-Now I'd like to ask you a little about "Kizuna Drama." Are you happy to see one of your songs turn into a story?

Suginami-On one hand I'm happy, but on the other I'm a little worried I won't have a job to do soon.
Matsuda-Yeah, definitely.
Suginami-I'm like, I want to do something too! I want to work!
Matsuda-Yeah, like, is it really O.K. to keep asking you guys to do stuff?
Suginami-Yeah, or like, is there something we can do to help out?
Matsuda-Yeah, I think basically we'd like it more if we could do more work. I think our band might be too set in doing things ourselves. It's like, sorry guys.

-Do you like the story?

Suginami-I was about to cry at the part with the family.
Matsuda-It's definitely surreal. And they do it all in three minutes.
Suginami-I like how they treat the notion of "kizuna" (meaning "bond" in English). People tend to avoid the word because it's to grandiose-I guess the word "love" is the same way-but in the drama they treat it like it should be treated, as something present in even the most trivial aspects of life.

-Are there any artists you like or respect?

Yamada-That's hard to say.
Matsuda-Yeah, hard. If we're talking about drummers, I like Tatsuya Nakamura from Blankey Jet City-he's wild-and the guy from Radiohead. I like how he's silent; it's cool how he keeps his face facing in the same direction when he plays. There are all sorts of artists I admire.
Yamada-Yeah, all sorts.

-I see. Anyway, I saw Mr. Matsuda drew a picture of Mr. Yamada on your official website. There are vertical lines drawn all over the face. (Laughs) I like it a lot; I think it shows your artistic side. I'd like to ask what you were imagining when you drew that picture.

Yamada-He made me look scary... (Laughs)
Matsuda-I made it that way because he looked scary at the time. (Laughs) He's different now, though. (Laughs) Anyway, I just thought I should do a good job on his caricature...(Laughs) Still, I ended up deforming his features. (Laughs)

Everyone-(Laughs)

-Is that so? (Laughs) I thought it was a really good picture. I like it. Well then, we've come to the last question; do you have any messages for your fans?

Matsuda-I think "Headphone Children" captures the energy and tension of The Back Horn. There'll be people who find variety in the album, but ultimately I think we put in more energy than usual in there. I'll be happy if people listen to it and think that they can do something with their life. So, please listen to the album!
Suginami-I think that's about it.

-You don't have anything else to say?

Yamada-Yes. I don't think there's anything else significant to say. Suginami-Exactly. (Laughs)

-(Laughs) I understand. Thank you very much.

(Interview: M. Isoyama, Translated by Daniel)