Toshiki Kadomatsu -- Office Lady

When Tokyo's Haneda Airport got its massive renovation completed and made its reappearance as a glistening international hub some years ago, one of the treats that it newly provided was longer opening hours which led to more flights departing and arriving. Therefore, folks could conceivably finish work on a Friday (especially if a company is following that Premium Friday campaign, which I hear is not working too well), race immediately over to Haneda, catch a flight to Saipan or Guam, and enjoy the weekend before coming back early on a Monday morning to head back to work...presumably refreshed.

For some reason, that very plan always comes to mind whenever I heard Toshiki Kadomatsu's（角松敏生）kakkoii strut-and-shuffle titled "Office Lady", although the lyrics about the title figure getting ready for a big date in Tokyo. I guess it's because I can imagine some of those female employees in some large corporation exploding out of the gate when 5 pm comes around on a Friday and flee to Haneda for that trip to tropical climes.

This track from Kadomatsu's 2nd album "Weekend Fly to the Sun" from April 1982 was penned totally by the singer-songwriter-musician himself, and when I heard it the first time, my impression was that it sounded as if Steely Dan and Stevie Wonder decided to collaborate on a song together. Once the alarm clock rang, I just heard that Wonder-ful rumbling funky riff followed by some of those Steely horns. My compliments to the bassist, as usual, although I couldn't identify the exact fellow since there were three of them working on "Weekend Fly to the Sun": Nathan East, Louis Johnson and Abraham Laboriel, Sr. The album did rather modestly on the charts, getting as high as No. 57.

Wouldn't this be the song to accompany those happy folks on their weekend sojourn?