Recently, I found this 2018 Japanese news section that was about Kendrick Lamar surprisingly. They talk about how he rose to fame, about his Pulitzer Prize, and about why young people listen to him. They mention how his lyrics are popular because they inspire many themes about race and identity, and many people relate or feel moved by them. Kendrick himself (through Japanese subtitles) talks about how be believes that some things cannot be expressed only through words, and need music to fully understand. They also talk to a professor, who explains further the influence of Hip-Hop and how it originates from the Civil Rights. Overall, its a well made news section and I was able to understand a good portion of what was being said. I especially enjoyed how they cut and edited his music and concerts together.
Another song by さらさ, this one seems to deal with searching for meaning or ambition in life. The "amber", as is present in the song, is an impulse or urge that is longed for, searched for, but ultimately exhausts us. "溢れる言葉追いかける / Chasing overflowing words" and "答えなんて探していないでね / Don't search for its meaning" Give weight to this concept of searching for meaning in things that perhaps are not meant to be understood. The chorus furthermore emphasizes this idea "意味を奪っていく衝動 / Impulses steal away meaning" as well as "分かり合えないこと大切にしてる気がする / I seem to find importance in what I cannot understand", which further explains this notion. I believe, from what I understood, that the song is trying to say that meaning does not give purpose. Trying to find the meaning of everything and understanding everything is not what pushes us, but ironically sets us back and blinds us, stealing away the real truth behind the incomprehensible. Perhaps it is better to, instead of trying to find meaning, continue to live with uncertainty and appreciate what we don't know.
I've expressed before I haven't really listened to much Japanese music, however I have recently grown interest in this one specific artist, さらさ. I enjoy her music because one, the music itself is good, but also the lyrics are something that I find enjoyable to decipher. This specific song, "Thinking of You", is about a person who is still dwelling on another person, a lover or partner, who is now far away and unreachable. The song delves into this person's heartbreak and this person's constant rumination, and their hope for the other individual to return, even if such a thing may actually be impossible. さらさ incorporates some decent bars such as "重なったまま /揺らぎ続けてる/永遠に燃える恋", "Simultaneously, we flutter and my love eternally burns", or "声枯らしたまま /わがままにみてる /回りまわる針", "While my voice withers away, I watch egotistically the spinning [needles?/clock hands?]". Overall, the song is admittedly not anything groundbreaking or an instant classic, it is on the surface a typical song on heartbreak and losing someone. However, it is not often that such ideas are presented with catchy beats and above average sophistication of lyrics, and therefore I find this song, and most of this artist's discography, worthy of giving a listen.