I've seen the good chemistry between the male and female singers whenever they are paired up to sing duets - more specifically the older singers, the younger ones are usually very stiff - but "Shucho Monogatari" takes this chemistry to a whole new level! Never have I seen Kawanaka shake her behind or perform in such a comical manner before, but she did it so well that it allowed her to keep up with Yoshi's pace, and the product of that is a hilarious duet that tells the story of what goes on between the married couple when the husband has to leave for work/business trips.
So you have the usual stuff that all couples (I'm going to assume so) face when going through such a situation, like missing each other and counting down the days till the husband come back, the missus warning her man to not fool around when away, and the man being suspicious of his missus' friend. But the best part comes when the frisky fellow sheepishly and sneakily asks his companion if she wants a baby... out of other things, but his wife rebukes him, of course. Well... that's new. This set of humorous yet relatable lyrics can only come from the mind of none other than Yoshi himself. The Latin-themed music that Yoshi had composed also seemed rather strange at first, but that's the perfect score for some nutso dancing and prancing around.
"Shucho Monogatari" was released on 1st September 2000, I don't know how well it did on the charts as there wasn't a write-up on the song and the Oricon website didn't show its highest ranking either.
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Hi Noelle.
ReplyDeleteI'm starting to think that Ikuzo is the Weird Al Yankovic of Japan! He's always coming up with the comical songs about some of the foibles of life in the country. I do love my enka with the Latin touch...always good for karaoke.
As for Kawanaka, I think she's always had a good sense of humour. I saw her once participating in a Candid Camera segment in which she was costumed as a ghost or something and had to hide in a locker until a TV station staffer entered the staff room. Then she burst out of the locker. One guy actually did a standing backflip since he was so shocked.
Oh wow, didn't know Kawanaka had quite the funny bone.
ReplyDeleteOh, I've got a feeling that all of these guys have funny bones after several drinks. :) I just kinda wonder if a bunch of them head out to an all-night pub somewhere in Shibuya after the Kohaku or if they just head straight home.
DeleteI think some of them do head out for a well-deserved drink after giving it their all during the Kohaku to help wind down. Plus, it's the new year, so I'm sure there'll be drinks all around and all night!
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