 Meiko
Kaji might not be rock, but her influence on the rock/hipster community
in Japan (and elsewhere) is significant. Kaji was an actress first (and
still is,) starting off playing minor roles against such heavyweights
as Sonny Chiba. But it took the lead role in the "Female Convict
Scorpion" series of films to make her a star, establishing a persona
that is not just an icon in the film world, but inspired a handful of
albums in the early 70s.
In those films, she was a nameless, silent, malevolent presence. A
female prisoner who, despite being constantly harassed in shockingly
violent ways, never seemed to be beaten. Her character was similar to
Toshiro Mifune's Sanjuro in "Yojimbo," a stoic character who always
seemed to fight for what was right, even when they seemed to be
completely amoral. It's Kaji's Scorpion persona that informs
"梶芽衣子のはじき詩集," a relentlessly dark, but lush album that doesn't need its
lyrics to convey a strong sense of defiant melancholy.
So far as musical touchstones, the album brings to mind the broad
orchestral strokes of 60s era Shirley Bassey, or any one of the Sean
Connery era Bond themes. Weeping strings, lonely trumpets, bitter
harpsichords and mournful oboes fill out the expansive arrangements as
Keji details seemlingly endless tales of woe. The final track, "怨み節,"
("Grudge Song,") became her theme, and it doesn't take a historian to
see why: it's a perfect encapsulation of theatrical pain, all desparate
strings and lounge bitterness. It's custom made for walking off in the
sunset, bloodied but unbowed, as credits flash across the screen.
Clichéd, perhaps, but no less powerful because of it, and
definitive. (This video features the song set to several disturbing scenes from the Scorpion series. A non-violent video can be seen here.)
Currently in the mainstream, she's known as an actress with a couple of
hits in her past, but the reverberations of her musical work can still
be felt today. Tokyo Yasagure Onna
is unimaginable without Kaji's groundwork, and her music (including
"Grudge Song") has made it into the films of big fan Quentin Tarantino
(in fact, the first "Kill Bill" openly references many of Kaji's films,
especially "Lady Snowblood.") "梶
芽衣子のはじき詩集" is her best musical work (another famous album, "梶芽衣子の魅力,"
or "The Mystery Of Meiko Kaji," has a few songs mixed in with dialogue
from her films.) Not easy to find, but well worth it.
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