Coffee Color -- Jinsei ni Kanpai wo! ~ Wakare no Kyoku（人生に乾杯を! 〜別れの曲〜）

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Coffee Color（コーヒーカラー）is a group that I had never heard of before. The name had me wondering how it even came to be but luckily there is a short J-Wiki article on them, and apparently it's from a Serge Gainsbourg song title. Currently consisting of just vocalist Uzuki "Paris" Nakayama（仲山卯月） (although at the beginning, he had been joined by pianist TESHI and drummer Koutarou), Coffee Color got its start in 2000 as an indies unit but then got under a major label in 2004 with five singles and five albums under their belt.

Perhaps the Serge Gainsbourg origins may be responsible, but listening to their most recent single to date, "Jinsei ni Kanpai wo! ~ Wakare no Kyoku" (Here's to Life! The Goodbye Song) from February 2009, I get the impression that Coffee Color is all about the rousing and commiserating and celebrating tune. Nakayama wrote and composed this tune and the accompanying music video says it all as a small company, despite all of the hardships and hard work, ends up going under with the president taking his erstwhile staff for one final drink. One door may be closing forever but another one is on the verge of opening.

Ironically, an original and slightly more elegant version of "Jinsei ni Kanpai wo!" was Coffee Color's debut single from October 2004. Since the release of the song, it's been a popular karaoke request at the annual year-end and New Year's parties. I can imagine so.

Naomi Chiaki -- Sorezore no Table（それぞれのテーブル）

 

I gather that along with the airport, the restaurant or café has been another setting for a kayo kyoku's romantic drama or aftermath. Well, when I mean aftermath, it usually involves a now-partnerless individual sitting at a table where there was once a happy couple.

That is the melancholy situation with "Sorezore no Table" (Separate Tables), the title track from Naomi Chiaki's（ちあきなおみ）October 1981 album. Written by Jean Claude Jouhaud and Arlette Tabart and composed by Alice Donadel, I couldn't help but place this in the Fashion Music genre (along with pop) because of the absolute elegance of that piano and Chiaki's smoky vocals. The Japanese lyrics were provided by Miki Masaki（真咲美岐）with arrangement by Tsugutoshi Goto（後藤次利）, which is a surprise since I've been accustomed to the bassist's funky City Pop approaches. But "Sorezore no Table", a ballad of remembrance as a woman sees her old flame with a young new lady in his life come into their old place and presumably sit at a distant table, is about as far away from an urban contemporary romp as one can get.

"Sorezore no Table" is a cover of the original 1977 song "Tables séparées" by French singer and actress Dalida from her album "Femme est la nuit". For both versions, I can hear a bit of that "My Way" in there.

Yutaka Kimura Speaks ~ Japanese City Pop Masterpieces 100: Masayuki Kishi -- Machikado no Pretender（街角のプリテンダー）

 

Number: 078

Lyricist: Masayuki Kishi

Composer: Masayuki Kishi

Arranger: Satoshi Takebe

From Kishi's 1983 album: "Pretender"

To think that anyone could sincerely sing the unbeatably gentle melody of "Machikado no Pretender" (Street Corner Pretender) in those high-toned vocals infused with so much innocence...there isn't an iota of artifice there. This is a masterpiece among masterpieces. Its lyrical world interweaving the specific sense of isolation of the urbanite is nonchalant but truly meaningful. It's because of putting the spotlight on these unearthed treasures that this book was written.

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

Miho Morikawa -- Standard（スタンダード）

 

To start off this Friday's Urban Contemporary regimen of songs on KKP, there was Yutaka Ishio's（石尾豊）"Onna ni Juku shite Kaettekina"（オンナに熟して帰ってきな）with its swinging champagne-and-caviar City Pop arrangement.

We've got another one along the same lines with Miho Morikawa's（森川美穂）"Standard" from her 4th original album "1/2 Contrast" released in June 1988. It's got a kinder if plainer title but it also possesses that smash-bang live-it-up and paint-the-town-red vibe with plenty of horns to lead listeners into the bright lights of Ginza (as pictured above) or Akasaka. Written by Junko Sato（佐藤純子）and composed by Minoru Komorita（小森田実）, "Standard" shares track space with the first song on the album "Splash Blue". Just imagine heading down into downtown Tokyo by car while this is playing on the stereo.

orange pekoe -- Honeysuckle

 

From the photo library of Wikimedia Commons, I present you with Walter Siegmund's orange honeysuckle. I've always heard of this flower, but I've never actually seen it. Well, my life is complete now.

At the same time, I offer "Honeysuckle" by the wonderful band orange pekoe. Their 4th single from July 2002, it was written by vocalist Tomoko Nakajima（ナガシマトモコ）and composed by guitarist and arranger Kazuma Fujimoto（藤本一馬）as this enthusiastic samba jazz number. It does rev up that feeling to race down to the beach or some summery park, so it's great for Friday when folks are most likely itching to get out of the rat race for the weekend. The song was also placed onto the band's 2nd album "Modern Lights" from July 2003.

Natsu Summer -- Think of Summer

 

I haven't spoken to any of my Japanese friends to find out their thoughts of the past summer in their nation. Temperatures have apparently fallen to a much more comfortable degree when compared to the broiling season and my impression is that most folks out there are happier to see the summer fade away. Over here in Toronto, I think a lot of folks are once again muttering about how short our summers are and dreading the inevitable arrival of frost, snow and icy temps. Perhaps the coffee house signs of pumpkin spice latte have had people screaming in terror.🎃

Anyways, Torontonians may be swooning and dreaming of summer, but singer Natsu Summer would like you to "Think of Summer". This was her October 2023 digital single written and composed by Cunimondo Takiguchi（クニモンド瀧口）. According to one site though, a CD version has been available since earlier this year. True to form, "Think of Summer" has that Natsu Summer mix of reggae and City Pop that will have listeners hitting the hammock and cocktails. Think summery thoughts!

Yutaka Ishio -- Onna ni Juku shite Kaettekina（オンナに熟して帰ってきな）

 

Happy Friday! I've mentioned this before whenever we get into the City Pop frame of mind on this day of the week, but it seems as if a lot of folk singers of the 1970s eventually found their inner city groove and jumped over to the J-urban contemporary going into the 1980s.

I found another singer making that jump. Yutaka Ishio（石尾豊）was once known as Danny Ishio of the late 60s-early 70s folk group Four Saints（フォー・セインツ）but sometime after it broke up in 1973, he got into a solo career. One single that he released well into the 1980s was the 1986 "Nonstop Freeway". For today's article, I have the B-side known as "Onna ni Juku shite Kaettekina" (Come Back When You're Mature Enough to be a Woman).

Aggressive title and judging from the Kingo Hamada（浜田金吾）melody (Hamada is another folk-turned-City Pop convert) and Motoki Funayama（船山基紀）arrangement, the setting must be in the champagne-and-caviar region of swinging Bubble Era Tokyo. I can even imagine the tinkling (or smashing) of champagne glasses as the keyboard is tripping the light fantastic. Konosuke Fuji（藤公之介）was responsible for the lyrics which are given clearly though not particularly expressively. 

As for Ishio, he later became the stadium DJ for the home games of the soccer J-League Kashima Antlers for twenty years between 1993 and 2013. He unfortunately passed away in April 2014 from liver cancer.

George Benson -- Lady Love Me (One More Time)

 

Welcome to the regular Reminiscings of Youth entry for this Thursday, and for that matter, welcome to "Kayo Kyoku Plus", singer and musician George Benson. I know that Benson has come up with great songs such as his rendition of "This Masquerade" and "Give Me The Night" but whenever I hear his name, the first song that usually comes to mind is "Lady Love Me (One More Time)", a July 1983 single.

Even before I finally found out the title and the man behind the golden vocals, I used to enjoy hearing this on heavy rotation on AM radio (always loved the intro). It was just so cheerful and it was using all those instruments that I got to realize were my favourites when it came to the genres of R&B and jazz and AOR. I could easily place "Lady Love Me" with a lot of the songs that acts such as Al Jarreau and The Manhattan Transfer were doing at around the same time. 

"Lady Love Me" was created by two associates from the band TOTO, David Paich (who was on keyboards) and James Newton Howard, the latter of whom would also make famous soundtracks including those for "The Dark Knight"  trilogy. On the US Billboard Top 100, it would peak at No. 30 while it hit No. 6 on Canada's RPM Adult Contemporary chart. The single was also a track on Benson's 1983 album "In Your Eyes".

Now, what was at the top of the July 1983 chart on Oricon?

1. Hiroko Yakushimaru -- Tantei Monogatari (探偵物語）

2. Tomoyo Harada -- Toki wo Kakeru Shojo （時をかける少女）

3. Akina Nakamori -- Twilight - Yugure Dayori （トワイライト -夕暮れ便り-）

WANDS -- Sekai ga Owaru made wa...（世界が終るまでは…）

From Wikipedia

"Slam Dunk" was never a manga or anime that I got into because I'm not a basketball fan, but I've had a lot of students sing the praises of the franchise in either form. I've seen excerpts from the anime in which the individual players have their own crazy ways of offense and defense including one fellow who can apparently throw up a wall of arms.

Another thing that I didn't know about "Slam Dunk" the anime was that the song "Sekai ga Owaru made wa..." (Until the World Ends...) by the rock band WANDS had been used as its second ending theme. I've heard the song before elsewhere, perhaps on a commercial or on some celebrity karaoke show but didn't know about its connection with "Slam Dunk".

When it comes to WANDS, I'm always reminded of "Sekaijuu no Dare yori Kitto"（世界中の誰よりきっと）, their 1992 hit collaboration with singer-actress Miho Nakayama（中山美穂）. Perhaps I ought to include "Sekai ga Owaru made wa..." in my memories since it's also been one of their most famous entries in their discography. It was released as their 8th single in June 1994 after which it hit No. 1 for two straight weeks, ending up as the 10th-ranked single of the year. Other accolades that it earned was becoming a million-seller and the Artist Song Award (1989-1999) at the Heisei Anison Awards. As well, "Sekai ga Owaru made wa..." was also a part of that Sunakku Songs（スナックソング）list that I wrote about just a few minutes ago.

The music video for the song was filmed at a hangar at Haneda Airport. The lyrics were by WANDS vocalist Show Wesugi（上杉昇） while the melody was provided by Tetsuro Oda（織田哲郎）with arrangement by Takeshi Hayama（葉山たけし）. "Sekai ga Owaru made wa..." can also be found on the band's 4th album "Piece of My Soul" from April 1995 which also hit No. 1 for two weeks in a row and eventually became the 16th-ranked album of the year.

Uta Con: October 1st 2024 ~ Sunakku Songs（スナックソング）

 

During my years at the University of Toronto as I was majoring in Japanese Studies, through my digestion of a lot of books on Japanese culture, I read that the society had something called a "bar culture". Not only can the usual drinking and light noshing be done in drinking establishments, but business negotiations, airing of work grievances and testing out of vocal cords can also be accomplished (mind you, I think the same things happen in my country, too).

I know that drinking establishments in Japan can come in a variety of sizes and forms. Of course, there are the Western-style bars up in the hotels with the tuxedo-garbed bartender shaking up cocktails. Then there are the more financially accessible chains of izakaya with plenty of space, libations and dishes. For an English conversation teacher like me on a budget, the izakaya was by far the watering hole that I frequented the most in the country, although I was never much of a drinker. 

On the other hand, the Japanese snack bar, or sunakku（スナック）as they say it over there, is a place that I very barely entered although there were those significantly rare times that I managed to squeeze into one due to friends taking me there. A sunakku is indeed a very cozy place with limited seating and it's usually run by a woman known as the Mama or Mama-san. There is the usual supply of alcohol to wet one's whistle and some light snacks only. One big reason that I rarely went into a sunakku is that it's basically the neighbourhood meeting place for the regulars...kinda like a mini-Cheers, if you remember that American 80s sitcom. Probably depending on the night, which can go really long depending on the energy levels of all those involved, there are dedicated regulars coming in and mixing throughout the week singing karaoke and knocking them back. Maybe there is even that one nightly barfly who gets "NORM!" yelled at him in greeting.

Anyways, a couple of days ago, NHK's "Uta Con"（うたコン）was televising its usual episode but this time around, the theme of the episode was something that I hadn't heard before: favourite sunakku karaoke songs. According to what I heard, apparently the current demographic frequenting the little bars may mostly be in their 40s. I'm not sure if I even heard any enka (have a look at a past article on what folks in their 60s have enjoyed singing). Regardless, here are three from the "Uta Con" list.

Kiyomi Suzuki with Rats & Star -- Lonely Chaplin (ロンリー・チャプリン）

Sharam Q -- Single Bed（シングルベッド）

Yasushi Nakanishi -- Saigo no Ame （最後の雨）

Ayako Suzukawa -- Go! Shinkansen（GO！新幹線）

 

Well, ten years ago, I commemorated the 50th anniversary of the launch of the very first Bullet Train on October 1st 1964 with the 1967 song "Hashire Chotokkyu"（はしれ ちょうとっきゅう）which has been very kid-friendly. 

News on the 60th anniversary of the pride and joy of Japan Railways has been showing up on NHK over the past couple of days including a special one-hour show earlier this morning. The above video by JR Tokai ought to also have train otakus' eyes glistening.

For "Hashire Chotokkyu", I related one of my experiences on the ol' Shinkansen. One regret is that I didn't get to go on as many rides on the Bullet as I could have during my very long stint in Japan between 1994 and 2011 (although I was riding the Joetsu Shinkansen monthly while I was living in Gunma Prefecture between 1989 and 1991). Still, there was that one time in 1990 when I had to attend the Renewers' Conference for the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme in Kobe. We took the Tokaido Bullet from Tokyo Station and we had some pretty decent seats. However, one of my colleagues who was a CIR (Coordinator for International Relations) got his own suite and he was most generous in inviting us over for a while. It was basically a moving lounge so some of us enjoyed some drinks.

I will commemorate the 60th anniversary by putting up this also kid-friendly song titled "Go! Shinkansen" which was written and recorded last year by Ayako Suzukawa（鈴川絢子）with the composer being Akinori Suzuki（鈴木秋則）. The Chiba Prefecture-born Suzukawa is a YouTuber and a comedienne who is also a huge train fan. Therefore, I'm pretty sure that she's been on a lot of those frequent train-focused variety programs. 

Her YouTube channel, unsurprisingly, has a lot of similarly-themed videos including this one where she is heading from Tsuruga City to Kinosaki Hot Springs on a tourist train.

Miki Nakatani -- Frontier（フロンティア）

 

It may be a little bit of an overgeneralization but whenever I think of Miki Nakatani's（中谷美紀）discography, which has often been handled by the late great Ryuichi Sakamoto（坂本龍一）, I figure that I will usually get something avant-gardish or hauntingly indies. Her 1997 album "Cure" comes to mind.

Her July 1999 7th single "Frontier" is no different. Written by Nakatani and composed/arranged by Sakamoto, the song was used as the theme for her 1999 NTV drama "Joi ~ Nothing Lasts Forever"（女医...Female Doctor） in which she plays a cardiac surgeon. Once again, there is the matchup of the singer's high, innocent and floaty vocals and the composer's mesmerizing melody but this time, the arrangement is joined by Luna Sea's Sugizo and his guitar.

Yeah, I kinda figured that the opening credits for "Joi ~ Nothing Lasts Forever" would be appropriately atmospheric...and hot. "Frontier" peaked at No. 18 on Oricon and is also available on Nakatani's 3rd album "Shiseikatsu"（私生活...Private Life） which was released in November 1999 and got as high as No. 11 on the charts.

Yoko Nagisa -- Tasogare Minato Machi（黄昏みなと町）

 

2024 has been the year that I first found out about the late singer Yoko Nagisa（渚ようこ）, a somewhat mysterious figure who loved to sing her own brand of Showa-era pop music in a way that brought back memories of the 1960s and 1970s although she recorded her songs in the 1990s and 2000s.

The last time I wrote about her was back in late July with her 2003 single "Ai no Toubousha"（愛の逃亡者）, a reminder of all things American Sunshine Pop and Burt Bacharach. Well, apparently the coupling song, "Tasogare Minato Machi" (Sunset Port Town) is much more of a return to Japan. In fact, there is something downright Ayumi Ishida（いしだあゆみ）and her classic 1968 "Blue Light Yokohama" about her vocalization and the arrangement surrounding this song. I don't get any hints of the 2000s here; musically, I get shot back to when I was only four years old.

The composer was Gary Ashiya（ゲイリー芦屋）while the lyricist has been listed on the JASRAC database as Kazuki Tozai（東西蘭月）, although his real name was Akihiro Yoshida（吉田明裕）according to this tweet on Twitter. Unfortunately, he passed away in early 2022.

Peace City/Joji Ai -- Jiyu Douri no Gogo（自由通りの午後）

 

It's been almost a month now, but back in early September, I wrote about singer-songwriter S-KEN and his New Wave-y "Saku Saku"（サク・サク）from 1981. I also noted that he, under his real name of Tadashi Tanaka（田中唯士）, has had quite the interesting odyssey of a music career beginning from a shift from the sciences into music in the early 1970s.

One thing that I left out intentionally from Tanaka's history because I felt that it deserved this article was that during that part of the decade, he had gotten involved with a band called Peace City（ピース・シティー）. It didn't have a particularly long life (two singles, as far I know) but it did have a few members who would go on to make their own mark on music. Of course, guitarist and percussionist Tanaka would go solo but Peace City also had guitarist Motoaki Masuo（増尾元章）who has already appeared on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" with his chill 1982 "Oahu-to no Kaze"（オアフ島の風）. Not only that but there was also bassist Ken Sato（佐藤健）who would create a lot of songs for other artists including his wife, City Pop chanteuse Junko Ohashi（大橋純子）, who he would marry in 1979.

In the "Saku Saku" article, I mentioned that Tanaka had participated in the Poland Music Festival in 1971. Well, that was actually with Peace City who performed this number which would end up as their second (and presumably their final) single from 1972 called "Jiyu Douri no Gogo". It directly translates into "Afternoon on Freedom Road" although the official English title just kept it as "Freedom Road". Written by Takeshi Matsuyama（松山猛）and composed by Tanaka himself, it's a folksy tune and along with the title, I got images of Woodstock and endless rides with hippies in Volkswagens. Good heavens...I can even hear more cowbell!

The thing is that "Jiyu Douri no Gogo" was also offered to singer Joji Ai（アイ・ジョージ）in 1971. Up to now, I had treated Ai as an enka/Mood Kayo crooner through songs such as his 1965 "Akai Glass"（赤いグラス）, a duet with Chinami Shima（志摩ちなみ）. But I guess he wanted to let his hair down, so to speak, and he released his "Jiyu Douri no Gogo" on New Year's Day, right after he had performed on the Kohaku Utagassen the night before. Ironically, he would perform the single almost a year later on New Year's Eve for his final appearance on the NHK special. The arrangement for his take is definitely more along the lines of psychedelic rock and kayo soul.

Junko Mihara -- Datte ~ Fall In Love ~ Totsuzen（だって・フォーリンラブ・突然）

 

Reporter: Congratulations on your new post, Prime Minister Ishiba.

Ishiba: Thank you.

Reporter: What do you plan to do first?

Ishiba: Uh...dissolve the Lower House in about a week and then have general elections on October 27th.

Reporter: Ah....

Well, I guess the newest Prime Minister of Japan didn't waste time and actually, this is the second time that a Japanese head of government called for dissolution and elections right after he got the job, so it isn't exactly unprecedented. But I'm not here to focus on the PM but the JM...Junko Mihara（三原じゅん子）, to be specific. I've noted in her file on KKP that she has been a Parliamentarian for a good long while now and she now has her first portfolio as a cabinet minister; she'll be taking care of child policy.

But of course, over four decades ago, Mihara was in the entertainment industry as a singer and an actress. She released 21 singles and 15 albums between 1980 and 1991 and though from the brief file she has on the blog has also covered some of her City Pop material, whenever her name pops up in my memories, I usually think of her as an 80s rock-n'-rolling lass because of the time that I first got to see her on the 1982 edition of NHK's Kohaku Utagassen singing "Honki de Love Me Good"（ホンキでLove Me Good).

"Honki de Love Me Good" was her 10th single released in October 1982 which did OK by peaking at No. 28 on Oricon. However, her 8th single from earlier in May did even better by scoring a No. 11 ranking. "Datte ~ Fall In Love ~ Totsuzen" (But...Falling in Love...All of a Sudden) is a twist-happy rock-n'-roll number that was written by Reiko Yamada（山田麗子）and members of the rock-n'-roll band The Crazy Rider Yokohama Ginbae Rolling Special（T.C.R横浜銀蝿R.S.）and composed by TAKU. If anything, "Datte ~ Fall In Love ~ Totsuzen" is an even faster-paced rocker that brings up images of those dancers in Harajuku that I mentioned in yesterday's article on Toshihiko Tahara's（田原俊彦）"Harajuku Kiss"（原宿キッス）. Man, time does fly!