Table of Contents
Introduction
Is your everyday life losing whatever trace of pep it may have once had? Is anybody expecting everything from you except for the things that make you human? Is rock ‘n’ roll starting to not do it for you, so you’re considering getting into something Adults Tell You to Like instead? Are you starting to think that taking up golf might be a good idea (unless you’re doing it to stop drinking too much like Alice Cooper did, it isn’t)? Sounds like you need some words from the wise guys.
Shonen Knife: Music Should Be Fun
Shonen Knife formed in Osaka in December 1981, with Naoko Yamano on guitar and vocals, her younger sister Atsuko Yamano on drums and her college friend Michie Nakatani on bass, keyboards, and vocals, with two very good guidelines: Music should be fun, and positivity rules. A fondness for girl groups, classic pop and Ramones informs their music, and anything that makes them go “yes” is fair game for song lyrics – Animals, food (especially sweets) and even consumer culture. I can’t think of another band who’d take their name from a knife designed for sharpening pencils, and make a jingle about a pot-scouring brush. To these women, irony is something that’s done to clothes.
It didn’t take long before the world outside Japan cocked an ear towards these cute but solid sounds, and their second release, the 8” vinyl EP Burning Farm, was issued on cassette with a few extra songs and a different track order by the Olympia, WA indie label K Records. Among the people who managed to buy this limited release was a boy from nearby Aberdeen named Kurt Cobain, who found it revelatory. Over time, other American indies and even major labels like Capitol and Virgin would give them inroads to America, and young Kurt’s band Nirvana brought them on board to open for them during a UK tour, shortly before they became household names.
Down Rock’s Tributaries
They became a favorite band of so many favorite bands that Giant Records released a tribute 2LP set in 1991 called Every Band Has a Shonen Knife Who Loves Them, where 32 acts (unfortunately, only 23 on the CD and 14 in the UK) all gave them enthusiastic thumbs-up. They also are up for doing the same to the bands who influence them, by covering songs such as the Carpenters’ “Top of the World,” the Beatles’ “Rain,” John & Yoko’s “The Luck of the Irish,” Martha and the Vandellas’ “(Love is Like a) Heatwave” and My Bloody Valentine’s “When You Sleep.” All good, but it’s nothing compared to the one band they cover the most. More on that later.
Sometimes band members come and go when a band exists for a long time, and Shonen Knife are no exception. Michie left the band and retired from music in 1999, while Atsuko left in 2006 after doubling on drums and bass to get married and move to Los Angeles. She was replaced on bass for the next 10 years by Ritsuko Taneda, and then Naru Ishizuka, who stepped aside after Atsuko returned in 2016 as their full-time four-stringer. After various drummers, including the late Mana “China” Nishiura of DMBQ, Etsuko Takanishi, and Emi Morimoto, Risa Kawano took the throne in 2015 and has been sitting tightly on it ever since. As long as Naoko Yamano remains at the helm, Shonen Knife continues to be a musical antidote to everything that doesn’t make life fully worth living.
Welcome to the Rock Club: Upcoming Concert
The last time I saw them play live, another audience member and I were inspired to air drum like mad near the front during their performance, and Risa was very flattered. You can do that if you wish when they appear at the Kansai-ken Ongaku Houkoku-kai (Kansai Region Music Report Meeting) hosted by DMBQ on December 30th at Umeda Club Quattro with Otoboke Beaver, BLONDnewHALF, KK Manga, Oni and Super Funcy (featuring Oni from Afrirampo), Tengoku Chusha, Nuill, Messiah and Nigen, Doors opem 13:30, show 14:00, advance tickets ¥3,500, same-day ¥4.500. The band has just returned from rocking Latin America and spending holiday time with their loved ones.
Expect more of Atsuko’s funky stage outfit designs, coordinated rock kicks, songs that’ll stick in your head for days, lots of music on the merch table so you can catch up (over 20 albums so far), and good vibes all around. You might crave snacks afterwards, though. To keep on top of what they’re doing and where they’re playing, you can follow them at https://www.shonenknife.net/.
Five Must-Have Shonen Knife Albums (in chronological order)
Burning Farm (1983)
Their second release (after the self-released cassette Minna Tanoshiku, which wasn’t reissued until earlier this year) and one which has seen lots of reissues. It manages to balance punk rock grit with pop slickness, with Michie Nakatani’s hopping bass being especially notable. Standout song: “Koujou no Tsuitachi”/“A Day at the Factory,” which pulls off the neat trick of incorporating trebly clanging factory-like sounds without having any detrimental effects on the charm of the song.
Let’s Knife (1992)
A collection of re-recorded songs sung in English, including two different recordings of “Tortoise Brand Pot Cleaner’s Theme.” Rolling Stone Japan put it at #37 in their “100 Greatest Japanese Rock Albums of All Time” in 2007. Maybe it’ll chart higher next time if they were to bring in Risa and her kit to bury the drum machine for a reissue. Standout Song: “Antonio Baka Guy.” In this version, Naoko gets to summon guitar feedback howling that she couldn’t in the original.
Happy Hour (1998)
The album starts by blowing out their occasional urge to use gimmicky electronics in “Shonen Knife Planet,” and then settles into three women, three instruments, no waiting, almost no guff. Standout song: “Banana Chips.” See? Somebody likes them enough to make a song about them.
Pop Tune (2012)
After taking a crack at heavy metal stylings with their previous albums Super Group and Free Time, they dialed it down here, combining their pop tunes (not lying, were they?) with some still-heavy production. Standout songs: The title track, and “Osaka Rock City,” which was used as the theme song for the movie Soul Flower Train (based on Osaka native Robin Nishi’s manga).
Our Best Place (2023)
Their most recent studio album, which brings punk fuzz back into the mix. Great stuff, but it’s one of those albums you’d like to hear not fighting the Volume Wars. Standout Song: “MUJINTO Rock,” all about rocking out on a desert island, where there is no King, Queen, President or Prime Minister. This is probably the closest we’ll get to a political original Shonen Knife song (although “Otoshi Ana”/”People Traps” on Happy Hour may also qualify here).
Honorable Mentions: Osaka Ramones (2011) and Osaka Ramones Live (2015)
As you can guess, this is a built-in side band that pays tribute to da Brudders. If you’ve ever wondered how the Knife would sound with their instruments coated in refried beans, the studio album takes care of that, because the Ramones’ music deserves no less, ya know? Good luck trying to find a copy of the live album (featuring C.J. Ramone), though; there were only 500 copies made. Standout song: “Chinese Rock.” The only opportunity you’ll ever have to hear Shonen Knife singing about how much addiction sucks.
