Identity (song)
Encyclopedia
is Japanese band Sakanaction
's third physical single, to be released on August 4, 2010.
Vocalist Ichirō Yamaguchi described the song as a Sakanaction version of Southern All Stars
' song "Katte ni Sinbad." The inspiration for the song came from that Yamaguchi realised that he only considered his identity when writing songs. After moving to Tokyo, he began noticing a lot of the small differences in people on the streets from different areas of Japan (clothing, hair-styles, etc.).
pinball machine.
The video was uploaded to YouTube by the Victor Music Channel on the 10th of July, 2010. As of August 2, the video has been viewed 200,000 times.
Sakanaction
are a Japanese rock band from Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. Their music is a mix of alternative rock, electronic, pop, and New Wave styles, and is thus difficult to classify under one category...
's third physical single, to be released on August 4, 2010.
Writing and inspiration
The song is an upbeat dance/rock song, with a Latin beat. The lyrics centre around the lines of the chorus, "There's no identity, it can't be born." The verses question whether a person's likes and dislikes are a good measure of identity. The song's narrator notices they've been reclaiming their lost teenage years' memories.Vocalist Ichirō Yamaguchi described the song as a Sakanaction version of Southern All Stars
Southern All Stars
, also known by the abbreviations or SAS, is a Japanese pop/rock band that formed in the mid 1970s.The band is composed of Keisuke Kuwata , Yuko Hara , Kazuyuki Sekiguchi , Hiroshi Matsuda and Hideyuki "Kegani" Nozawa...
' song "Katte ni Sinbad." The inspiration for the song came from that Yamaguchi realised that he only considered his identity when writing songs. After moving to Tokyo, he began noticing a lot of the small differences in people on the streets from different areas of Japan (clothing, hair-styles, etc.).
Cover artwork
The centre point for the cover artwork is a question mark symbol, created from previously released Sakanaction CDs. The question mark theme was used to complement the self-questioning message of the song. The iTunes version of the single cover is different, with the grass plain removed and the photo shot at a higher angle.Music video
The music video was shot by director Hisashi "Momo" Kitazawa. The bulk of the video shows the band performing the song in a dark room, lit from behind by a row of white bars forming a triangular/heart shape. The final half of the video pans backward extremely slowly, revealing the band to be performing on a boxed screen on a pachinkoPachinko
is a type of game originating in Japan, and used as both a form of recreational arcade game and much more frequently as a gambling device, filling a niche in gambling in Japan comparable to that of the slot machine in Western gambling. A pachinko machine resembles a vertical pinball machine, but...
pinball machine.
The video was uploaded to YouTube by the Victor Music Channel on the 10th of July, 2010. As of August 2, the video has been viewed 200,000 times.
Track listing
Chart rankings
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... Japan Hot 100 Japan Hot 100 The Japan Hot 100 is a music singles chart in Japan. It is compiled by Billboard and Hanshin Contents Link ever since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at billboard-japan.com and every Thursday at billboard.com .... |
7 |
| Billboard Adult Contemporary Airplay | 5 |
| Oricon Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc... daily singles |
9 |
| Oricon weekly singles | 12 |
Reported sales
| Chart | Amount |
|---|---|
| Oricon Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc... physical sales |
20,000 |
Release history
| Region | Date | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Japan | Ringtone, radio debut | |
| PC digital download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... |
||
| Cellphone full-length download | ||
| CD single CD single A CD single is a music single in the form of a standard size Compact Disc, not to be confused with the 3-inch CD single, which uses a smaller form factor. The format was introduced in the mid-1980s, but did not gain its place in the market until the early 1990s... , CD single+DVD |
||
| Rental |