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.
SANE
BUCK-TICK Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I must go when I go.
What's anything,
Now I'm insane.
Now I'm insane,(but)
I must live when I live.
What's anything,
Now I'm insane.It's sane!!
Carrying the body to my mind.
It's nothing,going down,
going up.I'm free.
歌いましょう あふれるくらい
いつまでも どこまでも
Give me something to believe,
Burning body to my mind.
It's burning,Going down,
going up. I fly.
踊りましょう ちぎれるくらい
いつまでも どこまでも
I'm dancing in the hell.
I'm singing in the rain.
To the bottom, follow me down,
Carrying the body to my mind.
It's nothing,going down,
going up.I'm free.
歌いましょう あふれるくらい
いつまでも どこまでも
踊りましょう ちぎれるくらい
いつまでも どこまでも
I'm dancing in the hell.
I'm singing in the rain.
Now I'm insane,(but)
I must go when I go.
What's anything, Now I'm insane.
I must live when I live.
Give me something to believe,
Burning body to my mind.
It's burning,going down,
going up. I fly.
歌いましょう あふれるくらい
いつまでも どこまでも
踊りましょう ちぎれるくらい
いつまでも どこまでも
Now I'm insane,(but)
I must go when I go.
What's anything, Now I'm insane.
The lyrics to BUCK-TICK's song, "SANE" are interestingly complex and depict a conflicted state of mind. The first line, "To the bottom, follow me down," could imply a descent into a dark abyss, a metaphor for a mental or emotional descent. The next two lines, "Carrying the body to my mind. It's nothing. Going down, going up. I'm free," suggest a release from the constraints of the human body and a sense of liberation or freedom - but it is unclear whether this sense of liberation is positive or negative. The following lines, "歌いましょう あふれるくらい いつまでも どこまでも" (Let's sing until we overflow. Always, everywhere) and "踊りましょう ちぎれるくらい いつまでも どこまでも" (Let's dance until we tear apart. Always, everywhere) express the emotions of abandon and the desire to be consumed by the music.
The chorus returns to the idea of insanity, singing, "Now I'm insane, (but) I must go. I'm singing in the rain. Now I'm insane, (but) I must go." The repetition of the phrase "Now I'm insane" creates a sense of urgency, an admission of the singer's mental state, and the desire to escape from it. The line "I'm singing in the rain" could be interpreted as an allusion to the classic movie, "Singin' in the Rain," where the main character embraces rain as a symbol of his own emotions. The song concludes in a positive note, "Now I'm sane. It's sane!!", indicating that the singer has come out on the other side of their insanity, and is now experiencing a newfound sanity.
Line by Line Meaning
To the bottom, follow me down.
Let us delve into the depths of my mind together.
Carrying the body to my mind.
I will bring my physical being along for the journey to explore my own psyche.
It's nothing. Going down, going up. I'm free.
The journey may seem mundane at times, but it allows me to feel liberated and unburdened.
歌いましょう あふれるくらい いつまでも どこまでも
Let us sing until our hearts overflow, forever and everywhere.
Give me something to believe.
I crave a truth to hold onto in this fluid world.
Burning body to my mind.
I let my passions fuel my exploration of my own psyche.
It's burning. Going down, going up. I fly.
The intensity of my self-discovery feels both agitating and liberating, allowing me to soar to new heights as I navigate my own thoughts and emotions.
踊りましょう ちぎれるくらい いつまでも どこまでも
Let us dance until we are torn apart, forever and everywhere.
I'm dancing in the hell.
I am willing to confront even painful and unpleasant aspects of myself in order to truly understand myself better.
Now I'm insane, (but) I must go
I may feel like I have lost my mind, but I am committed to continue my exploration even in the face of overwhelming uncertainty.
I'm singing in the rain.
I am finding joy even in times of adversity.
Now I'm sane. It's sane!!
After confronting the darker parts of myself, I have come out the other side with a clearer understanding and a newfound sense of sanity and wholeness.
when I go. What's anything... Now I'm sane.
Even in the face of mortality and the fleeting nature of all things, I have found a sense of contentment and balance within myself.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: 敦司 櫻井
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind