New Books in Popular Culture Marty Friedman with Jon Wiederhorn, "Dreaming Japanese" (Permuted Press, 2024)
Apr 3, 2026
Marty Friedman, multi-platinum recording artist and Japan-based Ambassador to Japan Heritage, reflects on his memoir Dreaming Japanese. He discusses writing with Jon Wiederhorn and turning musical phrasing into prose. Conversation ranges from J-pop’s roots and the appeal of “heta-uma” imperfect aesthetics to Japanese industry discipline, scandals, and his orchestral album Drama.
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Writing Mirrors Musical Phrasing
- Writing and music share phrasing: both craft 'phrases' to engage listeners and require choices about the best way to say something.
- Marty used his musical sense of phrasing to judge prose interest and keep the memoir conversational and musical.
Visibility Often Trumps Quality
- Promotion and luck determine whether great work is discovered, regardless of quality.
- Marty says even his best albums can fail if promotion doesn't make people aware they exist, and knowing existence is his primary goal.
Rick Beato Taught Marty J-Pop Harmony
- Rick Beato taught Marty the jazz-based harmonic tools behind Hirose Komi and other J-pop, filling gaps in his theory knowledge.
- That instruction let Marty play and write J-pop idioms he'd previously found mysterious.
