, also known by its French language title "Beaucoup de Bruit pour Rien", is a song by Japanese rock band

Tokyo Jihen , also known as Tokyo Incidents, is a Japanese rock band formed by Ringo Sheena, after leaving her solo career. The band's debut single "Gunjō Biyori" was released in September 2004, and they ended activities in February 2012. The band sold 2.3 ...

, led by musician

Ringo Sheena , known by her stage name , is a Japanese singer, songwriter and musician. She is also the founder and lead vocalist of the band Tokyo Jihen. She describes herself as "". She was ranked number 36 in a list of Japan's top 100 musicians compiled ...

. It was a promotional song for the band's final original release, the extended play ''

Color Bars SMPTE color bars are a television test pattern used where the NTSC video standard is utilized, including countries in North America. The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) refers to the pattern as Engineering Guideline ...

'', released on January 18, 2012.

Background and development

In 2010, the band performed their ''Discovery'' tour for their fifth album '' Dai Hakken''. The extended play ''

'' was first announced on November 15, 2011, as a release featuring five songs each written by a different member of the band. "Kon'ya wa Karasawagi" represented the song vocalist Ringo Sheena wrote for the release. Vocalist Ringo Sheena made their first performance at the ''

62nd NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen The , referred to from hereon as "Kōhaku", aired on December 31, 2011, from NHK Hall in Japan beginning from 7:15 p.m. JST. The year's theme was "Ashita o Utaou" ("Let's sing for tomorrow"), which aimed to spread positive thoughts to a cou ...

'' on December 31, 2011, at which she and the band performed a medley of " Onna no Ko wa Dare Demo" and Sheena's solo song "

Carnation ''Dianthus caryophyllus'' ( ), commonly known as carnation or clove pink, is a species of ''Dianthus'' native to the Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean region. Its exact natural range is uncertain due to extensive cultivation over the last 2,00 ...

Writing and production

The song features lyrics and music by Sheena. The other ''Color Bars'' songs were songs that had existed before the release that were suggested but did not appear on other releases. "Kon'ya wa Karasawagi" was the final song, which Sheena struggled over on the best way to express. She wrote the lyrics in the image of Tokyo, and wrote the melody in the most natural way she composes songs, without deviating.

Promotion and release

The song was first performed by the band during the ''Discovery'' tour, from September 30 until December 26, 2011. It was also a part of their ''Bon Voyage'' farewell tour in February 2012. At Sheena's mini-tour ''Chotto Shita Recohatsu 2014'' to promote her album '' Gyakuyunyū: Kōwankyoku'' (2014), Sheena performed the song as a solo artist as the final song of the encore. The band also made an appearance on ''

Music Station , stylised in all caps, is a Japanese music television program. Broadcasting live weekly on TV Asahi since October 24, 1986, it currently airs from 9PM-10PM on Fridays. The program is also colloquially known as , , and . The show is currently sy ...

'' to perform the song on January 20, 2012. A music video for the song directed by

Yuichi Kodama , is a Japanese video director. He has mainly directed music videos and ads. He often produces music videos and ads that are strongly connected or "tied-up" to each other, such as Perfume's "Secret Secret" and Morinaga Milk's "Eskimo Pino", or Amur ...

was unveiled on January 1, 2012. It features each band member in a different style of 1800s clothing, in a wooden building. Several scenes feature money being thrown into the air, and each member sits at a wooden desk signing their name to a contract. Sheena loads a rifle and shoots a member in a bathroom, followed by scenes of the band performing the song in a dance hall. The video was nominated for the Best Video of the Year award at the

2012 MTV Video Music Awards Japan The 2012 MTV Video Music Awards Japan was held in Chiba, Chiba, Chiba on June 23, 2012, at the Makuhari Messe and was hosted by Japanese trio Perfume (Japanese band), Perfume. The nominees were announced on March 21, 2012. Awards Video of the Yea ...

Critical reception

CDJournal called the song a "rhythmic and stylish pop song, injected with a jazzy essence by a

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

-style piano sound, and felt the song was a homage for "ever-changing Tokyo". ''Listenmusic'' reviewer Yoshiki Aoyuki felt the song had a "

Shōwa Shōwa most commonly refers to: * Hirohito (1901–1989), the 124th Emperor of Japan, known posthumously as Emperor Shōwa ** Shōwa era (昭和), the era of Hirohito from 1926 to 1989 * Showa Corporation, a Japanese suspension and shock manufactu ...

latin kayō taste" not unlike Sheena's solo songs " Kabukichō no Joō" (1998) " Marunouchi Sadistic" (1999). Both reviewer Reiko Tsuzura and Yuya Shimizu of ''Rolling Stone Japan'' called the "jazz kayō".

Charts

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kon'ya wa Karasawagi 2012 songs Songs in Japanese Songs written by Ringo Sheena Tokyo Jihen songs Music videos directed by Yuichi Kodama 2011 songs