Shibugakitai -- Koibito-tachi no Blvd.（恋人達のBlvd.）

 

Toronto has a main road alongside Lake Ontario called Lake Shore Boulevard. Even before I learned how to spell well, I knew the word "boulevard" by its abbreviation "Blvd". When we were kids in the family car, we sometimes drove on either Lakeshore or the overhead Gardiner Expressway, and at the time, the smell from the sugar mills and the dying fish in the lake was very...distinctive. In the last thirty years or so, things have been considerably cleaned up so that the area has had this cachet of being a neighbourhood of tourist-friendly establishments and condo towers

However, it's become painfully evident that Lake Shore Boulevard has now become one of the largest parking lots in the nation due to increasing traffic and ongoing long-term construction. At this point, I sure wouldn't get anywhere near the area which is congested with metal, exhaust and steamed and frustrated drivers.

I gather that the boulevard mentioned in "Koibito-tachi no Blvd." (Lovers' Boulevard) is a whole lot more spacious and happier. Perhaps it may be the Champs-Elysees in Paris. In any case, this is Shibugakitai's（シブがき隊）22nd single from November 1986. According to the J-Wiki article regarding the song, this was the boys' 6th single from that year alone, so they were really busy.

Written and composed by Yuuji Ozeki（尾関裕司）and with Yukinojo Mori（森雪之丞）helping out with the lyrics, Toshikazu Fukawa（布川敏和）, Masahiro Motoki（本木雅弘）and Hirohide Yakumaru（薬丸裕英）are tripping the light fantastic on the titular avenue which is supposed to be the place to go for all of the lovers out there. Interestingly enough, the techno-jazzy song was used as a commercial jingle for SMBC Nikko Securities; mind you, being in the Bubble Era at the time, I guess that even securities officials felt like dancing all over the place while spending their millions at golf clubs and English classes. In any case, "Koibito-tachi no Blvd." broke into the Top 10 at No. 9 and was included in Shibutgakitai's 10th studio album from December 1986, "Horoscope".