For those who watched "Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness", there was that scene where Stephen and America do that tour of the multiverse which included one universe consisting of sentient paint beings. I would have enjoyed some more time in at least a few of those realities but I guess the reality is that even Marvel Studios has limits on its budget. However, I heard that Michelle Yeoh's "Everything Everywhere All at Once" may have one-upped the Doctor Strange sequel on that point.
In any case, getting back to the universe of Sherwin-Williams, I figure that if more time had been spent there in the movie, it's possible that we might have seen the above scene played out instead of having it appear as singer-songwriter UA's latest music video. It's quite the giddy and fluid experience featuring the singer and I'm glad that she's back on the blog.
"Ocha" (Tea) is one of the tracks on the Osakan singer's May 2022 EP, "Are U Romantic?". Written by her and composed by vocalist Takashi Nagazumi（永積崇）, aka Hanaregumi（ハナレグミ）, it's quite the groovy tune that has lyrics about as Dadaist as the video. The composer lends a hand in the backing vocals for this standout but also relaxing event (kinda like how tea affects one), especially with UA's vocals sounding familiar if slightly more whispery, too. She also lays down the rap at the end.
It may be a coincidence but having UA and Hanaregumi sing about the wonders of what is arguably the oldest mixed drink in existence seems like kismet. The reason that I say this is that my last article on UA back last December was on her "Milk Tea" in the late 1990s, while Hanaregumi is someone that I will always associate with his collaboration with Tomita Lab（冨田ラボ）, "Nemuri no Mori" (眠りの森) whose video has the two enjoying drinks in a café.
Morning, Brian. Yep, I think whimsy has been part and parcel of Japanese pop culture and it's worked well.
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