Credits

I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.

Monday, October 27, 2014

SDN48 with Mino Monta -- Kudokinagara Azabu Juuban (口説きながら麻布十番)

(karaoke version)


I confess that I’m not an avid Mood Kayo listener, but I just wanted to make a humble contribution to the genre here on the blog (thanks to J-Canuck, nikala and, now, Noelle Tham, this genre gets its share of love on KKP). As for my chosen song, it’s “Kudokinagara Azabu Juuban”, a collaboration between aidoru group SDN48, the now defunct mature and sexy AKB48’s sister group (in their theatre, the shows had an age limit of 18 or older), and the famous television presenter Mino Monta (みのもんた).

Released in December 2011, “Kudokinagara Azabu Juuban” was one of the farewell songs to SDN48. I remember seeing it live on Music Japan and feeling very intrigued by how this aidoru group, devoted mostly to edgy dance-pop songs, ended collaborating with high-spirited Mino-san in this Showa-styled Mood Kayo number.

About the song itself, it’s probably a cheap and funny joke to a real Mood Kayo fan, but I like it a lot. Sometimes I play the live performance where Mino and the girls are lip-synching to the song and, somehow, it just feels right to me. For me, the arrangement is where the songs shine, especially when I hear the dramatic and distorted guitars that are part of the song’s overall cabaret feeling.

Unfortunately, the full official video is not on YouTube, but here’s a small part of it.




“Kudokinagara Azabu Juuban” reached #3 on the Oricon charts, selling 69,885 copies. Lyrics were written by Yasushi Akimoto (秋元康), while music was composed by Takao Konishi (小西貴雄). As for the arrangement, it was done by Yuuichi “Masa” Nonaka (野中“まさ”雄一).

3 comments:

  1. Oh, Marcos, I quite like this one. I realize that there is a bit of the ol' tongue-in-cheek in there, but it's nice to see and hear the 21st-century aidoru try out some of the melodies from the 20th. Plus, comedy duo The Tunnels were doing much the same with enka/Mood Kayo back in the early 80s.

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    Replies
    1. It's nice to hear you liked it, J-Canuck. I also enjoy it, and mostly listen to it while on a bus. Nothing particular about it, but that's how it happens most of the time.

      About Tunnels, I remember them doing similar things in a couple of old 80s TV shows like The Best Ten or Yoru no Hit Studio. But being honest, I never really liked their vocals.

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  2. Here's the full PV: http://www.jpopsuki.tv/video/SDN48---Kudokinagara-Azabu-Juuban-duet-with-Mino-Monta/1344bc38ebf70cfead12e3bf947a00a8

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