As much as I will always associate Mr. Children's lead singer, Kazutoshi Sakurai（桜井和寿）, with his singing on the top of a bluff for the video of "Tomorrow Never Knows", there is also the band's tribute to all things Elvis Costello via the hit, "Seesaw Game: Yukan na Koi no Uta"(The Song of Brave Love). First off, the Sakurai-penned 9th single released in August 1995 has a hint of that New Wave Costello, and then even with the video, there is a tip of the hat to "Pump It Up"(1978) and "Everyday I Write The Book"(1983) with Sakurai looking less earnest and more fun-loving as he takes on the Costello persona.
And I think the whole video seems to have a bit of Beatles footloose-and-fancy-free-ness....complete with monkeys, animated and real-life. I also enjoy the song since Sakurai also gives a shout out to one of my favourite games as a child, The Game of Life (it was always hard at the Day of Reckoning space).
No Elvis sightings in the concert above, but I don't think the audience minded too much. As soon as the first familiar notes launched out of the speakers, they gave a delighted roar. The music stores were also plenty delighted as "Seesaw Game" cracked the million barrier in sales as it started life in the rankings at the No. 1 position. It became the 5th-ranked song of 1995, but even more important, it is still the most successful non-tie up song in Japanese music history (that is, no connection to commercials or TV programs/movies).
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