Are denpa songs reclining? Are they changing into something else? Would introducing content from further beyond and stretching their definition save them? These questions that occasionally surface portray some of the anxiety fans of denpa songs have regarding the future of the genre. With activity slowing down and the peak far behind, it seems like a matter of time until the journey ends - and with it the denpa dream will fade away. There is no aid to put an end to this horror scenario.
In the past few years, I was busy looking back, not forward. I was trying to find evidence of earlier and earlier "denpa songs" and fit them inside its flimsy definition. In obscure doujin albums that have long not been sold, in decrepit websites archived and forgotten, in denpa song discussions both in 2channel and in 4chan's /jp/. History going back more than half a century, to understand better what people congregated around two decades back, what vision they had. Many others have done so before, with extensive websites dedicated to denpa songs scattered over Internet Archive.
Traditional Interpretation of Denpa Songs
One instance, an essay written by an anonymous website administrator only known by handle "kyun-nou" (キュン脳), had an extensive interpretation of what "denpa song" was at the time of writing, February 2004. It offers an informative glimpse to the early days of denpa songs. Next is a rough translation of what I think to be the relevant parts.
"Denpa song? What's that?
It is unconditionally referred to as denpa song, but what makes it a denpa song? The explanation varies from person to person, and as such the definition of denpa song changes depending on the person. But even now, if you call it a denpa song everybody will agree.
I wonder why that is.
So I've been thinking on what the hell makes denpa songs what they are."
The explanation is as follows, in short:
The vast majority of denpa songs have two elements, "denpa" and "moe". The first, "denpa", is mostly applied in the writing - the content of the songs is so strange as to deter normal people. The second, "moe", is mostly applied in the singing - it is cutesy to the point of bringing an ordinary listener, but to the denpa song listener, it is a source of immense satisfaction. The importance placed on each element differs from song to song.
"Let's break down denpa song into different categories
Earlier I said that I wanted to break down denpa song to different categories. And so, what types of denpa songs are there? I got the mp3 data and separated it into several categories. Below are the categories I came up with:
* Moe songs
* Burning songs
* Painful songs (i.e. "cringe")
* Funny songs
* Strange songs
I was able to divide them to these five categories."
Here too, let me paraphrase the author's interpretation of the different categories:
Denpa songs are divided into five categories which may overlap. Moe songs have the impression of cuteness and affection, with a feeling of attraction that is almost impossible to put into words, but comes naturally to the listener. The burning songs are the masculine and energized songs originally featured in old mecha anime and the like (i.e. "Japan Break Industries", trending at the period). The three last categories, painful, funny and strange, group together terrible singing or terrible lyrics or are otherwise thematically obscene with sexually explicit lyrics.
Not all denpa songs have the capacity to "brainwash" people (that is, in denpa-kei spirit, be very catchy). However, moe songs are catchy by design, and given the chance will get stuck in your head. They are written like shoujo manga, focusing on the feelings of a storyteller projected to the listener. This storyteller assumes the ideal image of an innocent maiden, and transmits the feelings with a youthful voice. How catchy they are, their ability to captivate people, is what makes them "denpa songs" in the first place despite being entirely different from the other categories on their own. They are the manifestation of an unlikely high-school age girl entering a lonely adult male's life in song.
Moe Songs within Denpa Songs
Evidently, many sorts of songs have been labeled "denpa songs" over the years. The Denpa Song Guideline website, commonly known in the denpa song fan community, shows too an attempt at categorization - splitting denpa songs into "moe-denpa style" and "real-denpa style". This distinction was also made in the first two Denpa Song Prize rankings, having different rankings for each category. However, that distinction was made only twice - for the first and second halves of 2003. The distinction was abandoned as of 2004. Moreover, the number of votes for the "moe-denpa style" category are visibly higher. Compare 900+ votes versus 350+ between "moe-denpa" and "real-denpa" in the first half of 2003, and 9000+ votes versus 1000+ in the second half of 2003. This gives at least some manner of indication that "moe-denpa" was the main attraction of denpa songs in the first months after its conception.
One feature of these sort of more-or-less personal websites is that they often linked to other, similar websites. Some of them referred to other song rankings, established just a year or two before the term was coined. Take for example Project Angel Wing's Moe Moe Ranking from 1999.
The website gave the following criteria for the songs it listed:
"Singing - the more energetic it is, the more points it gets, without consideration for actual singing ability.
Composition - the more poppy and and high-spirited the song is, the more points it gets, without consideration for melody and performance.
Lyrics - the more carefree the lyrics are, the more points it gets, without consideration for artistic quality.
At times, there are songs mixed in I thought were genuinely good without being moe (no points given).
They are ordered from the top by their use of powerful poisonous radio waves"
In other words, the ideas were already present a couple years before the appearance of the 2channel threads that spawned in the wake of Miko Miko Nurse's popularity. What's important however, is actually not the underline in bold. The ranking is, in its nature, a moe song ranking - which suggests that as far back as 1999, the concept of moe songs already existed. Other song rankings also connect between moe songs and songs from bishoujo games. I believe this adds to the flimsiness of the denpa song terminology. After all, only a couple years prior, what seems to be the same subset of people referred to the same subset of songs under a different name. At the very least, it suggests that "denpa song" was built on an existing platform of songs, which remained the significant part over the years.
From Deduction to Induction
The problem with this chase after terminology is that no term is eternal, going back in time forever. Only a couple years prior to these early song rankings, the term "moe" was coined. What of the songs before then? Was Manikyua-dan performing moe songs, denpa songs or something else entirely in 1993? Was Fumie Hosokawa just an idol singer in 1992? Was Idol Hakkenden's ending theme just that, an ending theme for a game in 1989? And so on and so on, reaching even the mid-60s, with magical girl anime theme songs.
The issue with the thinking process is assuming in the first place a general concept and inferring from it general qualities that are then located in the songs. In other words, to get a better understanding of the nature of these songs, one has to assume first that there is no "denpa song" and there is no "moe song". There are songs made for audiences in the general public - like theme songs from magical girl anime, written for a crowd of young girls. There are songs made for the growing otaku crowd - like theme songs from bishoujo anime, written for a crowd of young adult males. There is idol music, subject to trends of "kawaii" and "burikko" throughout the 80s and 90s. There are also non-commercial songs, made by amateurs and hobbyists from within otaku culture, so called "doujin music". Songs that can be tied together, in several ways, grouping them together with more valid conditions that stem from evidence and not conjecture.
Therefore, I suggest taking the first step in putting an end to "denpa song" - not to the music, but to the definition. Changing times and new discoveries force us to revise the ways in which we think. The term "denpa song" doesn't hold water anymore, and it has to go. I will present a different concept of the music in the near future, which may or may not be accepted, and could very well be challenged and fall apart. You, the readers, the denpa song community, and the otaku community in general, all have a part in determining the future of the flagship music of otaku culture. As such, I wish for more of you to come forward, explore, challenge and pave the way for new discoveries and realizations.
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