Various -- Meiji Chocolate Theme（明治チョコレート・テーマ）

 

There are a number of reasons that I actually gained weight while living in Japan instead of the opposite and probably healthier direction. One is that the average convenience store held some scrumptious snacks including various forms of chocolate. The famous company Meiji（明治製菓）was also complicit by providing some of that cacao goodness including those chocolate-covered almonds. If the product being stated on this blog sounds familiar, then you must have read yesterday's article on Mariya Takeuchi's（竹内まりや） "Synchronicity ~ Suteki na Guuzen"（シンクロニシティ (素敵な偶然)）since the song was used for that particular Meiji confection.

From Amazon.jp

Yeah, that's right. YOU! Damn you, Meiji Almond Chocolates and your sultry chocolatey vixen ways! That might as well be a mug shot...a mug of hot chocolate!

I have no idea how many tens of millions of Meiji chocolate products get sold annually but I know that the marketing department for the company must have cleaning up the yen all these decades including the various commercial campaigns on television. And that includes the whimsical theme song for the chocolate which was one line repeated over and over like a hypnotic mantra: 

Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate wa Meiji（チョコレート チョコレート チョコレイトはメイジ～ ...Chocolate is Meiji）

The first time I heard it was when the popular aidoru duo of the late 1980s going into the 1990s, Wink, sang it coquettishly for the company. My assumption had been that the jingle was made just for them.

Well, how wrong I was! The "Meiji Chocolate Theme", which is also known as "Chocolate wa Meiji"（チョコレートは明治） and "Meiji Chocolate no Uta"（明治チョコレートの歌...The Meiji Chocolate Song）, was first created by famed songwriter Taku Izumi（いずみたく）, who was also responsible for the theme song for the long-running interview show "Tetsuko no Heya"（徹子の部屋） starring Tetsuko Kuroyanagi（黒柳徹子）, in 1966. The above ads were supposedly from 1967 and it's interesting to see that the commercials feature a father and his daughter enjoying the chocolate; apparently, Mom would have stopped that habit dead in its tracks. The very first version as noted above was sung by the vocal trio The Three Graces（スリー・グレイセス）who also sang the theme song for beloved anime "Mahotsukai Sally"（魔法使いサリー）in the same year of the Meiji theme's debut.

Reading through the J-Wiki article for Meiji, the theme song has been covered over the past half-century by many singers in their individual way, and one such band who did so was none other than the Group Sounds bunch known as The Tigers（ザ・タイガーズ）with Kenji Sawada（沢田研二）at the fore.

80s aidoru Akina Nakamori（中森明菜）gave her own contributions to the "Meiji Chocolate Theme" and other songs connected with the company.

Jun Matsumoto（松本潤）of Arashi（嵐）wasn't the one singing here but the theme gets a circus-like arrangement while the lad himself and his surroundings are very reminiscent of Willy Wonka.

Just for Fun...The J-C AI Gallery: The Cool Five, Yujiro and Frank & Kazuko

 

Welcome back to the J-C AI Gallery where the Bing Image Creator takes my famous kayo kyoku or J-Pop titles and interprets them as best as it can. This week's theme is on those boozy Mood Kayo songs of yore. Remember to drink responsibly!😉

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

Yujiro Ishihara -- Brandy Glass (ブランデーグラス）

Frank Nagai and Kazuko Matsuo -- Tokyo Nightclub （東京ナイトクラブ）

Mariya Takeuchi -- Synchronicity ~ Suteki na Guuzen（シンクロニシティ (素敵な偶然)）

 

Back on June 14th, the weekly Yutaka Kimura Speaks ~ Japanese City Pop Masterpieces 100 article was devoted to Sentimental City Romance's（センチメンタル・シティ・ロマンス）"Natsu no Hi no Omoide ~ Dancing Music"（夏の日の想い出 ~ ダンシング・ミュージック）. In it, there was a reference to Mariya Takeuchi's（竹内まりや）"Synchronicity".

Now, to be perfectly transparent, I hadn't ever heard about "Synchronicity" which was Takeuchi's 32nd single. Actually, I should correct myself. The official title for the single was "Henshin/Synchronicity ~ Suteki na Guuzen"（返信/シンクロニシティ (素敵な偶然)...The Reply/Synchronicity ~ A Splendid Coincidence） that came out in September 2006.

So, one of those A-sides, "Synchronicity" is a song of a couple completely in lockstep with each other, written and composed by Mariya while her husband, Tatsuro Yamashita（山下達郎）, took care of the arrangement. As for why Kimura referred to it in his glowing review for "Natsu no Hi no Omoide", he felt that it was an extension of the good ol' days of Sentimental City Romance back in the 1970s, and that's not surprising. As we can hear and see in the official music video, it looks like the Yamashitas brought back SCR to record the song together. The return of the steel pedal guitar gives it away immediately (of course, Tats is in the circle keeping his usual low profile while strumming away at his guitar).

Yeah, it's a sunny and pleasant country pop tune, and not only do I think it is an extension of the early days of Sentimental City Romance, perhaps it is also an extension of Mariya's debut album "Beginning" from 1978 because the band helped out a lot in the recording there, too. I guess I can consider the "Synchronicity" project a reunion of sorts. 

The single hit No. 8 on Oricon and "Synchronicity" was used as a Meiji Chocolate chocolate-covered almonds commercial song. You can take a look at a very early ad below. I used to devour those like anything.

Yukako Hayase -- Tsubaki Hime no Natsu（椿姫の夏）

 

Yukako Hayase（早瀬優香子）is a singer that I discovered because of the work on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" over the past dozen years. So far, although there are only a few of her songs on the blog, I've gotten the impression that she's been able to gain her own loyal group of followers for her appealingly quirky brand of technopop.

Case in point: her April 1987 single "Tsubaki Hime no Natsu" (The Summer of the Lady of the Camellias). Written by Yukinojo Mori（森雪之丞）and composed by Haruomi Hosono（細野晴臣）, even going late into the 1980s, Harry still had some of that remaining YMO magic spinning around in his head when he made what sounds like some happy techno cabaret for Hayase. I can imagine two professional tango robots tripping the light fantastic on the dance floor here.

"Tsubaki Hime no Natsu" also got a slight re-arrangement when it was placed on Hayase's July 1987 album "Polyester". It still keeps its techno sheen but it then maintains things a little more intimately as if the cabaret club got a little smaller and at the same time, it gains a bit more of that old Tin Pan Alley（ティン・パン・アレー） Tiki bar style. Incidentally, the single version was used for a Shiseido cosmetics campaign.

Hanaregumi -- Shinkokyuu（深呼吸）

 

Really needed and still need some deep breaths right now. A few hours ago, I had a meltdown involving some people and how they act, and how I've had to endure it. Their responses exacerbated my mood further and I don't expect them to change nor feel apologetic; it's simply not their way.

"Shinkokyuu" (Deep Breaths) is a pop ballad by Hanaregumi（ハナレグミ）which served as his 5th and final CD single thus far released in May 2016 (since then, his singles have all been digital). Written and composed by the singer-songwriter, the lyrics seem to be telling a story of a young man remembering but not dwelling on his old self from yesteryear while taking those next steps into the future. The music video is similarly wistful and maybe I'm mistaken here, but it looks like the central character meets his future and past selves while looking for his lost dog. "Shinkokyuu" managed to reach No. 37 on Oricon.

Yukie Kawakami + Tsutomu -- Heart no Neji（ハートのねじ）

 

It was well over a decade ago when I first provided the article for aidoru Yukie Kawakami's（河上幸恵）1983 debut single "Blue Etranger"（ブルーエトランゼ）, and it struck me as being quite a refined song for a teenybopper singer. I rather compared the song with the type of music that pop chanteuse Mariko Takahashi（高橋真梨子）sang during that same period.

The other day, commenter YMOfan04 asked me about another single that Kawakami recorded in December 1984, "Heart no Neji" (Key to Your Heart), so I decided to check that one out as something that could be posted here as the aidoru's second KKP entry. Now to be fair, it's not just Kawakami but her and a robot named Tsutomu（ツトム）behind this much more conventionally upbeat and perky aidoru tune. The singer's voice is still pretty spot-on and appropriately girlish. Yasushi Akimoto（秋元康）was behind the lyrics while Kosho Inomata（水谷公生）took care of the music and Shiro Sagisu（鷺巣詩郎）was responsible for the arrangement.

Southern All Stars -- Ai no Kotodama 〜Spiritual Message〜（愛の言霊）

 

The last time I wrote up on the legendary band Southern All Stars（サザンオールスターズ）was back in late 2022 when I posted their "Christmas Time Forever". After that, there came their "cameos" on Reminiscings of Youth articles, so it's nice to have Keisuke Kuwata（桑田佳祐）, Yuko Hara（原由子） and company return to the byline.

Frankly, this SAS song was something that I had forgotten in the years since I first heard it some decades ago. And that's most likely due to the fact that I never saw the NTV 1996 drama "Toumei Ningen"（透明人間...The Invisible Man） starring SMAP's Shingo Katori（香取慎吾）as the title character. I do remember catching the commercials promoting it though because Katori was popping up nude (tastefully, though); I heard rumours that parts of his body had to be insured. Anyways, "Ai no Kotodama ~Spiritual Message~" (The Power of the Words of Love) was the ending theme.

As well, it was also used as the campaign song for au LISMO, the KDDI cellphone service and now as I remember it, "Ai no Kotodama" seemed to be the favourite on that Saturday night celebrity karaoke show, also on NTV. And perhaps that was no surprise since the show depended on the rankings of which one of them was Oricon where it scored a No. 1 following its release as SAS' 37th single in May 1996. It would rank in at No. 7 on the yearly charts. But still, for whatever reason, compared to some of the other hits by Southern All Stars, "Ai no Kotodama" never quite sank into my memories or psyche.

Maybe it was because the song just tried to cram itself with a ton of different influences. Usually I appreciate a mixture of genres but I think it was kinda like listening to the equivalent of a kid tossing everything but the kitchen sink into the closet when he hears his mother storming up the stairs to see if he actually cleaned up his room. "Ai no Kotodama" has got elements of dance club, Japanese festival, Indonesian rap, jazzy scat and English. Plus for the longest time, when I heard the song, I'd been under the impression that Kuwata was singing in French in parts. According to the J-Wiki writeup on "Ai no Kotodama", Kuwata had wanted to trip the light fantastic with his voice via all these different languages and sounds.

In the end, my ears and head were filled with this fruit salad in rum-spiked gelatin that incorporated virtually every single fruit on Earth in existence, and so I kinda went "Well, I'll just have to take it really slowly with this one here...small bites over many days". Basically, it's gonna have to grow on me. But in any case, "Ai no Kotodama" is also a track on the band's 12th original album "Young Love" from July 1996. It was also another chart-topper and like the single, it would also come in at No. 7 on the yearly charts. 

Hachiro Kasuga -- Hawaii no Shima kara (ハワイの島から)

 

My Hachiro Kasuga (春日八郎) tribute articles have so far been heavily fixated on the Hachi-Mr. Nakano combo, so let's change things up a bit and talk about a piece by the other singer-songwriter with a knack for jazz King Records was known for: Isao Hayashi (林伊佐緒). 

I'm comparatively not as familiar with Hayashi's compositions for Hachi (and just Hayashi in general), but I know for certain that the Hachi-Hayashi combo was the far more successful one, spawning hits on a far larger scale. Not only was the Yamaguchi native responsible for Hachi's revival hit "Nagasaki no Hito" (長崎の女) in 1962, but he also created some fan favourites like "Rozario no Shima" (ロザリオの島), "Umineko ga Naku Hatoba" (海猫の啼く波止場), and the one I personally hold quite close to my heart, "Nigate nanda yo" (苦手なんだよ). Perhaps because of the string of successes and Hayashi's longevity age-wise, it seems that both the singer and musician collaborated a lot more and for a longer span of time, from the 1950s all the way up to the 1980s.

While I think Tadaharu Nakano's (中野忠晴) compositions provide a fun listening experience with their myriad of instruments and amusing arrangements, I would describe Hayashi's as atmospheric and rather exotic. They make it feel as though you're being transported to the location set by the lyricist. So, where shall Hayashi and Hachi bring us today, then? Well, summer is already in full force in the Tokyo area. I just began my summer vacation... How about Hawaii?

The song I'll be featuring today is "Hawaii no Shima kara" (From the Island of Hawaii). This was actually an unreleased piece that only saw the light of day in 1997 via the CD album containing a number of his shelved tunes, "Hizou Mi-happyou Meikyoku-shuu Kasuga Hachiro" (秘蔵未発表名曲集 春日八郎). 

Despite "Hawaii..." being an unreleased song, I'm guessing that it may have been recorded in the early 1960s judging from its theme and Hachi's voice quality. If my memory serves, like jazz, I believe Hawaiian melodies got a resurgence in the postwar era, and Hawaii just seemed like the dream island getaway ever since, so Hawaiian-themed songs around this era were the norm. As for Hachi's voice, it had a high, nasally twang in the 50s that slowly became less and less noticeable progressing into the 60s when it matured. His voice sounded like it was somewhere towards the end of that transition, but I could be wrong... ... Never have I felt the term "maniac" in my bones more than when I made that point, which is saying a lot when I have Sanrio photo card holders with monochrome photos of 7 men with an average age of 109.

Anyways, since "Hawaii no Shima kara" is a tune centered on Hawaii, Hayashi makes it unmistakably so with the sharp metallic twang of that steel guitar slicing through the languid, ukulele-filled melody. But what I like about it is how that same shrill steel guitar drops a few notes and pulsates hypnotically to a rhythmic beat. That reminded me of Katsuhiko Haida (灰田勝彦), his brother Haruhiko Haida (灰田晴彦),  and the New Moana Glee Club's take of "Beauty Hula," which I began listening to just before I came across "Hawaii...." You can give it a listen in the video above. To make the tune even more so Hawaiian, the instrumental bit after the first stanza also included the widely-known folk tune "Aloha Oe."  I know it's cliché to say, but together with Hachi's relaxed tone, listening to "Hawaii..." feels like the ear version of melting on a quiet beach without any worries, drink in hand.

But as holiday-like as "Hawaii..." sounds, Ryo Yano's (矢野亮) words may possibly tell a slightly different story. From my understanding, the protagonist leaves the Land of the Rising Sun for Hawaii (via Haneda), and feels rather nostalgic for their homeland. Since the lyrics give off a more bokyo-esque vibe, it could be about a Japanese person immigrating to Hawaii who then misses the sights and sounds of home, like Mt. Fuji and local festivals. It sounds plausible since many Japanese folks have been immigrating to the Polynesian islands for ages. Also, I don't think you'll feel that homesick if you're just on a few days of vacation, right? Or is that just me? 

Now that's fan service

I enjoy "Hawaii no Shima kara" quite a lot, so I'm curious about the reason why it was shelved. It could be just simply because the record company powers that be just didn't think it'd sell, or maybe another singer from King did something similar but "better." Who knows.

Harumi Miyako -- Sayonara Kaikyo（さよなら海峡）

 

The above photo of a reflective Kayo Grace by the strait was actually the runner-up for the photo that I ultimately used in the J-C AI Gallery on June 1st. However, it finally gets its chance to shine here.

A few days ago, I received a request via the Contact Form from someone in Brazil asking whether I would be able to find someplace on the Net that had sheet music for a Harumi Miyako（都はるみ）enka ballad titled "Sayonara Kaikyo" (The Goodbye Strait). Despite my best efforts, my attempts failed although I know that Yamano Music in Ginza sells sheet music but its website doesn't seem to be equipped with the function to tell people whether a specific example of sheet music exists. Unfortunately, then, I had to inform the inquirer that I wasn't able to help with my apologies.

But in the attempt, I was able to discover a new song that I hadn't heard from Miyako before. "Sayonara Kaikyo" was released in August 1979 as her 78th single. Created by lyricist Osamu Yoshioka（吉岡治）and composer Shosuke Ichikawa（市川昭介）, it's sung by the veteran enka artist as if she's on the verge of collapsing in tear-filled despair as she wails about the loss of a beloved partner for some reason. Rather like Sayuri Ishikawa's（石川さゆり）classic "Tsugaru Kaikyo Fuyu Geshiki"（津軽海峡・冬景色）, the long body of water is acting like a massive shoulder to cry upon for the protagonist here. To be honest, it's perhaps a miracle if any freshwater straits in Japan still existed after all that crying into them.

In any case, I'd like to once again apologize to that person for not being able to find the sheet music but would also like to thank them for indirectly leading me to another lovely Miyako enka song. If the person is reading this, I wish you the best of luck in finding what you're looking for.

All-Points Bulletin: Name That Tune

 

You see the apple pie up there which is the official KKP symbol for Name That Tune. In other words, we have another in the Lostwave series for any and all of us to try to identify. I was given word about this particular song by Avery earlier today and according to the YouTube description, it's supposed to be "...from a promotional S-VHS made in the late 1980s & sold in Japan".

Listening to it, I figured that it was indeed a 1980s tune and a pretty catchy one at that. One YouTube commenter surmised that this song was perhaps not supposed to be released, and I'm also wondering about its status as well. It's certainly slick R&B but there is also something about it that hints that it was more to be used as the background music for that VHS VCR or a scene from an action movie of that decade than an actual song to be put onto an album or single. However, have a go at it and enjoy the photo of young and glamourous Brooke Shields!

Yutaka Kimura Speaks ~ Japanese City Pop Masterpieces 100: Kaoru Sudo -- Namida no Step（涙のステップ）

 

Number: 063

Lyricist: Masako Arikawa

Composer: Masamichi Sugi and Kazuo Horiguchi

Arranger: Masataka Matsutoya

From Sudo's 1982 album: "Amazing Toys"

"Namida no Step" （Tearful Dance Steps） is the best pop song by Masamichi Sugi（杉真理）with a multi-layer chorus that I'm really into. With a bittersweet aspect and a romantic taste that brings to mind 1960s girl pop, this brilliant revival of the genre in the 1980s probably only has one other comparable example which is Eiichi Ohtaki's（大滝詠一）"Long Vacation". This song, which has the premise of being dumped at a dance party, is the female version of "Koi suru Karen"（恋するカレン...In Love With Karen）, one of the tracks in "Long Vacation".

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

Yasuhiro Abe -- Steppin'

 

I'm rather surprised that I hadn't posted this track from Yasuhiro Abe's（安部恭弘）November 1985 album "Frame of Mind" when I wrote up on it back in 2019. But that just means that I can provide a single article for "Steppin'" all on its own, happily enough.

As would appropriately be the case for a song with this title, the Abe-penned sunny "Steppin'" has got a nice shuffling or strutting beat throughout the tune, and again as I mentioned in my earlier article regarding Mikiko Noda's（野田幹子）entry today, I do love me some horns. Plenty of lovely horns here. I'd been wondering early in "Steppin'" whether this could be one of Abe's rare pure pop songs but when I heard the horns, the electric guitar and those keyboard chords, I was reassured that the singer-songwriter was back with his appealing brand of AOR and City Pop. 

Sara Hamamoto -- Cool Water

 

The description of Sara Hamamoto's（浜本沙良）2nd album "Truth of Lies" goes as follows:

Everything from the goddess of uptown...Sara Hamamoto's second album, full of mild comfort and solid groove.

The YouTube video pegs the album as a 1996 release but three other sources including the "Truth of Lies" article on J-Wiki has this being released in March 1995, so I will go with the earlier year. In any case, the promotional catch copy mentioned above for "Truth of Lies" is nicely encapsulated in the second track "Cool Water". 

It's been over a couple of years since I posted a Hamamoto song and "Cool Water" is a nice way to make a reunion. It is indeed comfortable and quite groovy...bringing in some of that 1970s soul through the guitar and keyboards. Strangely enough, it does feel like a sunset swim in the pool. Give thanks to lyricist Seriko Natsuno（夏野芹子）, composer Mioko Yamaguchi（山口未央子）and arranger Nobuo Ariga（有賀啓雄）. I've also read in J-Wiki that Natsuno tends to provide lyrics for aidoru tunes, but "Cool Water" is definitely not one of those, and it's nice to realize that Yamaguchi has also created really groovy stuff in comparison to the early technopop and somewhat avant-garde material that she was singing around fifteen years prior to her contribution to Hamamoto. I always love a laidback Fender Rhodes.

CHiLi GiRL -- Summer Romance Keikaku（サマーロマンス計画）

 

I was waiting for the appropriate time to spring this one up for summer, and so why not today? It is the first Friday following the beginning of Summer 2024, after all. "Summer Romance Keikaku" (Plans for a Summer Romance) was singer-songwriter CHiLi GiRL's July 2023 digital single, and if I may be so bold, allow me to directly lift the English description of her and her song from her website: 

CHiLi GiRL, a spicy and charming next-generation pop project by Shinobu Kawashima, a shamisen player who connects traditional performing arts and city music

The song is a shamisen x samba house that evokes the excitement of the coming of summer, featuring Gento Miyano, a composer and arranger who has worked with various artists including Philosophy Dance! The melody blends the fragrance of the sea breeze and the sweet and sour feelings of a maiden, while the oriental dance beat and spicy shamisen ambience create a dramatic summer number that cannot help but make one's heart beat with excitement.

Indeed, "Summer Romance Keikaku" evokes a light and frothy adventure along the side of many a beach anywhere whether it be Shonan or Copacabana. The samba is strong with this one, and of course, the shamisen does get pulled out in the middle, and even some rap. As mentioned above, Gento Miyano（宮野弦士）, who I also noted for Galali's（がらり）"Sayonara wa Mayonaka ni"（さよならは真夜中に）a few months earlier, handled the arrangement. The song kinda pulls in sounds and feelings from the late 1970s, the early 2000s and now...for me, at least.

Mikiko Noda -- Kakete Miyou（駆けてみよう）

 

Kayo Grace Kyoku and Mr. Calico are enjoying their Orange Mimosas on the balcony in the big city, which probably means its Urban Contemporary Friday at KKP. Hopefully, now that we are officially in summer, people will also be having good times with friends on patios while nursing their own cocktails or beer.

It's amazing how I can run into some fine songs. The other day, commenter Souza noted how similar the musical concept and how identical the titles were for two certain albums by Arisa Mizuki（観月ありさ）and Mikiko Noda（野田幹子）. The two of them both cut albums titled "Cute" in 1995 and 1992 respectively, and apparently the music has somewhat of an urban contemporary vibe. Our conversation took place at the article for Mizuki's "Pitter Patter" from her "Cute".

Curious about Noda's "Cute", I took a listen to that first track. And dang, "Kakete Miyou" is one jazzy night out on the town. I was struggling a bit with the definition, though. Literally, it means "Let's Run" but I think its nuance from Noda's own lyrics has more of a "Let's Run With It" vibe as in inviting a friend to paint the town red. And those same lyrics don't necessarily talk about an evening thing but just a day in May to ride the bicycles. 

JULIA is the composer for this lovely sophisticated pop confection with some wonderful horns and harmonica and Yuji Toriyama（鳥山雄司）behind the arrangement. The album was released in October 1992, and if a lot of the tracks are on par with "Kakete Miyou", "Cute" could be one of those beautiful 1990s City Pop moments.

Pizzicato V -- Chotto Deyou yo（ちょっと出ようよ）

 

Man, it's been a scorcher on Day 4 of our Toronto heat wave as we've passed the terminator into official Summer 2024. After three days of managing to endure the heat in my room, I finally decided to turn on the fan which is giving some limited relief.

Perhaps it would be a good idea for friends and couples to head out from the steamy apartment or house for a little while, preferably some cool café in the neighbourhood for some frozen cappuccinos or the like. And that is the point of "Chotto Deyou yo" (Let's Go Away for A While), a song by the early incarnation of Pizzicato Five（ピチカート・ファイヴ）, when it was known as Pizzicato V.

Buoyed by the "Citypop Lullaby -- Keitarou Takanami mad FPU Lovers Rock Remix" article I did yesterday which features the former member of Pizzicato V and then the fact that I had made reference to the band's debut single "The Audrey Hepburn Complex" all the way back in 1985, I went into that original single EP to see what else I could find. Well, as it turns out, I was able to discover the track "Chotto Deyou yo" which was written and composed by Takanami（高浪慶太郎）. An instrumental that starts out with a happy-go-lucky ukulele, it sounds like a cosmic 22nd-century tribute to a hybridized French pop and City Pop number. This observation isn't intended as an insult but there is also something about the arrangement as if it had been meant to accompany couples while they were window shopping in a mall anywhere. 

There's an extended version of "Chotto Deyou yo" on P5's first BEST compilation, "Pizzicatomania!"（ピチカートマニア!）from July 1987 which finishes up with a weird music box ditty.

Yasushi Suzuki & Mitsuharu Minamichi/Midori Satsuki -- Korokke no Uta（コロッケの唄）

 

One of my favourite dishes has been potato croquettes. They were easy to get in Japan because they are very popular there and my mother used to make them but they are rather labour-intensive and time-intensive to make so it's no longer that practical to get them from scratch anymore, although I wouldn't mind taking a crack at making them myself.

The croquette is another dish that was warmly welcomed into Japanese cuisine back in the late 19th century in the Meiji era, and another variety of the dish that has been another popular item in restaurants is the cream croquette. This one took a little more time for me to warm up to since the filling isn't potato but béchamel sauce with other ingredients including corn and crab meat. But once I did, they also became another popular item in my stomach.

Well, I've come up with another food-based kayo kyoku and it's known as "Korokke no Uta" (The Croquette Song). According to one Japanese-language blog, the song was first recorded in 1917 during the Taisho era with Taro Masuda（益田太郎）behind the lyrics while the composer remains unknown. Basically, it describes one man's loving but rueful admission that his wife gets nothing but croquettes for dinner. Yeah, I can understand...I do like my croquettes but variety is the spice of life, after all.

The above version is probably one that was recorded much later with singers Yasushi Suzuki and Mitsuharu Minamichi（鈴木やすし・南地みつ春）although I couldn't specify the year. Also, I'm not 100% sure of the proper pronunciation of the second person's family name and for that matter, for a person with a male first name, he sure sounds like a woman. Maybe someone better in the know than me can explain, although maybe the above version was performed by a different pair.

In October 1962, enka singer Midori Satsuki（五月みどり）released a single with the same title but it is actually a different song under the words and music by Kuranosuke Hamaguchi（浜口庫之助）. The arrangement is similarly whimsical but it goes a little more into an enka direction. The lyrics, though different, still talk about a couple and their oft-chosen meal of croquettes. However, the couple is definitely stated to be a newlywed pair so the new husband is more than accepting of his beloved's obsession with the dish.

Johnny Williams -- Lost in Space (2nd Theme)

 

Years ago, when I was doing my usual hemispheric voyage between Tokyo and Toronto, I opted to watch one of the offered choices for movies on a plane. Of course, to make me forget that I was flying in a pressurized tin can thousands of metres above the land and sea, I opted to catch a movie that involved a lot of flying...mind you in outer space. That movie was the 1998 redux of the old TV series "Lost in Space" starring the late John Hurt and Gary Oldman. I had a basic idea of what the original 1960s show (1965-1968) was all about but unlike another sci-fi franchise from that decade, "Star Trek", I never became a fan although I was aware of the Robot and the goofily villainous Dr. Smith. The movie did have its charms including a new Robot and some nice effects, but it was just a timewaster with the characters spewing technobabble that appeared to have been lifted straight from "Star Trek".

It says something when the really good part of the movie is the ending credits with a pretty kickass theme by electronica band Apollo 440. At the time, I just had no idea that the group had based it on the second theme song for the original series. 

Listening to both the first and second theme songs, yeah, I agree that the latter was the better one for being more upbeat and adventurous. It was used for the third and final season of "Lost in Space" from September 1967, and it's a nice touch to have that visual countdown at the beginning of each episode of Season 3 just to add to the excitement. To add to the epic nature of this story, both themes were composed by one Johnny Williams (cool, daddy-o!), aka master movie soundtrack maker John Williams.

Of course, Williams is already on the blog for "Star Wars" and I noted in that ROY article that the music legend had already been making his mark in the industry during the 1960s, but at the time, I hadn't really realized that the man who was also behind the great music behind "Superman", "Indiana Jones", "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", etc. had a decade previously come up with cool television theme tunes for those pulpy sci-fi shows including "Land of the Giants" and "Lost in Space". It must have been great training for Williams because even back then, those TV themes were also thrilling blood-pumpers.

I have to admit though that as much as I discovered this Williams theme via an electronica band cover decades later, the same goes with "Star Wars". Months before I finally got to listen to the original overture, I'd first discovered that movie's theme from the disco cover by Meco, so I gather that I will have to talk about disco "Star Wars" in a future ROY.

Anyways, I could only find one single in Japan that was released in the same month that the newer and more improved "Lost in Space" theme made its presence known. 

Masayoshi Tsuruoka & Tokyo Romantica -- Otaru no Hito yo （小樽のひとよ）

Yoko Nagisa -- Shin-Koiwa kara Kameido e（新小岩から亀戸へ）

 

The above is a pretty dish of sashimi that I had with a couple of friends at a fairly fancy restaurant called Sazanka somewhere between Kameido and Shin-Koiwa Stations in Tokyo in September 2009. Good food and unfortunately, that's the only photographic evidence that I currently possess of ever being in the shitamachi neighbourhood. But then again, I couldn't have envisaged writing an article about a song in the area in my own music blog 15 years ago.

I never did a deep dive in Kameido or Shin-Koiwa all that much during my time in Tokyo. Aside from that visit to Sazanka, I think I went there perhaps one more time to meet up with another group at a local izakaya along the train tracks, but my impression was that it was an old-fashioned area suffused with the aroma of Showa. One of my students-turned-friends currently lives in the latter neighbourhood. Basically though the area was one that I mostly bypassed on the Sobu Line heading to Chiba Prefecture.

Much like I did with the retro duo Emi & Gel（エミとゲル）the other day, I had assumed that singer Yoko Nagisa（渚ようこ）was active during the late 1960s and early 1970s just from listening to her "Shin-Koiwa kara Kameido e" (From Shin-Koiwa to Kameido) and seeing that sad face above where Nagisa looked like she belonged in a fashion magazine from the aforementioned time period. Well, I was wrong once again.

The Yamagata Prefecture-born Nagisa actually made her debut in 1994 and for over twenty years, she specialized in the old-school kayo kyoku. In fact, "Shin-Koiwa kara Kameido e" is from her final album "Nagisa Strut"（渚ストラット）from September 2016. Even so, this particular song sounds like a mix of Mood Kayo and the guitar-screeching rock side of Group Sounds of the 1960s as Nagisa sings about a woman's turbulent young life in the titular neighbourhood. Lyricist Haruo Yamaguchi（山口晴男） and composer Masao Minakami（水上雅夫）were responsible for the creation of the song which really grabs that old kayo style just so. There's also something about those lyrics and the singer's delivery that reminds me of Keiko Fuji（藤圭子）and her songs of a downtrodden life in the big bad city, but Nagisa has a slightly brighter and brassier sound.

All in all, Nagisa released 17 albums and 7 singles between 1996 and 2018 which included some collaborations between  her and the Crazy Ken Band (クレイジーケンバンド) . Even during that time, she was able to open her own drinking establishment, Nagisa（汀）, in Shinjuku's famed bar-filled Golden Gai in 2003. In September 2018, though, after appearing in a 20th anniversary concert for the Crazy Ken Band, she fell ill and then passed away from heart failure.

Citypop Lullaby -- Keitarou Takanami mad FPU Lovers Rock Remix

 

This song was also a track on "City Music Tokyo: Junction", the 2022 compilation album curated by Cunimondo Takiguchi（クニモンド瀧口）that I had covered in part back at the beginning of this month. I did say that I would check out some of the other tracks that I hadn't noted in the original article, so here is one right now. Usually the byline for a post would start with the name of the band or singer followed by the title. However, this time around, I really didn't want to "break up the band", so to speak, and therefore I put up the title in the way that the song has been introduced to the masses: "Citypop Lullaby -- Keitarou Takanami mad FPU Lovers Rock Remix". 

Now, if Keitarou Takanami（高浪慶太郎）is a name that rings a bell, well, you may be a Pizzicato Five going all the way back. Yep, he was one of the founding members of that band in the mid-1980s when they came out as Pizzicato V with "The Audrey Hepburn Complex", years before they became known as Shibuya-kei darlings. He left the band in 1994 but kept busy throughout the 1990s and 2000s by providing songs for other artists and starting up a new band called playtime rock with singer Mina Ichiba（市場美奈）in 2013.

In this case, though, Takanami collaborated with electronic pop group am8, which started up in 2020, and arranger mad FPU, to create "Citypop Lullaby". It was originally part of the June 2021 am8 single "am8 killed by mad FPU" with the group handling words and lyrics. Despite the title, I'd say that the gently jaunty number was less City Pop and more light technopop with a reggae beat. It's something nice to hear while nursing a drink...probably something with a lot of rum in it. Just to be a little more detailed, I also like how Takanami purrs out "city popssss" with the dreamy crystalline synth and the background chorus. As well, that cover of the single is pretty darn cool, too.

Tribute to Regain（リゲイン）

 

Uh...nope. Not quite the Japanese vitamin drinks I was hoping for when I brought my request to the almighty Bing just now, but it'll do.

From NHK

In any case, I had heard that the once-booming industry of Japanese vitamin drinks has now noticeably shrunk and fallen on tough times. And please correct if I got the message wrong, but I also caught wind that the famous vitamin drink Regain has been discontinued. That's pretty big news. Mind you, during my years in Japan and no matter how tired I got, I never became a regular purveyor of vitamin drinks of any kind aside from the odd Regain or Oronamin C. 

Still, it's a shame to hear that the familiar bumblebee colours of Regain will no longer be seen again. Its commercial blitzes were a wonder to see, and one ad became so famous that it even made CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360" to show how industrious Japanese workers were. I will now show three of the commercials and songs and artists that were part of the Regain media machine along with the catchphrases that accompanied them at the time.

(1999) Ryuichi Sakamoto -- energy flow

Tamatta tsukare ni.（たまった疲れに。...For your built-up fatigue.）

The commercial was actually for the Regain tablets but the healing arrangement of the Professor's "energy flow" in itself was probably effective for the ears and mind and soul for the exhausted masses of corporate Japan. It's almost as if Sakamoto（坂本龍一） were playing just for you by the side of your futon.

(1992) Masahiro Motoki -- Higashi e Nishi e （東へ西へ）

Zenryoku de iku. Regain de iku.（全力で行く。リゲインで行く...Go with all your strength. Go with Regain.）

Honestly, I hadn't known that Motoki's（本木雅弘） cover of "Higashi e Nishi e" was part of the Regain experience. Actually, I knew that song more for the former member of Shibugakitai's（シブがき隊） notorious performance on NHK's Kohaku Utagassen. It may have been December 31st but the network's switchboard was most likely lit up like a Christmas tree and not merrily so.

(1989) Saburo Tokito -- Yuuki no Shirushi （勇気のしるし）

Ni-juu-yo-jikan tatakaemasu ka?（24時間、戦えますか。...Can you battle it out for 24 hours?）

But for me, Regain will always be represented by Tokito's（時任三郎）character of Saburota Ushiwakamaru（牛若丸三郎太）singing the ultimate challenge song to all those in the company trenches attempting to make that sale or seal that deal. In contrast to Sakamoto's comfortable warm blanket approach, the original big theme for the drink is the call to arms to business battle, fueled by all those vitamins and minerals (and maybe caffeine?) like a chemical arsenal for body and mind.

Ayumi Shirota -- Call Me

 

Happy Tuesday! And we're in our first heat wave in Toronto for Summer 2024...even though we're still a couple of days away from official Summer. I had been showing my sympathy for Tokyoites the week before due to the heat that was already swallowing them up but now we Torontonians will be relying heavily on the air conditioning and cool drinks for the rest of this week.

Anyways, just wanted to bring in another spritely song by relatively short-careered aidoru Ayumi Shirota（白田あゆみ）. I had posted her second KKP article back in January, and my impression is that though she didn't too long a time in the geinokai (1983-1989), her music seemed quite refined, thereby further illustrating how aidoru music in the late 1980s did have some wonderfully classy arrangements.

From her debut album "Anata no Hitomi ni Utsuritai"（あなたの瞳に映りたい...I Want to See Myself in Your Eyes） released in February 1988, I give you the track "Call Me" that throws in hints of Latin and perhaps even Eurobeat but perhaps not in enough amounts to earn those labels in Labels. Still, they're enough to give Shirota's song some pretty nice pizzazz. "Call Me" was written by Kenzo Saeki（サエキけんぞう）and composed Hideya Nakazaki（中崎英也）. Incidentally, I should post something up on Blondie's "Call Me" in a ROY article sometime soon.

TM Network -- Get Wild Continual

 

As you probably already know, I don't really watch too many Japanese dramas or movies anymore so when I first found out about the debonair actor Ryohei Suzuki（鈴木亮平）, it was actually through the distinct travelogue program on NHK, "Sekai wa Hoshiimono ni Afureteru"（世界はほしいモノにあるふれてる...This World is Filled With Wants） since he was the co-host.

It was also through the program that I found out that Suzuki has quite the prowess with the English language.

But then, thanks to a gift from JTM, I finally got to see Suzuki in his first element and it was as the Ryo Saeba（冴羽獠）in the Netflix adaptation of the beloved "City Hunter"（シティーハンター）. I'd heard about its development and initially I wasn't all that optimistic considering that another popular manga-turned-anime-turned-live-action adaptation, "Cowboy Be-Bop" didn't exactly impress viewers or critics. 

I caught the April 2024 "City Hunter" movie (wished it was a TV series) yesterday and it was definitely fun to watch. I'd only seen a few episodes here and there of the original anime from the late 1980s and then the most recent movie in the anime franchise a few years ago at my anime buddy's house. So, I had the gist of the main characters of Ryo and his long-suffering partner-in-crimefighting, Kaori Makimura（槇村香）, with all of the mokkori, 2-tonne mallets and Ryo's seemingly superhuman abilities. Strangely enough, the plot in the movie includes some special solution that reminded me of Captain America's Super-Soldier serum.

The movie was indeed a hoot and Suzuki didn't just play Saeba; he was Saeba, perverted interests and all. I can pretty much guarantee inbound tourism to Shinjuku has increased since the show premiered. I can definitely use a sequel.

Of course, any iteration of "City Hunter" practically demands an iteration of TM Network's "Get Wild". The two are now solidly joined at the hip with "Get Wild" being the unofficial calling card for the anime and the live-action show. In fact, we've already had two other articles on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" on "Get Wild" with my take and Marcos' take.

I have to say that this latest version, "Get Wild Continual", which was released as TM Network's 47th single only a few days before the premiere of the Netflix show, was a thrill to hear during the shiny end credits...probably on the same level as hearing Alan Silvestri's "Avengers" theme when the Avengers show up. Having said that and watching the above video of the three much-older members walking slowly toward each other in the darkness of Shinjuku, there did seem a bit of melancholy within the still-dynamic arrangement as if the underlying message were "Can't be doing this again and again all that much longer", especially with the inclusion of the band's past videos from decades ago. 

However, I am hopeful for another live-action "City Hunter" entry and another rendition of "Get Wild". Perhaps that can be called "Get Wild Eternal".

Hikashu -- Glass no Dance（ガラスのダンス）

 

All these years after I'd taken this photo from the back cover of an "Eye-Ai" magazine issue, I was wondering in which situation I would ever use this photo from an episode of "Kayama Yuzo no Blackjack"（加山雄三のブラック・ジャック...Yuzo Kayama's Blackjack）. Yes. That Yuzo Kayama portraying that Blackjack from the manga by legend Osamu Tezuka（手塚治虫）. I never would have believed it myself. Well, we all gotta try something new.

Well, the show was realized as the first live-action televised drama of "Blackjack" back in 1981 (although a live-action cinematic version had been done several years earlier), and I can now use the above photo without any irony. The reason for that is that I found the ending theme for "Kayama Yuzo no Blackjack", "Glass no Dance" (translated directly as "Glass Dance" but given the official English title of "Crystal Dancin'", according to the Discogs site. 

"Glass no Dance" was recorded by the technopop band Hikashu（ヒカシュー） as their 4th single sometime in 1981, although it did appear as a bonus track on a later reissue of the group's 2nd album "Natsu"（夏...Summer） from 1980. Once again written by vocalist Koichi Makigami（巻上公一）and composed by synthesizer operator Yasushi Yamashita（山下康）, the elements of technopop are more subdued here in this case but the hoppy New Wave bop is brought in, and Makigami sounds as if he's exhorting some sort of tokusatsu theme song. And I guess that fits because Blackjack is the hero or the antihero here. I've also noticed a bit of either reggae or ska thrown into the pot as well.

Just for Fun...The J-C AI Gallery: Kirinji -- Ai wo aru dake, Subete（愛をあるだけ、すべて）

 

Happy Monday! After first introducing him on Friday's article for Mebae Miyahara's（宮原芽映）"Milky Cat", the suave if somewhat corpulent Mr. Calico is finally standing right beside Kayo Grace Kyoku. I figure that he can not only be Kayo's beloved pet but also her manager in all things business.

But getting down to brass tacks, the two of them are here with the usual J-C AI Gallery and this time, we are all covering three tracks from Kirinji's（キリンジ）grand 13th album "Ai wo aru dake, Subete" (Just With Love, Everything) from June 2018. The reason that we are focusing on this one album is that there are quite a few tracks with interesting and evocative titles, so therefore, to see what I've said about the three songs below, just click on the above link for the album. I'll be taking a look at some of their other songs in a future AI Gallery entry.

AI no Touhikou（AIの逃避行...AI Flight of Freedom）

 Jikan ga nai（時間がない...Got No Time）

Hi Zero Wa Game (非ゼロ和ゲーム...Non-Zero Sum Game)

Seiko Matsuda -- P・R・E・S・E・N・T

 

Well, today is indeed Father's Day. Hopefully, a lot of us have paid tribute to the patriarchs of the household. Our family got to share in a dinner together last night, and then I took my parents out for breakfast at our favourite diner earlier this morning. I still seem to be digesting my meal.

Summer is still yet to officially arrive but the feeling is quite summery already here and I hear in Japan that the temps are more than reflecting the hot season. Perhaps, it's just the time to reveal Seiko Matsuda's（松田聖子）opening track from her May 1982 5th album "Pineapple", "P・R・E・S・E・N・T". Written by Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）, composed by Takao Kisugi（来生たかお）and arranged by Masaaki Omura（大村雅朗）, there is a feel of anticipation in the intro that made me first think that the protagonists were about to head out on a major vacation to exotic climes. But actually, as the title hints, the giddy young lady is about to receive a lovely gift from her beloved in the form of a gold necklace. Maybe it's another step closer to something even more precious such as an engagement ring. 

Despite the intimate setting, I still get that feeling of all things summery out there with the rollicking rhythm and Seiko's light and fleeting vocals. Nice guitar to end things. As for "Pineapple",  that was another No. 1 hit for the Queen Aidoru of the early 1980s.

Train Station Melodies （発車メロディ）

 

Seeing back on Tuesday that I put up the congratulatory posting on a couple of Akina Nakamori（中森明菜）songs getting used as train station melodies at Kiyose Station, I've decided to put some more melodies into KKP. I've known for a long time that pop songs have been used among the vast network of stations across Japan but this is the first time that I'm putting up such an article here on the blog. As such, the following are only a few of such melodies.

Puffy -- Nagisa ni Matsuwaru Et Cetera （渚にまつわるエトセトラ）

This is only played at Kinosaki Onsen Station on the San'in Main Line in Toyooka City, Hyogo Prefecture during the winter because the area is known for its haul of tasty crab, and the Puffy trademark tune has the lyric of "Let's go and have some crab!".

Iruka/Kaguyahime -- Nagori Yuki (なごり雪）

The evergreen folk song by both Iruka（イルカ）and the band Kaguyahime（かぐや姫）can be heard at Tsukumi Station on the Nippou Main Line in Tsukumi City, Oita Prefecture. According to an archived article, songwriter Shozo Ise（伊勢正三）had based the song on this particular station itself.

Kyu Sakamoto -- Ue wo Muite Arukou (上を向いて歩こう)

C'mon...there was no way that this song was NOT going to be included as a train station melody somewhere in Japan. In fact, it's used at a number of stations...one being Keikyu Kawasaki Station on the Keikyu Main Line in Kawasaki City west of Tokyo. Kawasaki City is special, though, because Kyu Sakamoto（坂本九）was born in the city.

Masafumi Akikawa -- Sen no Kaze ni Natte （千の風になって）

Up at Onuma Koen Station on the Hakodate Main Line in the town of Nanae, Hokkaido, this tear-worthy ballad plays for about ten minutes a shot in various arrangements while folks wait for the train. Apparently, the setting in the song was the town itself.

Isao Sasaki -- The Theme from Space Cruiser Yamato (宇宙戦艦ヤマト）

One of anime's greatest theme songs also resides at Kure Station on the Kure Line in Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture. The real-life battleship Yamato was built at the former Kure Naval Arsenal which is one reason for the theme being used at the station. The other reason is that the late creator of "Uchuu Senkan Yamato", Leiji Matsumoto（松本零士）, was the Director Emeritus of the Yamato Museum located near the station.

Kami Takada Shonen Gasshodan/Zone -- Theme from Tetsuwan Atomu （鉄腕アトムのテーマ）

Of course, I have to finish off with the one train station melody that I used to hear all the time while I was living in the Tokyo area. I used to hear the "Astro Boy" theme when I was making the transfer from the JR Yamanote Line loop to the Tozai Line at Takadanobaba Station to head on back to Chiba Prefecture. 

So, for any of you who have lived in Japan, are there any train station melodies that were part of your lives?