Natsumi Shimai -- Hotel Sabaku（ホテル砂漠）

 

In recent weeks, I've picked up a rather odd interest in that I've been checking out the websites for some of the more luxurious accommodations in Tokyo such as the Imperial Hotel and the ol' Keio Plaza Hotel. Maybe it's out of some envy for what other people can afford whenever they go on vacation. Mind you, I have stayed in some very nice places such as the Keio, the Tokyo Prince and the Portopia Hotel in Kobe, but those were very long ago.

Well, I know that a few Mood Kayo have had hotels as their lyrical basis because a number of those songs deal with those illicit trysts, so extrapolating from my hotel searches, I began to look for any hotel-themed songs. Surprisingly enough, I couldn't find very many with even the word "hotel" in the title. However, there was one new song that came out within the last few weeks.

And my search ended on a fascinating song. Through shows like "Uta Con"（うたコン）, I've often heard of songs created by songwriters that have long left this mortal coil such as Yu Aku（阿久悠）but never saw the light of day until very recently. Well, now to add to the legendary Aku, I discovered that the golden songwriting tandem of late composer Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）, who died almost three years ago, and lyricist Jun Hashimoto（橋本淳）, who is still with us thankfully, left a song that has also been unearthed to the listening masses.

"Hotel Sabaku" (Hotel Desert) was recorded by Natsumi Shimai（夏海姉妹...The Natsumi Sisters） consisting of long-haired stripper Jun Natsumi（夏海ジュン）and short-haired enkai entertainer Ai Natsumi（夏海愛）as their debut single. I noticed though that the Yahoo Japan interview with the two put the two professions in quotations so I'm uncertain whether the ladies really did work at those jobs or whether their names really are Jun and Ai, but I'll leave that for eventual confirmation.

In that same interview, "Hotel Sabaku" was described as a "beat enka". I'm not sure about that, but I am able to pick up on some old Mood Kayo, light funk disco and even some swinging 60s, so maybe the two could get together to create another example of New Adult Music. Gotta vouch for that adult part considering the music video above as we get a good eyeful of the night life in the big city as Jun sexily sings a pretty stark invitation for some boot-knocking in the titular hotel.

Interestingly enough, next week on "Uta Con", there will be a tribute to Tsutsumi but alas, Natsumi Shimai is not on the slate. Maybe they are a tad too hot for prime time on NHK.