Recently, the NHK morning information show "Asaichi"（あさイチ）has been getting cancelled or truncated. That's not a real surprise since there are a couple of phases during the year when this happens but this year, it's a bit more prevalent right now because of a national track-and-field meet, the World Cup and televised government deliberations. We were a bit luckier yesterday though since we did get the full one-hour-and-forty minutes.
Well, I figure that we'll have only a couple of more weeks of this before things get back to normal. The good news is that the theme song for "Asaichi" finally has a full version out on YouTube. A few months ago, when the new theme "Ohayou" (Good Morning) started each show, I couldn't find it on the platform although in my exertions, I was able to find a past collaboration by trackmaker/producer STUTS and legendary singer-songwriter Taeko Ohnuki（大貫妙子）from 2024.
Still, it's nice to find "Ohayou" at last which apparently hit YouTube a little over a month ago. It's a nice breakfast plate of musical nostalgia via fluegelhorn and electric piano. Those two instruments give the song a sunny 70s feeling...in a way, it feels rather Carpenteresque, and it's a friendly way to start off "Asaichi". Maybe it can even get folks up-and-at-'em all on its own.
Such a lovely song. Glad to see Taeko Ohnuki is still going strong. I see Japan lost to Brazil, 1-2. I dunno what were the expectations for this year's World Cup in Japan but hopefully their coach doesn't meet the same fate as the coach for the South Korean team.
ReplyDeleteHello there. Yep, glad that she's still singing some fine music in her early 70s. When I was talking with my student who's a huge soccer fan, he had been hoping for the Blue Samurai to get into the Top 16 at least. Ah, well. There's always next time. I did hear about the South Korean team's coach resigning last night.
DeleteTaeko Ohnuki and Tatsuro Yamashita were in a group back in the 70s, and on February 7, 2026, she performed live at The Wiltern in Los Angeles, too. Taeko Ohnuki seems to be pretty photogenic and has had a lot of interesting and artistic album covers over the years. This is a pleasant song, but it is far from my favorite song of hers.
ReplyDeleteHello, Brian. Both Taeko and Tats were in Sugar Babe and their musical style paths diverged after the band had broken up. Through her album covers and the few other photos that I could find of her, I've found her photos could range from girl-next-door to absolutely model-level striking.
Delete"Ohayou" is pleasant enough but yeah, it certainly would be up there with my absolute favourites by her.