Shonen Knife’s Happy Hour: Food, Gender, Rock and Roll (33 1/3 Japan Series)

Shonen Knife--an all-female punk trio from Osaka, Japan--has cultivated a global fan base that has included the likes of Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain and Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore. The 1998 album Happy Hour encapsulates the band’s allure via its fusion of punk rock and cute aesthetics in the service of lyrics focused on food. Saturated in lyrics about edibles from sushi to banana chips, the record initially appears to be a cute pop punk homage to girl power. Brooke McCorkle Okazaki explores how, embedded in the seemingly straightforward music and lyrics of the album, lies an aesthetic that challenges historical norms regarding gender roles in popular culture. Title Page Copyright Page Contents Illustrations Images Tables Acknowledgments Preface Introduction: Itadakimasu! (Let’s Eat!) Punk Rockers: Shonen Knife and Do-It-Yourself Aesthetic Chapter 1: Girl Bands and Josei Rock, 1950s–1980s Girls Band and/or Josei Rock? Josei Rock: History and Context Josei Rock Beginnings Josei Rock’s First Wave Chapter 2: Food, Gender, and Music in Postwar Japan Kinda Cute, Kinda Cool, Kinda Wild Japanese Food Culture Food and Music in Japan: A Prehistory Chapter 3: Shonen Knife’s Songs in the Key of Food A Typology of Food Songs Body Image and Song Outliers Food for Fun Pig Out! Chapter 4: Konnichiwa!: An Introduction to Happy Hour (1998) and Its Cover Art Nara Yoshitomo: Artist as Punk Music and Image Chapter 5: Happy Hour: Food, Music, and Transnational Flow Singing the Nation: “Sushi Bar Song” and “Gyoza” Singing and Sweets: “Hot Chocolate” and “Cookie Day” Chapter 6: The Delicious Banality of “Banana Chips” Music and Lyrics: More than Just a Banana (Chip) Blending Bananas: Recording and Remixes Rockin’ Bananas: The “Banana Chips” Music Video Chapter 7: Sweet Candy Power: Shonen Knife’s Josei Rock Legacy Kawaii, Exoticism, and Playing with Stereotypes in Josei Rock Cover Bands and Inspired Homages Strong and Sweet Gochisōsama Deshita (That Was a Delicious Meal!) Notes Introduction Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Other Bibliography Interviews and Correspondences Selected Discography Shonen Knife Albums Other Index Shonen Knife-an all-female punk trio from Osaka, Japan-cultivated a global fan base that has included the likes of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain and Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore. Their 1998 album Happy Hour, filled with tunes about delicacies ranging from sushi to banana chips, encapsulates the band's charming fusion of cuteness with punk rock cool. Tracing histories of food and josei rock in Japan, McCorkle Okazaki outlines the ways Shonen Knife has, over the last forty years, consistently used seemingly straightforward songs about food to comment on gender stereotypes in popular culture. Introduction. Itadakimasu! (Let's Eat!) -- Girl Bands and Josei Rock, 1950s-1980s -- Food, Gender, and Music in Postwar Japan -- Shōnen Knife's Songs in the Key of Food -- Konnichiwa! : An Introduction to Happy Hour (1998) and its Cover Art -- Happy Hour : Food, Music, and Transnational Flow -- The Delicious Banality of "Banana Chips" -- Sweet Candy Power : Shōnen Knife and Their Josei Rock Legacy "Happy Hour, filled with pop punk songs about food, encapsulates the international allure of the all-female punk trio from Osaka, Japan"-- Provided by publisher