#145 Band Theory 44 | Kojima

Connecting through ska, let me introduce Kojima.

I remember reading in an indie magazine a long time ago that the origin of Kojima's band name came from Kojima = Small Island (Japan), but regardless, they are just cool. There were quite a lot of people around me who liked Kojima.

The vocalist, Hitchamen, was a giant, bearded, skinhead with Japanese-style tattoos all over his body (not cute little tattoos, haha) and Namu Amida Butsu written on him, making him look like a total yakuza. Rumors circulated among us that Hitchamen was the son of a major crime syndicate boss, haha. Despite that appearance, he was a
really nice guy, and when a few of my friends went to a MINOR LEAGUE concert, they asked Hitchamen, who was hanging out there, for a photo, and he gladly took one with them, haha.

Also, back in the day on a show called HANG OUT, there was a segment for a moment called Kojima's Life Advice, where, for some crazy reason, Hitchamen would give life advice, and I absolutely loved the segment where he would dismiss questions by saying, Think for yourself!, haha.

At first glance, he looked tough, and while Hitchamen's voice was unique, their performance was always fun, upbeat, and melodious. They are a band that deserves more recognition!

10th Place: SEXY DYNAMITE ROCK'N’ ROLLER

This song is also incredibly fun from the intro, a rock 'n' roll party tune that makes you want to shout Yeah!!! along with it. I feel a sense of sympathy since I was in a band called
SEXY DYNAMITE during my college days. The opening line,
Wriggling your sexy body, is the best.

9th Place: Shut Life

What made me laugh while making this ranking is that Kojima has surprisingly many music videos, haha. It doesn't seem like they would enjoy making them at all, haha. And this music video for Shut Life is also quite upbeat. As for the song style, I like it from the initial bass entry, and I also like the part at the end where they sing,

Shut Life, Shut Life
.

8th Place: Hot of Youth Generation

This is just a very melodious song. I actually think Hitchamen is quite excellent as a songwriter, and this is pop from the opening intro all the way to the end. And the

music video is... haha.

7th Place: Finger Vibration

I don't know the meaning of the song title, and the lyrics probably imply dirty jokes, but... haha. Regardless, it's a positive masterpiece from start to finish. Rather than ska, it's just a standard melodic hardcore song.

6th Place: Frustration Dead Morning

This is also a masterpiece.
And, going off on a slight tangent, I just realized that Kojima's songs share a commonality with Thee Michelle Gun Elephant in the way English lyrics are written out in katakana.

5th Place: Jounetsu no Bara (Rose of Passion)

This is incredibly cool.
The Blue Hearts tribute had such a strong respect for the original songs that it basically felt like covers or copies. While POTSHOT's "Kiss Shite Hoshii" and Husking Bee's "Mirai wa Bokura no Te no Naka" were okay, nothing else really struck a chord with me. However, this cover of Jounetsu no Bara by Kojima wasby far the best. Uzumaki and others were really (omitted)...

4th Place: Monkey Slam Dance

This is a superexciting masterpiece.
I owned a Kojima best-of album, and this song was the last track; it was brilliant to close with such a cheerful song.
It must be amazing to hear live. It's a masterpiece.

3rd Place: Plastic on the Dogman

And this is it, this one!
I think this was the first song where I learned about Kojima, and as I mentioned before, it was a total shock.
Hicchamen's raspy voice, the cheerful horns, the catchy melody, the straightforward lyrics—I listened to the album that included this song quite a lot.

It's simple, but they really are good lyrics.

And, as expected, the final"Plastic, on the Dogman"chorus part is incredibly cool.

2nd Place: Bad Time Rolling

This has a very high level of perfection.
The intro, melody, and lyrics are all wonderful.
If other famous artists had sung this back then, it would have been a normal hit. Because it was Kojima,it didn't even graze the charts, but that's what's good about it.
The drummer from my college band liked it too and used to sing it often, so listening to this reminds me of that time.

1st Place: Slapping Dead Point

And this is the number one spot.
It is the most beautiful, most pop, and most mellow masterpiece among Kojima's songs.

The only pity is that even with such a wonderful masterpiece, because it was Kojima singing, it didn't even graze the charts, but that's what's good about it!
If it had been sung by bands like Mongol800 or 175R at the time, it would have surely sold incredibly well.

Anyway, it really is a beautiful song. It's youth.

That's all for my look back at Kojima, but
anyway,Kojima actually had quite a lot of music videoswas the takeaway (?).
It's been a while since they disbanded, but they had both talent and entertainment value, and they are definitely a band I'd like to see again.

Next time, I will continue to tackle this underground scene! That's all!