Joke

Review / Track Commentary: "Neta"
The word "neta" carries a double meaning in Japanese-it can mean a joke, a punchline, or the raw material for expression itself. From the title alone, the song suggests an attitude of turning everything-pain, boredom, even despair-into "neta."

Lyrics: Where Humor Meets Emptiness
The song opens with a muttered "boring...", capturing the dullness and irritation of everyday life. Mocking the "messy form on TV" or a "cringe-worthy poem" is less about superiority and more about survival-laughing at reality to fend off its weight.
Pop culture fragments scatter throughout-"Makankōsappō," Kill Bill, "Jesus! Take money!"-all deployed like smokescreens, disguising earnest confessions as jokes. Yet immediately after, a raw line slips through: "I could even die for you."
This is swiftly undercut with refrains like "It's all a lie" or "Seriously, it's a lie." These denials, paradoxically, only highlight the presence of feelings too real to leave exposed. Here lies the core of the song: the tug-of-war between laughter and void, irony and loneliness.

Music: Twisted Pop Rock
At its core, the arrangement is guitar-driven rock, but never straightforward-it twists, stumbles, and sidesteps.
* In the verses, the vocals take on a restrained, almost conversational tone.
* In the refrains and climaxes, sarcastic lines are shouted with genuine urgency, capturing both comedy and desperation.
* The recurring phrase "Thank you, you were me too" epitomizes the track's oscillation between falsehood and truth, jest and sincerity.
The vocal delivery swings from flat recitation to emotional outburst, embodying the very contradiction in the lyrics. The band sound itself balances lightness with heaviness, keeping the edges rough enough to feel real.

Place in Context
"Neta" is far more than a quirky rock number. It's a sharp portrait of a modern condition: only being able to reveal one's true feelings through the mask of a joke. In this sense, it belongs to the lineage of Japanese rock that thrives on blending absurdity with sincerity-think Ginnan BOYZ or Shinsei Kamattechan-yet it also articulates a distinctly contemporary sense of emptiness and self-mockery.