Takako Okamura -- Yume wo Akiramenaide （夢をあきらめないで）

Well, I just saw the penultimate episode of this season of "Doctor Who" (yes, I am a well-rounded geek, literally and figuratively), and though, I've found some of Steven Moffatt's episodes lacking, "World Enough and Time" definitely ramped up the suspense and horror and reminders of the old days. Those annoying trailers negated any delightful surprises but knowing Moffatt, he will sneak in some more wham shots and lines before the Twelfth Doctor takes his final bow this Xmas.

Anyways, I should finish off Saturday night with my other geeky love...Japanese popular music. Furthermore, it should be something light and peaceful to counteract all that sci-fi doom and gloom. And I've got just the singer and song.

The wonderful thing about singer-songwriter Takako Okamura（岡村孝子）is that I can never ever imagine her going into death metal or neo-punk. She will always provide material that is as light and puffy and happy as a PreCure fairy. I actually saw her for the first time in a very long time on last week's "Uta Kon"（うたコン）as she performed the song of this article in a hall in Aichi Prefecture, her home province. The lass looked downright nervous when she sang "Yume wo Akiramenaide" (Don't Give Up Your Dreams) but I found that quite adorable, actually.

This was Okamura's 5th single from February 1987. I haven't gone too deep into her works but I just knew that "Yume wo Akiramenaide" would be quite the tonic for a rainy day. Her high quivery vocals and those often-angelic keyboards certainly speak truth to power for the title as she sounds like a girlfriend gently encouraging her boyfriend to go farther. However her lyrics actually have the now ex-girlfriend wishing her former beau well and to continue going for his dreams as the two go off on their separate paths. So, it's definitely a pretty song but methinks that it probably wouldn't be played at a wedding reception in Tokyo.

"Yume wo Akiramenaide" only reached as high as No. 50 on Oricon but in the years since, it has become one of Okamura's signature songs. It was also placed on her 3rd album "liberté" released in July 1987 which peaked at No. 5.

Come to think of it, perhaps this song would be quite appropriate for the remaining episodes of this season of "Doctor Who" and Peter Capaldi's Doctor.