Yutaka Ozaki -- Machikado no Kaze no Naka（街角の風の中）

 

The rolling wake 'em up rhythm that starts off singer-songwriter Yutaka Ozaki's（尾崎豊）"Machikado no Kaze no Naka" reminds me a lot of another song which I've enjoyed since I was a kid, Billy Joel's "Don't Ask Me Why". 

"Machikado no Kaze no Naka" is a B-side on Ozaki's October 1987 single , the No. 2-ranking "Kaku"（核...Core）, and though it directly translates into English as "Inside the Wind on the Street Corner", the official English title is "Twilight Wind". And yeah, it's short, sweet and perhaps a bit more romantically evocative. Being accustomed to Ozaki's ballads, it's nice to hear something this upbeat as a couple of people who have seen better days decide to throw caution into the wind and just enjoy themselves in the moment. Well, maybe lyrically speaking, "Machikado no Kaze no Naka" has a kissin'-cousin connection with "Don't Ask Me Why". 

This particular Ozaki song hadn't gotten onto any of his original albums but the 2009 re-release of his September 1988 album "Gairoju"（街路樹...Roadside Trees） has included it as a bonus track.