Being chased by The Carpenters

The Carpenters. Never heard of them before coming to Japan. I had already heard some of their “hits” though. Their music aged badly, it sounds old and it actually is. Almost 40 years-old. Don’t get me wrong, the music is nice but…

Ok. Get into the mood, click on the link:

The Carpenters

Now imagine you are in a cafeteria, poorly decorated, old chairs, yellow light, and very few people inside. You feel like you are in the 70s. But no you are in 2009. And in Japan. And in my university.

For almost 6 months every night, speakers of the shokudo played The Carpenters, and only the Carpenters. Maybe they had only the “Greatest Hits of The Carpenters” CD, I don’t know. At first, this is fun. After a month, it becomes depressing. We students guessed it was maybe the chef’s favorite band.

But things become more bizarre when you go to the dental clinic, and what are they playing?? The Carpenters of course… A global conspiration? Japanese love for the Carpenters?

Google Japan returns 8 million links for 50 cent, 582 000 for Green Day and 319 000 for The Carpenters, so popularity might not be so huge after all, at least on the Internet (I guess the hardcord fans might be a bit old for internet now :p ).

All I can say is, now, wherever I go, I get a strange feeling when I hear the Carpenters… The music sounds like these old songs in horror movies…

Last but not least, the mega-bonus for the Carpenters fans, The Carpenters singing their hit “Sing” in Japanese: