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.
Goblin
BUCK-TICK Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Vodka･Tequila･Japanese SAKE 世界が回る トロけている
裸の Devil＆angel 抱き合う
裸足の Ladies＆gentlemen!
だんだん気が変になってきたぜ
dadada…
死に神にとり憑かれ 墓場で歌う 婆婆 Daba?da
キマッテルかい? 黒いマント 自分で踏んづけ 1回転
裸の Judas Jesus 抱き合う
King＆Queen,Joker!Mesdemoiselles!
だんだん俺はハイになってきたぜ
dadada…
裸の Adam Eve 抱き合う
踊りな Baby! Strippppper!
だんだん君もハイになってきたぜ
dadada…
dadada…
dadada…
dadada…
The song "Goblin" by BUCK-TICK is an interesting composition that speaks about Arabian nights and the wild, careless world of drinking and sensuality. The opening lyrics "Arabian nights. Kuroi hitomi omowazu koshi ga yurete ita" (Arabian nights. Black eyes, my hips swayed unconsciously) describe a scene where the singer is so caught up in the magic of Arabia that he/she can't help but dance. The following lines "Vodka･Tequila･Japanese SAKE sekai ga mawaru toroketeiru" (Vodka, tequila, Japanese sake - the world spins, I'm melting) describe the indulgence and excess of alcohol, taking the singer to another level of ecstasy.
As the song progresses, the imagery becomes wilder and more difficult to grasp. The lines "Shinigami ni tori tsukare hakaba de utau babaa Daba?da" (Possessed by Death, an old lady singing in the cemetery) depict a strange, dark figure that seems to have taken control of the singer. The words "naked devil and angel embrace", "naked King and Queen, Joker, Mesdemoiselles!" and eventually "naked Adam and Eve embrace, dance on, baby! Stripper!" hint at a world of total freedom and abandon, where clothing is stripped away and people connect on a primal, sensual level.
The song is a fascinating exploration of human desire and the way in which it can take us to extremes. The lyrics are dreamlike and surreal, creating a strange, sometimes unsettling atmosphere that matches the theme of the song perfectly.
Line by Line Meaning
Arabian nights.
Referring to the story collection of the same name, implying that the events of the song are fantastical and otherworldly.
黒い瞳 思わず腰が揺れていた
Entranced by someone's black eyes, the singer's body moved involuntarily.
Vodka･Tequila･Japanese SAKE 世界が回る トロけている
Drinking a combination of alcoholic beverages and feeling the world spin while becoming dizzy.
裸の Devil＆angel 抱き合う
Naked figures of a devil and an angel embracing each other.
裸足の Ladies＆gentlemen!
Barefoot women and men on display.
だんだん気が変になってきたぜ
Slowly feeling like losing one's mind.
死に神にとり憑かれ 墓場で歌う 婆婆 Daba?da
Being possessed by a grim reaper and singing with an elderly woman in a graveyard.
キマッテルかい? 黒いマント 自分で踏んづけ 1回転
Asking if it's enough, then spinning around and stepping on one's own black cloak.
裸の Judas Jesus 抱き合う
Naked depictions of Judas and Jesus embracing each other.
King＆Queen,Joker!Mesdemoiselles!
Various royal figures, a joker, and young ladies.
だんだん俺はハイになってきたぜ
Gradually becoming high or intoxicated.
裸の Adam Eve 抱き合う
Naked depictions of Adam and Eve embracing each other.
踊りな Baby! Strippppper!
Inviting a baby to dance and referencing a stripper.
だんだん君もハイになってきたぜ
Gradually acknowledging that the listener is also becoming high or intoxicated.
dadada…
Refrain or interlude with no specific meaning.
Contributed by Riley R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.