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.

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Miyuki Utsumi/Ryuko Mizuta -- Yopparachatta (酔っぱらっちゃった)


Aw man, last night, or should I say this morning, was one heck of a ride for yours truly and I doubt I'd forget it. After what seemed like an eternity of missed opportunities and disappointments on the part of some of my classmates, I was finally, as they would say, "steady" to head to a nightclub - as in, I was all for it. This caused much surprise and ecstasy in them as I'm usually one of the somewhat straight-laced or serious students in my cohort, so to get the chance to see me come out from my shell was like some sort of rarity. 

The night began with two handfuls of us having some drinks courtesy of a couple of those raring to go so as to loosen up before heading to Zouk (popular clubbing haunt for people my age), and by drinks I mean a cocktail of peach flavored Absolut Vodka and Sprite on the rocks. Thus far, it was the strongest alcoholic beverage that has entered my system, having an alcohol content of a burning 40%. It wasn't bad and was actually pretty good when not taken straight, but unfortunately that gave me the illusion that I could hold it up without much problem. By my second small plastic cup, I was giggling uncontrollably. By a few rounds of drinking games which I constantly lost, I was having trouble concentrating - took some sips from the third cup though. By the time we were to leave for Zouk, I was sloshed. It was my first time being so drunk and frankly it was quite frightening - jelly legs, blurry vision, and skyrocketing heart rate. Luckily the bunch of friends I was with were patient and understanding and waited for me to regain my composure; they even got me a bottle of water to get the alcohol out of my system. So eventually I was well enough to join them at the club, albeit being a little tipsy. Ah... After this experience I think I'll stay off the hard stuff for a while.



Continuing on the topic of drunkenness, the here's a song that involves being under the influence, "Yopparachatta", which basically means something like "I am/got drunk". Originally sung by Miyuki Utsumi (内海美幸), a singer who has dabbled in enka, folk and pop (kayokyoku?), I recall hearing it from time to time on "Kayo Concert" by a variety of enka guests. It's one jaunty and funky tune, and combined with Utsumi's delivery, it seems to represent someone in that alcohol high state either stumbling about the streets and chuckling at everything, or ready to indulge in more drinks. But as much as I would like to think that "Yopparachatta" mirrors part of my personal experience, I realise that it's not the case when the lyrics come in. From what I understand, the woman of interest here is trying to drink away her sorrow and forget about the fellow who was not meant to be. For me, I was just drinking for fun and to see how much I could take - still not very much though.

"Yopparachatta" was Utsumi's biggest and most well-known hit from 1982, selling around 300 000 copies. I suppose that's what happens when two renowned songwriters come together to put together a song - Kazuya Senke (千家和也) for the lyrics, Keisuke Hama (浜圭介) for the music. It's apparently a track that karaoke-goers love. I can see why though; picking up the karaoke mic after a few drinks, the fun-sounding "Yopparachatta" is the perfect choice.

As its one of those classic kayo (sounds like it), a number of singers have had their own renditions of "Yopparachatta", most notably Ryuko Mizuta (水田竜子) with her version being released in 2001. It's equally funky, but has a Latin flavour to it. I think I'm more a fan of the original.

(cover of the Mizuta version)

While recovering from my drunken stupor, I overheard a friend of mine sharing his first experience of being heavily intoxicated. The silliest thing was that he laughed at a bowl of noodles he was eating. What was your most memorable drinking experience?

blog.goo.ne.jp/redtail2733/e/2e22b434c0f45990dbe7922085b4e1c3

4 comments:

  1. Hi, Noelle.

    Your story was very funny, and I hope you're alright after drinking that much, haha.

    Personally, I can't share any stories about drinking, because I generally don't do it. Also, when I do drink, I enjoy vodka or liqueur, but I never drink enough to get drunk.

    As for the song, it was a nice surprise. I was expecting something more in line with enka, but the groovy kayo sound just caught me off-guard. Both versions are great, but I suppose I like Ryuko Mizuta's one better... probably because she's sexy and classy singing it on the video. Unfortunately, I couldn't find her original studio version online.

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  2. Hello Noelle.

    I hope that you didn't mention anything about a hangover meant that you were able to escape that one unfortunate consequence of drinking. But it's good to get out with the buddies for a drink, isn't it? Japan is probably one of the best places to do it as well.

    As for me, I was never much of a drinker either, and in fact, I only became able to drink beer, sake and cocktails because of my time in Japan. The first time I went barhopping was back in 1984 in my first year at university during Xmas when a bunch of us from Japanese class decided to have a year-end celebration. Simply put, I loaded myself on Creamsicles (cocktail) for the next few hours until reality started spinning by 3 am when we got to our last stop at a Chinese restaurant downtown. Then, the headaches and nausea started. My friend drove me home in absolute terror since he just got a new car and the interior was a nice cream colour...and there was a good chance that I was gonna spew something Technicolour. Miraculously, I held it in by the time I got home and collapsed into bed, not waking up until 2 pm the next afternoon. My mother had several words for me that day.

    I enjoyed both versions of "Yopparachatta" but I gotta go with the original by Utsumi because of the old-style arrangement. And that video was great as an accompaniment. Some wonderful pictures of Tokyo there.

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    Replies
    1. Hi J-Canuck and Marcos.

      Yup, I'm fine and somehow managed to escape the dreaded hangover. I wonder if its because of the amount of water I chugged and the instant porridge I fixed myself after the first 3 hours of sleep - I did begin to feel my head getting slightly uncomfortable. However, I did not manage to end the whole ordeal without upchucking my dinner and the alcohol... Combined with the vodka tasting like the ethanol used to disinfect the science labs after much drinking, and the surreal, unnerving experience getting very drunk, I think I have developed a temporary phobia of anything alcoholic.

      Thanks Marcos for the compliment; I thought it'd be amusing to share what I went through the night before. And J-Canuck, I can see why you'd down those creamsicles, but it's probably because of what else is in the cocktail that masks the vodka and makes one think it's alright to gulp down more than two - the Sprite did a good job there... Your poor friend though.

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    2. Yes...alcohol: thou art a tempting mistress!

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