Shinkansen Shinkansen The , meaning "new trunkline," but colloquially known in English as the bullet train, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan. Initially, it was built to connect distant Japanese regions with Tokyo, the capital, in order to aid economic growth and development. Beyond long-distance travel, some sections around the largest metropolitan areas are used as a commuter rail network. It is operated by five Japan Railways Group companies. Starting with the Tōkaidō Shinkansen () in 1964, the network has expanded to currently consist of of lines with maximum speeds of , of Mini-Shinkansen lines with a maximum
What Is Life song offers "little overall coherence between words and music". In a 2010 poll to find the "10 Best George Harrison Songs", AOL Radio listeners voted "What Is Life" third behind "My Sweet Lord" and "Blow Away". A similar list by Michael Galluci of Ultimate Classic Rock placed it second (behind "My Sweet Lord"), as Galluci wrote of the track having "a giant pop hook as its guide" as well as "the catchiest chorus Harrison ever penned".<ref name="Gallucci/UCR">Michael Gallucci, "Top 10 George Harrison Songs", Ultimate Classic Rock (retrieved 28 March 2014).</ref> In 2009, Matt Melis of Consequence of Sound listed it