It’s Oliver Ebisuno, coming back to Kayo Kyoku Plus after a long break. For some time now, in spite of work and personal stuff, I wanted to make an update on the blog, but always felt either unmotivated or drained from strength when sitting in front of an open draft editor. I think the time is right for a special post; to be specific, an Author’s Pick text. Shamelessly, I admit that J-Canuck’s Driving to City Pop two-parter provided me with much needed dosage of inspiration.
Evidently, I do not live in Japan and there are no prospects of me visiting the country in the nearest future, but I thought it would be fun to mix my love for Japanese music with my personal experience, that is, commuting to work.
The city I live in is such a hole in the middle of nowhere (and forgotten by the Almighty) that basically right after finishing high school I had to get used to commuting. I had to undergo a one-hour trip by bus while studying for 5 years, the same applied to PhD studies, and my first employment. Last year, I switched jobs and now I also commute by bus, but this time to a different city, which is located roughly an hour away from my place of residence.
Now, en route to work (and most importantly coming back from it) I can’t help but listen to Tomoko Aran. Her albums Fuyuu Kuukan and Last Good-bye really calm me down and put me in a positive mood, especially in the morning. The same also goes for Toshiki Kadomatsu’s After 5 Clash and Hitomitoi’s City Dive albums.
When I am in a more adventurous mood, then I reach for music that is more charged with Synth-Pop or Rock. In such instances, Yoko Oginome’s Route 246 Connexion and Chisato Moritaka’s Mi-ha prove to be invaluable. Very rarely, when I feel deeply melancholic, I decide to desperately turn to Wink’s Best of selection or Naomi Akimoto’s Poison 21. Please refer to the selection of my favourite songs from the aforementioned albums here:
1. Tomoko Aran -- Midnight Pretenders (1983)
2. Tomoko Aran -- Last Good-bye (1986)
3. Toshiki Kadomatsu -- Step into the Light (1984)
4. Hitomitoi -- Dive (2012)
5. Yoko Oginome -- 246 Planet Girls (1987)
6. Chisato Moritaka -- 47 Hard Nights (1988)
7. Naomi Akimoto -- Lion in My Pocket (1984)
8. Wink -- One Night in Heaven (1989)
That’s it for the moment, I sincerely hope that you enjoyed my list of suggestions. I should also add that apart from the aforemtioned songs/albums, I also tend to listen to either Pet Shop Boys or Animotion while commuting. Thank you for reading.
Image sources: The feature photograph at the top of the post was taken by me on a bus to work on wintery night at 5 AM. I usually sit at the back, so it was easier for me to make sure that the faces of other commuters won’t get caught by the phone camera. The image of Akina Nakamori next to Mercedes was found on Pinterest. All the hyperlinks lead to previous Kayo Kyoku Plus posts.
Hi, Oliver. Good to hear from you again. Thanks very much for your article on those City Pop songs to commute to and I'm flattered that you were inspired on those two articles I wrote some time ago.
ReplyDeleteHaving been a commuter in the Tokyo area for 17 years, I know a lot about being on the subway and train for a long time. In my last years there, the commute home from my school was about 90 minutes and since I often taught night lessons, I didn't get home until past midnight. Unfortunately, I never got into listening on a Discman or an iPod; it was more reading or crossword puzzle solving for me.
Yoko Oginome's "246 Planet Girls" is a nostalgic choice for me since I used to listen to the tape at home many times as I was burning the midnight oil trying to get an essay done in university.
Thank you very much for a kind response and talking about your commuting experiences. In Poland, trains and subways are not as reliable as buses. When one wants to travel regionally from a city to city, then bus is the best option.
DeleteDiscman never made it big in Poland, but with the arrival of mp3s and iPods people really started taking their favourite music everywhere they went, but this frenzy somehow passed me by. Come to think of it, I was always of different mindset. I use social media only for blog purposes, I don't sit glued to the phone all the time (like many of my students, unfortunately), and I didn't feel the need to listen to music outside of home until after the pandemic, which really was a "social" gamechanger for many people.
That's a wonderful memory about "246 Planet Girls"! I used to listen to that song while cramming for French classes three years ago. On the whole, I love Yoko's Route 246 Connexion album in its entirety. Together with CD-Rider, those are my fave albums of this artist.
Hi, Oliver. I totally understand about the whole thing on smartphones and SNS. I've actually never owned a smartphone in my life.
DeleteThe trains and subways in Tokyo were generally reliable but I discovered that there was a bus which could take me from my school to Nakano Station. It took a bit longer at 20 minutes but it was a much more comfortable experience at night with the windows open and since the station was the final one on my subway line, I was guaranteed a seat. :)
I listened to the entirety of "246 Connexion" on audiotape as I was cramming for exams. Another one on the playlist at 2 in the morning was the soundtrack for "Final Yamato" along with "Wa Ga Ma Ma" by Hiromi Iwasaki.
Love Tomoko Aran's works. So happy they finally put her albums on streaming services last year. Thank you, The Weeknd for sampling her!
ReplyDelete