"Japanese Exchange Student" by The Rocket Summer

It's hard to believe that only a week ago I was meeting one of my greatest musical heroes, Bryce Avary.

Don't get me wrong, it feels like yesterday.

Sidenote: Not all of my song reviews will be this detailed or personal.

The Rocket Summer came to Auburn University last Wednesday, April 28th. After sitting through Sister Hazel, a band I admire but don't know many songs of, I was excited to hear The Rocket Summer was coming on next. I tried my best to push my way to the front, but ended up a few crowd members back. I was agitated at first, but as soon as Bryce hit the stage the anger left me and I realized I was just enjoying the music with a bunch of friends I never really knew I had.

Afterward, I went to the merch table and began chatting with the other people who were waiting in line. I was pleasantly surprised that no one was fighting to get to the front for autographs. I'll admit I was anxious to meet him. For one, I'd been listening to The Rocket Summer for over 4 years so I was excited to meet one of my heroes, but secondly, I had heard different stories about Bryce and his attitude while meeting fans.

Another surprise for the night: Bryce was extremely chill. He signed my vinyl record and responded with a simple but sincere "thank you" when I told him his music had impacted my life.


Which brings me to my first song review: "Japanese Exchange Student" by The Rocket Summer.
The song begins with a catchy beat and the words:


"I might as well be a Japanese exchange student/'Cause people wouldn't know me, right when I show up/But then the thrill wears off, and then I'm alone/until Beyonce rolls through town/and I think that I can call and score a ticket/When I can't."


Here, Bryce is understandably feeling hopeless. He's hiding behind the clever metaphor of being a Japanese exchange student to express that he feels like an outsider where he currently calls home. He could mean where he lives and records his music, but since he is on tour so much of the time, I would assume that he means in every city. The following lyrics continue to confirm my suspicions.


"Cause' I don't know her, like you don't know me/It's a lonely world when it's all that you see/It doesn't matter if I got a good heart in me/This gets lonely."


I've often felt like an outsider. To be honest, that's a lie. I've very, very often felt like an outsider, particularly in my high school and university. I felt like I didn't fit into any particular group or mold, so I made friends everywhere. But I was still lonely because I wasn't sure of my friends' motives. Did they actually like me, or did they just want something from me?


The chorus is repeated and in the next verse Beyonce' is replaced with Paul McCartney, indicating a stark contrast in Bryce's desires. What does he want out of his fame? Does he was to hang with Beyonce' and her crew or be remembered as one of the greatest songwriters of our generation?


"Last year I got the cover/my phone wouldn't stop ringing and ringing./They called in on my mother and that is saying something."


This is Bryce's expression of how when he finally achieved fame, he realized it is not what he really wanted. His mother was bothered and his phone rang to the point of annoyance. Who were his true friends? Who just wanted to know him now that he was famous?

"Well maybe it's been quiet, my phone just picks up dust."

In this line, Bryce expresses that he felt alone and dismayed because he didn't know who was his true friend and who wanted to just stay friends because he achieved the ultimate fame: getting on the cover of a magazine.

The rest of the song just hits the idea home:

"So, hey, be nice to the Japanese exchange students/'Cause people wouldn't know them/right when they show up/And they have found yourself in a similar place/Where you found you looked around and just saw loads of empty space/And you were thinking how you don't know them/like they don't know you./It's a lonely feeling after all that you do./Got a good heart, got a good soul/What must I do to prove it anymore?/I got friends in high and low places/and it's all the same to me./'Cause it's all about who you know/and not about if you really know anyone."

Bryce wants his fans and the people who have been ringing his phone repeatedly to know that he loves all of them, but just like everyone else, he is human. He can't answer 1,000 phone calls a day, just like you can't. He has a good soul, but in 10 minutes of talking to him, or even five or one, he can't prove that to you, just like you can't to him. The last line of this section is the blunt truth: if you're famous or receiving attention, people suddenly want to know you.

"I love the Japanese/I love the Japanese/those from Japan and overseas./I love the Japanese/do you love the Japanese?/Those from Japan and overseas/Those from Japan and overseas/like me."

Bryce all in all is offering encouragement to anyone hearing this song: treat everyone as you would like to be treated, and they will in turn eventually treat you in the same way.


A Bible verse to accompany this song would be Matthew 7:12.
"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets."