The Affair

16 Mar 2013

One of these things is not like the other…

First impressions count a lot.

Like when I first heard “Wilder than heaven” by Miki Nakatani, I was thinking the video would be something involving Nakatani singing in a warehouse backed by a hipster band, because it’s a jazz-funk song and quite frankly, all jazz-funk music videos–particularly in the 90s–are variations on that theme.

I was not expecting to see Nakatani staring vacantly to the camera whilst on what looks like a set of a torture porn film.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/wrWf9O9cNnI]

Then there’s Morning Musume‘s “The Peace.”

Now, Morning Musume is pretty much unapologetically manufactured J-Pop. (When they start to refer to the turnover of members as “generations,” any pretense of artistry is pretty much disposed of)

“The Peace,” has a bit of a military march sound to it, so I thought it’d just be the MoMusu poppets doing some sort of line dancing.

I was not expecting to see them dancing around the men’s lavatories. The video seems to be a completely unexpected homage to The Village People’s “In The Navy.”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-3RyqCAJkRU]

Many thanks to the team at the blog Kayo Kyoku Plus.