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.
TABOO
BUCK-TICK Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
熱い背筋 爪を走らす お前は誰?
傷口 ワインこぼす
純い痛み けしの花びら 赤く甘く
A-mour oh You say
"Please never love me"
お前が好きさ I say "NO"
ステキだよ
夢想の誓い 悪夢の神秘 愛の幻想
Au-revoir oh I say
"Still I love you"I
死ぬ程好きさ You say "LOVE"
キレイだよ
静かに静かに 最後の曲流れ出す
A-mour A-mour A-mour
ふたり TABoo...TABoo...
涙が涙が この世界の悲しみが
Au-revoir Au-revoir Au-revoir
消えて TABoo...TABoo...
<間奏中>
A-mour oh You say
"Please never love me"
お前が好きさ I say "NO"
ステキだよ
Au-revoir oh I say
"Stll I love you"
死ぬ程好きさ You say "LOVE"
キレイだよ
静かに静かに 最後の曲流れ出す
A-mour A-mour A-mour
ふたり TABoo...TABoo...
涙が涙が この世界の悲しみが
Au-revoir Au-revoir Au-revoir
消えて TABoo...TABoo...
"サヨナラ..." 魔性の人
夢想の誓い 悪夢の神秘 愛の幻想
"SAYONARA..." 愛の幻想
TABOO is a song by the Japanese rock band BUCK-TICK. The lyrics of TABOO are dark and brooding, reflecting the theme of a doomed love affair. The opening lines, "Kuchizuke hada wo kogasu, atsui sekin tsume wo hashirasu, omae wa dare?" ("I burn my lips on your skin, my hot back shudders and my nails run, who are you?") immediately set the tone for the rest of the song. The singer is in a passionate but troubled relationship with someone who is mysterious and possibly dangerous.
The chorus of the song features the recurring lines "A-mour A-mour A-mour" and "Au-revoir Au-revoir Au-revoir", indicating the conflicted emotions of the singer. They want to leave the relationship, but they're unable to let go of their feelings. The song ends with the enigmatic line "sayonara...ai no gensō" ("goodbye...illusion of love"), which further emphasizes the sense of loss and tragedy.
Line by Line Meaning
くちづけ 肌を焦がす
A passionate kiss that sets my skin on fire.
熱い背筋 爪を走らす お前は誰?
Your presence sends shivers down my spine; I'm curious to know who you are.
傷口 ワインこぼす 純い痛み けしの花びら 赤く甘く
My wound bleeds, staining the white rose petals red with a pure pain that is both sweet and bitter like wine.
A-mour oh You say
"Please never love me"
お前が好きさ I say "NO"
ステキだよ
You say you don't want my love, but I say I like you anyway. You're wonderful.
"サヨナラ..." 魔性の人
夢想の誓い 悪夢の神秘 愛の幻想
"Goodbye" to the alluring person, whose promise of love is a dreamlike and mysterious nightmare.
Au-revoir oh I say
"Still I love you"
死ぬ程好きさ You say "LOVE"
キレイだよ
I say "Goodbye," but I still love you. You say you love me to death. It's beautiful.
静かに静かに 最後の曲流れ出す
A-mour A-mour A-mour
ふたり TABoo...TABoo...
As the last song plays quietly, our love TABoos, TABoos together.
涙が涙が この世界の悲しみが
Au-revoir Au-revoir Au-revoir
消えて TABoo...TABoo...
Our tears and the sadness of this world disappear as if to say "Goodbye" and are replaced by our love TABoos, TABoos.
<間奏中>
Instrumental part.
A-mour oh You say
"Please never love me"
お前が好きさ I say "NO"
ステキだよ
You say you don't want my love, but I say I like you anyway. You're wonderful.
Au-revoir oh I say
"Stll I love you"
死ぬ程好きさ You say "LOVE"
キレイだよ
I say "Goodbye," but I still love you. You say you love me to death. It's beautiful.
静かに静かに 最後の曲流れ出す
A-mour A-mour A-mour
ふたり TABoo...TABoo...
As the last song plays quietly, our love TABoos, TABoos together.
涙が涙が この世界の悲しみが
Au-revoir Au-revoir Au-revoir
消えて TABoo...TABoo...
Our tears and the sadness of this world disappear as if to say "Goodbye" and are replaced by our love TABoos, TABoos.
"サヨナラ..." 魔性の人
夢想の誓い 悪夢の神秘 愛の幻想
"Goodbye" to the alluring person, whose promise of love is a dreamlike and mysterious nightmare.
"SAYONARA..." 愛の幻想
"Goodbye..." to the illusion of love.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: 敦司 桜井
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind