Japanese Breakfast Talks Discography and ‘Crying in H Mart’ on New Episode of Mark Ronson’s ‘The FADER Uncovered’ Podcast
Japanese Breakfast’s Michelle Zauner appeared as a guest on The FADER Uncovered, a podcast hosted by legendary producer Mark Ronson. The singer spoke with Ronson about their discography, their memoir, Crying in H Mart, scoring the Sable video game, and an array of other topics.
The FADER Uncovered hosted by Mark Ronson is designed to uncover the world’s most influential and groundbreaking musicians in the industry. In episode twelve of the podcast, the iconic producer revealed that he was unaware of Zauner’s music; therefore, he was in for a special treat diving into the creative pool of Zauner’s work. Ronson sums up Japanese Breakfast’s music nicely by telling listeners, “Michelle Zauner’s music is basically the most sugary sweet you can get while keeping with the whole indie coolness of it.”
I had honestly never heard the music of @Jbrekkie when I was asked to interview Michelle Zauner (the creator & principle driving force of the band)…what a joy my crash course in JB ended up being. @thefader pic.twitter.com/b2nuJBqvjy
— Mark Ronson (@MarkRonson) October 18, 2021
Ronson began his interview with Zauner revealing how he became a superfan of the indie group instantaneously. He recalls listening to Psychopomp, Zauner’s debut album under Japanese Breakfast. Ronson recalls the feeling of shock because he could not believe his ears had been missing this for the last five years. Despite being in the music scene for a few years now, Zauner’s career has completely taken off in 2021.
I was fully blown away by their first record Psychopomp, in the way you can tell from the first 10 seconds of a record “OH, THIS IS MY NEW FAVOURITE BAND”. I loved their other albums too.
— Mark Ronson (@MarkRonson) October 18, 2021
Arguably the most interesting part of the interview had been Zauner revealing to Ronson the differences between writing music and writing a book. As a creative writing major in college, Zauner has always enjoyed writing from different perspectives; the singer likes the challenge. The “Be Sweet” singer spoke about their music video for “Savage Good Boy,” a track off their third studio album, Jubilee.
The music video features The Sopranos star Michael Imperioli in a surprise appearance. As a fan of the series, Zauner spoke about “loving” the exercise of writing from the perspective of a villain. The singer elaborates that she loves The Sopranos because fans are always rooting for the “bad guys,” even when they engage in deviant behavior. “Savage Good Boy” may come off as a romantic song but as one continues to listen, it turns menacing quite fast. Zauner revealed that the track is about “a billionaire kind of coaxing a young woman to live with him in this bunker as the world burns around them.”
In addition to the singer’s latest music video, Zauner also revealed that Crying in H Mart had her incorporating various musical elements into the book. The singer provides examples, such as finding that naming the chapters felt like naming songs off a record or composing a tracklist. In addition, songs that appear on previous records also made their way into the book, where Zauner had to guide the reader back to those dark, sad places. The singer provided the example with “In Heaven,” a track off her debut album, Psychopomp. The song opens, “The dog’s confused / She just paces around all day / She’s sniffing at your empty room.” These lyrics had been about their 12-year-old golden retriever, Julia, looking for their owner, but the dog is unable to understand that its owner is no longer alive. Despite these heartbreaking songs about grief, Zauner’s music still has elements of joy.
Japanese Breakfast’s Michelle Zauner continues to have an incredible 2021. Fans can stream her discography on all major music platforms and buy a copy of Crying in H Mart at select bookstores. Zauner’s interview with Mark Ronson is available to watch below.
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