If you watch British telly you will be under the misunderstanding that F1 in Japan is all silly hats and cosplay.

Well, there is a lot of that but going to the Japanese Grand Prix I got talking to people and learnt there are a few more things going on around the sport.

Actually I didn’t learn too much because I was mostly talking to other foreign types at the beer tent but would I did learn rocked my world.

Ask any Brit what “the F1 song” is and you will always get the same answer, Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain. It’s a song that is forever linked with F1 for British fans and for those in the other countries that got BBC coverage (i.e. there rest of the English-speaking world)

Japan is not part of the English-speaking world though and got its own song. Truth by a Japanese Jazz fusion band called T-Square has a bit of a different feel to The Chain but it works and the CG intro is nicely put together.

These days the song has been retired but it is miles better than just playing American Idiot by Green Day like Japanese TV did for its F1 intros last year. It also doesn’t stop T-Square from playing a concert at every Japanese Grand Prix either.

That’s it for F1 and music but what about F1 and manga? Everyone knows that the Japanese love manga, they also love their F1, so it is only natural that there is an F1 manga out there. Grand Prix Heaven (Guranpri Tengoku) is a 4 panel manga (US comic style basically) that has been running in an F1 magazine called F1 Newsflash (F1 Sokuho) for the last 20 or so years. The manga is by a fellow called Fumio Murayama who doesn’t seem to have any other manga of note under his name. As a result of the magazine this thing is serialised in only F1 fans know about it, that is fine though, only F1 fans would get any of the jokes.

The strips all parody the various events, stories and controversies going on in F1 at the time. The writer also injects some interesting personalities to the drivers and people around the pit garages, his versions of F1′s various heroes and villains can be very different from the British public perception of these characters. The collection of strips I picked up from Suzuka this year were all taken from the 1999 and 2000 seasons. I ended up seeing running gags such as Mika Hakkinen’s scary wife, Ron Dennis constantly giving David Coulthard the cold shoulder by closing a curtain on him and Heinz-Harald Frentzen acting like a woodpecker.

Here are a few of the strips (keenly translated by me), I hope they bring back a few memories for the F1 fans amongst you:
(Remember! They read right to left!)

One last thing:
(Not entirely sure what it is but thought I’ll show you anyway)

In 1999 a city-sized alien spacecraft crashed on South Ataria Island. Over the course of the next 10 years, U.N. Spacy, the space related wing of the U.N, reverse-engineered the technology and rebuilt the spacecraft, naming it the SDF-1 Macross. In 2009, during the launch ceremony of the Macross, a space war fleet from an alien race of humanoid giants arrived and identified the Macross as a former battleship used by their enemies. In the resulting battle the Macross was catapulted to the edge of the solar system and forced to come back to Earth by conventional power.

This is the view of the future as presented by the wonderful eighties anime, Macross. Its prediction of the future was wrong, it also incorrectly predicted that aeroplanes will be able to turn into robots and that a song can save the world.

One of it’s many sequels did get something right though…..

Macross Plus, the only Macross sequel to live up to the original, was made in 1994 and in true Macross style it contains futuristic dogfights, a pop idol and not only one, but two, love triangles. The first involves two test pilots and a music producer while the other contains one of the test pilots, the music producer and the pop idol. While the first is not so interesting, just two guys trying to out macho each other, the second is much more compelling.

The pop idol in question is a computer AI, named Sharon Apple, which creates light shows and displays holograms of itself during concerts. Myung, the music producer, generates Sharon’s music by hooking her brain up to the computer and uploading her musical knowledge. The AI then performs the finishing touches. Myung is the talent behind the talent so to speak. The problem is that the AI is reading all her thoughts and emotions and becomes obsessed with the test pilot she truly loves. The computer pursues him relentlessly and without any morals, perception of pain or limitations, it does some pretty nasty things. Sharon Apple is basically what HAL 9000 would be if he took up a pop career and then fell in love with someone.

So, Sharon Apple was a music generating virtual idol, she was the first Vocaloid.

Vocaloid software is a computer program which can synthesize singing by typing in lyrics and melody. The melody and the lyrics can be entered for each note and the software can change the stress of the pronunciations, change tone and add effects to the voice. The voice is specially recorded from voice actors or singers, each piece of Vocaloid software features a different type of voice.

This software has become very popular in Japan and I think it is not because of the programs themselves but because of the cute little mascots on the packaging. Each piece of software is designed to be “a singer in a box” acting as a replacement for an actual singer. They have invented a character for each voice, which have become known as Vocaloids.

Of all the various characters they have made one Vocaloid has become very, very popular here in Japan. Her name is Hatsune Miku and she is everywhere. Apparently it all started when a user of the software uploaded a song with a little animation of Miku carrying a leek on Nico Nico Douga, a kind of Japanese Youtube. From here many others began making videos and songs and sharing it on that site.

The character is so popular now that I have seen her on the side of race cars, on drinks bottles and outside karaoke bars. She has two PSP games and one Arcade music game by Sega which seem to be very successful. It has got to the stage where there have been live concerts of ‘her’ most popular covers and original songs.

This is where the comparison to Macross Plus comes in. At Miku’s concerts a hologram projection is used on stage and seeing images of people cheering a hologram gives me mad flashbacks to that old anime.

The comparison is quite freaky.

A Cartoon:

Real Life?:

I’m sure the stuff that geeky looking kid was trying to do in the cartoon is the content of those Hatsune Miku fans’ wet dreams.

One of the overreaching themes of Macross Plus is that a computer can never match a real person’s voice when singing. At the bottom of this post is a Youtube playlist of an original song plus the Vocaloid cover. As great a technical feat as Vocaloid software is, imagine a Dalek singing one of your favourite ever songs. It’s just not right.

httpvp://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=D34E88775BC25565

The area around Harajuku and Yoyogi Park used to be loads of fun on a Sunday. Now it is less so, I cast a disappointed eye over the place.

When Japanese people become fans of something they do it properly, almost to the exclusion of all other things. Take X Japan fans, some will take gigs as an excuse to dress up in a mad Visual Kei fashion and sing the chorus of Endless Rain for about half an hour.

Once I went to an X Japan concert and there was a girl about 5 rows back shouting the name of their deceased ex-guitarist over and over. By the end of the show her voice was reduced to a horse whisper. As I got up to leave I saw that all this was emanating from a girl with thick black eye shadow streaming down her face and clutching a doll of the guitarist tightly. It was quite a sight.

I don’t personally know any mental X Japan fans but I do have a group of friends who absolutely adore Oreskaband. Oreskaband are an eight piece all girl ska band from Osaka whose music is quite fun and lively but hardly ground breaking. They sometimes travel the country going to gigs, record TV appearances to put on DVDs, play in bands covering Okeskaband songs, play in other bands performing music inspired by them and collect as much merchandise as possible. It was through them that I became aware of the film Lock and Roll Forever.

Lock and Roll Forever is a film by the producer of High School Musical, starring the bloke out of High School Musical and, I assume, made in the style of High School Musical. It features a story about the members of Oreskaband as they journey to the US in an attempt to make it big there. It is a nice enough film, it features some funky song videos sandwiched between a load of dull but inoffensive plot sections. The overall story seems a little pointless and nothing really ends up happening.

I wonder why this film was made. Judging by the involvement of the producer of High School Musical, it is aimed at American teenage girls. Perhaps they were trying to break the band in the USA (something that will probably not happen in a billion years). If that is the case then they fell at the first hurdle, despite the fact it was filmed in 2008 it has yet to be made available in any format in either the US or Japan. Oddly the DVD has been released in Nordic countries, I have no idea why. Maybe the Swedish wing of the Oreskaband fan club is particularly vocal. It was the Nordic DVD that I ended up watching where it was given the more politically correct name, Girls Just Wanna Rock.

When all is said and done this film is only worth watching for the musical sequences. While not as good as anything from the likes of Yellow Submarine, some are nicely presented and worth a look if you like ska music or songs about Papayas.

So here we are, coming up to the end of another year. Now is the time that various best of the year lists turn up. I’m never one to disappoint anybody so here is my list of the best songs I listened to in 2010. It’s not necessarily like the lists you would get on normal websites, this is a list of my 10 favourite songs that I heard for the first time this year. It doesn’t matter the year they were released, just that I heard it this year.

I’m so selfish….

Before we start though, here is a link a Youtube playlist with all the songs on it for your convenience. Why only Youtube? Unfortunately, some of the songs are not available on Spotify. To make it up to you though, I’ve put a bonus song at the end of this playlist.

Crookers – Cooler Couleur (feat. Yelle)

There is something about Yelle, she just oozes cool and her classy vocals really add something to this song. A fairly standard dance number but every time I listen I can’t help but shake my hips to the beat. Maybe it’s because Yelle’s accent does funky things to me.

Citrus – Blue Mercedes – Simply Eternal Reality

Last year I said I rated Kalk Samen Kuri no Hana as album of the decade and some time ago I wondered: Does anyone agree with me? In the few websites I found that covered Japanese music, my pick did indeed feature highly in most of them but so did a 6 song EP from a band I’d never heard before.

That band was Citrus, they never made a full album but this 6 song 10 minute piece of glorious sunshine really is a great piece of work.

The songs on the EP work better as a unit but I have chosen the 1st song on the album because despite the unintelligible lyrics, number 1 is always a great place to start.

Tokyo Jihen – Denpa Tuushin

My love for Shiina Ringo and her band Tokyo Jihen continues unabated. Although I feel the quality of her product isn’t nearly as good as what she was producing almost 10 years ago, it remains wonderful.
From an album called Sports, in which almost every song feels like the video should be of some sort of relay race, this song is the fastest paced of them all (actually that is debatable). It will not be looked at 50 years down the line as one of her most thought provoking and beautiful but it is a lot of fun.

Spiritualized – Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space

This was the album that lead to my worrying Yoko Kanno itch finally boiling over. Ironically though, this song as plagiarism issues of it’s own. On original release the sample of Elvis’ Can’t Help Falling In Love had to be removed. Reinstated for this version, I can’t imagine how it would sound without it. This song gives a good indication of the direction the album goes in and it is one of the best albums I have ever heard. Not since Kalk Samen Kuri no Hana has an album have the power to completely envelop me in the music.

A Camp – Bear On The Beach

I’ve always loved the sound of Nina Persson’s voice. When I listen to this song it travels straight into my brain and creates the most interesting visual images in there. I’d love to be able to draw a giant watercolour painting of them but I doubt I could do it justice. It is great to listen to just before bed and does a great job of putting me at ease. Lovely.

Marina & the Diamonds – Numb

If I was a music critic working for one of those glossy music magazines, I would have reviewed the album this song was from by writing ‘A TRIUMPH *****’ in size 50 font across a double page spread. The album was great, it’s very rare I find an album where I love every song on it and Numb is my highlight. There is something about it that incites me to visualise colours, shapes and other imagery. Maybe by listening to this song I can get an idea what synesthesia is like. Maybe not, but I can think of an ace music video for it.

Nujabes – Reflection Eternal

In February this year Jun Seba passed away. Previous to this I had only listened to the soundtrack to Samurai Champloo, which he contributed to. After his death I was inspired to check some of his albums and I found out that his instrumental stuff is some of the coolest, most chilled out music I’ve ever heard. It is so calming, perfect stuff for mellowing out with after a busy day. It’s a shame he is no longer around to create more.

Midori – Sayonara Perfect World (Live)

I’m so glad there is a band like Midori in this world, they are quite unlike anything you have ever heard. I was going to compare them to the Pixies more shouty moments but that is just lazy. The Pixies never had a keyboard or double bass in the mix. Sometimes Midori’s songs can be a bit much, this one however nails their formula perfectly and this live performance is just brilliant. Please give it a listen, it will be a new expirience for you if you do. I even uploaded the video to youtube myself, the sound has randomly come out a bit tinny so it lacks the ‘oomph’ of the original but it’s still ace so give the link a click.

Shakira – Waka Waka (Esto Es Africa) [K-Mix]

Ah! Shakira, 12 years ago you were an intelligent singer/songwriter with songs about anger, lust, longing and politics. Now you are just a pop singer who can shake her hips. Shakira seems quite happy with this state of affairs though and as long as she keeps on pumping out fun, catchy songs I guess I have to be too. This song was the official World Cup song and unusually for such a thing it was very good. Every time I hear it I just want to get up and dance, surely that makes the song a success. This version, apparently mixed by the bloke from The Killers, is the best I reckon.

The Divine Comedy – Perfect Lovesong

I’ve always loved The Divine Comedy but for some reason the Regeneration album just didn’t appeal to me. I listened to it long ago, was sorely disappointed and forgot all about it. Recently on Twitter someone mentioned that she would be singing this song at a wedding and that it was beautiful. Intrigued I dug out the old album and was amazed. It was indeed beautiful and I felt ashamed that I had ignored it for so long. I then tried to listen to the whole album again but was left nonplussed. This song though is like a diamond shining in the rough.

So there you go, a nice list of songs. I kind of feel a bit of regret that I choose to limit this list to 10 songs, there were plenty of other things I loved this year such as Janelle Monaé, The National and Laugh & Peace. The Divine Comedy’s new album was great too and listening to the live version of Tokyo Jihen’s Kimaru was a great expirience, I had never seen a hall full of people in awe before that moment. Anyway, please take the time to give these songs a listen. It would be heartbreaking if all this was just ignored.