😱😨😬
Yeah, I thought as much.
"Enka nante Utaenai" isn't a parody of an enka tune at all, and I'd say that there really isn't any enka in there. It merely throws in that old Mood Kayo trope of "wa-wa-wa" background chorus and what sounds like a single pluck of a koto while the rest of the song contains a pretty frenzied pop/rock melody reflecting the guys' panic attack. Meanwhile, Akimoto's lyrics show them pitching a fit about being forced to croon about anything wabi-sabi. It's rock or nothing.
I actually have the song on an old compilation LP that I bought at Wah Yueh in Chinatown and was surprised that I had yet to cover it. "Enka nante Utaenai" peaked at No. 18 on Oricon. Perhaps it was fortunate that they weren't invited to the 1987 Kohaku Utagassen (their last appearance to date is 1986); could have been very awkward.😉
It's a bit ironic though that Akimoto contributed to this particular single for Shibugakitai since from his work with the female aidoru groups Onyanko Club(おニャン子クラブ)and AKB48, there have been at least a couple of graduates who've gone into the enka genre.
This story makes me think of the Spinal Tap song "Heavy Duty".
ReplyDeleteNo light fantastic ever crosses my mind
That meditation stuff can make you go blind
Just crank that volume to the point of pain
Why waste good music on a brain
...
I don't need a woman, I won't take me no wife
I got the rock and roll and that'll be my life
No page in history baby that I don't need
I just wanna make some eardrums bleed