PUFFY -- Boogie-Woogie No. 5 (ブギウギ No.5)

Last night, I saw on my Twitter account that dandy duo Puffy with Ami Onuki and Yumi Yoshimura（大貫亜美・吉村由美）is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a new album. Good heavens! It's been 2 decades since the ELO-like "Asia no Junshin"（アジアの純真）.

Well, never let it be said that I'm going to miss out on an anniversary regarding Japanese pop music if I can help it. So, here is "Boogie-Woogie No. 5", Puffy's 12th single from September 2000. I think by the turn of the century, the Puffy phenomenon was kinda waning after their first big heyday in the mid-90s with all of those hits and their late-night variety show on TV Asahi, "PA PA PA PA PUFFY"（パパパパパフィー）. However, I do remember this particular song because of this mix of Big Band and rockabilly by creator Tamio Okuda（奥田民生）and for the music video showcasing the ladies in Bowling Night gear and a bunch of guys who looked like they were recruited just off Koen Dori in Shibuya. Of course, there are also lots of goofy choreography to enjoy.

Seeing the video, I hadn't realized that the entire horn section for Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra came on board to join in on the hilarity, and anytime those guys come for an assist, it's gonna be a fun time in a concert. "Boogie-Woogie No. 5" went as high as No. 22...perhaps not quite like the old days but it did have another interesting payoff. According to J-Wiki and Wikipedia, an executive on America's Cartoon Network saw the video for the song and then heard it on radio after which he just had to track Puffy down. Ami and Yumi ended up doing the theme song for superhero cartoon "Teen Titans" and even got their own animated adventures on the network. Although I don't think the one door was closed shut for the ladies, another door definitely opened up. The single was also a track on their 5th album, "SPIKE" from October 2000 which peaked at No. 10 on the Oricon album charts.

And to finish off, here is an episode from "PA PA PA PA PUFFY" .