Who’s hungry?
42 years ago, on a cold New York City night, Akiko Yano, lauded as Japan’s answer to Kate Bush, was craving the soothing taste of ramen.
Warm broth, thick textured pork, and springy noodles: it’s soul food.
So she wrote a song about it.
Now ‘Ramen Tabetai’ is getting a second life, through a new cover version by Los Angeles-based Japanese artist Shinkawasaki.
Stripping away the gloriously ‘80s-style pop cheesiness of the original, Shinkawasaki’s take on the track has a distinctly electronic, almost distorted, sound.
His buoyant vocals climb over a steady, pulsating beat. It gives a modern mood to an otherwise timeless tune; will ramen ever not be the ultimate craving food, especially in freezing winter weather?
Lyrically, the song is, to be expected, a lot of fun. Even if Yano’s ramen order is slightly untraditional — no pork!
The translated lyrics go, “Don’t want any BBQ pork, don’t want any naruto/Won’t order it fancy/Put on the onions, put on the garlic, just pour it on”.
Interestingly, the track contains a bit of social commentary, adding a serious element to an otherwise playful, lighthearted arrangement.
Around the time Yano wrote the song, it was difficult for women to enter ramen joints and other Japanese fast food restaurants on their own.
There was a heavy feeling that such places were reserved for men, so Yano cheekily references her desire to eat her ramen by herself as well.
In the song, Yano sings in Japanese, “I will eat my own ramen/I will eat it on my own responsibility/Next time I come, I’ll come with somebody/But for now I wanna eat it alone, I wanna eat ramen”.
Pushing back against the patriarchy one bowl at a time.
The cover art alone for Shinkawasaki’s iteration of the song is enough to make me hungry; a close-up shot of juicy, golden-brown broth. Is your stomach rumbling yet?
A two-time Independent Music Awards nominee, Shinkawasaki has been releasing music since 2010.
His cover of ‘Ramen Tabetai’ follows a recent string of releases, including ‘Baker (including “Smart Girl Part II”)’, adding another track to his growing catalogue of offbeat electronic pop.
His cover of ‘Ramen Tabetai’ breathes new life into an old track all about food, the greatest muse of all.
AloJapan.com