Humans are creatures who feel scared when love goes too far

A recent popular word is “precious.” However,For me, the most honorific word is “fear.”

When you witness the overwhelming talent of someone, you feel terrified at the fact that such a genius exists on the same planet as you.

For example, one of the artists I feel most scared of in this world right now is Kenshi Yonezu. When I first heard his song “Lemon” released in 2018, I felt nothing but fear. Here is a passage that describes it:

My image of Kenshi Yonezu was that of a total pervert who makes feel-good music despite being disgusting, just as his name suggests, which sounds like an ukiyo-e artist who draws shunga.

Beyond just “liking” the name “Kenshi Yonezu,” I can’t ignore his music when it comes on. I don’t understand a thing about what he does, but I can somehow sense that “he’s so amazing…” A mysterious monster.

That “unpleasantness” is something that, like the mysterious electronic sounds in “Poppin’ Apathy” or “Mad Head Love,” feels unpleasant if you listen to it by itself, but Yonezu uses it the other way around, making an impression, or transforming sounds that would otherwise just feel “uncomfortable” into something “pleasant” by combining them with other sounds.

It’s not just the arrangement, but Yonezu’s own rough voice and lyrics that seem to ask “Can those words be matched with that melody?” give the impression of a crazy, erotic, shunga-like piece of music that, for better or worse, is engraved into the minds of those who are forced to listen to it.

With that in mind, this song “Lemon” is too scary. It’s all about “feeling good”. The voice, lyrics, and melody are all just feel good. The lyrics are negative from start to finish, but it makes you want to sway your body and clap to the rhythm, which is unnaturally perfect.

It’s too unnatural for Kenshi Yonezu to create “easy-to-understand, good songs” and “easy-to-understand, good lyrics.” The melody and lyrics are all “sounds that hominidae like.” Music that 100 million people like. The guitar, strings, and the “weh” that suddenly pops in at the A-melody are all in this “national hit song,” down to the last detail.