Hitoshi Ueki -- Damatte Ore ni Tsuite Koi（だまって俺について来い）

Well, today wasn't exactly the greatest day in terms of my surrounding environment. There was a small leak in the unit above that was affecting my unit, and there was a misunderstanding in terms of logistics earlier for the plumber's arrival, so I got to see my usually cheerful superintendent go ballistic on the property manager (but the plumber came an hour ago and now everything is copacetic). Then, around the dinner hour, the power went out due to the high winds outside affecting power lines, but that was only an hour's worth of inconvenience.

I seem rather sanguine, don't I? Look, after all the sturm und drang of my youth and younger years, I've come to the conclusion that life is now too short (especially since passing 50 a few years ago) to go nuts on something that is not really worth getting all worked up about. Plus, taking it out on folks who are trying to help only leads to massive guilt afterwards, believe me.

Come to think of it, the late entertainer Hitoshi Ueki（植木等）of the comical band Crazy Cats（クレージーキャッツ）probably had something akin to the right idea. Perhaps more accurately put, it was his onscreen persona of the most feckless salaryman who had the right idea since I've heard that the real Ueki was a fairly serious and dour fellow.

Last night on "Uta Kon"（うたコン）, enka prince Kiyoshi Hikawa（氷川きよし）did a cover of Ueki's November 1964 single "Damatte Ore ni Tsuite Koi" (Shut Up and Follow Me). Never having heard this lively kayo that seems to fit Ueki's Mr. Irresponsible to a well-crossed "T", I looked it up on YouTube and found the original as you can see above.

With some brassy brass and a hearty cackle that would even make The Joker stand up and applaud, Ueki is the guy you want at your side while singing this song. If you haven't quite reached that sanguine point in your life, he's the fellow who will kick you out of your blues and pull you over to a bar for some drinks and lively conversation.

Written by Yukio Oshima（青島幸男）and composed by Hiroaki Hagiwara（萩原哲晶）, the same duo behind Ueki's most famous song, "Suudara Bushi"（スーダラ節）, "Damatte Ore ni Tsuite Koi" got the singer to perform it on the 1964 Kohaku Utagassen on NHK. Perhaps after all of the hoopla and stress surrounding the Tokyo Olympics that year and the need to show Japan's best side in the postwar era, a little bit of silly and whimsical was perhaps what the doctor ordered, thanks to Ueki.