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.
Well, more than a dozen years following my article on Junko Yagami's（八神純子）seminal sophomore April 1979 album, "Sugao no Watashi"（素顔の私）, I'm giving myself a Gibbs slap upside the back of my head once more. At this rate, I may have to be mindful of concussion protocols.
Now, the reason for once more going into self-flagellation mode is that even though I had provided quite a few tracks in the article for "Sugao no Watashi", I had also neglected one particular track, "Sotto Ato kara" (Quietly, Afterwards) which is quite the City Pop tune as well. Written and composed by the singer and arranged by bassist Tsugutoshi Goto（後藤次利）. Escorted by a phalanx of disco strings and boppy bass, the dreamy and sultry vocals of Yagami lead the way through streets and highways of late 1970s Tokyo in all their splendor...and pollution probably as well. But let's not dwell on the photochemical and instead focus on the romantic aspects of what life could have been like in Shinjuku, Roppongi or Akasaka around half a century ago.
I guess it's approaching about a year since I last posted an article regarding singer-songwriter Masami Yoshida（吉田政美）. The former half of the folk duo Grape（グレープ）apparently had quite a time exploring the urbane and Latin sides of music since the professional breakup with Masashi Sada（さだまさし）in the mid-1970s.
My last article on Yoshida's music was for his "Orange City no Asa"（オレンジ・シティの朝）, a track from his 1980 album "My tune My turn masami". That was quite the laidback samba for hammock-loving listeners. Well, I have something even more relaxing here from the same album and that would be "Smoke Rings". I was having quite the ping-pong battle online on whether the title was "Smoke Rings" or "Smoke Ring". Then I saw the image of the actual record with the printing of the titles. It's indeed "Smoke Rings". Composed by Yoshida and written by Mami Kikuchi（菊池まみ）, Brazil is still the name of the nation for the melodic inspiration and not surprisingly, for something more relaxing, bossa nova is the genre of choice. Enjoy your caipirinha!
I figured that I would still be able to find something new somewhere among my collection of "Light Mellow", and it was within the "Breeze" CD that I encountered this one that I hadn't yet covered.
Even though singer-songwriter Daisuke Mori（森大輔）has an entry on J-Wiki, he doesn't have a particularly long or detailed account of himself there. Hailing from Metropolitan Osaka, Mori is also a producer and arranger who graduated from Kobe University with a degree from the Faculty of Global Human Sciences. Having learned classical piano from the age of three and then music theory, he was signed to Atlantic Records with the title of First Brand New Artist of the 21st Century with his first single, "Trust Me", coming out in November 2004.
The track that I have of him on "Breeze" is his 8th single"Itsuka Moshi mo"(If, Someday...) from October 2008. The song fits hand-in-glove on a CD titled "Breeze". It's indeed a breezy pop song with some elegant piano and lovely harmonization. Plus, the chorus sounds like something sung from the 1970s. Not quite hammock-worthy but it makes for a nice accompaniment while on a drive down the coast.
It's a lovely afternoon out there. The sun's reflecting off the houses on the other side of the street and the temperature is not too hot although I still have the old-fashioned fan going in my room.
This song seems to fit the atmosphere quite nicely. I'm writing about "Mabushii Photograph"(Dazzling Photograph), the second track from Platinum 900's third and final album"Free (At Last)" from 1999. KKP contributor HRLE92 provided the first article on this 90s City Pop collective by giving a nice summary on the albums the band recorded and that includes "Free (At Last)".
HRLE92 gave a quick comment on "Mabushii Photograph" as follows: Track 2 is a slower song. This song is highly rated by many Japanese music blogs. I feel that the best part of the song is the string section, which feels like that it is breathing and alive.
Yep, I have to say that I'm a sucker for tenderhearted strings. I wouldn't say that they were disco strings here but they do provide some glowing warmth in "Mabushii Photograph" with the sun positioned at that particular attractive angle. It seems to be the ideal song straddling the present and the past while your plane is landing at your desired destination on a good-weather day sometime in the afternoon. And you can count on this blog to be one of those that also rates "Mabushii Photograph" highly.
Looks like I have my second insert song for a Japanese TV show today following "Aventure wa Gorgeous ni"（アバンチュールはゴージャスに）...just by coincidence, I assure you.
I was doing my usual maintenance rounds yesterday when I came across the tribute article for Shinji Tanimura（谷村新司）after his passing on October 8th 2023. At the bottom of the article, I mentioned about the great balladeer's eldest daughter, Shiori Tanimura（谷村詩織）, who has also become a singer-songwriter like her father.
Not having posted anything about her thus far, I decided to search for some of her discography and happily, it didn't take me long to find a pleasant creation of hers. Back in 2011, there was a Fuji-TV comedy-drama called "Marumo no Okite"（マルモのおきて...Marumo's Rule） whose kiddie-friendly main theme song "Maru Maru Mori Mori!"（マル・マル・モリ・モリ!）became one of the catchiest tunes released that year. Well, an insert song for the program had been written and composed by Shiori called "Kimi no Tonari de" (By Your Side) . It's a laidback and more mature love song that has a hint of an old-fashioned pop arrangement, maybe even with a touch of country in there, to boot. I'm not sure if it had been ever released as an official single but perhaps it was included on any official soundtrack of the show.
Starting off this week's Reminiscings of Youth on a sad note, I saw the news scroll yesterday state that Frank Beard, the drummer and founding member of the rock groupZZ Top, had passed away at the age of 77 on August 17th. My condolences to his family, friends and fans.
I wasn't a huge ZZ Top fan but there were a few songs that I remember during my youth in the 1980s. One especially was "Legs" which came out in 1984 and had one memorable video. Beard and his two main mates, Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill in their iconic hats, sunglasses, long coats...and beards as they carried their furry guitars, acted as the scruffiest guardian archangels while their leggy and beautiful angels helped out a mousy young lady (and her admirer by association) somewhere in an American suburb to succeed over a lot of resistance. It was basically a contemporary rehashing of Cinderella and the classic tale of the bullied getting some revenge on the bullies. I saw the music video for the first time last night and remarked "Yep, that was some fashion back then!"
"Legs" was a song and video that held onto the charts and television screens for a very long time as I recall. I thought it was just a propulsive rock song but according to its Wikipedia article, it's got a lot of genre labels: blues rock, electronic rock, synth-pop, boogie rock, pop rock and new wave. But I'll stick with the rock label. The video itself won the 1984 MTV Video Music Award for Best Group Video and the song managed to hit No. 9 on the Canadian charts while in America, it peaked at No. 8.
Since Wikipedia only gives the release year for "Legs", let's find out which two acts won Best New Artist honours in that year's Japan Record Awards.
The above is a video put up by YouTuber atsu M which introduces a shot from the 1985 hardboiled series "Hokori no Houshuu"（誇りの報酬...The Reward of Pride） with Masatoshi Nakamura（中村雅俊） and Jinpachi Nezu（根津甚八）as two veteran detective sergeants. The music is what I assume to be the opening theme composed Yukihide Takekawa（タケカワユキヒデ）of the band Godiego（ゴダイゴ）.
A song that was neither used as an opening or closing theme but was played within one of the episodes of "Hokori no Houshuu" was Ritsuko Kazami's（風見りつ子）2nd single"Aventure wa Gorgeous ni"(A Gorgeous Adventure) which was released in December 1985. Considering Kazami's presence on this blog as a singer, it might be easy to forget that she was also an actress, but as it turns out, she never appeared on this particular series.
One thing about "Aventure wa Gorgeous ni" was that it has nothing to do with Kazami's 3rd single"Aventurier"(アヴァンチュリエ) which came out in the summer of the following year. And "Aventure wa Gorgeous ni" also stands out in that compared to at least some of the discography that has been noted on KKP thus far, it has more of a conventional pop feeling although it still retains Kazami's high and floaty vocals and that vibe of sophistication. Takekawa was also responsible for the melody while Ako Kunikida（国木田あこ）was the lyricist. I guess in a way, this particular song was typical of breezy yet introspective songs that became ending themes for Japanese cop shows in the 1980s.
About a month ago, I brought aboard Teresa Noda（テレサ野田）and her third and final single from 1979,"Tropical Love". She may not have had a long career under her stage name (her real name is Tamaki Saionji（西園寺環）) but she did bring an interesting mix of reggae and disco into this particular single.
The same folks behind "Tropical Love": lyricist Kazumi Yasui（安井かずみ）, composer Kazuhiko Kato（加藤和彦）and arranger Ryuichi Sakamoto（坂本龍一）, were also responsible for the B-side, "Yellow Moon". This one still keeps things within that relaxing mixture of reggae and disco but the pacing is even more laidback and Noda's voicing is more intimate as if the setting were an intentionally isolated table in some breezy bar in Falsworth. However, from Yasui's lyrics, the relationship has gone kaput and those vocals, though remaining soft and pliable, throw out a rather solid message of rejection.
During my years in Japan, I got to know most of the comedians and TV personalities who became familiar presences on the tube. They can be those who have that year of fame due to some particular quirk or turn-of-phrase before largely disappearing from show business or they can be ones who seem to be part of a permanent televised tapestry. Shinnosuke "Peter" Ikehata（池畑慎之介）is one that belongs to the latter category
The real name is something that I've only known about since I got back to Canada over a decade ago; back when I was still living in Ichikawa, I only knew them as Peter（ピーター）because that's how they were introduced each time. I only found out recently via the J-Wiki article on the entertainer that Ikehata got that nickname while they were working at a go-go dance club in Roppongi as a teenager. Their gender-ambiguous beauty had them compared to Peter Pan, and Ikehata adopted the first name as a stage name. However, I also found out that they repealed the name in 2019 and now usually goes by either their real name or Pii（ピー）.
My impression of Ikehata has basically been just through their appearances on television where they have always come across as so elegant and vivacious that I had wondered whether they had actually attended the Takarazuka Academy. To me, Ikehata strikes me as that wealthy good buddy who just loves to regale everybody with stories and shower them with presents. A fine friend, indeed.
As for their acting career, I gather that Ikehata was up for pretty much anything. They not only appeared on Akira Kurosawa's（黒澤明）"Ran"（乱）in 1985 but in 1986, they also portrayed the host and drag queen physician/torturer in the fourth entry of the notorious "Guinea Pig" series. Yes, that "Guinea Pig" series of absolute stomach-turning horror from the early 1980s that had Charlie Sheen call the FBI after seeing one of the grueling earlier entries. Evidently, the fourth entry, "Devil Woman Doctor", could be compared to "Jason X" in the "Friday the 13th" franchise in that both movies were approaching self-parodic comedy. I'm squeamish about horror but even the excerpt above from "Devil Woman Doctor" had me going just "Oh...OK, well then...".
Now, as for their singing career, I probably have heard Ikehata singing on television but those appearances were too far and few between for me to remember. But I was able to track down their debut single from October 1969 titled "Yoru to Asa no Aida ni"(Between The Night and The Morning). I figured from listening to them speak, they would have a great smoky voice for singing and indeed they do. With lyrics by the great Rei Nakanishi（なかにし礼）, the song was composed by Kunihiko Murai（村井邦彦）and arranged by Shunichi Makaino（馬飼野俊一）as something classy and jazzy that reminds me of Henry Mancini's works. It just seems to be the right song for Ikehata to begin their career with.
A couple of tidbits of trivia were gleaned from the article for "Yoru to Asa no Aida ni". One was that their catchphrase at the time of their debut was "The boy brought from the moon by Apollo". No pressure there. The second was that at the 1969 Japan Record Awards, Ikehata won Best New Artist for the song.
Not sure what's gotten singer-songwriter Masamichi Sugi（杉真理）so shocked on the cover of his May 1984 album "Mistone". Maybe he just saw the latest trailer for "Avengers Doomsday".
Anyways, I have here one of the tracks from "Mistone", "Terra". Y'know...I don't think I had ever heard a New Wave pop tune from Sugi (usually he tended toward the old-fashioned pop of the 1950s or 1960s) but here is one song that sounds just as if it really does belong to 1984. It's got that nice bouncy little synthpop rhythm to add to the singer's high-falutin' vocals. And there are also those certain nostalgic guitar chords of that decade.
Hard to believe but "Reservoir Dogs" is over 34 years old now. That iconic power walk with the robbers has probably been emulated all over the place, especially during Halloween. I should know...since some of my friends and I actually dressed up in black suits and strutted down one of the main streets of Toronto one October 31st. I should've exercised more.
Anyways, it wasn't just me and my buddies who got all "Reservoir Dogs" fashion-crazy. The two hip-hop groups m-flo and RIP SLYME got together (maybe for the first time?) in 2025 to record "ARIGATTO" and make a video where they all looked like snazzy-looking heist folks just dying to be recruited by Quentin Tarentino himself.
Released in September 2025 as a digital download single and as the most recent entry in the 2020s slate of the "m-flo loves" series, "ARIGATTO" is basically a rapping volley among the members of the two groups including Lisa, Verbal and Ilmari. The back-and-forth starts things off before a fun and funky 70s melody joins the heist and heck the guys even have a grand old time singing away over the supposed victim in the trunk.
I remember the "m-flo loves" series which came out in the early-mid-2000s with Verbal and the gang collaborating with singers such as melody. & Ryohei, so it was nice to hear that m-flo came back with the concept during the early 2020s. This single managed to reach No. 17 on Oricon.
I was scrolling through the J-Wiki article showing the music of 1965, the year of my birth, and I encountered a familiar name: Katsuko Kanai（金井克子）. I've known her mostly for her 31st single and a 1973 hit titled "Tanin no Kankei"（他人の関係）, a snazzy Mood Kayo with some distinct choreography.
However, getting back to 1965, Kanai released her 10th single back in May of that year. "Noche de Tokyo"(A Night in Tokyo) is also plenty classy as this Latin kayowhich brings old-fashioned images of Ginza or Akasaka nightclubs and bartenders shaking cocktails. And right in the middle of one particular club is Kanai herself lovingly delivering this old-time song. Yasuteru Miura（三浦康照）was the lyricist here while Kanae Wada（和田香苗）took care of the melody. The song won the Best Arrangement prize at the Japan Record Awards at the end of 1965 when they were handed out on Christmas Day.
When it comes to the folk duo Gamu（雅夢）, most listeners of Japanese pop music of the past will quickly recollect their debut single and biggest hit, the wistful "Ai wa Kagero"（愛はかげろう）from September 1980.
Well, vocalist and songwriter Kazuto Miura（三浦和人）went really dramatic with his group's 2nd single "Kanashikute"(I'm Sad/I Miss You) from February 1981. Man, starting with that epic pipe organ, it almost sounded like a particularly mournful take on Albinoni's "Adagio in G Minor". What has just been wrought here, I initially thought. Mind you, the folk ballad quickly simmers down to a melancholy piece about being alone after a breakup with the home that used to be for two now an emptier space for one. Nope, I really don't think this will be played at any wedding receptions.
I figured that for an A-side so almost overwhelmingly sad, the B-side has just got to be a whole lot more optimistic for balance's sake. And sure enough, although there is some of that romantic ache in "Yume de Aitai kara" (Because I Want to See You in My Dreams), there is also more hope in this tenderhearted tune. Miura and songwriter Haruaki Kato（夏冬春秋）co-wrote the lyrics while Miura took care of the languid melody.
It was just this morning when I saw commenter Brian Mitchell noticing that there were indeed a lot of songs in Japan with the word kanashii（悲しい）or kanashimi（悲しみ）or some variant. They refer to sadness or loneliness and it would fit in with the kayo kyoku tendency to bring up a lot of sad stories within the lyrics albeit the music supporting them has often been quite cheerful. Well, I've opted to show off an Author's Picks (not complete by any means) of these songs which are mostly upbeat except for one. I refused though to post a thumbnail of a sad face...I went with something more symbolic, namely a Wikimedia Commons photo by User Kenlin of someone pouring some sake for someone having the blues.
Despite all the bright lights and big city that you see in Basile Morin's captivating photo of Kabukicho at night, there was a time early in my Japan residency when Tokyo, one of the largest cities on Earth, was a city that actually did sleep. It had a curfew...much to the surprise and dissatisfaction of many a lively night owl there. Public transportation tended to go to bed at just a few minutes after midnight and it was often the case that I and dozens of other commuters were dashing for the final subway on the Tozai Line before the clock hit the witching hour.
According to the YouTube channel Happy Hour with Matt above, things have probably not changed all that much. Trains, subways and buses most likely still finish their routes perhaps earlier than their counterparts in other major world metropolises, including my own hometown of Toronto. And those who miss the final ride are either going to have line up for cabs at higher rates or spend the night somewhere in Tokyo (maybe a manga kissaten or Internet cafe). All I can say to Matt and others is that if you thought 2026 in late-night Tokyo was bad, you should have seen it thirty years ago.
However, I do have this luminous and highly active song by Nu Disco and Future Bass master from Yokohama, Dirty Androids. Titled "City Never Sleeps", maybe the fellow was referring to places like New York City or London when he came up with it as a bonus track for his April 2016 album"Moments". In any case, this is like a listenable Red Bull to get you off your duff and moving around on the dance floor or the sidewalks at the very least thanks to some popping percussion. Will Tokyo ever become an insomniac? Time will tell.
For all of the scenes I've seen on shows such as "Enka no Hanamichi"（演歌の花道）and all of those karaoke videos, I'm not sure whether there are actually a fair number of people who hit the fancy bars and izakaya to drown their sorrows in drink. It just seems rather depressing to see and it may not be all that good for business according to the bartender/owner.
But the trope happily exists in music...specifically, enka, Mood Kayo and New Adult Music. And we have another example with Kye Eunsook's（ 桂銀淑）5th single"Yoidorete" (Drunkenly). Released in April 1989, the South Korean singer grandly invites alcohol to take her away from all that is currently ailing her, which probably means heartbreak (her lover's wife finally found out).
Written by Osamu Yoshioka（吉岡治）and composed by Keisuke Hama（浜圭介）, I would have labeled this as European enkaback in the very early days of the blog but perhaps I can tag this now as enka and/or New Adult Music because there is something in the arrangement that gives "Yoidorete" that extra urban kick although I wouldn't say it was City Pop. Peaking at No. 28 on Oricon, the song also won the singer a slew of awards including a Gold prize at the Japan Record Awards. She even got that invitation to appear on the 1989 edition of NHK's Kohaku Utagassen.
Well, speaking of "Enka no Hanamichi", here is Kye Eunsook singing "Yoidorete" right on that legendary show.
Commenter Fireminer thankfully and recently reminded me of a song that I hadn't heard in a few decades...basically since I used to watch rental videotapes of "The Best 10"（ザ・ベストテン）.
The chorus is what got the memory engrams going. I'm talking about Keisuke Kuwata's（桑田佳祐）"Kanashii Kimochi"(Sad Feelings) or the official English title of "Just a Man in Love". Released in October 1987 as Kuwata's debut single as a solo singer, this comes some time after putting a hold on Southern All Stars（サザンオールスターズ）and Kuwata Band activities, so I'm sure that there was a lot of attention on the leader of those two bands about what he would come up with.
Although Kuwata's lyrics are about heartbreak, his melody is supremely upbeat Motown, something, according to a couple of interviews via the J-Wiki article on "Kanashii Kimochi", where he had wanted be a little more personal.
"I wanted to do something more personal, both musically and spiritually. Specifically, I wanted to revisit the feelings and music from when we were in high school. It wasn't about imitating the sound of that era, but rather returning to that state of mind."
In that way, I think Kuwata was perhaps following folks like Billy Joel ("An Innocent Man") and Donald Fagen ("The Nightfly"). At the same time, he seemed to be following the usual kayo line of happy melody and sad lyrics.
One would think that "Just a Man in Love" was used for some trendy drama back in those 1980s. However, it was actually used for a number of different commercials over the years. The hit for Kuwata reached No. 2 on Oricon and ended up as the No. 46-ranked single of 1987 and then went even higher the following year, when it reached No. 38. It was also a track on the singer's July 1988 solo debut album"Keisuke Kuwata" which resided at the top of the charts for two weeks in a row.
Speaking of Kuwata and Fagen in the same breath, I recall seeing a video on YouTube featuring the former in concert as he sings the latter's classic "I.G.Y.". Alas, the video has disappeared.
I have to admit that I've not come across the combination of apple tea and peanuts before although I've enjoyed both of them separately. Maybe they make a good remedy toward improved blood circulation. Hard to say.
But that combination is indeed the title of singer-songwriter Atsuko Nina's（二名敦子）track from her 1987 album"Teibou"（堤防）. I wrote on the title track back in 2018 and compared to the late 80s sophisticated pop of that one, "Apple Tea to Peanuts"(Apple Tea and Peanuts) is a samba-driven tune written and composed by Nina that goes at a pretty fast clip...and during a bright sunny and breezy day. The singer definitely sings the praises of apple tea and peanuts (her personal favourite, perhaps?). Motoki Funayama（船山基紀 ）took care of the arrangement which also involved guitarist Makoto Matsushita（松下誠）and percussionist Pecker（ ペッカー）.
It's indeed a Friday night as I type this so I'm sure younger and more energetic folks than I are enjoying their time dining, dancing and drinking somewhere out there. Temperatures are more reasonable and seasonable in the evenings now.
A few years ago, I posted an article regarding the band Lucky Kilimanjaro and their 2021"Ame ga Furu nara Odoreba Ii ja nai"（雨が降るなら踊ればいいじゃない）, noting that vocalist and songwriter Yukimaru Kumaki（熊木幸丸）and his guys love to bring in the Neo-City Pop and disco. Well, one of their earlier songs from their one and only mini-album as an indies act, the July 2015"FULLCOLOR", can be said to the ideal mix of those two styles. "Burning Friday Night" which was written by Kumaki and composed by the entire band has a hint of an old song by The Emotions but through the gauzy filter of Sakanaction（サカナクション）. So, maybe no disco strings per se but the beat is certainly disco-friendly.
Ahhh...the community swimming pool, an environment of chlorinated intrigue, romance and strategy. (Young) People are conglomerating in different cliques within or without the water admiring from afar or, if they are brave enough, communicating up close and personal. And once in a while, there may be some actual swimming taking place. But always beware of the "chocolate bar"!
But to get away from that horrifying scene, I can introduce you to singer-songwriter Satoko Shibata（柴田聡子）and her June 2026"Pool". With those Latin dance beats and conspiratorially whispery vocals in there, there is plenty of fun and intrigue as a saucy young lady is enjoying the facilities of the pool (especially the shower) while driving her boyfriend up the wall by ignoring him. In a way, she reminds me of another songstress, bird.
Hailing from Sapporo, Shibata is also a musician and poet who started her career in 2010 with at least a dozen digital download singles and seven albums under her belt.
A little over four years ago, I introduced singer Anna Banana（アンナ・バナナ）to the pages of KKP, a lovely lady with some golden vocals. Just from what I've heard thus far, it seems like she inhabited some of the more urbane genres such as City Pop and jazz. My first article on her "Smile" from her 1993 album"High Dive" revealed a breezy pop sense somewhat akin to some of the works of actress-singer Miki Imai（今井美樹）.
From the same album, here is "Himitsu"(Secrets) and perhaps the secret that I envisage as I listen to this one is the secret but oh-so-desirable club in a city alley where this might be playing. Written by Yukinojo Mori（森雪之丞）and composed by Tsutomu Nakayama（中山努）, it comes across as a nice slice of sophisti-pop or British blue-eyed soul especially with that muted trumpet solo. I think of Swingout Sister and Basia when I listen to that refined and funky arrangement.
Y'know...try as I might, I always confuse the heck out of myself with the singer-songwriters Ichizo Seo（瀬尾一三）and Shozo Ise（伊勢正三）. It sure doesn't help that they are contemporaries and that they not only worked basically within the same sphere of music from the 1970s but they have collaborated together. Plus, there's something about the pronunciation of both of those names. One commenter even caught me on that when he noticed that I'd mistaken one for the other on one article. But let's not get all scrambly about this on Urban Contemporary Fridays, shall we?
Let's start with the cool song "Koozue wo Tsuku Onna"(The Woman Resting Her Hand on Her Cheek) which was folk duo Kaze's（風）4th single from December 1976. The aforementioned Shozo Ise, who was one-half of the duo along with Kazuhisa Okubo（大久保一久）, wrote and composed this one with the urban boogie-like rhythm and the languid rock guitar...definitely not folk. Meanwhile, the aforementioned Ichizo Seo arranged the song into something that I'd like to use as a temporal touchstone to what City Pop was like back in the early days when it felt like it could accompany anyone walking among the skyscrapers of Tokyo. The single reached No. 40 on Oricon and was included as a track on Kaze's November 1976 album"Windless Blue" which hit No. 3 on the charts and ended up as the 17th-ranked album of 1977.
Arranger Seo, who has been involved with just about everyone and anyone includingAnri（杏里） and Michiru Kojima（児島未散）, came up with the second of his own solo albums "The Golden Section ~ Kaze Instrumental Album" in 1978. This particular one is an instrumental tribute with includes his take on Kaze's "Hoozue wo Tsuku Onna" right from the top. It has a much more laidback, more romantic and jazzier feeling as if the walking is over and it's now straight to drinking in one of the bars located inside one of those skyscrapers. I would say that it could even find a spot in a soundtrack of one of those Japanese cop shows.
It's been a while since I've posted anything by the bohemian jazz outfit Ego-Wrappin'. Can't quite believe that a quarter-century has passed since I first heard their stomping "Psychoanalysis"（サイコアナラシス）led by the booming voice of Yoshie Nakano（中納良恵）.
To be frank, I'm not sure what Nakano and her songwriting/musician partner Masaki Mori（森雅樹）have been up to in the past several years. Their J-Wiki article seems to be several years behind the times. However, last month Ego-Wrappin' released a 12-inch single titled "Riviera" which is quite different from the jazz that I got to know them for. But then again, I have heard Nakano and the band try other genres such as ska for their collaboration with the Determinations.
Ego-Wrappin's also provided some examples of avant-pop although I forget the name of any of those songs. However, "Riviera" may be one of those inhabiting this particular genre. Certainly, the music video adds to that feeling as we see the adventure of a sentient water faucet through a forest. Looking through Nakano's lyrics, I'm not quite sure what the message is aside from the observation that there is some travel going along the titular existential Riviera. The slow groovy rhythm underlying this river can be quite mesmerizing on a beatnik level. Snap them fingers!
There have been a few times in the past when a bunch of us have gone out to dinner. Certain couples were with us and one time, at one restaurant where some hit music was playing over the speakers, the male half of the happy duo stated that the next song to play will be their song. Well, much to everyone's hilarity, it turned out to be Depeche Mode's "Master and Servant". I'm sure that their relationship took a turn there, and once again, the safety word was indeed APPLES.
I never experienced that situation ever again and probably never will (things on that level of funny are truly one-of-a-kind events). Still, I think this week's entry on Reminiscings of Youth could be another song that no couple would want as their go-to song, but man, it's still fun.
Several years ago, I posted Devo's "Jocko Homo" which was the first song by the band to get up onto the blog but actually, the first ever song that I'd ever heard by The New Wave Boys of Akron, Ohio was "Whip It" that was their August 1980 single. And as I explained on "Jocko Homo", I first came across the catchy and absolutely weird and kinky "Whip It" through a K-Tel compilation record commercial which showed a part of that (in)famous music video including a bunch of dude ranch tourists, a motherly type whipping up some cream, a couple of other ladies in various stages of undress (well, one only lost her shoes), and the band itself festooned in red flower pots and sleeveless turtlenecks. Man, those were wild and woolly days in music video production!
Not only was it the first time I got to know a little about sadomasochism (so, whips can be fun😈) but I also got informed on what New Wave was all about. The strange lyrics which could be taken as motivational encouragement against any and all challenges or a first-round exercise in S&M paired with the herky-jerky delivery of the vocals and those synths definitely made "Whip It" one of the most famous songs of the 1980s. In a way, the Devo song seared the image of New Wave bands as stoic and robotic performers at their keyboards.
"Whip It" just missed the Top 10 by that much on either side of the world's longest unmilitarized border with it coming in at No. 11 on Canada's RPM and No. 14 on America's Billboard. Of course, a lot of folks liked to do their covers of "Whip It", including the late great Catherine O'Hara as Brooke Shields (2:10 of the video below)..
Remember...when in doubt: WHIP IT GOOD!😁
Now, what was hitting the record store shelves of Japan when "Whip It" came out in August 1980? We have a few here.
It took me a while to warm up to the idea of Japanese rap. I had seen bits of Samurai Champloo and was aware of artists like Nujabes. I’d also played games like Sonic Rush and Jet Set Radio, whose soundtracks were composed by Hideki Naganuma (長沼英樹). So I already knew there was some great hip-hop and hip-hop-inspired music coming out of Japan.
But actual Japanese rappers breaking it down on the mic like Eric B. & Rakim? Nah, I just couldn’t fathom it.
I don’t remember the first J-rap song I ever heard, but so far, the earliest example I’ve personally traced it back to is Motoharu Sano(佐野元春)’s 1984 single “Complication Shakedown.”
Listen, let’s get this out of the way: this song is corny as all get out. (Although he's got a nice fit on the cover)
In all fairness, it’s no cornier than Kurtis Blow’s “Basketball.” Plus, the beat is admittedly catchy, which is important. Still, I’d be hard-pressed to call Motoharu Sano a rapper. This feels more like the Japanese equivalent of Bruce Springsteen or Billy Joel suddenly deciding to turn their caps backwards.
I think it’s safe to say that J-rap didn’t really begin developing its own identity until the early-to-mid ’90s. Recently, I had the opportunity to check out the 1995 single “Keep Rock On” by Naohirock & SuzukiSmooth, and man were they cooking.
Not only does the beat sample one of my favorite smooth-jazz songs of all time, Ronnie Laws’ “Friends & Strangers,” but the actual rapping is pretty good too. Maybe it’s been a while, but I’m pretty sure most American rappers had stopped saying stuff like “It’s the place to be!” and “Microphone check, one-two-three!” sometime around the mid 80s.
Nevertheless, it’s still a really fun song to listen to. There’s something endearing about hearing the attitude, and conventions of old-school American hip-hop in another language.
I definitely wouldn’t mind cruising down Crenshaw with this blasting out of the speakers.
It was about a couple of months ago that I posted Mai Yamane's（山根麻衣）"Kibun wa Fairness"（気分はフェアネス）,her August 1982 5th single and a most congenial pop/rock song that was used as a commercial jingle for a Shiseido brand. As I said in that article, the song seemed to be a transitional one between her early City Pop material and her later jangly blues-rock stuff.
Well, today, I have the B-side from that single. "Doyou no Yoru to Nichiyou no Asa"(Saturday Night and Sunday Morning) was written and composed by Yamane, and this time around, it tends toward a more AOR line (although I'd been leaning toward New Wave in the first few measures initially), but is no less congenial. Although the titular days of the week aren't mentioned in the lyrics, Yamane relates a tale of a woman apparently smitten through a weekend encounter with a man of her dreams via a romantic car ride. Now, whether things pan out to her benefit is unknown but for right now, she's more than happy to keep the swooning up. I do love the combination of Fender Rhodes and guitar here.
I barely remember watching the 1995 anime feature "Ghost in the Shell"; there was the iconic scene of Major Kusanagi flying off the roof and going into stealth mode and the scene where a row of techs had their fingers disjoint to show a whole bunch of metal rods typing at warp speed. But that was it for my memories. I guess the movie was so mesmerizing in how everything and everyone moved that it left me mind blind.
Then in 2017, there was the live-action version of "Ghost in the Shell" starring Scarlett Johansson which I also caught with some friends, but it frankly left me a little cold. I kinda thought it was like the "Black Widow" movie before the actual "Black Widow" movie of 2021, except that it had some special guest appearances by Beat Takeshi and Kaori Momoi.
So I gather that if I were a member of a fictional Iconic Anime Enthusiasts Association, there would be a demand that I shamefully hand back my card and lose my executive washroom privileges right now, because I have never been an avid fan of the "Ghost in the Shell" franchise. And to be honest, there are certain well-regarded Studio Ghibli movies that I never cottoned onto either.
And this brings us to the newest addition to the franchise which is titled "The Ghost in the Shell"; gotta have that definite article for emphasis. The anime series began running from last month and apparently the animation style is pretty much along the original manga style that Masamune Shirow had gone with. I've only seen some excerpts and reaction videos. Episode 2 got quite the number of whoops, and I'm glad that this iteration shows a sense of humour.
I haven't written on the mixture rock band King Gnu in a few years, but here they are providing the opening theme for "The Ghost in the Shell". "Go Ghost", which was written and composed by vocalist Daiki Tsuneta（常田大希）, is a propulsive story of the life of the Major with blippity-bloppity percussion and a haunting digital tribal chorus to contrast with the futuristic city that is the setting for the show. At a length of merely 2:50, it's quite short and sweet. I've got a feeling that the Kohaku may call on the band to show up on December 31st once more.
When I was writing up the Author's Picks article for the works of lyricist Fumiko Okada（岡田富美子）a few years ago, I was able to find some more of her songs for other artists that I decided to save up for future entries. This is one of them.
Outside of the band Godiego（ゴダイゴ）, vocalist Yukihide Takekawa（タケカワユキヒデ）had his solo career which I've so far represented on KKP with his 1979 "Happiness"（ハピネス）. That song was used for a Suntory commercial. Well, "Doki Doki Summer Girl" (Hubba Hubba Summer Girl) was his 6th single from 1982 and it was also used for an ad for Kose Cosmetics back in the day. Written by Okada and composed by Takekawa with arranging help from his old bandmate Mickey Yoshino（ミッキー吉野）, it's the playful and twangy summery tune that has listeners thinking of beaches, beautiful girls in skimpy bikinis and billowing brews of beer.
There was an English-language version of "Doki Doki Summer", also performed by Takekawa but with the lyrics written by Will Williams. Also backing Takekawa up was the band TALIZMAN which had a brief fun between 1979 and 1983.
I was a kid raised on action movies, particularly of the cop variety. Rush Hour 2, Bad Boys, The Naked Gun, Beverly Hills Cop—all of these movies delivered great action and even better laughs. They really don’t make ’em like they used to.
So color me surprised when I discovered that Japan had its own answer to the buddy-cop formula in the form of Abunai Deka (あぶない刑事; “Dangerous Detectives”).
Between 1986 and 1987, viewers followed the adventures of Hiroshi Tachi—of COOLS Rockabilly Club fame—as Toshiki “Taka” Takayama, alongside Kyōhei Shibata as Yūji Oshita. The two play detectives working out of the fictional Minato Police Station in Naka-ku, Yokohama.
The show definitely feels like it took a few cues from Miami Vice: two hardcore detectives who don’t play by the rules, taking down serious criminals while looking impossibly cool doing it. There are plenty of explosions, car chases, playful banter, and angry police chiefs to go around. And considering the series was originally pitched as a Japanese take on Starsky & Hutch, that influence makes a lot of sense.
What really stood out to me, though, was the phenomenal soundtrack.
You can tell composer Takashi Shōji was a big fan of Blaxploitation soundtracks, because several tracks sound like they could have come straight out of Shaft. Funky basslines, horns, dramatic guitar—the whole soundtrack gives Yokohama this stylish, larger-than-life crime-drama atmosphere. Arguably the most iconic song from the show is the love theme, “Wait and See,” sung by Kiyomi Suzuki (鈴木聖美).
It’s a cheesy ballad that absolutely sounds like it was written for a television drama, but it still manages to be genuinely heartfelt. For some reason, Suzuki sings the entire song in English, which admittedly makes it sound a little hokier, although she does a pretty good job with it.
You’ll probably recognize Kiyomi Suzuki as the sister of Masayuki Suzuki, particularly from songs like “Lonely Chaplin.” That makes me curious why they never recorded a Japanese version of “Wait and See”—or, better yet, turned it into a duet between the two of them.
Funny enough, Suzuki did eventually perform the song as a duet with none other than Michael McDonald, which somehow feels both completely bizarre and appropriate.
Another fun connection for any gamers out there: the song’s lyricist, Linda Hennrick, also worked on music for the Mother/EarthBound series, including songs such as “Pollyanna (I Believe in You),” “Eight Melodies,” and “Bein’ Friends.”
It's been an interesting ride thus far with singer-songwriter Masami Urabe（浦部雅美 or うらべまさみ）, someone that I first discovered earlier this year. I first heard her 1976 debut single, the congenially country "Sukoshi Tōde wo Shitemimasen ka"（少し遠出をしてみませんか）and then there was her City Pop"Tomadoi"（とまどい）from 1982.
Yup, it's been observed that a number of singers made a leap from folk or country over to the more urban sounds of City Pop between the 1970s and 1980s. I think Urabe is just one of them. Now, I've come across her 5th single from 1981 which is "Aishuuza" that I can only speculate as meaning "Constellation of Sorrow" but perhaps one of you can confirm or deny this. In any case, this was written by Mariko Ogi（荻まりこ）, composed by Urabe herself and arranged by Tadashige Matsui（松井忠重）. I wouldn't say that this is a wholly City Pop song although there seems to be a sprinkling of it hovering over everything like stardust, but I'd say that this is an urbane kayo kyoku, something to be savored with a cocktail rather than a tumbler of Old Parr.
Well, this one crept on me fairly quickly. I guess it's because this week at least is part of the O-Bon Holiday season but I had completely forgotten that August 11th is Mountain Day in Japan, a national holiday.
Of course, folks visited their nearby mountains. My old English conversation circle's members are all mountain-hiking enthusiasts although I'm glad that none of them invited me to any of their journeys up the slopes. My heart would have exploded.😨
So, on this Mountain Day, I went searching for whether there was a song that commemorates the most famous mountain of them all in Japan. And sure enough, it didn't take long before I encountered "Fuji no Yama"（Mt. Fuji）which is also known as "Fuji-san"（富士山）.
Designated as a children's song sanctioned by the Ministry of Education, "Fuji no Yama" made its first appearance in a 1910 elementary school student book of songs. Although the composer remains unknown, the lyricist was Sazanami Iwaya（巖谷小波）who was also a children's book author and a scholar of German literature. The song of course proudly boasts of the magnificence of Japan's most famous peak.🗻 The translation below is from Google Translate.
Rising high above the clouds,
Looking down upon the surrounding peaks,
Hearing the thunder roll far below—
Mount Fuji is Japan's greatest mountain.
Towering high in the blue sky,
Clad in a robe of snow,
Trailing a hem of mist far into the distance—
Mount Fuji is Japan's greatest mountain.
In 2007, almost a century after the first appearance of the song, "Fuji no Yama" was accepted as one of the songs in Nihon no Uta Hyakusen（日本の歌百選...Collection of 100 Japanese Songs）. During the past century, it's been sung by various people and bands including school choruses. I did find this rather interesting take on "Fuji no Yama" by veteran vocal group Bonny Jacks（ボニージャックス）. Their soulful cover (I almost thought that they were going to be joined by a few Pips) comes from their 1997 album"Bonny Jacks no Nihon no Shouka"（ボニージャックスの日本の唱歌...The Songs of Japan by Bonny Jacks）.
I haven't really watched a J-Drama in many many years although I know of the usual types of drama that get onto the commercial networks such as TBS and Fuji-TV. There are the medical dramas, the ones dealing with cops and also the legal battles, and to be honest, they sound a lot like what's on American prime-time television.
Frequent commenter Brian Mitchell told me about this drama that he and his family are currently watching on TBS called "T-shirt ga Kawaku made"（Tシャツが乾くまで...Until the T-shirt Dries） which began its run a month ago. It sounds innocent enough but peel the layers back and one can discover that this is actually a romance mystery regarding two people seemingly losing their respective spouses in the same tragic accident but then finding out something shocking as a result.
But before I go any further, this is after all a music blog and not a drama blog. Brian asked me to write about the theme song for "T-shirt ga Kawaku made", "Mishiranu Ito" (Unknown Thread), which was released a few days ago as Spitz's（スピッツ）48th single. Now, I've always enjoyed the vocals of Masamune Kusano（草野正宗）and his band has always been symbolic of one aspect of 1990s J-Pop...guitar rock via hits such as "Cherry" and "Namida ga Kirari"（涙がキラリ☆）, so it was great to know that Spitz is still there strumming away with that same comfortable sound from 30 years ago. By the way, Kusano took care of words and music.
I just discovered this one after posting "Airport Kayo" back in June. But my impression is that this airport-titled song is far away from the others in terms of time and space.
"Portable Kuukou"(Portable Airport) is one of the songs for capsule's 3rd single"Portable Airport" from May 2004. It has been categorized as an electro song although I can still hear some vestiges of the duo's old Shibuya-kei sound before making that transition into more technopop and dance music. Just imagine Swinging London in the 60s...the 2060s, that is.
Not surprisingly, Yasutaka Nakata（中田ヤスタカ）was behind the music and I'm assuming that vocalist Toshiko Koshijima（こしじまとしこ）was providing the vocal stylings here. What I also found out is that the music video for"Portable Kuukou"was a Studio Kajino-produced (under Studio Ghibli) anime which was the first in a sci-fi trilogy. The very brief excerpt that I could find below has gotten me interested in seeing the whole thing. "Portable Kuukou" was also a part of capsule's 4th studio album"S.F. sound furniture" which was released in June 2004 to a No. 35 ranking.
