Monday, October 3, 2022

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu -- Genten Kaihi(原点回避)

 

I do remember when that whole thing about working out on a treadmill while just plain working got onto the news and into some offices years ago. Having my side gig as a professional couch potato pretty much nixed any plans for me to try this out (along with the fact that getting a treadmill and the specialized desk was simply out of my budget). Not sure if this has taken permanent hold into the 2020s.

That corporate phenomenon snuck into my head again as I was watching the music video for Kyary Pamyu Pamyu's(きゃりーぱみゅぱみゅ)August 2021 digital download single "Genten Kaihi" (Origin Avoidance), especially when the eclectic singer was trying to play that keyboard while on her own treadmill. Words and music were by Yasutaka Nakata(中田ヤスタカ), and looking at the translation of the title, I couldn't help but feel that it could have been the name of a secret and sinister operation involving aliens on the old Fox hit "The X-Files".

From what I could understand from the lyrics, it seems like the protagonist is going through some existential crisis without any help from the past or the future. And yet, the present seems to be very malleable and unstable. Still, unlike some of the other Kyary Pamyu Pamyu songs that I've heard in the past, "Genten Kaihi" doesn't have so much of the technopop. I'd say that the melody and arrangement have been brought together as a groovy pop song which is just fine. Keep us on our toes, KPP!

1 comment:

  1. Hello, Brian. Yeah, I thought it was a slightly different one for her, although that familiar synthesizer did make a peek out near the end.

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