Japanese Breakfast – live at Pitchfork Festival – August 6, 2018 – band soundboard –
Japanese Breakfast in concert tonight. Recorded live at the 2018 Pitchfork Festival on August 6, 2018.
For all that people complain about the current state of affairs in Popular Music; everything from an attack of mediocrity to the loss of relevance, artists come along every so often to let you know the earth is still turning, the sun is still shining and the ground is still fertile.
Contemporary Music has always had its detractors. It’s that myth about “The good old days”, and the operative word “good” to define a period the malcontent gazes wistfully back on as a measure of worth. Trust me – there were just as many people saying music in the 60s went straight to hell, based on the benchmark of the 50s group genre. I knew people whose consumption of popular music stopped somewhere around the time The Beatles appeared on Ed Sullivan – and you can trace the emergence of just about any contemporary genre by the amount of flack brought on by the practitioners of the previously established genres. Just goes with the territory.
I bring all that up because Japanese Breakfast are a signal we’re doing better than we think. The state of Indie is alive and well and doing fine – with artists like Michelle Zauner putting it out and making it honest, there’s hope for us yet. I also like that they’re not on a major label – I think the majors have been doing a huge disservice to the cause of music for a while now, having lost their way somewhere during the Grunge era. I don’t think it’s coming back and, to be honest, that’s a good thing if the playing field that gives us bands like Japanese Breakfast is allowed to do what they do best with no interference from “focus groups” and “street teams”. Just saying. Just my opinion. I have one – we all have one.
Japanese Breakfast have been variously described as lo-fi, experimental pop, Indie Rock and Indie Pop – but what there is is an honest execution and a lovely marriage of ideas and points of view that make it quite a satisfying experience to witness.
Judging by their success, I am not alone in this estimation and can only wish them boundless energy to keep doing what they’re doing.
For the next 35+ minutes there’s ample proof we’re in good hands. Enjoy the show.