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The story behind "Plastic Love" (aka 1984's 2018 summer anthem)

Etrian Oddity

Etrian Oddity

Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,429
So I was going through some new city pop videos on Youtube, and I noticed someone just put up a video explaining the origin and backstory of Plastic Love.



For those not in the know, Plastic Love was a big summer meme, probably due to someone at YouTube headquarters messing with the algorithm for recommended videos. I claim this because literally everybody had it pop up in their recommendation feed, and it went viral. It had 5 million views in January of 2018; and it literally tripled over summer, now at over 15 million views.

The song itself is a product of the bubble economy of late 1970s/early 1980s Japan, where technology was booming and people had money to blow. Mariya was going through a tough time in her personal life, and she observed an unintended consequence of the tech boom that, funny enough, is a big deal today.

From video creator Stevem:

You don't have to understand every word, but you can feel them. And people don't read the lyrics, but they should! Not only is it a meditation on heartbreak, it really speaks to the hollow, plastic feeling of what people do to fill in the sorrows of their life and loneliness:

"We use this plastic love to fill in our loneliness and insecurities, buying commercial goods in hopes that they will make us feel more, and avoid dealing with our own personal anguish."

Really deconstructing that party lifestyle and the problems that come with it. In a way, that's even more relevant to today's generation.
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I, for one, am happy for this random song. It's served as a gateway for me and many others into the funky city pop genre, which is great for lounging around and downtempo projects. And it's neat to finally learn just what the heck the story is behind this meme. I thought some of you guys would enjoy this.

::EDIT:: Also, here is a great OT on the genre as a whole, if you enjoyed Plastic Love.
 
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FeenixRisen

FeenixRisen

McDonalds looks really average next to Wendys
Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,487
Dude, I was just listening to this and was thinking to myself how that one song sent me down a rabbit hole of late 70s-early 80s Japanese music.

 
halcali

halcali

Banned
Nov 7, 2017
6,317
Hong Kong SAR
I 'discovered' this song in 1998 ... but this kind of song was not really fashionable at that time.

Now? You better believe it's hot, and I would regard it as the greatest pop song ever made.
 

SRG01

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,020
Wow, this song speaks to me in so many ways.

And yeah, I was wondering why Youtube kept recommending this to me...
 
Conciliator

Conciliator

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,132
I said the exact same thing in another thread but it's worth repeating: 'Plastic Love' clicks is the greatest thing the youtube recommendation algorithm has ever given to the world.
 
Namyu

Namyu

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
1,562
Loved this song for years and years. Was awesome to see how popular it's gotten over the last year and a half or so
 
vectorj

vectorj

Member
Oct 30, 2017
1,013
When you dont click on Plastic Love as it comes up in your recs.
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This song took me down a trip down memory lane of some Mexican pop/pop rock that my mom put on a lot (and still does). Her favorites were Selena and Alejandra Guzman. A lot of it sounds very similar in a good way; you can very much tell these songs and artists were of that 80s and 90s era.
 
Smash-It Stan

Smash-It Stan

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,275
The current video is the reuploaded one, the previous one was taken down last summer I believe and that had around 2-3 million views as well. Someone at Youtube HQ is definitely a fan.

I was introduced to the song years ago through the vaporwave version by vaporwave god Iacon:

 
yap

yap

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
8,903
If it wasn't Plastic Love, I'd always get recommended this. Both great to listen to.



My personal fav
 
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Akira86

Akira86

Member
Oct 25, 2017
19,589
trance techno with dreamy female vocals?

yeah i 've enjoyed that genre for decades.
 
broncobuster

broncobuster

Member
Oct 26, 2017
8,139
These threads are great because they inevitably lead to links to other dope songs.

The story behind it is neat, too
 
Sabretooth

Sabretooth

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,067
India
I hate this thread so much. It's like when something you thought was cool and unique about yourself turned out to be something everyone is into.

Goddamn you YouTube. >:/
 
Vern

Vern

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
5,097
The worst thing about this is OP didn't even link the song. Now I gotta search for it myself. I've never seen it in my recs.
 
signal

signal

Member
Oct 28, 2017
40,199
Skelepuzzle said:
...why? There's plenty to identify yourself with. Why not have fun with this? I sorta feel the opposite way.
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I think a lot of people feel the same about some sort of interest. Not sure what the exact logic is but it's not uncommon for people to dislike something that gets popular, particularly if they liked it when it was unpopular. Maybe it's because a person's interest in something might have an interesting story / lengthy history behind it and that's somehow more genuine than "some celebrity tweeted it now all of earth likes it."
 
Skelepuzzle

Skelepuzzle

Member
Apr 17, 2018
6,119
signal said:
I think a lot of people feel the same about some sort of interest. Not sure what the exact logic is but it's not uncommon for people to dislike something that gets popular, particularly if they liked it when it was unpopular. Maybe it's because a person's interest in something might have an interesting story / lengthy history behind it and that's somehow more genuine than "some celebrity tweeted it now all of earth likes it."
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That's fair, I shouldn't target that poster. Most of the shit I like is at least semi niche so I thought it was rad that city pop sounded great and enjoyed a wide appeal. I can see why early adopters might be adverse to that, but I dunno, I'm happy for the artists.
 
Menome

Menome

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,419
I've completely missed the train on this one. I've never had it pop up in my recommendations or heard anyone mention it until this thread. Listening to it now though, and it's a perfectly fine piece of 80s smooth-pop.
 
akilshohen

akilshohen

Member
Dec 8, 2017
1,308
I'm not sure if it was the first city pop song that got me hooked, but it is in constant rotation.

I also found out about the strange section of spotify where people change songs slightly to get them on there too.
 
ArmsofSleep

ArmsofSleep

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
7,833
Washington DC
God the city pop shit is so cringey. Not to be all gatekeeper-y or anything but the recent run of post-vaporwave kids trying to dig up old music really speaks to how badly curation is needed in 2018
 
Namyu

Namyu

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
1,562
Vas said:
I got this in my youtube recommendations and it's off the chain. It's one hell of a song.

It led me to this song which I'm guessing is kinda riding the same aesthetic. I dunno, I think this woman used to be in Wonder Girls. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MiQonPvlVM
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Yeah, Yubin was the rapper of the Wonder Girls for almost a decade. Her solo debut was definitely inspired by the genre because she had a 2nd song to release but her company had to cancel it because it basically plagiarized Plastic Love.
 
chirt

chirt

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,692


I've been listening to this mix on repeat for the last 2 weeks. Plastic Love is the opening song
 
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