I've just been looking through some old videos I took during various gigs I attended a while back. Here are a couple of songs from Japanese all-girl pop punk band Shonen Knife, when they visited Nottingham, England in 2011.
The first song was their opening song, "Konnichiwa", taken from the 1998 album Happy Hour. I believe that they always open with this song when playing live, well they have everytime I've seen them. The song is a perfect greeting for fans to their live shows, which incidentally, are some of the most fun gigs you can hope to go to. I always have a big smile on my face when watching them.
The second video is a cover of The Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop", taken from Shonen Knife's 2011 album Osaka Ramones, a tribute to one of their favourite bands. The album features them performing thirteen classic Ramones songs, including "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker", "Pinhead" and "Rock 'n' Roll High School".
I first heard this band back in 1991, when they released their festive single "Space Christmas". I immediately took a liking to it, as it seemed so different from all of the other music that was around at the time. Of course punk is no new thing, but this had a sense of fun that was missing from any punk music I had heard so far.
It was during this time too, that a certain Kurt Cobain declared himself to be a massive fan, stating "When I finally got to see them live, I was transformed into a hysterical nine-year-old girl at a Beatles concert."
That Mr. Cobain certainly knew what he was talking about. Shonen Knife's live shows are some of the most fun and happy occasions you could ever attend; you can't help but love them and their infectiously catchy songs.
If you haven't heard of them before, I definitely recommend you check them out!
Photo taken by AZNPopCulture
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