| Revision as of 21:25, 25 January 2023 editLINK1733 (talk | contribs)8 editsm →Covers: Adding that the band Skankin' Pickle covered the song on one of their albums.← Previous edit | Revision as of 14:53, 13 February 2023 edit undoHzh (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, New page reviewers, Pending changes reviewers141,561 edits →OverviewNext edit → | ||
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| ==Overview== | ==Overview== | ||
| According to songwriter David Fenton, "Turning Japanese is all the clichés about angst and youth and turning into something you didn't expect to."<ref name="Songfacts">{{cite web|title= Turning Japanese by the Vapors |accessdate= 4 April 2009 |website= Songfacts |url= http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=689}}</ref> Fenton intended the song to be a love song, with the character of the song "pining over a photograph of his ex-girlfriend" in his bedroom, drawing from his experience of being rejected. Fenton wrote the song in his flat, but had problem writing the chorus. He said that the chorus then came to him when suddenly woke up at 4am with the line "Turning Japanese, I think I’m turning Japanese" in his head, but the words and the song title did not really mean much.<ref name=guardian>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/feb/13/how-we-made-turning-japanese-by-the-vapors |title='I'd rather be a one-hit wonder than a no-hit wonder' – the Vapors on Turning Japanese|first= Dave|last= Simpson|date= 13 February 2023|work=The Guardian }}</ref> | |||
| The song was produced by ], who had previously rejected a request to produce "Prisoners" for the band after listening to demos send to him by the band's manager John Weller (father of ]) and ]. He later had another listen and agreed to produce "Turning Japanese" for them. The finished recording has a different arrangement from demo, as Coppersmith-Heaven proposed several changes to the arrangement. He recorded the Vapors live to capture the energy of the band, before stripping it down to just the drums, and then overdubbed the song. According to Fenton, the drummer did not like the song, and "just went "Boom! Splat!"" in the recording, but the band thought it sounded good and kept it.<ref name=guardian /> | |||
| The band suspected they would score a hit with "Turning Japanese", even delaying its release in order to make it their second single, hoping to avoid becoming "]s". Nonetheless, they never matched the single's success.<ref>{{cite web|first= Andy |last= Davis |title= On the Vapor-trail |website= Parengstrom.com |accessdate= 23 June 2008 |url= http://www.parengstrom.com/story.htm}}</ref> In Australia, it spent two weeks at No. 1 during June 1980,<ref name="aus"/> and, coincidentally, the song was also a minor hit in Japan.<ref name="Songfacts"/> | The band suspected they would score a hit with "Turning Japanese", even delaying its release in order to make it their second single, hoping to avoid becoming "]s". Nonetheless, they never matched the single's success.<ref>{{cite web|first= Andy |last= Davis |title= On the Vapor-trail |website= Parengstrom.com |accessdate= 23 June 2008 |url= http://www.parengstrom.com/story.htm}}</ref> In Australia, it spent two weeks at No. 1 during June 1980,<ref name="aus"/> and, coincidentally, the song was also a minor hit in Japan.<ref name="Songfacts"/> | ||
Revision as of 14:53, 13 February 2023
1980 single by The Vapors This article is about the song. For the "Married... with Children" episode, see List of Married... with Children episodes § Season 10 (1995–96).
| "Turning Japanese" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Standard European artwork | ||||
| Single by The Vapors | ||||
| from the album New Clear Days | ||||
| B-side | "Talk Talk" (USA/Canada) "Here Comes the Judge" (live) (international) | |||
| Released | January 1980 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:41 | |||
| Label | United Artists Records | |||
| Songwriter(s) | David Fenton | |||
| Producer(s) | Vic Coppersmith-Heaven | |||
| The Vapors singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Audio sample | ||||
"Turning Japanese" is a song by English band the Vapors, from their 1980 album New Clear Days. It was an international hit, becoming the band's most well-known song. The song prominently features an Oriental riff played on guitar.
Overview
According to songwriter David Fenton, "Turning Japanese is all the clichés about angst and youth and turning into something you didn't expect to." Fenton intended the song to be a love song, with the character of the song "pining over a photograph of his ex-girlfriend" in his bedroom, drawing from his experience of being rejected. Fenton wrote the song in his flat, but had problem writing the chorus. He said that the chorus then came to him when suddenly woke up at 4am with the line "Turning Japanese, I think I’m turning Japanese" in his head, but the words and the song title did not really mean much.
The song was produced by Vic Coppersmith-Heaven, who had previously rejected a request to produce "Prisoners" for the band after listening to demos send to him by the band's manager John Weller (father of Paul Weller) and Bruce Foxton. He later had another listen and agreed to produce "Turning Japanese" for them. The finished recording has a different arrangement from demo, as Coppersmith-Heaven proposed several changes to the arrangement. He recorded the Vapors live to capture the energy of the band, before stripping it down to just the drums, and then overdubbed the song. According to Fenton, the drummer did not like the song, and "just went "Boom! Splat!"" in the recording, but the band thought it sounded good and kept it.
The band suspected they would score a hit with "Turning Japanese", even delaying its release in order to make it their second single, hoping to avoid becoming "one-hit wonders". Nonetheless, they never matched the single's success. In Australia, it spent two weeks at No. 1 during June 1980, and, coincidentally, the song was also a minor hit in Japan.
The music video was directed by Russell Mulcahy.
The lyrics relate teen angst or alienation following a romantic breakup to feeling like being from a foreign culture.
Covers
Kirsten Dunst recorded a cover, with an accompanying video filmed directed by McG and produced by Takashi Murakami in Tokyo in August 2009.
The song was featured on the soundtrack of the 1997 movie Beverly Hills Ninja covered by the band The Hazies.
On the Canadian sketch comedy series Second City Television, Rick Moranis performed a lounge-style version of the song as the character Tom Monroe.
The American ska punk band, Skankin' Pickle, covered the song on their 1994 album Sing Along With Skankin' Pickle.
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Certifications and sales
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA) | Platinum | 100,000 |
|
Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
See also
References
- ^ Mason, Stewart. "Turning Japanese – Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
- ^ "The Vapors – Turning Japanese". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
- ^ "Turning Japanese by the Vapors". Songfacts. Retrieved 4 April 2009.
- ^ Simpson, Dave (13 February 2023). "'I'd rather be a one-hit wonder than a no-hit wonder' – the Vapors on Turning Japanese". The Guardian.
- Davis, Andy. "On the Vapor-trail". Parengstrom.com. Retrieved 23 June 2008.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 320. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- Dendle, first (2012). The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia, Volume 2: 2000-2010. McFarland & Company. p. 168. ISBN 9780786492886.
- Schuker, Lauren A. E. (2 October 2009). "The Artist and the Director". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 19 December 2014.
- "Where There's Smoke". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 4. 25 January 1997. p. 27. ISSN 0006-2510.
- "Rick Moranis' Classic Cover of 'Turning Japanese' on SCTV (VIDEO)". HuffPost. 17 July 2011. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
- https://www.discogs.com/master/300830-Skankin-Pickle-Sing-Along-With-Skankin-Pickle
- "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0274." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
- "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Vapors". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
- "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
- ^ "The Vapors – Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 15 January 2013.
- "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending NOVEMBER 29, 1980". Cash Box. Archived from the original on 15 September 2012.
- "Songs from the Year 1980". TsorT. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
- "National Top 100 Singles for 1980". Kent Music Report. 5 January 1981. Retrieved 17 January 2022 – via Imgur.
- "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts – 1980s". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
- "Top 100 Singles". RPM. Vol. 34, no. 6. 20 December 1980. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
- "UK Singles of the Year" (PDF). Record Mirror. London. 27 December 1980. p. 30. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
- "Top 100 Singles of 1981". RPM. Vol. 35, no. 22. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
- "International Certifications" (PDF). Cash Box. Vol. XLII, no. 24. 25 October 1980. p. 43. Retrieved 3 December 2021 – via World Radio History.
External links
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| Studio albums |
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| Singles | |