original interview here. conducted by tatsuya kaneda on 11.12.1998. this translation is (c) 2004 terra [ 
], with many thanks to ruliann for corrections. :D ENJOY!
when you read the lyrics to instant music, you’re made to think that you’re a little angry toward the music world… or possibly outraged…
yamanaka: well, i’m not really angry. it’s like i’ve always thought this, in the back of my head, and by chance it became a single… but it’s not like i really wanted to make a statement. sure, i’ve said it’s a world i don’t like, i’ve been talking bad about it ever since i was in middle school (laughs), but it’s not something i’ve started just now. the title being what it is, people keep asking me about it, but we’ve really been singing this kind of song all along. it’s just that we never went so far as making that the title, but we always had at least one song like that on our albums. it was like, ‘oh well, it’ll just be a single this time’. nowadays it’s just typical to just put out the single and then go on tour, like now. and there’s also releases where it’s not like, ‘this song is gonna be the one!’. i think it’s like that this time. we’re not injecting any kind of fighting spirit into it.
did you consciously think about the balance with your previous work, ‘no self-control’?
yamanaka: you know how you can change your mind, like let’s say you wanted to have a feast, but when you were done eating, you wanted to eat dessert next? it’s like, in ‘no self control’, we’d get immense satisfaction out of making this one screwy chord progression. but since the pillows started, we’ve wanted to make songs that were catchy from the bang of the first three chords.
so, maya maxx was in charge of the art work.
yamanaka: while we were working on the clip for ‘no self-control’, i started talking about how i wanted to do something with anime, and although we tried a few things, the artists just had no taste, like ‘just quit your job!’. so we didn’t end up doing something with anime after all. at that time, we had this picture book by maya and i said, ‘wow, this is really great’. but we heard she’s got another job, with her schedule it’s absolutely impossible. but i still thought, well, someday i’d like to work with her… so when we did ‘instant music’, i thought her work would really fit with this song, so i asked.
how did you think her paintings would suit this song?
yamanaka: no matter how you think about it, this song is absolutely not serious. ‘a pipe-cut for your head is ok’… i mean, what the hell is that, you know? (laughs) so, something silly would be good, i thought. of course there are many people who would see this song as something serious, so a crazy looking cover would better convey our intent, you know? it’s really just something to lighten things up.
so now you’re releasing straight pop like ‘instant music’…
yamanaka: for so long we’ve been told that our gloomy music is our strength. there are many pillows’ songs that are number one in people’s hearts which are relatively heavy songs. that’s fine, but we’d also like to show them that hey, the pillows can be light-hearted and cool at the same time too. the cds are selling better and more people are coming to our live shows than i’d have believed. if there’s a place we’re striving for, even though it may be far away, honestly, i feel really good about it. so i guess that’s why there’s this light-heartedness, this playfulness lately.
is it like you want to introduce the pillows over again?
yamanaka: i don’t know if it’s an introduction, but we do feel excited. before, i always felt i was being judged differently than i was judging myself. and if you’re irritated then of course you’ll make irritated music, right? now, though i’m not sure how, there are quite a few understanding faces, like there’s this sense of friendship, more than there used to be. only a little, though (laughs).
this sense of friendship, if it were to spread and grow even deeper than now, would it make you all happier?
yamanaka: noo… how should i put it. well… it doesn’t matter. when i’m standing on the stage, it’s a great feeling, but when i read fan letters one by one i just get fed up with it. as a whole, i’m starting to like it more than before… well enogh. well, i still feel it’d be nicer if we were a little more popular.
do you want your fans to understand your feelings in the first place? do you have the desire to clearly convey your feelings?
yamanaka: actually… i used to feel really strongly about that. i used to think that if people didn’t really understand me the way i want them to, then screw them. now it’s like nothing, i don’t care. of course people who don’t know me can’t understand me (laughs). in music, that’s not important. that has nothing to do with how good the music is. because i can ignore that now, it’s like, lately, if somebody says ‘i like the pillows’ then i feel grateful. but if they say ‘i hate them,’ fine. i don’t feel like i have any need to ask why.
how about you two, what are your feelings about your fans?
satou: what sawao just said, i’ve felt like that since i was born (laugh).
manabe: we’ve become a band that isn’t affected by those kinds of illusions. there are times when we’ve been happy because of our fans’ reactions, but we don’t have any expectations.
having no illusions, has it become easier than before to put all the more feeling of speed in your music?
yamanaka: that’s true, i think. now, i can just get right into it, because i don’t get distracted by things that don’t matter. for us, it’s aggravating if they adore you too much, but we’re at good a place as any. on the other hand, i don’t feel i want to completely forsake the fans, like, ‘i don’t give a shit’. it’s because i know the reality, that it’s better to be able to feel everyone’s fire in a live show. i think i’ve just found the proper distance from the fans. these two, they’ve never had any interest in this sad sort of stuff. these two, they’re like kings (laughs), watching from above. i can’t help but have these great expectations, you know. even though it’d be better if i didn’t. there’s just so many times i’ve been disappointed in my life (laughs).
manabe: i don’t have any illusions about our fans, but my expectations and illusions about our music are intense. because that’s where i put my energy, my expectations and dreams concerning music making are at their height.
since you’re all into it now, do you have this ‘let’s do it!’ kind of feeling?
yamanaka: yes. but we’ve always felt like that. of course there are always times when you feel out of tune or in tune.
then it’s not to say you’re charging into it more now?
manabe: no, it’s not like we’re accelerating as a band.
yamanaka: it’s like being charged up became typical. it’s always been like this. in our minds, we don’t even notice it, nobody stops to say ‘hey, we’re really super-charged now’… it’s always been like that, and we’ll keep going.
