"Crystal Japan" is an instrumental piece written by David Bowie and released as a single in Japan in spring 1980.[1] It was recorded during the Scary Monsters sessions that year.[2][3] The instrumental was used in a Japanese commercial for the shochu Crystal Jun Rock, which also featured an appearance by Bowie, although he said at the time that the track was not specifically written for this purpose.[4] Originally titled "Fuji Moto San",[5] it was apparently intended to close the Scary Monsters album until replaced by "It's No Game (No. 2)".[2][3]
The instrumental was released as the B-side to the single "Up the Hill Backwards" in March 1981. "Teenage Wildlife" was originally slated as the B-side for "Up the Hill Backwards" until Bowie found out the prices fans were paying for the import single of "Crystal Japan", and insisted the track receive a UK release.[citation needed]
Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails took the melody of "Crystal Japan" and used it as the basis for the track "A Warm Place", released on their 1994 album The Downward Spiral.[7] Bowie's official website later said the two songs were so similar that "A Warm Place" was "a thinly-veiled cover" of "Crystal Japan".[8]
Notes
↑"Crystal Japan". Pushing Ahead of the Dame. 1 September 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
12Chris O'Leary (2019). Ashes to Ashes: The Songs of David Bowie, 1976-2016: p. 163
12Nicholas Pegg (2016). The Complete David Bowie: p. 67
