Tokyo Mokuyo Gakudan -- Mayonaka no Service Area（真夜中サービスエリア）

 

Unfortunately, I never got all that many opportunities to visit the famous roadside service areas of Japan (similar to those gas station/convenience store combinations here) since neither my friends and I got together in cars. My only chances were through the occasional bus tour that I got to go on including a trip to Yamanashi Prefecture one time with fellow teachers and students.

From what I've read and seen through translation assignments and variety shows like the above with popular tarento Matsuko Deluxe（マツコ・デラックス）raiding the Ebina Service Area after midnight for some of her beloved melon buns. Those facilities can be huge and I didn't even realize that they can be open past midnight, although the COVID situation may have changed opening times dramatically.

In recent days, I discovered this enigmatic band called Tokyo Mokuyo Gakudan（東京木曜楽団...Tokyo Thursday Band） which identifies itself as a multi-pop band. Not quite familiar with the term multi-pop but I can assume that they may take on genres such as indies pop, City Pop or pop/rock. There's barely any information about them anywhere although they have put out several singles and albums since the late 2010s, but there is a Twitter account for them that has been up since 2018. As for their name, apparently it's because they hail from West Tokyo and they meet every Thursday.

My first song by them is "Mayonaka no Service Area" (Midnight Service Area), a groovy and comfortable pop tune although I'm not sure whether I would put it in the genre of Neo-City Pop despite the use of a car in the music video. Mind you, they're not in the city per se as would be logical since the title refers to the rural service area along the highway. If I've got it right, the song came out in late 2019 and it has its moments of determined driving and dream-like rest stops with a rumbling piano and electric guitar that takes me and perhaps other listeners back to the 1970s, so "Mayonaka no Service Area" definitely has my attention.

Now, what would I get if I ever had the chance to stop at a service area past midnight? I'm OK for melon buns, but they wouldn't be in my Top 10. A nice hearty bento would be my best bet even though post-midnight indigestion would be a definite possibility.