Yup, springtime is finally here and the sap has already flowed through the maple trees and onto our pancakes and waffles as syrup. So, it was a bit of a revelation in my first few months in Japan when I found out that the folks were just as much beholden to honey on their flapjacks as they were to maple syrup. Then again, considering how expensive genuine maple syrup could be in the supermarkets, the bee product would make for a fine substitute.
This rather not-as-smooth segue is for the purposes of bringing another Spitz （スピッツ）song from my memories. Now, "Hachimitsu" (Honey) was not an official single but it was the launching song for the band's 6th album of the same title in 1995, so it still got plenty of air time along with its successful album mates, "Robinson" and "Namida ga Kirari"（涙がキラリ☆）. Leader and vocalist Masamune Kusano（草野正宗） created this infectiously skippy song that has a video which could get a hikikomori to take a walk in the sunshine. And it takes a cute little poke at the average Japanese commercial.
As for the album "Hachimitsu", it went to No. 1 on the Oricon weeklies and became the 12th-ranked album of 1995.
Somebody fooled around with their J-Wiki apparently. I knew the release year didn't look right. If you check their official site ( http://spitz.r-s.co.jp/disco/album/index.html ), it's actually from 1995, same as the two singles you mentioned.
ReplyDeleteOn the note of "Hachimitsu" itself, it brings back memories of summer 2006 specifically. That's when I first learned about this band. The jangly guitar and sunny melody just reminds me of driving through the country fields of the Halton region and beyond. Happy simple times.
Thanks nikala for the correction. I will make the necessary changes. Yes, I think Spitz has been a fine band to bring out that feeling of spring.
Delete