No "Uta Con"（うたコン）tonight due to probably the fact that Japan is celebrating yet another national holiday in the form of the first day of spring today. However, going back to an episode a couple of weeks ago which had more than the usual number of interesting songs, I've got yet another here.
Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra has always been fun to have on a show for something that's bouncy and bopping. On "Uta Con", for instance, whenever there is a heartrending enka ballad leaving folks in tears, then maybe TSPO can be the one to liven up those happy thoughts once more. Indeed, they showed up on the March 7th show but they had an extra member on loan for their new song.
Vocalist Haruko Nagaya（長屋晴子）of the pop band Ryokuoushoku Shakai（緑黄色社会）has made a guest vocal (and extra trombone [she used to play it in junior high school]) appearance alongside TSPO to perform the band's collaborative digital download single "Aoi Haru no Etude" (Green/Blue Spring Etude). To be frank, I've always wondered about the colours aoi（青い...blue） and midori（緑...green） as they apply to nature. I've heard that aoi can also mean to be green for those first signs of spring on the trees and other flora. As it is, though, I did see a translation of the title (but not the lyrics) show up on "Lyrical Nonsense": "Etude of Adolescence", and that suits me fine because saxophonist Atsushi Yanaka's（谷中敦）lyrics talk about a teen struggling through their feelings of love for someone...an existential rubber band, so to speak.
But obviously there's nothing maudlin about "Aoi Haru no Etude" since bassist Tsuyoshi Kawakami（川上つよし）keeps the TSPO tradition of keeping things jumping and lively. Hey, spring is coming...nothing should be sad or depressing at this time. The single came out a couple of weeks ago and it's also on the band's mini-album which came out on the 15th titled "Junk or Gem".
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