°C-ute’s ‘Jump!,’ Part 6: End game

 

ご近所の
おじいちゃん達に
いろんなことを教わりたい

Gokinjo no
ojiichan tachi ni
ironna kono wo osawaritai

I want to be
taught a lot
by the neighborhood grandfathers

– Maimi, "Jump!" (translation courtesy Projecthello.com).

 

What a line! This is indicative of how Japanese society reveres, to a large extent, the knowledge and wisdom of elders. It’s just strange to see a line like this in a pop song belted out by teens, leaping around like leprechauns on a highly open and free stage.

 

In any event, tedious as it might have been, this is the sixth and final segment on °C-ute’s profound song, “Jump!,” which is only about 18 months old, but has changed the face of music forever.

 

 

No longer will Japanese idol music be considered to be merely and estension of kids’ songs. That might have been the case when Morning Musume and Hello! Project launched its first concerts back in the early 2000s, but the company has come a long way and puts forth a lively recipe of songs that appeal to just about any sensibility. Now, it's increasingly adult music produced by kids, and it is sensational in every possible way.

 

Congratulations to °C-ute and the other groups so blessed.

 

“Jump!” ends just as it started – with a series of bangs that never seem to end. As the song’s name implies, there are real jumps, lots of them, and they seem to get crazier with each rendition of the song.

 

Then the lyrics, which are so brazenly optimistic and outright cocky that it’s implausible to think they are best uttered by teen girls that look more sensible than that. They sure seem like anyone else in the “Cutie Circuit” concert DVD in which their roadie personas take center stage, apart from performing, that is. And the eating sessions are quiter extraordinary. These are seven human beings that seem to really enjoy simply being alive and being with each other, and that should encourage all of us.

 

Two major components make up this final salute to °C-ute: The final grouping (loading up just before the Chisato Whoop), and the final “Owww!” at the end. They repeat these carefully choreographed moves successfully in all five versions.

 

The debut concert is intriguing in that, just after the final grouping loads up, the Chisato Whoop is heard but not seen. But at the very end, the “Owww!” move is a shocking end, and the septet seems to sustain the high-legged finish moreso than the other four versions, which seem to sag a little more as the year slips by – a sure indicator of simple fatigue.

 

In the April load-up, it’s shown at a funny angle which tends to take some of the sting out of the finish, except the Chisato Whoop is deafening. The “Owww!” remains a nice stinger at the end.

 

Imagine, then, the 60-plus Hello! Project singers who high-stepped the “Owww!” at Saitama Super Arena in July. Yes, it did appear that Berryz Kobo enjoyed this song as much, if not more, than did there C-ute mates. The Elder Club also felt it, along with the superlative Eggs, whose The Possible core group was still intact, if only for one final show before graduating into Tsunku-club land.

 

Then, of course, the late summer tour and the Sept. 30 showdown at the Yokohama Blitz. I’m guessing the Blitz is an older theater that has seen better days, but every time °C-ute shows up, the eternal energy returns.

 

This is Rad signing off – for now.