Launched "Murakami FM" to bring listeners into their own music world
Haruki Murakami: After being a DJ, I found that I could chat
"Good evening, I'm Haruki Murakami." Haruki Murakami, who has always been low-key, opened a program called "Murakami FM" on Tokyo Radio. On the last Sunday of every month at 7pm, he will tell him on time. Listeners say hello, unknowingly, Haruki Murakami, the DJ, has been doing this for three full years.
If you ask me where I learned to write
The answer is music
"I made cocktails and made sandwiches. I didn't want to be a writer, and it just happened." Haruki Murakami, who never wanted to write as a profession, has now become a world-class novelist.
His fans know that Haruki Murakami has three loves: running, music and cats. These three hobbies are even more powerful and have made Murakami's writing career.
For Murakami, if he hadn't been fascinated by music, he might not have become a novelist.
In 1964, the 15-year-old Haruki Murakami heard the concert tape of Att Blake and the Jazz Messenger for the first time, and decided to save lunch money to buy jazz records. Murakami said, "I was suddenly caught by the so-called jazz music. Enchanted by this kind of music, from now on, I have spent most of my life with this kind of music."
In 1971, Haruki Murakami and his college classmate Yoko Takahashi registered their marriage. In order to make a living, the two went to the record shop during the day and worked in the cafe at night.
In 1974, Haruki Murakami and Yoko opened a jazz bar called "Peter Cat", which was named after a cat that Murakami once raised.
The "Peter Cat" jazz bar sells coffee during the day and acts as a bar at night. Half of the opening fund is the deposit of the husband and wife, and the rest is supported by the bank and father-in-law.
Murakami was engaged in the translation of novels and English works while running a bar. Gradually, Haruki Murakami rose to fame and became a well-known novelist.
On August 5, 2018, the day when "Murakami FM" premiered, Haruki Murakami said that he didn't want to be a writer, but was interested in music, and even used it as a job. "Such a person suddenly wrote about it. Novels, rather than asking who I learned to write novel techniques, it is better to say that I studied music. The most important element of music is rhythm. If an article lacks rhythm, no one wants to read it. Rhythm, harmony, improvisation, etc., I realized that while I was writing, if someone says that what I write is easy to read, then maybe I and these people are musically connected."
Specifically, Haruki Murakami believes that an article is like music, and it can also be through the combination of words, sentences, paragraphs, soft and hard and heavy, balanced and unbalanced, punctuation, and intonation. The combination creates a sense of rhythm.
"If the taste of music is not good enough, these will not be done well. If the article has a rhythm and the story has a rhythm, then it will naturally be full of ideas. When writing, I will automatically convert the article into sound in my mind and use this sound to construct the rhythm. By improvising a theme section in the way of jazz music, the next theme section can be naturally produced."
The jazz masters that Murakami often mentions include Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, and Theronnis Munch. These musicians have a profound influence on his writing.
Celonnis Munch is a famous pianist and one of the greatest jazz musicians of all time. Someone once asked him how he could make the piano make a special sound. Munch pointed to the keys and said: "There will be no more There are new notes. All the notes are pre-existing there when you look at the keyboard. But if you give a meaningful definition to a note, its timbre will be different. You have to pick the ones you really want to express Meaningful notes."
Haruki Murakami believes that this sentence is also applicable to writing: "He is right. All the words are here. What I want to do is to give the most ordinary words the most novel and special meaning."
Even though his writing career has exceeded 40 years, Murakami said that he is still learning writing skills from good music.
"My writing style is deeply influenced by Charlie Parker, and his repeated unconstrained improvisational melody is just like the elegant prose poetic rhyme in Fitzgerald's novels. In addition, I still use Miles Davis's music Continuous self-innovation serves as a literary model of self."
Musical elements appear very high in Murakami's works. According to the statistics of his book fans, the names of music and musicians appearing in Murakami's works more than 800 times, of which jazz accounts for half.
Novels such as "Norway's Forest", "Dance·Dance·Dance", "South of the Border, West of the Sun" and other novels are directly derived from music titles.
I'm always listening to such wonderful music
I feel a little sorry for this world
Why is Haruki Murakami willing to be a radio DJ?
What he gave was: "I always feel that I should be grateful to this world, because I just enjoy such wonderful music by myself."
Haruki Murakami has a deep connection with radio. He once published a collection of essays under the name "Murakami Radio." In the meantime, the NHK program will be opened.
At the age of 11, Murakami was hit by Alma Cogan's "Pocket Transistor" and sang: "He comes to see me every night because I have a small transistor radio. He wants to listen to songs from the best-selling charts." Murakami said. I also had a transistor radio at the time, and I was keen to listen to the hot charts.
In "Murakami Radio", Haruki Murakami wrote: "Although the sound quality is not ideal, because it is a small radio that can be held in the palm of your hand, you can take it anywhere and listen to music intimately. .As long as there is music, you can even stop at nothing. That’s really happy. From then on, I have always loved music until now, and that little'pocket transistor radio' is like the original starting point of my music life. ."
Radio programs are also a frequent factor in Murakami's works. In Murakami's 1979 debut work "Listen to the Wind", "I" who returned home from Tokyo during the summer vacation suddenly received a call from a local radio station DJ.
"I" heard a song for "Me" by a girl of the same grade in high school, so "I" began to look for a place where the girl lived.
In the opening chapter of the trilogy novel "A Strange Bird", the protagonist is listening to the overture of "The Thief and Magpie" on the radio while cooking pasta. The music introduces readers from daily life into a maze-like metaphorical world.
In "Dance!
dance!
dance!
"And "1Q84", there is a fictional radio program called "Presenting Baroque Music for You".
Haruki Murakami said that collecting records has been his interest since childhood. Now there are about 15,000 records in the family. "Thanks to this, there are records everywhere in the house. However, I often think: I listen to such wonderful music by myself. After a comfortable time, I always feel a little sorry for the world. When can I chat with you, hold a red wine glass or coffee cup in one hand, and share this relaxing time, it feels very good. I want to be a radio DJ because of this Ideas. So I bring my favorite records from home, play them for everyone according to my own preferences, and talk about things I like."
Murakami said that what he wanted to do was a very "private" show.
"First of all, play some music that you can't hear in other programs. However, the scope should be as wide as possible. Basically difficult things are eliminated, and you can talk a little bit." Before the show started, he also joked, "Imagine Murakami suddenly turned into a radio like David Cronenberg's movie. It's terrible!"
The first episode of "Murakami FM" was broadcast on August 5, 2018. It was broadcast in even-numbered months. There were several live broadcasts and New Year's Eve broadcasts in the middle. From April this year, it was officially changed to monthly broadcast. .
On the day of the radio recording, Murakami came by himself, carrying a shopping bag full of records. Many of the records here were bought from second-hand stores.
The first program talks about "running and music"
Murakami's "What Do I Talk About When I Talk about Running" is a favorite of his book fans. The love of running Murakami has led many people to like running. Therefore, in his DJ debut, Murakami The subject of the talk is "running and music".
Speaking of his passion for running, Murakami was very interested. “I think running is great. You can do it any time you want without props. Running will make your body soft so that you can focus on writing articles for a long time.” He I recalled that I attended a Kobe school in high school. Every year, the school organized a lap in Rokko Mountain (located in the northeast of Kobe City, at an altitude of 931 meters). "Every year I participate, and the girls in the class will cheer for us along the way. Cheer up, they turned out to be shouting at me, Murakami-kun, don’t force it! This is too much (laughs)."
When Murakami started running, there was no trend. "Other writers haven't joined in yet, so I was laughed at by everyone at that time. Now the world has changed, and many writers are also running. The most interesting thing is that when I went to the United States in 1984, When asked who I most wanted to interview, I would say John Ivan (novelist, Oscar winner for best screenplay), and one morning later, I interviewed him while running in Central Park."
As for what kind of music is suitable for running, Murakami thinks that it’s too difficult to listen to, and the melody doesn’t change well. "It’s still simple and consistent music that makes people stick to it. I always wear an iPod to listen to music when I run. I have about 7 iPods, each of which contains 1,000 to 2,000 music."
In this episode, Murakami recommended some specific playlists, including an album of Disney-related music produced by Brian Welson, including the theme song "YO-HO" of Disneyland "Pirates of the Caribbean", and 1937 "Heigh-Ho" and "Whistle While You Work" in "Snow White" released in 1991.
In addition, there is the hit song "Sky Pilot" in 1968.
Murakami explained that it was during the Vietnam War. Hearing this song on the radio, it seemed that even the air was hot and had a unique skin touch.
"This is an anti-war song. The performance was 7 minutes and 23 seconds. It could not be included on one side of the single disc at that time. So it was separated from the middle and included in side A and side B respectively. Also because it was recorded in the recording. Manually by the DJ, there will be a blank period of time. However, this blank space is also very good. This song is suitable for running while listening, I also like to listen while driving. I like to drive a convertible, in When the weather is nice, open the roof and drive while listening to this song. The guitar glide sound is very handsome, just like the engine of a jet plane."
When running tired to slow down and rest, Murakami recommends listening to "Knock on Heaven's Door", which was made by Bob Dylan for the 1973 film "Pat Garrett".
Murakami met Ben Sidden, the performer he recommended, at the jazz bar in Copenhagen and became very good friends.
"This song is very cool, and the adaptation is great."
Before the end of this program, Murakami quoted Sly Stone, the lead singer of the Sly&Stone Orchestra: “I want to create a kind of music for everyone, a kind of music that everyone can understand. In that case, no one is a fool. "
During the epidemic, a two-hour special program "Good Tomorrow's Music" will be launched
Murakami is very free to be a DJ. For example, after reading a biography of "Father of Soul Music" Ray Charles, he made a music special of Ray Charles; in the summer, he used "Summer, Beach, Surf!" as the theme. , Playing beach music and surfing music; in autumn, he produced "Autumn Jazz Ginjo", he also produced classical music that can be listened to in five minutes, specials of music appearing in his novels, specials of Russian composers and many more.
Among them, on May 22, 2020, Murakami "offered" at home and launched a two-hour special program with the theme of "Beautiful Tomorrow's Music", hoping to use the power of music to dispel the new crown virus. haze.
In this episode, Murakami recommended nine pieces of music, including Modern Folk Quartet's "Looking for a Silver Hope", Bruce Springsteen's "Waiting on a Sunny Day", and Carol King's "You Have a Friend" ", "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong, etc. Murakami said: "There is a saying in the English proverb that'there is always a ray of light in the dark'. No matter how difficult the situation is, it always has a good side, so please Believe in tomorrow."
"Waiting on a Sunny Day" is one of the songs in the album "Rise" released by Bruce Springsteen after the September 11 incident in 2001.
A New York friend of Murakami was inspired by this album, and Murakami emphasized in the show that "music has such power."
"The Sun Is Out" is a piece of music that Murakami likes very much. He recalled that he ran 10 kilometers as a companion for the visually impaired.
"At the time I was looking for an opportunity to be a volunteer, so I applied to run with a blind person. I needed to tie a rope to the other's hand. If I was not used to it, running with a blind person would be very difficult. I want to Adjust the speed according to the opponent’s situation and deliver road information accurately and quickly. I was running at the U.S. Army’s airport, but the ground at the airport was unexpectedly rough, so it was very dangerous. I had to be careful not to trip over. We have nothing else. Choose, you can only plan and complete what you can do at your own speed. Let us do our best without giving up on each other."
Among the nine music, Murakami also chose Kate Taylor's "Happy Birthday, Dear,". He said that he chose this song because many people may have a hard time because of the new crown virus.
"Especially people who celebrate their birthdays at this time, or those who will celebrate their birthdays in the near future. For those people, I will give you a birthday song. Happy birthday. You are a little older now-you are just a little old. Yes. Yes, a lot of good things will definitely happen at this time next year."
I enjoyed this time unexpectedly by myself
Haruki Murakami once said that he is not a talkative person, "Although it depends on the situation, I sometimes become eloquent, but usually I am a boring gourd, and I am afraid to explain in detail, and try not to do such things. Answering the phone is a hard job, and talking to others at a party is also a weakness. Answering interviews also makes me exhausted, and I even feel exhausted even replying to emails. Let me do conversations and letter exchanges with others, and I will do all the work. Rejected."
But as a DJ, Murakami was very happy and talked more. At the end of the first episode, he said: "I wonder how everyone feels about Murakami Broadcasting this time? I am unexpectedly happy to enjoy this. A period of time."
During the show, Murakami would sigh to the listeners: "The music is really good. There are always stories that are beyond logic and reason, and there are deep and warm personal scenes that are inseparable from the story." "Among the three Wilson brothers, Now only Brian is still keen on performances, I feel very incredible. He is a genius with a keen sense of smell, but also the kind of person who cannot compromise with the real world, so this kind of person persists until the end, which makes me feel very Unbelievable. Life is really full of variables, really."
He also answers questions from the audience. For example, someone asks him where he chooses a world without music or a world without cats?
Murakami replied: "This question is really too difficult. I usually don't answer this kind of alternative question. Because you choose one of them, if it comes true, you should regret it later, so generally Neither will answer this hypothetical question."
Someone asked him what song he was going to play at his funeral?
Murakami laughed and said why many people asked him this question, "Aresha Franklin's "My Way" is good, but when I die, I still want to die quietly. Because when I was alive, I listened to a lot of music and died. It doesn't matter what you put."
Now, DJ Murakami has been working for three years, but his interest has not diminished. He said: “I used to think I was not good at speech, so I never did work other than writing. But in the process of giving speeches abroad, I gradually got used to it. Expressed that after trying to be a DJ, I found that I could chat, so I thought I should do it."
As for the reason why he likes radio, Murakami thinks it is because it has an atmosphere that brings together everyone who listens to the program alone.
"This atmosphere is completely different from TV and the Internet. In the past, listeners sat in front of the radio at the same time and listened to the program. Now the feeling of listening to the program at the same time has faded, but there is still the feeling of being face to face with a person. It is also when working or cooking. You can listen to the show. It’s very comfortable to be intimate and face-to-person."
Text / reporter Zhang Jia