Mobile phones are such an integral part of Asian (well, East Asian) life that now, even love seems to be regularly transmitted through the airwaves. This fixation on romance via technology, which I find interesting to say the least, is manifested in the two songs showcased below. Both are personal favourites - well, I am a geek…
This first is a recent Jpop single by YUI, whom I like to think of as a Japanese Michelle Branch. She’s even done a cover of Goodbye To You.
The relevant song is titled CHE.R.RY:
Lyrics + translation here.
A catchy, fast-paced song with an imaginative - even outlandish - video, it’s quite hard to catch where mobile communications start to fit in. But it’s essentially about text-messaging - intertwined with lovey-dovey references to cherry blossoms, Japan’s symbol of romance. I think the odd title represents what ‘cherry’ would appear typed in text-speak. A very quaint marriage of modernity and love. I love it.
The second song is from Jay Chou, an immensely popular Taiwanese pop star (as if you didn’t know already). It’s one of his ballads, which I prefer to his raps (too fast for my embarrassingly limited grasp of Mandarin to comprehend).
Lang Man Shou Ji (literally, Romantic Cellphone):
Lyrics + translation here.
Jay Chou is a master of the obvious: the video features a sappy teenage romance, and, of course, cellphones. A lack of subtlety would usually render a song with such subject matter overly cheesy, but I am somehow strangely drawn to this particular track… I’m such a sucker for sentimental nonsense. Jay shouldn’t be discredited, though - it’s a good tune in its own right.
We are totally ‘ricing up’ love.
