Okay, first up – I’m back sooner than doomily expected. Mercifully, the setback I alluded to turned out not to be as dire as initially dreaded (although it did involve a lot of unpleasantness). Regardless, we are all back out of the woods again. Onward and, hopefully, upward. Back to the usual silliness…
If I’m being honest, I was never a big fan of the band Japan. I quite liked their quasi-reunion album in 1991, Rain Tree Crow, but that was kind of a different beast altogether. I realize they were quite influential towards things that came after them (as much as Duran Duran like to cite the Sex Pistols and Chic, I’d suggest Japan played just as formative a role in the inspiration for their image, if not sound), but they were never really my cup of proto-New Romantic tea. Not sure why. I guess I just thought they looked too much like the New York Dolls and early Roxy Music and summarily dismissed them –- later to miss out on their more celebrated and mature work like Oil on Canvas, Tin Drum, etc. They went from being glammy, nasty and trashy to being kinda svelte, synthy and classy. Either way … I didn’t invest that much time in them.
Be that as it may, I spotted the photo up top and this photo of them from 1978 (captured by the incomparable Michael Putland) and I was immediately captivated -- THAT’S NEW YORK CITY -> WHERE ARE THEY STANDING?
I have a hunch or two, but what do you think?
Here they are from the same era …seemingly poised at the crossroads of a couple of conflicting genres. If you’re not familiar with them, don’t be put off by this … they ended up sounding vastly different.
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