Judy and Mary -- Music Fighter（ミュージック ファイター）

It's been a while, Judy and Mary. Have a seat and sit a spell.

I remember when the YUKI-fronted band performed this song at a "HEY!HEY!HEY! MUSIC CHAMP" live special at one of the concert venues in the Tokyo area. After all was over, one-half of the comedy duo Downtown, Hitoshi Matsumoto（松本人志）, managed to sputter out something to the extent of "What the hell was that?!"

Apparently, a number of folks reacted similarly to JAM's 15th single, "Music Fighter" from April 1998. It didn't seem to be meant as a standalone single. One really has to listen to it, although I will try to describe it as a mix of country jazz, thrashy hard rock and some spacey vibes in YUKI's vocals.

I wouldn't be surprised if even some of JAM's fans thought that perhaps it would have been better as one of their more exploratory tracks on an album. However, I thought that "Music Fighter" was a showcase for what the band really wanted to do when they were warmed up as a quirky rock group. Plus, I did like YUKI's soaring vocals. Plus the video was interesting for a modern punkish Betty Boop-like YUKI and the Dollarama Borg drone.

Tack and Yukky took care of the lyrics while TAKUYA composed "Music Fighter". It peaked at No. 4 and was placed on Judy and Mary's 5th album "Pop Life" from June 1998. The album was a million-seller reaching as high as No. 2 on Oricon and ending up as the 22nd-ranked release of the year.