Perfume songs and why I love them
I think I’m at the point now where I can write about my favorite Perfume songs. I’ve put in the time and effort to grow familiar enough with these girls and their music that I can honestly and sincerely write some good ole fashioned commentary. So, without further adieu, here’s some thoughts on some of my fave Perfume songs.
Before, we get started though, a word about Perfume the band.
Perfume is awesome to me. Maybe even more so than H!P in a lot of ways. I don’t know what that says about me and my recent association with H!P, but I think it’s true. I like Perfume’s music more than I like H!P music these days. Which kinda comes down to the fact that I prefer Nakata over Tsunku musically. Which is a hard thing to say. Certainly there are aspects of Tsunku’s writing that I adore above and beyond the works of Perfume (like guitar solos and orchestral arrangements). That is unquestionable. But, there is one key ingredient that Nakata uses liberally that I just don’t get from Tsunku and that’s attention to vocal harmony among multiple voices. Now, that may be a factor of the focus of the different groups and it may be a paltry issue to most, but it’s a big deal to me. I like vocal harmony and I like the way Perfume’s harmonies are written. So there. I said it.
Anyway, here’s some songs I really like by Perfume and some reasons why:
Electro World
This was the first song I repeatedly came back to by Perfume. Something about that rocking hook and the killer introduction just hooked me. Regarding the intro, I think the reason it grabbed me is because it so wonderfully exploits everything I love about the Japanese language: it’s cute, fun to say, and rich in syllables. Furthermore, there’s this wonderfully plasticine cleanliness about the sound of the guitar part behind it (of course I’m talking about the single version, not the album version with the synth pad during the intro). Lots of high end and treble in the mix giving it a very, well, electric quality. This Nakata guy never ceases to amaze me; has been since the early Capsule days. Great song writer, sensible in terms of song structure in general and an INCREDIBLE sense of vocal harmony. I mean Perfume always has exactly the vocal harmonies I would have chosen had I written the songs. I love that. And of course, Auto Tune awesomeness abound!
The bridge is pretty much what this band is all about for me. Amazing little hook that has this kind of comfortable melancholy about it. It’s not real super genki happy, but it’s like a feeling of new astonishment; like the first time you saw a dragonfly up close, or the first time you fell in love … or the first time you went to an Electro World.
And then the lyrics. Perfume wins when it comes to lyrics. Just take the lyrics from the above passage for example:
見えるものの全てが 触れるものも全てが
リアリティーがないけど
僕はたしかにいるよ
“everything I can see, everything I can touch, too
has no reality
but surely I exist”
I mean that’s just cool. I don’t know, it just really gets to me, you know. I even get kinda teary-eyed, it’s so precious. It’s like a girl’s dream, you know? At least it encompasses my assumption of what it must be like to see the world from the perspective of an imaginative little girl. But, kinda surreal at the same time. Totally evokes the 萌え response in addition to my propensity for psychedelic imagery. I like it.
Dream Fighter
This song is a fucking champion’s song. The whole thing screams win. I hear a lot of people say they don’t care for it and I just don’t understand why. It’s up in the top 5 for me. I consistently return to it. And I know why. It’s because Kashiyuka’s verse just fucking melts me every time.
このままでいれたらって思う瞬間まで
遠い 遠い 遥かこの先まで
Ah god damn it it’s just so fucking CUTE! And the dance choreography during this part just makes it even worse. And not to mention that she has the baddest ass haircut imaginable. Oh man, Kashi. You are so win.
But, aside from this idolatry and girlie fascination with cuteness, the chorus is fucking victorious. Learn all those lyrics and sing along and you’ll know what I mean. What a fun song to rock!!! And furthermore, the chorus is TWICE as long as I expected it would the first time I heard it. So twice the win. And check out the harmonies on the chorus. I mean really this is the shit, dude! Man, I love this song.
Computer City
This song is very similar to Electro World in both theme and in terms of my emotional response. It shares the same celebration of Japanese multi-syllabic cuteness in the verse and also deals with the discovery of something as yet unexperienced and the subject’s response to it. Another dream from the mind of a cute little robotic girl discovering things about her environment for the first time. I love Perfume lyrics. I love Perfume music.
Secret Message
Okay, this is just plain fun 萌え-mode idolatry in its base form. But, what separates this song from any of the multitude of other songs from this era of Perfume (and they are ALL cute as fuck) is the choice of notes in the chorus. The words “secret” and “message” are sung at a major 9 interval. Which creates this neat little suspension and is totally awesome.
Oh and then there’s the part where they count down and say “3, 2, 1 – go” which is just adorable.
Butterfly
The first thing that comes to mind when I hear this song (ironically enough) is Mothra. Remember the two little ladies who sang for Mothra? Somehow this song evokes that imagery for me.
Aside from this fun bit of anecdotal nostalgia, the song is musically amazing. It conforms to the usual progressive, melodic house groove that Nakata and Perfume are known for, but implements an interesting and exotic melodic and harmonic motif (this is what evokes the Mothra imagery mentioned above). The vocal harmonies are as amazing as I’ve come to expect from this group; Acchan and Nocchi holding the root and fifth (and sometimes third) while Kashi handles the major 9 and occasional 6. It’s really a sublime little harmonic system. Beautiful, dreamy, exotic and harmonically dense: my kind of song.
Another thing worth noting is a cool little trick that also appears in Secret Secret, and that’s the dropping of the drum pattern during the second verse. It’s replaced in this case by a very ethereal trance-like wash pad that kind of gives it a real rave-y feel. In Secret Secret it’s very similar; drop out the beat and add in some low dreamy synth for effect. I like this trick and it works really well to break up any monotony that *may* be developing. Good call Nakata.
Night Flight
Make a fucking Night Flight, motherfucker!!! This song is epic mode. I was SOOO happy to hear it the first time I did. I was wondering what the next single would sound like and this is what was delivered. Several reasons for epicality, here are the main points:
1. A nod to the old school – This is so totally 80s it’s not funny. It brilliantly pays homage to the greats of electronic pop music like Yellow Magic Orchestra and Human League or even the Eurythmics.
2. Super fucking GENKI! – This song jams like no other. I dare you not to at least nod your head or hum along.
3. Auto Tune Awesomeness abound – once again the ultimate robo software makes this song electronically superior
So yeah, make a fucking Night Flight, motherfucker!
Polyrhythm
Oh boy. This is the one that kinda put them on the map and for very good reason. This song is really amazing. I mean, it really is. So amazing that Marty fucking Friedman covered it. That’s right. The guitarist for Megadeth covered Polyrhythm. <bangs head>
So there’s really one part of this song that makes it what it is, but before we get to that I just want to mention that the melody of this song is really great. It’s pretty, it’s fun, and it’s safe. It’s just familiar enough to be eminently likable. And once again, the lyrics are just cute as a button. “This love is like plastic.” Fuck yeah.
So, “the part” that I mentioned above is, of course, the uber-cool polyrhythmic section in the first chorus…
So, what is a polyrhythm? What’s a poly-loop? Well, let’s consult wiki on the subject…
“Polyrhythm is the simultaneous sounding of two or more independent rhythms.”
Is it just me or could we mean the beating of two independent hearts in polyrhythmic harmony (awww)?
I can only assume that a polyloop would be the two rhythms occurring in succession over and over. Just like what we hear in that awesome part. We have a constant five note pattern repeating in 4/4 time with the word 「ポ・リ・リ・ズ・ム」. This repeats over and over in rhythmic dissonance until it loops enough times to come in line with the main pattern again. So if we stretch the timeline of the passage, we see multiple four beat bars, 16 of them when counting by eighth notes. This makes a total of 64 beats cut into small 4 beat chunks 16 times. Still with me?
Okay, now consider the aforementioned 5 beat 「ポ・リ・リ・ズ・ム」 phrase which repeats 9 times for a total of 45 beats. Add to that 6 repetitions of 「リ・ズ・ム」, a 3 beat phrase creating a total of 18 beats and a grand total of 63. Well, there’s a beat missing so we fill it with the first “ポ” of the next series of 「ポ・リ・ル・ウ・プ」 passages.
This puts us in a unique situation. We now start the loop over beginning at the second beat of the 5 beat passage (リ) meaning that our first passage is a 4 beat occurrence. So, we start at 4 then add 5 repetitions of the full passage for a total of 29 (25 + the first 4 「リ・ル・ウ・プ」). Then we go into our 3 beat sequence again for 5 repetitions giving us a total of 15 + 29 or 44. At this point we just hit single beats 14 times, but these beats are matching the underlying polyrhythm which is counting in spaced tuplets. In this case it seems we’ve got 8 tuplet beats fitting evenly into the space of 6 quarter notes. <-(see note below) Since the last 14 beats are spaced differently than the other 44 beats of the passage, the math doesn’t exactly add up like we would expect, but it does work due to this spacing. Listen for it. In the first 「ポリリズム」 chorus these tuplets spaced 16th notes are just heard in the synthesizer stabs, then in the second 「ポリルウプ」 chorus the beat begins following it on the bass drum for a killer effect. This passage is why I decided to take an active interest in Perfume.
[Edit - Since the writing of this post I've come to realize that the underlying 'thud' is actually a series of 16th notes repeated every third note; so, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. etc... Hope this makes sense. See the notation post for a visual aid]
So yeah, what an amazing song for various reasons. It is no wonder it is responsible for skyrocketing these girls to the public eye. Thanks Nakata san!!
Edge
Edge is my favorite song by Perfume, hands down. It appeals to me on every level. It goes hard in every way and the choreography may be the coolest I’ve ever seen. Edge is cool because it has a bit of a legacy doesn’t it. I mean, there are three different versions. I don’t really follow the trends among my fellow wota, but I get the feeling that this is like a cult hit among Perfume fans (and for good reason). It’s like the cool song that all the die hards really love. It’s the dark underbelly of Perfume that is meant for the real serious motherfuckers out there.
And it is indeed dark as fuck. It’s aggressive in its approach, musically and the lyrical content almost has a suicidal, nihilistic undertone. The person saying these lyrics is almost obsessively pursuing a perhaps unattainable goal. I get the feeling the person they have their sights set on may not even know they exist (「ああそっかで 話きいてないのね」). And there’s a melancholy preoccupation with death throughout the song. It’s almost like we’re seeing someone going over the “edge” and descending into some unhealthy fixation that leads ultimately to extreme isolation. Man, that’s fucking bad ass. Of course, this is just my interpretation. Take it as you will.
Musically, it’s all about the gritty “edge” to the synth sounds chosen and the fucking vocal harmonies, man. These harmonies (especially during the 「誰だっていつかは死んでしまうでしょ」 part) are so fucking amazing. And of course, AutoTune is the shit!
Let’s talk about the different versions a little.
1. Edge (original) – This is what started it all and it’s still bad ass as is. What’s cool and unique about this version is the ending. It drops out the beat and kind of fades out repeating the “loving you” lyric over and over which supplements and supports my dark interpretation somewhat. I picture the subject doing, well, exactly what is done in the Budokaaaaaaaaaaan performance; just repeating this phrase and rocking back and forth in total isolation. At this point she’s lost it and has gone over the “edge” so to speak, completely. I love that! She’s been driven completely mad by her obssessive infatuation with this unknown person. Mwahahahaha!!!
2. Edge (extended version) – Oh yeah, let’s up the stakes a little, musically. Just when I was thinking, “man Edge is so bad ass, I wish it just lasted forever!”, lo and behold, there is an extended mix. Yesssss! We start with a killer minimalist beat to build anticipation. Then the grooves start dropping in instrument by instrument adding layers to build the excitement. So win. Another cool thing about this version is that we’ve added a lyric-less chorus passage which accentuates the instrumental melody. I was really happy to hear this happen since I love the chorus. Also, in this version the ending no longer drops out the beat which makes for a really cool groove in the end based on the cool “ki ni naru” and “oooh” loop. I really like it. It’s something I would love to hear played at a club at full volume.
3. Edge (Triangle mix) – Hey, what can I say. It’s like there was an “Edge” knob and Nakata just cranked that motherfucker up. More gain, more distortion, more melody, more EDGE! It’s like the Edge was sharpened and serrated for maximum carnage. So fucking epic. This is rave material here. I don’t know what else I can say about it other than listen to it. It’s so fucking amazing.
Edge = most epic Perfume song. Period.
So, there’s my thoughts on some of my fave Perfume songs. Some other honorable mentions are Game, Plastic Smile, and of course Chocolate Disco. But, I’ll have to get to them later. I’m sure I’ll just revise this post to include them.
Anyway, thanks for reading. Until next time…
Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl
Here’s a movie I’m looking forward to seeing. Hell, the name alone was enough to sell me. This one is directed by Naoyuki Tomomatsu & Yoshihiro Nishimura and features everything you would want in a film of its caliber. Gore, blood, gore, gore, and blood. But, you don’t have to take my word for it…
