A few days ago, I received a tip in the comments section under my article for Sakanaction's（サカナクション）"Boku to Hana"（僕と花）about a track from the eclectic group's new album, "834.194" called "Wasurerarenaino" (Can't Forget). And yeah...I cannot forget it!
I remember when in 2015 another commenter cottoned me onto Sakanaction and their video for "Shin-Takarajima"（新宝島）since it was a parody of the opening/ending of an old variety show featuring the comedy group The Drifters from way back when. Delightful hoot, it was...and with the earwormy song, it soon became a beloved tune in the "Kayo Kyoku Plus" collection.
Now, songwriter and vocalist Ichiro Yamaguchi（山口一郎）and the band have done it again with their video for "Wasurerarenaino" which takes a riff...a damn good one...on those Japanese music ranking shows from the 1980s. Video director Yusuke Tanaka（田中裕介）should be getting an award for his creation which brings back the performance segment from "The Best 10" or "The Top 10", and memories of Omega Tribe's（オメガトライブ）appearances on the shows right down to the "Miami Vice" suits, sunglasses and dancers.
"Wasurerarenaino" seems to meld together the City Pop of two different decades. It has a sound that had me thinking of some of the more contemporary stuff from the 2010s such as the songs of Especia, and then the 1980s music by the aforementioned Omega Tribe made by composers such as Tetsuji Hayashi（林哲司）.
Shimada is well-known as the sorcerer protagonist Yasunori Kato（加藤保憲）from the "Teito Monogatari"（帝都物語...The Tale of the Imperial Capital） series. Never seeing the movie, I'd always thought that with his hulking presence and intimidating visage, he played the bad guy.
In any case, my thanks to the mysterious tipster for "Wasurerarenaino" since the album "834.194" also has "Shin-Takarajima" which therefore means that I'm really gonna have to get that release soon. It actually came out just five days ago. Perhaps the tipster was even Yamaguchi himself.😁
Very very cool post. Thanks!
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