Well, now, Mr Baseball. Here we are. You've got some pretty neat songs and you were, indeed, pretty cute.
Geez, I did such a quick 180 with him in just these past couple of weeks that I got whiplash. I've been knocking on his strange voice for years. Today, he came in the mail just with my other pre-ordered bromides from Marubell-do. It happens.
When it comes to ondo tracks, the first person I'd think of is dear Haruo Minami (三波春夫) who did an ondo on pretty much anything you can think of. If we're going with someone from a generation prior, then perhaps someone like Bin Uehara (上原敏) who was no stranger to minyo beats. With that in mind, seeing "Koryasa no Ondo" in the discography of, of all singers, Katsuhiko Haida (灰田勝彦), had me doing a double take. When it comes to Haida, I think of jazzy pop ditties, exotic ballads, and Hawaiian melodies, less so an ondo. So, I was naturally curious about how his rather Western style of singing would fit into something more traditionally Japanese.
Contrary to expectation, it worked. Really well, in fact. You know why? Because it's a jazzy swing tune with some Japanese instruments like the shamisen and narimono thrown in at the odd interval. It gets you in the first bit when you're treated to a dramatic intro quite like how a regular ondo may begin, but then the brassy notes of the electric guitar and the sharp trumpets come in to take you for one heck of a ride. And then Hai-Katsu opens his mouth and perfectly enunciated English spews out. What does he sing about? Well, if you know Kome Kome Club's "FUNK FUJIYAMA", you can take "Koryasa no Ondo" as its spiritual predecessor.
In the land of Fuji, where everyone likes sushi
They all make a hoopie, singing ya-koryasanosanoyanoyanoya
HAIDA.
Oh, don't you just love traditional Japanese music? Sarcasm aside, "Koryasa no Ondo" seems to be about how Japanese folk love a good ondo and the fun that ensues when such a song comes on. Having checked out a couple of bon odori festivals myself, I can almost fully agree with the sentiment. Not just the locals, but I'd say that everyone under the sun seemed to revel in the festive atmosphere of the summer dance events. It is oddly fun to attempt to dance in a circle around a giant drum in the sweltering heat.
"Koryasa no Ondo" was written and composed by Hai-Katsu's older brother, Haruhiko Haida (灰田晴彦), later known as Yukihiko (有紀彦), in 1940. The older Haida would later be the founder of the Japan Ukelele Association. Somehow, I am not surprised that this funny ditty was the product of a pair of siblings. I know that that would happen if my brother and I could write music. Comical tunes aside, the Haida brothers had also created and worked with the Moana Glee Club to create Hawaiian songs on multiple occasions.
Hello, Noelle. This is quite the jazzy ondo. I can figure that both Japanese and non-Japanese can swivel and boogie to this one. And you're quite right on Haida's English pronunciation.
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