The Blue Hearts were a Japanese punk band in the late 1980s and early 1990s. They’ve been compared to a lot of other punk bands, but let’s clear: they were the Japanese Ramones. It’s just simple, unpretentious rock music. They are really great. You don’t have to understand Japanese — but if you do, they seem always to have very clear vocals.

Their best known song is “Linda Linda,” of their debut album, The Blue Hearts. I only know it from the film, Linda Linda Linda. It’s about four high school girls who form a band that does covers of The Blue Hearts songs. You can see them do “Linda Linda” on YouTube. It’s very good. But here are the real guys doing it.

I’m not sure about that translation in the video. I’m fond of, “Like a brown rat.” Google translate provides, “To plop mouse Matthew.” Apparently, what the singer is saying is that he may be ugly like a rat but that inside he is beautiful. Or maybe he is referring to Linda. Regardless, “Linda! Linda!”