M31MCA Promotion I

.
PUT three Japanese girls with a penchant for punk
rock together, add a dollop of "cuteness", liberally
sprinkle songs about fruits, vegetables and frog
phobia and what do you get? A brand new Shonen
Knife album called Brand New Knife. Swingingby
Singapore to promote their first all-English album
and to perform a one-hour set at Sparks, Naoko,
Atsuko and Michie bring a breath of fresh air to
our fair country.
Is this your first time in Singapore?
Naoko: Actually, it's the second time. The first
time was when I was on transit in your airport for
I sort of figured that this wouldn't be your first
time because you guys wrote a song about s k u mi
and char stew pau called 'La Singapore'.
N: Yes, that's right. When I came here the last
time I was very inspired by the music on the
aeroplane. There were many channels on the plane
and I picked up a Singaporepop channel which
was playing a song with this melody line: tinktink-tink, tink-tink. Like.. . ummm.. . I don't know
if it's a pop song or a traditional one, but I was
very inspired by it.
And this song was about siew mi?
N: Mmmm, siew mai.. . I fagot what that song
was about. But siew mai in Chinese restaurants are
very nice because the prawns are very tasty her-
N: The early Shonen Knife songs have a lot of
cuteness in them. But now we've grown up. Now
we can express our feelings, our opinions through
the songs. So the song 'Explosion' is an expression
of our.. . er.. . feelings.
But your sound has changed from the early stuff
that you guys did with Sub-Pop and on Let's Knife .
You used to sound rougher in the garage punk
sort of way. With this new album, your music is
much more melodic and sweet. In fact it has
become more pop-ish.
M: For Brand N e w Knife, we wanted to make our
sound much more powerful and simple and
sharp. Edgy, you know. It's a very successful
album, but we like to keep our pop sense unusual.
Is that because of the Robb Brothers, your
producers?
M: Yes, the reason we picked them as the
producers was they have a good sound sense and
a good pop sensibility.
Just like the stuff they did with the Lemonheads?
N: Yes, that's right.
As I try to explain what a pick-up line is, there is
a lot of excited discussion in Japanese among the
three girls. Perhaps the question was a mistake,
but it's too late to turn back.
1
!
i
N: Mmmm... it's very difficult.
M: I think I didn't understand the meaning of
pick-up line.
Well, it's like if I want to get to know a girl, I'll say
"You've got beautiful eyes" or something like that.
I
i
I
The them of them go "OHHHH!" in unison.
i
N: Mmmm...You are very handsome!
M: Eh ...You have a nice neck.
N: You look like, very intelligent.
I
I
i
Swell, I have them started on something else
entirely.
I
I've got a funny one, you go up to a girl and tell
her, "Your father's a thief!"
The Robb Brothers produced the Lemonheads
and Buffalo Tom, which are among the Knife's
favourite bands around today, although their
musical tastes range from '70s hits to punk rock.
:or Brand New Knife the band chose, for thdirst
ime, to work outside their usual recording studio
n Osaka. People seem to forget that Shonen Knife,
,en around since 1981 is a top notch
i
1
More discussion in Japanese follows.
N: I don't know if that really works or not.
No, no, no! There's a second line to that. After you
tell the girl that her father's a thief, you then say,
"He stole all the stars in the sky and put them in
your eyes."
1
?
j
I don't think t h q a n d catches the joke. Naoko
attempts to explain the meaning to the others. A
second later, they burst into fits of laughter.
I
,
-
I
=I
*;-I
r
So, have you guys had any slew ma,
M: We had lots of prawns and sca
zuL
dinner, but no siew mai!
A: Yesterday we had seafood at some market
was near the airport. The waitress showed us
some live prawns in alcohol and then they boil
them. It was very good.
Inevitably the conversation turns to food. This
isn't surprising as the interview is being held in
New York Dessert Cafe at Holland Village. We all
have a cake each and are chatting in-between
mouthfuls of sinfully good confectionery.
How have you guys found Singapore so far?
N: It's a very interesting country. The people here
are very mixtured.
M: The coungr itself is very modem, clean and
What about Singaporean men?
N: Wonderful!
M: Very handsome, the average is very high.
A: The average is very high?
Well, are they cute by international standards?
N: Yah! Cute, very.
Have you guys met any exceptionally cute ones
There's a lot of cuteness in your songs and your
image. The Oxford English Dictionary definition
of cute is "ugly but adorable". So, what's the
Japanese definition of cute? I think that you guys
have a different idea of what being cute means.
N: Well, sometimes we use the word cute for
girls and it can also mean being weak. Some
young Japanese women pretend to looks innocent
but actually they are not innocent and they make
Japanese men like them.
Your new songs aren't just about being cute
anymore. Take 'Explosion' for example. It's got
lines like "I burn with anger". That's not very cute.
ock band that has paid its duesfor years and has
leadlined big shows like Lollapalooza.Cuteness
,an only get you so far, you know.
3
Nith a name like Shonen Knife, have you been
mistaken for Shonen Tai (an '80s pretty-boy teen
POP P ~ ~ O U P ) ? ~ ! ~ ~
This question draws uncontrolled hysterical
laughter from all three members of the band.
N: In the Japanese record stores our records are
always shelved with Shonen Tai. Always! That's
because the records are arranged alphabetically.
But Shonen Tai consists of three boys and we are
three girls.
So no grounds for comparison then?
N: No! They are singers and entertainers. Lots of
singing and dancing. But we're a rock band, we
play our musical instruments by ourselves. So, it's
a little bit different.
No offence, what I meant was that if you're not
Japanese, you could easily mistake the two bands
for each other. By the way Shonen in Japanese
means young, right?
M: No, in Japanese it means boy.
Oh, in Chinese script it means being young,
youthful.
-
I
,.*+
So, do you think that it'll work?
N: Not actually.
Well I've got one that a Japanese friend told me
would always work. I don't know how true:it is.
You've got to rough up your voice and go, "Aiii
Watashiwa shingwaokideska!"
.
"
'
.
M: You are under arrest!
N: Bad humour.
A: Bah!
LC.
- c
.~-
-
I
+
-hl,
-
Stick your
knife into
these goodies!
-
4
Win 10 sets of Shonen Knife
autographed Brand New Knife CDs,
stickers 8 buttons
!
%
*
M31MCA Promotion- - I
I
,
-.
I think this ends the interview.
I
,
Send your entry on the &i&
on an envelope or on a
postcard to: Shonen Knife Promo, M3, HBM
Building, 745 Toa Payoh Lor 5, Singapore 319455.
Closing date: Feb 20,1997.
--------_-_-__
I
,
I
f
I
I
I
I
i
I
1
-
Q:Name the three members who make up
Shnnmn Kmi8A:
We appear now to have warmed up to each
other. Also, the n.y.d,c. cakes have put everyone in
a good mood. So I pluck up my courage to test the
idea that a Japanese friend of mine once told me:
that the Japanese people have the corniest replies
to pick-up lines..
.#,,,I 1 1
What about pick-up lines? Has anybody tried a
pick-line on you guys yet? .
M: Pick-up what?
N: Pick-up line?
M: What's a pick-up line?
Name:
Address:
A
g
e
: Sex;
I/C No:
Telephone;
I
0%