Last Thursday, just before I met up with my fellow translators for a meeting downtown, I decided to drop into BMV Books which is a local group of shops selling all sorts of books, DVDs and records/CDs. Since returning to Toronto from Japan, I've kept up the bookstore browsing.
Well, as I was in the basement looking at the LPs and CDs, I did manage to find this EP CD by Pizzicato Five titled "Nonstop to Tokyo", selling for just a little over $5 CDN. Not wanting to look at a gift horse in the mouth, I didn't hesitate and bought it. Plus, there is a bit of a personal connection since that is exactly the plane that I use to get to Japan...the Air Canada nonstop between Toronto and Tokyo.
The EP, released in July 1999 (peaked at No. 55 on Oricon), consists of 5 tracks including the title track. As would be expected from a P5 album, "Nonstop to Tokyo" has our congenial hosts, Maki Nomiya and Yasuharu Konishi（野宮真貴・小西康陽）, leading our flight with a light vocal delivery paired with some hip-swiveling groovalicious beats. I can only wish that those nonstop flights to Tokyo would be nearly as fun. Alas, perhaps some alcohol on the way would remedy things somewhat...
"Room Service" is a slightly less frenetic number that still retains that Shibuya-kei style. My imagination envisions those "Mad Men" executives sitting nonchalantly in a 60s space-age lounge knocking back those cocktails as this song is playing. Personally, I've never had room service in a hotel, preferring to get my meals somewhere out on the town. However, when I was in Japan in 2014, I did ask to have a massage in the room, and the masseuse did a very intense job on my shoulders and back. Amazing how far sinews can stretch!
I couldn't find "Bossa Nova 3003" but did find "Mademoiselle" which brings back the energy levels. The Divine Ms. Nomiya could be on the stage leading the way with her mike while a bunch of young ladies and gentlemen are shimmying vigorously all over the dance floor. I don't think I've used the term mademoiselle since Grade 12 French!
The last track is a radio edit of "Nonstop to Tokyo" but I couldn't find it on YouTube. However, I did find an interesting version of the song which was included on a P5 2001 album "Çà et là du Japon", since the vocalist here is not Nomiya but veteran singer and frequent informercial guest Shigeru Matsuzaki（松崎しげる）. Although the Wikipedia article for the album lists both Matsuzaki and former Sparks keyboardist Ron Mael as the vocalists, I can only hear the dulcet tones of "Captain" Matsuzaki on this version.
The version of "Nonstop to Tokyo" that Wikipedia refers to on the album "Çà et là du Japon" segues into Ron Mael reading a two-minute encyclopedia definition of "Japan". IMO, it detracts from the song, but for Sparks fans, it might be of interest.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I just discovered your blog by searching to see if the Recomints CD shops still existed at the Nakano Broadway Mall (apparently not, alas). As a long-time fan of Shibuya-kei and other Japanese genres, I look forward to exploring and reading a lot more here.
Hi, Robert and welcome aboard!
DeleteYep, it looks like Recomints has left Nakano Broadway for good, sadly. Still, I like to visit the place since it is chock-filled with pop culture and I think there may be still be one or two CD shops in there. I hope some of the other used places that are my haunts in Tokyo remain open for the foreseeable future.
Come on in and take a look around. Unfortunately, some of the videos may have been taken down due to the usual YouTube copyright strikes, but that's an occupational hazard.