I've been a fan of Japanese popular music for 40 years, and have managed to collect a lot of material during that time. So I decided I wanted to talk about Showa Era music with like-minded fans. My particular era is the 70s and 80s (thus the "kayo kyoku"). The plus part includes a number of songs and artists from the last 30 years and also the early kayo. So, let's talk about New Music, aidoru, City Pop and enka.
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, September 2, 2024
Asia -- Heat of the Moment
Since it is a national holiday today here, it's time for a special Reminiscings of Youth article.
Back in mid-August, I posted that Misato Watanabe（渡辺美里）article regarding her debut single in 1985 which consisted of a couple of cover versions of Western hits, one of them being Asia's "Don't Cry". I also mentioned that I barely remember that one by the progressive rock supergroup. However, what I greatly remember from this conglomeration of members from King Crimson, Yes, and Emerson, Lake & Palmer is their April 1982 debut single (in the United States), "Heat of the Moment".
Not only was it one of the relatively few rock songs of the 1980s that I have truly cherished, but the music video of tic-tac-toe squares flashing different scenes in a relationship and the band actually performing is also one of the most memorable. Just from that video, I figured that "Heat of the Moment" deserved to be used in some thriller movie or police procedural scene...especially with that searing electric guitar intro.
Mind you, it did get its moments in "Supernatural" and "South Park".
And as a special guest cameo, here is heavy metal band Seikima II（聖飢魔II）giving their own fine take on the song. "Heat of the Moment" reached No. 4 on the Canadian and American charts. This became the calling card for Asia which is a bit of ironic considering that the band's label Geffen had asked them for just one more song for their first album, and the guys quickly came up with "Heat of the Moment" in the heat of the moment within an afternoon. On the song's Wikipedia article, it was also mentioned that synthesizer bridge was reinforced with the plucks of a koto for that Japanese connection. That bridge was used as background music for a local lunchtime news hour when it was time to go to commercial.
So, what other projects in Japan were released in April 1982?
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