Miyako Chaki -- Anata wa Nani wo（あなたは何を）

 

There are a couple of reasons that I'm putting up this song by singer-songwriter Miyako Chaki（茶木みやこ）. One is that the last time I posted about her was back in October 2020 for her atmospheric "Maboroshi no Hito"（幻の人）. The other is that just a few days ago, underneath the article for that song, I had a nice conversation via the comments with a filmmaker and actor by the name of Tony Savo who had just completed a short sci-fi film titled "Shape of Things to Come". He actually used "Maboroshi no Hito" as the ending theme since the song rather fit nicely into what the story was all about. But if you're interested in taking a look, you can just go over to the article via the link and scroll down to the comments for his link to the movie.

Meanwhile, let's take a look at Chaki's "Anata wa Nani wo" (What Are You Doing?) which was the B-side to her March 1978 single "Azami no Gotoku Toge Areba"（あざみの如く棘あれば）. Written by Yu Aku（阿久悠）and composed by the singer, it's a bit of a potpourri of relaxing pop reminiscent of Gilbert O'Sullivan, some Asian influence and a bluesy saxophone. Compared with "Maboroshi no Hito", "Anata wa Nani wo" does feel lighter and more optimistic.

Isao Sasaki -- G.I. Blues

 

I wasn't around when Elvis Presley had been enjoying his first several years of fame and fortune before he was drafted by Uncle Sam into the army. Can only imagine how many women screamed in despair at their idol becoming a military man, but he didn't do too badly at all. "G.I. Blues" the 1960 movie was one result.

I remember Isao Sasaki（ささきいさお）mostly for his grand contributions to anison for epics such as "Uchuu Senkan Yamato"（宇宙戦艦ヤマト）, so it was with some surprise years later that when the Tokyo native had first started out, he was all about his rockabilly, and as much as I have dubbed the lyricist to "Yamato", the legendary Yu Aku（阿久悠）, as the Irving Berlin of kayo kyoku, Sasaki was once given the nickname of the Japanese Elvis Presley.

Case in point: one of his earliest singles was his cover of "G.I. Blues" which came out in 1961. He doesn't do too badly and he actually does sound like Elvis if he had been fluent in Japanese. Let's try to imagine Elvis singing "Star Blazers". Unfortunately, I couldn't track down who came up with the Japanese lyrics.

Mari Sono/Mie Sono/Yukari Ito -- Kiichatta! Utacchata! Naichatta!（聞いちゃった！歌っちゃった！泣いちゃった！）

 

It was probably one of the few times that "Uta Con"（うたコン）showed an episode tonight which didn't have a particular theme for the first fifteen minutes or so. However, one highlight was seeing 60s aidoru Yukari Ito（伊東ゆかり）and Mie Nakao（中尾ミエ）appear. Those two and Mari Sono（園まり）had formed one of the earliest kayo kyoku Gosanke（御三家）, the Spark Sannin Musume（スパーク3人娘）, in that decade. And unfortunately, the reason that Sono herself didn't show up with her former comrades is that the singer had passed away on July 26th this year at the age of 80 from heart failure.

The Spark Sannin Musume were scheduled to do a medley of their hits. However, a clumsy scene cut and the one performance of "Aitakute, Aitakute"（逢いたくて逢いたくて）by the remaining members tonight and Sono herself via vintage footage made it pretty clear that Jme had to cut out the rest of the medley in the high likelihood that those songs were Japanese covers of American hit tunes (due to the usual copyright issues). A lot of pop singers back then were doing those as much as they were doing original Japanese kayo.

Well, for my own tribute to Sono, I've decided to feature her January 1964 single "Kiichatta! Utacchata! Naichatta!" (I Heard It! I Sang It! I Cried to It!). It's an original Japanese tune done in a doo-wop rock n' roll style with Hiroshi Miyagawa（宮川泰）handling the music while Kazumi Yasui（安井かずみ）took care of the lyrics. It's pretty darn slick enough so that perhaps even fans of the old American pop from the 50s and 60s might wonder if it had been a cover of something by Connie Francis.

Sono may have had the A-side but both Nakao and Ito also sang the song as B-sides to their own January 1964 singles,  "Onna no Ko damon"（おんなのこだもん...Cause I'm a Girl） for Nakao (above) and "Uta wo Oshiete"（歌をおしえて...Teach Me a Song） for Ito (below), with fairly different arrangements.

My belated condolences to Sono's family, friends and fans...and also to her Gosanke mates, Ito and Nakao.

Just for Fun...The J-C AI Gallery -- Songs from the 32nd Edition of the Kohaku Utagassen (1981)

 

Just for fun...and for the fact that I have just completed posting the lineup (for now) for the 75th edition of NHK's Kohaku Utagassen, I thought that this particular entry for the AI Gallery can include a few songs from the very first Kohaku that I got to watch as a teenager, the 32nd edition on New Year's Eve 1981. Enjoy!

Toshiyuki Nishida -- Moshimo Piano ga Hiketanara（もしもピアノが弾けたなら）

Naoko Kawai -- Smile for Me（スマイル・フォー・ミー）

Junko Sakurada -- This Is A "Boogie"

Hiromi Go -- Oyome Samba （お嫁サンバ）

The 75th NHK Kohaku Utagassen Lineup for December 31st 2024（第75回NHK紅白歌合戦）

 

I figured that since we've passed the midway mark of November, it would be time for the lineup announcement for the Red and White teams for this year's edition of NHK's annual Kohaku Utagassen. And sure enough, just before I went to bed last night, the lineup had come out. By the way, the Kohaku will be televised from 7:20 pm JST on December 31st at NHK Hall in Shibuya, Tokyo.

Red Team

Aiko (15th appearance)

Aimyon (6)

Illit (1)

Sayuri Ishikawa (47)

Iruka (2)

HY (3)

Fuyumi Sakamoto (36)

Sakurazaka 46 (4)

Ringo Shiina (9)

Superfly (8)

Mariko Takahashi (6)

tuki. (1)

Yoshimi Tendo (29)

Twice (5)

Nogizaka 46 (10)

Me:I (1)

Misia (9)

Kaori Mizumori (22)

Ryokuoushoku Shakai (3)

Le Sserafim (3)

White Team

Omoinotake (1)

Creepy Nuts (1)

GLAY (4)

Hiromi Go (37)

Kocchi no Kento (1)

The Alfee (2)

JO1 (3)

Junretsu (7)

Da-iCE (1)

Together x Together (1)

Number_i (1)

Leon Niihama (1)

Be:First (2)

Masaharu Fukuyama (17)

Fujii Kaze (3)

Gen Hoshino (10)

Mrs. Green Apple (2)

Minami Kosetsu (6)

Hiroshi Miyama (10)

Keisuke Yamauchi (10)

Special Guest -- Kiyoshi Hiyama (24)

Your congenial hosts will be comedian Hiroiki Ariyoshi（有吉弘行）, actress Kanna Hashimoto（橋本環奈）, actress Sairi Ito（伊藤沙莉）and NHK announcer Naoko Suzuki（鈴木奈穂子）.

Some thoughts from me:

1) I kinda figured that either or both Creepy Nuts and Kocchi no Kento（こっちのけんと）would be showing up because of their catchy songs and dances. We might get everyone in NHK Hall participating during their performances. Not sure if the liniment or Salon-Pas will be available, though.

2) I had read a few days ago from the not-most-reliable source in Japan that no act associated with SMILE-UP (formerly Johnny's Entertainment) would be appearing on the Kohaku for the second year in a row, but it has now been confirmed. However, Number_i consists of three former members of King and Prince though this group is now under the TOBE Music label.

3) Mariko Takahashi（高橋真梨子）, Minami Kosetsu（南こうせつ）, The Alfee and Iruka（イルカ）are returning which warms my old kayo kyoku heart. Almost all of them have roots in folk music so will we be getting some of their 1970s material? The Alfee is appearing for just their second time on the Kohaku; the first time they appeared was on the 34th edition back in 1983 which was one of the earliest times that I ever watched the show. Maybe they'll take another swing at "MARIE-ANNE".

4) Of course, there will be the panel of celebrity judges. Will baseball phenom Shohei Ohtani（大谷翔平）be one of them?

What everyone will be singing probably won't be announced until December. And as has often been the case, there will be changes in the lineup through additions most likely. Any announcements on these changes will be posted below over the coming days and weeks leading up to New Year's Eve. You can also take a look at the Wikipedia article on No. 75.

Ami Ozaki -- Taiyo no Hitorigoto（太陽のひとりごと）

 

Seeing that my last article's song had some bossa nova interwoven into its tapestry. why not go for a bigger dose of the Brazilian genre today?

Ami Ozaki's（尾崎亜美）2nd original album, "Mind Drops", from June 1977 has given me an impression that it is one of the major releases within that gelatinous region of New Music and City Pop, so perhaps I should give the entire album its own article someday. However, in the meantime, I'll stick with the first track on "Mind Drops", the calm blue ocean of "Taiyo no Hitorigoto" (Soliloquy of the Sun) which was written and composed by the singer.

The arrangement by Masataka Matsutoya（松任谷正隆）takes us into cocktail-sipping bossa nova territory although the opening scat of "dabba dabba da..." has me thinking of good ol' kayo kyoku as well. But it isn't Yuming's（ユーミン）husband helping out with the duet here. It's actually Sumio Akutagawa（芥川澄夫）behind the mike. At the time, he was a director at Toshiba EMI and had once been a guitarist for the folk group Toi et Moi（トワ・エ・モワ）earlier in the decade. 

Speaking of "Mind Drops", you can also take a gander at another track from the album, "Hatsukoi no Toori Ame"（初恋の通り雨）.

Towa Tei -- Technova

 

It was exactly a couple of months ago that I posted about Towa Tei's "GBI (German Bold Italic)" from 1997 and its fairly outré music video featuring Kylie Minogue. I would say that Tei's earlier creation "Technova" from his October 1994 debut album "Future Listening!" also has its own bizarre elements in the music video as well including a cute self-parody of how Tei has enjoyed putting up that thinking pose.

Generally though, the song itself is pretty chill although assuming that "Technova" is a Tei-created portmanteau of techno and bossa nova, I'd have to disagree with him slightly since I think it's more dance club-friendly Shibuya-kei mixed with the bossa nova. It's just that Shibunova isn't quite as neat and concise-sounding. In any case, "Technova" was released as a single as well later in March 1995 since it was also used in a commercial for the apparel company Onward. Vocal contribution to "Technova" was provided by Bebel Gilberto, the Brazilian pop singer who is also the daughter of the pioneer of bossa nova João Gilberto.

Below is one of several remixes of the song.