Toshihiko Tahara -- Kanojo wa Wonderland（彼女のワンダー・ランド）

 

I'm quite certain that I have mentioned the Canadian National Exhibition, Toronto's annual summer fair, in past articles in "Kayo Kyoku Plus" over the past decade. The CNE or the Ex as we say was put in mothballs in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic but as of this Friday, the show will be going on. It's one of those events here that is a sign that summer is slowly coming to an end.

One of the things that always marks the Ex is the food, some of which would usually be made for noshing on a dare only. In the past, there have been deep-fried butter (my anime buddy tried it to his eternal regret) and Krispy Kreme burgers with the famous donuts standing in for the buns, and this year apparently it'll be ketchup and mustard ice cream cones. Sorry, but I'd have to be paid a month's salary to try those out.

Anyways, we start off the Hump Day edition of KKP with a wonderland by 80s aidoru Toshihiko Tahara（田原俊彦）. This is "Kanojo wa Wonderland" (She's a Wonderland) which was a track on his 14th studio album "Yesterday My Love" from May 1987. Created by the veteran team of lyricist Machiko Ryu（竜真知子）and composer Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）, this is a song which made me wonder whether I should have given it the Aidoru label, but for old times' sake, I decided to throw it in. It's a pretty refined tune with some underlying reggae and a near-AOR arrangement that kinda comes across as the song equivalent of a typical Japanese fuurin（風鈴...wind chime） to bring cooling thoughts.