No Smoking (2019)

[bunniefuu]

Summer of 1945

World w*r II ended, leaving the world

and Japan with deep wounds.

Two years later, in the summer of 1947

Tokyo's Shirokane

still smelled of the w*r.

It was then that

Haruomi Hosono was born.

Before going to sleep

I'd think about how happy

I was to be born after the w*r.

I was so happy about that.

That I did not have to go to w*r.

I still cherish that I was born

in a time of peace.

Of course there were many

marks of the w*r still present.

The house next-door was gone.

It had burned.

It was that kind of time.

I think I was about three.

My mother would often go to Ginza

with me on her back.

We would get on a tram

at Shirokanedai.

It started in Meguro

and went to Hibiya.

We'd get off at Hibiya

and it would be filled

with soldiers.

I was on my mother's back

when people I did not know

came up to us.

They said words I couldn't

understand to my mother.

I remember two American G.I.s

giving me something.

Probably chocolate.

"Good Times Music, Again"

My heart is filled with music

I've listened to and seen

since I was a child.

My musical experiences in my youth

were bountiful.

The records I listened to

have made me who I am today.

It's true that my mother loved music.

She made me learn piano.

She liked music enough

to do things like that.

It wasn't unusual.

It was part of the culture.

People listened to more

western music then.

They put on SP records at home.

Those spinning records

were fun to watch.

I kept watching them.

It's even more fun that sounds

would come out of them.

At first, I couldn't put them on

and I'd nag my mother.

I think it was, "Sing Sing Sing."

I called it the drum record.

"Put it on!" I said.

Eventually I learned to

put it on myself.

I did this everyday.

We're a matriarchal family

so my grandmother

loomed the largest.

She was my maternal grandmother.

She would sit with her big bottom.

She would groan

as she got up.

There were many aunts.

One that lived across from me

was a secretary at Paramount.

A real career woman.

She would bring home soundtracks

from Paramount movies.

I would go there every day

to listen.

People like Bob Hope.

They were music that would later

enter my repertoire.

Like "Good Morning Mr. Echo."

A photo of the Hosono family.

They lived with his maternal grandfather

who was a piano tuner.

The paternal grandfather

was the only Japanese on the Titanic.

The child he had after his return

was Hosono's father.

It was my father

who taught me jokes.

There's a gag I do.

A laughing person who turns angry.

He taught me all of that.

They were so funny.

He used to do things like this.

He also taught me things like this.

They all came from the U.S.

Probably...

This too.

My father would sometimes admit quietly

that he wanted to be a dancer

like Fred Astaire.

He probably dreamt of things like that.

In the sixth grade,

music in the charts began to change.

The Ventures were a big hit.

They were so lively.

Suddenly, my classmates

began buying electric guitars.

Everyone had it then.

But I didn't.

Around 1961 or 1962...

The Beach Boys started to appear.

I thought they were great.

They had some instrumentals

so I would copy them.

Hosono entered

Rikkyo High School in 1963.

He began covering modern folk bands like

Peter, Paul and Mary and The Kingston Trio

who were popular then.

He was especially influenced by Bob Dylan.

He then entered Rikkyo University

and began his college life.

Music was really all I was doing.

My university band

was not very interesting.

But they did have the ability to produce.

They would gather people and do a show.

That was a very stimulating

and important scene for me.

A lot of important encounters with

with people I still hang out with.

For example, Tatsuo Hayashi

and Shigeru Suzuki.

One day, this guy came to visit

my house in Shirokane.

That was Eiichi Ohtaki.

I will never forget that day.

I had absent-mindly, left the record of

"Get Together" by The Youngbloods

who I liked and were popular at the time.

Then Ohtaki who came in without

any pleasantries

walked into my room and said,

"Oh, Get Together!"

I thought, "Amazing."

"He gets it."

The music he encountered then

was Buffalo Springfield.

He also continued to make more friends.

I'm not a very forward person.

I live quite idly but

people seem to gather around me.

Once, Takashi Matsumoto called.

He somehow had my number.

Whenever he had a moment,

he'd read a book.

When I saw what he was reading

they were often poetry books.

I thought, "Oh, Matsumoto is a literary type."

I gradually began to understand his talent.

In 1969, as a senior in college

he was invited by friends like

Hiro Yanagida and Chu Kosaka

to join THE APRYL FOOL

with Takashi Matsumoto.

They debuted professionally

but broke up after releasing one album.

Later, he attempted to create a new group

with Chu, Takashi and others.

But when Chu was cast

in the musical "Hair"

that project fell through too.

That was when Ohtaki called me

and all he said was,

"I understand Buffalo Springfield."

That was enough.

I thought to start a band.

Hosono, Matsumoto and Ohtaki

and others went on a trip

to the Tohoku region

to figure out the band.

They brought in Shigeru Suzuki on guitar

and on August 5, 1970,

HAPPY END debuted.

We were all raised on records.

Rather, records gave birth to us.

So to be recording...

was like a dream for us.

With our first album, we had no idea

what we were doing.

HAPPY END

Matsumoto wrote lyrics for the song

"Happy End."

I think, I suggested making it

our band name.

I was driving and the others

were in the car.

It was in a car when I suggested

we use "Happy End."

It was the same with THE APRYL FOOL.

A lot of ideas occur in cars.

Oh, it's five o'clock.

I'm going to exercise.

It's been a while.

We'll do it on stage too.

This is to wake up...

Maybe I'll go pee.

"A Message"

Neither Buffalo Springfield nor Moby Grape

made it commercially

but they are important teachers

of music to me.

They were a model to not only me

but to rock music as a whole in the 1970s.

HAPPY END was also squirming

on the opposite spectrum to business

but the two years we were active

are still an influence on today.

Commercialism plants a feeling of loss

through lack of sales.

Music-ism is not the same.

It says, "Hey you. You might be great."

"Even if you're not selling."

The dissatisfaction from the first album

became a motivation.

There was still a lot to do.

But with Kazemachi Roman

I believe we overcame a lot of it.

I thought it was better than our first work.

Especially my singing.

I was projecting my voice better.

It was a kind of experiment.

To combine Japanese words

with West Coast Sound.

We weren't thinking about sales

or trying to become famous.

It was an experiment based on

just wanting to create.

That experiment resulted

in the creation of HAPPY END.

After the members of HAPPY END

created Kazemachi Roman,

they each began their own paths.

That was when a recording trip to LA

was brought up.

Recently, I went to LA

and was surprised to find

Sunset Sound Recorders.

It still existed similar to

when we were there.

All the bands we liked

had worked there.

The fruits that we reaped there

were huge.

Van d*ke Parks appeared.

It's Van d*ke.

Amazing!

- That was great.

- Really?

Thank you.

Other way around.

I didn't really know him at first.

I knew about his work on

"Good Vibrations" by The Beach Boys.

He suddenly appeared and began lecturing.

He was lecturing about Japan's Imperialism

in English.

I thought, "This is what he's like."

As soon as recording began...

he was fantastic.

He told Takashi Matsumoto

to hit the hi-hat at 16 beats.

And add a dotted beat in the kick.

Then play the guitar to the beat.

That was how he gave direction.

It was a process of building upwards.

Learning how they put it together

was a fresh discovery.

As we began overdubbing

Lowell George appeared.

Van d*ke brought him.

It was a great time.

A miraculous experience.

After returning from LA in 1972,

Hosono and his family moved to

America Village in Sayama

where artists had started to gather.

He began working on

his first solo album, HOSONO HOUSE.

CARAMEL MAMA...

that was the band with Tatsuo Hayashi,

Shigeru Suzuki and Masataka Matsutoya.

Yoshino who was the engineer for

Kazemachi Roman

had bought a multi-channel recorder.

We thought we'd try it out.

We had it carried to us

and we recorded at home.

We were young.

We rented a house and all slept there.

It didn't feel like work.

Rent was cheap and the house was big.

It was very desirable.

I was living at my parents' until then.

I had no set address and no job.

I had never written all the songs

in an album.

There was pressure to do well.

I was barely a professional then.

I was in my twenties.

23 or 24.

I still had a strong

instrumentalist mentality.

I didn't know much

about world-building yet.

I wasn't looking to prove

anything.

That's why I re-made it recently.

This first solo album

that he put together

was being listened to

across borders and generations.

There is a comic

that is a good example.

"Green's Song"

by Taiwanese artist Gao Yan.

- This is the Taiwanese version.

- Oh yeah.

- Can I see it?

- Yes. Here.

I read the Japanese version.

- My heart was beating hard.

- Thank you.

It makes me very happy.

The story was a big surprise for me.

"Green's Song" is about

a woman in Taiwan

who is moved after her discovery

of Hosono's music.

After that, my feelings towards

being an instrumentalist increased.

Physically too, playing the bass was fun.

That was when I got

a letter from Okinawa.

Makoto Kubota told me that he heard

amazing music.

He said that "Haisai Ojisan"

was a huge hit there.

When I listened to it,

it was so interesting.

I think that's where it began.

Even though I was more of

an instrumentalist

I began wanting to create.

It was the right moment

when Kubota called me "tropical."

He said "Hosono, you're a tropical dandy!"

I thought, "That's it!"

In the places where different cultures meet

strange things grow.

I became very curious.

Tropicalism has that kind of quality.

I thought I could make a solo album.

I quickly made TROPICAL DANDY.

I listened to a lot of quirky music

and feeling good, I made TROPICAL DANDY

and Bon Voyage co.

But that didn't last long.

When I returned back to normalcy

I made PARAISO.

That one feels different.

I was a little depressed.

Searching for some kind of answer

I read Tadanori Yokoo's India.

I thought, "If I go to India,

I can get diarrhea."

"Diarrhea is a cleanse!

I can reset myself."

INDIA

BY YOKOO TADANORI

INDIA

BY YOKOO TADANORI

For some reason, I went to Yokoo's studio.

Then he asked me if I wanted to go to India.

For a second, I hesitated.

- When I said we should go?

- Yes.

No, you didn't hesitate.

You said, "Let's go"

as soon as I invited you.

There was no time for hesitation.

It wasn't hesitation.

I was just struck.

Ah, you were struck.

- Looking back, it was good.

- I didn't think that would actually happen.

Only the two of us fell ill.

Hosono had it worse.

I had been ill like this before

so I knew what was up.

It was Hosono's first time

so he thought he was dying.

- More like he became very flat.

- Yes.

He was sleeping on the bed

but he's not much higher than the bed.

So flat.

Yes! I became flat and flimsy.

He was no longer a 3D human

but a flat person.

A sheet of paper.

Now, I'm wondering

whatever happened to that couple.

The wife had a psychic quality to her.

Super psychic.

The wife saw Hosono and said,

"You are like Buddha."

Yes, as everything came out.

Diarrhea didn't matter to you.

You're Buddha.

Buddha died from diarrhea too.

The wife said, "Let's eat together."

I think it was salmon and congee.

Was it congee?

- It was white rice.

- It was rice.

She said I'll be better

if I eat this.

So Yokoo and I ate it.

And when we did,

we were both cured.

You and I have done

so many talks together.

There's nobody I've done

as many talks with.

Sorry.

How long has it been?

40 or 50 years?

It's over a long period.

We've talked about the same things.

That's what's funny.

That's because we always end up

talking about the past.

"Hosono's Dream Diary"

"The Soft-Biting Frog"

I had a dream.

I am being chased.

I end up at a rural harbor

I do not recognize.

Perhaps today is a holiday.

The big building is unpopulated

and seafood is strewn across the floor.

What is that? Something strange.

One large shellfish is attacking.

It spins towards

the direction I walk.

It's a very alert shellfish.

Once I enter an even bigger space,

I see one small tree frog

wandering about.

It's disgruntled and muttering something

in a low voice.

When it saw me,

it jumped from 10 meters away

and bit onto my wrist.

But it didn't hurt.

That was because

it was a soft bite.

Chomp, chomp.

It was the press conference

announcing the start of Alfa Records.

I was sitting and someone

told me to say something.

We had nothing decided.

But the words "Yellow Magic Orchestra"

suddenly came to me.

I said that's what I'm doing.

But I had nothing.

No members either.

I don't remember why

but I tapped Yukihiro Takahashi.

Yukihiro and I were friends

from way back.

He was in a band called

sadistics.

He came running straight at me

like an arrow.

His eyes were shining.

From there, I tapped Ryuichi Sakamoto.

I used to see Sakamoto at the studio.

I knew him as an arranger.

He came begrudgingly.

He said he's never been in a band.

I said, "Use me as your footstool

to the world."

The notebook that Hosono used at his house

to explain the concept behind YMO

included the musical direction

and sales goals.

They were written in concrete terms.

GOAL: 4 MILLION COPIES.

Empty promises.

It was because there was

one unenthused person.

I was thinking

that I have to convince him.

So I did a presentation

of what was possible

and what we were aiming for.

I drew pictures like this.

It was partly a joke.

When I showed them this, it was a go.

What I knew for sure was to do

"Firecracker" using a computer.

But at first, we thought to try it

with live instruments...

without a computer.

It wasn't interesting.

Nothing new came out of it.

I thought the computer

was the right way to go.

So we tried a computer

straight away.

It was music

that didn't exist before.

There are things

that a human can't do

like a perfectly even rhythm.

I didn't have to play the bass.

I was upset at first.

I think the most upsetting part was

that I didn't have anything to do.

It meant that I was able to

put my efforts into producing.

YMO was after all a project.

I was going to quit

if it didn't work out.

But once we began, it became play.

At the end of the day...

it's fun to play.

And then...

like a roll of a die,

things kept rolling in a good direction.

The three of us were

in the studio watching TV.

Seiji Ozawa in Beijing was big news

because he was conducting

the symphony orchestra.

You could see the joy from

the Chinese orchestra members

for being able to play music

that had been taboo.

The joy was infectious.

They had great postures

and they kept smiling.

And they had techno haircuts.

All three of us said, "That's it!"

We liked their innocent attitudes

and their haircuts.

Then came our second album.

Things began to change

because of "Rydeen."

The popularity of "Rydeen"

was a phenomenon that we witnessed

after our return from

our first world tour.

Our world tour was also

feeding back to Japan.

There was a boy who followed me

when I walked the streets.

The schoolboy

had a baseball cap on.

When I turned around he hid

behind a pole and still followed.

I was puzzled.

"Rydeen" really was at our height.

The record company of course

asked for another "Rydeen."

But we couldn't.

We couldn't do the same thing.

I don't know if it was out of spite

but we made BGM

which was an extremely avant-garde album.

Kids still listened to it.

We were caught in a whirlpool

we couldn't predict.

We were all over the media

and treated as musicians

and cultural figures.

We have a tendency to please

and did a lot.

But we did too much

and we were getting tired.

Sakamoto was depressed.

I was depressed too.

Yukihiro was getting tired

of going between us.

Through all this we were gradually

starting to feel its end.

YMO who did not do much in 1992

put out "Kimi ni Mune Kyun"

in March of 1983.

They appeared in public again.

They continued to work hard

until their final concert in December.

We all became close again

when we started doing pop songs.

We felt free to do whatever after this.

Once we get to the house,

we'll do this dance.

What exactly are you pulling?

You grab something here.

Like making mochi.

You have light steps!

When was the last time

you were all together?

I see Yukihiro often.

It's been a while since I saw Sakamoto.

Two years?

I always hear about him

so I feel like I see him more.

I was expecting a long night

since it had been a while for you all.

But everyone seemed anxious

to get home.

- People were tired.

- That's true.

Sakamoto is busy too.

But you spent a lot of time together.

A lot happened but it was fun.

I can guess that a lot happened.

Bands are difficult.

Did you fight?

We never threw punches or anything.

Doing a session together after a few years...

did you feel a difference in your worldviews?

Depends.

The thing with musicians is that

even if it's been a while...

you can play like you saw them

just yesterday.

Yukihiro Takahashi.

Oyamada from Cornelius.

Is Sakamoto around too?

I was surprised.

I was worried I'm being rude.

Don't worry.

No hierarchy.

Why don't you go bow?

I'd feel bad since there's the next one.

I'm exhausted.

- Thank you.

- It was truly great.

We messed up the end.

I guess it's been about 10 years

since we've done a show together.

Time doesn't matter though.

This is all very mysterious.

I didn't plan for it.

We happened to gather here.

I don't know why.

There's probably a reason.

We were meant to

come together.

It was improvised.

In a real sense.

The way people around the world

listen to music these days

is different from 10 years ago.

No matter the country,

music-lovers are listening

to good music in the same way.

They can listen to music today

and 40 years ago side-by-side.

It made me think that that's

how they're listening to my work too.

I want to do fun things.

It'll be fine as long as

there are music lovers.

We're Hosono's groupies.

"TENGOKU NO KISS"

SEIKO MATSUDA

It was around the time

that Hosono was in YMO

that he began to provide songs

to pop artists like Seiko Matsuda.

"NAUSICA OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND"

"NAUSICA OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND"

During this period, he worked on many hits.

In 1982, he started a label called YEN.

Using the most advanced

sampling machine of the time,

He released his solo album PHILHARMONY

4 years after COCHIN MOON.

Two years after that,

he started another label

called NON-STANDARD.

Campanella!

His first soundtrack was for

Night on the Galactic Railroad in 1985.

After the mid-80s, he worked on

ambient, world and electronic music

and various genres depending on the times.

It could only be done then.

If I want to, I can just

gather old equipment.

But I can't say that.

I have to do what is of its time.

That's why it's interesting.

The works are evidence

that I did my best in that time.

Those works are interesting

to listen to today.

They're fresh.

If we did what others did

and we were bored by it...

we wouldn't be able to listen to it now.

Work made with a lot of effort

is still interesting today.

This includes ideas and processes.

They're full of trials and errors.

Excuse me.

If only I could smoke.

That's besides the point.

- Are cigarettes a necessity?

- Yes.

- Do you feel it's needed for your music?

- Yes.

May I ask why?

A puff of smoke is very musical.

I do it like I'm creating a puff of music.

When you're smoking?

I mean that they're similar.

To go back to Dylan for example...

he sticks a cigarette in the neck

of his guitar when he records.

Keith Richards did too.

I was influenced by that.

I did it too.

I feel relaxed when I see smoke.

I can't do this.

They're reacting to my songs.

They've really been listening.

The first foreigner who appeared

in front of me was Jim O'Rourke.

I had never met an American

who knew HAPPY END.

Mac DeMarco...

has a similar sensibility to O'Rourke.

They're not nerds but

they like music in a universal way.

This is Gen Hoshino.

Let me introduce our guest.

- Haruomi Hosono!

- Good evening!

Thank you for coming.

You work hard at a late hour.

- Sorry it's so late.

- Oh no, I'll do my best.

Yes, please.

How old were you when we first met?

In my twenties... maybe 26?

- Right.

- It was around then.

Back when you did shows at China Town

you had a beard.

- You wore a white suit.

- As Harry Hosono.

Yes, we first met when I had my

Harry Hosono costume on.

Yes...

I thought you might be taken aback

but you were kind to me.

I thought you were

a funny person.

I've known Hoshino

since his SAKEROCK days.

Since then,

he's found a different style

to call his own.

Generationally speaking...

I do feel that things are

getting passed on.

When we played

in Yokohama's China Town...

I was MC-ing and said,

"I'm leaving it to you, Hoshino."

"I'll leave the rest to you."

I say that a lot these days.

That's all true.

"I'll leave the rest to you all."

What was it?

"Pom Pom Jyoki"

It'll be over quickly.

Let's do it.

Here is my question

for the Fourth IGA WATARU SHOW.

Is there anything you're good at

other than music?

That I'm good at?

Nothing.

How about dance?

I was very good

in middle school.

Did you study it?

Study... no.

I'm very good at silly walks.

- There's one called the Mars Walk.

- Mars Walk?

Mars like the planet.

- Walking on Mars?

- Yeah, like walking on Mars.

It's very childish.

That's all I have.

Nothing I can do.

I'm useless.

What else? I stopped drawing too.

You used to draw?

I liked to draw

especially during class.

- You weren't listening in class?

- No.

So maybe if I take a class

I can do something.

You'll be better at drawing

if you enroll in a class?

DOOR OF THE TIMES

Every time your talk about a film

it becomes the talk of the town.

Every time your talk about a film

it becomes the talk of the town.

Yeah?

Any recommendations from

some recent viewings?

My favorite films are ones

I'm looking forward to seeing.

Once I see them,

I'm always disappointed.

Thank you.

Oh, that's it?

On a final note, what music are you

listening to these days?

I like music before

I listen to them.

Amazing.

Thank you.

I'm glad the rain has stopped.

I'm sure it was a difficult wait.

Thank you.

I lived here 30 years ago

a little south from here.

The house no longer exists

but it had an American vibe to it.

I suddenly received an offer.

I had a connection with Sayama

where I made HOSONO HOUSE.

It was supposed to be

an one-off live event.

But it rained a lot that day

and the crowd

went to the station.

When it was my turn

the rain stopped

and people came back.

Steam seemed to rise from them.

It was an inexplicably

mysterious view.

It left a very strong impression on me.

I don't like singing.

So I refused doing shows.

There's a limit to how many songs

I can enjoy singing.

But as I began doing more shows

I found that I was able to sing more.

It became more fun for me.

I also realized that singing songs

by others was even more fun.

I thought, "That's good.

I can cover songs I like."

I used to hate singing

but it started to become fun.

Oh? I didn't know.

I'm embarrassed.

"Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens"

is a difficult boogie.

It's fun for me to sing, right now.

It's a famous boogie.

I didn't think I could sing it.

But I just liked it so much...

so I started practicing.

I had the band play it

during rehearsals.

I was able to sing it

after doing it over and over.

Now, I can sing it from memory.

That's fun.

When my desire to sing

becomes intense, I'm able to do it.

It's working!

I've turned into a comedian.

The thing that I want to do most

right now...

For example, there's the boogie-woogie

and there are many bands

that are doing the same songs I am.

But when I tried

checking them out...

I just didn't get excited.

But when I listen to the originals

from the 1940s...

my heart dances whenever I do.

These current bands

are lacking something.

I don't want to lose

that something.

There's something

very special there...

a secret...

It's a secret?

Yeah, or something

hard to communicate.

Like a secret recipe?

Yeah, without that secret sauce

it just becomes boring.

Without that, I wouldn't do it.

It wouldn't be fun.

The key for me is freedom.

When I touch what's free,

my heart dances.

Thank you very much.

Wonderful.

Haruomi Hosono

Van d*ke Parks

Yukihiro Takahashi

Ryuichi Sakamoto

Rie Miyazawa

Kiko Mizuhara

Yuka Mizuhara

Keigo Oyamada

Mac DeMarco

Gen Hoshino

Narration: Gen Hoshino

Producer: Masahiro Handa

Music: Haruomi Hosono

Directed by Taketoshi Sado