Plastic Love
| "Plastic Love" | |
|---|---|
| File:Plastic Love by Mariya Takeuchi 12-inch.png | |
| Single by Mariya Takeuchi | |
| from the album Variety | |
| Released | November 19, 1984 |
| Genre | |
| Label | Moon Records |
| Songwriter(s) | Mariya Takeuchi |
| Producer(s) | Tatsuro Yamashita |
"Plastic Love" (プラスティック・ラブ, Purasutikku Rabu) is a song released by Japanese singer Mariya Takeuchi. The song was included on Takeuchi's 1984 album, Variety, and also released as a single a year later.[1]
The single, embodying the city pop style, was moderately received and sold around 10,000 copies.[2] In 2017, the song saw a resurgence internationally when an eight-minute remix of the song was uploaded to YouTube, quickly garnering more than 24 million views, before a copyright claim over the album art unintentionally led to its removal.[3][4][5] It was subsequently restored in 2019 and has garnered over 35 million views.
Production and release
"Plastic Love" was written and performed by Takeuchi and produced by her husband, Tatsuro Yamashita.[1] In an interview with The Japan Times, Takeuchi remarked: "I wanted to write something danceable, something with a city pop sound... [the lyrics] tell the story of a woman who lost the man she truly loves."[3] Yamashita also played guitar for the song, while Yasuharu Nakanishi played electric piano, Kōki Itō played bass guitar, and Jūn Aoyama played drums.[6]
The song was first released on Takeuchi's 1984 album, Variety. A twelve-inch single was released on March 15, 1985, which included an "extended club mix" and "new re-mix" of the song and reached 86th on the Oricon Singles Chart.[5][7]
Resurgence
On July 5, 2017, an eight-minute remix of "Plastic Love" was uploaded to YouTube by a user known as "Plastic Lover". The video showed a cropped version of the cover of Takeuchi's earlier single "Sweetest Music", taken by Los Angeles-based photographer Alan Levenson.[3][4] Coinciding with the vaporwave genre's rise in popularity,[8][9] the video spread rapidly throughout YouTube through the platform's recommendations algorithm.[3][10] Its spread was also aided by internet memes, discussions on Reddit, and fan art of the "Sweetest Music" cover on platforms such as DeviantArt.[3][6] The video garnered 24 million views before being taken down for a copyright dispute with Levenson, but was then restored in 2019 with credit given to Levenson in the video description.[5]
Ryan Bassil of Vice noted that the song is "a rare tune that doesn't exactly need words to expertly describe a specific, defined feeling – one of lust, heartbreak, love, fear, adventure, loss, all caught up in the swirling midst of a night out on the town" and called the song "the best pop song in the world".[11]
On May 16, 2019, an official music video produced by Kyōtaro Hayashi was released on YouTube.[5] Multiple cover versions of "Plastic Love" also exist, including one by Tofubeats[6] and another by Friday Night Plans.[12]
Twelve-inch single
A twelve-inch single was released on March 15, 1985, which included an "extended club mix" and "new re-mix" of the song. The single was Takeuchi's twelfth single released.[13]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Plastic Love" (Extended Club Mix) | 9:15 |
| 2. | "Plastic Love" (New Re-Mix) | 4:51 |
| Total length: | 14:06[14] | |
Charts
| Chart (1985) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Japan (Oricon Singles Chart)[5] | 86 |
References
- ^ a b "1984年5月7日竹内まりや『VARIETY』がオリコン・アルバム・チャート1位を記録～世界的に再評価されている「プラスティック・ラブ」収録" (in Japanese). Nippon Broadcasting System. May 7, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
- ^ "「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. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e St. Michel, Patrick (November 17, 2018). "Mariya Takeuchi: The pop genius behind 2018's surprise online smash hit from Japan". The Japan Times. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
- ^ a b Nevarez, Leonard (June 5, 2019). "the curious case of Mariya Takeuchi's Plastic Love: guest blog by Thomas Calkins". Musical Urbanism. Vassar College. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "Mariya Takeuchi's "Plastic Love" gets music video after 35 years". Arama! Japan. May 17, 2019. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
- ^ a b c "tofubeats - Plastic Love". Mikiki (in Japanese). Tower Records Japan. January 24, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
- ^ "竹内まりや - PLASTIC LOVE(12inch)". Warner Music Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved February 20, 2020.
- ^ Blistein, Jon (May 2, 2019). "City Pop: Why Does the Soundtrack to Tokyo's Tech Boom Still Resonate?". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
- ^ Lee, Giacomo (July 12, 2019). "From Vaporwave to Future Funk: Night Tempo artists talk Japanese aesthetics of cuteness and City Pop". Digital Arts. International Data Group. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
- ^ Marshall, Colin (October 3, 2018). "How Youtube's Algorithm Turned an Obscure 1980s Japanese Song Into an Enormously Popular Hit: Discover Mariya Takeuchi's "Plastic Love"". Open Culture. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
- ^ Bassil, Ryan (June 13, 2018). "An 80s Japanese Track Is the Best Pop Song in the World". Vice. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
- ^ Keith, James (November 15, 2019). "Tokyo's Friday Night Plans Combine Jazz, R&B And Experimental Pop On 'Complex' EP". Complex. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
- ^ "シングル・ディスコグラフィー [Part 1] （1978-1989）". Mariya Takeuchi Official Website (in Japanese). Retrieved 11 March 2020.
- ^ "竹内まりや - Plastic Love". Clubberz Records. Retrieved 11 March 2020.