Sumiko Yamagata -- Murasaki Iro no Kaze（むらさき色の風）

 

Singer-songwriter Sumiko Yamagata（やまがたすみこ）is someone that I got to know first from the pages of "Japanese City Pop" and then from her 1977 album "Flying". It was the album that signified the young folk singer's transition into something more adult contemporary.

However, I think the Tokyo native may have already been showing signs of trying out different genres as early as 1974 when she released her third album "Melodies Come From My Heart". It was still considered a folk LP but I think with her track "Murasaki Iro no Kaze" (Purple Wind), I've been getting different genres including folk. I could pick up on some blues guitar and a general feel of New Music. Yamagata was behind both words and music with the story of a woman standing in the midst of a stiff breeze as she tries to forget about that man who's now very much part of the past. There may be some lingering regret but as the last few notes hint, there is also hope around the corner.

Pizzicato Five -- Lover's Rock

 

Looks like in recent days, the YouTube movie reactor brigade has caught the "Austin Powers" trilogy, and apparently one of the most popular scenes happens to be the opening credits for the first movie "International Man of Mystery". And what's not to love? Austin is gaily dancing and running through the streets of Swinging 60s London while having an entire army of women chasing him down like a pack of wolves. He may be a contradiction in profession as the world's most famous spy but his mojo is never in doubt. Plus, it's all set to Quincy Jones' "Soul Bossa Nova".

Of course, seeing all this had me thinking about the one group and one genre which emulates the joyful style of that decade from long ago, and that would be Pizzicato Five（ピチカート・ファイヴ）and the whole Shibuya-kei thing. I've already posted a lot of the big songs by the Divine Miss Maki Nomiya（野宮真貴）and Yasuharu Konishi（小西泰治）such as "Tokyo wa Yoru no Shichi-ji" (東京は夜の七時）and "Baby Portable Rock".

But strangely enough, I never experienced the very first single where Nomiya made her presence known and that was "Lover's Rock", P5's 3rd single from May 1990 which came out about four-and-a-half years following their previous single in 1986. It's an interesting song for not only the fact that the above version is an extended mix which lasts over ten minutes, but with Nomiya making a surprisingly demure debut here, original P5 member Keitaro Takanami（高浪慶太郎）seems to be showing the young lady the ropes and easing her into the cold pool gingerly through both sets of vocals. "Lover's Rock" has that P5 touch but also has that "slowly slowly" approach with none of the usual brash panache that Nomiya would soon show via sound spectacular and music video.

Spoozys -- Plastic Planet

 

I noticed that I hadn't enriched the Spoozys file since I posted their 2003 "So Human" onto KKP. Too bad since the song is pretty catchy. Must rectify.

Well, I found this earlier single by guitarist and songwriter Jun Matsue（松江潤）and company titled "Plastic Planet" from June 1999 which may have been the band's debut outing. Lots of anarchic raucousness to be enjoyed here and for music lovers of a certain generation, and that includes me, this brand of bloopy synths and slightly growly surf guitars had me thinking the New Wave band Plastics and the other techno rock outfit POLYSICS. The verses even reminded me a bit of "Nice Age" by Yellow Magic Orchestra. The single also got onto Spoozys' debut album "Astro 99" which was released later in October that year.

J-Canuck's Canadian Tourist Destinations in Winter

 

Just for the record, the above YouTube video comes from the channel Going Awesome Places with Will Tang and he's showing off some of the wonderful things to do in Alberta's Banff and Lake Louise, a place that I got to visit all the way back in 1990.

I mentioned in a recent Xmas-based article on KKP that not all Canadians want to celebrate the Holidays in their own country. Perhaps it's something about the fact that walking daily in a winter wonderland with the temperature at a slightly cool -280 degrees and the winds coming in at a breezy Mach 2 might not be the most enjoyable environment. 🧊🥶 

I know that folks do like to head down south for days, weeks and even months at a time but I wanted to sate my curiosity about where Canadians like to go during winter once and for all. And I was surprised to find out that at least some of my fellow countrymen do like to keep things within the Great White North while others do desire something more tropical. As such, possessing that whimsical nature which often powers my Author's Picks, I've come up with five destinations while providing the appropriate songs to accompany them.

(1967) Jackey Yoshikawa and His Blue Comets -- Blue Chateau（ブルー・シャトウ）

(1967) Yukio Hashi -- Koi no Mexican Rock （恋のメキシカン・ロック）

(1981) Akira Terao -- Habana Express

(1983) Hiromi Iwasaki -- Niagara

(1983) Seiko Matsuda -- Miami Gozen Go-ji （マイアミ午前5時）

Chiaki Watanabe -- Purple Memory（パープル・メモリー）

 

Almost six years ago, I posted an article regarding aidoru Chiaki Watanabe（渡辺千秋）and her debut single "Natsu ni Refresh"（夏にリフレッシュ）from April 1984. It was notable in that the composer was the tough-as-nails folk-rock singer Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi（長渕剛）although the song was the typical teenybopper tune with some AOR feeling.

Well, this is her sophomore outing, "Purple Memory" which came out in September that year. I'd probably say that this is a more conventional aidoru tune with an enjoyably jangly melody by Kisaburo Suzuki（鈴木キサブロー）and arrangement by Kazuo Otani（大谷和夫）with some of those early 1980s shimmering strings. The lyrics were provided by Etsuko Kisugi（来生えつこ）. 

The song was used for a candy commercial by House Foods. I mentioned in the previous Watanabe post that once she had finished her showbiz career, she got married and returned to her native Yamaguchi Prefecture in 1993. Well, since then, she took over the management of the family restaurant in her hometown of Nagato, finally earned her high school diploma through correspondence, and then in April 2021, she was elected as a city council executive.

bridge -- christmas jam

 

I have heard of egg nog, hot buttered rum and After Eights as seasonal favourites but I have to admit that Christmas jam is a new thing for me.

And this "christmas jam" is a new thing for me as well. The band bridge is a group that I've known for only the past couple of years and they've struck me as this somewhat Shibuya-kei and indies pop unit that lasted between 1989 and 1995 with a brief reappearance in 2017. They came up with "christmas jam" for a compilation album of Xmas songs titled "The World in Winter" which was released in 1999. I couldn't find any sign of the song on any of bridge's past singles or albums, so I can only assume that vocalist Mami Otomo（大友真美）and the gang got back together for this one tune.

It's quite the jingly tune as well. I don't think that there is much in the way of the usual Shibuya-kei, but there is quite a lot of indies pop-rock feeling along the lines of Go-Bang's. And I also couldn't help but feel there is a similarity between "christmas jam" and Princess Princess' big hit "Diamonds".

Miho Nakayama -- Arukinasai!（あるきなさい。）

 

There is a sad but grateful anniversary today in the Japanese music world. It was a year ago today that singer-actress Miho Nakayama（中山美穂）passed away at the age of 54, and I'm sure that many of her fans have been paying some tribute to the former 80s aidoru-turned-pop diva. They may be listening to her discography or watching her movies and TV shows. Hers was an untimely departure but she left us a grand number of singles and albums stretching for a few decades.

From me, I've decided to post an article about Miporin and one of her more obscure songs. I've written about her single and title track "Mellow" from her 1992 album. Well, this is the second track following that title track which starts it all off, "Arukinasai!" (Walk, Dammit!).

Written by Nakayama without going to her songwriting pseudonym of Issaku（一咲）and composed by Yusuke Asada（浅田祐介）, this is a rather weirdly put-together mash of a few genres and perhaps befitting of its lyrical and overall tone. Miporin's story seems to revolve around a flighty and footloose-and-fancy-free woman who might annoy the heck out of everyone around her, so perhaps the title is their collective admonition to her. At the same time, it could also be the lady's own inner voice to get out there and see the world. Melodically, it's a pop song grafted with some R&B dance elements and a spaced-out middle. Even the singer happily gets into the funk with her delivery.