Tomoko Soryo -- Penthouse Cocktail

 

The photo above is of one of the Roppongi Hills apartment buildings. There was one notorious dot-com millionaire living there, although I'm not sure whether he was residing in the penthouse or not. He was very publicly living the life of Riley and the media was lapping it all up like a thirsty cat at a plate of milk, only to be taken down by some illegal doings. After that, he lived in far more humble surroundings in prison for a few years and he lost quite a lot of weight which in his case was a good thing.

I've seen grand tours of penthouses via YouTube channels, especially those in New York City like the one right here by Enes Yilmazer. Yup, they're certainly opulent and beautiful but along with the nosebleed-inducing prices, I worry about things such as power failures and other utility problems when it comes to the otherwise luxurious top floors of condo buildings. I can only hope that the six-zero price tag includes independent generators and water pumps, but then again, if people can afford penthouse suites then they probably can afford second or third homes on the ground floor elsewhere during an emergency. Owners most likely wouldn't jog up and down the fifty floors unless they had legs like the Hulk's or armoured suits that Tony Stark used to wear.

Anyways, to get away from all of the negativity of penthouse living, we can all focus on a track from Tomoko Soryo's（惣領智子）1981 album "It's About Time". Although the J-Wiki article lists it as having been released in 1980, other sites have stated 1981 so I'll go with the majority opinion. "Penthouse Cocktail" is a melodic version of what the high life in buildings must be like, thanks to Soryo's then-husband Yasunori Soryo's（惣領泰則）composition. The singer's soft and soulful delivery of Ikuko Okado's（おかどいくこ）lyrics really does bring images of someone making Friday night martinis or pina coladas after a hard work week in that penthouse. Just hop into the Japanese massage chair, sip on the cocktail, enjoy the sunset through the 50th-floor floor-to-ceiling windows, and listen to this song.

Well, what do you know? There is a cocktail known as the Penthouse!