Marty Friedman with Jon Wiederhorn, "Dreaming Japanese" (Permuted Press, 2024)

April 3, 2026·54 min·4 clips

Marty Friedman explains 'hetauma' — why Japanese audiences root for singers who can't quite hit the notes.

The exchange starts with taste. The host remembers falling for Enka after coming to Japan at 30, even though people around her treated it as music for older listeners. That memory leads into the bigger question. American pop standards, with huge voices and polished singing, become the contrast for why some J-pop first sounded hard to understand. The guest gives the idea a name: hetauma. As he explains it, something can seem bad and still work because the roughness has its own magic. That matters for J-pop. Instead of hearing a missed note as failure, he describes a Japanese emotional response that moves toward support. The listener starts rooting for the effort. He ties that feeling to someone reaching, almost getting there, and making the strain part of the song's pull. The host keeps it concrete. She brings up American pop in Japan, including the Carpenters, the Partridge Family, the Osmonds, and I Left My Heart in San Francisco. The conversation stays calm but specific. It moves from a personal listening memory into how taste, culture, and vocal expectations shape what sounds moving. Near the end, the guest turns to recommendations. He points to I'm Proud by Kahawa Tomomi as a clean example of the hetauma feeling. He explains it through the sound: a singer barely reaching the notes while the arrangement feels almost like an Olympic anthem. That mismatch is what grabs him. He also recommends Ikimonogakari as another way in for listeners trying to hear the world he is describing.

As heard by us

A thoughtful music conversation about taste, J-pop, and why imperfection can feel alive.

Marty Friedman sets up a clear discussion of how American rock ears and Japanese pop taste can drift apart, especially in J-pop and Enka. The best part is his explanation of hetauma: something can sound technically off and still hold real magic, which gives the conversation its…

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Play this if you want Japanese pop and Enka explained through one musician's ear.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from New Books in Music