connects nations. Japanese bands have had gigs in Finland and vise versa Finnish bands have performed in Tokyo. Keep studying English and someday some of you might find yourselves working in Finland like my friend from Osaka who can now speak Finnish better than English in my opinion. Someday I want to learn Japanese too. (^__^)~

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