Countdown TV

I’d catch these Japanese countdown shows late at night, flipping through channels, and suddenly forty-five minutes have gone by and I’m waiting to find out what’s actually number one. There’s something stupidly effective about the format—the suspense, the performances, idols looking like they were designed in a computer somewhere, the glittery set that’s been the same since maybe 2010. You don’t need to know the songs to get hooked by the structure itself, the way they drag it out, the climax they’re building toward. Once you start watching, you’re committed to seeing it through. It’s probably the most efficient music delivery system ever invented.