Michelle Zauner (a.k.a. Japanese Breakfast) just released her third album Jubilee. It’s lovely! I was immediately grabbed by the opening track, the rather bombastic – and brilliantly titled – Paprika. To me, it’s the best song on the album. I love its marching band feel, and the strings and horn parts in the chorus. It’s both weird and wonderful.

In an interview with Stereogum, Zauner explains how the album, and this song in particular, came about. She explains: “My biggest fear for this record was that I didn’t want to be the kind of artist that pivots to pop in this very obvious way. I think that as you grow as an indie musician, the logical step is to enter into that world and play bigger venues and have more mainstream music or whatever. So I was really inspired by the greats… like Kate Bush. I think it’s really amazing that she’s someone who has such massive appeal but is, like, the biggest freak and has the most surreal, bizarre lyrics and has this really strange, proggy instrumentation. So I was really influenced by Kate Bush on this record and leaned towards surreal lyrics a little bit more on Paprika.”

About the song title she says: “I called it Paprika because it reminded me of this Susumu Hirasawa song called Parade that’s in the movie Paprika. There’s a big marching band and it’s this really psychotic parade dream sequence, and so that’s why I called it Paprika.”

It may sound like a strange choice, but I think this would make a great single!

Recommended as well:
Japanese Breakfast – Be Sweet

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Werner Schlosser

I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.