勝手にしやがれ

Kenji Sawada's "Do As You Please" is a masterclass in deploying cultural signifiers to maximum theatrical effect — the arrangement opens with a brash funk guitar riff before Sawada arrives like someone who has just stepped off a film set from a French New Wave picture, all studied nonchalance and knowing cool. The production draws on the same well as Western glam rock without simply imitating it: there's a distinctly Japanese theatricality in how Sawada handles the dynamics, sudden drops to whispered intimacy followed by full-voiced declarations that seem aimed at an imaginary spotlight. His voice has an unusual quality, capable of sounding simultaneously vulnerable and dismissive, which suits a lyric that performs indifference over genuine hurt. The horn arrangement carries swagger, the rhythm section locks with the precision of session players who know they're making something worth preserving, and the whole production crackles with the energy of an artist at the height of commercial and artistic convergence. The song became one of his signature works precisely because it captures the persona he had cultivated so completely — the beautiful, difficult man who leaves you no choice but to do exactly as the title says.