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)





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