Ongaku to Hito
May 2023

text by Ishii Eriko
photographs by Sasahara Kiyosaki_L MANAGEMENT
hair & make-up by Tanizaki Takayuki_Fats Berry (Sakurai/Imai)
styling by Shimizu Kenichi (Sakurai/Imai)

 

 

Sakurai Atsushi

I can’t run away
There’s nowhere else to go¹

BUCK-TICK’s 23rd album finally arrives. 23rd. It’s a truly impressive figure. In the sense that it inspires awe and reverence as something that cannot be easily imitated, and a fair amount of intense apprehension. Having experienced stagnancy because of COVID-19 and the reality of how easily a whole tour gets derailed from just one single illness or injury, it’s next to impossible to be optimistic about anything. And yet the heavier reality weighs, the further human mind soars. Or perhaps it’s the irresolvable reality that allows our imagination to spread its wings.

This is a different sky. A different space. Named 異空 -IZORA-, this album is a masterpiece, to say the least. To start, the way they found a balance between the unending darkness and fantastical popness, messages extracted from war and stories from real life experiences is nothing short of exquisite. Simply put, they have found a way to transmute the realities we rather shy away from into vivid narratives. How else will we find the strength to live on if not through the escape that is the entertainment craft. That is probably BUCK-TICK’s here and now.

Sakurai Atsushi is the first person we’ll hear from since the completion of this album.

 

Ultimately…… somehow, I think this is uncharacteristic of me too
but I feel that children cannot do without hope and dreams

――Have you been well?

Sakurai (S): Yes. Somehow, I’m managing.

――The last time we had an interview, we were talking about how your new song, Sayonara Shelter was going to be released within the concept best-of album last year. We speculated about the kind of reaction you might get from releasing such a song to the world we live in now, but what comments have you heard after its actual release?

S: Right. Well, I mostly get to hear these comments only through indirect means, like letters from fans and all that but it would seem that it’s precisely because we’re living in this day and age that everyone accepts [this song] with open arms. Even though I hesitated a little because I wondered whether it would be better if we should be doing something different so that people can forget about the sad world that we’re in. Precisely because this is the day and age we’re in. But everyone, the majority took the song in their strides so that made me feel that we can’t give up just yet.

――Yes. The impression this song leaves has gradually transformed throughout the 35th anniversary national tour after it was first performed at Yokohama Arena. What the audience takes away from it has changed with the performance and where it sits in your setlist despite the fact that it’s still the same song.

S: That’s right. Perhaps, in the beginning, even I could only capture the despair in it but the more we perform this song, it’s as if, bit by bit, with each iteration, I’ve gained the ability to emphasise the hopeful side of it too.

――Yeah. While [the song] is a compelling chronicle, a beautiful story reverberates from it too. That’s the impression it gives me.

S: Ah. Personally, I also feel like I’ve been cleansed. Reality is what it is, but like you said, I think it would be nice if it would work its way into our audience as a story. Uh, I’ve been giving my all to make that happen. Fufufuh. I’ve been gritting my teeth, really putting my back into it, so that this song wouldn’t end up going in circles (lol).

――I sense the potential of entertainment. That it can take something which originates from heartbreaking reality and turn it into a beautiful story through expressionism.

S: Ah…… I’m glad to hear you say that. I, myself have also had some tedious experiences and had really bad relationships with people too. But whenever I listen to beautiful music or watch someone perform, I feel liberated from it all. So even though the world remains as turbulent as ever, I believe that everyone wants to hear or see something beautiful that allows them to forget our transient world and feel cleansed of it. It’s not my intention to meet that expectation, but I think it’s something I naturally end up doing anyway.

――I think the album version of Sayonara Shelter with the violins in it pretty much represents what we’re talking about right now.

S: Agreed. This was also an idea that came from our director, Tanaka-san. Based on what I heard, he felt a very strong connection [between this song and] John Lenon’s ♪So this is Xmas~ (note: Happy Xmas (War Is Over)). Tanaka-san also suggested the idea of adding the angelic voices of a choir. We really liked that idea but we were kind of short on time. Although, with this violin, it really brings the image of yet another beautiful scene to mind, doesn’t it?

ーーYes. So even though I was initially apprehensive about just how dark this album might get……

S: Ah, I think it’s dark enough as it is.

――Yes(lol). But even so, not all of the songs are raw or painfully cutting. Like Campanella  Hanataba wo Kimi ni (Campanella 花束を君に / A Bouquet for You), it’s a song from the perspective of a very lovable child even though it’s a song about war.

S: Ahh. That’s right. Ultimately…… somehow, I think this is uncharacteristic of me too, but I feel that children cannot do without hope and dreams and the sort.

――I actually think that’s just like you. When faced with the harsh reality of war, Sakurai-san’s pen will turn its focus to the children and their families.

S: That’s true. Because even soldiers have fathers and mothers. Mm…… All the same, I don’t want to end this topic with a, “There’s nothing we can do about it.” Of course, there will be people who say that they don’t want to hear about anything related to politics, but I just wanted to sing one song with the perspective that we were all children. That’s the idea of it. If people were to call me a hypocrite, then I might as well go all the way with it.

――It’s very strong of you to say that.

S: …… I don’t give a shit. Hahahah.

――Even the single, Taiyou to Icarus (太陽とイカ口ス / The Sun and Icarus) could be interpreted as a song about war. From the perspective of Zero² pilots of the Special Attack Units.

S: Right. But Special Attack Units aren’t the only ones involved in a war, and there may be those who get upset by my beautification of it all. But also, I just hope that everyone can enjoy the story and the shadow theatrics of it all.

――You’ve written a good story for a pop song like this.

S: …… At first, that, made me feel a bit embarrassed. Because, this song, is it really something that we old men in our 50s make?

――Ahaha. It’s been quite a while since we heard something this cheerful from Hide-san (Hoshino Hidehiko/guitar).

S: Yes. (Our manipulator,) YOW-ROW-kun’s (GARI) sound already gets me wondering things like, “What’s wrong with pop?”, and it’s difficult for me to add more meat to it. I got really lost with what I should do here. No characters were coming to mind either. Then, I figured that instead of going along with the music, maybe I should do a 180 degree change on how I think about this and do what I have in mind at the moment. And that I should try and have fun with this contrast.

――That’s a thing BUCK-TICK established.

S: Uh…… We had no choice but to make that breakthrough. Hahahahaha! It was less of a stretch or be stretched, and more of a “Let’s completely distort ourselves”.

――The only other alternative to stretching (lol). Here you wrote about death before our eyes being “a celebration” and “freedom”, but what kind of emotions are these?

S: Ahh… But honestly, it’s the negative emotion of wishing you could actually run away from things. So that it would end without the need for me to kill people. A freedom… from yourself, from your consciousness, where everything disappears into nothingness. I might’ve been called unpatriotic 70 years ago though.

――Is this ultimately an imaginary story? Or emotions that Sakurai-san actually experiences?

S: …… I can’t dismiss it by saying that there’s none of that. In the end, I can imagine it. It’s only my imagination but, of course. I’m quite…… ill, so.

――In other words, this and the other songs in this album aren’t in reckless pursuit of death, are they? There are surprisingly few tracks fantasising about the nether world and frolicking there. If I had to name one, I’d think it was Ai no Harem (愛のハレム / Harem of Love).

S: Ahh…… It’s probably because there’s a part that personally holds no sense of reality to me. Because although I’ve experienced in real-life coming to the verge of death, anything that comes after that are only my fantasies. In the past, I might’ve had fun with it but these days, it’s less about what comes next and more about being on the precipice. Like this side of the Sanzu River³ versus the opposite side. Mm…… I’m not as young or naive to be attracted to invisible things anymore, and although I can play around with capturing it in the form of fantasies, when it’s something I write and sing myself…… Recently, I don’t feel very grounded to reality. [I need] more of, things that rouse my emotions, like words that stab me. That’s what would bring me to the edge of the Sanzu River.

 

Recalling what things were like back then, part of it is also because it’s our 35th anniversary
There’s also the implied sense within the story that things were really different back then

――That’s why Sakurai-san’s struggles in the real world rush forth right from the very start in the songs from this album.

S: Yeah…… I’d expect people to find me problematic though (lol). I cannot help that I’m struggling even at this age. But that’s all there is to it. Because on the other hand, if I lose this, then I’d be at a loss as to what I should do.

――Would you lose the ability to sing?

S: If that happens, then Taiyou to Icarus wouldn’t come to be. The song would lean even more towards pop…… I might sing words like, “You are the one~”, perhaps?

――Please stop (lol). This is a vague question, but what is Sakurai-san currently struggling with?

S: ……… It’s definitely, well, I always say this, but it’s PTSD⁴. And HSP⁵. I’m neurotic so I’ll feel deeply affected by all kinds of things, to the point where I’d drive myself deeper and deeper into a corner. People might probably look at me and wonder, “Huh? Really?” This might sound weird, but…… I get nightmares, right, a lot. I always drink but if I decide that I’ll go to bed without drinking today because I’m tired, I’ll very quickly have two, three terrifying dreams.

――May I ask about them? What happens in these dreams.

S: The dreams with people are lame, y’know? Dreams of a………… person with a steel bar in hand would come after me, and the whole time, I’d be like this, holding my breath and hiding.

――Fuh (lol). …… Sorry, I laughed a bit.

S: Hahaha! But it’s really the kind of dream a grade schooler would have. So, it’s okay, do laugh. I would jump out of bed breaking out in sweat and wheezing. But when I describe it in a sentence like this it’s really lame (lol).

――Even now, you still can’t run away from that part of yourself, can you?

S: In the end…… I really think it all boils down to trauma. My dreams are generally set in my parents’ home too. And the area around it. This is really something that has never changed even now when I’m in my mid-50s.

――In addition to the ever-present darkness, the songs in this album have a strong, overwhelming sense of solitude. Like SCARECROW and Warukyuure no Kikou (ワルキューレの騎行 / Ride of the Valkyries) in the first half.

S: Mm…… Well, but these are far-fetched imaginations and, at the same time, very real situations from my childhood to me. SCARECROW isn’t about anything cool or impressive, but rather, a figurehead. In a rural farming village. The image of standing there alone and staring at it came to mind and stuck very firmly. I also had the idea that [the scarecrow] might possess human intellect or could have even “witnessed” a murder before. I believe that everyone has some darkness lying within them, so maybe what I’m trying to say here is that [these possibilities] are scary.

――That said, this is a song and it’s also entertainment, as you said earlier. How do you weigh this balance?

S: Ahh. That might be where I help myself. I go around in circles, but I save myself through singing, through writing [lyrics] and singing. To say I’m consoling myself…… makes it sound like I’m a useless person, doesn’t it? Although, I might be running away through the words I write.

――No, I think it’s something far more positive than what you’re saying.

S: Is it? I don’t think my negative self listening to something that was created by my negative self would magically turn me into a positive person though. When it’s tough to write it’s just tough anyway. But…… mm… there are also times when I love what I produce when it’s done well.

――Yes. Next, Boogie Woogie which plays in the middle of the album is a bit of an oddball, isn’t it? This song is about the band, and touring, right?

S: That’s right. Really simply put, it’s a song that says “That’s what it was like in the past”, more or less. Deciding to recall what things were like back then, well, part of it is also because it’s our 35th anniversary. There’s also the implied sense within the story that things were really different back then. I’d say the song’s done its job if everyone, like our fans and even including the band members, find themselves nodding in agreement to it.

――By “back then”, do you mean the time you made your debut?

S: This song is set during our indies era when we were touring between Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka. In a beat up van. That’s why the line with the “junk-heap of a van is out of gas” is a real story.

――Wahaha. ……Uh, so what happened after that?

S: Um, we travelled with two vehicles; a rented car and one other transporting our instruments. I was driving the rented car. Back then, there were no smartphones or car navigation systems yet, so we simply decided, “There should be a parking area a little further down so let’s make a pit stop there and take a break.” It felt like we arrived at the full-service rest area soon enough, like after around ten kilometres of driving. So, we arrived. Then, we waited and waited and waited but the vehicle behind us wasn’t arriving. So we decided to go and check on them…… only to find them far away, desperately pushing the vehicle along the road shoulder.

――Ahahahaha! What a story!

S: Sounds like something out of a manga, doesn’t it? Even the vehicle was breaking out in a sweat. Fufufuh.

――You mentioned that things have changed since then, but what do you think is the one thing that changed the most for you and the band?

S: It’s definitely what we capture and present in our professional work. Like our approach, how we make progress and all that. Getting things done based on momentum was our method around our 20s and 30s. The fact that we actually want to understand more about music itself, think about what we want to express; all these things we’re doing now is the biggest change to us. When we feel like something’s not quite right about a particular piece of music, when we’re not entirely satisfied; turning such thoughts and feelings into our fuel is how we arrived at where we are today.

――Yes. Also, I’m especially intrigued by Hizumi (ヒズミ) from the latter half of the album. It’s got me curious, and it’s also a song I personally like.

S: I like this song too.

――Not only is it dark, it also gives me this feeling that…… there’s no escape, or something.

S: Yes. Well, I was also deliberating on how much I should write here, but. At this point, we’ll just blame it on the work, right? Like, “Don’t loads of people die in this movie?”, or, “[They’ve] been dead all along in this novel, right?” So, I think it’s probably okay.

――Fufufufu.

S: In my mind, I have a protagonist [for this song] called “Hizumi-chan”.

――Hizumi-chan! Is it a girl?

S: No, not a girl, but a boy, yet like I wrote at the start, “Hizumi-chan” is putting on make-up. Although, not very well, right? Since he’s got a stubble and all. Fufufu.

――At the end of this song, it sounds like you’re singing, “The next train is coming (次の電車が来る / Tsugi no densha ga kuru) but in actual face, the lyrics say “狂う (to go mad or crazy / kuruu)”. This is something else that appears significant.

S: I think [that line] initially said “The next train is coming (電車が来る)” but I was hung up on that part. Just the [choice of] word. I guess, “coming (来る)” comes across lighter in a way. While “going crazy (狂う)”…… Ah, this is completely unrelated, but where I live, there are a lot of railroad crossings, right?

――Y-yes?

S: There’s some near the park too, so I’d somehow or rather see a lot of trains. It’s a quiet body, but when you see it rushing past with all that speed, you’d have reason to look at it with a sense of fear. So I guess this “going crazy (狂う)” could also be interpreted as “going out of control (暴走する)”. And, this is another unrelated thing, but there are a lot of public housing complexes, near my home, you know?

――Y-yes (lol).

S: Some years ago there was a murder which happened in the vicinity, and a robbery at the post office, so it’s got me feeling like the level of public security there is pretty bad. There are times when I’d space out in the park alone, thinking about all these things. Then, when evening comes around, the lights would come on in the apartment complexes but…… there will be a number of rooms that won’t light up, right? Then I can’t help imagining things. Like, wondering whether something happened, whether it’s simply that there are people who don’t want to turn on the lights, things like that. And the more my mind wanders, the more frightful these musings become. That is “Hizumi-chan” ‘s world.

――Although Sakurai-san can look at this bleak reality with such a perspective, you’re not running away from it, nor do you think of looking for an easy way to end it. It’s as I’ve said numerous times before, you no longer long for the netherworld.

S: Ahh.

――Adding to this, I think you have a desire to live.

S: ……That might be true. I think that’s why I warp [myself] and will feel scared. What I’m about to say may not sound ethical, but aren’t there times when you feel like saying, “It’ll be easier if I die.”?  But I’m scared. [At the same time,] I still feel that death is terrifying. I still feel that if a person has the courage to jump in front of a train, why not live instead? But I guess there are a lot of people who have it tougher than what I imagine. That’s why I think it’s scary. Being born is scary, living is also scary. I think there are times when it’s really not the right circumstance to sing about the afterlife.

――Do you feel joy at having been able to produce an album with such a state of mind?

S: That’s right. Yeah. Because the direct opposite of joy, stresses outside of music, all these things will exist as long as we’re alive. But I guess, because there’s something that I have to do, I can shut those things out and focus. Somehow there’s something about this that redirects the energy I’d spend hurting myself for the sake of it…… I’m grateful for it.

――No matter how much pain you’re in, how much you’re struggling, I believe there are things you’re capable of doing because there’s someone else to think of, like your fans.

S: You’re right. Truly, the fact that everyone celebrated so much with us. When they tell us things like how they’re waiting for us to come on stage again…… the only thing I can do is stand firm and hold on, you know? If I can bring joy to people, then this job is a truly blessed one; that’s something I’m also thinking about recently.

 

 

Notes:

¹ Lines from SCARECROW: 逃げられない   もう何処へも (Nigerarenai   Mou doko e mo)

² The Mitsubishi A6M “Zero” long-range carrier-based fighter aircraft which was usually referred to by its pilots as the Reisen (零戦, zero fighter). It was mainly used in World War II, towards the end of which, it was adapted for use in kamikaze operations (suicide missions).

³ The Buddhist equivalent of the River Styx, i.e. the river you cross after death, or the boundary between life and death.

⁴ Post traumatic stress disorder.

⁵ Highly sensitive person. A personality disorder.

⁶ A line from Boogie Woogie: オンボロ車はガス欠 (Onborosha wa gasu ke)

 

 

 

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Imai Hisashi (BUCK-TICK) ✕ Ueda Takeshi (AA=)

As the teen, so the man.¹

Looking at Ueda Takeshi’s journey from all the way back in 1990 when his previous band was formed to now when he goes by the name AA=, it is clear to see that he is one of the pioneers of the rock and punk scene and an unparalleled composer when it comes to utilising digital beats. Now, he is releasing a cover album in his own name for the first time.

YMO, The Stalin, Aburadako, RC Succession, Sheena & The Rokkets…… This collection of covers of popular songs exclusively from the 70s and 80s is straight up entitled TEENAGE DREAMS. It is the strong influence of his predecessors who once rewrote what rock music is that gave him the radical spirit of his early debut years that drove his determination to bring bold changes to the sounds of his own generation.

BUCK-TICK’s name is probably considered as one of his few compeers in this. Imai Hisashi plays his guitar in INU’s Merry Go Round, one of the songs covered within this album. This duet probably came about “because we’re friends”. 

In this issue, we bring a special conversation between these two people who continue to hone their edge, and have remained the same at heart throughout all this time.

 

While covering a particular song, over and over again, I’d keep getting the feeling
that this is where my fundamentals come from; my values, way of life, philosophy, all that
— Ueda

――In this album, Imai-san played the guitar for the cover of INU’s song at the behest of Takeshi-san.

Ueda Takeshi (U): That’s right. INU is a band I love to begin with, so I really wanted to include them in this work which was meant to be a collection of covers of songs that make up my roots. But the one singing was Machizou-san (vocalist / Machida Machizou), so I can’t exactly do as the original song did. So while choosing a song, I was thinking about how I should go about this. I wanted to play the bass riffs of Merry Go Round myself, but as for something that could rival Machizou-san’s voice, something that wouldn’t lose out to it…… I started thinking that maybe what I wanted was something weird, and at that moment, this man’s guitar playing came to mind.

――Fufufu. Something weird, huh? (Lol)

U: Isn’t there this part in BUCK-TICK concerts that’s a weird segment where it’s noisy and the sound just hits you? I associated that with what Machizou-san’s singing feels like. So [I reached out] to Imai-kun out of nowhere.

Imai Hisashi (I): Through email.

U: Yeah. I said, “Please play weird sounds for me.” (Lol) That’s the request I made.

――The original song doesn’t have such guitar playing, so did you have to make it a carefully thought out composition? Or was it more of a spur-of-the-moment thing?

U: Ah, that’s something I’m very curious about! “Noise” in my idea of a compliment is what I would call “weird sounds”. There’s no doubt that it sounds like something created by Imai-kun, but it also turned out to be something that sounds even more cutting that hits you in the gut. Did you already have this whole thing planned out in mind ahead of time?

I: Well, that, I come up with it through vague ideas of combinations. Even though it’s noise, I took the liberty of assuming it wasn’t just a messy flow he was looking for and decided that I would compose something rough. It just so happened that the entire recording system in my PC died at the same time. So this was the first recording I did at home since I did the full replacement. In that sense, it was a good thing I took the opportunity then to upgrade everything to the latest versions available (lol).

U: You know, when I was putting that cutting in, I thought, “Thank goodness I asked Imai-kun for help.” (Lol)

――Without focusing exclusively on the one song that Imai-san is involved in, how does Takeshi-san feel about the cover album on the whole?

I: Ah, I thought it was really interesting. Because there’s a part of it that covers my roots too. It was so much fun. I really liked working on it.

――The both of you are only 3 years apart in age so both of your generations probably listened to almost the same music.

U: That’s right. YMO was probably your middle school years?

I: Yeah. It was YMO’s influence that got me started on listening to all sorts of music.

U: Me too. I came across them in elementary school. In other words, the first music that I came to know of that wasn’t popular pop songs but band-type of music was YMO. I would think that there’s quite a number of us from this generation who experienced the same thing. For me, it was through this that I came to know of Sakamoto Ryuichi-san and (Imawano) Kiyoshiro-san’s Ikenai Rouge Magic, and then RC Succession, and even more about punk music from there.

I: Personally, I heard YMO and thereafter started looking for technopop and new wave and all sorts of other music that became my roots. Then, RC, it was some other chain of events that just so happened led me to hear ELPL on cassette.

U: EPLP. That was a good one, wasn’t it?

I: That made a quick fan out of me. Then Sakamoto Ryuichi and Imawano Kiyoshiro had that collaboration. That was surprising. I was all, “Ah, here’s their connection!” Yeah, so (Ueda’s covers of) Darlin’ Mishin, and TIGHTEN UP…… I love them all.

U: If it were up to Imai-kun, what songs would you choose?

I: Ah… that’s tough, isn’t it?

U: It is. It was tough for me too. I had fun though.

I: Auh…… But even I were the one choosing, I think most of the bands [I’d pick] would overlap [with yours]. Because I’d include RC, The Stalin, YMO, all of those.

U: All of them have been covered here (lol).

――This is turning out to be a pure conversation between fans (lol). Do you think it’s as they say, that whatever you pick up in your teens are forever?

U: I, think so. Definitely.

I: That’s something we can’t deny, I think.

――Not limited to musical experiences, but everything in that timeframe would become part of your personal development.

U: Ah, that’s something I felt all over again this time around. While covering a particular song, I’d keep getting the feeling that, “I knew it, this is where my fundamentals come from,” over and over again. And that’s what makes my values, way of life, philosophy, all that. In the sense that [these songs] define punk rock, or that this person’s style of rock deeply influenced me.

I: It’s also, because the amount of information that we have access to at the time is different than what things are like now. If we didn’t make the effort to go and look for it, there was no way we would’ve found anything. I guess we, ourselves also enjoyed that feeling of getting more and more exposed to these thorny aspects.

 

As long as you personally think it’s good, just do it. Because our ultimate goal is originality, something like that
— Imai

――Was it the spirit of punk and rebellion what you learnt from the bands of that era? Or would you call it something else?

I: Ahh. An abnormal spirit? Or something…… I wonder if that influenced me in any way? Because that’s an element that has always been inside of me since the beginning, so maybe [these bands] made me like that part of me even more instead.

U: Yeah. Also, the concept of walking your own way, right? Something like believing in my values and what I want to do. I’ve been influenced in many different ways, but within it all, I think all this music taught me to ask, “What’s uniquely me?” None of them are similar to the other, neither can you put them all in the same category. Each of them are so different whether music or stance that it muddles what the answer as to what the concept of punk is, but at the same time, that’s what they all had in common.

――You mean that abnormality?

U: I guess it’s the opinion that it doesn’t matter even if they were being presented as abnormal. I don’t have the intention to be abnormal, but if I were to come through with that’s uniquely me, then my values would differ from the vast majority of people. In this case, people might look at me and think I’m abnormal anyway. But even so, I would just say that, “Well, no. This is who I am.” So I feel like it’s these people [bands] who taught me that it doesn’t matter.

――Rather than being abnormal, it’s being true to yourself, right?

U: That’s what it is. I’ve been playing bass for punk music all this while, but when I started using programming, people began telling me that, “This isn’t punk music.” as if that’s the natural order of things. But all I felt was, “So?” It doesn’t matter at all to me that people are saying this. Because I believe that doing what I like and expressing what I enjoy is punk.

I: Yeah. Like, as long as you personally think it’s good, just do it. I realise that’s what I think too. Another thing I have to consider is how I should arrange the music so that it sounds good being played by a band with two guitarists, a bassist and a drummer. Even now, I’m still figuring that out through trial and error. Like, maybe I want to include a combination of rhythm loops and live drums, or a synth bass-like sound, but we have a live bassist here. I have fun working around this and that and figuring things out though.

――It’s clear that the two of you are also the driving force behind the bold introduction of techno and digital elements into the world of rock bands. What are your respective thoughts towards the other’s sound?

U: Personally, BUCK-TICK, or rather, Imai-kun gives off a really enigmatic vibe. The music he makes is also…… how do I describe it? Genre-less? Or, well, he makes music that can only be described as “BUCK-TICK”. I think there are rare few people who are like him, and I aspire to be like him too. His interests take precedence over others’ opinions, otherwise he wouldn’t find value in what he makes. I understand that sentiment very well, and, this may sound presumptuous, but I think it’s because I’m the same kind of person as he is. …… For better or for worse (lol).

――For better or for worse, valuing camaraderie and a sense of unity with the audience is quite unlike the current festival culture that we have these days.

U: Yes. I’m keenly aware of what people value these days, though. But I think we’re people who look for enjoyment that isn’t of this nature. Both myself, and Imai-kun too.

I: Yeah. Because our ultimate goal is originality, something like that.

――So, what does Imai-san think of Takeshi-san?

I: Well, there are elements in the music he makes that become influences to me too, so even now, he’s still a musician who I’m excited to hear new work from. When I first heard Takeshi’s sounds, I had a very strong feeling that he had definitely been influenced by techno or digital music. And after actually meeting him and speaking with him, as I expected, it was YMO after all.

――The first time you met each other was when you were young, both in your early 20s, right? Do you remember what was the first thing you talked about?

U: What I remember is…… not talking about anything at all.

――Hahahaha! What do you mean?

U: The first time we met was at a pub somewhere, and we had a mutual acquaintance who said to me, “Hey, Takeshi, Imai’s calling for you over there.”

I: Really? We met at a pub?

U: Yeah. Then I went to Imai-kun’s table and sat down next to him because, well, he called me over, right? But we just stared ahead and never said a single word. A few minutes later, I was like, “…… Okay, then.” And I left the seat. That was the very first meeting. Ahahaha!

I: I don’t remember that at all (lol).

U: After that, we grew to have conversations like this because of our mutual acquaintances though. It’s just that at the very, very first meeting I was like, “This vibe…… what’s this?” “He called me over, but what should I do?” (Lol) Now that I think about it, I suppose it would’ve worked if I said something first, but because I couldn’t bring myself to.

I: Nah, back then, I guess we were really young when we got to know each other…… in other words, flippant (lol).

U: For sure (lol).

I: Fuhahaha. Like, “I know what it should be, but I’m still going to do this anyway.”

――Truthfully, was your first impression [of Takeshi] bad?

I: Nah, it wasn’t bad. Not at all.

U: Imai-kun has always been this thoughtful. Ever since the first time I met BUCK-TICK, these people have never changed a bit. They take it easy, they’re peculiar. In a good way.

I: Even since those days, he’s always been coming over to my place when I get home after rehearsals. He’d often call me and ask, “Can I come over now?”

U: And if I went over, I wouldn’t be able to go home. I have to wait for Imai-kun to fall asleep (lol).

I: Fuhahaha. Waiting until I’m dead drunk.

U: I can’t drink, so I’d get absolutely trashed playing games with Imai-kun while he gradually gets drunk (lol). Then, after I’ve confirmed that “Ah…… he’s asleep”, I can go home. We had a lot of fun like that, didn’t we?

――Fufufu. Another thing that the two of you have in common is that the things you fancy will never change. There’s no such thing as “growing to enjoy the finer things as you age” with you, is there?

I: Ahh. Like trying out blues?

U: Not really. I guess you could say that new things that I start to like are actually an extension of the things I originally liked. Even if I come across new music, in the end, I’ll only like it if it has a similar vibe.

――Like techno, or punk.

U: Yeah. Even when dubstep came about and I liked it, even when I found myself liking breakcore, what I was truly after in these genres were ultimately the power in the music, something similar to punk.

I: I think I’m like that too. And as I said, I’m ultimately a guitarist, so when I really pursue something, it’s like, the guitar is still the route I would take…… to achieve a form it that is nothing like its original form. What I’m looking for is definitely not blues to begin with.

U: Imai-kun, do you change your equipment a lot? Like your amps.

I: Nope. More often than not, I’d leave it be, indifferent to it. Although there are times when I’d go on a spending spree when something effective suddenly becomes popular. Speaking of which, in terms of amps and the sort…… I think I just leave them alone.

U: Likewise. Even now, I’m still using the amp that I bought when I was 20.

――Rather than saying that you’re indifferent to it, I’d say you have something unshakeable within you that has decided, “This is so me!”

U: That’s right. I don’t understand other amps, neither am I interested in them.

I: You could also say that I’m not particularly concerned about it. Besides, I believe that people don’t change so easily.

U: Right, what’s at your very core doesn’t change. So following that logic, I like the sounds that I make myself.

 

 

Notes:

¹ The phrase featured here is “ティーンエイジの魂百まで (tiin’eiji no tamashii hyaku made)”, a play on the Japanese saying 三つ子の魂百まで (mitsugo no tamashii hyaku made), the English equivalent of which is “the child is father to the man”, meaning that the qualities and personality traits one acquires as a child are carried over into adulthood. Another way to phrase this proverb in English is “as the boy, so the man”, which is also how I formatted this particular translation.

 

 

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AFTERSHOWS

2023.02.28
Sakurai Atsushi | BUCK-TICK

After concluding another photoshoot, Sakurai-san arrives at this studio lit by natural light. As soon as he walks in, he utters, “Oof, so bright.”  Could this be proof that he’s of a certain……? This is a rare situation that saw Sakurai Atsushi doing a photoshoot under the sun. And because the pictures turned out so otherworldly beautiful, we saw editor-in-chief Kanemitsu very strongly advocating for it to be featured on the back cover of the magazine. Then, when Kanemitsu asked him to, “Write something (一言)” on the polaroid that would be distributed to readers as a gift, he took a moment to think about it before eventually writing, “Something (一言)”. That’s  the world’s most adorable Devil King Acchan for you ♡

 

2023.03.16
Imai Hisashi | BUCK-TICK ✕ Ueda Takeshi | AA=

This dialogue took place at the venue of the front cover photoshoot for the special issue PHY so Takeshi-san travelled all the way here for it. Since the PHY photoshoot and filming was taking place within the same studio on this day, we rented an assembly hall adjacent to the studio for the dialogue. Takeshi-san arrives on site. With the intention to start with saying hello to the members of BUCK-TICK, he popped into the studio. Spotting him, Sakurai-san called out to him with, “Oh, hey, Take-chan. Long time no see〜”. Then proceeding to greet each of the members, Takeshi-san naturally gave off the disposition of a much-beloved junior but such a sight in itself was a rather rare one. Then, we moved ourselves into the assembly hall for the dialogue session, but this assembly hall turned out to be a large Japanese-style room the size of about 20 tatami mats. It was more like a banquet hall steeped in Showa-era charm. The moment our two interviewees walked in, they instinctively let out a “Whoa” and laughed. Here, we set up a seating area and sitting on their respective zabuton, Imai-san and Takeshi-san had their chat――That was the kind of surreal setting it turned out to be.

 

 

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Translation: Yoshiyuki
Pictures: Yoshiyuki

Album cover of ABRACADABARA, BUCK-TICK

2020.09.21 | Victor Entertainment
ABRACADABRA

Oblivion*

Words by Sakurai Atsushi

Music By Imai Hisashi

Japanese

 

悪夢を待っている 独り
鮮血一筋¹ 滲む

あなたを傷つけた
深く とても 深く
そしてこのわたしを²
深く 深く

呼吸は静かに 乱れ³
涙が一筋 落ちる

あなたに抱かれている
痛みが消えてゆく
あなたに包まれて
消えてゆくよ

忘れ去られてゆけばいい
通り雨⁴のように
何気ない⁵ ある晴れた日
風が通り過ぎる

風が

あなたに溶けてゆく
痛みが消えてゆく
あなたに包まれて
消えてゆくよ

忘れ去られてゆけばいい
通り雨⁴のように
何気ない⁵ ある晴れた日
風が通り過ぎる
忘れ去られてゆけばいい
今日の虹のように
何もない ある晴れた日
かけがえの無い日々

誰も 通り過ぎてゆく

Romaji

By: Yoshiyuki

Akumu wo matte iru Hitori
Senketsu hitosuji Nijimu

Anata wo kizu tsuketa
Fukaku Totemo Fukaku
Soshite kono watashi wo
Fukaku Fukaku

Kokyuu wa shizuka ni Midare
Namida ga hitosuji Ochiru

Anata ni dakarete iru
Itami ga kiete yuku
Anata ni tsutsumarete
Kiete yuku yo

Wasure sarerate yukeba ii
Toori ame no you ni
Nani ge nai Aru hareta hi
Kaze ga toori sugiru

Kaze ga

Anata ni tokete yuku
Itami ga kiete yuku
Anata ni tsutsumarete
Kiete yuku yo

Wasure sarerate yukeba ii
Toori ame no you ni
Nani ge nai Aru hareta hi
Kaze ga toori sugiru
Wasure sarerate yukeba ii
Kyou no niji no you ni
Nani mo nai Aru hareta hi
Kakegae no nai hibi

Dare mo toori sugite yuku

English

By: Yoshiyuki

I am waiting for my nightmares Alone
A single trickle¹ of fresh blood Spreading

I have hurt you
Deeply Oh, so deeply
And thusly myself too²
Deeply Down

My breathing quietly turns frantic³
A single trickle of tears Falling

Held in your arms
the pain fades away
Enveloped by you
I fade away

If only it could all be forgotten
Like a passing shower⁴
On a lazy⁵, clear, sunny day
The wind blows by, passing through

The wind

Melting into you
the pain fades away
Enveloped by you
I fade away

If only it could all be forgotten
Like a passing shower⁴
On a lazy⁵, clear, sunny day
The wind blows by, passing through
If only it could all be forgotten
Like the rainbow we saw today
On an ordinary, clear, sunny day
Such irreplaceable days

Everyone passes on

 

Notes:

* Aside from “oblivion”, 忘却 also refers to “forgetting” or “being oblivious”. It has the added meaning of forgetting things completely. Like memory erasure.

¹ 一筋 (hitosuji) literally means “a straight line”. It could be used to refer to a ray of light, a trickle of water, anything that appears to “draw a straight line”.

² The line itself doesn’t have any subject except for “このわたし” (this me). I’m assuming that it is in direct relation to the previous line. A more literal translation would probably be a mere, “And I”.

³ 乱れ itself means turbulence, disorder, or confusion. None of those applies to “breathing” very well so I went with frantic instead. 

⁴ A passing shower is a type of rain which comes and goes suddenly. A bout of sudden rainfall. The way I often experience it here, it would be bright and sunny one moment, and the next moment, there will be a sudden downpour. Then, just as suddenly, it ends and it’s bright and sunny again, as if there was never any sign of rain.

⁵ 何気ない can mean things like nonchalant, casual, unintentional, without much thought in terms of a person’s tone or manner.

 

Album cover of ABRACADABARA, BUCK-TICK

2020.09.21 | Victor Entertainment
ABRACADABRA

Eureka

Words by Sakurai Atsushi

Music By Imai Hisashi

Japanese

 

Baby, Beauty Beautiful Oh! Baby!
僕は今 星屑
Baby, Beauty Beautiful Oh! Baby!
君と出会い はしゃいでる

愛の呪文だよ
名も無い世界の果てへ
ABRACADABRA Woo! Yeah!
Ready, steady, go!

LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!
YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!
LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!
YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! PEACE!

Baby, Beauty Beautiful Oh! Baby!
青い星が 飛び散った
Baby, Beauty Beautiful Oh! Baby!
綺麗だね 一瞬さ

あなたに恋をした
全て消えて失せろ
ABRACADABRA Woo! Yeah!
Ready, steady, go!

LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!
YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!
LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!
YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! PEACE!

Baby, Beauty Beautiful Oh! Baby!
ごらん ほうら 春 狂う
Baby, Beauty Beautiful Oh! Baby!
綺麗だね 君 狂う

胸が張り裂けそう
手のひらを太陽に
ABRACADABRA Woo! Yeah!
Ready, steady, go!

LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!
YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!
LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!
YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! PEACE!

LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!
YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!
LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!
YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! PEACE!

Romaji

By: Yoshiyuki

Baby, Beauty Beautiful Oh! Baby!
Boku wa ima hoshizuku
Baby, Beauty Beautiful Oh! Baby!
Kimi to deai hashaideru

Ai no jumon da yo
Na mo nai sekai no hate e
ABRACADABRA Woo! Yeah!
Ready, steady, go!

LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!
YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!
LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!
YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! PEACE!

Baby, Beauty Beautiful Oh! Baby!
Aoi hoshi ga tobichitta
Baby, Beauty Beautiful Oh! Baby!
Kirei da ne Isshun sa

Anata ni koi wo shita
Subete kiete usero¹
ABRACADABRA Woo! Yeah!
Ready, steady, go!

LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!
YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!
LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!
YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! PEACE!

Baby, Beauty Beautiful Oh! Baby!
Goran houra haru kuruu
Baby, Beauty Beautiful Oh! Baby!
Kirei da ne kimi kuruu

Mune ga harisake sou²
Te no hira wo taiyou ni
ABRACADABRA Woo! Yeah!
Ready, steady, go!

LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!
YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!
LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!
YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! PEACE!

LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!
YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!
LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!
YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! PEACE!

English

By: Yoshiyuki

Baby, Beauty Beautiful Oh! Baby!
I am now stardust
Baby, Beauty Beautiful Oh! Baby!
Meeting you, I’m beyond ecstatic

This is a spell of love
Setting off to a nameless world
ABRACADABRA Woo! Yeah!
Ready, steady, go!

LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!
YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!
LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!
YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! PEACE!

Baby, Beauty Beautiful Oh! Baby!
This blue planet has burst and scattered
Baby, Beauty Beautiful Oh! Baby!
Beautiful, isn’t it? This moment

I’ve fallen in love with you
I’ll get rid of everything¹ and make it all disappear
ABRACADABRA Woo! Yeah!
Ready, steady, go!

LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!
YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!
LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!
YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! PEACE!

Baby, Beauty Beautiful Oh! Baby!
Look there, it’s spring madly blooming
Baby, Beauty Beautiful Oh! Baby!
Beautiful, isn’t it? You’re losing it

Feeling like my chest is getting torn open²
I raise my hands to the sun
ABRACADABRA Woo! Yeah!
Ready, steady, go!

LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!
YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!
LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!
YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! PEACE!

LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!
YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!
LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!
YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! PEACE!

 

Notes:

¹ 失せろ (usero) literally means “get lost”.

² 胸が張り裂けそう(Mune ga harisake sou) is typically used to describe a very painful heartbreak. If this was a regular conversation, I’d use a less graphic line and simply translate it as, “My heart is breaking.”

 

Album cover of ABRACADABARA, BUCK-TICK

2020.08.26 | Victor Entertainment
MOONLIGHT ESCAPE

2020.09.21 | Victor Entertainment
ABRACADABRA

Words by Sakurai Atsushi

Music By Imai Hisashi

Japanese

 

踊り出すんだ LAST NUMBER
ガラス欠片 ララ反射 ESCAPE
MOONLIGHT ESCAPE
神様お願いだ
僕の事を ゆるして ³ねえ ESCAPE
MOONLIGHT ESCAPE

マントを包(くる)まって GOOD NIGHT
夢の夢へ
僕は舞う¹

溢れる程 愛を
抱きしめて ESCAPE
悲しみの無い世界
永遠に ESCAPE
僕は舞う

たった一人だ 旅立ちだ
夜が明ける その前に ESCAPE
MOONLIGHT ESCAPE
パパママおやすみ ねえ
僕の事を 忘れないで ESCAPE
MOONLIGHT ESCAPE

マントを翻(ひるがえ)し² GOOD BYE
高く高く
僕は舞う

溢れる程 愛を
抱きしめて ESCAPE
悲しみの無い世界
永遠に ESCAPE
僕は舞う

僕は舞う
溢れる程 愛を
抱きしめて ESCAPE
僕は舞う
悲しみの無い世界
永遠に ESCAPE
僕は舞う
溢れる程 愛を
抱きしめて ESCAPE

Romaji

By: Yoshiyuki

Odori dasunda LAST NUMBER
garasu kakera rara hansha ESCAPE
MOONLIGHT ESCAPE
Kamisama onegai da
Boku no koto wo yurushite nee ESCAPE
MOONLIGHT ESCAPE

Manto wo kurumatte GOOD NIGHT
Yume no yume e
Boku wa mau

Afureru hodo ai wo
dakishimete ESCAPE
Kanashimi no nai sekai
Eien ni ESCAPE
Boku wa mau

Tatta hitori da Tabitachi da
Yo ga akeru sono mae ni ESCAPE
MOONLIGHT ESCAPE
Papa mama oyasumi Nee
Boku no koto wo wasurenai de ESCAPE
MOONLIGHT ESCAPE

Manto wo hirugaeshi GOOD BYE
Takaku takaku
Boku wa mau

Afureru hodo ai wo
dakishimete ESCAPE
Kanashimi no nai sekai
Eien ni ESCAPE
Boku wa mau

Boku wa mau
Afureru hodo ai wo
dakishimete ESCAPE
Boku wa mau
Kanashimi no nai sekai
Eien ni ESCAPE
Boku wa mau
Afureru hodo ai wo
dakishimete ESCAPE

English

By: Yoshiyuki

We’ve begun our dance, this LAST NUMBER
With shattered glass shards, la la reflecting ESCAPE
MOONLIGHT ESCAPE
Dear lord, oh, please
Forgive me, won’t you ESCAPE
MOONLIGHT ESCAPE

Wrapping my cloak around me GOOD NIGHT
Into a dream within dreams
Away I fly¹

Holding close this overflowing love
I ESCAPE
To a world where there’s no sadness
Into eternity ESCAPE
Away I fly

This is a solo expedition
Before dawn breaks, I ESCAPE
MOONLIGHT ESCAPE
Papa, Mama, goodnight to you
Don’t forget about me when I ESCAPE
MOONLIGHT ESCAPE

Fluttering² my cloak GOOD BYE
Higher and higher
Away I fly

Holding close this overflowing love
I ESCAPE
To a world where there’s no sadness
Into eternity ESCAPE
Away I fly

Away I fly
Holding close this overflowing love
I ESCAPE
Away I fly
To a world where there’s no sadness
Into eternity ESCAPE
Away I fly
Holding close this overflowing love
I ESCAPE

 

Notes:

¹ The main definition of 舞う (mau) relates to dancing, like twirl, swirl and things like that. At the same time, 舞う is also used to refer to the flight of birds and butterflies and petals fluttering around, flying, circling overhead. For this song, I’ve decided to use the secondary definition as it ties in better with the general flow of it.

² 翻す (hirugaesu) typically means to flip something over to its reverse/other side. It also describes something waving or fluttering in the wind. It is, once again, this second definition I’m going with.

 

Album cover of ABRACADABARA, BUCK-TICK

2020.01.29 | Victor Entertainment
堕天使

2020.09.21 | Victor Entertainment
ABRACADABRA

Fallen Angel

Words by Sakurai Atsushi

Music By Imai Hisashi

Japanese

 

I KNOW YOU KNOW
愛の呪文を
I KNOW YOU KNOW
愛の喜びを

嘆きの天使¹
アッハ! ワタシヲ
許シテ 許シテ
肉と肉が痛いよ

I WANT YOU WANT
愛を身体中
I WANT YOU WANT
愛をI WANT YOU BABY

堕ちて³ゆくんだろう
アッハ! 地獄へ
殺シテ 夢中デ
罪と罰⁴飛び散った

愛なんてそう幻想
ちょっと甘い香り
唇 濡らす
あなたは誰?
愛なんだそう YOU&ME
Oh BABY 揺れる YOU&ME
唇 這わす
わたしは誰?

嘆きの天使¹
アッハ! ワタシヲ
許シテ 許シテ
肉と肉が痛いよ
堕ちて³ゆくんだろう
アッハ! 地獄へ
殺シテ 夢中デ
罪と罰⁴飛び散った

愛なんてそう幻想
ちょっと甘い香り
唇 濡らす
あなたは誰?
愛なんだそう YOU&ME
Oh BABY 揺れる YOU&ME
唇 這わす
わたしは誰?

Romaji

By: Yoshiyuki

I KNOW YOU KNOW
Ai no jumon wo
I KNOW YOU KNOW
Ai no yorokobi wo

Nageki no tenshi
Ahha! Watashi wo
Yurushite Yurushite
Niku to niku ga itai yo

I WANT YOU WANT
Ai wo karada juu
I WANT YOU WANT
Ai wo I WANT YOU BABY

Ochite yukun darou
Ahha! Jigoku e
Koroshite Muchuu de
Tsumi to batsu tobichitta

Ai nante sou gensou
Chotto amai kaori
Kuchibiru Nurasu
Anata wa dare?
Ai nanda sou YOU&ME
Oh BABY yureru YOU&ME
Kuchibiru Hawasu
Watashi wa dare?

Nageki no tenshi
Ahha! Watashi wo
Yurushite Yurushite
Niku to niku ga itai yo
Ochite yukun darou
Ahha! Jigoku e
Koroshite Muchuu de
Tsumi to batsu tobichitta

Ai nante sou gensou
Chotto amai kaori
Kuchibiru Nurasu
Anata wa dare?
Ai nanda sou YOU&ME
Oh BABY yureru YOU&ME
Kuchibiru Hawasu
Watashi wa dare?

English

By: Yoshiyuki

I KNOW YOU KNOW
The spell of love
I KNOW YOU KNOW
The joys of love

Oh, Blue Angel¹
Ahha! Go easy on me²
Forgive me Forgive me
Flesh to flesh, my body aches

I WANT YOU WANT
love all throughout our bodies
I WANT YOU WANT
It’s love, I WANT YOU BABY

I’ll fall³, won’t I
Ahha! Into hell
Kill me in delirium
Crime and Punishment⁴ splattered everywhere

A thing like love is mere fantasy
Just a mildly sweet fragrance
Wetting these lips of mine
Who are you?
This is love between YOU&ME
Oh BABY we’re rocking YOU&ME
Brushing against my lips
Who am I?

Oh, Blue Angel¹
Ahha! Go easy on me²
Forgive me Forgive me
Flesh to flesh, my body aches
I’ll fall³, won’t I
Ahha! Into hell
Kill me in delirium
Crime and Punishment⁴ splattered everywhere

A thing like love is mere fantasy
Just a mildly sweet fragrance
Wetting these lips of mine
Who are you?
This is love between YOU&ME
Oh BABY we’re rocking YOU&ME
Brushing against my lips
Who am I?

 

Notes:

¹ 嘆きの天使 is the Japanese name of a 1930 German tragicomedic film Der blaue Engel (The Blue Angel). It’s plot revolves around the tragic transformation of a respectable professor to a cabaret clown and his eventual descent into madness. The film itself is based on a novel by Heinrich Mann, Professor Unrat (translated as “Professor Unclean”).

² ワタシヲ is simply 私を in Katakana. The phrase ties into the following 許シテ、許シテ line so I just went with something which links into that, rather than just saying “I” or “me.”

³ This version of ochite (堕ちて) is more often used with reference to mental or spiritual “falling”. 

⁴ 罪と罰 is the Japanese name of a novel, Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky about the mental anguish and moral dilemmas of Rodion Raskolnikov, an impoverished ex-student in Saint Petersburg who formulates a plan to kill an unscrupulous pawnbroker for her money.
罪と罰 is generally a rather common title in Japanese. Shiina Ringo, for example, has a song of the same name.

 

 

Album cover of ABRACADABARA, BUCK-TICK

2019.05.22 | Victor Entertainment
獣たちの夜 / RONDO

2020.09.21 | Victor Entertainment
ABRACADABRA

Night of the Beasts

Words by Sakurai Atsushi

Music By Imai Hisashi

Japanese

 

さあ幕を切り裂けよ
夜を始めよう
そう俺は震えている
悪く無い気分だ
さあ さあ

愛と死を生を歌え
命よ踊れ
あの子が笑っている
悪く無い世界だ

感じているか Adam & Eve
愛という名の獣(ケモノ)たちよ
禁断の実¹をアアンアン
We love you

踊れ悪魔 腰を振っておくれ
狂え悪魔 可愛い可愛い悪魔

身体中沸騰している²
今夜は眠れない
あの子が笑っている
俺は生きている

感じているわ My Darling
愛を貪(むさぼ)る獣(ケダモノ)なの
禁断の実をアアンアン
We love you

踊れ道化(ピエロ) 今夜演じ切るんだ
狂え道化(ピエロ) それがそれがお前だ

感じているか Adam & Eve
愛という名の獣(ケモノ)たちよ
禁断の実¹をアアンアン
We love you

踊れ悪魔 腰を振っておくれ
狂え悪魔 可愛い可愛い悪魔

踊れ道化(ピエロ) 今夜演じ切るんだ
狂え道化(ピエロ) それがそれがお前だ

Romaji

By: Yoshiyuki

Saa maku wo kiri sake yo
Yoru wo hajime you
Sou ore wa furuete iru
Warukunai kibun da
Saa Saa

Ai to shi wo sei wo utae
Inochi yo odore
Ano ko ga waratte iru
Warukunai sekai da

Kanjite iru ka Adam & Eve
Ai to iu na no kemonotachi yo
Kindan no mi wo a an an
We love you

Odore akuma Koshi wo futte okure
Kurue akuma Kawaii kawaii akuma

Karada juu futto shite iru
Konya wa nemurenai
Ano ko ga waratte iru
Ore wa ikite iru

Kanjitei ru wa My Darling
Ai wo musaboru kedamono nano
Kindan no mi wo a an an
We love you

Odore piero Konya enji kirun da
Kurue piero Sore ga sore ga omae da

Kanjite iru ka Adam & Eve
Ai to iu na no kemonotachi yo
Kindan no mi wo a an an
We love you

Odore akuma Koshi wo futte okure
Kurue akuma Kawaii kawaii akuma

Odore piero Konya enji kirun da
Kurue piero Sore ga sore ga omae da

English

By: Yoshiyuki

Now, it’s time to tear the curtains away
And let the night commence
That’s right, I’m trembling
This doesn’t feel too bad
Come, come

Sing of love and death, and of living
Dance with all your life
That child is laughing away
This world isn’t too bad

Do you feel it? Adam & Eve
We’re the beasts which go by the name of love
Say “ah” and take a bite of the forbidden fruit¹
We love you

Dance, you devil Shake your hips for me
Go crazy, you devil Cute, adorable devil

It’s all rushing² through my body
I won’t be able to sleep tonight
That child is laughing away
And I am living

Do you feel it? My Darling
I am a beast hungering for love
Say “ah” and take a bite of the forbidden fruit¹
We love you

Dance, pierrot You will perform to the very end tonight
Go crazy, pierrot That is all, that is all on you

Do you feel it? Adam & Eve
We’re the beasts which go by the name of love
Say “ah” and take a bite of the forbidden fruit¹
We love you

Dance, you devil Shake your hips for me
Go crazy, you devil Cute, adorable devil

Dance, pierrot You will perform to the very end tonight
Go crazy, pierrot That is all, that is all on you

 

Notes:

¹ The Forbidden Fruit of the Garden of Eden is known as 禁断の果実 (kindan no kajitsu) in Japanese. Here, the lack of 果 in the phrase doesn’t change the translation into “Forbidden Fruit” because Sakurai pronounces 実 as “mi” rather than “jitsu”. When pronounced as “mi”, 実 refers to fruit, or seed, or pieces of meat/vegetables/ingredients in broth, or content/substances. When pronounced as “jitsu”, 実 refers to truth or reality.

² The direct translation of 沸騰している (futoushite iru) is “to be on the boil”. In other words, it typically refers to liquids boiling, simmering, or frothing because of the heat. Rather than go with a direct translation of the word, I used “rushing through” to create a similar image.

 

 

Album cover of ABRACADABARA, BUCK-TICK

2020.09.21 | Victor Entertainment
ABRACADABRA

Dream Dancing Mime

Words by Sakurai Atsushi

Music By Imai Hisashi

Japanese

 

知っていたんだね
まさか おまえまで

愛なんて幻想
お伽話と

瞳潤ませて
仔猫のふりして

あんな事をして
知っていたんだね

存じ上げ¹ていたわ²
周知の事実よ

まさか本気だと
思っていらして
背中のジッパを
指で弾いたら

お代³を頂戴⁴
時間が無いのよ

時計の針⁵が
針が 針が

あなたを刺す
悩殺⁶ 秒殺⁷

さようなら

愛しているんだ
やめて馬鹿馬鹿しい
この世は地獄さ
ちょっと付いていけない
瞳潤ませて
仔猫のふりして

お代を頂戴
時間が無いのよ

真っ赤なヒールが
ヒールが ヒールが
あなたを刺す
悩殺⁶ 秒殺⁷
時計の針⁵が
針が 針が
あなたを刺す
悩殺⁶ 秒殺⁷

さようなら

朝が来るぜ
こんな世界に

ちょっと眩しい
カーテン閉めて

死んでみるか

真っ赤なヒールが
ヒールが ヒールが

コツコツと

Romaji

By: Yoshiyuki

Shitteitan dane
Masaka omae made
Ai nante gensou
Otogibanashi to
Hitomi urumasete
Koneko no furishite
Anna koto wo shite
Shitteitan dane

Zonji agete ita wa
Shuuchi no jijitsu yo
Masaka honki da to
omotte irashite
Senaka no jippa wo
yubi wo hiitara
Odai wo choudai
Jikan ga nai no yo

Tokei no hari ga
Hari ga Hari ga
Anata wo sasu
Nousatsu Byousatsu
Sayonara

Aishite irun da
Yamete bakabakashii
Kono yo wa jigoku sa
Chotto tsuite ikenai
Hitomi urumasete
Koneko no furi shite
Odai wo choudai
Jikan ga nai no yo

Makka na hiiru ga
Hiiru ga Hiiru ga
Anata wo sasu
Nousatsu Byousatsu
Tokei no hari ga
Hari ga Hari ga
Anata wo sasu
Nousatsu Byousatsu
Sayonara

Asa ga kuru ze
Konna sekai ni
Chotto mabushii
Kaaten shimete
Shinde miru ka

Makka na hiiru ga
Hiiru ga Hiiru ga
Kotsukotsu to

English

By: Yoshiyuki

You know it, don’t you
You, of all people
What an illusion love is
A mere fairy tale
Get misty eyed for me
Be my kitten
You do all those things
Despite knowing this, right?

Of course, I’m aware, my dear
It’s just common sense
You sound as if
you truly thought I was serious
If your finger plays with
the zipper on my back
Please make sure you pay up
I don’t have time for this

These hands⁵ on the clock
These hands These hands
Pierces into you
Seducing⁶ you Killing⁷ you
Goodbye

I’m in love with you
Stop it, you’re being ridiculous
This world is hell
I’m sorry, I can’t follow
Get misty eyed for me
Be my kitten
Please pay up
I don’t have time for this

These bright red heels of mine
Heels of mine Heels of mine
Pierces into you
Seducing⁶ you Killing⁷ you
These hands⁵ on the clock
These hands These hands
Pierces into you
Seducing⁶ you Killing⁷ you
Goodbye

Morning is coming
Coming to this world of ours
It’s a little glaring
Close the curtains?
Want to try dying?

These bright red heels of mine
Heels of mine Heels of mine
Tap-tapping on⁸

 

Notes:

¹ 存じ上げる (zonji ageru) is a humble way of saying 分かる (wakaru) or 知る (shiru), i.e. I know. The more common humble phrase merely uses 存じ (zonji), e.g. ご存知ですか (go zonji desuka – roughly “do you know”).
All of this belongs to formal speak, but the humble form is used when the speaker is talking to someone of a higher rank/trying to convey respect for the other party. Adding 上げる (ageru) to 存じ (zonji) actually increases the amount of respect conveyed. So if we’re ranking these phrases, 存じ上げる is a more respectful/humble version of 存じ, but less commonly used.

² The ending of a sentence/statement with わ (wa) is typical for women, most times, older women like your mom or something. In general, when a person ends their sentences with わ, it adds a feminine flavour to their speech and implies an air of softness.

³ Adding an お a noun as seen in お代 (odai) is used to add a formal/respectful tone to one’s speech. Note that this is not a one-fits-all rule.

⁴ 頂戴 (choudai) is a humble verb for receiving something from someone of a higher status than your own. But it’s not used exclusively for formal occasions, as seen in this song. It can be used as a word that encourages others to give you things or do something in a friendly way by throwing in a little formality with the tease/joke. 

⁵ The hands of a clock are referred to as 針 (hari) in Japanese which literally translates to “needle”. Which makes more sense in the next line which has 刺す(sasu) i.e. to pierce, stab, jab, basically stick something into someone.

⁶ 悩殺 (nousatsu) is used specifically with regards to seduction. It can be translated as anything in that regard from glamour and hex, to bewitch and entrance, to mere fascination. Generally, an irresistible charm. 

⁷ 秒殺 (byousatsu) literally means, “instantaneous kill”. Normally used to describe winning/losing in the blink of an eye, like a one-hit-KO.

⁸ コツコツ is an onomatopoeia of sorts which is also an adjective which means “steadily” or “working/doing something with effort”, like working hard or tirelessly. This translation choice combines both definitions. (Clicking steadily? Life goes on style?)

 

Comments:

You might’ve guessed from watching live performances of this song that it has 2 characters in it, one male and one female. The formatting of the lyrics in the album’s booklet used a black ♠ to denote the male character’s part and a red ♥ to denote the female character’s part. Instead of using these symbols here, which would make the page look messy, I used colours instead.
Blue text refer to the male character, while maroon text refer to the female character. Bold text refer to lyrics that are for both characters.
Yoshiyuki

 

Album cover of ABRACADABARA, BUCK-TICK

2020.09.21 | Victor Entertainment
ABRACADABRA

Villain

Words by Sakurai Atsushi

Music By Imai Hisashi

Japanese

 

生まれながらのアンチ
稀に見るレベル
軽々と まさに惡の華¹
恐れを知らぬ
諸悪の根源
ただひたすらに 狂気の沙汰²
ハロー タブー
チャオ スマイル
ハロー タブー
チャオ

おまえを知っている!
そう! おまえだ!
俺を犯したおまえだ!
醜い³!
そう! 糜爛(びらん)⁴が!
俺の胸にある糜爛(びらん)⁴が!
おまえを! 知っている!
気味悪い! 名無しの!
おまえを!

理不尽な世界
不条理を殺す
囚われぬ魂 逸脱せよ
あまりにも華麗
稀代のハイレベル
軽々と それは惡の華¹
ハロー タブー
チャオ スマイル
ハロー タブー
チャオ

おまえを知っている!
そう! おまえだ!
俺を殺したおまえだ!
血が滲む!
そう! 糜爛(びらん)⁴が!
努努(ゆめゆめ) 疼く糜爛(びらん)⁴が!
おまえを! 知っている!
気味悪い! 顔の無い!
おまえを!

おまえを知っている
そう おまえだ
俺を犯した おまえだ
醜い
そう 糜爛(びらん)⁴が
俺の胸にある糜爛(びらん)⁴が

気味悪い!
そう! おまえだ!
俺を殺した おまえだ!
血が滲む!
そう! 糜爛(びらん)⁴が!
努努(ゆめゆめ) 疼く糜爛(びらん)⁴が!
おまえを! 知っている!
気味悪い! 気味悪い!

おまえだ!

Romaji

By: Yoshiyuki

Umare nagara no anchi
Mare ni miru reberu
Karugaru to masa ni aku no hana
Osore wo shiranu
Shoaku no kongen
Tada hitasura ni kyouki no sata
Haroo Tabuu
Chao Sumairu
Haroo Tabuu
Chao

Omae wo shitteiru!
Sou! Omae da!
Ore wo okashita omae da!
Minikui!
Sou! Biran ga!
Ore no mune ni aru biran ga!
Omae wo! Shitteiru!
Kimiwarui! Nanashi no!
Omae wo!

Rifujin na sekai
Fujouri wo korosu
Towarenu tamashii itsudatsu se yo
Amari ni mo karen
Kidai no hai reberu
Karugaru to Sore wa aku no hana
Haroo Tabuu
Chao Sumairu
Haroo Tabuu
Chao

Omae wo shitteiru!
Sou! Omae da!
Ore wo koroshita omae da!
Chi ga nijimu!
Sou! Biran ga!
Yume yume Itaku biran ga!
Omae wo! Shitteiru!
Kimiwarui! Kao no nai!
Omae wo!

Omae wo shitteiru
Sou Omae da
Ore wo okashita Omae da
Minikui
Sou Biran ga
Ore no mune ni aru biran ga

Kimiwarui!
Sou! Omae da!
Ore wo koroshita Omae da!
Chi ga nijimu!
Sou! Biran ga!
Yume yume uzuku biran ga!
Omae wo! Shitteiru!
Kimiwarui! Kimiwarui!

Omae da!

English

By: Yoshiyuki

Born to be an anti
A level rarely seen
Effortlessly embodying a flower of evil¹
Knowing no fear
The root of all evil
Hell bent on acts of sheer madness²
Hello Taboo
Ciao Smile
Hello Taboo
Ciao

I know you!
Yes! It’s you!
The one who persecuted me was you!
You’re mean³!
Yes! These ulcers⁴!
These ulcers⁴ in my heart!
You! I know you!
Creepy! Nameless⁵!
You!

Unreasonable world
Killing the absurd
Unfettered souls Depart
Beyond resplendent
A level unparalleled
Effortlessly attracting flowers of evil¹
Hello Taboo
Ciao Smile
Hello Taboo
Ciao

I know you!
Yes! It’s you!
The one who killed me was you!
Stained in blood!
Yes! These sores⁴!
These incessantly painful sores⁴!
You! I know you!
Creepy! Faceless!
You!

I know you
Yes You
The one who persecuted It’s you
You’re mean³
Yes These ulcers⁴
These ulcers⁴ in my chest

Creepy!
Yes! It’s you!
The one who killed me It’s you!
Stained in blood!
Yes! These sores⁴!
These incessantly painful sores⁴!
You! I know you!
Creepy! Creepy!

It’s you!

 

Notes:

¹ 惡の華 (Aku no Hana), a throwback to BUCK-TICK’s album and song of the same name and also their reference to Charles Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du mal. In this instance, though, rather than saying that there is beauty in evil, there appears to be an implication that there is evil in beauty.

² 狂気の沙汰 (Kyouki no sata) can also be translated as the “loss of one’s sanity”. Generally used to describe a person or an act that is illogical or simply, insane.

³ 醜い (minikui) is typically used to say that the appearance of a person or a thing is unsightly, or just plain ugly. When referring to actions, though, it then means anything from “dishonourable” to “mean”. Basically to say that particular act is shameful, unsightly to the eyes of general society.

⁴ 糜爛 (biran) refer to a “sore”, “erosion”, “ulcer”, generally something at eats at you. This is also a wordplay on Villain, pronounced in Japanese as “biran”, implying that the villain is a sore that corrupts their victims.

⁵ Or anonymous.

 

Comments:

A note from Imai’s interview in FT097:
Imai’s lyrics are from POV of antagonist. When he wrote it, he felt that it wasn’t necessary to tie them in with Sakurai’s lyrics
— Yoshiyuki

 

Album cover of ABRACADABARA, BUCK-TICK

2020.09.21 | Victor Entertainment
ABRACADABRA

SOPHIA DREAM

Words by Imai Hisashi

Music By Imai Hisashi

Japanese

 

ラララ 愛し合う¹エレメント
あなたは本能
ラララ 嵐に舞うエレメント
あなたは抵抗

SOPHIA DREAM 空の上²
ルーシーと二人 ダイヤモンド
SOPHIA DREAM 群青色
ルーシーと二人 眺める世界

ラララ 闇をゆく³エレメント
あなたは孤高
ラララ 紡ぎ出すエレメント
あなたは不動

SOPHIA DREAM 空の上²
ルーシーと二人 ダイヤモンド
SOPHIA DREAM 群青色
ルーシーと二人 眺める世界

ラララ 始まりのエレメント
あなたは希望
ラララ お仕舞のエレメント
あなたは希望

SOPHIA DREAM 空の上²
ルーシーと二人 ダイヤモンド
SOPHIA DREAM 空の上
ルーシーと二人 ほら飛んでいる

Romaji

By: Yoshiyuki

Rarara Aishi au eremento
Anata wa honnou
Rarara Arashi ni mau eremento
Anata wa teikou

SOPHIA DREAM Sora no ue
Ruushii to futari daiyamondo
SOPHIA DREAM Gunjou iro
Ruushii to futari Nirameru sekai

Rarara Yami wo yuku eremento
Anata wa koudou
Rarara  sumugi dasu eremento
Anara wa fudou

SOPHIA DREAM Sora no ue
Ruushii to futari daiyamondo
SOPHIA DREAM Gunjou iro
Ruushii to futari Nirameru sekai

Rarara Hajimari no eremento
Anata wa kibou
Rarara Oshimai no eremento
Anata wa kibou

SOPHIA DREAM Sora no ue
Ruushii to futari daiyamondo
SOPHIA DREAM Sora no ue
Ruushii to futari Hora tonde iru

English

By: Yoshiyuki

Lalala An element of love¹
You are instinctual
Lalala An element dancing in the storm
You are resistance

SOPHIA DREAM In the sky²
Lucy and I Diamonds
SOPHIA DREAM Ultramarine
Lucy and I Watching the world

Lalala An element falling dark³
You are aloof
Lalala An element coming to life
You are unyielding

SOPHIA DREAM In the sky²
Lucy and I Diamonds
SOPHIA DREAM Ultramarine
Lucy and I Watching the world

Lalala An element of beginnings
You are hope
Lalala An element of endings
You are hope

SOPHIA DREAM In the sky²
Lucy and I Diamonds
SOPHIA DREAM In the sky
Lucy and I Look, we’re flying

 

Notes:

¹ 愛し合う (aishi au) is actually defined as “to love one another” or “to be affectionate towards each other”. The other definition is “to make love”.

² 空の上 (sora no ue) is supposed to mean “above the sky”, i.e. stratosphere or something. But I kept the line as “In the sky” with reference to Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.

³ 闇をゆく (yami o yuku) literally means “to go into the darkness”.

 

Comments:

Based on Imai’s interview in FT097:
This song actually relates to Julia Dream by Pink Floyd.
During post-DIQ2019 drinks, someone who once looked after the band suggested that Imai should do a song like that with Sakurai and feature both their voices as a duet.
He also said that Lucy doesn’t actually refer to anything or anyone in particular. The name just happened to pop up in his head.
— Yoshiyuki

Album cover of ABRACADABARA, BUCK-TICK

2020.09.21 | Victor Entertainment
ABRACADABRA

URAHARA-JUKU

Words by Sakurai Atsushi

Music By Imai Hisashi

Japanese

 

夢見がちだね Hey Girl?
アスファルトには IDOL
何を売っているの? Hey Girl?
そっちの水甘いか? そっちの水やばいぜ!¹

邪魔すんなよ! どけよ!
冷やかしは消えな!
純度はイイニ キマッテイル!
何が欲しい!? お嬢ちゃん!?

銀色雨降る車道
鳴り響くサイレン赤色灯が滲む
おまえはもう お家(うち)にお帰り
今日の事なんて忘れるがいいさ

URAHARA-JUKU Oh! Baby!
雨に濡れた IDOL
何を打っているの? Baby!?
そっちの水甘いか? そっちの水やばいぜ!

邪魔はしないぜ! Buy or Die?!
天国で死ぬかい?!
純度は Maybe 腐っている!
何が欲しい?! What Do You Want!?

銀色雨降る車道
鳴り響くサイレン赤色灯が滲む
今夜はベッドで眠りな
夢の中で夢見ればいいさ

邪魔すんなよ! どけよ!
冷やかしは消えな!
純度はイイニ キマッテイル!
何が欲しい!? お嬢ちゃん!?

邪魔はしないぜ! Buy or Die?!
天国で死ぬかい?!
純度は Maybe 腐っている!
何が欲しい?! What Do You Want!?

銀色雨降る車道
鳴り響くサイレン赤色灯が滲む
おまえはもう お家(うち)にお帰り
今日の事なんて忘れるがいいさ
今夜はベッドで眠りな
夢の中で夢見ればいいさ

Romaji

By: Yoshiyuki

Yume mi gachi da ne Hey Girl?
Asufaruto ni wa IDOL
Nani wo utte iru no? Hey Girl?
Socchi no mizu amai ka? Socchi no mizu yabai ze!¹

Jama sunna yo! Doke yo!
Hiyakashi wa kie na!
Jundo wa ii ni kimatte iru!
Nani ga hoshii!? Ojouchan!?

Gin iro ame furu shadou
Narihibiku sairen sekishokutou ga nijimu
Omae wa mou ouchi ni okaeri
Kyou no koto nante wasureru ga ii sa

URAHARA-JUKU Oh! Baby!
Ame ni nureta IDOL
Nan wo utte iru no? Baby!?
Socchi no mizu amai ka? Socchi no mizu yabai ze!

Jama wa shinai ze! Buy or Die?!
Tengoku de shinu kai?!
Jundo wa Maybe kusatteiru!
Nani ga hoshii?! What Do You Want!?

Gin iro ame furu shadou
Narihibiku sairen sekishokutou ga nijimu
Konya wa beddo de nemuri na
Yume no naka de yume mireba ii sa

Jama sunna yo! Doke yo!
Hiyakashi wa kie na!
Jundo wa ii ni kimatte iru!
Nani ga hoshii!? Ojouchan!?

Jama wa shinai ze! Buy or Die?!
Tengoku de shinu kai?!
Jundo wa Maybe kusatteiru!
Nani ga hoshii?! What Do You Want!?

Gin iro ame furu shadou
Narihibiku sairen sekishokutou ga nijimu
Omae wa mou ouchi ni okaeri
Kyou no koto nante wasureru ga ii sa
Konya wa beddo de nemuri na
Yume no naka de yume mireba ii sa

English

By: Yoshiyuki

You got your head in the clouds, don’t you Hey Girl?
IDOL of the asphalt
What are you selling? Hey Girl?
Is the water over there sweet? That water’s trouble!¹

Don’t bother me! Get out of my way!
Window shoppers, get lost!
You’ve decided that purity is good for sure!
So what do you desire!? Sweetheart!?

Silver rain falling on the road
bleeding from the blaring red-light sirens
It’s time for you to go home
Just forget about what happened today

URAHARA-JUKU Oh! Baby!
Rain-drenched IDOL
What are you hitting on? Baby!?
Is the water over there sweet? That water’s trouble!¹

Don’t you bother me! Buy or Die?!
Wanna die in heaven?!
Maybe purity is getting corrupted!
What do you desire?! What Do You Want!?

Silver rain falling on the road
bleeding from the blaring red-light sirens
Don’t sleep in beds tonight
Just dream your dreams in your sleep

Don’t bother me! Get out of my way!
Window shoppers, get lost!
You’ve decided that purity is good for sure!
So what do you desire!? Sweetheart!?

Don’t you bother me! Buy or Die?!
Wanna die in heaven?!
Maybe purity is getting corrupted!
What do you desire?! What Do You Want!?

Silver rain falling on the road
bleeding from the blaring red-light sirens
It’s time for you to go home
Just forget about what happened today
Don’t sleep in beds tonight
Just dream your dreams in your sleep

 

Notes:

¹ A reference to the Hotaru, Koi (Ho, Firefly), a popular Japanese children’s folk song from Akita prefecture. The original lines of the song are “あっちの みずは にがいぞ、こっちの みずは あまいぞ” (acchi no mizu wa nigai zo, kocchi no mizu wa amai zo). Translated, it reads, “Over there the water bitter, over here the water is sweet”. “Bitter” implies “impure” while “sweet” implies “pure”.
This particular folk song was also referenced in Kuchizuke.

 

Comments:

Harajuku, a street famous for its fashion driven mostly by youths and teenagers from the nearby art and design schools. It is a staple of Japan’s fashion culture and sites like Tokyo Fashion have made it even more popular with street-snaps of pedestrians with eye-popping dressing and fashion sense.
Youths often flock there in a bid to become a part of the culture itself and Sakurai has mentioned that this song is a warning against being too blinded by the desire to be a part of the glitz and glam. The title suggests exactly that with “URA” added before “HARA-JUKU”.
“URA” means the “back” or the “underside” of something. Often used in phrases like 裏話 (ura banashi) to talk about behind-the-scenes, the addition of “URA” here is a clear sign that the song talks about the underbelly of Harajuku, of what happens under the sparkly surface.
At the same time, “URAHARA” (裏腹) also refers to the “contrary”, “reverse” or “opposite” of something. This also serves to reinforce Sakurai’s narrative in this song.
Do note that there’s also a district in Omotesando called 裏原宿 (uraharajuku), close to the main Harajuku are that’s a pretty nice shopping belt. Although in recent years, it’s been overrun by shops reselling streetwear.
— Yoshiyuki