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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.
I think Seiko Matsuda was the aidoru Queen of the 1980's, she professionally started in in 1980 and continued through the 80's. Akina started in 1982 and kept on going through the 80's as well. Both in my opinion are the top aidoru Queens of the 1980's. Although, I am really curious on who the Japanese tend to think is the top aidoru Queen of the 1980's?
ReplyDeleteUntil a while back, I'd also thought that Seiko-chan was the Queen Aidoru of the 1980s but then I came to the observation that there were two distinct periods in the Golden Age of Aidoru. Seiko won the first half of the 80s as the (relatively) girl-next-door aidoru (although Akina fans may disagree...and I would choose Akina over Seiko as a fan myself) but I think there was a shift in how aidoru presented themselves in the latter half of the decade. Singers like Shizuka Kudo and Miho Nakayama took on a more robust and nightclub-ready appearance so I think perhaps one of those two could have taken the crown for the late 80s.
DeleteIt would be interesting to find out who the Japanese felt was the Queen Aidoru of the Golden Era.
I was listening to this 1975 song by Teresa Teng and I think that Seiko has a similar squeaky lilt at the end of verses as Teresa does. I wonder if she was influenced by her.
ReplyDeleteSong:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aHWnMI0sSQ
鄧麗君 - 愛的理想
Hello there. I think if anything, perhaps Seiko and Teresa may have been influenced by the original singer of this 1973 song "Anata", Akiko Kosaka.
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNwTnVKMxIU
As for the lilt at the end of each line in the chorus, I never heard Kosaka doing that in the original, so for Teresa, that's her own technique added into her cover version. With all things being equal, Seiko or her vocal trainers or songwriters may have cottoned onto Teresa's style although I have never read anything about it in terms of Seiko's influences from other singers.
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