Released in 1980, Turning Japanese was the second single by the band The Vapors and is popularly interpreted to be a euphemism for masturbation as it is believed to euphemistically refer to the face a male makes as he spanks the monkey.
Following are five cover versions. Love them or hate them. The original video is here.
1. Kirsten Dunst
Kirsten Dunst cosplays in a frilly sailor suit while singing a cover of Turning Japanese in Akihabara. The clip is entitled “Akihabara Majokko Princess” and is directed by McG and produced by Takashi Murakami.
2. Rick Moranis
Rick Moranis performed the song in a jazz style as Tom Monroe on the Canadian sketch comedy series SCTV.
3. PocketFox
PocketFox are a scruffy 2-piece ukulele act from Edinburgh.
4. Peppermint Creeps
Peppermint Creeps are a Glam metal band from Hollywood, California. Their music can be compared to the band KISS’s style.
5. No Use for a Name
NUFAN is a punk rock band from San Jose, California. The video features the Japanese visual kei-based rock band, the GazettE (ガゼット).
Bonus: Jackass Night Pandas
Not a cover version, but the Jackass boys get up to mischief on the streets of Tokyo in panda outfits with Turning Japanese as the soundtrack.
Turning Japanese
Flow Nuts Bang!!!
Peace
Tokyo Rockabilly Club
Hibi no Neiro
Scott J
emuu
locohama
Nunnster
Brad F.
Jamaipanese
Thomas Gantz
The Envoy
freedomwv
Jamie
I ask you; who wouldn’t like Night Pandas?
And who doesn’t like Kirsten Dunst with blue hair in a Sailor Moon costume?
“a scruffy 2-piece ukulele act from Edinburgh”
At last, my nightly prayers have been answered.
LOL!
Also, I take it as a measure of the time I’ve been away from N. America that I didn’t know that Kirsten Dunst has a singing career on the go.
Hold on. Position 3.43 of the Kirsten Dunst clip. Isn’t that Mike in the white shirt, next to the Nun?
Who, me? For some reason I don’t see the full Dunst video now, just a sample. Waaaa, moar Dunst!!
(P.S. While she is quite something I get the sense that she might be a bit of a chore to actually know.)
Full vid is now back. YouTube took down the original one on this post.
The Vapors was a really stupid name for a band…
I think that it was very insightful of them. After their one hit that is exactly what they turned into. They evaporated!
Wow, I didn’t know “Turning Japanese” referred to anything…let alone masturbation! Guess all songs have some kind of meaning…like in “Meet the parents” when Ben Stiller tells his soon-to-be father-in-law Robert DeNiro that ´Puff The Magic Dragon´refers to smoking marijuana from a pipe!
Whats the world coming to!!
Holy crap, that Rick Moranis cover is gold.
Brilliant! Some of these are hilarious, others slightly concerning!
I put it off as long as I could, but I finally broke down and watch Dunst turn Japanese. And you what, it wasn’t as painful as I thought it would be. Rick Moranis was a scream. Wish we had Bill Murray doing it. Tat would be the best!
Loco