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.
Girl
BUCK-TICK Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Letters to the fire, I'm not even ripping packs
Still your ghost in my head make a racket when It's clean
Like a storm on the sea, I'm not more than a dead fish
Murky memories for you, all they're clean along for me
I don't hope you ever know how much really meant to me
All the moments that we stacked, all the things you brought to me
I Got a ghost-girl from the past, but just can see her in my dreams, yeah
Just can see her in my dreams, yeah
Tears drop, ain't stopping when I dream about you
Passing through all the smoke I'm blowing thinking 'bout you
What do I miss? Is it you or the way you were with me?
I don't know, question self answered
Roll the dope to me anyway
Helping me to face some facts that now are problems
Met you, I was so fucked up that I pushed you far from me
Now got me, crying like a bitch while I been writing
Blanking names on my long failed list
Just hoping that you ever get to hear this
Door closed, even knowing you're not coming to me
Gotta face it, destiny says that we can't find again twice
And even then we wouldn't meet the same part
To accept it, I swear that I been doing it all
Gotta make it, cuz I know you don't mind at all
Too stubborn, but lucky me that got some blunts
Burn me on fire, for other bitches got no love
Darkness in my head I can't find any light
Saw you in a dream, can't wake up feeling right
You know... you know
In this song, BUCK-TICK speaks about the memories of a lost love that haunt them, even though the person has moved on. They describe how it feels like the memories are stacked up in boxes in their head, and while they try to move on, the memories keep coming and haunting them. The person acknowledges that they messed up their relationship and pushed their love far away from them when they were in a bad place, and now they can’t help but think about what could have been.
The lyrics suggest that the person is struggling internally with the question of whether they miss the person or the way they were with them. They are smoking to help themselves face this problem, but it seems like it’s not helping much. The person accepts the reality that they won’t be able to find their love again, and even if they did, it wouldn’t be the same as before. It’s a sad song that speaks about regrets and lost love.
Line by Line Meaning
Red tapes, unsurprising boxes keep on stacking
Constraints and predictability continue to accumulate
Letters to the fire, I'm not even ripping packs
I'm not even bothering to burn the letters and memories
Still your ghost in my head make a racket when It's clean
Your memory still disturbs me even when I'm sober and clear-headed
Like a storm on the sea, I'm not more than a dead fish
I'm lost and lifeless in the turbulent currents of life
Murky memories for you, all they're clean along for me
What seems messy and complicated for you is simple and clear for me
I don't hope you ever know how much really meant to me
I don't want you to discover how deeply I cared for you
All the moments that we stacked, all the things you brought to me
I cherish all the experiences and gifts you shared with me
I Got a ghost-girl from the past, but just can see her in my dreams, yeah
I still hold on to a memory of a girl who is no longer with me, but I only see her in my dreams
Tears drop, ain't stopping when I dream about you
I still cry when you appear in my dreams
Passing through all the smoke I'm blowing thinking 'bout you
I distract myself by smoking, but my thoughts still turn to you
What do I miss? Is it you or the way you were with me?
I don't know if I miss you or just the way things were when we were together
I don't know, question self answered
I can't answer my own question
Roll the dope to me anyway
I'll take whatever will ease my pain
Helping me to face some facts that now are problems
Drugs help me confront my current issues
Met you, I was so fucked up that I pushed you far from me
I was in a bad place when I met you, and I drove you away
Now got me, crying like a bitch while I been writing
I'm emotional and vulnerable as I write this
Blanking names on my long failed list
I try to forget about all the relationships that didn't work out
Just hoping that you ever get to hear this
I wish that you could know how I feel
Door closed, even knowing you're not coming to me
I accept that we can't be together
Gotta face it, destiny says that we can't find again twice
I have to accept that some things cannot be repeated
And even then we wouldn't meet the same part
Even if we were to meet again, it wouldn't be the same
To accept it, I swear that I been doing it all
I'm trying my best to accept the situation
Gotta make it, cuz I know you don't mind at all
I have to move forward, knowing that it won't affect you
Too stubborn, but lucky me that got some blunts
I'm stubborn, but at least I have drugs to help me cope
Burn me on fire, for other bitches got no love
My heart is still burning for you, but I don't have feelings for anyone else
Darkness in my head I can't find any light
I'm lost in my thoughts and can't find any positivity
Saw you in a dream, can't wake up feeling right
You appeared in my dream and now I can't shake the feeling
You know... you know
You understand what I'm going through
Lyrics © O/B/O DistroKid
Written by: Daniel Fernández
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind