Thursday, April 14

Jukebox: Pizzicato Five



Time for more Japan love. Pizzicato Five were a hyper-prolific Japanese pop band of the "Shibuya-kei" style (an eclectic mix of jazz, pop, and electro-pop that originated in the Shibuya district of Tokyo) who released bunches of albums in the late 80s and 90s and were introduced to the U.S. in 1994 via the bouncy single "Twiggy Twiggy vs. James Bond" (video above) and a compilation album called Made in USA. P5 are the quintessential Japanese creation in that they took quintessentially American/western influences and filtered them through their Kitschy Nippon Weird-o-Nater to create something wholly and sublimely Japanese. And hella awesome, or, as the Japanese say, "へラ アーソム".

Bonus clip below of the single "Baby Love Child" in which lead singer Maki Nomiya sings in English.