Song · Japan
“The Art of Parties” by Japan
From the album Tin Drum (1981)
“The Art of Parties” by Japan appears on 1 radio countdown from 1 station in 2003. It was first released in 1981 on the album Tin Drum. Its best result is #1173 on the Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #5,592 alternative song of all time.
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"The Art of Parties" came out as a Virgin single in 1981, and a reworked version then opened Japan's Tin Drum later that year, keeping chunks of the original, guitars included. David Sylvian wrote it, and it catches the band at their most wired: Mick Karn's fretless bass slithering underneath, Steve Jansen's drums and percussion snapping, Richard Barbieri and Sylvian working keyboards and tape, with Karn also turning up on flute and suona, Simon House on violin and Yuka Fujii's voice joining Sylvian's.
As a single it got to number 48 in the UK. In Smash Hits, Mark Ellen heard technical funk and a singer splitting the difference between a plaintive Ferry and Bowie at his most operatic; the Rough Guide to Rock later filed it under white-boy funk. A live take turned up on Oil on Canvas in 1983.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 1173 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
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