"Plastic Love"
2021 reissue single artwork, originally used for 1980 "Sweetest Music" single
Single by Mariya Takeuchi
from the album Variety
LanguageJapanese, English
ReleasedMarch 25, 1985 (1985-03-25)[1]
Recorded1984
StudioOnkio Haus (Tokyo, Japan)
GenreCity pop,[2] J-pop[3]
Length4:53
LabelMoon
Songwriter(s)Mariya Takeuchi
Producer(s)Tatsuro Yamashita
Mariya Takeuchi singles chronology
"Margie Beat de Uta Wasete"
(1984)		 "Plastic Love"
(1985)		 "Koi no Arashi"
(1986)
Alternative cover
Original 1985 single cover
Original 1985 single cover

"Plastic Love" (Japanese: プラスティック・ラヴ, Hepburn: Purasutikku Ravu) is a song by Japanese singer Mariya Takeuchi from her 1984 album Variety. Written by Takeuchi and arranged by Tatsuro Yamashita, the song was released as the album's third single on March 25, 1985. "Plastic Love" is a city pop song; its upbeat arrangement contrasts with "melancholic" lyrics that describe a woman who embraces a hollow, hedonistic lifestyle after being scorned by a lover. Upon its initial release as a single, the song was a moderate success in Japan, peaking at number 86 on the Oricon Singles Chart and selling around 10,000 copies.

During the late 2010s, an eight-minute remix of "Plastic Love" went viral after being frequently recommended by the YouTube algorithm. By 2019, the video had received over 22 million views, and it received over 55 million views by 2021 before being removed due to a copyright strike. The song's popularity led to an international resurgence of interest in city pop. Along with Miki Matsubara's 1979 single "Mayonaka no Door (Stay With Me)", "Plastic Love" became a "gateway" for younger fans into the city pop genre, and it has been regarded as the most well-known song in the genre.

In 2018, a cover of "Plastic Love" by Friday Night Plans peaked at number 30 on the Oricon Singles Chart. A re-issue of Takeuchi's original single on 12 inch vinyl peaked at number five on the Oricon Singles Chart in 2021, and became the best-selling analog single of 2022 in Japan; Warner Music Japan also released a music video for the song. A cover by Japanese idol group Juice Juice peaked at number three on the Oricon Singles Sales chart in 2021, and ranked at number 85 on Oricon's 2022 year-end Singles Chart.

Background and recording

"Plastic Love" was recorded for Takeuchi's sixth studio album Variety (1984), a "comeback" record for Takeuchi.[3] Unlike on previous albums, where she generally performed songs written by others, all of the songs on Variety were written by Takeuchi.[3] Because she was pregnant at the time of she recorded Variety, Takeuchi was unable to experience the "excess" of pre bubble-era Japan. During this period, she wrote songs "because it was fun."[3] In an interview with The Japan Times, Takeuchi explained her songwriting process as wanting to "write a rock song, a folk song, a country song... I also wanted to write something danceable, something with a city pop sound. I wanted to write something that had 16 beats and lyrics capturing what life in a city was like."[3]

"Plastic Love" was recorded and mixed at Onkio Haus in Ginza, Tokyo. It was written by Takeuchi and arranged by Tatsuro Yamashita; Yamashita also produced the song and performed backing vocals. Yamashita mixed the song with Yasuo Sato.[1]

Composition

"Plastic Love" is a city pop song, and has been described as the "best-known example" of the genre. City pop as a genre is associated with the strong Japanese economy of the 1970s and 1980s, being musically tied to the "cosmopolitan lifestyle" and blending numerous genres of western popular music together.[2] According to New York Times writer David Leonhardt, the genre "often pairs shimmery vocals with funky production", resulting in an "effervescent sound".[4] Miranda Remington of Pen Magazine International described the song as being "arguably [Takeuchi's] most euphoric number".[5] The song pairs a "funk bassline and flamboyant brass" with "soaring vocals".[6]

In contrast to the song's upbeat arrangement, the song's lyrics are melancholic.[7] Most of the song's lyrics are in Japanese, although portions of the chorus ("Don't worry" and "I'm sorry") as well as the closing refrain ("I’m just playing games/I know it’s plastic love/Dance to the plastic beat/Another morning comes") are in English.[8] "Plastic Love" depicts a woman who has been scorned by a lover and becomes convinced that true love does not exist.[9] Instead, she knowingly treats love as a game, engaging in hollow, hedonistic behavior.[10] According to Takeuchi, the song's character "lost the man she truly loves" and "couldn’t shake the feelings of loneliness that the loss created."[3] Ryan Bassil of Vice described the song as "ode to a specific breed of loneliness: of being broken yet surrounded, lost to the night in fancy shoes and dresses; seeking out love beneath glowing lights while tip-toeing around the fear of commitment."[11]

Reception

"Plastic Love" was originally released as a 12-inch vinyl single on March 25, 1985. The release featured an "Extended Club Mix" as well as a new remix of the song.[12][13] The single met with only moderate success in Japan, peaking at number 86 on the Oricon Singles Chart.[14] It sold less than 10,000 copies, although it performed respectably in karaoke distribution.[15]

On November 3, 2021, "Plastic Love" was re-released as a single on 12-inch vinyl to commemorate "Record Day", a day to encourage people to purchase analog records.[16] The release included the "Extended Club Mix" featured on the 1985 single as well as the original version of the song.[17] It debuted at number five on the Oricon Singles Chart for the week of November 15, selling a total of 14,000 copies in its first week exclusively on analog. Simultaneously, a reissue of Variety charted at number six on the Oricon Albums Chart, also exclusively based on analog sales. According to Oricon, this was an unusually strong performance; it is rare for singles to chart in the top ten purely off of analog sales, despite the increase of popularity of vinyl records.[18] The single would spend 28 weeks on the chart in total.[17] According to SoundScan Japan, "Plastic Love" ranked as the best-selling analog single of 2021 in Japan. SoundScan credited the song with popularizing city pop overseas.[19]

Cultural impact

Fan-made remix

In 2017 eight-minute version was uploaded by the YouTube account Plastic Lover.[20] The video doesn't feature an official remix of the song, but rather a fan-made version of the original that loops several parts of the song to extend its length.[3] The origin of the remix is unclear;[3] according to Plastic Lover, the video was a re-upload of an existing video that had been taken down.[21]

Between 2017 and 2019, the video was picked up by the YouTube recommendation algorithm and went viral acquired over 22 million views.[22] The song became "near-inescapable" on YouTube, where it frequently appeared in the "recommended" feed.[23] It was briefly removed due to a copyright strike from Alan Levenson, the photographer responsible for the video's thumbnail; the photograph was originally used for Takeuchi's 1980 single "Sweetest Music", not "Plastic Love", and was used without permission. According to Plastic Lover, Levenson was barraged by hateful messages, some of which were antisemitic, and was initially "unwilling to negotiate". He ultimately agreed to lift the copyright strike once he was credited as photographer.[21] By February 2021, the video had over 55 million views on YouTube. The video was eventually removed from YouTube due to a copyright claim.[20]

Thomas Calkins noted the strong connection fans had to the specific upload by Plastic Lover, and outrage at its removal, as a social phenomenon; "users could’ve moved on to any number of clones of the video, or the myriad remixes and copies. For some listeners, that digital copy had specific meanings that others did not... What the Plastic Love phenomenon suggests is that through this threat of loss, even digital copies can have a kind of aura for music listeners".[24] Levenson's "Sweetest Music" photograph has become strongly associated with "Plastic Love" due to the remix video; the 2021 re-issue of the single used the Levenson photograph. Kotaku writer Brian Ashcroft attributed the song's renewed success to a "combination of the now iconic photo, the instantly catchy vibes, and the earworm appeal of Takeuchi’s performance".[14]

City pop resurgence

The belated popularity of "Plastic Love" has been cited as a key factor in city pop's increasing popularity among western audiences.[20][4] Writing for Billboard Japan in April 2022, Hitoshi Kurimoto described "Plastic Love", as well as Miki Matsubara's "Mayonaka no Door (Stay with Me)", as "representative tracks that have become resurgent hits" in the city pop genre.[25] Kurimoto noted a common pattern among city pop songs, including "Plastic Love", of being first discovered by the underground club music community - specifically the vaporwave and future funk sub-genres - before acquiring wider popularity due to uploads to YouTube and social media platforms like TikTok.[25] Ryutaro Amano of Mikiki felt the song had become synonymous with future funk.[26] The "breakout popularity" of city pop led record labels in Japan to re-issue albums as well as to issue new features and music videos, with sales in the genre "flourishing" on both CD and vinyl formats.[25]

Because "Plastic Love" was not officially available on streaming platforms until November 2020, it has been described as an "invisible hit song".[27] In October 2018, Colin Marshall of Open Culture described the song as having become the "best-known example of city pop".[2] In February 2021, Cat Zhang of Pitchfork said that "nearly every young city pop fan I’ve talked to has cited “Plastic Love” as their gateway to the genre, and the YouTube algorithm as their route".[20] NME writer Tanu Raj noted the song, along with "Stay with Me" and Takako Mamiya's "Midnight Joke", functioned a "gateway for a younger generation to discover [city pop]".[28] According to Miranda Remington of Pen Magazine International, "mashups with famous Western songs; fan-made English-language lyrics; and most prevalently, retro-futuristic ‘vaporwave’ takes" have circulated "ubiquitously" online. She felt "Plastic Love" and its fan-made remixes had become an "important site of virtual commentary, as urban love stories for those who yearn for an idealised past from the present".[5]

Takeuchi has expressed surprise at the song's popularity among foreign listeners. In an interview with The Japan Times, she said that "it never occurred to me to try to (release) work in the West... Considering that it was mostly performed in Japanese, we figured it would be impossible to go abroad", and was curious about how the city pop "movement" began.[3] Shoumik Hassin of Bdnews24 felt the song connected with audiences because of its "melancholy" vibe, pairing the "shiny, plastic surfaces" of city pop with "hints of confusion, yearning, and loneliness"; "even in a language you might not know, and amid the bouncy beat and the bright brass, it feels like taking a smoking break and getting slightly too honest."[7] In Heichi Magazine, Joni Zhu noted the appearance of "Plastic Love" as expressing "a yearning for an eternal 1980s, and a Japanified future when Japanese trademarks would dominate the world".[9] Haley Dennis of the University of Texas at Austin's Afterglow noted the experience of foreign listeners, who frequently cite an experience of nostalgia for a time and country they never lived in, as an artificial fantasy "fitting" to the song's lyrics.[10]

In 2018, K-pop singer Yubin released a teaser for "City Love", the first single from an upcoming album titled City Woman.[29] Listeners claimed the song was similar to "Plastic Love".[29][30] On June 8, 2018, Yubin's label, JYP Entertainment, announced the song would be pulled from the album due to "copyright controversies" and that the album's release would be postponed.[29] In an interview with The Japan Times, Korean producer Night Tempo said JYP Entertainment had brought him in to try and produce a song similar to "Plastic Love", and alleged the label had based "City Love" off of his own remix of "Plastic Love".[31]

Music video

On May 18, 2019, Warner Music Japan released a short music video for "Plastic Love", covering the first 1:49 of the song.[14] The video was directed by Kyoutaro Hayashi[32] and does not feature Takeuchi.[14] Hayashi described the goal for the video as combining the modern era with the era that "Plastic Love" was created in.[33] Vice writer Lex Celera described the video, which depicts a woman and a man briefly crossing paths and a glance in a hotel, as capturing "the exact mood the song projects: a gentle shifting between loneliness and adventure, coupled with a sense of nostalgia and a loss for something you’ve never had".[34]

A full version of the video was released on Takeuchi's Souvenir the Movie - Mariya Takeuchi Theater Live video album in November 2020.[35] The full video was released on YouTube on November 18, 2021.[14]

Covers

"Plastic Love" has been covered by a number of artists.[36] Cantopop singer Anita Mui covered the song in Cantonese on her 1987 album Flaming Red Lips, in a version titled "Seeking Love" (Chinese: 尋愛).[37] Tatsuro Yamashita, Takeuchi's husband, covered the song on his 1989 live album Joy/Tatsuro Yamashita Live.[38] English singer Marilyn Martin covered the song in English on the 2002 compilation album Sincerely... Mariya Takeuchi Songbook.[39] Taiwanese indie pop musician 9m88 covered the song in 2018.[40] A cover of "Plastic Love" by eill was used as the theme song for the 2021 Japanese film "Sensei, Would You Sit Beside Me?".[41]

In 2018, Friday Night Plans released a cover of "Plastic Love". It spent three weeks on the Oricon Singles Chart, peaking at number 30,[42] and number 40 on the Billboard Japan Top 100 Top Single Sales chart.[43] In December 2021, Japanese idol group Juice=Juice released a cover of "Plastic Love" as a triple-a side single with "Familia" and "Future Smile".[44] The single spent eight weeks on the Oricon Singles Chart, peaking at number three,[45] and number eight on the Billboard Japan Hot 100[46] It ranked at number 85 on the 2022 year-end Oricon Singles Chart.[47]

Track listing

12" single (1985)[1]
  1. "Plastic Love" (Extended Club Mix) – 9:15
  2. "Plastic Love" (New re-mix) – 4:51
12" single (2021)[8]
  1. "Plastic Love" (Extended Club Mix) – 9:15
  2. "Plastic Love" (Original Version) – 4:53

Credits and personnel

Musicians[1]
  • Electric guitar, acoustic piano, synthesizer, percussion, emulator, background vocals: Tatsro Yamashita
  • Electric piano: Yasuharu Nakanishi
  • Background vocals: Mariya Takeuchi, Taeko Ohnuki
  • Bass: Koki Ito
  • Drums: Jun Aoyama
  • Trumpet: Shin Kazuhara, Hitoshi Yokoyama
  • Trombone: Tadanori Konakawa, Yoshio Oikawa
  • Tenor sax: Takeru Muraoka
  • Baritone sax: Syunzo Sunahara
  • Strings: Joe Katoh Group
  • Tenor sax (solo): Ernie Watts
Production[1]
  • Produced by Tatsro Yamashita for Smile Company
  • Words and music by Mariya Takeuchi
  • Arranged and edited by Tatsro Yamashita
  • Associate producer: Nobumasa Uchida
  • Recording engineer: Yasuo Satoh
  • Mixed by Tatsro Yamashita, Yasuo Satoh
  • Second engineer: Shigeru Takise
  • Recorded and mixed at Onkio Haus
  • Disk mastering engineer: Mitsuru "Teppei" Kasai
  • Mastering studio: CBS/Sony Shinanomachi Studio
  • Masterrights owned by Smile Company
  • Executive producer: Ryuzo "Junior" Kosugi
  • Art director: Kenichi Hanada

Charts

Mariya Takeuchi

1985 weekly chart performance
Chart (1985) Peak
position
Oricon Singles Chart (Oricon)[14] 86
2021 weekly chart performance
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Oricon Singles Chart (Oricon)[17] 5
Japan Hot 100 (Billboard Japan)[48] 82
Top Singles Sales (Billboard Japan)[49] 5

Friday Night Plans

2018 weekly chart performance
Chart (2018) Peak
position
Oricon Singles Chart (Oricon)[42] 30
Top Singles Sales (Billboard Japan)[43] 40

Juice=Juice

2021 weekly chart performance
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Oricon Singles Chart (Oricon)[45] 3
Japan Hot 100 (Billboard Japan)[46] 5
2022 year-end chart performance for
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Oricon Singles Chart (Oricon)[47] 85

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Plastic Love (12" single). Japan: Moon. March 25, 1985. MOON-13002.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 St. Michel, Patrick (November 17, 2018). "Mariya Takeuchi: The pop genius behind 2018's surprise online smash hit from Japan". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on December 10, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  3. 1 2 Leonhardt, David (March 3, 2021). "A Wave of Reopenings". The New York Times. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  4. 1 2 Remington, Miranda (April 6, 2021). "'Plastic Love', an Eternal Phenomena". Pen Magazine International. CCC Media House Co. Ltd. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  5. ↑ "City Pop: the soundtrack to Japan's boom years goes viral". France 24. February 22, 2022. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  6. 1 2 Hassin, Shoumik (February 14, 2023). "Stripe's Song of the Day: Mariya Takeuchi – Plastic Love". Bdnews24.com. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  7. 1 2 Plastic Love (12" single). Japan: Moon. November 3, 2021. WPJL-10152.
  8. 1 2 Zhu, Joni (April 29, 2021). "Plastic Love". Heichi Magazine. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  9. 1 2 Kennis, Haley (October 24, 2019). "Plastic Love: Nostalgia for a Nonexistent Time". Afterglow. University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  10. ↑ Bassil, Ryan (June 13, 2018). "An 80s Japanese Track Is the Best Pop Song in the World". Vice. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  11. ↑ "Mariya Takeuchi's "Plastic Love" gets music video after 35 years". Arama! Japan. May 17, 2019. Archived from the original on August 3, 2019. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  12. ↑ "竹内まりや - PLASTIC LOVE(12inch)". Warner Music Japan (in Japanese). Archived from the original on June 2, 2019. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ashcroft, Brian (November 18, 2021). "Decades Later, Mariya Takeuchi's 'Plastic Love' Is A Top Ten Hit Song In Japan". Kotaku. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  14. ↑ "「臼井孝のヒット曲探検隊 ～アーティスト別 ベストヒット20」 デビュー40周年を迎えた 竹内まりやのヒットを探る". OK Music (in Japanese). November 22, 2018. Archived from the original on February 19, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  15. ↑ "竹内まりや「プラスティック・ラブ」12inch発売、アルバム2作のアナログ再発も決定". Natalie (in Japanese). August 29, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  16. 1 2 3 "Plastic Love 竹内まりや". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  17. ↑ "ブームではなくムーブメントに コロナ禍で加速するアナログレコード需要". Oricon (in Japanese). November 24, 2021. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  18. ↑ "2021年アナログ・レコードの販売数は前年比173％に SG売上首位は竹内まりや、AL売上首位は宇多田ヒカル 【SoundScan Japan調べ】". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  19. 1 2 3 4 Zhang, Cat (February 21, 2021). "The Endless Life Cycle of Japanese City Pop". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  20. 1 2 Zhang, Cat (May 18, 2021). "Talking to the Anonymous YouTuber and the Photographer Who Helped Mariya Takeuchi's "Plastic Love" Go Viral". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  21. ↑ Sommet, Moritz (September 30, 2020). "Intermediality and the discursive construction of popular music genres: the case of 'Japanese City Pop'" (PDF). Journal of HANDAI Music Studies: 18.
  22. ↑ Arcand, Rob; Goldner, Sam (January 24, 2019). "The Guide to Getting Into City Pop, Tokyo's Lush 80s Nightlife Soundtrack". Vice. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  23. ↑ Calkins, Thomas (June 5, 2019). "The curious case of Mariya Takeuchi's Plastic Love". Musical Urbanism. Vassar College. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  24. 1 2 3 Kurimoto, Hitoshi (April 4, 2022). "'Fly-Day Chinatown' & Other UMJ Reissues Arrive as City Pop's Global Popularity Continues". Billboard Japan. Billboard. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  25. ↑ Amano, Ryutaro (January 24, 2019). "tofubeats "Plastic Love" インターネット時代に再評価された竹内まりやの名曲をカヴァー". Mikiki (in Japanese). Tower Records Japan. Archived from the original on December 10, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  26. ↑ Matsunaga, Ryohei (December 21, 2020). "Global Popularity of 1979 City Pop Track 'Mayonaka no Door – Stay With Me' Explained". Billboard Japan. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  27. ↑ Raj, Tanu I. (January 6, 2022). "Yukika on the revival of city pop: "People that are into that niche genre will follow"". NME. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  28. 1 2 3 "Yubin cancels release of new song amid plagiarism dispute". The Korea Herald. June 7, 2018. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  29. ↑ Si-soo, Park (June 7, 2018). "K-pop diva Yubin cuts new song from album over plagiarism allegations". The Korea Times. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  30. ↑ St. Michel, Patrick (May 9, 2019). "Scavenging for samples from the '70s and '80s with Night Tempo". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on May 9, 2019. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  31. ↑ "Mariya Takeuchi's "Plastic Love" gets music video after 35 years". Arama! Japan. May 2019. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  32. ↑ "竹内まりや 「Plastic Love」Short ver". YouTube. May 18, 2019. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  33. ↑ Celera, Lex (May 17, 2019). "The World's Greatest Pop Song Finally Gets a Music Video". Vice. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  34. ↑ "竹内まりや「souvenir the movie 〜MARIYA TAKEUCHI Theater Live〜 (Special Edition)". ワーナーミュージック・ジャパン (in Japanese). Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  35. ↑ Sakai, Yu (November 1, 2022). "さかいゆう、カバーアルバムよりKan Sanoをフィーチャリングした「プラスティック・ラブ」先行配信決定！". Popscene.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  36. ↑ Wenhao, Xiong (April 20, 2019). "City pop 神曲 Plastic Love 35年後出mv 竹內瑪莉亞出道40週年｜香港01｜扭耳仔". HK01 (in Cantonese). Archived from the original on August 3, 2019. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  37. ↑ "JOY/TATSURO YAMASHITA LIVE". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  38. ↑ "Sincerely... ～Mariya Takeuchi Songbook～ Complete Edition". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  39. ↑ Yokoyama, Jun (May 2, 2019). "今、アジア音楽が熱い！必聴のミュージシャン6名。". Vogue Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  40. ↑ "黒木華×柄本佑W主演『先生、私の隣に座っていただけませんか？』主題歌にeill「プラスティック・ラブ". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). May 20, 2021. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  41. 1 2 "A1.Plastic Love/B1.Plastic Love(Inst.)". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  42. 1 2 "Billboard Japan Top Singles Sales". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). October 28, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  43. ↑ "Juice=Juice、名曲「プラスティック・ラブ」カバー 竹内まりや「歌っていただける日が来ようとは」". Oricon (in Japanese). November 11, 2021. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  44. 1 2 "プラスティック・ラブ/Familia/Future Smile(通常盤A)". Oricon (in Japanese). July 27, 2023. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  45. 1 2 "Billboard Japan Hot 100 Charts". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). December 29, 2021. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  46. 1 2 "2022年度 オリコン年間 シングルランキング 81～90位". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  47. ↑ "Billboard Japan Hot 100 – Week of November 10, 2021". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). November 10, 2021. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  48. ↑ "Billboard Japan Top Singles Sales". Billboard JAPAN (in Japanese). Retrieved July 28, 2023.
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