Hidemi Ishikawa -- Kanashimi no Blizzard（哀しみのブリザード）

 

Well, along with the bear incursions, the weather was becoming rather belligerent throughout Japan last week with some very intense rainstorms and hail coming down like meteorites in a sci-fi flick. Some of the footage looked as if a blizzard had suddenly blanketed entire regions.

And with that segue, I give you "Kanashimi no Blizzard" (Blizzard of Sorrow) which was the third single by 80s aidoru Hidemi Ishikawa（石川秀美）from October 1982. The setting is actually a hot summer seaside but young Hidemi's heart is filled with a raging snowstorm after suffering a major breakup with a guy. You can thank Kaoru Asagi（麻木かおる）for the lyrics.

I learned something interesting regarding Ishikawa's beginnings as an aidoru and perhaps this might have been true for many aidoru. Composer Yuuichiro Oda（小田裕一郎）was responsible for Ishikawa's first four singles including the No. 29-ranking "Kanashimi no Blizzard", and apparently, he got the first three done even before the lass made her debut in early 1982. In fact, there were discussions on which of the three would become Single No. 1: a song with a refreshing melody, one with a sentimental atmosphere and one more with a so-called London sound. 

Well, the refreshing one "Yousei Jidai"（妖精時代...Fairy Age） became the debut single (I'll have to cover that one soon enough), the sentimental one "Yu-re-te Shonan"（ゆ・れ・て湘南）was the follow-up, and then that London sound ended up as "Kanashimi no Blizzard" (although Oda had preferred Single No. 3 as Single No. 1). I guess that London sound was represented by the (possibly synth) horns although first listening to the song, I would never have guessed it being influenced by swinging London. Overall though "Kanashimi no Blizzard" is quite the peppy and distinct tune with some quick key changes and though Ishikawa's delivery is very "aidoru", it's still quite the fun thing to listen to. In fact, I think it has a kissing cousin in the form of Ginji Ito's（伊藤銀次）"Cherry Night" even though that song wouldn't come out until 1986. By the way, Makoto Yano（矢野誠）provided the arrangement. 

Kyoko Yoshizawa -- Ame Agari no Koi（雨あがりの恋）

 

Commenter YMOfan04 had a brief exchange on an actress-singer that I hadn't covered in several years, Kyoko Yoshizawa（吉沢京子）. And that was enough for me to take a look at my friend's suggestion.

It just so happens that her "Ame Agari no Koi" (Love After the Rain) was the B-side to her August 1970 sophomore single "Suttobe Seishun"（すっ跳べ青春）which was my first article on the Tokyo native. While the A-side is a pretty intrepid kayo march, "Ame Agari no Koi" not surprisingly takes the opposite tack of being a lovelorn ballad supported by that popular combination of flute and violins. Written by Tokiko Iwatani（岩谷時子）, composed by Taro Morimoto（森本太郎）and arranged by Makoto Kawaguchi（川口真）, it's about as sighworthy as one can get for a lass going through the falling-in-love blues.

Hiroshi Miyagawa -- Teresa no Tameiki（テレサのためいき）

 

Going back to my youth, I remember those over-and-over reruns of "Uchuu Senkan Yamato"（宇宙戦艦ヤマト...Space Cruiser Yamato）, aka "Star Blazers" outside of Japan, with the original seasons of the Iscandar mission and the Comet Empire saga. That penultimate episode of the latter season when it looked like the evil Prince Zoldar and his empire finally crumbled only to reveal a Super Star Destroyer filled with absolute revenge arguably represented one of the greatest anime cliffhangers.

Of course, sticking with the "Star Blazers" line, the finale had to wrap up some loose threads along with the main one involving the Comet Empire. What happens to the crew of the Argo and what of helmsman Mark Venture who supposedly gave up his life in defense of the ship a few episodes earlier? And what of Trelaina of Telazart, the sylph-like whistleblower who began the entire story and ended up falling for Mark?

Well, in the original "Yamato" series, Trelaina was actually named Teresa which I guess sounded exotic enough for Japanese viewers (although the late singer Teresa Teng was already well-known in Japan), although folks in North America must have wondered whether if the lass had sisters named Mabel and Connie. Anyways, along with the iconic Comet Empire theme done by the legendary composer Hiroshi Miyagawa（宮川泰）, another constant musical piece in the second season was Teresa's own theme titled "Teresa no Tameiki" (Teresa's Sighs). 

The song as I remember it was a sad and lonely one for Teresa and even her relationship with Mark was all too brief before she seemingly had to make the ultimate sacrifice for Earth. On Christmas Day 1978, Miyagawa released a concept album connected with "Yamato" titled "Fumetsu no Uchuu Senkan Yamato: New Disco Arrange"（不滅の宇宙戦艦ヤマト ニュー・ディスコ・アレンジ...The Indestructible Space Cruiser Yamato: New Disco Arrangement） where some of those familiar tracks from the series received some more syncopated oomph. I don't think the treatment given to "Teresa no Tameiki" is particularly disco but it's more of a mild City Pop thing with some of that haunting voice which was common to a fair number of Miyagawa pieces in anime. Had to laugh a little at the name of the group performing the tracks: Yamato Discotheque Orchestra.

Hi-Fi Set -- Mabushii Anata（まぶしい貴方）

 

For my fifth and final song for Friday, I'd been thinking of putting up that NHK theme song for the World Cup coverage that's been playing for months during the nightly sports segment, but the closest I could get was a mere TikTok excerpt. So, let's return to City Pop!

And we're going back to February 1977 when vocal trio Hi-Fi Set（ハイ・ファイ・セット）released "Love Connection" which would end up as the No. 1 album of the year. A little less than a month ago, I posted one track "Crystal Night"（クリスタル･ナイト）which had all sorts of elements of rock, disco, country and New Music. Usually, I would wait the entire month before putting in the same singer or group onto the blog.

However, I can break and bend the rules for Hi-Fi Set, especially with a No. 1 album. And with this other track from "Love Connection", it's worth it. "Mabushii Anata" which can be translated into "You Are Dazzling" (although one other YouTube video with the same song has it as "Putting It Down To The Way I Feel About You") isn't nearly as chock-filled with genre influences as its track mate "Crystal Night", but it's a straight-on nighttime breezy City Pop tune of the 1970s that would make for a pleasant drinking companion on a patio in some bar. I especially love those strings and the usual polished Hi-Fi Set harmonies.

Mieko Arima（有馬三恵子）and Kazue Ohashi（大橋一枝）provided the Japanese lyrics for the song which was composed by Ken Gold and Michael Denne with Ichizo Seo（瀬尾一三）providing the relaxing arrangement. I was curious about the composers...were they truly from America or elsewhere or were the names merely pseudonyms for coy Japanese songwriters? Well, as it turned out, after a bit of investigation, I found out that Gold and Denne were indeed bona fide songwriters who had created a song titled "You to Me Are Everything" for the British soul group The Real Thing in 1976. There's some similarity in the first verse when comparing this one to Hi-Fi Set's "Mabushii Anata" but in the end, they are different songs. Still, have a listen for comparison's sake.

Masayoshi Takanaka -- Breezin'

 

Indeed, it has been breezing here today and this is such a relief after the stifling heat and humidity from yesterday. Just kinda wish that I could get some of those breezes here in my room.

This brings me to my next article for today, Masayoshi Takanaka's（高中正義）cover of "Breezin'" from his November 1978 album "ON Guitar". When I was scrolling up and down Takanaka's J-Wiki file for the album, I couldn't find it in the usual place but then I did find it within his brief list of concept albums. "ON Guitar" was Takanaka's instructional album about how to play the guitar (I can only imagine just from hearing "Breezin'" that this is more for the advanced students). Considering how popular the musician has become recently via X/Twitter, perhaps he should consider re-releasing the concept stuff.

Anyways, as I said above, Takanaka is covering "Breezin'" which was originally created by American singer and musician Bobby Womack and then recorded by Hungarian jazz guitarist Gábor Szabó for the latter's 1971 album "High Contrast". Compared to the original, Takanaka wanted to add a bit more of a festival atmosphere to his version. Definitely good for the beach set.

For the album, Yellow Magic Orchestra's drummer Yukihiro Takahashi（高橋幸宏）and bassist Haruomi Hosono（細野晴臣）helped as part of the backup band. Interestingly enough, "ON Guitar" was released on the same day as YMO's debut album.

Toshinobu Kubota -- Dance If You Want It

 

Haven't seen J-funkster Toshinobu Kubota（久保田利伸）for a while. Hope he's doing fine wherever he is. From time to time, I come across an old song and I react "Why hadn't I written about this one before? I've known it for ages!". It seems like the windmills of my mind have had some rips in the vanes recently.

Anyways, with Kubota, I rediscovered "Dance If You Want It". I remember hearing and listening to it all the way back in my university days and then during my stint on the JET Programme in the 1980s going into the 1990s. It's got quite the funky strut but I'm wondering if this would fall under the New Jack Swing category as well (I'll be waiting for opinions). Written by Kubota and Masumi Kawamura（川村真澄） with the former also handling the melody, it was the lead track on his September 1988 3rd album "Such a Funky Thang!" (and he looks terrifyingly happy on the cover) and apparently it was so catchy that a few months later, the song got its own mini-album or maxi-single treatment which hit No. 2.

Spinning Plums -- Monochrome Syndrome

 

Always enjoy new discoveries. Spinning Plums is a new band to me that I discovered only a few weeks ago. They don't seem to have their own website outside of an Instagram account but I managed to find an introduction regarding Teruko, Kishin, Oshu, Daniel and Saishin:

Spinning Plums is a five-member band based in Tokyo. Their music blends the essence of 1990s-2000s indie rock with rich guitar-driven sounds, complemented by the clarity of synthesizers and the harmony of twin vocals. The bass and drums, rooted in funk and soul, create a pop-infused, dynamic ensemble. Each member brings a unique background, harmonizing their individuality to shape their distinctive sound. With a strong focus on live performances, they continue to actively refine their craft. Pushing beyond genre boundaries, they aim to deliver fresh musical experiences and expand their creative reach.

--Tunecore

Spinning Plums, a five-piece band from Tokyo, Japan, craft gentle yet powerful walls of noise infused with indie pop and city pop shimmer, led by intertwined male–female twin vocals. Drawing from post-2000s indie rock and shoegaze influences while grounded in reggae- and funk-rooted rhythms, the band has steadily gained attention in Japan and overseas, including an appearance at the 2024 Ringo Music Festival.

--Gerpfast Records

I'm listening to one of their tracks, "Monochrome Syndrome" from their latest EP this year, "Spinning Hours" (although it's gotten its own single release, too). With lyrics by vocalist Teruko and melody by the entire band, the song is rather esoteric, to say the least, as a girl seems to be wrestling existentially with her past and present now that those two selves are quite different now. For a shoegaze tune, it's quite the upbeat and happy ditty that starts out with what sounds like a toy piano infused with the soul of Tom Waits. No one's really looking down at the floor here; it's more gazing at the shiny metal towers around them.