Author: Yamaguchi Banri
Associated Press
Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
TOKYO (AP) — Writer Haruki Murakami joins in on the war in Ukraine with a special edition of his Japanese radio show as he plays James Taylor’s “Never Die Young” and returns to songs that marked the anti-war movement in the 1960s. protest.
“Does music have the power to stop wars? Sadly, the answer is no,” Murakami said. “But it has the power to convince listeners that war is something we must stop.”
For the 55-minute show titled “Music to End the War” recently aired by Tokyo FM in Japan, Takashi Murakami selected 10 “tracks that fit our theme best in my opinion” from his home collection of records and CDs .
Some are more straightforward anti-war songs, while others are “songs that deal with the importance of human life, love and dignity, and they can be considered anti-war songs in a broader sense.”
“The lyrics will play a big role in tonight’s show, so be sure to stay vigilant,” Murakami reminded his listeners. “At the end of the show, I had a feeling you’d be more motivated to end the war. Time will tell.”
For some songs, he rehearsed passages of lyrics that he translated into Japanese in his own words, adding historical context including racial and social differences, while delivering messages of anger, sadness and love.
Anti-war songs of the 1960s include Peter, Paul and Mary’s “Cruel War,” which he played as part of a folk band in high school, and Doors’ “Unknown Soldier,” which he remembers playing on the radio throughout his college days.
As his youth overlapped with the anti-war movement, his choice of words and songs gave the Ukrainian conflict a deeper meaning and relevance.
He kicked off his show with James Taylor’s “Never Die Young,” a song about young people in the city who have lost their lives to drugs and crime.
“There is a clear connection here with young people sent to war,” he said. “In wars waged by the older generation, it is the younger generation who gave up their lives. It’s been like this for so long, and it’s really heartbreaking.”
In 1950, while playing the folk singer Ed McCurdy’s “I Had the Weirdest Dream Last Night,” he recalled the year the Korean War broke out, the Cold War heated up and the threat of nuclear war intensified. . Murakami chose the version played by the Weavers, whose records were banned from the radio because of their anti-war message.
Takashi Murakami provided a Japanese translation of a passage from reggae singer Eddie Grant’s “Living on the Front Line,” explaining that Front Line is also about “a society on the brink of destruction.” Grant mainly wanted to stop African tribes killing each other, but “his heartfelt lyrics really apply to any war.”
He chose “Blowin’ In The Wind,” which Stevie Wonder performed for Bob Dylan’s 30th anniversary concert in 1992, and summed up what Wonder told the audience before the show —Despite the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War, the world’s troubles are still safe havens. ‘There is no end, the song is still relevant.
After playing Jack Johnson’s “Imagine” by John Lennon, Murakami said the lyrics sounded “pretty optimistic” because they were written in 1971 when “we It is still possible to believe in the future, when we still have our own ideals.”
Finally, Murakami quoted Martin Luther King as saying in his speech, “Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal.” Murakami said King could mean that when the law states that individual rights may be taken away first so.
He never explicitly mentioned Russia or President Vladimir Putin.
But he noted that many people frustrated with representative democracy are closer to authoritarianism.
“It may seem like it’s working, but it’s important to remember that if things go in a dark direction, we’ll end up in danger, so be careful.”
“I hope there will be some peace in our world.”
