I seriously can't even listen to it without cringing nowadays. A song about masturbating and cumming... while your eyes look ''Japanese'' and the song was a huge hit! then again the 80's was not to kind to Asians. This is the same decade that treated Vietnamese & Japanese like shit because Rambo portrayed them all as monsters.

But for real... fuck this song and fuck the video too. I hate whenever i hear it on some classic rock or 80's station. There's few songs i've heard this blatantly racists and stupid.

Plus the dude in the video looks like a starved David Bowie wannabe groupie.

If you are talking about The Vapors Turning Japanese,

Then you are wrong.. it's about.... masturbation.....

I have never considered it racist but what do I know...

Excellent song imho. I own the 7 inch vinyl.........

thedance said:

If you are talking about The Vapors Turning Japanese,

Then you are wrong.. it's about.... masturbation.....

I have never considered it racist but what do I know...

Excellent song imho. I own the 7 inch vinyl.........

Yeah... i mentioned that did you read the whole thing? It's about masterbation and ''looking Japanese'' as your masterbating or cumming. Basically saying their eyes are becomign all crazy and cross eyed the ''cliche Asian look''

My favorite imitation of Japanese song

Is this racist?

iaminparties said:

My favorite imitation of Japanese song

Is this racist?

I think he's consulting the oracle

Anyway, you shouldn't ask or you might not be able to listen to it again

Oh, I had that 7"

PANDURITO said:

iaminparties said:

My favorite imitation of Japanese song

Is this racist?

I think he's consulting the oracle

Anyway, you shouldn't ask or you might not be able to listen to it again

Oh, I had that 7"

Great song

thedance said:

If you are talking about The Vapors Turning Japanese,

Then you are wrong.. it's about.... masturbation.....

I have never considered it racist but what do I know...

Excellent song imho. I own the 7 inch vinyl.........

Neither do I. If it was racist then it would of been either never get air play or pulled from air play.

luv4u said:

thedance said:

If you are talking about The Vapors Turning Japanese,

Then you are wrong.. it's about.... masturbation.....

I have never considered it racist but what do I know...

Excellent song imho. I own the 7 inch vinyl.........

Neither do I. If it was racist then it would of been either never get air play or pulled from air play.

That's not true... this was the 80s. Making fun of Asians were pretty accetable in those times. Whenver First Blood II came out int he mid 80's. Lots of Vietnamese people were violently assaulted cause of the propagand ainthe movie. Saying vietnamese had POW still trapped (10 years after the war?) and the Vietnamese also wore Japanese uniforms... what a fuck up.

Then American movies and media showing Asians as evil or all communist. Or as nerds... who could barely speak english. Most asians i know who are older told me it was a rough time. Being in the US during that decade.

Plus on top of that no one knew what this song really meant. Another reason it was allowed airplay. Kind of how ''Relax'' went right over Americans heads.

Gunsnhalen said:

luv4u said:

Neither do I. If it was racist then it would of been either never get air play or pulled from air play.

That's not true... this was the 80s. Making fun of Asians were pretty accetable in those times. Whenver First Blood II came out int he mid 80's. Lots of Vietnamese people were violently assaulted cause of the propagand ainthe movie. Saying vietnamese had POW still trapped (10 years after the war?) and the Vietnamese also wore Japanese uniforms... what a fuck up.

Then American movies and media showing Asians as evil or all communist. Or as nerds... who could barely speak english. Most asians i know who are older told me it was a rough time. Being in the US during that decade.

Plus on top of that no one knew what this song really meant. Another reason it was allowed airplay. Kind of how ''Relax'' went right over Americans heads.

And know we know? Based on what?

The Vapors are an English band, so linking it with US propaganda or attitudes towards Asian people is just incorrect.

Also.....

Songwriter David Fenton explains: "Turning Japanese is all the clichés about angst and youth and turning into something you didn't expect to."^[3]

The band knew they had a success with "Turning Japanese", so much so that they waited until their second single before releasing it, fearing that if they released it as their first they would become "one-hit wonders", but they never matched its success.^[4]

The song enjoyed some sales in Japan after its great success in Australia, where it spent two weeks at no. 1 during June 1980.^[5]

"Turning Japanese" was believed to euphemistically refer to masturbation—i.e. the act causing the man to squint and therefore resemble a Japanese's person's eyes^[1] or possibly, referencing the British slang word "Jap's eye" (the slit of the penis) and the act of turning referring to the process of masturbation—but the song's author Fenton denied that claim in an interview on VH1. "It could have been (turning) Portuguese, Lebanese, anything that fitted with that phrase. It has nothing to do with the Japanese."

"The first time the idea of masturbation came up was when we were touring America. It was written about that 'turning Japanese' was an English phrase for masturbation, which it wasn't."

Guitarist Rob Kemp went on to say, "It's a love song about somebody who had lost their girlfriend and was going slowly crazy, turning Japanese is just all the cliches of our angst... turning into something you never expected to."

So now you know.

Militant said:

The Vapors are an English band, so linking it with US propaganda or attitudes towards Asian people is just incorrect.

Also.....

Songwriter David Fenton explains: "Turning Japanese is all the clichés about angst and youth and turning into something you didn't expect to."^[3]

The band knew they had a success with "Turning Japanese", so much so that they waited until their second single before releasing it, fearing that if they released it as their first they would become "one-hit wonders", but they never matched its success.^[4]

The song enjoyed some sales in Japan after its great success in Australia, where it spent two weeks at no. 1 during June 1980.^[5]

"Turning Japanese" was believed to euphemistically refer to masturbation—i.e. the act causing the man to squint and therefore resemble a Japanese's person's eyes^[1] or possibly, referencing the British slang word "Jap's eye" (the slit of the penis) and the act of turning referring to the process of masturbation—but the song's author Fenton denied that claim in an interview on VH1. "It could have been (turning) Portuguese, Lebanese, anything that fitted with that phrase. It has nothing to do with the Japanese."

"The first time the idea of masturbation came up was when we were touring America. It was written about that 'turning Japanese' was an English phrase for masturbation, which it wasn't."

Guitarist Rob Kemp went on to say, "It's a love song about somebody who had lost their girlfriend and was going slowly crazy, turning Japanese is just all the cliches of our angst... turning into something you never expected to."

So now you know.

I was reading this last night actually. I could have sworn the band admited to the masterbation thing. I'm willing to admit when i was wrong. Glad the group aren't assholes after all

The meaning of the song has bothered me for sometime. So this kind of puts my mind at rest ont he subject.

You are usually creating really great threads Gunsnhalen,

Maybe you are mistaken in this one....

Nevermind that...... keep on, creating good threads....

Imo........ you deserve this.....

.

>blinks< Oh, so THAT's what that song is about? I always figured it was about some white dude being in love with a Japanese girl, and subsequently becoming a weeaboo to impress her and appease her parents.

.

In the Vapors' defence, this song was released in 1980, and I consider everything that happened before my birth to be prehistorical.

.

Now 'Fine China' is a very racist song. The problem is, it was made in 2013. 2013, and we're still on that Rush Hour bull-ish.

.

Now, we're lucky they didn't get Bowie involved in any of these songs, or he might have 'shut someone's mouse'.

.

Well. you may be right but this song has been out for around 30 years and there's really been no outcry from the Japanese community about it being racist. The band themselves say it is not about masturbation (although I sure get the vibe from the lyrics). I had never heard masturbation referred to as "turning Japanese" but maybe that term just never made it to Texas.

I will say this, however - I LOVE LOVE LOVE the guitar work in this song. It is just flat-out awesome and perfect, IMO.

Militant said:

The Vapors are an English band, so linking it with US propaganda or attitudes towards Asian people is just incorrect.

Also.....

Songwriter David Fenton explains: "Turning Japanese is all the clichés about angst and youth and turning into something you didn't expect to."^[3]

The band knew they had a success with "Turning Japanese", so much so that they waited until their second single before releasing it, fearing that if they released it as their first they would become "one-hit wonders", but they never matched its success.^[4]

The song enjoyed some sales in Japan after its great success in Australia, where it spent two weeks at no. 1 during June 1980.^[5]

"Turning Japanese" was believed to euphemistically refer to masturbation—i.e. the act causing the man to squint and therefore resemble a Japanese's person's eyes^[1] or possibly, referencing the British slang word "Jap's eye" (the slit of the penis) and the act of turning referring to the process of masturbation—but the song's author Fenton denied that claim in an interview on VH1. "It could have been (turning) Portuguese, Lebanese, anything that fitted with that phrase. It has nothing to do with the Japanese."

"The first time the idea of masturbation came up was when we were touring America. It was written about that 'turning Japanese' was an English phrase for masturbation, which it wasn't."

Guitarist Rob Kemp went on to say, "It's a love song about somebody who had lost their girlfriend and was going slowly crazy, turning Japanese is just all the cliches of our angst... turning into something you never expected to."

So now you know.

That was my understanding of the song lyrics too. This is the first time that I heard about "Japs eye" though. The stuff you learn on the org.

thedance said:

If you are talking about The Vapors Turning Japanese,

Then you are wrong.. it's about.... masturbation.....

I have never considered it racist but what do I know...

Excellent song imho. I own the 7 inch vinyl.........

Exactly. "Turning Japanese" is coded for masturbation, just like "beating the meat", "choking the chiching", "dancing by yourself", "touch yourself", "spanking the monkey" and "stroke".

While we may disagree about whether this song is about masturbation, are we now in agreement that it isn't racist?

RodeoSchro said:

While we may disagree about whether this song is about masturbation, are we now in agreement that it isn't racist?

I'll give it a pass for now

Nothing stereotypical about that intro!

DE DE DE DE

DEE DEE

DEE DEE DEE

RodeoSchro said:

While we may disagree about whether this song is about masturbation, are we now in agreement that it isn't racist?

The song is not racist. But it is about masturbation!

racist or masterbation. there is one fact we can all agree upon. this songs sucks big time. bad song, bad band

"Sorry Bout It"

THIS SONG WAS FEATURED IN THE 2000 MOVIE, CHARLIE'S ANGELS.

I know what you're thinking, and no, Lucy Liu is Chinese-American, born 1968 in New York.

I used to think the song was about masturbating in a porn booth. But reading the lyrics, it sounds like it's written by a guy in prison, with nothing in his cell but his picture of his lover. So yeah, what else would there be to do in a prison cell but masturbate?

I've got your picture of me and you
You wrote "I love you" I wrote "me too"
I sit there staring and there's nothing else to do
Oh it's in color Your hair is brown
Your eyes are hazel And soft as clouds
I often kiss you when there's no one else around

I've got your picture, I've got your picture
I'd like a million of you all round my cell
I want a doctor to take your picture
So I can look at you from inside as well
You've got me turning up and turning down
And turning in and turning 'round

I'm turning Japanese
I think I'm turning Japanese
I really think so
Turning Japanese
I think I'm turning Japanese
I really think so
I'm turning Japanese
I think I'm turning Japanese
I really think so
Turning Japanese
I think I'm turning Japanese
I really think so

I've got your picture, I've got your picture
I'd like a million of them all round my cell
I want the doctor to take a picture
So I can look at you from inside as well
You've got me turning up and turning down and turning in and turning 'round

I'm turning Japanese
I think I'm turning Japanese
I really think so
Turning Japanese
I think I'm turning Japanese
I really think so
I'm turning Japanese
I think I'm turning Japanese
I really think so
Turning Japanese
I think I'm turning Japanese
I really think so

No sex, no drugs, no wine, no women
No fun, no sin, no you, no wonder it's dark
Everyone around me is a total stranger
Everyone avoids me like a cyclone ranger
That's why I'm turning Japanese
I think I'm turning Japanese
I really think so
Turning Japanese
I think I'm turning Japanese
I really think so
I'm turning Japanese
I think I'm turning Japanese
I really think so
Turning Japanese
I think I'm turning Japanese
I really think so

source: http://www.lyricsondemand...yrics.html

Scotsman1999 said:

Misplaced racist outrage really annoys me - one of the scourges of our politically correct society. I just have to keep reminding myself that people can't get it right all the time.

People do this shit to call attention to THEMSELVES...its REALLY pathologically nacississtic behavior..."Hey everyone LOOK AT ME! I am the LEAST racist person alive! Everyone ELSE thinks this song is really cool BUT I'M ON TO THESE FUCKING ASSHOLES...and they aren't getting away with this shit!" By the way, the true beauty of a song like "Turning Japanese" is that most people DON'T KNOW what its about and THEY ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO. It is called A-R-T. It means whatever the fuck the listener NEEDS it to mean at the time they are listening to it. You KILL ART when you feel the need to tie it down to a lone, ossified meaning. That shit is for fucking weak spirits. Straight up.

TonyVanDam said:

thedance said:

If you are talking about The Vapors Turning Japanese,

Then you are wrong.. it's about.... masturbation.....

I have never considered it racist but what do I know...

Excellent song imho. I own the 7 inch vinyl.........

Exactly. "Turning Japanese" is coded for masturbation, just like "beating the meat", "choking the chiching", "dancing by yourself", "touch yourself", "spanking the monkey" and "stroke".

And "She Bop", which also a code word for masturbation.

TonyVanDam said:

"choking the chiching"

Choking the chi-ching!

Cinny said:

TonyVanDam said:

"choking the chiching"

Choking the chi-ching!

Rally's!