The Peanuts -- Uwaki na Aitsu（浮気なあいつ）/ Yokogao （よこがお）

I guess if I had to come up with an overarching theme phrase for this article, it would be "All good things must come to an end". After starting their illustrious career with a sung version of a jazz song and then becoming kayo pop stars for the better part of two decades (including a stint as movie princesses providing a song to a gigantic caterpillar), the female pop duo The Peanuts（ザ・ピーナッツ）decided to call it a day, at least when it came to their time as recording artists.

So why not end things with a jazz song to complete the circle? Their final single was "Uwaki no Aitsu" (That Cheating Jerk) from March 1975. It was jazzy as heck but unlike the 1959 "Kawaii Hana"（可愛い花）which started off their career, "Uwaki no Aitsu" was something to let them go out with a bang. There is a mix of jazz and maybe rockabilly in there, and I even wonder if the material that the Manhattan Transfer was performing at about the same time had some influence. Yoko Yamaguchi（山口洋子）wrote the lyrics while Hiroshi Miyagawa（宮川泰）, the same fellow who arranged "Kawaii Hana" from the original as performed by saxophonist Sidney Bechet, composed the snazzy melody.

The same songwriting duo also came up with the B-side, "Yokogao" (Profile), a somewhat more sedate jazz number. I actually like this song even better than "Uwaki no Aitsu" since it has that comforting nightclub feeling, and I feel as if Miyagawa threw in some kayo influences and even a musical shoutout to "Blues in the Night" by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer. I almost expect the Peanuts to say goodbye to the listeners at the end; it makes for a nice farewell to everyone.

I believe I mentioned "All good things must come to an end". Well, in keeping with that theme, I would like to recognize the fact that Adam West, the actor who first introduced me to Batman as a toddler passed away yesterday at the age of 88. Decades before we all got to re-acquaint ourselves with the superhero as the brooding Dark Knight through revamped comics, graphic novels and movies, I got to know him as the ever-faithful goody-goody good guy with Robin as they threw the fisticuffs every episode. The Bright Knight indeed. So long, ol' chum!