Shonen Knife
Japanese sisters Atsuko Yamano (b. 22 February c.1960, Osaka, Japan) and Naoko Yamano (b. 18 December c.1961, Osaka, Japan) with Michie Nakatani (b. 8 October c.1961, Osaka, Japan) play buzzsaw, distinctly Ramones-derived, pop. Shonen Knife means Boy Knife, the brand name of a small Japanese pocket knife. They formed in December 1981, their sporadic recording career starting in Osaka before relocating to the West Coast of America. There they came to the attention of US punk pop fans in general, and Nirvana in particular. The latter took them under their wing with support slots, which brought them international recognition. However, they had long been a cult delicacy in American punk circles, made evident when 30 bands each contributed to an album's worth of covers of Shonen Knife songs ( EVERY BAND HAS A SHONEN KNIFE WHO LOVES THEM). Although their charm may be limited in the long-term, a suitable epitaph for their appeal comes from Nirvana's Kurt Cobain: ‘They play pop music, pop, pop, pop music’.