The Blue Hearts

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The Blue Hearts
General information
Genre (s) Punk rock
founding 1985
resolution 1995
Last occupation
Kōmoto Hiroto ( 甲 本 ヒ ロ ト )
Guitar , vocals
 Mashima Masatoshi ( 真 島 昌 利 )
Kawaguchi Junnosuke ( 河口 純 之 助 )
Kajiwara Tetsuya ( 梶 原 徹 也 )

The Blue Hearts ( Japanese ザ ・ ブ ル ー ハ ー ツ ) were a Japanese punk band that was formed in the mid-1980s and separated again in the mid-1990s after internal arguments.

General

The style of the Blue Hearts is characterized by showing problems of society in general and grievances of Japanese society in particular. There is no sparing of ridicule and irony. Still, the lyrics are more than just a collection of jokes. Above all, the pillory of the band is: superficiality (mostly in the sense of appearance), indifference of society, philistine bourgeoisie, exclusion of "others", arrogance of the "upper class" (especially in Japan). For them it was not just about “hitting it”, but also offering specific solutions. This results in a philosophy that can be roughly described as fun, love & tolerance.

Fast punk rock- typical rhythms and accordingly z. The band is characterized by very cheeky lyrics to sing along. Clear influences from classic rock 'n' roll and blues can be felt.

Members

Kōmoto Hiroto ( 甲 本 ヒ ロ ト ) was responsible for most of the lyrics and the vocals . He was also the "joker" and head of the band. He also plays the harmonica.

Mashima Masatoshi ( 真 島 昌 利 ), or Mashi for short, was the guitarist and more of a serious guy. He wrote more serious, in-depth texts. He also sang some of the pieces himself.

Kawaguchi Junnosuke ( 河口 純 之 助 ) was the band's bass player. After the band split up, his music career ended.

Kajiwara Tetsuya ( 梶 原 徹 也 ), also Kaji-kun, was the drummer of the Blue Hearts. After the separation he played for various other rock bands such as The 3peace (1997-2000) & The Big Hip (since 2006).

Well-known & special pieces

Linda Linda ( リ ン ダ リ ン ダ ) is probably the best known and most popular song of the Blue Hearts. It comes from the pen of Hiroto and is the showpiece of the band. Simple melody and brisk rhythm, as well as a short and quite memorable text make this piece so unmistakable. A movie by Nobuhiro Yamashita called Linda Linda Linda ( リ ン ダ リ ン ダ リ ン ダ ) is dedicated to this song . It's about a Japanese high school girl band, with a Korean exchange student as a singer, who rehearses this and other pieces of the band. Furthermore, it was the song for the Nintendo DS video game Ouendan taken and in some high school drama - nachgesungen of students (eg Gachi Baka Episode 3.).

The song Love Letter ( ラ ブ レ タ ー ) shows the romantic side of the band very impressively. The song has been covered several times (in Japan and China).

With TRAIN-TRAIN , written by Mashi, you can clearly see the difference between Hiroto and Mashi, between the "joker" and the "serious one". The song was also the theme song for the television series "Haisukuuru raku gaki" ( は い す く ー る 落 書 ) on TBS.

TOO MUCH PAIN , one of the most catchy pieces from the Blue Hearts. It is very sad at first, but has a very positive moral: “Carry on! You can do it!"

チ ェ イ ン ギ ャ ン グ (Chain Gang) is also one of the more serious songs that oppose the proverbial wearing of masks and the constant lying to yourself and others associated with it.

少年 の 詩 (Shonen no uta) is a very rebellious piece. It is about breaking the rule of parents in order to find one's own path in life and to be able to develop freely.

Many pieces of the Blue Hearts can be found in karaoke collections and are often performed for the best, although most pieces can be difficult to sing because of their speed.

separation

The split goes back to a dispute over the behavior of Kawaguchi Junnosuke at concerts. In his time he was in a new religious community and distributed information material and membership forms about what the other band members did not approve of at the concerts. Hiroto in particular was very angry about it, because proselytizing did not correspond to the band's philosophy. Hiroto didn't want to be part of the band anymore. Mashi had the same attitude about it. Passing on the name with other members was also not an option for them. So the breakup of the band was certain, even if the fans shouldn't know about it at first. Until Hiroto literally blurted it out in a radio interview. When asked what the band's plans for the future (singles, albums, tour etc.) look like, he replied screaming: “It's over and over!”, Which was a big shock for the fan base.

The last album, PAN , didn't have much to do with the Blue Hearts stylistically either. After the band split up, Hiroto and Mashi formed the band The High-Lows with 3 other musician friends . This band broke up in 2005 and Hiroto formed a new band with Mashi a little later, The Cro-Magnons. Kajiwara first switched to the band 3peace and later to other bands. He and Mikio Shirai are currently forming the duo The Big Hip .

Ten years after the separation, in 2005, all four members of the Blue Hearts met again for a mutual reconciliation, to the delight of the still numerous fans. However, the Blue Hearts will neither record new material nor perform together.

Discography

Singles

  • 人 に や さ し く (Hito Ni Yasashiku) (February 25, 1987)
  • リ ン ダ リ ン ダ (Linda Linda) (May 1, 1987)
  • キ ス し て ほ し い (Kiss Shitehoshii) (November 21, 1987)
  • チ ェ ル ノ ブ イ リ (Chernobyl) (July 1, 1988)
  • ブ ル ー ハ ー ツ の テ ー マ (Blue Hearts' Theme) (July 1, 1988)
  • TRAIN-TRAIN (November 23, 1988)
  • ラ ブ レ タ ー (Loveletter) (February 21, 1989)
  • 青 空 (June 21, 1989)
  • 情 熱 の 薔薇 (Jōnetsu no bara) (July 25, 1990)
  • 首 つ り 台 か ら (Kubitsuridai kara) (April 10, 1991)
  • あ の 娘 に タ ッ チ (Ano Ko ni Touch) (November 28, 1991)
  • TOO MUCH PAIN (March 10, 1992)
  • 夢 (Yume) (October 25, 1992)
  • 旅人 ／ 台風 (February 25, 1993)
  • 1000 の バ イ オ リ ン (1000 Violins) (May 25, 1993)
  • パ ー テ ィ ー (Party) (August 25, 1993)
  • 夕 暮 れ (October 25, 1993)

Albums

  • THE BLUE HEARTS (May 21, 1987)
  • YOUNG AND PRETTY (November 21, 1987)
  • TRAIN-TRAIN (November 23, 1988)
  • BUST WASTE HIP (September 10, 1990)
  • HIGH KICKS (December 21, 1991)
  • STICK OUT (February 12, 1993)
  • DUG OUT (July 10, 1993)
  • PAN (July 10, 1995)

Additional

  • MEET THE BLUE HEARTS (January 1, 1995)
  • EAST WEST SIDE STORY (September 25, 1995)
  • THE SUPER BEST (October 16, 1995)
  • LIVE ALL SOLD OUT (January 1, 1996)
  • 野 音 Live on '94 6.18 / 19 (November 25, 1997)
  • THE BLUE HEARTS BOX (January 1, 1999)
  • Singles 1990–1993 (November 25, 1999)

Tributes

  • THE BLUE HEARTS tribute (Single) (May 10, 2002)
  • THE BLUE HEARTS 2002 TRIBUTE (August 28, 2002)
  • THE BLUE HEARTS SUPER TRIBUTE (April 2, 2003)
  • THE BLUE HEARTS 2005 TRIBUTE (July 20, 2005)

See also

Web links