Track 02
Roppongi Nights
Song summary
Roppongi Nights is a Phoenix and the Angel song about life in Tokyo in the mid-nineties. It captures the excitement, disorientation and nightlife of being a young expat in Japan during the era of the Manchester sound.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is this song about?
It captures the excitement, disorientation and nightlife of being a young expat in Tokyo during the era of the Manchester sound.
Which album is this song from?
This song appears on Places that I Remember, the debut album by Phoenix and the Angel.
Who wrote this song?
This song was written as part of the Phoenix and the Angel project led by Guy Phoenix.
This song captures the experience of being a young expat in Tokyo during the mid-nineties, when the Manchester sound dominated the airwaves.
The song has a subtle Japanese feel without being over the top. The chord progression in the verses is consistent with a typical chord progression from J-POP - namely, Major 4, Major 5, Minor 3, Minor 6.
Here's Guy Phoenix talking about the inspiration for Roppongi Nights:
This is a song about when I lived in Tokyo for 3 years in the mid-nineties. The Manchester sound (Oasis, Blur) was very much the music of the time, and could be heard around the city.
I moved to Japan with my company in 1994. The first part of this song is about the fact that from interview to flight was 2 weeks – that was all the time I had to arrange my affairs etc.
There are also hints about the surreal nature of many Japanese cities viewed through Western eyes. The main thrust of the song though, is around the life of a twenty-something gaijin with a well-paid job and the night life happenings. Motown was my go-to bar and there would always be young Japanese ladies in there looking to socialise. As a 'Gaijin' in my mid-twenties I went socialising in the Tokyo nightlife district of Roppongi. Bars, restaurants, clubs that stayed open late into the night.
Often times with friends we would meet new people, and sometimes Japanese ladies of a similar age to me. These were usually highly educated ladies who were held back in their careers owing to what, to Western eyes, seemed to be a male-dominated society. They would give vent to their frustrations by hitting the bars and clubs and socialising with Western men.
The song itself covers my initial arrival in Tokyo and the disorientation often experienced by newcomers from the West. It also chronicles some of my trips around Japan, notably to Kobe. The chorus though, is all about nights out in Tokyo.