I don't normally do requests, but this was suggested by Jamas this week and, well, it's probably the least apalling thing covered in recent reportage - particularly today of all days.
Doprah's video for 'Strange People' is apparently controversial, as Stuff.co.nz would have you believe or question or something. I dunno. Am I offended? Nope. Do I like the video? I like it the more I see it - and I quite like the music - a little bit Bjork, a little bit Fetus Productions, and that's not a bad thing. Perhaps Jamas will tune in here with his thoughts? (he has an alternative tune for the style depicted here, also a local act with a female singer, but the act's such a good pick I think I'll use something of theirs in a later post!)
Appropriating J Pop doesn't begin and end with this video, and if you're viewing this as appropriating another culture for kicks then I'd at least remind you of Gwen Stefani's Harajuku girls, who seemed to me to verge on novelty ornamentation for her videos. As for 'Strange People', it's eerie, it's discomforting, and it's perplexing - three things I could equally say about my reaction to kawaii - or J Pop. Seems like a pretty good match to me. Like!
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This song isn't really to my taste... and while I could mention my pick for "NZ music group taking on Japanese culture" (in a song I already mentioned on my blog, I will instead say that when I saw this "controversy", I was reminded of Avril Lavigne's "Hello Kitty", which had similar issues, and I would almost say more legitimately if I didn't think she came to it more with ignorance than intentionally appropriation... (which marks one of the few times Avril will be mentioned on this blog.)
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