if a picture is worth a thousand words, and a book can take you places youve never seen or dreamed of; whats a song? a song can tell a story, or paint a picture, but it also hits us somewhere much more fundamental while its at it. through its sound it does things to you that you have trouble describing in words. the ideal music video is one that not only compliments but also enhances its partner in conveying a message for the viewer, and this one is about as good as it gets.
RADWIMPS
オーダーメイド
Order Made
2008
Japanese
mv
song
lyrics
radwimps is a japanese rock group, and this was their first chart topping song, beating out koda kumi's release at the time. some people have trouble believing how this was even possible for a relatively unknown group and what they called a so-so song, but id bet those people havent even set foot in japan.
lesson time, not related to this song per se. japanese music has long since progressed to 128bmp music with syncopation(when beats fall out of place of where they would normally be placed within strict time), while the western world is still often measuring things in 4/4 time or its close relatives. i dont mean to say syncopation is nonexistent in other countries seeing as it is prevalent in many different genres of music, but if you were to think about it mathematically, how many possibilities are there for variance in music when your base is 128 rather than 4/4 or 32, and also syncopated within. think compounded orders of magnitude.
in addition to more complicated arrangements, the japanese care A LOT about the lyrical content of their music. ive often read comments on youtube or similar sites about how so and so cannot believe that some crap song is the current rank 1 on multiple japanese charts. those comments demonstrate a couple things, one the person has no idea what hes talking about, two he knows nothing of the differences in cultures, three hes probably looking for some stereotypical, boring, predictive garbage. the reason certain songs are able to topple charts is simple, wow the audience with your words, and you can achieve what your sound couldnt.
so, if you actually read that you probably learned sth today, if not thats alright - just remember lyrics are cool, and when a music video fits the lyrics, its even cooler.
the vocals for this song are nothing amazing, and the orchestration is something youd hear often listening to this genre of music. what really sets it apart are the lyrics and subtle progression of the refrain through the song. there are hardly any repeated phrases, yet similar verses are still matched with their rhyme and/or rhythm, only with different words.
finally, about the music video itself; its pretty genius. it matches the lyrics in a totally unexpected way from what you would imagine if you were to only read the translation. its also so simple that you will completely understand after watching it a single time. in this case, the simplicity coupled with attention to finer detail, make it truly beautiful.
personally, my favorite part of the video begins around 3:00, during his talk about hearts. three things immediately struck me, the context of the words, the change in accompaniment, and the scene. this is where it was the group and directors stroke of brilliance to piece the puzzle together. the arrangement, most notably the bass, became louder and more prolonged, to account for the fact that theyre talking about hearts and heartbeats, almost like the pulse of the song coming to life. to top it off the images the video is showing at the time not only fit the lyrics, but the beating of the hearts is also in sync with the sounds youre hearing. all the while, the lyrics are not only sensible, but more importantly describe the sentimental intimacy of love in a way youve never heard before. genius.
this is definitely one of those songs that many people might not like immediately, but you might find yourself liking it because of the video, or because of its lyrics.
as for what the story is? youll have to watch and find out for yourself
RADWIMPS - ふたりごと (this ones really good)/ 有心論
these are both more upbeat, and are more what youd expect from jrock