Music / Philharmony

Philharmony is the fourth studio album of Japanese artist Haruomi Hosono. It was released in 1982 on Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi's newly established vanity imprint, Yen Records, during both men's tenures as member of Yellow Magic Orchestra. As a result, the album features both Takahashi and Ryuichi Sakamoto as session musicians. This plus the involvement of YMO collaborator Hideki Matsutake and English lyricist Peter Barakan results in Philharmony effectively being a YMO album in all but name.

Recorded during an era of intense and prolific production (whether as member/producer of YMO or as the producer of other artists), Philharmony incorporates elements of technopop and Ambient music which contrast with Hosono's previous album and draw closer to his work as a commercial composer (such work can be found on a later album of his discography, 1985's Coincidental Music). The minimalistic lyrics abstractly talk about themes such as anxiety, heartbreak... as well as birthdays, Italian funiculars, and exercising.

One song off the album, "Sports Men", remains a staple of Hosono's concerts and has also been covered by artists such as Hot Dad and the band Kimono.

Tracklist

Side A

1. "Picnic" (1:52)
2. "Funiculi Funicula" (4:31)
3. "Luminescent / Hotaru" (4:22)
4. "Platonic" (4:20)
5. "In Limbo" (2:25)

Side B

6. "Living-Dining-Kitchen" (3:46)
7. "Birthday Party" (3:51)
8. "Sports Men" (4:02)
9. "Philharmony" (3:22)
10. "Air-Condition" (4:23)

Bonus track on the 2019 Japanese reissue

11. "Yumemiru Yakusoku"

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I'll be a good sport, I'll be a good sport, I'll be a troper:

• Anaphora: The lyrics of "Platonic" feature symploces, a combination of anaphoras and epiphoras:
  You I adore, You inflame me
  You I worship, You captivate me
  You I yearn for, you tantalise me
• Artistic License – Linguistics: The chorus of "Sports Men" uses a plural term for a single person:
  I'll be a good sport, I'll be a good sport
  I'll be a sports men
• Bookends: "Living-Dining-Kitchen" stars and ends with the same verse.
• Broken Record
  • The looped "Twitching, Throbbing" lyrics of "Sports Men".
  • "Luminescent / Hotaru" loops the words "Hotaru" and "So sweet".
  • "Platonic" has a section where Hosono keeps repeating "I love".
• Cover Version:
  • "Funiculi Funicula" is originally a popular italian song written in 1880 by Luigi Denza and Peppino Turco.
  • The song "Happy Birthday" is covered in a subverting manner on "Birthday Party"
  • "Yumemiru Yakusoku"
• Descent into Addiction: On "Living-Dining-Kitchen":
  I lost my love, hearts on fire
  There's no cure but drugs
• Despair Event Horizon: The narrator of "Living-Dining-Kitchen" is in an apathetic state, not knowing what to do or eat and taking drugs as a reliever to his romantic issues.
• Drone of Dread: On "Air-Condition".
• Epiphora: See Anaphora.
• Face on the Cover
• Gratuitous English
  • "Luminescent / Hotaru"
    The water is so sweet
    So sweet
    (...)
    Luminescent
  • "Yumemiru Yakusoku"
    君とならいつも楽しい明るくさわやか
    Picnic, picnic
    高鳴るはハートのリズム明るくさわやか
    Platonic, platonic love
• Gratuitous Italian: "Funiculi Funicula" only has Italian lyrics in its title which are repeated during the chorus. Those lyrics refer to the first funicular railway for Mount Vesuvius (whose opening back in 1880 was the inspiration behind the song).
• Happy Birthday to You!: Subverted. The song is partially covered in a more sinister version on "Birthday Party".
• Instrumentals: "In Limbo", "Philharmony" and "Air-Condition".
• Limited Lyrics Song: Most songs on the album showcase minimalistic lyrics . "Picnic" (The only lyric being the song's title), "Luminescent / Hotaru" and "Birthday Party".

• Mundane Made Awesome:
  • "Living-Dining-Kitchen" is a catchy tune about knowing what to eat until we find out the narrator has a troubled life.
  • "Sports Men" is about exercising and staying in shape.
• Mythology Gag: "Sports Men" has lyrics which echo two songs Hosono co-wrote as a member of Yellow Magic Orchestra: "Insomniac" ("I'm not sleeping these days / Must be insomniac") and "Taiso" (The "Twitching, throbbing" looped lyrics).
• One-Word Title: "Picnic", "Platonic" and "Philharmony".
• Phrase Salad Lyrics: "Sports Men" stitches together a number of loosely connected phrases that all vaguely relate to fitness.
• Portmantitle: "Philharmony" being the crossing of Philosophy and Harmony. In French, the word "Philharmonie" exists but cannot be translated to English.
• Product Placement: In "Living-Dining-Kitchen", the narrator is unsure whether to have Cup Noodles or a Big Mac for his meal.
• Rearrange the Song: On his recent concerts, Hosono would play "Sports Men" with a Jump Blues arrangement. He usually ends the song in a joking manner by replaying the outro multiple times.
• Shout-Out:
  • "Sports Men" mentions that the subject's brother and sister are frequently compared to Batman and Wonder Woman, respectively.
  • In "Living-Dining-Kitchen", the narrator is unsure whether to watch Monty Python's Flying Circus or the news.
• Special Guest: Hosono's YMO bandmates Ryuichi Sakamoto and Yukihiro Takahashi are featured on the album, as well as Hideki Matsutake who has been considered as the fourth member of the band. YMO lyricist Peter Barakan co-translated Japanese lyrics into English.
• Spoken Word in Music: "Yumemiru Yakusoku" starts with a spoken-word sequence where Hosono speaks over voices repeating "Picnic".
• Title Track
• Translated Cover Version: "Funiculi Funicula", originally an Italian song, is covered in Japanese on this album.
• Vocal Dissonance: Hosono's voice is processed through various sound effects on different tracks
• Weight Woe: On "Sports Men":
  I'm worrying everyday
  I could be anorexic

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