Hiromi Go & Kirin Kiki/Yuko Ando & Takafumi Ikeda --Ringo Satsujin Jiken （林檎殺人事件）

Several months ago, I wrote an article about one of the more odder duets in kayo kyoku history with boy aidoru Hiromi Go（郷ひろみ） and actress Kirin Kiki（樹木希林） performing "Obake no Rock". One of the things I neglected to add to that story was that the song had actually been a theme song to a TBS sitcom from the 70s titled "Mu"（ムー）which included both singers in the cast.

Well, a year later, the sequel to that show was "Mu Ichizoku"（ムー一族...The Mu Family） with the same large cast including Go and Kiki. Apparently, "Obake no Rock" was so successful that the two got together again to do another number for the show that had a more disco bent called "Ringo Satsujin Jiken" (The Apple Murders). From what I could understand about the show itself, the Uzaki Family is a rather weird one so the theme song got a similar treatment in the lyrics by Yu Aku（阿久悠） which detail a detective's search for a killer with only a half-eaten apple as a clue.

Of course, I also have to show a video of Go and Kiki performing another dance that drunken salarymen could love. I'm not sure if I would ever sing this at karaoke and do the choreography but I enjoy the disco. In fact, the Yusuke Hoguchi（穂口雄右） melody almost spills over into City Pop territory. The song was released in June 1978 and reached No. 6 on Oricon and became the 42nd-ranked song for the year.

Now, what perked my memories of "Ringo Satsujin Jiken" was coming across the above video by pure accident last night. A few years ago, chanteuse Yuko Ando（安藤裕子） and vocalist/musician Takafumi Ikeda (池田貴史...formerly of the funk band Super Butter Dog) got together on Ando's March 2011 album of cover songs, "Otona no Majime na Cover Series" （大人のまじめのカバーシリーズ....An Adult's Serious Series of Covers） to not only perform a cover of the Go/Kiki tune, but also make the official music video.

I have to say that I was taken a bit aback by witnessing a happy smiling Ando doing the goofy dances since my image of her had been rather rainy and melancholy. But she and Ikeda go for the gusto all over Tokyo, including nearby Tokyo Sky Tree. And to add further fun, Kiki returns for a cameo in her first appearance in a music video in 33 years. By the way, "Otona no Majime na Cover Series" peaked at No. 19 on the album charts.

As for "Mu Ichizoku" itself, well, it certainly doesn't start off in the usual home comedy way.

And as a bit of a gift, here's Go with AKB 48 performing "Ringo Satsujin Jiken". Ole!