Tuesday, April 10, 2012

It Is That Time Of Year Again, Again

For a few more days...

There are a hundred songs about sakura, maybe more. I am currently enamored of AKB48's "Sakura no shiori" (Link). As with nearly all AKB48 videos, the linked video has a long preamble and the imagery, as always, is tailor-made for nympholeptics. However, the singing is beautiful and the music and arrangement completely unlike anything else by the group.

Incidentally, the visit by elements of AKB48 to the U.S.A. for the 100th anniversary of Washington's receiving cherry trees from Japan was something of a public relations disaster for this blessed land, not that one would read about it in the mainstream press. Somehow the young ladies, dressed as they were in their performance outfits, did not come across as the most inspiring of ambassadors for Japan, cool or not. Indeed, they seemed to have reinforced prejudices that this blessed land infantilizes women and treats them as sex objects, and is a naive about the scourge of child pornography.

Whatever could have created that impression? Oh, right (68,736,148 views at last count).

Photo by: MTC

1 comment:

TheStrawMan said...

Where can we read about it in the non-mainstream press?

By the way; "elements of AK48"
I love that! Makes 'em sound like some kind of paramilitary unit!