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.

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Hideki Saijo -- Hageshii koi (激しい恋)



Watching Hideki Saijo (西城秀樹) dance along to his 9th single, "Hageshii koi", just makes me wonder who was the one who choreographed it. I mean, I've seen some peculiar moves by other Aidoru acts but this one with Saijo lifting a leg and setting it back down with his arms out while doing so is pretty bizarre.

Strange dance moves aside, this was possibly the song that made me more accepting of the dance-worthy music from the high-octane world of Aidoru. Well, Aidoru from the 70's to the 80's to be more specific. It's a fun little tune to listen to with its quick pace and the synths blasting away in sync with Saijo's dancing.

I had listened to the full version of "Hageshii koi" through the video above after encountering it on a music show online - for the life of me, I can't remember the name... Really want to revisit it too! - and since that clip seems like it was taken from a performance during the 80's, Saijo's voice was already more of a man's than that of an adolescent boy, so it was easier on the ears in comparison to the original - sung/released in 1974 when he was only 19. The original score also had some funny, cartoonish sound effects similar to that of someone slipping on a banana peel... Constantly. Now I wonder what musician Koji Mukaino (馬飼野康二) was thinking when he added that into the music! The lyrics were written by the late Kazumi Yasui (安井かずみ).


"Hageshii koi" peaked at 2nd place on the Oricon weeklies and eventually settled at 8th for the year. It also won Saijo the... I think it translates to "Most popular" award at the 7th Japan Cable Awards. This award category was one of the many that have been removed, only lasting for 4 years, from '70 to '74. So in that respect, Saijo got the last one.

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4 comments:

  1. Hi, Noelle.

    I swear that young picture of Hideki reminds me of one of the members of Arashi there. Maybe there might be a biopic in the future. :)

    Yeah, I heard the original on music163 and I was kinda wondering myself what the meaning was behind all those "banana slips". I guess the "koi" must have been really "hageshii".

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    1. I can see what you mean. He kinda excudes the either Ninomiya or Matsumoto.

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  2. A biopic on Saijo would be nice. He has quite a long history, so it'd be interesting to see what they'd include in it. Haha, I've not thought about the "banana slips" in that way before... ... My brain has wandered off into strange territories again.

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  3. I remember a very recent video I saw with his old choreographer (I think), and they were talking about where he got the "moves" from.

    From what I could pick up (my Japanese cannot save me in a hostage situation), for Hageshii no koi, its either obasans talking and gesturing with their hands, or people in a festival. I can't tell which is which.

    For Jounetsu no Arashi, either turning the dial of an old TV model, or turning a door knob. LOL bizarre, but the moves are quite catchy. But try to find that video though, I think you would understand those better. LOL

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