Wink -- Manatsu no Tremolo（真夏のトレモロ）

From YouTube

I'd been noticing it for a while but the Labels on the right had been showing 1,990 articles under the Aidoru tag. Well then, I decided (having that little bit of whimsy inside me) that the next article regarding an aidoru wouldn't only be the 1991st article but also an article about an aidoru with a song from the year 1991.

Well, when I think of aidoru from 1991, my first thought will always concoct the duo Wink. And sure enough, I found their 11th single from June of that year, "Manatsu no Tremolo" (Midsummer Tremolo). It's a song that I hadn't heard in so long and yet when I made my reacquaintance with it yesterday, the memories came back and I gave myself a Gibbs slap for forgetting about it in the first place.

First off, I'm not a musicologist or a musician, so I had to find out what a tremolo is. According to Wikipedia:

Tremolo: "trembling" or "quivering". In music, it describes a wavering effect created either by repeating a single note very quickly, rapidly alternating between two different notes, or quickly varying the volume of a sound.

Now, as to how a tremolo fits into a Wink single, I'm not sure. Perhaps Neko Oikawa's（及川眠子）lyrics refer to a young lady quivering herself over some sort of love affair. Takashi Kudo's（工藤崇）melody with Satoshi Kadokura's（門倉聡）arrangement is right along the Wink formula of synth-heavy Eurobeat (although I could use a confirmation or denial on whether "Manatsu no Tremolo" would be considered Eurobeat), and again I'm not sure if any tremolo effect had been employed in the music. 

The music video above was also one of a number of such Wink videos that employed a ton of computer graphics. The effects company staffers probably didn't have to worry about their kids' tuition for college during the Wink heyday. In any case, "Manatsu no Tremolo" hit No. 2 on Oricon, going Gold. By the end of 1991, the song was the 63rd-ranked single of the year. It was also placed as a track on Wink's 6th album "Queen of Love" which was released in July that same year.

Cola Hazuki (Kaoru Nakahara) -- Day In Vacation

 

Back in the 1980s, Japan and Coca-Cola pretty much equaled good times in the big city as you can see above. All the more reason to grab the fizzy stuff. Ironically, I don't drink it nearly as much as I used to since the rest of my family prefers the clear stuff: Canada Dry, 7-Up, Sprite, etc.

As I mentioned in my last article regarding singer-songwriter Kaoru Nakahara（中原薫）, she'd been given the rather appropriate if somewhat cringey stage name of Cola Hazuki（葉月コーラ）earlier in her career because she'd become known at the turn of the decade from the 1980s into the 1990s as someone who sang a lot of cola jingles. Hey, if the gigs pay the rent...

In June 1991, Cola Hazuki and comedian Kanpei Hazama（間寛平）put out a single titled "Anata dake wo"（あなただけを...Only You） as the ending theme song for one of Hazama's variety shows. However for this article, I wanted to focus on the coupling song which Hazuki handles on her own called "Day In Vacation". If the song sounds familiar, then you must have heard the original version by the summery supergroup Nagisa no All-Stars（渚のオールスターズ）when they recorded it back in 1989.

Nagisa no All-Stars included the band TUBE and at least a couple of their beloved songwriters, Tomoko Aran（亜蘭知子）and Tetsuro Oda（織田哲郎）, and not surprisingly, those two were the ones behind the creation of "Day In Vacation". Hazuki gives the song her summery best as well and perhaps I'm imagining things here, but it even sounds a bit ZARD-ish. Furthermore, my timing isn't too bad either because next week will introduce the annual Golden Week holidays in Japan. Enjoy guzzling down that Coke!

Mikiko Noda -- Awai Kisetsu no Sunglass（淡い季節のサングラス）

 

During that trip to the hospital yesterday, I was warned by my mother that the wait until my father completed the examination could be a long one. I didn't think it would be that bad (and it wasn't), but I still brought over my copy of "Obscure City Pop CDs 1986-2006" to peruse.

Singer Mikiko Noda（野田幹子）popped up a fair bit among the pages of "Obscure City Pop CDs", so technically, she wasn't really all that obscure. But all that aside, I decided to check out some more of her discography since it was from the book that I discovered a few of her delights. One was her "Awai Kisetsu no Sunglass" (Sunglasses of the Fleeting Season) from her 7th album of November 1991, "Rose C'est La Vie".

That song title sounds quite French New Wave which would make it an appropriate track to include into an album titled "Rose C'est La Vie". However, it isn't brooding jazz at all here. Keyboardist Masao or Hatao Kusuba（崩場将夫）was the composer while Masami Tozawa（戸沢暢美）was the lyricist for this song (and probably all of the other tracks on "Rose C'est La Vie") that has been described as residing in the area between City Pop and Girl Pop. There is a certain amount of panache and innocence combining within "Awai Kisetsu no Sunglass" and with those synthesizers of the time crashing in, I get reminders of what Miki Imai（今井美樹）was like in the same year. Just a young lady having her time out on the town.

Katsumi -- It's My JAL

 

Yup, good ol' Richard Gere. Of course, he'd long been one of Hollywood's biggest stars which also meant that he just had to do one of those stylish if enigmatic commercials for Japan. He may have done ads for other brands but I will always know him for the ones that he did for Japan Air Lines. Yeah, I fly JAL. Well, not really. I wish I could, though.

It speaks to how long I've been doing "Kayo Kyoku Plus" when I actually get nostalgic about not just the song in question but also the article that I wrote for it. Yes, I fondly remember the article that I did for singer-songwriter Katsumi's "Just Time Girl" from April 1991, a song that I also fondly remember as one of the last ones I would hear within Japan before heading home from the JET Programme later that summer. 

Well, he followed that one with his 5th single in June, "It's My JAL". While Katsumi wrote the lyrics, veteran composer Kisaburo Suzuki（鈴木キサブロー）took care of the melody which followed the singer's penchant for synth-driven upbeat tunes. I think "Just Time Girl" will always be my Katsumi tune but "It's My JAL" isn't too shabby either. In fact, it made it up to No. 3 on Oricon.

Something Merely Whimsical for a Friday: NHK's Song Picks for Corporate Entrance Ceremonies by Decade

 

The above video shows a variety of entrance ceremonies for the new recruits at various companies throughout Japan, including All Nippon Airways at 1:55. Yes, it is April and so the corporate entities are throwing out the red carpet and all of the rigamarole to welcome the fresh newbies

I was watching the NHK morning news earlier tonight and there was a feature on the ceremonies, and the reporters did an interesting thing by showing the evolution of the corporate entrance ceremony throughout the decades from the 1960s to the 1990s, and for each decade, they put up a representative pop song. Just out of my sense of whimsy, I'm going to put these up here, too.

(1960s) Yukio Hashi and Sayuri Yoshinaga -- Itsudemo Yume wo（いつでも夢を）

(1970s) Koichi Morita and The Top Gallants -- Seishun Jidai （青春時代）

(1980s) Akina Nakamori -- Shojo A （少女Ａ）

(1990s) KAN -- Ai wa Katsu (愛は勝つ）

Now, the above were selected by NHK so they wouldn't come under Author's Picks. That label is for us KKP writers. However, I am throwing in my lone choice for an inspiring song to help encourage the new workers.

(1990s) Daiji Man Brothers Band -- Sore ga Daiji （それが大事）

Seishiro Kusunose -- Parody Date

 

The last time I had singer-songwriter Seishiro Kusunose（楠瀬誠志郎）on the byline, it was back in 2021 for his 1987 "Elevator Town" which was catchy because of the jazz and that supreme four-on-the-floor drumming.

Well, after around four and a half years, Kusunose is back on the byline with "Parody Date", a track from his August 1991 6th album "Suusen no Hoshi"（数千の星...Thousands of Stars）. I have no idea what a parody date is...it sounds like a plot device that would pop on a Japanese rom-com or a comedy anime but hey, the song itself is catchy enough. 

I mentioned that jazz and the four-on-the-floor for "Elevator Town". Well, for "Parody Date", it's all about the Latin jazzy brass and the feeling that listeners were meant to do a cha-cha on the floor as well. It's OK...just close the drapes and you can have fun without anyone knowing. Anyways, Kusunose was behind the happy melody while Shota Namikawa（並河祥太）provided the lyrics. Satoshi Takebe（武部聡志）arranged everything into its cha-cha form.

Yurie Kokubu -- Dear~How To Love You

 

I think as much as 1970s City Pop had certain distinctive arrangements and sounds (the keyboard haze effect) and the 1980s version also had their own fascinating tones (the sparkling mineral water glissando), there is also something about the 1990s version. And yes, I know that there will be some who disagree that the final decade of the 20th century in Japan had City Pop especially with the economic downturn there but I can't deny that there was rich urban contemporary music happening. The music industry including certain singers and producers probably didn't get the memo from Parliament or the stock exchanges.

For me anyways, there was that certain big brassiness and especially sparkly synthesizers that marked that time. Maybe the Bubble had burst, but musically in some corners, it was still living life large in the big city. Time to hit the New York Grill for dinner? Sure, let me dust off my VISA Gold!

Anyways, that's the buzz I get from Yurie Kokubu's（国分友里恵）"Dear~How To Love You", the first track from her 4th album, "Do You Love Me?" from August 1991. Written by her old bandmate from SHAMBARA, Kaoru Akimoto（秋元薫）, and composed by Hitoshi Haba（羽場仁志）, it starts out innocently enough but then the horns rev up and we're off to West Shinjuku for that medium-rare steak. And yep, the brassiness and sparkle are there. Plus, Kokubu seems to be really exercising those golden vocals more than ever.

ZOO -- After Care

 

Working all those hours and days to help others. Dang it! Sometimes, YOU gotta DO something for YOU! The surgeon above finally got the hint and so this was my first exposure to cute animated ASMR. After care is important, after all.

If you remember 1991 and all that music in Japan, then you probably know about the song-and-dance group ZOO and their catchy "Choo Choo Train" with images of skiing and their distinctive approach to line dancing. I just missed out on it because I'd already left Japan from the JET Programme in the summer of that year while "Choo Choo Train" made its debut later in December. Ah, but still, I was able to hear about it somehow while back in Toronto.

Within that large shadow that "Choo Choo Train" cast, there was the coupling song "After Care". I had seen the official music video and for some reason, I'd imagined lots of seashores and water. Well, I guess my mind ran away from me since the video doesn't have those but it does have the sound of waves which probably sparked those images. In any case, "After Care", which was written by Arisu Sato（佐藤ありす）and composed by Yasunori Iwasaki（岩崎文紀）, is a slightly more soulful and much more laidback number to contrast with that dynamic main song. I'd say that it would make for the ideal after care song the day after the rampant partying from "Choo Choo Train". Enjoy the waves and the head massage for the hangover you may be experiencing.

The Works of Mariya Takeuchi 2（竹内まりや）

 

Oh, dopey me. I'm four days late in wishing singer-songwriter Mariya Takeuchi a Happy Birthday! But here's hoping that her family enjoyed themselves on the special day. Last year (when I did remember her birthday), I acknowledged the day with a Yutaka Kimura Speaks translated piece about the singer. When I thought about whether to do a Creator article about her, I quickly realized that I had already done one back in 2019.

However for that first entry, I introduced some songs created by Takeuchi in that article that had never been covered before. Well, then, I decided that for this one, I'll bring the comfort food...songs by her that have their own articles from way back when just to remind viewers about what she has given other singers. And of course, this is by no means a comprehensive list.

(1982) Naoko Kawai -- Kenka wo Yamete (けんかをやめて）

(1984) Hiroko Yakushimaru -- Genki wo Dashite （元気を出して）

(1984) Yukiko Okada -- Dreaming Girl

(1988) Masayuki Suzuki -- Misty Mauve

(1991) Riho Makise -- Miracle Love

J-Canuck's Five Favourite Misato Watanabe Tunes（渡辺美里）

 

Once again, we have come to Hump Day and at least here in Toronto, it certainly feels and looks like a Hump Day meteorologically speaking. It's all gray, dreary and drizzly out there. So, let's try for something or someone very up with people and happiness. And I was thinking about Misato Watanabe. I hadn't written about her in quite a while and I realized while going through her KKP file, I had yet to provide my own favourite tunes by her.

(1986) My Revolution

Of course, I'm going to start with his one since this is the first song by her that I came to know her by. I think it's also safe to say that "My Revolution" is one of the pop songs of the 1980s in Japan. I will always remember the original music video where she showed herself basically as a human anime figure with that huge hair and just-as-huge eyes.

(1988) 10 Years

As I mentioned in the actual article for the song, I misunderstood the meaning of the song...initially assuming that this was some commemorative tune in Misato's career. It was really just about the protagonist's look back on her own decade as a working woman. Still, I'm sure that the singer herself has used the song for her own anniversaries. I don't know of too many tunes that are both elegiac and celebratory.

(1990) Summertime Blues

I think next to "My Revolution", "Summetime Blues" is the Misato tune that I'll always remember her for. It sounds both old-fashioned and contemporary at the same time, and obviously, it has her up-with-people pizzazz. And indeed, it was used as the campaign song for what is now the Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company...gotta keep the insured healthy and happy through the gift of music.

(1990) Koi Suru Punks（恋するパンクス）

As much as my favourites are along the pop vein, I know that Misato has had the vocals and movement style of a happy and hard rocker. "Koi Suru Punks" (Punks in Love) is one reflection of that from her 1990 "Tokyo" album. Nope, it was never put out as a single but I'm sticking with this one because it is so much fun to hear with ska and rock thrown into the cosmic blender like so much kale for a smoothie.

(1991) Christmas Made Matenai （クリスマスまで待てない）

This is another non-single track...this time for the 1991 album "Lucky", and it's a perennial favourite to be played when the Holidays approach. It may be a domestic creation with Misato herself behind the lyrics, but whenever I listen to it, I just get those Phil Spector Wall of Sound thoughts from the 1960s.  Merry Christmas, indeed.🎄

Any particular Misato favourites from your end? Let us know. Ah, one PS...she'll be celebrating her 60th birthday later in July.

Denki Groove -- Mud Ebis

A few years ago, I posted an article regarding chaotic techno band Denki Groove's（電気グルーヴ）cover of Yellow Magic Orchestra's "Cosmic Surfin'". This was a coupling song to the band's debut single "Mud Ebis" from October 1991.

Well, I finally got to see the music video for "Mud Ebis" and even from the beginning, Takkyu Ishino（石野卓球）and his gang relished their roles as the wild and crazy guys of Japanese music. I gotta admit though that the three members looked so young and clean-shaven back then, although that was the least weird part of the video. 

As for the title of the song, "Ebis" refers to the Japanese god of money, Ebisu. However, the "Mud" part I'm not sure, unless it actually means "mad" or "insane". According to the J-Wiki article for "Mud Ebis", Ishino wanted to provide his own comical indictment on the pampered children of the nouveau riche but the lyrics weren't meant to be taken that seriously. 

Five Favourite Songs by Sing Like Talking

Amazon.ca

Well, it's been quite a day already although I'm typing this before noon. The Winter Olympics are on, the Super Bowl will probably upstage that later tonight, Japan's Lower House elections have resulted in an LDP steamroller, and our long-awaited and long-suffering LRT here in Toronto finally launched about six years late. All a little overwhelming on a Sunday to be sure and I wouldn't mind a little solace right now.

I haven't posted a Sing Like Talking article for well over a year although Chikuzen Sato's（佐藤竹善）group is one of my favourite bands, and with all of the attention on singers' career anniversaries in last year's Kohaku Utagassen, SLT, which I believe has yet to be seen on NHK's Shibuya stage on New Year's Eve, celebrated its 40th anniversary last year. Unfortunately, any celebrations were probably muted to a great degree due to the passing of SLT guitarist Tomohiko Nishimura（西村智彦）in June 2025.

The other surprise is that I have yet to put up an Author's Picks on my favourite Sing Like Talking tunes. And this one was difficult because the band is so smooth in a number of genres, whether it be funk, AOR, straight pop, etc. and they've had a lot of great songs in my estimation. But I've got my five favourites here...although realistically, they are four favourites by SLT itself and one by Sato from his "Cornerstones" album series (it is too cool to pass up).

(1988) Juu-Ichi Gatsu no Kioku ～Raining Blues （11 月の記憶）

(1991) Steps of Love

(1994) Together

(1995) Mitsumeru Ai de (みつめる愛で) 

(2007) Hatsukoi (初恋）

Mitsuko Komuro -- Beginning

 

When I first got to know singer-songwriter Mitsuko Komuro（小室みつ子）via the blog some years ago, it was through her City Pop songs from the early 1980s including her "Highway Rendezvous"（ハイウェー ランデブー）. However, most recently, I did listen to her take on "Get Wild", the song that she made alongside composer Tetsuya Komuro（小室哲哉） (and yes, there's no familial connection between the two of them oddly enough) which has become one of the most popular anison. Her cover also contains some of that pop-rock edge.

Now, I've gotten a few listens to her 7th single from June 1991, "Beginning", and it's also something that takes a different direction. It's a power pop ballad that sounds like it could have been created for one of her namesake's earliest clients, Misato Watanabe（渡辺美里）, and in fact, Mitsuko herself sounds a bit like Misato in her delivery. The arrangement also lends itself to that theory. The singer-songwriter provided words and music but also had some help from Issei Yoshioka（吉岡一政）; that first name can be read in four ways according to Jisho.org and since I couldn't find a romanized version of the name, I just went with "Issei", but if someone can confirm or deny my choice, please let me know.

Noriyuki Makihara -- Shouri no Egao（勝利の笑顔）

 

It's been just about six years since I put up my most recent Noriyuki Makihara（槇原敬之）song onto the blog, so allow me to rectify this situation.

Back in November 1991, singer-songwriter Mackey released his 4th single, the classic "Fuyu ga Hajimaru yo"（冬がはじまるよ）, a really jolly song for the Yuletide with that wonderful harmonica playing. Well, I've found out that the coupling song for that one is lovely in its own way, if quite wistful.

"Shouri no Egao" (The Smile of Victory) has nothing to do with Christmas and it tells of a romance that never got to be due to various circumstances such as the eddies of fate forcing a pair to drift apart. Starting with a riff that sounds like it was inspired by 1970s soul, Makihara sings about a man suddenly bumping into a woman he had feelings for way back in his high school years as a soccer player. They exchange pleasantries politely but it seems like the woman never really reciprocated those feelings and after she even gives him her contact information, he ends up tearing the memo later on. He has moved on and if there's not even an ember of romantic hope and it was more about lip service, then why bother? They'll probably see each other at a distant school reunion. 

Stardust Revue -- Sweet Snow Magic

 

I was just having an email exchange with an old friend and former student earlier this morning, and we both agreed that the Christmas feeling has descended upon our respective cities of Toronto and Tokyo. The above photo is a night shot of all that illumination in front of the Microsoft Building in southern Shinjuku. 

Then I came across DJ Hasebe who has just put up a Christmas City Pop mix in the last few days, so have a good listen of that. There are quite a few J-Xmas City Pop tunes that I have yet to cover although I've posted on some of the greats such as Junichi Inagaki's（稲垣潤一）"Christmas Carol no Koro ni wa"（クリスマスキャロルの頃には）and Ruiko Kurahashi's（倉橋ルイ子）"December 24".

One example of a song that I had yet to cover that was on DJ Hasebe's list is Stardust Revue's（スターダストレビュー） "Sweet Snow Magic" which appeared on the band's 9th album "Brightest!" from November 1991, a decade following their debut single "Sugar wa O-Toshigoro"（シュガーはお年頃）.

Written and composed by vocalist Kaname Nemoto（根本要）, "Sweet Snow Magic" reflects how Christmas in Japan has been a second Valentine's Day with all of the hearts fluttering around in the cooler air even if snow might be hard to come by in Japan's capital city...no problems, those LED lights are still there. I see and hear that the upbeat jazziness that has been part of Stardust Revue's music is also imbued within "Sweet Snow Magic" even if the instruments are almost all of the synth variety. "Brightest!" managed to reach No. 2 on the Oricon weeklies.

From Virtual Japan, here is the 2025 edition of all that Xmas illumination in Tokyo. I know that LEDs are energy-efficient but TEPCO must be making a killing each year.

Ritsuko Kurosawa -- Eve no Tenmondai（イヴの天文台）

 

I think I've gotten most of the Xmas cards sent out by now. I'm usually pretty diligent with those.

The latest J-Xmas tune for this season and the one to round out today's crop of KKP entries is "Eve no Tenmondai" (The Observatory on Christmas Eve) by Ritsuko Kurosawa（黒沢律子）. Released in December 1991 as her 4th single, it's a pleasant pop ballad of the season about a couple who once met at an observatory one Christmas Eve. To be honest, that's the first time I've ever heard of a place dedicated to space as a romantic meetup spot. Usually, I think of places with tons of illumination or restaurants for that special dinner, but perhaps privacy is a good site for some. Anyways, "Eve no Tenmondai" was written by Masami Tozawa（戸沢暢美）, composed by Takaaki Yasuoka（安岡孝章）of the band I Re'in For Re'in（アイリーン・フォーリーン）and arranged by Masahiro Ikumi（幾見雅博）.

J-Xmas Songs Without Anything Overtly Christmas-y In The Title

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:

(1985) Akiko Kobayashi -- Stardust Memories

(1988) Kazuo Zaitsu -- Fuyu no Main Street（冬のメイン・ストリート）

(1990) Crayon-sha -- Tokyo Yakei（東京夜景）

(1991) Miho Nakayama -- Tooi Machi no Dokoka de （遠い街のどこかで）

(1997) Caoli Cano & Hiroshi Takano -- First Flight

(2004) Masatoshi Hamada & Noriyuki Makihara -- Chicken Rice（チキンライス）

AKEMI -- Keep On Dream

by Basile Morin via Wikimedia Commons

Once again, I've come across another talented Japanese singer whom I've never heard about before despite having made her debut well more than thirty years ago. AKEMI doesn't even have a J-Wiki profile and it was through the good fortune of blogger kinuzure and his "Tamaranaku, AOR Kayo"（たまらなく、AOR歌謡） that I was able to find out anything about her. And this was an article that he had posted only a few months again in August.

First off, AKEMI hails from Fukuoka Prefecture and she got into the singing business thanks to being inspired by "We Are The World" in the mid-1980s. She made her debut in 1990 with an insert song in a drama. In the late 1990s, she went over to the United States to study performance and composing at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. She's also taken up jazz and gospel as part of her repertoire. Currently working under the name AKEMI Lady-A, she is continuing to ply her trade in both Fukuoka and New York City.

According to kinuzure, the source album for this particular song is "Second Wind", her second album from 1991. "Keep On Dream" is a peppy pop song written by Kaoru Asagi（麻木かおる）, composed by Takashi Tsushimi（都志見隆）and arranged by Etsuko Yamakawa（山川恵津子）. It has a slight brush of R&B and hearing those percolating beats, I got that 1990s vibe immediately. 

Mayo Nagata -- Namida no Splash（涙のスプラッシュ）

Welcome to the final week in October 2025. Folks are probably getting ready for Halloween at the end of this week; they should be happy that October 31st falls right on Friday this year. Plus, I'm pretty sure that Shibuya Scramble Crossing in Tokyo should be plenty packed with cosplayers and other Halloween celebrants if I check those live cameras on YouTube.

The above video has a few promos including the last one at about 45 seconds for the TV Asahi show "Sports Frontier" that had its run in the early 1990s. If I'm not mistaken, late-night sports wrap-ups are still one of the mainstays around the midnight hour in Japan.

"Sports Frontier" had a plethora of songs act as the ending theme for the Sunday night 55-minute broadcast including one that I hadn't realized was part of the list. Well, right after that one came this July 1991 third single by Mayo Nagata（永田真代）titled "Namida no Splash" (Splash of Tears). Written by Kenzo Saeki（サエキけんぞう）and composed by Kazuhiko Kato（加藤和彦）as they did for the coupling song, "Uwasa"（う・わ・さ）, which turned out to be the previous Nagata song that I wrote about, this one is a bit different in that it isn't a City Pop tune. It's a straight pop song but it also seems to incorporate an underlying rhythm in its chorus that reminds me of the disco classic "Love's Theme" by The Love Unlimited Orchestra all the way back in 1973 along with a bit of reggae.

Go-Bang's -- Bye-Bye-Bye

 

From watching the music video and listening to Go-Bang's vocalist Kaori Moriwaki（森若香織）soothingly purr out those lyrics, folks could be excused if they thought that the song was advertising sleeping medicine. It is pretty relaxing and makes for an interesting contrast with their biggest hit, "Ai ni Kite I Need You"（あいにきて I Need You), a couple of years prior.

However, this is "Bye-Bye-Bye", Go-Bang's February 1991 7th single, a jangly and dreamily sung song of a bittersweet ending to a love affair. Once again, with that video and the music, there's something of a psychedelic pop vibe to this one. Written and composed by Moriwaki, it got up to No. 19 on Oricon.