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Japanese Pop’s Secret Utopians

By: Dan Barrow

Bright, ironic, and tuneful, Yellow Magic Orchestra provided the soundtrack to Japan’s bubble economy in the 1980s. But the band’s work also contained hidden depths and the memories of East Asia’s political struggles.

(BSR Agency / Gentle Look / Getty Images)

In a 1983 episode of the Fuji TV variety show Quiz! Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Don!, three men in peculiar get-ups take part in a game-show pastiche, swaying to pop tunes while giving sheepish answers — though only one, composer and multi-instrumentalist Haruomi Hosono, puts in much effort, performing a strange, distracted strut. The segment cuts to the trio performing their […]

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In a 1983 episode of the Fuji TV variety show Quiz! Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Don!, three men in peculiar get-ups take part in a game-show pastiche, swaying to pop tunes while giving sheepish answers — though only one, composer and multi-instrumentalist Haruomi Hosono, puts in much effort, performing a strange, distracted strut. The segment cuts to the trio performing their […]

Medium

In a 1983 episode of the Fuji TV variety show Quiz! Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Don!, three men in peculiar get-ups take part in a game-show pastiche, swaying to pop tunes while giving sheepish answers — though only one, composer and multi-instrumentalist Haruomi Hosono, puts in much effort, performing a strange, distracted strut. The segment cuts to the trio performing their […]

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In a 1983 episode of the Fuji TV variety show Quiz! Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Don!, three men in peculiar get-ups take part in a game-show pastiche, swaying to pop tunes while giving sheepish answers — though only one, composer and multi-instrumentalist Haruomi Hosono, puts in much effort, performing a strange, distracted strut. The segment cuts to the trio performing their […]

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