The band members are 櫻井敦司 (Sakurai Atsushi) (vocals), 今井寿 (Imai Hisashi) (guitars, noises, electronics, vocals), 星野英彦 (Hoshino Hidehiko) (guitars, chorus), 桶口豊 (Higuchi Yutaka) (bass) and ヤガミ・トール (Yagami Toll) (drums).
BUCK-TICK's music has changed and evolved hugely over the course of their career. Their early work is what the Japanese call "positive punk". It used simple rhythms and chords, with the songs mostly in major keys and using some English words in the lyrics. Starting with 1989's TABOO, they experimented with a darker sound, which grew more mature with 狂った太陽 in 1991. darker than darkness style 93 delved into a harsher industrial rock sound which continued all the way up through Mona Lisa OVERDRIVE in 2003. With 2005's 十三階は月光, they deliberately adopted a "goth" concept, which they combined with a retro straight rock sound for the albums 天使のリボルバー (2007) and Memento Mori (2009). Their next album, 2010's RAZZLE DAZZLE, then incorporated many instances of dance-rock.
Some elements that persist throughout their music are resounding, jangling guitar chords, throbbing, prominent bass lines, harsh roars of electronically distorted noise, and ambivalent melodies that wander between major and minor keys, as well as Sakurai's distinctive rich baritone voice. Jrockrevolution described the band's style as having gone "from the bubbly sounds of pop to the buzz of electronic cyberpunk to lustful velvety goth to the smooth style of hard rock and back again". Sakurai, who is the main lyricist of the band, is famous for the erotic decadence of his lyrics, but he also often addresses existential psychological themes. His lyrics is also described as "dance in a daydream about reality". Imai, the main composer, has written many songs that read like science fiction stories, involving genetic engineering and computer hackers, but more recently has branched out into love songs.
As Josephine Yun describes them, in 'A Concise Report on 40 of the Biggest Rock Acts in Japan', "BUCK-TICK's music is smashed-together nuances of everything from Depeche Mode and New Order to U2 and The Knack. While wry, it can float and be nebulously melodic. [...] Masked in eye makeup, Atsushi looks and sounds possessed. BUCK-TICK was (and continues to be) and anomaly in the Japanese music scene, a tangle of goth rock diluted with synth and electronica. It's unhappy, dirty music, the musical equivalent of exploded soot and smoke."
BUCK-TICK and their members have performed with, for example, KMFDM, Soft Ballet, Luna Sea, Sheena Ringo, and The Yellow Monkey. The band members have also participated in different side-projects, such as Schaft, Schwein (Sakurai and Imai with Raymond Watts (PIG) and Sascha Konietzko (KMFDM)), and The Mortal.
Cream Soda
BUCK-TICK Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
狂いそうだ お前に夢中
ねえねえ 君って何てチャーミング ねえねえ 君って何てキュート!
大 大好きさ 大好きなんだ 大 大好きさ 大好き!
とろけそうだ とろけそうだ
とろけそうだ お前に夢中
ねえねえ 歌ってアイスクリーム ねえねえ 僕って何てFUCK!
さあさあ 狂って踊りだそうぜ この世は狂っているんだろう?
イカレテイル 俺は貴女の中
イカレテイル 俺はお前の中 狂いそう
狂いそうだ 狂いそうだ
狂いそうだ お前に夢中
ねえねえ 君って何てチャーミング ねえねえ 君って何てキュート!
大 大好きさ 大好きなんだ 大 大好きさ 大嫌い!
イカレテイル 俺は貴女の中
イカレテイル 俺はお前の中 狂いそう
ねえねえ 歌ってアイスクリーム ねえねえ 僕って何てFUCK!
さあさあ 狂って踊りだそうぜ この世は狂っているんだろう?
イカレテイル 俺は貴女の中
イカレテイル 俺はお前の中 狂いそう
The song "Cream Soda" by BUCK-TICK is a fast-paced, upbeat rock song with lyrics that depict the obsession and infatuation of a person towards another. The lyrics are filled with language that illustrates the overpowering feelings the singer has towards their love interest, where they feel like they're losing control and could go crazy because of their intense emotions. The repetition of phrases like "狂いそうだ" (kuruisou da) which means "I feel like I'm going mad" and "お前に夢中" (omae ni muchuu) which translates to "I'm obsessed with you" emphasize the frenzied and overwhelming nature of the singer's emotions.
The lyrics also use contrasting language to describe the love interest, such as "何てチャーミング" (nante charmingu) which means "how charming" and "何てキュート" (nante kyuto) which means "how cute," but then the song suddenly ends with the singer exclaiming "大嫌い" (daikirai) which means "I hate you" which is an unexpected twist to the song's message.
Line by Line Meaning
狂いそうだ 狂いそうだ 狂いそうだ お前に夢中
I feel like I am going insane, completely captivated by you
ねえねえ 君って何てチャーミング ねえねえ 君って何てキュート! 大 大好きさ 大好きなんだ 大 大好きさ 大好き!
Hey, hey, you are so charming and cute! I love you so much, with all my heart!
とろけそうだ とろけそうだ とろけそうだ お前に夢中
I feel like I am melting, completely captivated by you
ねえねえ 歌ってアイスクリーム ねえねえ 僕って何てFUCK! さあさあ 狂って踊りだそうぜ この世は狂っているんだろう?
Hey, hey, sing me an ice cream song! Hey, hey, what the fuck am I! Come on, let's dance crazily; is this world already mad?
イカレテイル 俺は貴女の中 イカレテイル 俺はお前の中 狂いそう
I am going crazy, inside of you; I am going crazy, inside of you
大 大好きさ 大好きなんだ 大 大好きさ 大嫌い!
I love you so much, with all my heart! I hate you so much, with all my heart!
Contributed by Peyton E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.