![]() |
| Wikimedia Commons |
There has been that analogy of a person trying to weigh options when making a fateful decision so the angel and the devil show up on each shoulder making their arguments for and against. I realized that perhaps in the early 1980s, as far as Japanese pop music was concerned, the angelic Hiromi Go(郷ひろみ) portrayed the angel while the more sardonic Kenji Sawada(沢田研二)sported the pitchfork and horns.
Through two specific appearances on the Kohaku Utagassen (1981 and 1982), I'm sure there were viewers who were going "What fresh hell is this?!" when they saw him come out to perform the glam rock "Stripper" in 1981 and then the New Wave "Rokubanme no Yu-u-u-tsu"(6番目のユ・ウ・ウ・ツ)the following year. But for others, it was a welcome bolt of freshness into the traditional proceedings.
"Rokubanme no Yu-u-u-tsu" from September 1982 was all about a fellow going through his staid hell of ennui. Meanwhile, its B-side of "Romantic wa Go-Issho ni" (Let's Be Romantic Together) sounds like a frenzied love affair taking part somewhere in Eastern Europe or Turkiye. There is something of the exotic kayo in this New Wave-y tune but at the same time, despite the frenzy, Sawada insists to his "dance" partner that things shouldn't be rushed; he needs the romance to be savored like a fine sipping whiskey. Well, when it's Julie leading, it's hard not to acquiesce. Indeed, Sawada took care of the music while Yoshiko Miura(三浦徳子)was the lyricist.

No comments:
Post a Comment
Feel free to provide any comments (pro or con). Just be civil about it.