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27 november 2019

An early Christmas with Japanese eighties band Rebecca

 

 

All three loyal readers of this here musical column know I have a weak spot for Rebecca, the Japanese eighties band revolving around singer Yamada Nobuko. The band is obviously a rip-off of Madonna, but while I never developed a taste for the American superstar, I absolutely love Rebecca, and more in particular Yamada Nobuko.

She has more authenticity, more sincerity in the way she’s having fun and she has a kinetic energy, a playful wildness I have seldom seen in performers of her irk. She reminds me a lot of Cindy Lauper in that regard.

The song she plays in the video above, I don’t know if it’s a cover of Madonna’s Material Girl or just plain plagiarism. The Santa dance at the end does seem inspired by the Material Girl video.

More snobbish people than I would call this a guilty pleasure but I find Rebecca an absolute delight. No apologies.

By the way, I decided to start Christmas early. Here in The Netherlands we have a pre-Christmas tradition, Sinterklaas (the original Santa Claus, by the way), involving a form of blackface that is so ugly and embarrassing, I’m trying to forget the whole thing by hanging up my Christmas decorations already. So merry Christmas, y’all! (PB)

Christmas, Japan, Music
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