MIO (MIQ) -- Paradise Night

 

Recently, there has been a trend of micro-tours, individualized tours for one person or a pair. So, instead of the generic Hato Bus rides traveling through Asakusa, Shinjuku, and the like, that one tourist can get their own choice of visiting, say, the temples and shrines of Tokyo only. Another example is instead of opting for doing the all-in-one thing at Yokohama's Ramen Museum, they can tour through the most famous ramen joints all over Japan (extra medical insurance and defibrillator not included).

Being a City Pop fan, I have wondered what a City Pop micro-tour would be like. Not sure if it would be easy to put together and it may just be a one-night thing involving a microbus ride on the Shuto Expressway in Tokyo while listening to the sounds of Tats, Miki and Fujimal onboard. However, maybe there can be stops in West Shinjuku (since those early "City Hunter" opening credits include the skyscrapers there) or Roppongi. A stop could be made in front of any of the recording studios where Tatsuro Yamashita（山下達郎）made his greatest hits although I doubt that tourists could get inside.

Alas, I'm just waxing whimsically here. You can figure out what you would like in a City Pop micro-tour and it would be a paradise night...which is why I'm segueing into "Paradise Night" by MIO, a track from her December 1985 album, "Mr. Monday Morning". I've already covered the title track but "Paradise Night", which was created by the same duo behind "Mr. Monday Morning": lyricist Machiko Ryu（竜真知子）and composer Masahiro Taniguchi（谷口雅洋）, is a romantic ballad that sounds like a night with a happy ending involving a couple after a few too many drinks and not enough discipline. There is something woozy and wonderful in the arrangement which fits the scenario.