Miki Hyodo -- GOODBYE DOCTOR

 

I've given some rather big dollops of hints that I have been a Trekkie and a Marvel watcher (and before that, comics reader). Well, I've also been a Whovian alongside the fact that I'm a long-listening kayo fan, and for those who may not know what a Whovian is, I'm a watcher of "Doctor Who", the British sci-fi series that should be celebrating its 60th anniversary in a couple of years.

One of the main characteristics of the BBC programme is that television's favourite Time Lord, The Doctor hardly ever travels alone; at least, one companion from Earth tags along for adventures with him/her in the TARDIS. The companionship lasts for a few years and one of the more prominent episodes, next to the ones in which The Doctor regenerates into a new form (i.e. changes thespians) happens to be one in which the companion leaves. There are varying levels of sadness attached to the departure of a companion depending on how popular he or she was, but one of the more poignant ones was seeing Sarah Jane Smith (the late Elisabeth Sladen) leaving The Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) in the 1970s. She was definitely one of the most popular (and longest-lasting) companions, if not the most popular companion, that "Doctor Who" ever had. Sarah Jane was a prime example of the saying "Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger", and she became strong enough to battle alongside future incarnations of The Doctor and even get her own show for a while.

Anyways, before I end up making this into a mini-"Doctor Who" blog, let me segue into "GOODBYE DOCTOR" by singer-songwriter Miki Hyodo（兵藤未来）. I finally brought her aboard the TARDIS...the blog some months ago in the summer after seeing her on YouTube a number of times. As I mentioned for "Konya no Atsui Message"（今夜の熱いメッセージ）, there isn't a whole lot about her biography or discography aside from the two albums that she did release. "GOODBYE DOCTOR" comes from her 1979 second album "Hyodo Miki" with her behind both words and music. 

It does come off as a 1970s City Pop tune with the relaxing beat, a bit of that hazy keyboard, a cool background chorus and a tropical Fender Rhodes. Perhaps it can even make for a nice walking companion while traipsing down one of Tokyo's main avenues back at the end of that decade. Also with Hyodo's vocals, there is a lot about "GOODBYE DOCTOR" that's reminiscent of music from Junko Yagami（八神純子）and Miharu Koshi（越美晴）of that era. With that comparison, it's too bad that she didn't put out more of her own material into the kayo zeitgeist. Hopefully, though, I can find some more of her own songs or some of the tunes that she provided for other singers in the 1980s.