＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49) on X
<Added July 19, 2021> Keigo Oyamada Announces Resignation
At the last minute, four days before the opening ceremony, Keigo Oyamada announced his resignation, which was accepted. Given the time constraints, I believe the only option is to use the opening ceremony music for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, composed by Yuji Koseki, from the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
With the motto “turning misfortune into fortune,” I believe the 1964 song is more appropriate for the glorious Tokyo Olympics.
<Added July 18, 2021> Keigo Oyamada is currently facing a flood of criticism on social media over past bullying issues.
Keigo Oyamada is the composer for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.
However, just before the start of the Tokyo Olympics, an interview in which he confessed to past involvement in bullying and assault against students with disabilities was reported, leading to numerous calls for an apology and resignation. This seems like malicious behavior from those opposed to the Tokyo Olympics.
By the way, this interview was published in a music magazine on July 1, 1995, in which he confessed to bullying and assaulting multiple students with disabilities over many years, from elementary school through high school.
I previously wrote that “canceling or postponing the release of DVDs featuring the suspect and postponing the release of his film is going too far!” However, the recent social media outrage feels even more outrageous.
When I was in junior high school, the first music I listened to on a record player was a thin vinyl record called a “flexi disc.”
After that, I started listening to regular “donut disc” single records, and eventually LP records on a large split-screen stereo. I also started listening to cassette tapes on a small cassette deck. CDs came much later.
These days, there are fewer music programs on TV and I hardly ever listen to the radio, so my music life revolves around CDs I bought a long time ago, like the Carpenters or Elvis Presley, or songs streamed from YouTube on my computer as background music while I write my blog.
Although it’s not my business, it seems like the CD industry is facing a very tough time. During the Showa era, there were many “million-sellers” of records and CDs that sold a million copies, but I think that’s almost impossible these days, with the exception of idol groups like AKB48, Nogizaka46, and Keyakizaka46. I’m not sure whether these are “CDs with handshake tickets” or “CDs with handshake tickets.”
1. Keigo Oyamada looks back on the music of the 30 years of the Heisei era
In a recent interview with musician Keigo Oyamada (1969- ), he looked back on the 30 years of the Heisei era through music, and one particularly striking comment he made was that “music is returning to vibrations in the air.”
He debuted with Flipper’s Guitar in 1989, and was described as a “Shibuya-kei” musician, becoming something of a “pop icon” (a symbol in the pop world). As a guitarist, he formed bands with YMO and Yoko Ono, and became a hugely popular musician overseas.
He said, “Music is returning to a form closer to its original form.”
With the decline of the old “records” and “CDs,” many people are now using their smartphones and computers to listen to music casually and easily, such as through YouTube streaming services, as background music.
Meanwhile, there has also been an increase in avid fans who want to go to live venues to hear live singing.
The “troubadours” of medieval Europe, the biwa hoshi who appeared in Japan’s Heian period, and the “wandering enka singers” of the Showa period were all bearers of music as an “instantaneous art,” unrelated to things like “recording media” and “copyright.” Their music is “music that vibrates the air and disappears without a trace once the song is over.” The same can be said of performing arts such as Noh, Kabuki, Rakugo, Kodan, and Rokyoku up until the Edo period.
I believe this is what Keigo Oyamada meant when he said, “Music is returning to vibrations of the air” and “Music has returned to a form closer to its original form.”
2. Changes in the environment surrounding music over the 30 years of the Heisei era
The first decade up to 1998 was a time of one million-seller CD after another. After peaking at ¥607.5 billion in 1998, CDs and other music software sales continued to decline by approximately 5% each year from the following year, reaching ¥361.8 billion in 2008, a drop of more than 40% over the course of ten years.
In 2003, paid music streaming began with the iTunes Music Store (now the iTunes Store), and in 2005, YouTube, which allows users to upload music and videos, was launched.
The iPhone was released in 2008, and with the widespread use of smartphones (household penetration rate reached 62.6% in 2013), an increasing number of people began enjoying music via streaming, rather than simply playing MP3 files.
Meanwhile, live performances were on the rise, with the number of performances exceeding 30,000 in 2017, reaching a scale of ¥344.8 billion.
It seems that the recent major shift from “consumption of things” to “consumption of experiences,” and from “ownership” to “use,” is also reflected in the way we enjoy music.
3. What is Streaming?
“Streaming” refers to the simultaneous playback of video and audio data received over a communications network. It is a type of “subscription consumption.”
Traditionally, playback was limited to waiting until the entire data was downloaded. However, with streaming, playback begins once a certain amount of data has been received. By processing the reception and playback in parallel, users can begin watching with minimal wait time.
Streaming also enables broadcast-style streaming services with no set beginning or end, which was difficult to achieve with download-based streaming.
This streaming method, which allows for simultaneous streaming and viewing while filming and recording, like live television and radio broadcasts, is called “live streaming.”