I've been a fan of Japanese popular music for 40 years, and have managed to collect a lot of material during that time. So I decided I wanted to talk about Showa Era music with like-minded fans. My particular era is the 70s and 80s (thus the "kayo kyoku"). The plus part includes a number of songs and artists from the last 30 years and also the early kayo. So, let's talk about New Music, aidoru, City Pop and enka.
Credits
I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.
With a wind chill factor in the negative double digits today, it was about as far from summer as one could get, and I had to get a major errand done outside. I've got a feeling that there may be an exodus later this month to the warmer climes such as the Caribbean. After all, not everyone wants to frolic in the Christmas cold.
Perhaps to give some support to the sun worshippers, I present another lovely instrumental from the good folks at Nash Music Library. "Havana Port" comes from their March 2025 collection known as "Caribbean Breeze" and it's a pleasant but pretty jaunty slice of Latin jazz (with the trombone at the fore) to go with your Cuba Libre in the sun. I actually put the YouTube link into the software of Sonoteller just for fun. Nothing all that revelatory but it was interesting.
A couple of nights ago, I caught the penultimate episode of "Uta Con"（うたコン）for the year. Usually, the NHK music show alternates venues between Tokyo and Osaka, but for the first time, it held its performances in Fukuoka at a new hall. Not surprisingly, a lot of the guests, if not all of them, were from that particular area such as Chisato Moritaka（森高千里）and Fumiya Fujii（藤井フミヤ）, formerly of Checkers.
My long odyssey down the kayo kyoku/J-Pop path can be described as one where stretches of that road were populated by certain regular singers and bands, so the 80s part was filled with folks such as the aforementioned Checkers, Seiko Matsuda（松田聖子）, Anzen Chitai（安全地帯）and Akina Nakamori（中森明菜）. That started with my trip to Japan in 1981 and continued throughout my high school and university years. But when I got to Japan to start my first post-university job as a teacher in Gunma Prefecture in 1989, I felt that there was a phasing out of the "old guard", so to speak, from my perception, to be replaced by acts including Princess Princess, Wink, Kome Kome Club（米米CLUB）and Miki Imai（今井美樹）.
Fujii performed a song that I hadn't heard in decades on "Uta Con" on Tuesday. It was the Checkers' 23rd single from June 1990, "Yoake no Breath"(Breath of Dawn). My impression of the popular band has always been stuck in those mid-1980s when the band was doing their 50s rock-n-roll stuff but I also realize that Fujii could come up with the emotional ballads such as "True Love" later in the 90s, and such was the case with "Yoake no Breath".
Written by Fujii and composed by Checkers' keyboardist Masaharu Tsuruku（鶴久政治）, it's been described as a straight love song although I can pick up on some of the old Checkers' proud swagger and perhaps a bit of gospel soul as well. On Oricon, it reached No. 2 and eventually became the 34th-ranked single of the year.
According to the J-Wiki article for "Yoake no Breath", this song and one other were vying to get that position of getting released as a single, and what ultimately got "Yoake no Breath" the brass ring was the fact that Fujii was getting married at around the same time, so why not have a love song come out next for Checkers? Well, it did more than that. It also got the band their 7th invitation to the Kohaku Utagassen and was also used as the campaign song for the movie "Tasmania Monogatari"（タスマニア物語...Tasmania Story）.
When it comes to Japan Railways, there has been one campaign of theirs that has stood out because of the glorious beauty of Kyoto and that one song which has accompanied the commercials for over thirty years. I'm hoping that whoever in the JR advertising department was behind the idea of using "My Favorite Things" got a major bonus for the idea. The cinematic version of "The Sound of Music" from where "My Favorite Things" originated is practically essential viewing in the junior high schools of Japan, so that particular song among the many others in there is well known to everyone. But now, the Japanese probably relate the song more to Kyoto than the original movie.
Of course, before Julie Andrews and the movie version became the huge hit, "The Sound of Music" originated as a stage musical in 1959 with Mary Martin in the starring role of Maria. I never knew all that much about Martin but I knew her son, Larry Hagman, as the infamous JR Ewing in the show "Dallas". And of course, there was his earlier role as the far nicer military man Tony in "I Dream of Jeannie".
For the record, I'll have you know that from the lyrics, my favourite things would be apple strudel and schnitzel with noodles. If these were available at a buffet, I would be a happy man. Now, the reason for me choosing this one is that although it wasn't specifically made for the Holidays, "My Favorite Things" has been a staple on the radio and mall speakers during the Xmas season. Personally, I used to remember my kindergarten teacher always playing this on the record player...most likely to sedate us.
I figure that if Rodgers and Hart have a ROY entry on "Kayo Kyoku Plus", then Rodgers and Hammerstein should get a shot as well. Anyways, what were the big hits in 1959 in Japan when "The Sound of Music" made its debut on Broadway?
A day in the radio? Oh, here I thought that I was going to have to put on my English teacher's hat once more to rectify a prepositional issue.
But then, I figured out that this was a track from the 2000 album "Fakevox" by Japanese duo Tomonori Hayashibe（ハヤシベトモノリ）and Takeshi Wakiya（ワキヤタケシ）who are collectively known as Plus-Tech Squeeze Box. They first got together in 1997 and have released a couple of original albums including the aforementioned "Fakevox". Their genres of choice happen to be electronica and Shibuya-kei, and "A Day in the Radio" is a good example of the two genres put together like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.
Hayashibe was responsible for both words and music, and it starts off like something for a Nintendo video game but then explodes into a cute Day-Glo danceable (privately, if you wish) ditty. From the sounds of it, I would have thought it ideal as a theme song for some zany gag-filled anime.
Along with a number of other anime and theme song pairings, "City Hunter" and "Get Wild" will never get tired. If there were a headstone on TM Network's grave, it would only need to say "Get Wild" and people would understand. On this blog, the legendary anison has at least three articles.
But before folks go to the shrine of composer Tetsuya Komuro（小室哲哉）, let it be said that though he came up with the main melody, his namesake (and not relative) Mitsuko Komuro（小室みつ子）was the lyricist for "Get Wild". Kinda like how Tomoko Aran（亜蘭知子）ended up recording a lot of City Pop in the 1980s but provided her songwriting for the good-time summery pop of TUBE, Mitsuko was someone that I also knew for her City Pop singing such as with "Koi no Dancin'"（恋のダンシン）but is the wordsmith for the very different "Get Wild". I never treated "Get Wild" as a City Pop song despite it was for an anime that was stubbornly based in Shinjuku, Tokyo.
And Mitsuko Komuro's own cover of "Get Wild" isn't a City Pop song either. Her take is present on her November 1994 8th album"Simple Dreams". It still has the pop-rock edge in there but it's also a bit more contemplative and ethereal than the TM Network version. At this rate, perhaps I should make "Get Wild" its own category in Labels.
Man, I hope the Xmas revelers are enjoying really hot cocoa and nothing radioactive above. But it is indeed the season.
Of course, one of the great Christmas musical chestnuts out there is "Winter Wonderland" which was first recorded in 1934 by Felix Bernard and lyricist Richard Bernhard Smith, according to Wikipedia. Since then, the song has been covered by so many artists everywhere, and of course, that includes Bing Crosby. It wouldn't be a KKP Christmas without Der Bingle. And so, he came up with his version in 1962. The snazzy one with the cool video above may be the 1962 version or any subsequent version by him but let's just go with that year, shall we? His baritone will always be welcome in my ears at this time.
I've had this version of "Winter Wonderland" on the backlog for quite a while now, and I figure that it must have come from one of Scott's "Holly Jolly X'masu" episodes, since I could never imagine a ska version of the classic. But here we are.
akiko is a jazz singer who has been on the blog before with her 2003 take on "Good Morning Heartache", originally performed by Billie Holiday. Well, she provides her jaunty collaboration with The Ska Flames in "Winter Wonderland" via her 2007 release "A White Album". The band has been around since 1985 and has released six albums and eight singles up to 2020.
I took one look at that cover of Kei Ishiguro's（石黒ケイ）1985 album"Mont Saint-Michel no Kodoku"（モン・サン・ミッシェルの孤独...The Solitude of Mont Saint-Michel ）along with the singer's very artistic appearance, and figured that this was going to be a different animal compared to my usual impression of her as a jazzy City Pop singer through songs such as "Hearty" and "Misty Night"（ミスティ・ナイト）. Even the title hints at the Gallic-ness of it all and when it's produced in the mid-1980s, it's just gotta be somewhat avant-garde and/or New Wave.
And yep, the first track on "Mont Saint-Michel", "Ame no Freeway" (Rainy Freeway), strikes me quite different for an Ishiguro song, but not so much that I consider it to be way out from left field. Written by Yasushi Akimoto（秋元康）and composed by Masahiro Ikumi（幾見雅博）, there are the synthesizers and syn-drums that remind me a bit of Asami Kobayashi's（小林麻美）"Ame Oto wa Chopin no Shirabe"（雨音はショパンの調べ）along with the breezy je ne sais quoi arrangement. Still, even with Ishiguro's vocals that hint at a certain feeling of chaise lounge behaviour, I can pick up on some of the old urban contemporary and sophisticated pop.
Back in September, I posted up that All-Points Bulletin for Neff regarding some Chinese covers of songs that he couldn't quite identify. I believe that he was able to resolve most of the mystery songs thankfully. But I also remember while trying to help him out that I came across a few songs that may have been connected to the mystery ones but ended up nothing of the sort. Of course, I was disappointed but in the process, I was able to find some new kayo kyoku with their common denominator being a common title.
"Ryoujou" on Jisho.org talks about "the mood when traveling". And of course, travel is a big theme in kayo kyoku, notably as the action one takes when there's a need to get away from a problem, usually post-romantic in nature. The protagonists take trains and planes (not sure about automobiles, though) to some faraway place in Japan, away from Tokyo or Osaka (Tsugaru Strait is especially popular) or even overseas to mourn and/or reset those feelings.
Through Google, I even discovered some very specific terminology for that particular mood. Wanderlust was one word that I had already known but here are some of the others:
Wanderlust: A strong desire to travel and explore the world.
Eudaimonia: A state of intense happiness and contentment while traveling, when everything feels right.
Resfeber: The restless, anxious excitement that comes before a journey begins.
Strikhedonia: The joy of being able to say, "to hell with it!" and go on an adventure.
Fernweh: The opposite of homesickness; an ache or longing for places you have never seen before.
Sehnsucht: A wistful yearning for something far-off and indefinable, or for travels past and future.
Where enka and kayo kyoku are concerned, I think perhaps Fernweh and Sehnsucht might be the traveling moods that match the feelings there, although the words themselves sound like alien crewmembers on the Enterprise on "Star Trek".
Anyways, let's begin with the first "Ryoujou" that was recorded by Mari Sono（園まり）for release as a single in June 1972 to commemorate her 10th anniversary in the music business. Quite the poignant kayo kyoku, this was written by Jun Hashimoto（橋本淳）and composed by Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）as the lyrics describe a woman who has either broken up or is on the verge of breaking up with her beau by flying off to Paris. It's the strings and what sounds like a harpsichord that give me the heavy sense of the melancholy here but I also have to note the deep horns that pop up as if the lady is about to take one major leap of faith.
Less than a couple of years later, enka veteran Shinichi Mori（森進一）released an album "Ryoujou" in March 1974. The title track was written by Kohan Kawauchi（川内康範）and composed by Kosho Inomata（猪俣公章）as a song of longing by a fellow who's looking upon a woman he's had feelings for. She hasn't reciprocated them and maybe she isn't even aware of them especially since she's probably just broken it off with another guy. It's a got a bit more brass and heart-on-a-sleeve emotion so I can put it between kayo kyoku and enka.
Then, we come to Hiroshi Itsuki's（五木ひろし）"Ryoujou" which was released much later in 1998. With lyrics by Reiji Mizuki（水木れいじ）, the singer himself came up with the melody. If there were such a thing as Itsuki Song, then his "Ryoujou" would be the class example with the haunting chorus, the seemingly tear-choked vocals and the wistful arrangement.
In all likelihood, this track from Kingo Hamada's（濱田金吾）6th album"Heart Cocktail" from March 1985, "Tokyo Come & Gone" reflects the sad and concise four frames of a manga that makes up the cover of the album. My condolences to the former Itos.
"Tokyo Come & Gone" was written by Keisuke Yamakawa（山川啓介）and composed by Hamada as a wistful and reflective ballad of what used to be a happy relationship and is now a very former one. Not sure what happened but hey, that's life and romance in the big city, I guess. It's a beautiful and melancholy City Pop melody by Hamada with the Fender Rhodes and one other keyboard gently making contact. There's very much of a "there are other fish in the sea" feeling in this one as it accompanies Mr. Ito heading sadly into the horizon.
I think with Brazil being in the Southern Hemisphere, the weather ought to be getting quite a bit warmer with their summer. A lot of folks here are very envious right now.
Anyways, I have another sparkling track by QYPTHONE from their 5th album from December 2002, "Montuno No. 5". And I guess with its track mate, "On the Palette", "Melody" keeps the music from aforementioned Brazil continuing on full speed, although not with the Shibuya-kei of "On the Palette". Perhaps the entire album has that samba and bossa nova theme; certainly, "Melody", written and composed by Takeshi Nakatsuka（中塚武）, plunges into the Atlantic with some exciting samba and I'm assuming that Izumi Ookawara（大河原泉）is the vocalist here. New Year's must be something else down in Rio.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to December. Not sure how it is meteorologically where you are, but here in Toronto, we woke up to a wind chill factor of around -7 degrees Celsius and a slight frosting of snow on the ground. Not surprisingly, the department stores and malls are in Christmas mode with the appropriate music, and sure enough, even KKP has entered the Yuletide spirit.
Of course, Christmas songs such as "Jingle Bells" and "White Christmas" are famous all around the world. And even the ones whose titles don't have a "Christmas" or "Santa Claus" or "Jingle" or "Eve" are well-known for their Xmas cheer including "Sleigh Ride" and "Little Drummer Boy". Now, in Japan, where Christmas has been taking hold of the population like icing on carrot cake for years and years and years (aside from the fact that it isn't a statutory holiday over there, and really shouldn't be), as we all know in "Kayo Kyoku Plus", many J-Xmas tunes have been created during the better part of the past century. And I'd add that perhaps around 90% of them have those special key words that I've mentioned above that would provide the big hint that Christmas is on the way. There are those tunes such as "Christmas Eve" and "December 24" that pretty much give the show away.
However, the remaining 10% don't have any of those Christmas-y buzzwords in the title. Therefore, for those listeners who have just gotten into Japanese popular music and are starting to discover the Xmas section of kayo kyoku and J-Pop, as a public service, I've decided to start December off with some of those J-Xmas songs that don't overtly include anything Christmas-y in the title. Perhaps they can make for some delightful discoveries for some. So without further ado:
Considering the lyric analysis that will soon be shown below, I'm surprised that Yellow Magic Orchestra's"Gradated Grey" was never used for an ending scene of a particularly gritty thriller drama. A track from the band's November 1981"Technodelic" LP, this was written by Haruomi Hosono（細野晴臣）and Peter Barakan with Hosono also taking care of the melody.
When it comes to my own personal adventure with the music of YMO, I've divided their discography into two halves. The first half, which is the one that I've preferred, happens to be the songs from the early years in the late 1970s with songs like "Firecracker" and "Rydeen" when the guys were enjoying filtering various music genres through the wonders of synths and emulators. Meanwhile, the second half which continued from the early 1980s seemed to be the band's flight of fancy into pure artistic techno and less of the pop. For me, it was OK but some songs never grabbed me.
"Gradated Grey" is one song that seems more into the avant-garde part although I think it's still approachable. There is that feeling of waking up in a haze of uncertainty and possibility with the periodic siren-like blasts. As for the lyric analysis, I will have to give credit to one of the commenters for the above video on YouTube, @kunwarbedi3882, for his summary as follows:
Yellow Magic Orchestra's song Gradated Grey is a melancholic yet hopeful masterpiece that explores the complexities of human emotions and the concept of change. The song starts with a description of the singer's current state of mind while driving and listening to a song that makes him feel uneasy and unsure. As the song progresses, the lyrics talk about how the singer has been through many experiences that have made him see many shades of grey. He has seen sadness, despair, and hopelessness but has also seen beauty and hope.
The landscape that the singer drives through is described as unique and unfamiliar, with shades of grey that he has never seen before. This suggests that the singer is in a transitional phase of life, experiencing new and unfamiliar emotions and situations. However, the song also hints at a sense of hope and anticipation for what is to come. The last line of the song talks about racing towards a point where grey meets white, which could symbolize a new beginning or a fresh start.
Overall, Gradated Grey can be interpreted as a reflection on the complexities of human emotions and the constant evolution of our lives. The song acknowledges the inevitability of change and the importance of embracing the unknown, even if it makes us feel uneasy.
If I'm not mistaken, I think among the three key YMO members, Hosono, Ryuichi Sakamoto（坂本龍一）and Yukihiro Takahashi（高橋幸宏）, Hosono is the only one who hasn't gotten himself in front of a camera for a movie or TV show. Try to imagine him in the driver's seat in a movie as he has been driving for many hours, wondering what has befallen him and what is to become of him. I keep thinking that Michael Mann would have to direct this film.
Considering that this is the last day of November, a month that perhaps has that greyness compared to the gold and orange hues of October and the white and red colours of December, "Gradated Grey" seems to be the appropriate entry to end this month of KKP entries. Plus, as hinted in the song, that grey looks to be shifting into something brighter hopefully.
I barely remember the band Scanch（すかんち）and it was only through celebrities mentioning it on TV that I was even made aware that such a group existed. One of those celebrities was a part of Scanch itself, musician ROLLY who you can see above on the right. ROLLY was someone that I usually saw as a glam rock tarento on various variety shows but never actually saw his group perform or anything like that.
Scanch, which specializes in many types of rock (glam, alternative, hard, etc.) has dipped up and down in the Japanese music world for decades but its first go-round was between 1982 and 1996, and it turned out their final single during this period was the November 1995"Moshimo Mainichi ga Christmas Dattara".
For those folks of a certain age from the United Kingdom who may recognize the melody and arrangement, it's indeed a cover of glam rock band Wizzard's"I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" from December 1973. And with both versions, I enjoy that nostalgic sound of either The Beach Boys or Phil Spector's Wall of Sound. To think, those kids in the video above are now probably getting close to retirement.
At the risk of sounding a little overly florid here, but there are millions of stories in the city. Here are two of them.
That's the impression I'm getting from the video for singer-songwriter Hibiya's "Imaginary Tokyo", her 3rd single from 2024 according to this website. Done up like a contemporary film noir mystery set in my old stomping grounds, a couple of mystery lovers (one of them portrayed by Hibiya herself) have their running adventure on the sign-filled nocturnal grimy streets. Hibiya took care of practically most of the project including words, music and the video itself. "Imaginary Tokyo" has that galloping 80s-style synthpop beat that shines a lot of light into what would be a pretty dark and gloomy portrayal of the night life in Tokyo.
Hibiya has shown up here on KKP through the songs "I'm In Love Again" and "Sunday Lonely Night" as a featured performer, so I'm glad that she has star billing here with "Imaginary Tokyo". I finally got to get some more information about her as well. She hails from Kanagawa Prefecture, and took up classical piano from the age of 3 and then acoustic guitar from 15. At a music university, she majored in piano while also beginning songwriting and arrangement.. Hibiya has also been greatly influenced by the culture of the 1960s to the 1980s including music, and apparently she does love those vintage synthesizers.
Long time, no see Takako Okamura（岡村孝子）. Nice to have you back on KKP.
Back in 2019, I posted an article on the singer-songwriter's March 1986 3rd single"Haguresou na Tenshi"（はぐれそうな天使）, one of her most famous tunes and a song that had quite the mysterious and even thrilling arrangement about a woman who was about to fall in love. Well, I have the B-side here and that is "Hitoribocchi no Kokoro wo Dakishimete"(Embrace a Lonely Heart) which could have been the thematic sequel to the A-side since it deals with a woman who has just fallen out of love but still hasn't quite gotten over it yet in a "Awww...you need a hug" sort of way. It's a straight-ahead lush piano ballad that likely has had listeners reaching for the 2-ply Kleenex.
The main lyricist was Toshie Nakaniwa or Nakaba（中庭とし江）with Okamura providing some assistance on the words while the latter took care of the melody. I had never heard of the lyricist before and that is probably because the song itself was concocted on one of Okamura's radio programs perhaps through a contest involving a listener trying her hand on songwriting.
Things are getting chillier up here in the Northern Hemisphere so folks are probably hitting the nearest cafe for their lattes and apple strudel. Maybe get together with a few friends for a kaffeeklatsch while surrounded by the final vestiges of the autumn colours.
For a musical representation of this, I can provide "Moshikashitara" (Maybe) by the lovely Mariko Takahashi（高橋真梨子）from her February 1980 album "Sunny Afternoon". Written by Tsuzuru Nakasato（中里綴）and composed by Yasuhiro Kido（木戸やすひろ）, it's quite the warm and folksy country ditty about accepting love for what it practically means: not always happy but something that also includes bad times and forgiveness. Nice thing to think about as we approach the Holidays. Takahashi always does the country music wonderfully.
As I type this, I'm approaching the noon hour but this is where I will be ending my Urban Contemporary Friday session, now that I've gotten my six articles done in the last twelve hours and will be facing some busy times in the next several hours.
TENDRE is a musical marvel that I've been keeping my eyes on for a while now. I was charmed by his 2017 "crave" for its cool and funky nature. He even came up with the current theme song for the NHK morning information show "Asaichi"（あさイチ）and the only disappointment there is that it's so short. Happily, there is no such thing with the coupling song to his very first digital single "SOFTLY/RIDE" from May 2018.
Groovalicious is another made-up adjective that I love to apply to TENDRE's stuff and that includes "Ride". I'm happy to finally see the guy in the music video while he is strutting his stuff on those overnight streets (just hope he didn't get mugged). It feels like a ride through the 1970s and 2010s at the same time with all of that smokiness and coolness. I also love the video's use of Monty Python-esque animation. In April 2023, TENDRE provided a slightly more oomphed-up version of "Ride" in his digital EP "Beginning".
I figure that up north of here, Unionville is getting ready for another round of Xmas activity. I've mentioned this to Scott who's in charge of the podcast "Holly Jolly X'masu" (and I realize that his last entry was all the way back in January, but he's been very busy this year) that Unionville is basically the Normal Rockwell scene for the Toronto area, so it's not surprising that a lot of folks want to make that drive to the area in December if not already.
My apologies for raving about this again but I've always enjoyed the cover of singer-songwriter Masahito Arai's（新井正人）"MASAHITO ARAI" album from 1987 because of its depiction of a streetscape that reminds me a lot of the main street in Unionville. Ironically, my most recent article involving Arai was back in early 2022 for a track from that very album. But this time, I'm now introducing the first track from "MASAHITO ARAI", "Kimi wa Ima..." (Now, You Are...) with the lyrics by Ayuko Ishikawa（石川あゆ子） telling the story of a guy who's still swooning over his ex-girlfriend with heartrending questions like "Who's loving you now?".
The music by Arai is pretty darn snazzy though with an arrangement that sounds more urban and urbane than that cover's streetscape. I'm always gonna be a sucker for nocturnal horns...and a good sax solo. Reminiscing over lost loves isn't usually this cool.
As mentioned last night, I've got things to do later on today and with another threat of major snow on the way, I figured that I will get the usual Urban Contemporary Friday stint done a little earlier than scheduled. I already got three of them out of the way last night.
With the inclusion of the works of many a Japanese fusion band over the year, I realized that the last time I'd posted something by Casiopea（カシオペア）was back in late January...almost a year later. Time to rectify!
Not sure why Casiopea titled this song "Chandelier" aside from the observation that one of the keyboards used here may represent the crystalline pieces of the hanging light/work of art. But in any case, it's a fun instrumental City Pop piece by Casiopea leader Issei Noro（野呂一生）which gallops at a fine pace as I get images of tripping the light fantastic down a major Tokyo street. "Chandelier" was the final track on the band's December 1982 8th album "4×4 FOUR BY FOUR" which was a fairly short LP at only six tracks.
Before I forget completely, I would like to wish a belated Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in the United States. At this point, most of you have already devoured a good chunk of turkey with all of the trimmings. Perhaps those of you reading this may be doing so through bleary eyes from sleeping some of that digestion off. Keep the stomach open for dessert, though. You can't miss that!
I guess with this article, we've done a round trip between Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro. Well, we're back in Tokyo again via singer-songwriter Anna Takeuchi's（竹内アンナ）"Tokyo Nite" from her January 2019 album"at TWO". It's been around three years since I posted an article about her on the blog so let's welcome her back.
In terms of her discography, this is the earliest I've gone back and "Tokyo Nite" is a fascinating track because it seems to be trying to be a Long Island Iced Tea of genres with the intoxicatingly sweet taste, to boot. It's got the groovy Neo-City Pop, some hip-hop rap, bossa nova and maybe even a touch of ska in the beat. The song comes across as the type of musical background a Tokyo modern of the 21st century would like to have while driving through the megalopolis on a Friday night.
KKP readers may be noticing that I've started the usual Friday Urban Contemporary articles a tad early on a Thursday night. Well, one reason is that I'm going to be rather busy tomorrow with other projects so I'm getting a lead on at least a few of them tonight.
Such as this one. Singer Yumi Seino（清野由美）released three albums with the first one being "U・TA・GE" in March 1981. And I guess I'm continuing some of that city City Pop from my last article being a Tokyo-based one; this time, we're heading down to Rio de Janeiro with the track "Rio no Mahoutsukai" (The Wizard of Rio). Written by Ayumi Date（伊達歩）and composed by Latin jazz musician Naoya Matsuoka（松岡直也）, there is a rumbling samba rhythm in there but the City Pop arrangement is also not standing back either. Plus, Seino's singing with the background chorus reminds me of some of the music from vocal groups such as Circus（サーカス）and Hi-Fi Set（ハイ・ファイ・セット).
I've known a few pathological pessimists during my life and I've tended not to listen to them too long or much. In fact, phasing them out of my sphere has been my policy. During my years in the Tokyo area, I don't think I'd ever gone pessimistic (mind you, I'm not an optimist either). Certainly, I did have my blue periods but generally it was a nice life in one of the biggest cities on the planet.
Well, those ominous winds at the beginning of the song give an indication of what "Tokyo Pessimist" must be all about. A track from Michiru Kojima's（児島未散）March 1992"floraison" album, despite the title, it's still a pretty cool-sounding and soulful 1990s City Pop tune although the protagonist within the song may be going through a bad spot. The melody is by Takashi Yamazaki（山崎孝）while the lyrics are by Miki Fuudo（風堂美起）, the pseudonym of former 80s aidoru Mie Takahashi（高橋美枝）. Another Kojima and Fuudo collaboration can be found here.
I figure that the scenes like the one above will become even more frequent as we near the end of the year in Japan, and all of those bonenkai start up once more. All of those business workers have got to gush all of that stress from their systems at the year-end parties and subsequent karaoke sessions.
Well, I guess that the karaoke song menus now have one more boisterous tune to get the salarymen and women to scream their lungs out while dousing themselves in beer and other libations. This is "Uta da yo! Jinsei" (Life is Music!), the March 2025 72nd single for enka singer Mitsuko Nakamura（中村美津子）. Written by Reiji Mizuki（水木れいじ）and composed by Chiaki Oka（岡千秋）, this is one charming barnburner of a song celebrating all that is life and music, a philosophy that I can wholeheartedly embrace although the chances of me getting drunk with a necktie wrapped around my forehead while singing out my own lungs are now very remote. Mind you, I can imagine a number of folks throughout the generations sharing the same level of brio that Nakamura does to sing their hearts out. Reserve those karaoke boxes when you can!
We've got another singer here who doesn't have a whole lot of information forthcoming online. Mieko Aoki（青木美恵子）, who also went by her first name in full caps, MIEKO, has got some data on one site in which it's shown that she was born in Tokyo. Making her debut in 1982 through live band performances, she released her first solo album in 1990 (she released a total of five albums). Aoki has provided other singers with lyrics and melodies over the years, and even helped out as backing chorus for singers such as Kazuo Zaitsu（財津和夫）and Masaki Ueda（上田正樹）.
In 1992, Aoki released a CD single titled "Mou Ichido Merry Xmas"(Merry Xmas Once More) which was written and composed by her. As was often the case with a lot of J-Pop songs back in those early 1990s at least, "Mou Ichido Merry Xmas" has some buzzing electric guitar to go with the soft pop sounds and Aoki's mellow voice. One person online has compared her vocals with those of ZARD, but I also think that there is also some similarity with Midori Karashima's（辛島美登里）singing.
I mentioned this a little when I posted the ROY article regarding the iconic James Bond theme by Monty Norman & John Barry but my first several years of 007 exposure was through the frequent Sunday night reruns on ABC. It was on the telly where I witnessed Sean Connery, George Lazenby and Roger Moore punch bad guys out and romance the ladies always opening with that assassin's-view shot of the master spy before he swerved around and shot back. In fact, the first time I actually saw a Bond movie on the big screen was in 1985 when Moore had his final go-around as Bond in "A View to a Kill". By that point, Moore had looked a little long in the tooth.
But today for this 007 Reminiscings of Youth article, I'm going to focus on the theme song of Moore's first foray into Bondlore, the 1973 "Live and Let Die". I'll be honest and admit that the opening credits scared the heck out of me when I saw that woman's head turn into a skull on fire...forget about the nudity. One other point about catching Bond movies on TV is that it was often the case that it had used to take about three to five years before a cinematic release finally made its way to television so I probably didn't see "Live and Let Die" until the late 1970s and by that point, I had already made Jane Seymour's acquaintance through "Battlestar Galactica" the original. Had no idea that she was also the femme fatale in Moore's first Bond movie.
The main reason that I'm covering "Live and Let Die" this week as a ROY is that the guy behind the theme song of the same title, Sir Paul McCartney, had just finished a weekend of thrilling concerts just down the highway from me in the city of Hamilton. For a man his age, he has Time Lord energy coursing through his veins and arteries and it appears that "Live and Let Die" is an essential part of the playlist.
It was Moore's first time as Bond but it was also the first time that a rock song was used as a theme for a 007 flick when compared to the swaggering jazz that had been the music for all of those Bond movies in the 1960s. I didn't quite "get" "Live and Let Die" when I first heard it with that crazy mix of rock and orchestra (which would eventually become the template for future Bond themes by pop and rock acts). At the time, I preferred Carly Simon's"Nobody Does It Better" but I'm good with it now and I think it represents the oncoming storm that is 007 when he's ticked off at somebody. And I have to admit that to see and listen to it live has to be one of the major highlights of a McCartney concert, if not the highlight.
"Live and Let Die" reached No. 2 on both the American and Canadian charts. It was nominated at the Oscars for Best Original Song and won a Grammy for Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s). The song was released on June 1st 1973 as a single from Paul McCartney & Wings, a few weeks before the movie's American release. What was up at the top of the Oricon charts a few days later on June 4th?
It was just a couple of months ago that the NHK morning serial drama "Anpan"（あんぱん）wrapped up its 6-month run. I don't usually watch these dramas but "Anpan" was quite good and as is often the case for many of them, it spanned decades. Although she doesn't show up in the above trailer, veteran actress and TV personality Miyoko Asada（浅田美代子）appeared as the kindly elderly grandmother.
But a little over half a century previously, Asada had started out as an adorable 1970s aidoru, and she made her debut in April 1973 with the single "Akai Fuusen"(Red Balloon). To be honest, I had assumed that I already posted an Asada song so I was surprised that there was no such entry. Therefore, I am redeeming myself here with what is probably her most famous tune. Written by Kazumi Yasui（安井かずみ）and composed/arranged by Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）, it's as sweet as sweet can be with the lyrics depicting some wistful romantic dreaming. I can imagine some boy bringing back a red balloon to his crush; not surprisingly, the lass also has feelings for the lad.
Looks like the listening public fell under the charms of "Akai Fuusen" and Asada herself since it reached No. 1 and stayed there for the better part of a month. It also ended up as the 10th-ranked single of 1973, selling around 800,000 records. In fact, according to the J-Wiki article for the song, the song had debuted at No. 2 on the 5-year-old Oricon charts, and reached No. 1 the following week which was the highest initial ranking for a debut song until December 1980, when Masahiko Kondo's（近藤真彦）"Sneaker Blues"(スニーカーぶるーす）debuted at the top spot. "Sneaker Blues" also happened to have been composed by the legendary Tsutsumi.
The somewhat big surprise for me was that despite Asada getting Best New Artist honours at the Japan Record Awards (televised on TBS) on New Year's Eve for "Akai Fuusen" and the other accolades as cited above, she never got the invitation to NHK's Kohaku Utagassen which followed pretty much immediately after the awards ceremony back in the day. Along with the fact that Asada had sung "Akai Fuusen" on the TBS show that she'd been starring in, "Jikan desu yo"（時間ですよ...It's Time）, I'm wondering if there had been some unwritten rule about "Thou shalt not invite a rival network's song onto thine show".
We're back on Hump Day today with all of the fatigue that a Wednesday would convey. Plus, over here, there's a good chance that we'll be buffeted with high winds possibly leading to power outages and then some flurries tomorrow. Not exactly an ideal forecast although as I look out my window, things are looking pretty sunny but the weather folks warned us that that would be a mere prelude to the maelstrom.
So, let us start off this round of KKP with something a little mellow and healing. I bring to you singer-songwriter Jun Shibata's（柴田淳）"Ryokataomoi" from her September 2017 11th album"Watashi wa Shiawase"（私は幸せ...I am Happy）. I've heard of the term "ryo" and "kataomoi" but never brought together like this and I guess it could mean "Unrequited Love At Both Ends". I gather that the two people involved have feelings for each other but neither person is aware of the other's emotions and they are too bashful to take that risk.
The ironic bittersweetness aside, "Ryokataomoi" is a sweet ballad with a gently rolling piano and tender strings leading the way. There's almost something nostalgic about the arrangement, and I don't just mean that it's almost a decade old. The overall feeling could even go as far back at the 1970s. Anyways, the album peaked at No. 7 on Oricon.
One of those new acts that I have next to no knowledge or information about, I don't even how to render this person or band in romaji. Would it be Contego or Kontego（コンテゴ）? I'll go with the former for now. Enquiring minds want to know (if any of you know [including the performer], please inform me). In any case, Contego has had their YouTube channel since late 2024 and an album has been available on Amazon Music.
Titled "Tokai no Kaze ni Yureru Glitch Pop"（都会の風に揺れるグリッチポップ... Glitch Pop Swaying in the City Breeze）, I don't know whether this track on this September 2025 album "Taxi no Light ga Nijinda Machikado" (A Street Corner Where the Taxi Lights Blurred) is an example of glitch pop. However, it is a pleasant and nostalgic technopop song with some nice popping beats percolating like bubbles in soda pop. If you take a look at Amazon Music, you'll find that all of the tracks read like some pretty heavy duty adjectival phrases, just like this one. Again, if anyone can give us some more information on Contego, that would be greatly appreciated.
With one of the shortest aidoru careers that I've noted on KKP, I was still attracted to Tsugumi Morita（森田つぐみ）because of her sweet vocals and the cover of her final single to date, "Koishite Kaigan Douri" (Love Me, Beachside Street).
Released in December 1976,"Koishite Kaigan Douri" is the story of a breezy and intoxicating love affair in Yokohama that was written by Rei Nakanishi（なかにし礼）and composed by Ken Takeda（竹田賢）. The melody has got a nice skippy rhythm reflecting the innocence and issue-free romance that the lovebirds are enjoying in the port city.
Morita was born Tsugumi Fujiwara（藤原嗣美）in Metropolitan Osaka in 1959 and she won a championship on a NET TV (now TV Asahi) audition show. She made her debut in spring of 1976 and released a total of three singles and one album in that one year before apparently disappearing from the recording booth for good, although she may have continued her television career for a wee bit longer. In 2014, she began running her own establishment, Cafe & Bar Alii's（カフェ＆バー アリーズ）in Nishonomiya, Hyogo Prefecture.
Aye, it is November 25th and within the world of "Kayo Kyoku Plus", that means the Christmas season has begun and so over the next month, there will be a liberal sprinkling of J-Xmas tunes popping up here and there like Keebler elves until December 25th. It looks like I may have accumulated a fair number of them for this year.
The first one for Xmas 2025 is a duet with Daisuke Inoue（井上大輔）, the same fellow behind the Group Sounds classic"Blue Chateau"（ブルー・シャトウ）back in the 1960s when he was part of the Blue Comets, and the splendid Cindy. "Namida yori mo Merry Xmas" (Merry Xmas Over Tears) was released in November 1990. Composed by Inoue and written by Goro Matsui（松井五郎）, this is a most bittersweet ballad in a contemporary pop style of the times that's quite typical of a number of Christmas tunes from Japan in which someone is waxing nostalgically over a past romance which had been sealed with that first kiss on Christmas Eve. Can't have Christmas songs be totally cheerful, after all.
Listening to this song for the first time, I had automatically assumed that this was something from the early 1980s because of that arrangement of 1950s rock n' roll that was the popular thing to emulate in Japanese music for young people at the time. But I was sadly mistaken.
In fact, this is "Omoide no First Kiss"（The First Kiss I Remember）, Teruyo Mitani's（三谷晃代）October 1977 final single, so I guess that lyricist and composer and singer Shogo Hamada（浜田省吾）may have been ahead of the curve by a few years. I had already posted a previous article with Mitani and that was for her debut single"Zekkou"（絶交）, a little less than a year previously. Again, with that 50s sound in there, I couldn't help but think of the popular diner Arnold's on "Happy Days" with all of those bobbysoxer kids twisting around on the dance floor.
As I mentioned in "Zekkou", the re-release of Mitani's lone album"Omoide no First Kiss" in 2016 sparked the singer to make a comeback after so many years.
Welcome to the final full week of November 2025. With the autumn in full swing, it's easy to get a bit wistful about the passage of this year and time in general. And I've gotten into this mood as well. I've been doing "Kayo Kyoku Plus" now for what will be approaching 14 years so our baby has turned into a snappy teenager.
I first started the blog out by talking about the many examples of kayo kyoku and J-Pop that I purchased and knew for years and years and what the surrounding situation was for each article. Of course, that has changed since for the past several years, I'm writing mostly about new songs by familiar and not-so-familiar singers and bands that I've encountered and sometimes when I get into a whole long series of those, I do wonder about getting things "on track" in a manner of speaking and at least presenting those songs that I've known about since my toddlerhood.
We have "The First" category in the Labels and I remember that I put up my own article almost five years ago on some of the firsts that I achieved through particular songs such as the first kayo kyoku that I ever heard. Well, along that similar track, I'm going to post about the first examples of Japanese music media that I ever bought or got as a gift since they are different from that other list. The above thumbnail shows the first entry.
1. First Tokusatsu Maxi-Single: Kamen Rider/Mirror Man/ Silver Kamen/Ultra Seven (1972)
