Hi-Way -- Girari Netsuai（ギラリ熱愛）

 

I have to say that the above ad is a pretty clever take on a key scene from Dustin Hoffman's "The Graduate", and it was all done for Nissin's Menkoku（めんコク）instant noodles. When it comes to passion in Japan, there is the significant other and there are noodles. Oh, by the way, the Hoffman character here was played by a future governor of Chiba Prefecture.

I'm not sure when the Kensaku Morita（森田健作）-starring commercial above was broadcast but in 1981, for another commercial featuring Menkoku, there was a pretty kickass jingle accompanying it titled "Girari Netsuai" (Glaring Passionate Love) by the band Hi-Way（ハイウェイ）. Hi-Way already has one article up on the blog for their 1982 "Black Coffee"（ブラック・コーヒー）which made it onto "Light Mellow ~ City", part of the compilation of City Pop and J-AOR created and sold in the 2010s.

So, I gather that there was a foodie thing with Hi-Way during its brief time. Anyways, how "Girari Netsuai" became part of instant ramen folklore was that there had been a contest sponsored by Nissin called "Happy Folk Contest" which Hi-Way vocalist and songwriter Yoshimitsu Kamiura（上浦容充）had won with one of his own entries, thereby leading to the group's major debut which was this very song. in 1981. "Girari Netsuai" was actually written by Yukinojo Mori（森雪之丞）and composed by Kisaburo Suzuki（鈴木キサブロー）and it's a pop-rock song whose lyrics by Mori talk of love but can also be interpreted as something to be eaten with a whole lot of gusto as well. And when we're talking about a big hot heaping bowl of ramen...😋

In 1982, Hi-Way released their debut album "Age" and a slightly rearranged version of "Girari Netsuai" was recorded there. It kept its rock edge but there was more of a City Pop feeling in there as well, and I can't help but hear a little of Billy Joel's "The Stranger" in some of the guitar riffs. In addition, it was a guest vocalist, reggae singer Kaja（カジャ）instead of Kamiura, who was behind the microphone for some reason.