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.

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

Kenji Sawada -- Menuki Douri no Roku-gatsu(目抜き通りの6月)


Leave it to Julie! In the 1980s, it seems that every song that I've heard by singer and bon vivant Kenji Sawada(沢田研二)has been quirky and catchy.


The same goes for this track from "Julie Song Calendar", Sawada's 19th original album released in March 1983. "Menuki Douri no Roku-gatsu" (A Fashionable Street in June) starts off with a riff which sounds like "Yankee Doodle Dandy" on acid before realizing that this is a high-energy Italian tune of intrigue created by Julie passed through a New Wave filter.

Mariya Takeuchi(竹内まりや)came up with the lyrics about the good life on a boulevard in an Italian metropolis, and the images reminded me of these Italian comedy-drama movies that always showed up on the local multicultural channel here in Toronto every Saturday night around midnight. Same level of energy, too.

"Julie Song Calendar" peaked at No. 5 on Oricon and until 1991, it had only been available as an audiotape release, making it rather difficult to purchase. But luckily since then, it's been sold on CD.

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