Ai Furihata -- Hohoemi Note（ホホエミノオト）

 

I know that I've already put up one anison earlier today but I just couldn't let this particular one go. Heard and saw the trailer and even the opening credits sequence for this anime without the credits last night. 

I remember back in January 2017 when I posted fhana's "Aozora no Rhapsody"（青空のラプソディ）, the opening theme to the first season of the beloved "Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon"（小林さんちのメイドラゴン...Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid）, I pointed out that I was writing an article on a theme song that I was already liking but whose anime I had yet to actually see since I wasn't due to show up at my anime buddy's house for another round of anime and food for another week (although "Kobayashi-san" was probably already airing in Japan by that point). Well, it looks like I'm posting on an opening theme for an anime that no one has yet to see yet since it's not due out until early April, several weeks away.

But I gather that the original anime "Astro Note"（アストロノオト）has been getting that much buzz to have its creditless opening sequence come out so early on YouTube. And the opening song is also something that I'm getting pretty high upon. "Hohoemi Note" (Smile Note) is a happy and breezy ditty that I immediately likened to some of the pop of the 1980s and that has also been echoed in some of the writeups I've found online. It's performed by Ai Furihata（降旗愛）who already has a fair number of entries on KKP that delve into either the Neo-City Pop and/or 80s synthpop such as "Play Boy". "Hohoemi Note" is neither City Pop nor synthpop but it's 80s so I think Furihata is just the singer for it. Veteran lyricist Yukinojo Mori（森雪之丞）is behind the words while Akimitsu Honma（本間昭光）, who has worked with Furihata before, is the composer here. As for the song itself, it won't be out as a CD until late May but would like to see and hear the complete version before then.

Furihata even has a role in "Astro Note" playing one of the motley residents of Astro Flats, underground aidoru Teruko Matsubara (松原照子). I've rather enjoyed slice-of-life anime where a group of oddly likeable characters end up together. And I'm already seeing a love triangle on the way in this one.

April 13th 2024: Ah, finally...the ending theme is here.

Taylor Dayne -- Tell It to My Heart

 

Welcome to another Thursday Reminiscings of Youth where I go over some of the Western pop songs that I used to hear and cherish back in my childhood and youth. I was thinking about posting something by a female singer that I had yet to cover here on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" and by wonderful providence, one lady from my memories showed up yesterday on the local news channel for an interview: singer-songwriter and actress Taylor Dayne. I hadn't heard from her in a few decades and I'm glad that she's still out and about especially since she did have to tackle cancer several years ago.

Of course, when it comes to Taylor Dayne, the one song that we'll always remember is her debut single "Tell It to My Heart"  (by songwriters Seth Swirsky and Ernie Gold) which hit the music store shelves in July 1987. Another part of my Dayne memories is the music video for the song: big hair, big cosmetics, big leather and the dancing backup. Couldn't get more 80s than that! We ended up getting the 12" remix record along with a CD of her album "Tell It to My Heart".

When I look back at the song, I was also drawn to how she sang it. There was that certain way she sang out "heart" which always stood out to me. Her Wikipedia biography states that she was born and raised in the New York City area so perhaps it was something to do with a Bronx or Brooklyn accent. "Tell It to My Heart" has been described in its own article as dance-pop, freestyle and Hi-NRG, and if it had been created in Europe, I would have said perhaps Eurobeat as well. The song peaked at No. 7 on US Billboard in January 1988; it did even better in the UK where it hit No. 3.

So, what was being released in Japan in July 1987?

Miki Imai -- Yasei no Kaze（野性の風）

Hideaki Tokunaga -- Kagayaki Nagara（輝きながら...）

BOOWY -- Marionette

Creepy Nuts -- Bling-Bang-Bang-Born

 

To be honest, I hadn't heard of this anime adaptation of the manga titled "Mashle"（マッシュル）until yesterday. The original manga had its run in "Shonen Jump" between 2020 and 2023 and the first season of the anime lasted from April to July 2023. So far, I've been having a giggle or two at this mix of "One Punch Man" and the "Harry Potter" franchise with the main character of cream puff-loving Mash Burnedead, a Muggle on a magical Earth, who intends to be the best of the best at Easton Magic Academy regardless of his low non-magical status and the abuse hurled at him and his allies by using his Superman-level brawn and Vulcan-stoic face.

Now, how I found out about "Mashle" was actually through my daily scrolling of "Know Your Meme" which featured an article about the opening theme for the second season which began back in January. Apparently, it's become quite the cat's meow all over the Internet. "Bling-Bang-Bang-Born" was recorded by hip-hop duo Creepy Nuts for release as their January 7th 14th digital single. And if that band name sounds familiar to any of you anime fans, maybe you watched "Yofukashi no Uta"（よふかしのうた）a couple of years ago since MC R-Shitei（R-指定）and DJ Matsunaga （DJ 松永）were behind both the snazzy opening and ending themes there.

"Bling-Bang-Bang-Born" certainly is catchy with that delivery of that title and especially with Mash dancing away. J-Wiki has described the melody as a hip-hop anison but Wikipedia has given it the genre tag of Jersey Club which I had never heard of before. It's a particularly aggressive and bouncy form of electronic dance music. Mind you, I think I can pick up on some salsa or rumba in there, too.

The song isn't even three minutes long but does it pack a lot of energy and friendly rapid-fire onomatopoeia to emulate in the bedrooms and karaoke boxes of the world. And yep, people are listening since it went to No. 1 on Billboard Japan and Oricon with its residency at the former going on for four to five weeks. 

Mash's twisty moves for those ten seconds in the credits haven't been lost on the Tik Tok crowd either. They've embraced them and I was scrolling down a whole ton of these "Bling-Bang-Bang-Born" dance challenges. Heck, even the stars of another famous anime have been getting into the act.

Masato Kouda -- Mainichi Mousou（毎日妄想）

 

Despite the all-star seiyuu cast and its popularity in Japan and elsewhere, I've never gotten to see the 2016 "Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo!"（この素晴らしい世界に祝福を!...God's Blessing on This Wonderful World!）, aka "KonoSuba", which merges slapstick and screwball comedy and the whole isekai segment of anime. I'll probably get my own copy of the seasons someday but for now, I've been happy with catching the plentiful number of scenes from the show on YouTube. I have to admit though that the one character who's stuck out is the pretty and pretty dang strong but slightly unhinged Darkness, formally known as Lalatina Dustiness Ford. There's always that one character in a lot of anime who has that thing for masochism but Darkness could take the royal prize for enjoying her punishments. My compliment to her seiyuu, Ai Kayano（茅野愛衣）, who has a couple of entries herself on "Kayo Kyoku Plus": "Amanchu!" （あまんちゅ!）and "Girls und Panzer".

However, I won't be placing any song performed by her on the series here. Actually, I'm going with "Mainichi Mousou" (Everyday Delusions) which is pretty much Darkness' theme, and it usually pops up when the character writhes in painful glee after getting physically or verbally hurt. The soundtrack was created by composer/arranger of game music, anison and movie soundtracks Masato Kouda（甲田雅人）. 

One would think that a song to describe Darkness' paroxysms of "Ouch!" pleasure would get the treatment of a sexy saxophone or trumpet in a dirty jazz bar. Instead though, genius Kouda came up with something approximating 1960s cocktail lounge music that could have been used during comical scenes in an 80s Japanese trendy drama. Nice touch as well with the breathy female background chorus...almost expected an ancient cigarette or whiskey commercial after that. 

Even Kayano the seiyuu herself can lose it at times!

Kenji Ozawa -- Tenki Yomi（天気読み）

 

I've said this from time to time because I do have the penchant to talk about the weather in my hometown. Toronto is predictably unpredictable, meteorologically speaking. Probably meteorologists around the world would love to come here for a spell. And today is one of the best days since this morning we began with a +14 C high but the temperature will be plummeting like an anvil in a Warner Bros. cartoon for a wind chill factor of -12 C! On top of that, we've had some sun, some cloud, some rain and later on, we'll most likely get some snow. All I can say is that maybe we're getting the weather version of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Well, I figure that perhaps I can put up a J-Pop tune or kayo on the weather. It took me a bit but I did find singer-songwriter Kenji Ozawa's（小沢健二）solo debut single following the breakup of the Shibuya-kei duo Flipper's Guitar（フリッパーズ・ギター）. Titled "Tenki Yomi" (Reading/Gauging the Weather), this was released in July 1993, this was written and composed by Ozawa.

Described in the J-Wiki article for "Tenki Yomi" as a rock number, I would actually go with something like a mixture rock song. Weaning himself off of his Shibuya-kei roots, I believe the song still has some of that Shibuya-kei groove combined with a bit of jazz and straight pop. Lyrically, it doesn't have anything to do with climactic conditions, but it is about a man's dealings with some existentially stormy weather in his romance life although it appears that there is a break in the clouds by the end with a ray of welcome light piercing through.

Yoshimi Tendo -- Showa Katagi（昭和かたぎ）

 

It was a pretty good night on "Uta Con"（うたコン）. One of my favourites, Masayuki Suzuki（鈴木雅之）, was there and there was a segment of the singers covering some old kayo kyoku. I was surprised and then not surprised to hear the late great Hibari Misora（美空ひばり）covering the recently departed Shinji Tanimura's（谷村新司）"Subaru"（昴）. If anyone could do additional justice to the song besides the original singer, it would be the Queen of Kayo Kyoku. 

Speaking of whom, veteran enka singer Yoshimi Tendo（天童よしみ）, someone that members of my family have dubbed the heir apparent for Misora, made her appearance. She did her own cover of Kenji Sawada's（沢田研二）1975 "Toki no Sugi Yuku Mama ni"（時の過ぎゆくままに） and it was nice to hear her tackle a non-enka tune.

However, enka is her realm after all so later on in the program, Tendo featured her newest release "Showa Katagi" which was made known to all a week ago as her 81st single. With that proud melody by Hideo Mizumori（水森英夫）spearheaded by that sharp trumpet, I had assumed that with the title, the song was a tribute to the Showa era, something that has been done by other singers over the past few years. 

But actually, when I looked up the second word katagi in the language banks, I found out that the term means "person in a respectable occupation" or "honest, decent". Looking through the lyrics by Reiji Mizuki（水木れいじ）, it's about a woman in love with her man in some small village or town. The trade that the man is involved in isn't known but he's putting in a hard day's work each and every day and perhaps the song is just as much about the impression of a Showa era guy: decent, hard-working if taciturn. I gather that the song title can be translated as "A Hard-Working Showa Man". 

Kinda taking off in another tangent here but in recent years, whenever I think of the typical Showa era guy, I'm often reminded of Komi-san's father although seeing that the anime is based in contemporary times, he's really a Heisei era guy. Maybe he would have spent his earliest years as a kid in Showa. As he has been depicted so far, he hasn't exploded in rage either.

Miina Tominaga -- Moonlight de Odorimashou（ムーンライトで踊りましょう）

 

It was back in late 2019 when I posted my first article regarding veteran actress, singer and seiyuu Miina Tominaga（冨永みーな）and her song "Hito Natsu no Memory"（ひと夏のメモリー）. She's had a career which goes all the way back to the mid-1970s and next year, she will be celebrating 50 years since her first foray behind the mike as a voice thespian. I figure that the above video by Otona Daigaku TV（大人大学TV）can hopefully encapsulate her many characters in anime. 

"Hito Natsu no Memory" was a track on Tominaga's debut album from September 1985, "M Marble"（Mマーブル）, and I described it as a jazzy synthpop love ballad. Well, another track from the record is "Moonlight de Odorimashou" (Let's Dance in the Moonlight) which has more of an old-fashioned 50s or 60s pop standard sensibility as written and composed by Yayoi Tanaka（田中弥生）. I don't think Tominaga was ever pegged as an aidoru but there's something about the song that would make it rather aidoru-friendly. I especially enjoy the strings and the background chorus work.

Magic, Drums & Love -- KEEP ROMANCE ALIVE

 

A few weeks ago, I came across this music video for "KEEP ROMANCE ALIVE", a December 2023 single by the band Magic, Drums & Love. The video had me hooked for its old-fashioned psychedelic appearance which reminded me of some of the special effects that had been used while a band was playing on some of the old music programs such as ABC's "American Bandstand" in the 60s and 70s. 

Though Magic, Drums & Love describes itself as a Tokyo rock n' roll band, "KEEP ROMANCE ALIVE" has a slew of genres running through its arteries, it seems. I can pick up on pop, synthpop, reggae and rock while the vocalists sound like seiyuu tackling an anison theme. The collaboration of 60s rock and then the bouncy reggae-pop at one point is fun to hear especially on a gloomy rainy day as it is here in Toronto today.

My take from the anarchic joy of the video and the names of the performers is that Magic, Drums & Love is a pretty free-spirited band. They have Jinta=Jinta as the guitarist (and the songwriter for "KEEP ROMANCE ALIVE"), YURINA da GOLD DIGGER as the drummer, guitarist ℃-want you!, bassist FUNK O'ney "The Diamond", percussionist EL FALCO OB-LA-DA and keyboardist Machi Good Chance Summer with all of them also performing on vocals. From what I have been able to glean from their website, they've been releasing singles and albums since the mid-2010s.

Midori Karashima -- Yume wo Tsunaide（夢をつないで）

 

Yes, I do love a fresh breezy piano.😄

That period of time ranging from the late 1980s to the early 1990s was one where a number of female singer-songwriters were coming to the fore with some straight ahead pop. It always strikes me as refreshing knowing that there were pop songs that didn't always hew to a certain angle such as an urban contemporary groove or an exotic feeling or something techno. Don't get me wrong...I've liked those tunes as well, but it's also nice to hear something clear, for the lack of a better term.

Midori Karashima（辛島美登里）has been one of those singers. I've not known her to put on a backwards baseball cap and yell "Yo!" or suddenly arm herself with a double-necked electric guitar to shred some rock. She's always been a purveyor of the comfortable piano pop. I've found another example of this in "Yume wo Tsunaide" (Connecting Dreams) which was the coupling song to her September 1990 8th single "Egao wo Sagashite"（笑顔を探して）and one of the ending themes for the beloved judo-based anime "Yawara".

The singer was responsible for words and music while Kei Wakakusa（若草恵）took care of the arrangement. "Yume wo Tsunaide" is a bittersweet song in which a woman catches sight of an old flame for the first time in perhaps some years. Suddenly, there is a flood of emotions as she fights internally about remembering the good times and the reality that the past is the past. Most likely in the end, though, there will be no contact although there will be the residual musings about how the man has fared all these years. The song was part of Karashima's March 1995 BEST compilation "Hello Goodbye".

World Order -- Boy Meets Girl

 

Welcome to the last few days of February. The temperature roller coaster has been continuing here in Toronto so we had a wind chill factor of -23 C on Saturday but by this coming Thursday, we may be up to +14 C. Whatever the meteorological case may be, our winter will likely end up as one of the warmest that we've had.

It's been a few years since I posted anything up for the song-and-dance group World Order starring former MMA athlete Genki Sudo（須藤元気）. I do remember when I first found out about them via their December 2014 song "Have A Nice Day" and more importantly, their performance as besuited automatons enjoying a disjointed stroll through areas such as Shibuya.

Now, I've gone even further back. In fact, I've dipped into their very first album "World Order" from July 2010 and realized that Sudo and the gang did a cover of trf's "Boy Meets Girl". I don't think that it eclipses the 1994 original by the techno song and dance group that Tetsuya Komuro（小室哲哉）built but it's still nice to hear the cover version and watch the guys doing their distinctive choreography while picking up some women during an evening encounter. Plus, you get to see a bit of what salaried workers in Japan do after they punch out of work. "World Order" managed to reach No. 82 on Oricon.

Ahhh...happy to find my favourite remix of "Boy Meets Girl". Man, was this a popular song back in the day!

Mayumi Hara -- Yuugure wa Love Song（夕暮れはLove Song）

 

The Mayumi Hara（原真祐美）file on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" has four songs including this one, but the previous two entries are for songs that she wrote up for other singers. So, in actual fact, the last song where she's featured on the byline is the first song that I ever wrote up about her back in September 2017.

That was for "Bye, Bye, September", her third single. Well, this is for her follow-up, "Yuugure wa Love Song" (Twilight is a Love Song) which was released in January 1984. There was quite the heavy-hitting team behind the creation of "Yuugure wa Love Song" with Yoshiko Miura（三浦徳子）providing the lyrics while City Pop maestro Tetsuji Hayashi（林哲司）created the melody with future "Evangelion" music master Shiro Sagisu（鷺巣詩郎）arranging everything. And again, although Hara's vocals were never the strongest, she's uplifted by the bouncy melody. It's not a City Pop tune but Hayashi and Sagisu did make something quite appealing with that wailing guitar in the intro which also sounds like the theme for some 1980s American hourlong TV adventure...well, some of it anyways. 

"Yuugure wa Love Song" only made it as high as No. 93 on Oricon. A month after the release of that 4th single, the song was also on Hara's 2nd album "Vert Clair"（ベール・クレール）.

Amaiwana -- I'm Crazy

 

When my brother and I were kids and our birthdays came around, it was the usual tradition to get birthday cakes from the local supermarket. They were the ones spackled with the blanket of thick white icing with blue or pink writing and those rosebuds to finish things off. In a way, those cakes almost finished us off since they were so supremely sweet that our teeth vibrated when we ate a slice and we were bouncing off the walls once the sugar officially hit our system. 

Seeing Amaiwana（アマイワナ）make that cake in her music video for the song "I'm Crazy" reminded me of those birthday cakes, and yeah, I guess in retrospect, I was crazy for liking those. I'm more of a plain apple pie guy now.

Anyways, up to now, I've been covering the relatively more recent Amaiwana outings when she was collaborating with Neo-City Pop or synthy 80s singer-songwriter Ginger Root for "Loneliness". "I'm Crazy" actually hails to the earliest point in her career that I've written about so far, although it's only back to 2022. From her October 2022 mini-album, "Baby Bedroom Punk"（ベイビィ・ベッドルーム・パンク）, the song starts off with a percussive pounding that made me wonder whether Amaiwana was going Art of Noise on me but then the rest of the song opts for something more down-to-earth funky synthpop. Written by the singer and composed by Atsumu Wonderful（アツムワンダフル）, "I'm Crazy" is about one woman's stream-of-consciousness and then sung opinions of what she thinks is society's unfair attitude towards things that she believes are perfectly fine and sane. The lady admits that she's on the borderline between her like for all things sentimental but also for that dangerous music. With the bouncy synth melody and the lyrics, I guess that's what it means to be baby bedroom punk.

For the record (no pun intended), I don't think Amaiwana is crazy at all...just an 80s lady in her 20s in the 20s.

Ryoko Sano -- Mayonaka no Bouquet（真夜中のブーケ）

 

Welcome to the 1601st aidoru article on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" and this one has got a style or panache that actually sent up a thrill up my back when I first heard it. And it all comes down to the observation that a lot of the aidoru tunes especially in the late 1980s have had some really lush arrangements.

Actress and singer Ryoko Sano（佐野量子）hasn't been seen as one of the superstar aidoru along the lines of Seiko Matsuda（松田聖子）or Miho Nakayama（中山美穂）but having covered a few of her tunes on the blog over the past few years, she's got some gems as well. "Mayonaka no Bouquet" (Midnight Bouquet) is an upbeat and dramatic tune which was included on her April 1987 album "Moderato". Written by Masumi Kawamura（川村真澄）, composed by Tsunehiro Izumi（和泉常寛）and arranged by Motoki Funayama（船山基紀）, I've simply declared it an aidoru tune but one with some sophistication and class...maybe a bit of City Pop here (especially with that guitar and bass) and a bit of Fashion Music there. Sano does indeed sound like a cute teenybopper singer but she's surrounded by a melody which gives the appearance of a lass out in the big city and marveling at the infrastructure. 

KAN -- Tokyo Life（東京ライフ）

 

It's been a little over three months since the untimely passing of singer-songwriter KAN and when I hear some of his more poignant songs, it does make the heart grow warmer and maybe even the eyes a little wetter. 

Case in point: his May 1989 5th single, "Tokyo Life". I've known that KAN was a huge admirer of the Piano Man himself, Billy Joel, and he has infused some of his songs with Joel's way with music. I think "Tokyo Life" is one of those examples as he sings about the average young salaryman in Japan's biggest city and how his life has gotten busier, more difficult and maybe even lonelier compared to his salad days in school. But in the end, the one thing that keeps him going week after week is his significant other. I'm not sure whether it's his wife or girlfriend, but just by being within proximity, the corporation guy is hanging in tough.

The use of those particular keyboards and KAN's plaintive vocals has the nostalgia flooding in regarding the turn of the 80s into the 90s which I witnessed firsthand as a teacher in Japan. "Tokyo Life" was also a track on his 4th album, "HAPPY TITLE: Koufuku Senshuken"（HAPPY TITLE -幸福選手権-）which was released in June that year.

Yutaka Kimura Speaks ~ Japanese City Pop Masterpieces 100: Ginji Ito -- Skylight ni Poplar no Kareha（SKYLIGHTにポプラの枯葉）

From Good Free Photos

 

(acoustic cover version)

Number: 046

Lyricist: Yukio Matsuo

Composer/Arranger: Ginji Ito

From Ito's 1983 album: "Winter Wonderland"

"Skylight ni Poplar no Kareha" (Autumn Poplar Leaves in the Skylight) is a sentimental medium-tempo tune with Taeko Ohnuki（大貫妙子）providing the background chorus. For Ginji Ito（伊藤銀次）, this may have been during his Beat Pops period*, but whenever he reveals his romantic side, he is more charming than anyone else out there. His sweet vocal quality is also most excellent. As we get deeper into autumn each year, I pull out his record and I just listen to this song.

The above comes from "Disc Collection Japanese City Pop Revised" (2020).

Hi, J-Canuck here. This is another song that I hadn't covered before its appearance as one of the 100 songs on Kimura's list, and the reason here is that it's the first time since I began covering all of these masterpieces that I could not find a complete original version of the song as of this writing (considering that we are almost halfway through the list before hitting our first blank, so to speak, isn't too bad though). However, I was able to track down an excerpt which you can listen to here, and in fact, it sounds so cheerfully wintry that it may be downright Xmas. I was able to find the above video from YouTube which is, as mentioned, a lovely acoustic guitar take by YouTuber kompeitou7 from over a decade ago. Incidentally, according to Discogs, the official English title for "Skylight ni Poplar no Kareha" was supposedly "Autumn Scene".

*I have no idea what Kimura is referring to with the "Beat Pops" period. The only thing that I could find when I put in the term into Yahoo Japan search engine was a popular Japanese radio program from the 1960s. I can only assume that the journalist was talking about a time in the 1980s when Ito was perhaps handling more upbeat pop fare but if there are any Ito fans who can illuminate me, that would be greatly appreciated.

NILO -- Misty Rain

 

I saw on NHK News yesterday that the Nikkei hit a new high mark, something that hasn't been done since the Bubble era in the late 1980s. Happy days are here again? Not quite ready to say that myself, but I hope that things are looking good in Japan's direction. I'm snarkily wondering about million-dollar golf membership fees and gold flakes on every sort of dish once more.

Anyways, getting back on track, maybe there's something between precipitation and these Neo-City Pop bands. A couple of weeks ago, I posted "Rainy Talk" by evening cinema.

Today, I have NILO with her January 2024 "Misty Rain". It's got that early 21st-century groovy sheen as NILO sings about suddenly brushing by a guy on the street who she recognizes as an old flame. The rain then acts as protector and cleanser for the lady now suffering sudden painful and poignant memories of the past relationship. Hopefully, by the time she gets home, she'll feel ready to get back on her feet without all of the existential burden of a now-finished love. Still, the music (sorry, couldn't find out who was behind words and music...maybe NILO herself) has got that swinging old-fashioned caviar-and-champagne arrangement from that aforementioned Bubble era.

From what I could find at her website, Nilo Koizumi（小泉ニロ）made her debut in 2007 and had been based in the Kansai area while doing radio stints as a DJ in Osaka, Nagoya and Sapporo. She was doing a lot of bossa nova but then recently, she's also started exploring City Pop. Currently, she's living in Germany.

Hiromi Iwasaki -- Kiss Again

 

As a friend once said in his own amazing way: This cooks! But then again, we are talking about wunderkind aidoru-turned-chanteuse Hiromi Iwasaki（岩崎宏美）. From her August 1980 album "Wish", I give you "Kiss Again", which is I guess one of her more City Pop-oriented releases, not surprising considering the times back then. 

"Kiss Again" was written by Chinfa Kan（康珍化）, composed by Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）and arranged by Tsugutoshi Goto（後藤次利）. Iwasaki really had a time in her City Pop period going from the late 1970s into the 1980s before she opted to become a dramatic balladeer for the next several years for the most part, but before I digress too far off the main road, let me say that this song is quite the hidden City Pop gem as she sings about a date that one woman insists not end. As she lightly purrs, "Kiss again, kiss again, hold me tight". I wonder what they will have for breakfast?😎

It's quite the funky piece with the romantic disco strings as Iwasaki sings some very seductive vocals. Some interesting chord changes in the underlying melody too near the end. "Kiss Again" was never a single or even a B-side...just a track on "Wish" so I probably wouldn't have ever seen it performed on one of the television music shows, but I am left wondering whether Iwasaki would have been allowed to perform something this sultry on air (I haven't come across any such footage on YouTube; maybe OK at concerts?). Yeah, I know...it's far from an X-rated song but the singer was on the borderline between teenager and adult at the time, and knowing a bit about the conservatism of prime-time TV in Japan (late-night TV was a whole different ball of wax), maybe it would have too much for a young lady to sing about dragging a guy to bed with her. 

Yuri Shimazaki -- Shien（紫煙）

 

Well, I've brought out "live-action" Kayo Grace Kyoku in a drinking establishment whose bottles are perhaps a little too close for comfort. However, the photo seems to be the right one for this song.

First, just a little background though. I first mentioned singer Yuri Shimazaki（しまざき由理）almost four years ago when she sang one of the ending themes for the popular 70s cop show "G-MEN★75", "Omokage"（面影）. Shimazaki was still technically a teenager when she recorded this moody Mood Kayo in 1975 as if she were a hardened mistress of the mizu shobai. Mind you, she'd been a singer for some time before that.

The majority of her discography going into the 1980s and her early twenties was involved with "G-MEN★75", but in September 1981, Shimazaki released an album "After Hours"（アフター･アワー）which I hadn't heard of. The cover has her sleeping comfortably in some gold leaf or gold lame that makes it appear she's had the most expensive rest in her lifetime. Regardless, one track that I found on "After Hours" is "Shien" (Tobacco Smoke). It stands out for that particular keyboard being used in the intro and throughout the song. Feeling the mellowness of the arrangement by Tadashige Matsui（松井忠重）, I wasn't surprised that "Shien" was created by lyricist Etsuko Kisugi（来生えつこ）and composer Takao Kisugi（来生たかお）who are famous for their languid songs. 

Nope, I wouldn't say that "Shien" is a City Pop or AOR tune or even Mood Kayo by any means. But it does have that metropolitan feel and I do imagine that above scene with Kayo when this is playing in my head. If anything, I would say that the song enters the Fashion Music realm with the way the melody kinda slowly bounces around as if it were in France but at the same time, feels like a stint on the chaise lounge...or a well-worn bar stool. The titular smoke would be rising up very calmly, making all sorts of curls before it dissipates.

Casiopea -- Tokyo Sunset

 

Well, actually, the above photo is of a dreamy sunset in the Koedo district of Kawagoe City, Saitama Prefecture when I was there in 2017. But it's still close enough to Tokyo.😁

Anyways, let's start off the urban contemporary Friday segment of KKP this week with "Tokyo Sunset", the final track on fusion band Casiopea's（カシオペア）37th studio album "Places" from July 2003. It's a lovely jazzy ballad by the band's guitarist Issei Noro（野呂一生）and it's fitting as the final track since there is so much about "Tokyo Sunset" that says Miller Time after a tough week at the office. Mind you, the melody might be more about the white wine rather than the brewski. But I'll leave that up to you.🍺🍷

A few years later, Casiopea put out an intriguing compilation album titled "CASIOPEA Plays Guitar MINUS ONE PLACES" from November 2007 which consists of the original album with only four of the tracks in their entirety and then those same tracks without Noro's guitar. Below is that version of "Tokyo Sunset". Either way, it's a Friday...meet those friends and relax while the sun's going down.

Jerry Goldsmith -- Theme from "Room 222"

 

I usually just provide three articles on a Thursday: one Reminiscings of Youth article and then a couple of kayo. However, I did realize that today is February 22nd, so of course, I'm thinking 2/22. I never thought about going as far as waiting until 2:22 pm today to put up an article but in the interests of whimsy and the fact that Japan is celebrating a national holiday in the form of the current Emperor's birthday on the 23rd, I'm putting up another ROY which will make it the third this week.

And yup, I'm going to be very cute here and post up the opening theme song for the American sitcom "Room 222". Sitcom?! All these years, I'd assumed that the show was a heartfelt coming-of-age drama about high schoolers and their teachers. But indeed, it was made for laughs. Its run lasted between September 11th 1969 and January 11th 1974. 

I don't recall ever seeing an episode but then I couldn't imagine someone like myself at my age of just under 4 years sagely watching "Room 222" for the insightful parables and gentle humour. Still, the opening credits of the students and teachers coming to school and the theme song have stuck with me all these decades, and isn't that what they're supposed to do to attract viewers? As for that theme, it was composed by none other than Jerry Goldsmith, a man who came up with a lot of famous theme songs including the one for "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" and "Star Trek: The Next Generation". I'll probably be covering at least a couple more of Goldsmith's creations as ROY material.

Goldsmith's "Room 222" invaded my ears and brain right from the get-go in 1969. I guess it is because it has that cool contemporary pop rhythm overlaying periodic urgent drum rolls hinting at the academic lessons to come. What has it staying in my head is that the theme and the opening credits show off that certain innocence of life back then, even in the blackboard jungle.

Anyways, what was at the top of the Japanese song rankings back on September 8th 1969? I have Nos. 1, 5 and 6.

1. Mina Aoe -- Ikebukuro no Yoru （池袋の夜）

5. The Tigers -- Smile For Me

6. Hiroshi Uchiyamada and The Cool Five -- Nagasaki wa Kyou mo Ame Datta （長崎は今日も雨だった）

Nash Music Library -- Koucha（紅茶）

 

Yes, as a kid, I used to drink the old orange pekoe tea with milk and sugar for breakfast for years before I graduated my way into coffee, the university student's jet fuel for cramming and all-nighters. Then in Japan, I discovered that the masses also loved a cold version of what I had used to drink, heavy on the sugar and milk.

Indeed, Kirin's Gogo no Koucha（午後の紅茶...Afternoon Tea） was part of what helped me endure the hot humid summers in the Tokyo area. Whether it was the can from the vending machines or the 2L bottles filled with the stuff, the milk tea kept me hydrated and relatively happy. The wonderful thing is that I can even purchase Gogo no Koucha from time to time at the local Walmart here, usually when it's on sale.

It's time for another entry from Nash Music Library. The last time I posted a song from them, it was "Cocktail From Japan" that was released in 2024. This entry goes all the way back to April 1998 with their "Fusion" album. "Koucha" (Black Tea) is a simply skippy and happy pop song with its own supply of caffeine to keep folks going. The piano is the main instrument here and the song sounds like it would be perfect as the BGM for some trendy drama of the late 1980s. Perhaps "Koucha" might even be a little too genki for a sedate time at the local café sipping koucha.

Hayabusa -- Akasaka Rainy Night（赤坂レイニー・ナイト）

 

Although I have been to the tony district of Akasaka in Tokyo a number of times, nighttime visits were pretty rare for me (maybe two or three times?). For one thing, going there at night often meant dining and drinking at some expensive joints, something that I really couldn't afford on a teacher's salary. Still walking in Akasaka past sunset gives that feeling of being in a cool and well-to-do district as an alternative to Ginza. Incidentally, giving credit where credit is due, the above video has been provided by the YouTube channel Tokyo Night District.

Just my two pennies here, but I think when it comes to the Mood Kayo genre, there are a couple of popular tropes: one being rain and another being Akasaka. Mood Kayo is seen as the urban cousin to enka with a lot of bars and clubs in its songs, so Akasaka is just the place for that, and for some reason, rain adds to the atmosphere or the mood. Therefore, I guess it was a done deal that a song titled "Akasaka Rainy Night" would be created. After all, we've had songs such as "Una Sera di Tokyo"（ウナ・セラ・ディ東京）and "Ame no Akasaka"（雨の赤坂）.

In any case, "Akasaka Rainy Night" is a February 2024 single by the kayo kyoku group Hayabusa（はやぶさ）that was released just yesterday, and I saw it performed on the NHK program "Hayauta"（はやウタ）which is why I'm writing about it here. Written by Naoki Yasuoka（保岡直樹）and composed by Masayoshi Tsuruoka（鶴岡雅義）of Tokyo Romantica（東京ロマンチカ）, it sounds like a classic Mood Kayo with that Latin guitar plucking and harmonies by the duo's Hikaru（ヒカル）and Yamato（ヤマト）. At the same time, though, I can also pick up on some swinging French jazz lurking under the main melody.

At first impression, I thought that Yasuoka's lyrics would depict another tale of heartbreak in the big sad city, especially with all that rain. However, the words don't really show that, instead illustrating some sort of rendezvous happening in Akasaka while the precipitation is happening outside. Well, the weather may be cold and wet outside but at least the love is keeping them warm. 

I first wrote about Hayabusa back in 2017 with their "Romantic Tokyo"（ロマンティック東京）. At the time, they were a trio but  Shouya（ショウヤ）left the group in 2018 for health reasons.

Patti Austin & James Ingram -- Baby, Come to Me

 

"General Hospital" is a daytime soap opera that I've known about since I actually got out of hospital after my birth. Even as a toddler, I'd been aware of characters such as nurse Jessie Brewer, Dr. Steve Hardy and lawyer Lee Baldwin. However going into the 1980s, I and a lot of North America suddenly realized that one of television's longest-running programs spiked in popularity, intrigue and sex appeal because of the Luke & Laura story line. I didn't actually get sucked into that plot but then afterwards, I started watching in 1982 when Luke Spencer had supposedly died and then come back from the dead to get into some more mystery which involved spies like Robert Scorpio of the WSB and the enigma that was Holly Sutton.

Unfortunately, the above video has Luke and Holly meeting up but it doesn't have the scene where the latter first appeared. It was accompanied by a sultry R&B number that I would later find out was titled "Baby, Come to Me" although the Wikipedia article identified the song as a love theme for Luke.  It was around the same time that a young Demi Moore would make her presence felt as crusading reporter Jackie Templeton.

At the time, I was still getting my feet wet in terms of my newfound appreciation for pop music and since "Baby, Come to Me" was something that was being played in the background while the actors were saying their lines, I didn't quite fall for it back then. However, as sung by Patti Austin and the late James Ingram who contributed mightily to Quincy Jones' "The Dude" in 1981, I've come to discover that the love ballad is one of the very best of Quiet Storm, a genre that I often associate with one Anita Baker.

"Baby, Come to Me" was released in April 1982 but it had first become known as a track on Austin's September 1981 album "Every Home Should Have One". I hadn't known that and what I also didn't know that the album version had a slightly longer intro. But once it was put out as a single in the spring of 1982, it did OK by peaking at No. 73 on Billboard but with the boost in popularity thanks to its use in "General Hospital", it was given a second release later in October and finally hit No. 1 in early 1983. 

May I say that this ballad really brings back the nostalgia and the wonders of late 70s and early 80s R&B. Plus, Michael McDonald is once again providing wonderful backing chorus. Rod Temperton created the song while the aforementioned Jones produced the whole ball of wax. The recording musicians were no slouches either: David Foster, Temperton, Greg Phillinganes and Steve Lukather among others.

To specify,  the album "Every Home Should Have One" was released on September 28th 1981. Well, I was able to track down the list of the top songs in Japan on that very day. The top three are as follows:

1. Imo Kin Trio -- High School Lullaby

2. Toshihiko Tahara -- Kanashimi 2 (TOO) Young （悲しみ２「ＴＯＯ」ヤング）

3. Yumi Matsutoya -- Mamotte Agetai（守ってあげたい) 

Misako Honjo -- Wanna Be a Superstar

 

Looks like Kayo Grace has decided to spread her wings a bit professionally and go into a rock band. Well, good for her.

Back last August, I first wrote about heavy metal and rock singer Misako Honjo（本城未沙子）and her "Emergency" which was her debut single from 1984. Unfortunately, the video for that one has been taken down due to the usual reasons and I can only provide a link to "Billboard Japan". 

Hopefully though, the above will last longer. "Wanna Be a Superstar" is a track on Honjo's August 1985 album "Foresight". Written by Kayoko Fuyumori（冬杜花代子）, who had also been the lyricist for "Emergency", and composed by Takehiko Kogure（木暮武彦）, Honjo anthemically proclaims her ambitions. Loud and proud, she is! The intriguing thing though is that her vocals don't get super-shreddy; they are actually pretty smooth despite the usual volume involved in a metal adventure. Not sure if she ever became a superstar but here's hoping that she was able to get a loyal base of fans over the years.

Komadori Shimai -- Namida no Ramen（涙のラーメン）

 

Met up with fellow KKP co-administrator Larry Chan along with a fellow translator and another good friend of 30 years' standing earlier today for a lunch at Sansotei, one of the ramen restaurants at the intersection of Yonge and Eglinton that make up what is basically now Ramen Central in Toronto. Yup, we've got representative branches of the major ramen joints in our fair city in that area: Sansotei, Santouka, Kinton and Touhenboku. I went for the Spicy Tan Tan and it worked out very nicely. It did have a kick but it didn't linger well into the afternoon. Sorry no photos of that culinary adventure today; I guess I was too engrossed into slurping up my noodles, so we'll have to settle for the instant Wakayama Ramen that I had on New Year's Eve.

So, on getting home tonight, I was wondering if there were any other ramen-themed kayo kyoku out there. Of course, there is Akiko Yano's（矢野顕子）slurp-worthy "Ramen Tabetai" （ラーメン食べたい）but I already posted that one over ten years ago.

However, I did find one from even farther back. "Namida no Ramen" (Ramen of Tears) was one-half of a single released by enka sister duo Komadori Shimai（こまどり姉妹）back in September 1963 with the other side of the 45" being "Ukikusa Shamisen"（浮草三味線...Duckweed Shamisen）. I haven't really written on Eiko and Yoko Namiki（並木栄子・並木葉子）since 2017, so it's nice to see them back on KKP, and with "Namida no Ramen", the iconic noodle dish seems to have replaced the tokkuri of sake as the libation that heals in this particular song. Having the delicious bowl of ramen brings back the memories of home and perhaps past romances and friendships which of course will hit the heart quite hard (mind you, the cholesterol will hit the arteries in the same way). 

Veteran songwriter Minoru Endo（遠藤実）took care of both words and music for "Namida no Ramen". There is a lullaby aspect to the melody and the sisters sound as if they are the mama-san of a neighbourhood nomiya, as they coddle and reassure the uncertain customer about his status in life. As a ramen lover, I haven't exactly cried in my soup but I do appreciate the joy of having the bowl, especially during the winter.

Curtis Creek Band -- Sail On Slowly, Josephson

 

When I first discovered the Japanese fusion group, Curtis Creek Band, back last June, I was reminded of Will Riker's Curtis Creek fishing program on the holodeck of the Enterprise-D. Well, this time I was fortunate to find a YouTube video with the man and his fake son mentioning it from the episode "Past Imperfect".

The former First Officer was also someone we Trekkies knew as a jazz trombone aficionado although I'm not sure how he would have felt about the fusion genre. Anyways, I have another entry by Curtis Creek Band which served as the first track on their 1981 album "Driftin'". I don't know who Josephson was on "Sail On Slowly, Josephson" but obviously harmonica player Nobuo Yagi（八木のぶお）and saxophonist Toshiro Sakka（さっか利郎）, the core duo of the band, must have loved the big lug. There's something quite elegiac about "Sail On Slowly, Josephson" as if their friend had only recently departed this mortal coil and the band decided to send him off with something approximating a New Orleans funeral march with an affectionate and heartwarming fusion twist. Safe journey, Josephson!😢

Hiroshi Murai -- Video Days

 

In my Minami-Gyotoku neighbourhood in Ichikawa City...as was probably the case in most neighbourhoods, we had a wealth of convenience stores and supermarkets. Around the station within a radius of several hundred metres, there were four supermarkets and at least as many convenience stores. The supermarkets of course were where I got my ingredients for home-cooked meals but I visited the konbini when I was satisfied enough to get a microwavable bento or snacks. Although I think I went mostly to the local Am/Pm and 7-11, Sunkus was also just a few minutes down from the station exit so when I did come home early, I would also drop by there for food and drink.

Well, this song by Hiroshi Murai（村井博）was apparently used as the commercial jingle for Sunkus back in the early 1990s. "Video Days" was released as his 4th single; depending on where you look, it was supposed to have come out either in 1990 or 1991 but I'll go with the former year since it was more specific with the release month being June that year. Not sure how video comes into this song but it's a summery pop tune that has me thinking of the band TUBE and even Yasuhiro Abe（安部恭弘）when I'm musing about Murai's delivery. 

"Video Days" was written by Anju Mana（真名杏樹）, composed by Takashi Tsushimi（都志見隆）and arranged jointly by Motoki Funayama（船山基紀）and Yasuhiro Kido（木戸やすひろ）. It was also a track on Murai's 4th and final album to date, "Natural" (1990) which shares space on the CD with "Natsu no Kakurega ~ Weekend Resort"（夏の隠れ家）. Up to now with the other three Murai songs that I've posted including "Natsu no Kakurega", it's been about the 1990s City Pop but "Video Days" is bright ol' pop...happy enough to persuade folks to pick up some bento and Pringles and milk tea perhaps.😋

Kenny Loggins -- This is It

 

As Kayo Grace Kyoku is showing up above, it is Family Day today in most provinces in Canada including my home of Ontario. My own family had our big get-together a couple of days ago; we had sushi and pie because we like sushi and pie. Incidentally, let me introduce Kayo's family: we've got Kayo's mother Sayo at top left, and her two younger sisters, Mayo and Nayo going from left to right, and then at top right is father Garfield (yeah, like the cat). They have residences in Tokyo and Unionville, Ontario.

In any case, before I end up creating an entire background for the Kyoku family, let me get to the special edition of Reminiscings of Youth that I always do on holidays. I've chosen Kenny Loggins' "This is It", a song which I first discovered through a K-Tel compilation record commercial all the way back in my junior high school days and a few seconds of the official music video above is all I got. Since then, I've gotten to know a lot of Loggins' discography and even noted a few of his works in previous ROY articles but it took quite a while longer to appreciate "This is It" which was created by the singer and Michael McDonald who also contributes his distinct vocals.

When I heard "This is It" which was released as this soft rock song in October 1979, I had taken it to be a song of encouragement for those sitting on the borderline about whether or not to initiate some sort of courtship. Actually though, from what I read from the comments below the various copies of the song on YouTube and then the Wikipedia article on it, Loggins finally completed it as not a love song but as a life song as the man himself put it. His father had been going through surgery after surgery to resolve medical issues and as he was getting discouraged about the future, the singer and songwriter finally came up with the lyrics as not only encouragement but as a not-too-harsh smack on the head to stand up and fight and not give in or up.

The interesting thing is that usually when I hear a song with this lyrical theme of fighting against adversity, I get sound images of heroic marches or even enka. Not with "This is It"; it sounds sultry and smooth which would explain why I had initially thought it was a love ballad. Regardless of how people interpreted the music and lyrics, the song was another success for Loggins as it reached No. 9 on Canada's RPM chart and No. 11 in America.

I was able to find what was occupying the top three spaces on the Oricon Top 10 list for October 1st 1979 (although I don't know exactly which day "This is It" was released).

1. Masashi Sada -- Kanpaku Sengen （関白宣言）

2. Masahiro Kuwana -- Sexual Violet No. 1（セクシャルバイオレットNo.1）

3. Sachiko Kobayashi -- Omoide Zake （おもいで酒）

I always love it when the younger generation discover some of the wonderful songs of my generation!

Keiko Toge -- Beautiful Dreamer/Yume no Iriguchi（夢の入口）

 

I remember when the marvelous singer-songwriter Akiko Kobayashi（小林明子）came onto the music scene with her debut song and 1985 hit single "Koi ni Ochite"（恋におちて）, and people were marveling at how much she sounded like the late Karen Carpenter of Carpenters' fame. The fact that the legendary American singing duo is basically seen as music gods in Japan amped Kobayashi's profile considerably. Just a few years after that, Kobayashi even got to work with Richard Carpenter on the album "City of Angels".

Well, Kobayashi wasn't alone when it came to the Karen Carpenter comparison. Singer-songwriter Keiko Toge（峠恵子）who hails from Saitama Prefecture was scouted by CBS-Sony perhaps around the end of the 80s or early in 1990 when she was a university student and subbed for a friend who was supposed to perform at a live house and she just happened to sing the Carpenters' "I Need to Be in Love". According to her own Facebook page, at around the same time, Toge was also chosen to be the lead vocalist for the Group Sounds band The Wild Ones when they were commemorating their 25th anniversary.

Between 1992 and 1997, Toge released eight singles and two original albums. Her penultimate single released in December 1996 was "Beautiful Dreamer". Although nothing has been written in her J-Wiki profile, this particular song was used as the theme for some sort of world fair which took place in Japan at around that time according to a few comments under the video. It does have that very sunny and optimistic outlook in its arrangement which was handled by the late composer/arranger Katsuhisa Hattori（服部隆之）. To be honest, I can not only pick up on the Karen Carpenter similarity but also the observation that the song sounds a bit like something that the Carpenters could have tackled back in the day. Fumiko Okada（岡田富美子）provided the lyrics.

Toge's Carpenter-ness becomes even more pronounced on the coupling song "Yume no Iriguchi" (Dream Gate). I'm not sure if this tune had ever been used in media but it would have made a fine commercial tune for the Brazilian tourism board. There's some bossa nova and jazz in there and those two have always been welcome in my ears. Hattori and Okada were also responsible for "Yume no Iriguchi".

The singer has had quite the interesting life. Dropping out of high school, she opted to study in America for a year before returning to Japan and later graduating from the Faculty of Law at Seijo University. Toge also has a 1st-class certification in the Ski Association of Japan. Some years following her release of singles and albums, she even went on a yearlong expedition in 2001. First, she went with several others over 45 days on a yacht to head down to the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya on the island of New Guinea. Apparently, Toge was also the first person to reach the top of the northern face of Puncak Trikora, the 2nd-highest mountain on New Guinea. Then, she even spent life in the jungle for many months searching for the remains of Japanese soldiers and any signs of the supposedly extinct Thylacine. After returning home in 2002, she would eventually write about her own experiences in New Guinea. I wonder whether she deserved a John Williams soundtrack to her journey.

On top of all that, she's also behind the sound logo for Morinaga. This reminds me of Takako Minekawa's（嶺川貴子）contribution to PlayStation.

But let's finish this all off by going back to the beginning.