Disenchanted
I’m not a particularly huge fan of Japanese pop music, but some of the artists appeal to me for whatever reason. I can’t help but think that artists like Otsuka Ai (大塚愛) or Ueto Aya (上戸彩) are cute and peppy – which I concede, increases my opinion of their music, even when it’s lacking… Ha ha. That’s natural. (Heck…some people even like Arashi (嵐)…for some reason…similar situation, I bet…) Well, one of the artists I liked – without any good reason – was Sawajiri Erika (沢尻エリカ). I’ve never seen her acting, though she has been in a few dramas and films recently. I actually came to like her by osmosis. For a long time, every day I went to buy lunch at the grocery store, her song was playing over the hi-fi. I learned it by accident, and found that I could sing it at karaoke without too much trouble. Therefore, I thought I liked her. Keep reading for my reasoning. Here’s the old image of her (as the character Kaoru Amane who “wrote” this song in a drama).
I was wrong. During the spells where I’ve not had a computer recently, I have watched more Japanese TV than I usually do. Panel shows are pretty common, and special guests are actually run-of-the-mill guests. Having seen Sawajiri Erika on these shows…I find myself quite disenchanted. She’s not much good at small talk in my opinion – often lobbing terse replies to well-meaning questions. She also answers in ways that tend to emphasize her luxurious life style, in comparison with the viewer or the interviewer. (Once asked if she liked going to the beach, she replied “I love Cyprus.” Right. Thanks for that.) All in all, I dislike her new look, conversations, personality, speech, and insane make-up. (She was asked to leave the set of SMAP’s Bistro because her makeup had gotten in her eye and she appeared to be crying. That’s where you draw the line with gaudy makeup. Then again, she’s in loads of makeup commercials, so maybe it’s part of the endorsement deal for Maquillage or one of the other companies?) I guess this is just the way of the world with female pop star celebrities of a certain kind in this day and age, huh? Britney Spears in the states couldn’t be more of a laughing stock if she tried. Paris Hilton (if we’re using “pop stars” in the most broad sense possible) and Lindsey Lohan have also become famous for their less-than-attractive falls from grace. Maybe it’s a similar thing? I dunno. I’m talking more about the trashy image here, than drug and alcohol use or whatnot. Just to be clear. Seems all the more harsh in Japan, where cute is considered necessary for popularity to some degree. Here’s the more recent version of the image.
I actually find myself in agreement with the YouTube people here about the PV for FREE – the director took the champagne innuendo too far. To the point where giggling and / or outright disgust take hold. Sorry if that offends anyone. Just pointing it out. By the way, since the firewalls at school block YouTube, I cannot be sure if these videos are working properly. This is an experiment – is it possible to post blind and have the rest of earth still see my content? (I hate using YouTube…this is one issue, the other is that stuff gets pulled down all the time and your links go dead…especially with the new copyright protection roll-out they’re introducing.) Anyway – lemme know if there are any viewing problems. And if you agree or disagree.
