Translation of the June 11th 2022 Interview with Tatsuro Yamashita by Yahoo Japan News (Page 1)

 

Well, this was kinda out of the blue, but I was watching Masa's latest video regarding his observations of a Tatsuro Yamashita（山下達郎）interview that he did for Yahoo Japan News today, not too long before the release of his new album "Softly" coming out on June 22nd. It was great getting Masa's take on some of the major points that Tats made in the interview (of course, in Japanese), and even earlier today, Van Paugam also made reference to that interview.

So, I was led to the interview on Yahoo Japan News and I read the first page of it (there is a total of seven pages) which includes his opinion on the City Pop boom of the last few years. That kinda got me to think of whether I could actually do a translation of the interview since: 1) I am interested in what Yamashita has to say, and 2) there is a part of me that has fantasized about inserting an actual interview within the pages of "Kayo Kyoku Plus". This would be the closest thing that I can get.

Therefore, allow me to present a translation of Page 1. I'll see how I feel about the rest of the article, especially because it also contains the reason behind his stance that he will never contribute his discography to streaming services such as Spotify. Not to say that I am a master translator but I still want to give this a go. Also, of course, I have to add that I'm doing this obviously without permission from either the singer or Yahoo Japan, so if either or both parties expresses any displeasure with this article, I will unreservedly take it down.

Also, here are the links to Pages 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7.

Music That Withstands the Test of Time: Tatsuro Yamashita's 50 Years From Being a Dropout

Interviewer: Tatsuro Yamashita celebrated his 69th birthday this year. In 1975, he made his debut as a core member of Sugar Babe, and in the following year, he began his solo career. Even after 50 years, he is about to release a new album and tour around the country. Through his stated policy of creating music that can stand the test of time, and beginning with his famous "Christmas Eve", many of Yamashita's songs have become timeless and beloved. In this interview, he tells us everything about the troubles that he went through as a young man, his musical expression, and his thoughts on chasing dreams when he was younger as he looks back on his life.

City Pop Boom: "You Could've Told Me That 40 Years Ago!"

Yamashita: Our generation was at the dawn of rock music in Japan and that was coupled with the era of (Moonriders' 1986 album) "DON'T TRUST OVER THIRTY", and in terms of prospects, there was absolutely nothing for rock singers after 30. It wasn't just me but everyone else, but I was worried about the future as I was groping around, and I tried my best in my 30s and 40s. Still, I had no idea that I would release an album close to my 70s.

My ultimate dream was to become a record producer, so until I was 50, I'd long wondered about when I would quit this. When I set up the Moon indies label in 1982, my business partners told me to keep at it until we entered the 1990s, so basically when I was 37. At that time, I would have that one-and-only concert at Budokan and call it a day. I'd say "Thank you everyone!", although I'm no Momoe Yamaguchi (LOL). But in 1989, "Christmas Eve" which had been recorded in 1983, hit No. 1 on Oricon, so I couldn't quit. Even so, it wasn't until I turned 50 that I decided to continue my career for the rest of my life. When I started touring again from 2008, the fans came in and I could go on, so I felt that I really had no choice and here we are.

Interviewer: The City Pop Boom arose a few years ago in the World Music scene. This was Japanese metropolitan pop music that had its day from around the mid-1970s to the 1980s. As a major figure within this, Yamashita has garnered a lot of respect from even overseas listeners. When I inquired about this boom, he laughed it off by saying "You could've told me that 40 years ago!".

Yamashita: Even if someone asked me what I thought of City Pop, I can only reply "I don't know", honestly speaking. I can only say that everything was fate. A few years back in Shibuya, an American guy in his 20s came up to me and asked me to autograph his copy of "GO AHEAD!". When I asked him how he knew about the album, he told me that he found out online. It's one weird age, I tell you, but I'm grateful (LOL).

Look, I'm just a simple guy from Japan in the Far East. I'm not mainstream at all. I was a music freak in my teens and I listened to stuff that no one else listened to. Even with America's Top 40, I really had no interest in the Top 10 and the songs that I was interested in were in the 30s range. I didn't even look at the megahits. Who the hell listened to music made by people who grew up listening to that kind of music? That was a question that I asked myself all the time so I opted to not get into that.