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.
I see that those marathons are still taking place at the Metro Zoo in Toronto. Over forty years ago, I actually ran a couple of those in successive years as a high school student. Yes, it's hard to believe, but I, J-Canuck, did something healthy by training and then running what was actually half-marathons. Those were still enough to nearly kill me.
Jogging was starting to become a thing sometime in the mid to late 1970s as I recall, and I guess that may have also been true in Japan according to this song by Yuko Kawamura（川村ゆうこ）. Compared to her cool and refreshing debut single"Kaze ni Naritai"（風になりたい）from April 1976, her second single "Kodoku na Runner"(Lonely Runner) which was released later in September is a bit more jaunty as if the song itself were on its own jog in the countryside. In terms of tempo, I'd probably put it above a languid folk tune but not quite at the same level as an upbeat aidoru song. Kawamura is a songwriter but this time, "Kodoku na Runner" was handled by lyricist Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）, composer Katsuo Ono（大野克夫）and arranger Mitsuo Hagita（萩田光雄）. Her first two singles were placed onto her debut album, released in November, "Konna ni Sora ga Aokute wa"（こんなに空が青くては...For the Sky to Be This Blue）.
Considering that I've become a lapsed Trekkie in recent years, I completely forgot that tomorrow will be 60 years to the day since the very first "Star Trek" episode was televised on NBC.
It was the episode "Man Trap" that started the whole ball rolling on September 8th 1966...in America. But the crazy thing I found out very recently was that Canada had actually cut to the chase by broadcasting "Man Trap" two days earlier on September 6th on CTV at 7:30 pm. That's a little early in the evening to be showing a man-killing salt vampire but hey, maybe Gene Roddenberry was feeling a bit daring.
It is a holiday Monday so it is time for a special Reminiscings of Youth but several years previously, I already posted an article on Alexander Courage'soriginal theme for "Star Trek" so I was kinda knocking my head about what I could do to pay further tribute to the series. And then, an idea struck me.💡
On September 15th 1967, the second season began with "Amok Time", the episode where we first got a taste of Mr. Spock's culture including the ultimate example of Vulcan randiness, pon farr. It all climaxes (sorry, pun intended...haha) with a battle to the death between Spock and Captain Kirk. I always love a good battle with a lirpa and an ahn-woon.
Also, accompanying the fight was composer Gerald Fried's music that may rival Courage's theme as the most recognized piece of music from "Star Trek" even for non-Trekkies. Titled officially as "The Ritual/Ancient Battle/2nd Kroykah", I'd just like to call it the "Star Trek" fight music. It kinda has that atmosphere of gladiator games and no-holds-barred hand-to-hand combat with the dissonant horns and rapid-fire percussion. No wonder it was used for a lot of other fight scenes in the show since.
I gained quite the smile when I heard the fight music being used again on one episode of the current series "Strange New Worlds" a few seasons ago.
Gerald Fried (February 13, 1928 – February 17, 2023) was a composer and conductor who created scores for many TV shows and movies from the 1950s to the 2010s, and I read on his Wikipedia file, he provided music for the original "Mission: Impossible" TV series, "Gilligan's Island", "My Three Sons", etc. So, basically I had plenty of Fried (aural) food even before I was five years old. Anyways, LLAP!
Happy Labour Day! This is the day in tribute to the working class in North America. Of course, being the master of the ham-fisted segue, I can say that after a hard day's work, folks can use a nice massage especially around the shoulders. As someone who's read a few books on the practice and used to undergo regular massage at the neighbourhood clinic in Ichikawa, I remember the masseur at both that clinic and the barber at my regular shop finishing up a session with some tapotement on my shoulders and back. They would just tap away while sounding like some slow maracas.
I've got just the song for you then. Weirdly enough, I heard about this one during last night's episode of "Asaichi"（あさイチ）which had the theme of ground sesame seeds. According to one expert on the topic, the ideal length of time to pound those seeds is to go five verses of this song before saying "thank you" in Japanese and a few more words.
The song is called "Kata Takaki"(Shoulder Tapping) and it is a children's song that was selected by the Agency for Cultural Affairs and the Parents-Teachers Association of Japan in 2006 to be a part of The Collection of 100 Japanese Songs（日本の歌百選）consisting of beloved songs and nursery rhymes. It was actually created in 1923 by famed lyricist Yaso Saijo（西條八十）and composer Shinpei Nakayama（中山晋平）as a song celebrating Mom's hard work and the children recognizing this by offering a shoulder massage. Not sure if Mommy appreciates being told that she's grown a gray hair, though.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is the coolest video games of all time.
This is not up for debate.
I'm sure some of you will call me biased because Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for the Sega Genesis—or Mega Drive, if you measure things in kilometers—was the first video game I ever played.
However, you're just wrong.
Listen, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 had everything a good game should have: great graphics, exciting levels, an excuse to bully your little brother by making him play as Tails, plus it makes great Julian Fries. most importantly, it has great music.
Sonic is notoriously famous for its fantastic soundtracks, but Sonic 2 easily ranks among my top ten video game soundtracks of all time.
From the exciting, disco energy of "Emerald Hill Zone," to the jazzy swagger of "Casino Night Zone," to the strange & cryptic funk of "Mystic Cave Zone," the soundtrack delivers on all fronts.
But the track that has always stuck with me the most is the song that plays right after you beat the game.
Once you defeat Dr. Eggman for the final time and skydive out of the Death Egg—from space, mind you—the sequence that follows was probably one of the most satisfying moments of my childhood.
And the whole thing is accentuated by the triumphant melody of the ending theme.
Now here's the fun part.
The composer of the first two Sonic games, Masato Nakamura (中村正人), just so happened to be a member of the enormously popular J-Pop band Dreams Come True.
And to top it all off, some of Nakamura's Sonic melodies would eventually find their way into Dreams Come True's own repertoire.
Case in point: "Sweet Sweet Sweet," featured on their 1992 album The Swinging Star.
The song is essentially the Sonic 2 ending theme transformed into a full-fledged J-Pop ballad, complete with lyrics and a much more elaborate arrangement.
And somehow, it works perfectly.
The album version almost feels like a wedding anthem, especially with all those bells ringing in the background. The melody still feels very triumphant like the game version, but with the addition to Dorikamu's signature ballad stylings and Miwa Yoshida's wonderful voice, suddenly it becomes warm, sentimental, and romantic.
Rediscovering Sweet Sweet Sweet outside the context of Sonic felt pretty satisfying. It was the perfect recreation of my childhood.
Then, in 2006...they ruined it.
2006 was not a good year for Sonic, as most fans already know. Sonic the Hedgehog for PS3 and XBOX had just release, famously just called Sonic 06, to polarized fanfare. After playing the game for myself, there are a few things that I can forgive it for...but this remix is not one of them.
Look How They Massacred My Boy
Who thought this was a good idea!? I'm not sure when this trend began, but not everything needs a hip hop remix. To top it off, they got Akon to do weird vocal fill-ins for the song. I'm not familiar with the Senegalese-American singer, outside of his philanthropic work in Africa (which I commend him for), but if this song is anything to go off of, I'll pass on his discography. I'm not kidding when I say this version is annoying to listen to. they might as well have went all out and put DJ Khaled on the track to shout "WE DA BEST MUSIC" at the top of his lungs.
I'm sure there's somebody out there that has nostalgia for this version, it's just not me. If you want to hear how it's supposed to sound, go check out Dorikamu's best album, The Swinging Star. Or even better, go play Sonic 2!
The first time I wrote about the late great jazz fusion guitarist and composerRyo Kawasaki（川崎燎）was back in 2020 when I posted an article on his "Raisins" from his 1976 album"Juice", and from listening to the song, I got the impression that he really liked the rock and funk side of fusion.
Well, a couple of years later, Kawasaki and American jazz pianist Joanne Brackeen collaborated on their own album of duets titled "Trinkets and Things". Brackeen composed all of the seven tracks except for the first track which was also the title track. Kawasaki handled this one and "Trinkets and Things" goes into a more tropical and jazzier direction which flows through the beaches and Tiki bars with much aplomb. Although it's mostly an instrumental, there are a couple of parts where a female singer provides some accomplished vocalese but for the life of me, I couldn't track down who she was.
Happy Sunday! I've gotten over my post-Sunday breakfast drowsiness and I'm back behind the computer to put up my two regular KKP articles. And I think I have something appropriate for the brunch set to start things off.
The last time I mentioned about the Curtis Creek Band was back in May when I posted the article regarding "City Morning" which was part of their 1983 album"Windy People". The thing is though that if you're thinking about getting this album for specific tracks you like, you gotta be careful here. For one thing, I noted in the May article that there were two different versions of "Windy People", identifiable by different subtitles, one being "Winning History ni Dakarete"（ウイニング・ヒストリーに抱かれて...Embraced by a Winning History） with the cover of a pretty woman looking down at the word "white", and then the other one which has a snazzily-dressed fellow on a motorcycle with its subtitle being "Shinkyo Monogatari"（心響物語...Heartbeat Story）.
Now, I've heard that there is a third version of "Windy People" with the subtitle of "Youkou to Kaze no Area"（陽光と風のエリア...Area of Sunlight and Wind）. Its cover has a more conventionally-dressed guy leaning against his own motorcycle by the side of a highway. And it is there that I found the brunch-friendly "Take Off My Jet". One would think that a song with such a title would be a more upbeat and rock-oriented tune but it's quite the opposite. It's a laidback and flute-led instrumental that could accompany the pre-takeoff procedure to put any terrified passengers at ease. But again, I think it's also good while people noshing are on their Eggs Benedict. I've categorized the band as coming under City Pop, R&B and jazz, but with "Take Off My Jet", I can place this under AOR.
I was looking through Twitter some days ago when the account for the formerly Buffalo-based rock band The Molice had posted a question which could be paraphrased this way: Do you know a music hall which has had international acts perform there? Well, I responded directly and answered: You can try the El Mocambo in Toronto. The Rolling Stones and Margaret Trudeau (wife of one Canadian prime minister and the mother of one more) were there at the same time and place in 1977. Didn't hear back from them so perhaps their question was perhaps more rhetorical than I'd thought.
Anyways, it's been a while since I've posted about The Molice so I came across this video for their song "Active Imagination" (which is also a psychological process). A track on their 2023 digital album"Pre/Post Re-SING", it's got quite the engine chugging away like one on a locomotive. In fact, it's so catchy and psychedelic that vocalist Rinko herself is doing her own choreographical boogie in both versions of the music video. All hail chromakey!
I also managed to find Rinko's poignant commentary on what has become of the band since 2020 when COVID slammed into the world. It was something that I had been curious about.
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