Senkō Shōjo

"Senkō Shōjo" (閃光少女, "Flash Girl") (also known by its English title "Put Your Camera Down") is a song by the Japanese band Tokyo Jihen. It was released on November 16, 2007, as a promotional track from their vinyl extended play Variety Zōkangō and music video clips DVD Senkō Shōjo, and was later added to their 2010 album Sports.

"Senkō Shōjo"
"Senkō Shōjo" digital download cover.
Single by Tokyo Jihen
from the album Variety Zōkangō and Sports
ReleasedOctober 18, 2007 (2007-10-18)
Recorded2007
GenrePop-rock, Rock
Length2:59
LabelEMI Music Japan
Songwriter(s)Ringo Sheena, Seiji Kameda, Robbie Clark (English version)
Producer(s)Tokyo Jihen
Tokyo Jihen singles chronology
"Killer-tune"
(2007)		 "Senkō Shōjo"
(2007)		 "Nōdōteki Sanpunkan"
(2009)

Background and development

The song was released directly after Variety (2007), an album where the other band members other than Ringo Sheena served as the songwriters.[1] The cover work is in the same style as Variety and its singles "OSCA" and "Killer-tune." Previously, Seiji Kameda had worked on the songs "Superstar" and "Tōmei Ningen" from Adult (2006), and "Shiseikatsu" from Variety.

Writing and production

The song featured lyrics written by Ringo Sheena, and music by Seiji Kameda.[1] It was recorded during sessions for Variety, and was performed during their Spa & Treatment tour in October and November 2007.[1] It was originally titled "Hood" (フード) during demo sessions. Kameda was inspired to write the song after seeing a pre-teen girl walking home late at night, with her jacket hood up. Kameda wondered what her future would be like, and created the melody for the song.[2] The first version recorded was "Put Your Camera Down," an English version with lyrics written by Robbie Clark[2] That version was later featured on the Variety Zōkangō vinyl, as well as on the Senkō Shōjo DVD credits.[1] It was eventually released to CD in 2013, on Tokyo Jihen's Hard Disk box set.

Promotion and release

The song was used in commercials for Subaru's Stella cars from November 2007 onwards.[3] The band performed the song at Music Station on November 30, 2007.[4]

"Senkō Shōjo" is featured on Tokyo Jihen's Spa & Treatment live concert DVD, which was released on March 26, 2010. It was also performed during their Ultra C tour (released August 24, 2010), their Discovery tour (released February 25, 2012) and their farewell tour Bon Voyage (released on June 13, 2012).[5][6] The band additionally performed the song at the Rising Sun Rock Festival (2008), Society of the Citizens Vol. 2 (2008), Countdown Japan (2009) and the Terebi Asahi Dream Music Festival (2011).[5] The Spa & Treatment performance of the song was included on the live compilation album Tokyo Collection, released in 2012.

Critical reception

CDJournal reviewers noted the song's "cheerful beat", and noted the song's message of appreciating the now.[7] Listenmusic reviewer Yoshiki Aoyuki noted the song's as being simultaneously alternative rock and pop.[8]

Track listing
Digital download
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Senkō Shōjo"Ringo SheenaSeiji Kameda2:59
Total length:2:59
Put Your Camera Down digital download
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Put Your Camera Down"R. SheenaS. Kameda4:06
Total length:4:06

Chart rankings
Charts (2007) Peak
position
Japan RIAJ monthly ringtones[9] 22
Japan RIAJ yearly PC downloads[10] 28

Certifications
Chart Certifications
RIAJ cellphone downloads[11] Gold (100,000+)
RIAJ PC downloads[12] Gold (100,000+)

Release history
Region Date Format Distributing Label
Japan October 18, 2007 (2007-10-18)[1] Ringtone, cellphone digital download EMI Music Japan
November 16, 2007 (2007-11-16)[12] PC digital download
February 27, 2013 (2013-02-27)[13] "Put Your Camera Down" digital download
South Korea March 25, 2013 (2013-03-25)[14] "Put Your Camera Down" digital download Universal Music Korea
gollark: So, hmm, how to improve my staff application...
gollark: one two three four five six seven eight nine ten eleven twelve™ thirteen fourteen fifteen sixteen seventeen eighteen nineteen twenty twentyone twentytwo twentythree twentyfour twentyfive twentysix twentyseven twentyeight twentynine thirty
gollark: Why not? I do count. Sometimes I count to 12.
gollark: Yes, deleting 2000 messages because of [REDACTED] is totally not causing any problems.
gollark: As they should be.

References
  1. 東京事変2007ニュー･リリース速報第9弾！！ (in Japanese). EMI Music Japan. October 18, 2007. Archived from the original on February 8, 2008. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  2. 東京事変「閃光少女」インタビュー (in Japanese). EMI Music Japan. 2007. Archived from the original on September 12, 2009. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  3. "新曲『閃光少女』が「SUBARU・軽 STELLA R2」CMソングに決定！！TV-CFオンエア中" (in Japanese). EMI Music Japan. November 12, 2007. Archived from the original on February 8, 2008. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  4. "2007/11/30 Guest Lineup Back Number" (in Japanese). TV Asahi. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
  5. チャンネルガイド-東京事変オフィシャルブック- [Channel Guide: Tokyo Jihen Official Book] (in Japanese). Tokyo: Kronekodow. February 29, 2012. pp. 186–187. ISBN 4884182987.
  6. 東京事変、“最期の生実演”を完全収録した映像作品6/13発売決定 [Tokyo Jihen, DVD footage of their final concert to be released on 6/13.] (in Japanese). Barks. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  7. 東京事変 / スポーツ (in Japanese). CDJournal. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  8. Yoshiki Aoyuki. 新譜レビュー > 東京事変／スポーツ (in Japanese). Listenmusic. Archived from the original on July 17, 2014. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  9. "レコード協会調べ　12月度有料音楽配信チャート（「着うた（R）」）" (in Japanese). RIAJ. January 20, 2008. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  10. "2007年有料音楽配信チャート（通称：レコ協チャート）（PC配信）" (in Japanese). RIAJ. 2008. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  11. レコード協会調べ　1月度有料音楽配信認定 [Record Association Investigation: January Digital Music Download Certifications]. RIAJ (in Japanese). February 20, 2008. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
  12. レコード協会調べ　3月度有料音楽配信認定 [Record Association Investigation: March Digital Music Download Certifications]. RIAJ (in Japanese). April 20, 2008. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
  13. "put your camera down 東京事変" (in Japanese). Amazon.co.jp. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  14. "Tokyojihen Put Your Camera Down" (in Korean). Bugs. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
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