Me First And The Gimme Gimmes – Sing In Japanese
I love these guys, which I’ve said in these pages several times before. Their brash and yet respectful punk cover versions of everything from John Denver to Willie Nelson (by way of Boyz II Men and the Beach Boys, too) please me to no end.
There is certainly a precedent for their doing oddball things. In fact, it could be considered their modus operandi. Their last EP is cover tunes of Australian artists only, their live album was recorded at some kid’s bar mitzvah. They dressed in drag and covered Tomorrow from Annie. But this one, hooboy, it’s from deep left field. Six tracks, actually sung in Japanese. I didn’t know any of these songs, making it the first time in their growing discography that they’ve specifically chosen music most of us are not likely to have heard, unless you’re fan of Japanese music (of course). Thanks for the introduction, though, boys!
Kai Band’s Hero rocks along nicely. Tulip’s Kokoro No Tabi is a pleasing sing along (if you speak the language). Takuro Yoshida’s Kekkon Shiyoyo has a slightly country feel to it (through the Gimme Gimme filter, of course). The Tigers’ C-C-C rocks harder (and has hand claps!). The breakdowns here are in English, though I have no way of knowing if the original did. Funny when they shush us, though. Kaze’s 22 Sai No Wakare keeps the pace frantic (nice how the EP speeds up as it goes). And then The Blue Hearts’ Linda Linda pulls the rug out of the speed-fest with a reggae beat. And trumpets! Of course, it still blasts away in spots, too. Sweet!
There is a precedent in rock history for bands to do special things for their fans in the East, like area-specific live albums and the venerable Japanese Versions of albums, which invariably include rare extra tracks only available on said releases. Maybe this is their gift to their fans out there. Or maybe, given their goofy natures, they just love karaoke. Kudos to them for learning enough Japanese (or at least memorizing the lyrics to these six songs) and managing the whole affair quite credibly.
It’s another great EP from the Gimmes. I may not play it as much as their other stuff, but every so often it’ll give me a chuckle to hear just how far they’re willing to go in their pursuit of making all kinds of music their own.
