Poppin' Apathy

"Poppin' Apathy" (ポッピンアパシー, Poppin Apashī) is a song by Japanese musician Kenshi Yonezu. It was released as a double A-side single alongside the song "Mad Head Love" on October 23, 2013 by Universal Signma, on the same day that Yonezu's two self-released Vocaloid albums, Hanataba to Suisō and Official Orange, were re-issued by independent label Boundee by SSNW.[1] Though recorded during sessions for Yonezu's album Yankee (2014), the song was not present on the final track list of the album.

"Poppin' Apathy"
Single by Kenshi Yonezu
B-side"Tori ni Demo Naritai"
ReleasedOctober 23, 2013 (2013-10-23)
Recorded2013
GenreAlternative rock
Length3:51
LabelUniversal Sigma
Songwriter(s)Kenshi Yonezu
Producer(s)Kenshi Yonezu
Kenshi Yonezu singles chronology
"Santa Maria"
(2013)		 "Poppin' Apathy"
(2013)		 "Flowerwall"
(2015)
Music video
"ポッピンアパシー" on YouTube

Background and development

In May 2012, Yonezu released Diorama, his third album and first to use his own vocals. It was released under independent label Balloom. The album was written, produced and illustrated entirely by Yonezu himself.[2] The album was commercially successful, debuting at number six on Oricon's albums charts, and was one of the most sold independently released albums of 2012 in Japan.[3][4]

A year later, Yonezu debuted under major label Universal Music Japan with the single "Santa Maria." Two of the songs were performed with a band, the first time Yonezu had worked like this.[5] The single reached number 12 on chart provider Oricon's singles chart.[6]

A week after the single's release, Yonezu released his first Vocaloid song in two and a half years, called "Donut Hole" (ドーナツホール, Dōnatsu Hōru), using Gumi vocals. It was the first time he used a live band on a Vocaloid song.[7]

Writing and production

"Mad Head Love" and "Poppin' Apathy" were written at the same time, based on the theme of a Möbius strip.[8] "Mad Head Love" was "positive" and "high tension", while "Poppin' Apathy" was written as a gloomy, negative song by Yonezu. Because of this, he felt it was right for them to be released together.[8] Originally "Poppin' Apathy" was not planned to be an A-side.[9] When drawing the cover art for "Mad Head Love", he felt it would be interesting to see the characters drawn on the cover from the opposite side. This idea made Yonezu create a design for "Poppin' Apathy", and gave him the idea to release the single as a double A side release.[8] "Poppin' Apathy", along with the single's B-side "Tori ni Demo Naritai" were arranged by Yonezu without a live band, in contrast to the live band sound present on "Mad Head Love".[8][9] "Poppin' Apathy" was written close to Yonezu's true feelings are when composing. He finds it easy to be too self-conscious and pessimistic, so put these feelings into song.[9]

Promotion and release

The single was first announced in August 2013. Initially, the release date was planned for October 30, 2013, however it was later moved earlier to the 23rd.[10] "Mad Head Love" and "Poppin' Apathy" were first aired on the JFM radio show Yamada Hisashi ni Radian Limited F on September 14, 2013.[11] On September 21 and October 19, 2013 Yonezu held his regular online streaming performances on Ustream.[12][13] Interviews with Yonezu were featured in the magazines Rockin' On Japan and Marquee around the release of the single.[14][15]

Music video

A music video for "Poppin' Apathy" was released online on October 12, 2013 (three weeks after "Mad Head Love"), and was directed by Sojiro Kamitani, who also directed the video for "Mad Head Love".[12][13] Both videos featured similar settings, and "Poppin' Apathy" depicts a room in a darker, more cluttered environment than "Mad Head Love". It shows Yonezu by himself, performing chemistry experiments and using tools such as saws and drills to create objects. Similar strange moving objects are shown in the video as well, such as a machine to draw an oval in pencil on a piece of paper.[13] The objects are dysfunctional, and often fall over or break. Other scenes show mixing equipment and monitors. The video features a golden Fender Stratocaster guitar.

Reception

Commercially, the single debuted at number 11 on Oricon's singles chart, selling 6,300 copies.[3][16] In total, it has sold 8,000 copies, under-performing Yonezu's previous single "Santa Maria".[16]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Kenshi Yonezu.

No.TitleLength
1."Mad Head Love"3:40
2."Poppin' Apathy"3:51
3."Tori ni Demo Naritai" (鳥にでもなりたい, "I Want to Be a Bird at Least")2:43
Total length:10:11
DVD
No.TitleDirectorLength
1."Mad Head Love (music video)"Sojiro Kamatani3:44
2."Poppin' Apathy (music video)"Kamatani3:59

Personnel

Personnel details were sourced from an interview with Yonezu, as well as Yankee's liner notes booklet.[8][17]

Performance credits

  • Masuo Arimatsu – drum technician
  • Kazutaka Minemori – guitar technician
  • Masashi Uramoto – recording, mixing
  • Kenshi Yonezu – all instruments, arrangement, lyrics, guitar, music, production, programming, vocals

Chart rankings

All figures pertain to the "Mad Head Love" / "Poppin' Apathy" physical single release.

Charts (2013) Peak
position
Japan Billboard Hot Single Sales[18] 9
Japan Oricon daily singles[19] 10
Japan Oricon weekly singles[20] 11

Sales
Chart Amount
Oricon physical sales[16] 9,700

Release history
Region Date Format Distributing label Catalogue codes
Japan October 23, 2013 (2013-10-23)[21][22] CD, CD+DVD, digital download, rental CD Universal Music Japan UMCK-5447, UMCK-9639
Worldwide October 26, 2013 (2013-10-26)[23] Digital download N/A

References
  1. "米津玄師、ニューシングルの最新アーティスト写真公開&ハチのプレミアCDを再発" [Kenshi Yonezu, new single artist artwork and Hachi premiere CDs re-issue]. Rockin' On Japan (in Japanese). September 27, 2013. Retrieved November 8, 2013.
  2. "ハチ＝米津玄師、1stアルバム「diorama」発表" [Hachi=Kenshi Yonezu, releasing 1st album Diorama]. Natalie.mu. April 27, 2012. Retrieved September 22, 2013.
  3. 「ｄｉｏｒａｍａ」 米津玄師 (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
  4. "Billboard Japan Top Independent Albums and Singles Year End" (in Japanese). Billboard Japan. 2012. Archived from the original on May 2, 2013. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
  5. 米津玄師「サンタマリア」インタビュー [Kenshi Yonezu 1st Santa Maria interview]. Minako Ito (in Japanese). Natalie. May 24, 2013. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
  6. 「サンタマリア」 米津玄師 (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved October 2, 2013.
  7. "米津玄師、「ハチ」名義で2年9ヶ月ぶりのボーカロイド新曲「ドーナツホール」を発表！独占コメントあり" [Yonezu Kenshi, first new Vocaloid song as Hachi in 2 years 9 months, Donut Hole! Exclusive comment]. Barks. October 30, 2013. Retrieved November 9, 2013.
  8. "米津玄師「MAD HEAD LOVE / ポッピンアパシー」インタビュー" [Kenshi Yonezu Mad Head Love / Poppin' Apathy interview]. Tomonori Shiba (in Japanese). Natalie. October 18, 2013. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
  9. "[Interview] 米津玄師". Hideo Miyamoto (in Japanese). What's In?. October 23, 2013. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
  10. "米津玄師、2nd SG『MAD HEAD LOVE / ポッピンアパシー』を10/30にリリース" [Yonezu Kenshi, second single "Mad Head Love / Poppin' Apathy" October 30 Release]. Rockin' On Japan. August 28, 2013. Retrieved November 9, 2013.
  11. "米津玄師、「ラジアンF」で両A面シングル曲初オンエア" [Kenshi Yonezu, first on-air of double A side single on Radian F]. Natalie (in Japanese). September 12, 2013. Retrieved November 8, 2013.
  12. "米津玄師、本人出演「MAD HEAD LOVE」PVフル尺公開" [Kenshi Yonezu's Mad Head Love PV released, featuring the man himself]. Natalie (in Japanese). September 21, 2013. Retrieved November 8, 2013.
  13. "米津玄師「ポッピンアパシー」PV公開＆次回Ust生配信決定" [Kenshi Yonezu's Poppin' Apathy PV released and next Ustream live]. Natalie (in Japanese). October 12, 2013. Retrieved November 8, 2013.
  14. "ハチこと米津玄師とじん（自然の敵P）の初対面・初対談が『ROCKIN'ON JAPAN』11月号で実現！" [Hachi, aka Kenshi Yonezu and Jin (Shizen no Teki P) have a conversation, written down in the November issue of Rockin' On Japan!]. Rockin' On Japan (in Japanese). September 30, 2013. Retrieved November 8, 2013.
  15. "10月　MAGAZINE掲載情報" [October Magazine Feature Information]. Universal Music Japan (in Japanese). October 7, 2013. Retrieved November 8, 2013.
  16. "オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」" [Oricon Ranking Information Service "You Big Tree"]. Oricon. Retrieved November 22, 2013. (subscription only)
  17. Yankee (Media notes) (in Japanese). Kenshi Yonezu. Tokyo, Japan: Universal Music Japan. 2014.CS1 maint: others (link)
  18. "Japan Billboard Top Single Sales". Billboard Japan. October 30, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
  19. "2013年10月22日のCDシングルデイリーランキング" [October 22, 2013 CD Single Daily Ranking] (in Japanese). Oricon. October 24, 2013. Archived from the original on October 24, 2013. Retrieved November 8, 2013.
  20. 「ＭＡＤ　ＨＥＡＤ　ＬＯＶＥ／ポッピンアパシー」 米津玄師 (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved November 8, 2013.
  21. "「MAD HEAD LOVE / ポッピンアパシー」配信スタート" [Mad Head Love/Poppin' Apathy Download Start] (in Japanese). Universal Sigma. October 23, 2013. Retrieved November 8, 2013.
  22. ＭＡＤ　ＨＥＡＤ　ＬＯＶＥ／ポッピンアパシー／米津玄師 (in Japanese). Tsutaya. Retrieved November 8, 2013.
  23. "米津玄師&ハチの計27曲がiTunes Storeで世界配信" [Kenshi Yonezu & Hachi total 27 songs get global iTunes Store release]. Natalie (in Japanese). October 26, 2013. Retrieved October 27, 2013.
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