Punch Drunker / Fujifabric
I would like to post my thoughts on my favorite Fujifabric songs,
even though I lack the vocabulary to describe them,
one song at a time.
I'm going to post them.
The 146th installment is
Punch Drunker
A song included on the album
MUSIC released on July 28, 2010.
It is a song that overwhelms you with a band sound that explodes all at once
from a murky, suspicious atmosphere.
About the song
Regarding the background of how the song was created,
I will introduce some past interviews
below.
--It seems you changed the arrangement of "Punch Drunker" completely from the demo. [Interviewer]
At the demo stage, the musical style of this song was quite close to "Yoake no BEAT." So, we each thought about what to do before recording, but for this song, Toshi-chan personally came up with an incredible rhythm. And when the drums change, what goes on top of it changes too. (Daisuke Kanazawa)
Originally it was a normal 8-beat, but it was like, "Oh, so that's how it is." Because of those drums, everyone's performance changed completely. It's how a band is built, isn't it? (Soichiro Yamauchi)
Everyone reacted to the rhythm that the drums brought out, saying, "If it's this kind of song, I think this would be good." (Daisuke Kanazawa)
When we said we were going to do this song, Toshida-san, who is a person who practices a lot, thought about it a lot. And he made an arrangement that made the direction of the song very thick. Because of that, when we got into the studio, our performance changed quite a bit too. (Daisuke Kanazawa)
Exactly. (Soichiro Yamauchi)
Band power. (Shinichi Kato)
That's why what I think is amazing about Toshi-chan is that, although the form is that the three of us are members and Toshi-chan is playing drums as support, it felt like he was doing it as a member. (Daisuke Kanazawa)
We feel that way too. (Soichiro Yamauchi)
--Including those drums, each instrument is really going wild, isn't it? [Interviewer]
It went pretty wild. (Daisuke Kanazawa)
Because the vocals are going wild (laughs). They're going super wild. (Soichiro Yamauchi)
--What was it like when you first heard Shimura-san's song? [Interviewer]
I recoiled. Like, "What is this?! As expected!" (Soichiro Yamauchi)
We really couldn't make this. (Daisuke Kanazawa)
Like, "Man, you're amazing!" We wanted to do it quickly, didn't we? I don't know how to put it, but I really thought this was music that only we could do. It's like that for all the songs, but especially for a song like this, I felt like no one else could do it. (Soichiro Yamauchi)
It is a song with an amazing development that made us all look at each other and grin, saying "too genius" the moment we heard the demo, but it became even more bizarre due to the rhythm arrangement inspired by Hashida-san's drum pattern. I think there is no doubt that Fujifabric is the only band in the world that can make a song like this. Fujifabric has many songs with impressive guitar riffs, but for this song, I dared to dub various things as I thought of them, not riffs, and that doubled the sense of chaos. There is also an episode where we planned to include a Telecaster to match the lyrics "the Telecaster that is surging," but I accidentally forgot the Telecaster on the day we recorded the guitar, and had it brought in a hurry. It is a highly addictive song that will definitely remain in your ears once you hear it.
The background of how the arrangement was boldly changed
from the demo stage is discussed.
In particular, the rhythm pattern proposed by support drummer Hashida-san
greatly influenced the direction of the song,
and you can get a glimpse of the creative process as a band,
where it affected the performance of all the members.
Also, the shock of hearing the original song created by Shimura-san for the first time,
and the passionate feelings of the members who felt that it was music that only they could create,
convey their deep love and
confidence in the song✨
A humorous episode about planning to include a Telecaster
to match the lyrics but forgetting it
is also introduced,
making it a valuable interview
where you can learn about the behind-the-scenes of song production✨
About the lyrics
From here on, it is my personal interpretation of the lyrics.
I would appreciate it if you could look at it with warm eyes
while looking at the lyric link above.
Interpretation of the lyrics for the first verse of Punch Drunker
The protagonist of the story is an ordinary girl you could find anywhere.
Repeating boring days,
she was getting a little tired of her unstimulating life.
One night, she happened to drop by a live music club,
and her life changed completely.
What appeared on stage was a band she didn't know.
The moment the man holding the guitar
started strumming his Telecaster,
a shock like being struck by lightning hit her.
"Probably hooked in 3 minutes"
Just as those words suggested,
in just 3 minutes, her heart was completely stolen.
The surging sound of the guitar,
explosive energy,
the heat as if the entire stage were wrapped in flames.
It was like dynamite.
The audience was all
swallowed up by that overwhelming performance,
getting swept into a vortex of frenzy.
She was no exception.
Amidst a flood of shocking sound and light,
she felt as if she had been punched,
nearly losing consciousness.
However, it wasn't pain,
but rather a sensation closer to pleasure.
A roar racing through her brain,
a rhythm pounding against her heart.
She had completely
fallen into a "punch drunker" state.
Interpretation of the lyrics for the second verse of Punch Drunker
The man's guitar,
as if piercing directly into her emotional lines,
shook the depths of her heart.
The ear-piercing guitar sound
made her soul tremble,
and opened the door to a new world.
Interpretation of the lyrics for the C-melody and final chorus of Punch Drunker
Even after the concert ended,
her heart remained exhilarated.
She darkened her room and traced the memories of the concert.
The heat of that day, the excitement of that day,
and above all, the music of that day.
The music pushed her body,
and she started dancing naturally.
As if she were still at the concert venue that day.
She once again
returns to the "punch drunker" state of that day.
The music of that band
was not just music to her,
but a shock enough to change her life.
And then, she realizes.
That the concert that day
was the new beginning of her life.
The boring daily life came to an end,
and with the music,
she walks through stimulating days.
The music of that band
will become an eternal light coloring her life.
...
Is it something like that?
I interpreted it as going to a certain concert,
getting hooked on a band you didn't know,
and that it gave her a shock
enough to change the protagonist's life thereafter.
Originally, punch drunker
seems to be used for symptoms
when the brain is shocked
in boxing or sports where people collide,
but in the lyrics, I felt it was used
as a state of being addicted
after being shocked by music.
Personal note
When I first heard this song live,
unfortunately, it wasn't Shimura-san's singing voice,
but rather in 2011,
shortly after Fujifabric became a three-piece band.
It was the Hoshide Saru to Parade tour.
Since the support drummer during the production and the 2011 live performance I attended was Toshiki Hata,
the 2011 tour ended up being
a valuable concert where they performed not only songs from the album
STAR, but also songs from the album
MUSIC.
It's such a cool, fast-paced song,
and since it was performed
not long after Yamauchi-san became the vocalist,
I remember it being a refreshing
Punch Drunker.
Back in 2011, honestly,
I thought, 'If only this were Shimura-san...'
and these days,
I also wonder what kind of cool
performance it would be
with Yamauchi-san's vocals
after all these years.
I'd love to hear it live again someday!
The 2011 live footage still exists,
so I hope you get a chance to see it!
How was it?✨
Punch Drunker is what I introduced!!
Even if this post doesn't fully convey it,
if you listen to the song
and enjoy the greatness of
Fujifabric,
I would be very happy✨
I plan to post again,
introducing one song at a time
whenever I feel like it✨
#Fujifabric #MasahikoShimura #SoichiroYamauchi #DaisukeKanazawa #ShinichiKato #Music #MusicReview #TryLikingIt #AlbumSongs #MUSIC #PunchDrunker
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