BUCK-TICK is a Japanese rock band, originally formed by Imai Hisashi in 198… Read Full Bio ↴BUCK-TICK is a Japanese rock band, originally formed by Imai Hisashi in 1983 in Gunma, Japan, with its current line-up lasting since 1985. They are commonly credited as one of the founders of the visual kei movement. As of yet, they have released twenty-three original studio albums and one of self-covers, nearly all reaching the top ten on the charts. Their most recent album, "異空 -IZORA-", was released on 12th April 2023.

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.

tight rope
BUCK-TICK Lyrics

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揺れる君を指で辿るいつまでも
ああ何て狂おしい
泳ぐように君が揺れるこの空を
ああ何て美しい
闇の淵で誰かが笑う手招いた
ああ僕がそこに居る
僕は今夜精神異常何処までも
ああ落ちてゆくみたい

死の匂いだけが頼り
ゆらゆらゆらら揺れてる
僕は綱を渡る目を閉じて
ゆらゆらゆらら揺れてる
僕は綱を渡る目を閉じて
<間奏中>
揺れる君を指で辿る
いつまでもああ何て狂おしい
君が飛べば僕も行ける
何処までも
ああ落ちて行くみたい
死の匂いだけが頼り
空中ブランコにあなたが
僕は綱を渡る目を閉じて
この宇宙を泳ぐあなたと
夢の果てで逢える目を閉じて
空中ブランコが揺れてる
僕は綱を渡る目を閉じて
この宇宙を泳ぐあなたと
夢の果てで逢える？目を閉じて
君が揺れている君が揺れている
青い青い空青い青い海

君が揺れている君が揺れている
青い青い空青い青い海

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to BUCK-TICK's "tight rope" seem to portray a scene of a person walking on a tightrope, high up in the sky, with someone they care about watching them from below. The opening lines describe the person watching, tracing the movements of the person walking on the tightrope, admiring their beauty and looking on in awe. The second verse describes someone laughing from the depths of darkness and the singer placing themselves in the shoes of the person on the tightrope, feeling as though they are falling, with only the smell of death to guide them. Throughout the song, there is an acknowledgement of the danger and risk involved in crossing the tightrope, but also the beauty and the sense of freedom that comes with it.

The repeated line "揺れる君を指で辿るいつまでもああ何て狂おしい" (yureru kimi wo yubi de tadoru itsumademo aa nante kuruoshii) translates to "I trace your swaying figure with my fingers forever, ah, how insane." This line seems to represent the relationship between the person on the tightrope and the person watching below, with the watcher admiring the beauty and bravery of the tightrope walker.

Overall, the lyrics to "tight rope" express a sense of danger, beauty, and freedom. The lines are somewhat abstract, leaving room for interpretation and personal connections to the song.

Line by Line Meaning

揺れる君を指で辿るいつまでもああ何て狂おしい
I follow you with my fingers as you sway, always. It's crazy how much I'm obsessed with you.

泳ぐように君が揺れるこの空をああ何て美しい
You sway as if you're swimming through this sky, ah, how beautiful it is.

闇の淵で誰かが笑う手招いたああ僕がそこに居る
Someone beckons and laughs from the depths of darkness, ah, and I am there.

僕は今夜精神異常何処までもああ落ちてゆくみたい死の匂いだけが頼り
Tonight, I feel like I'm going to fall anywhere, mentally ill. Only the smell of death is my guide.

ゆらゆらゆらら揺れてる僕は綱を渡る目を閉じて
Swaying, swaying, you sway, and I close my eyes as I walk the tightrope.

<間奏中>

揺れる君を指で辿るいつまでもああ何て狂おしい
I follow you with my fingers as you sway, always. It's crazy how much I'm obsessed with you.

君が飛べば僕も行ける何処までもああ落ちて行くみたい死の匂いだけが頼り
If you fly, I could go anywhere too. It feels like we're falling. Only the smell of death is our guide.

空中ブランコにあなたが僕は綱を渡る目を閉じて
You're on a swing in the sky as I close my eyes and walk the tightrope.

この宇宙を泳ぐあなたと夢の果てで逢える目を閉じて空中ブランコが揺れてる僕は綱を渡る目を閉じて
I swim through this universe with you and close my eyes to meet you at the end of a dream as the swing in the sky sways. I walk the tightrope with my eyes closed.

この宇宙を泳ぐあなたと夢の果てで逢える？目を閉じて君が揺れている君が揺れている青い青い空青い青い海
I swim through this universe with you and close my eyes to meet you at the end of a dream? You are swaying, swaying, in the blue, blue sky and sea.

Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: 敦司櫻井

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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