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.
Sakura
BUCK-TICK Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Mou tsukaretaro enjiru koto yume miru koto mo subete
Kareta yubi ga ochiru zutto mitsumeteru
Koe ni naranai kedo sotto tsubuyaita
"Sugu ni iku yo..." aoi heya de nogareru sube o shirazu
Tsuki ga michiru mae ni sotto mai orite
Nami ga saratte yuku zutto "eien sa"
Chigireta karada ni sukui wa nai?
KUSURI wa kanashii dake
Mou ichido koko de nemuru nara
Kondo wa jouzu ni utau kara
KIRAMEKU hoshi ga kieta nara
Saigo wa ai to nakeru kara
Saa yasuraka ni nemuru you ni hitomi tojite okure yo
Mou tsukaretarou enjiru koto yume miru koto mo subete
Tsuki ga michiru mae ni sotto mai orite
Nami ga saratte yuku zutto "eien sa"
Gomakasu itami ni namida wa nai?
Usotsuki kurushii dake
Mou ichido koko de aeru nara
Kondo wa jouzu ni warau kara
KIRAMEKU umi ga kareta nara
Saigo wa ai to warau kara
The lyrics of Sakura by BUCK-TICK convey a sense of weariness and resignation, as well as a longing for peace and rest. The singer asks to close their eyes and sleep peacefully, as they are tired of everything, including trying and dreaming. They are fixated on their withered fingertips, as they quietly mutter that they will soon be leaving. They don't know how to escape from the blue room they're in, and they don't even know of a way out. Before the moon fills up the sky, they softly descend as the waves ebb away; the eternity is always there. The singer is wondering if there is any remedy for their shattered body, and only medicine can make them sad. If they can sleep here one more time, they claim to become better at singing, and the reason they can cry at the end is that the twinkling star has disappeared.
The second part of the song repeats the same requests, but this time the singer asks to laugh if they can meet again, and to smile if the bright sea dries up because they can only laugh and smile if that's the last moment of love. The line about medicine and sadness indicates that the singer is likely in pain, possibly emotional. The idea of a blue room might indicate isolation, depression, or even a closed mindset. The singer wants to sleep and rest but also emphasizes that if they can do it one more time, they can improve and become more adept.
Line by Line Meaning
Saa yasuraka ni nemuru you ni hitomi tojite okure yo
Now close your eyes as if sleeping peacefully
Mou tsukaretaro enjiru koto yume miru koto mo subete
I am already tired of performing and dreaming, too
Kareta yubi ga ochiru zutto mitsumeteru
I have been staring at my withered fingers that keep falling
Koe ni naranai kedo sotto tsubuyaita
I quietly murmured, even though I cannot speak
"Sugu ni iku yo..." aoi heya de nogareru sube o shirazu
"I will go soon..." without knowing how to escape from this blue room
Tsuki ga michiru mae ni sotto mai orite
Descending gently, just before the moon is full
Nami ga saratte yuku zutto "eien sa"
The eternalness of the waves that keep washing away
Chigireta karada ni sukui wa nai?
Is there no salvation for a torn apart body?
KUSURI wa kanashii dake
The only cure is sadness
Mou ichido koko de nemuru nara
If I sleep here again once more
Kondo wa jouzu ni utau kara
This time, I will sing skillfully
KIRAMEKU hoshi ga kieta nara
When the sparkling stars disappear
Saigo wa ai to nakeru kara
At the end, I will cry for love
Saa yasuraka ni nemuru you ni hitomi tojite okure yo
Now close your eyes as if sleeping peacefully
Mou tsukaretarou enjiru koto yume miru koto mo subete
I am already tired of performing and dreaming, too
Tsuki ga michiru mae ni sotto mai orite
Descending gently, just before the moon is full
Nami ga saratte yuku zutto "eien sa"
The eternalness of the waves that keep washing away
Gomakasu itami ni namida wa nai?
Is there no tears for a disguised pain?
Usotsuki kurushii dake
Just painful lies
Mou ichido koko de aeru nara
If we can meet here again once more
Kondo wa jouzu ni warau kara
This time, I will laugh skillfully
KIRAMEKU umi ga kareta nara
When the sparkling sea dries up
Saigo wa ai to warau kara
At the end, I will laugh for love
Writer(s): . Cul, . Juniel Copyright: Ai Entertainment Inc.
Contributed by Zoe S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.