Off-Course feat. Taeko Ohnuki -- Uso to Uwasa（嘘と噂）

By Raita Futo via Wikimedia Commons

As they say out there, there are a million stories in the big city. Two of them may currently be entwined in a crisis spiral.

"Uso to Uwasa" (Lies & Rumours) is the final track on the band Off-Course's（オフコース）13th album "as close as possible" from March 1987. As the title hints at, it is a rather enigmatic song about a couple, perhaps a fairly famous one, who are going through tough times because of mistakes committed by at least one partner and what has been said about them. They are currently walking toward the harbour on a misty evening and it could be their final stroll together although there is no hint that anyone is going to take a permanent dive.

Written and composed by Kazumasa Oda（小田和正）and arranged by Off-Course, "Uso to Uwasa" had initially been meant to be sung by Oda alone but then decided that a female singer just had to tackle half of the lyrics. In the J-Wiki writeup on "as close as possible", Oda professed that he had wanted to find someone that he didn't usually work with, and so he approached singer-songwriter Taeko Ohnuki（大貫妙子）. And to be honest, I wouldn't have guessed that he and Ohnuki would ever work together during the 1980s since their styles seemed rather divergent. I think it would have been more likely in the 1970s when both artists were in the New Music mix.

But it all works marvelously here. Right from the synth bass (Ryuichi Sakamoto [坂本龍一] was handling the keyboards) launching things off which had my shoulders shimmying, both Oda and Ohnuki have those clear yet haunting vocals gracing an urban and urbane nocturnal melody which describes more of Oda's solo career style of music in the late 80s going into the early 90s rather than his band's style.

"Uso to Uwasa" was also incorporated into Ohnuki's BEST compilation "palette" from April 2009. As for "as close as possible", the album reached No. 2 on Oricon and ended up as the 42nd-ranked album of 1987.

Glass Kayo

 

The above is a Very Berry Shake that I got at a place called Petit Potato. It was indeed very flavorful and thirst-quenching. However, the theme isn't on the contents but the container. Early this year, I came up with an Author's Picks called "Substance Kayo" which focused on those kayo titled with various substances. But then, I realized after writing up one recent article and remembering a couple of oldies that I'd written early in this blog's history that a subset can be made of kayo kyoku containing the word "glass" in their titles. As such, let me start this Tuesday edition of KKP with some glass kayo.

(1977) Yujiro Ishihara -- Brandy Glass (ブランデーグラス）

(1981) Jun Horie -- Memory Glass（メモリーグラス）

(1983) Seiko Matsuda -- Glass no Ringo （ガラスの林檎）

(1997) Kinki Kids -- Garasu no Shonen （硝子の少年）

(2009) Cheuni -- Glass no Tokyo Tower（ガラスの東京タワー）

Cheuni -- Glass no Tokyo Tower（ガラスの東京タワー）

By Wladyslaw via Wikimedia Commons

I remember as an elementary school kid in downtown Toronto when I was at recess seeing the CN Tower gradually being built up. From our schoolyard, we had a pretty clear view of the tower as it was going up. And then one day in 1976, it finally opened as the world's tallest free-standing structure at 553 metres high, a record which it held for about twenty years. And as of a couple of days ago, it celebrated its 50th anniversary. Maybe I'll go up the tower again this year although it now costs a good chunk of an arm and a leg to enter.

Now, it's safe to say that I won't be able to find any kayo kyoku that pays tribute to Toronto's most famous landmark. However, perhaps I can still acknowledge the fact of the CN Tower's golden anniversary through another tower...let's say Tokyo Tower! And coincidentally enough, tomorrow is the 68th birthday since Tokyo's own famous landmark was erected and opened. So I guess we can celebrate the two towers with one song.

That song is "Glass no Tokyo Tower" (Glass Tokyo Tower) which was Cheuni's（チェウニ）16th single from December 2009. Cheuni seems to have become KKP's poster child for the genre of New Adult Music with its mix of enka/Mood Kayo and urban contemporary influences, and it looks like she has enjoyed singing about aspects of Tokyo through songs like "Tokyo Twilight"（トーキョー・トワイライト）which was her debut single in 1999 (comments below have a correction to what I just wrote down), so I guess "Glass no Tokyo Tower" could be seen as a 10th anniversary song for her. Yuko Natsumi（夏海裕子）was the lyricist here, as she also was for "Tokyo Twilight" and other songs for Cheuni, while Kazuya Amikura（網倉一也）took care of the classy and elegant melody surrounding a woman who is wishing upon Tokyo Tower itself through her apartment window (that's prime real estate there) to somehow bring back the lover that she let go unfortunately. The song reached No. 46 on Oricon.

Atsuko Hiyajo -- Mobius（メビウス）

Saharasav via Wikimedia Commons

I've seen a Mobius strip before on paper and now in solid 3D form as depicted in the above photo. It's a rather endless story so I shall let it be before I lose my fragile little mind.

Luckily, singer-songwriter Atsuko Hiyajo's（比屋定篤子）"Mobius" is a lot more soothing and acceptable to the senses. Coming out as her November 1998 5th single, this was written by Hiyajo and composed by Jiro Kobayashi（小林治郎）, this is another fascinating song that can't be easily categorized since I get bits of a number of genres here and there. There is soul, funk, City Pop and maybe some Shibuya-kei, and the craziest thing is that right from Note One, I think "Mobius" could have been inspired by the 70s works of Taeko Ohnuki（大貫妙子）. At the very least, the Ohnuki of that decade could have covered this song and it would have fit her perfectly. It goes on for over seven minutes, but the last couple of them are devoted to a generous jam by the instruments backing Hiyajo up.

"Mobius" made itself known once more through the 2009 album "Natural Woman", a result of a collaboration between Hiyajo and Ryusenkei（流線形）. The leader of the latter band, Cunimondo Takiguchi（クニモンド瀧口）, took care of the arrangement which gives this somewhat shorter "Mobius" that quintessentially effervescent Ryusenkei urban contemporary touch.

Some of J-Canuck's Funkalicious Favourite Anison

 

Didn't quite believe that I hadn't ever put up such an Author's Pick before. I've probably got some sort of Favourite Anison list out there but just haven't come across it in some time. However, such as it is, I did want to get a list up there showing how some of these anime themes can get under my skin to have me bust a move...or a hip because they are so funky and catchy.

(1995) Miyuki Kajitani -- "Rashiku" Ikimasho （”らしく”いきましょ）

(2009) Momoko Hayashi -- You make me happy!

(2013) Yasuyuki Okamura -- Viva Namida （ビバナミダ）

(2014) KMM Dan -- Witch Activity （ウィッチ☆アクティビティ）

(2016) Natsumi Hioka & Hiroki Yasumoto -- Kumamiko Dancing

(2019) Masayuki Suzuki feat. Rikka Ihara -- Love Dramatic（ラブ・ドラマティック）

"Night" Songs

 

Over a decade ago, I came up with the KKP article "J-Canuck's Nighttime Playlist" which was composed of songs with a nocturnal theme or mood thanks to a "Myojo"（明星）songbook collection. Of course, feel free to peruse that old chestnut. However, last night, my mind was wading through the usual dross as I was zoning out from watching the baseball game when I realized that there were a fair number of kayo kyoku with the word "night" in their titles. So, why not provide a small modest list of such songs for fun?

I've also come up with a sequel.

(1977) Hatsumi Shibata -- My Luxury Night （マイ・ラグジュアリー・ナイト）

(1984) Tomoko Aran -- Slow Nights

(1988) Joe Hisaishi -- Night City

(1989) Toshinobu Kubota -- Oh! What A Night!

(2009) Perfume -- NIGHT FLIGHT

Coffee Color -- Jinsei ni Kanpai wo! ~ Wakare no Kyoku（人生に乾杯を! 〜別れの曲〜）

Good Free Photos

Coffee Color（コーヒーカラー）is a group that I had never heard of before. The name had me wondering how it even came to be but luckily there is a short J-Wiki article on them, and apparently it's from a Serge Gainsbourg song title. Currently consisting of just vocalist Uzuki "Paris" Nakayama（仲山卯月） (although at the beginning, he had been joined by pianist TESHI and drummer Koutarou), Coffee Color got its start in 2000 as an indies unit but then got under a major label in 2004 with five singles and five albums under their belt.

Perhaps the Serge Gainsbourg origins may be responsible, but listening to their most recent single to date, "Jinsei ni Kanpai wo! ~ Wakare no Kyoku" (Here's to Life! The Goodbye Song) from February 2009, I get the impression that Coffee Color is all about the rousing and commiserating and celebrating tune. Nakayama wrote and composed this tune and the accompanying music video says it all as a small company, despite all of the hardships and hard work, ends up going under with the president taking his erstwhile staff for one final drink. One door may be closing forever but another one is on the verge of opening.

Ironically, an original and slightly more elegant version of "Jinsei ni Kanpai wo!" was Coffee Color's debut single from October 2004. Since the release of the song, it's been a popular karaoke request at the annual year-end and New Year's parties. I can imagine so.

Kaori Mizumori -- Akashi Kaikyo（明石海峡）

 

Happy Monday! I may have mentioned this in a past article but I've been subscribed to the YouTube channel Kuga's Travel for a few years. His stock-in-trade is traveling on a myriad of trains and ferries not only within Japan but also internationally and he obviously doesn't skimp on the good stuff. Last night, I caught his latest video which shows him booking the first-class suite on the new overnight ferry, the Sunflower Murasaki, which heads from Osaka to the onsen city of Beppu in Oita Prefecture on the island of Kyushu within about twelve hours. Of course, being the foodie glutton that I am (or was), I was laser-focused on the observation that he only had to pay 2000 yen for an all-you-can-eat buffet onboard and the buffet looks like it has plenty of variety.

Part of the video showed the Murasaki sailing under the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge（明石海峡大橋）which used to be the longest suspension bridge on Earth (completed in 1998) until its record was taken over by the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge in Turkiye in 2022. The light then lit over my head wondering whether there had been an enka or kayo kyoku created regarding the bridge. After all, the Japanese love to make songs about their natural and man-made structures.

Well, it wasn't exactly the bridge itself but the strait. Enka singer Kaori Mizumori（水森かおり）, the Queen of Go-Touchi Songs, had recorded "Akashi Kaikyo" (The Akashi Strait) in September 2009 although it wasn't released as a single. It was actually a song on her album "Kayo Kikou VIII ~ Aki no Miyajima"（歌謡紀行VIII〜安芸の宮島〜...Song Travelogue 8 ~ Miyajima of Aki）. Written by Akiko Shimoji（下地亜記子）and composed by Ryu Morikawa（森川龍）, it's fairly evident that enka singers love to cry into their straits rather than their beer (I guess the salt ruins the taste). Mizumori sings about a lady traveling to the titular strait to muse about a recent romantic breakup. Melodically, it feels like a cooperation among the chanteuse's tender vocals, the dramatic strings and the bluesy saxophone.

Kumahachi Morino -- Koi no Napolitan Rock（恋のナポリタンロック）

 

One of the things about Japanese pop culture that I've learned over the decades is that the Japanese have borrowed various aspects of Western culture and given them that several-degree twist. That also goes for the culinary arts. Tonkatsu and Hayashi Rice are a couple of examples. Napolitan Spaghetti is another. For years, I had assumed that this postwar Japanese take on pasta was straight from Naples but nothing could be farther from the truth. Supposedly, the dish was invented by chef Shigetada Irie（入江茂忠）at the Hotel New Grand in Yokohama according to Wikipedia. Since then, it's been available in supermarkets and basically just about every family restaurant in the nation. And yep, I've had my fair share of the Japanese pasta as well.

By the way, the above video comes from the YouTube channel No Recipes as the ever-cheerful Mark Matsumoto shows how to make the Napolitan. I used to see him on a cooking program on TV Japan at noon until about a few years ago.

Now to segue into the song of note here, Kumahachi Morino（森野熊八）is not one that would usually be on a music blog such as "Kayo Kyoku Plus", but he's not your ordinary singer. In fact, his main profession is as a chef who has specialized in French and Italian cuisines but he also has a like for singing. According to his J-Wiki profile, he decided back in 1990 that he wanted to put his recipes into song lyric form and sing them, something that he showed at the Yamaha Popular Song Contest.

And one of those recipes was for Napolitan Spaghetti which he not only provided lyrics but also the rock n' roll melody for his 2009 "Koi no Napolitan Rock" (Napolitan Rock of Love). He probably provided a lot of swing into his fans while cooking the dish although the tempo is such that it could get a bit dangerous in the kitchen. Incidentally, "Koi no Napolitan Rock" was the coupling song for the second ending theme, "Mizonoguchi Forever"（溝の口Forever）, of the anime "Tentai Senshi Sunred"（天体戦士サンレッド...Astro Fighter Sunred）. 

The jovial Morino has also been a tarento on television and in this video of footage dated 1996, he gives his musical touch to his takes on curry rice and an omelette. 

Ikemen 3 -- Koi no Matenrou（恋の摩天楼）

 

The latest mega commercial complex got its grand opening in Tokyo on Friday. Azabudai Hills opened up its doors to the masses and it joins its Hills siblings: Roppongi Hills, Toranomon Hills and Omotesando Hills. There's been a lot of construction and change in my old stomping grounds since my last visit there in 2017, so I've got a feeling that I may need a new guidebook to grope my way around Japan's capital.

So, in tribute to that event, I was searching for any matenrou-based music since I've encountered a few such songs over the years. Well, it didn't take too long before I came across this new tune. "Koi no Matenrou" (Skyscrapers of Love) is a snappy and snazzy song about finding love among those steel and glass towers and holding on for dear life because the couple doesn't know what tomorrow will bring. 

The December 2009 song is so far the only single performed by Ikemen 3（イケメン3）. The three singers involved all have their own KKP files: Daisuke Kitagawa（北川大介）, Hiroshi Takeshima（竹島宏） and Keisuke Yamauchi（山内惠介）. Considering that they were put together as a male enka aidoru trio under the aegis of the predecessor of NHK's "Uta Con"（うたコン）, "Kayo Concert"（歌謡コンサート）, thoughts of Gosanke came to mind. Sure enough, the J-Wiki article for Ikemen 3 were given the nickname of the Heisei Era Gosanke. Not sure if there have been any reunions among the three but now that almost 14 years have passed by, I think the aidoru label can be taken off.

"Koi no Matenrou" was written by Koyomi Asa（麻こよみ）and composed by Kohei Miyuki（幸耕平）. It's again one of those songs that can be quite amorphous in terms of its genre. I can go with neo versions of enka and Mood Kayo but I can also use the convenient term of New Adult Music with a kick of Latin thrown in for good measure. In the end, it does feel like an adventure of romance in the big city.

AKB48 -- Namida Surprise!（涙サプライズ! ）

Good Free Photos

 

I've got a relative and a friend having birthdays coming up in the next several days, and it just so happens that a few weeks ago on "Uta Con"（うたコン）that AKB48 used this song to celebrate enka singer Yoshimi Tendo's（天童よしみ）birthday.

Yup, AKB48 has sung on many themes and it looks like birthdays are no exception. "Namida Surprise!" (Tearful Surprise!) was the group's June 24th 2009 maxi-single as written by Yasushi Akimoto（秋元康）and composed by Yoshimasa Inoue（井上ヨシマサ）. Akimoto was really straight with the lyrics as they completely describe a young girl's classmates giving her one heck of a surprise by holding a birthday party for her in the school gym.

According to the J-Wiki article on the song, "Namida Surprise!" first went on sale on the same day that Rie Kitahara（北原里英）, who had been part of the group at the time, was celebrating her 18th birthday. Incidentally, June 24th is also a birthday for the Lionel Messi and Japanese singer LiSA. It ended up hitting No. 2 on Oricon and finished the year as the 39th-ranked single, going Gold. "Namida Surprise!" was also included on AKB48's second BEST compilation, "Kamikyoku-tachi"（神曲たち...Masterpieces）, which was released in April 2010 to a No. 1 ranking on the weeklies and then a No. 12 yearly ranking. The song was also performed on the 2009 edition of the Kohaku Utagassen.

Jun Shibata -- Ame（雨）

 

The following song was something that I first heard on the "Weather Music" segment that's become part of the Japan "Weathernews" broadcasts, and apparently the commenters under the YouTube video have echoed the same sentiment.

Pop singer-songwriter Jun Shibata（柴田淳）is someone that I have written about before when she recorded a cover of Hi-Fi Set's（ハイ・ファイ・セット）"Sky Restaurant"（スカイレストラン）for her 2012 compilation album "Cover '70s". There isn't a lot of information on her J-Wiki file aside from her discography (and that she's been called The Diva of the Blogs due to her positive writings online) but her website has been more forthcoming. Born and raised in Tokyo in 1976, she studied piano when she was three years old and got interested in J-Pop while in high school with her debut in 2001.

Well, that song that got featured on "Weathernews" was "Ame" (Rain) which actually came out on her 7th album from November 2009, "Ghostwriter"（ゴーストライター）. A non-single track, it probably slipped under the radar of anyone who hadn't already been a Shibata fan, but now that it's gotten its second look on a weather forecast, it seems to have gained some new fans. Starting off with an indies pop vibe, "Ame" involves a man who is walking in the rain, presumably without any umbrella as a way to punish himself over losing the love of his life. It's a laidback tune which is beautifully sung by Shibata and is definitely something to be heard while sipping some chamomile tea against a window spattered by the titular precipitation. "Ghostwriter" hit No. 9 on Oricon.

Songs from NHK's "Furu Café Kei Haru-san no Kyuujitsu"（ふるカフェ系 ハルさんの休日）

 

In a world of Starbucks, Excelsior and Doutour coffee shops in Japan, it was always nice to know that there were (and hopefully still are) also plenty of independent cafés run by coffee masters. I always had a soft spot for the mom-and-pop shops although I only had the franchises in my Ichikawa neighbourhood. However on occasion, I was able to visit such places with friends like the one you see above in Saitama Prefecture when I returned to Japan for a couple of weeks in 2017. From the décor to the aromas to the menu, every such café I visited there had its own sumptuous experiences for all of the senses.

So you can guess that an NHK program such as "Furu Cafe Kei Haru-san no Kyuujitsu" (The Old Cafés ~ Haru's Day Off)  would be right up my alley. Starting from 2015 as a pilot one-off, it got the green light for regular seasons in 2016 which have also been showing on our local Japan TV. I would say that the show is a "dramatimentary" (crushing together "dramatization" and "documentary") with actor Gouta Watanabe（渡部豪太）as Haru Sanada（真田ハル）, a blogger who has been traveling throughout Japan in search of those atmospheric and woodsy coffee houses. I can absolutely relate to him. Incidentally, the actual café owners and other real-life associates take part in the hijinks as well.

Now the reason that I'm even referring to "Haru-san" is not because of the theme song. It apparently doesn't have an official one but there have been rotating tunes over the past several years according to its J-Wiki article. I could track down three out of the four listed on YouTube and all four of them are cover versions of past kayo.

Ayano Tsuji -- Nantonaku Nantonaku（なんとなくなんとなく）

A cover of The Spiders'（ザ・スパイダーズ）classic from 1966 (and yes, that's partially the reason that I put the original up only a few hours ago), Tsuji（つじあやの）gives it her own quintessential spin via her trusty ukulele. Her version is on her 2004 album "Cover Girl".

Asako Toki -- Kimi ni Mune Kyun （君に、胸キュン）

I already gave my paragraph on Toki's（土岐麻子）cover of Yellow Magic Orchestra's hit in the article that features both original and cover. A track on her 2006 "Weekend Shuffle" album, it's a groovier rather than technopoppier, and it fits that feeling of enjoying an afternoon at the coffee house with a good friend or book.

Hiromi Ohta -- FUN x 4

An intriguingly Caribbean take on Eiichi Ohtaki's（大滝詠一）doo-wop original from his classic "A Long Vacation" from 1981, Ohta's（太田裕美）cover was a part of a 2009 tribute album for "A Long Vacation" titled "A LONG VACATION from Ladies". Pass the sunblock, please.😎

Now the one song that I couldn't find was "Hatto Shite! Good"（ハッとして! Good） which was originally recorded by Toshihiko Tahara（田原俊彦）in 1980 (ahh found it now).

Seikou Nagaoka -- The Limelight of Love feat. Eri Ohno

From whatdreamsmean.com

 

Uh, nope. 1047 doesn't refer to the year when William the Conqueror invaded England. That was actually 1066, and for some reason, although I can't really say that I was ever a whiz at history, that particular year has stuck in my head for decades. Getting back on topic, 1047 is actually a number...specifically, the number of articles that we now have on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" for 2022. Therefore, we have broken the record of 2021's 1046 articles.

Thank you, Tadano-kun!

Well, onwards and upwards, I say. Let's see how many more articles we can squeeze into the blog before the end of 2022.

Not to say that I'm a natural at parties, but perhaps we can use Article No. 1047 to place a celebratory song or at least, something that would have folks on the dance floor for a bit of swaying. I do admit though that Monday night isn't exactly party night during the week.

Regardless, I'm plucking out another track from Seikou Nagaoka's（長岡成貢）"Romantic Gold" album from 2009, "The Limelight of Love". I was reminded of the composer, arranger and producer after doing yesterday's KinKi Kids article in which Nagaoka had arranged the Domoto Boys' "Cinderella Christmas", so heck, here we are.

"Eternal Love" and "Dancing Until Dawn" are two other tracks that I've already written about from "Romantic Gold". This time, though, we have "The Limelight of Love" featuring jazz singer Eri Ohno（大野えり）. As I've mentioned before, although Ohno is from the jazz world, she has done her fair share of City Pop and R&B music over the years, too. It might be a tad too expensive and classy for someone of my ilk to get into the Tokyo nightclubs where Nagaoka's club-friendly stuff is playing, but at least, I can enjoy the beat in my own home via releases such as this album. Just as long as no one is peeking into my room.😇

Anyways, happy 1047!

Akira Ikuma/Chuning Candy -- Dynamic Ryukyu（ダイナミック琉球）

 

The encounter of this song goes back several months by my reckoning since I first saw singer-songwriter Akira Ikuma（イクマあきら）on an episode of "Uta Con"（うたコン）earlier this year. If I'm not mistaken, he was on the show with the Okinawan duo D-51 who jogged my memories with their hit song "No More Cry". It just so happens that Ikuma was the composer for this 2005 creation.

But let me provide some background for Ikuma. He originally came from Kurume City, Fukuoka Prefecture and in the 1990s, he was the vocalist for the funk group, E-ZEE BAND, from whom 13 singles and 9 albums were released. In 1997, the band broke up and Ikuma opted for a solo career in pop music with the intent of moving to Tokyo. A vacation to Okinawa though changed his direction in terms of his life and career as he fell in love with Japan's southernmost prefecture, and the eventual result was that he instead moved there.

In 2008, Ikuma collaborated with poet Daiichi Hirata（平田大一）for a stage play titled "Ryukyu Renaissance"（琉球ルネッサンス）, and the former came up with a theme song called "Dynamic Ryukyu" which was put out as a limited-release single in Okinawa. A powerfully proud song fit for prefectural pride and dancing, people responded favourably and it was used for an Orion Beer commercial and a local TV drama. "Dynamic Ryukyu" has even been used by several dance troupes specializing in the Okinawa folk dance known as eisa. Finally, Ikuma's 2nd album from August 2009 would have that title brandished on the cover.

The Okinawan song-and-dance group Chuning Candy, which had its run between 2013 and this March, released a cover of "Dynamic Ryukyu" as their final and their one-and-only digital download single in their final month of existence. Its more frenetic arrangement was handled by Satoshi Takebe（武部聡志）.

Considering that it's been 50 years since Okinawa was handed back to Japan, perhaps the Kohaku Utagassen is thinking of devoting some of its ample time to Okinawan music. Maybe "Dynamic Ryukyu" and Ikuma could get that invitation.

Kayoko Moriyama/Morning Musume/Hitomi Shimatani -- Shiroi Chou no Samba（白い蝶のサンバ）

 

Not sure if I would actually consider "Shiroi Chou no Samba" (Butterfly Samba) a samba, but this January 1970 single by the late Kayoko Moriyama（森山加代子）is a happily bouncy kayo kyoku about finding Mr. Right and holding onto him for dear life. Written by Yu Aku（阿久悠）and composed by Katsuo Inoue（井上かつお）with arrangement by Makoto Kawaguchi（川口真）, it's got some nice and tender horns along with that familiar early 1970s beefy bass and shimmering strings.

"Shiroi Chou no Samba" not only hit No. 1 for Moriyama, but it also became the legendary Aku's first No. 1 single in his career, selling near half a million records. Its fame also came about for the rapid-fire delivery of the lyrics by the singer. The big hit was also responsible for Moriyama getting the invitation for her 4th and final appearance on NHK's Kohaku Utagassen at the end of 1970, her first appearance in eight years following her first three between 1960 and 1962. You can also check out Moriyama's debut release all the way back in 1960, "Tsukikage no Napoli"（月影のナポリ）.

The song also got its share of covers over the decades. One was recorded as a funky number by Morning Musume（モーニング娘。）for their November 2008 album "COVER YOU". That album peaked at No. 27.

Several months later, Hitomi Shimatani（島谷ひとみ）recorded a light synthpop version of "Shiroi Chou no Samba" for her own album of covers titled "BEST & COVERS" in July 2009. It hit No. 12 on Oricon.

Atsuko Hiyajo/Ryusenkei -- Orange Iro no Gogo ni（オレンジ色の午後に）

 

There's nothing like a song that I can really sink my teeth into like a particularly juicy and tasty roast beef sandwich with plenty of au jus. I think that I've found one here.

Throughout the six minutes of singer-songwriter Atsuko Hiyajo's（比屋定篤子）splendid July 1999 7th single "Orange Iro no Gogo ni" (On an Orange Afternoon), I've managed to get a number of musical influences and feelings ranging from Miki Imai（今井美樹）to the Righteous Brothers. It's a wistful ballad of lost opportunities and hopeful reconnections that seems to pay tribute to an epic conclusion to an old 1950s or 1960s Technicolor romance thanks to those shimmering strings and a rich piano. Therefore, I've also been getting vibes of sophisticated pop through the balladry of Swingout Sister and Joe Jackson, and the romanticism of Original Love. Maybe there's even some Shibuya-kei in there, I don't know (I won't mention it officially since Original Love would want to kill me).

The single was written by Hiyajo and composed by Jiro (or Haruo) Kobayashi（小林治郎）, and the duo was also behind the first song that I ever heard by Hiyajo, "Maware Maware" （まわれまわれ）. Its arrangement was handled by Tatsuya Nishiwaki（西脇辰弥）who was once a part of the late 1980s urban contemporary band PAZZ.

(17:55)

"Maware Maware" had its own original version and then a collaborative new take thanks to Hiyajo working with Neo-City Pop band Ryusenkei（流線型）about a decade later in 2009 with their album "Natural Woman". That same album did the same thing with "Orange Iro no Gogo ni", and the results have been breathtaking. I love the original version of "Orange Iro no Gogo ni", but this jauntier redressing in "Natural Woman" had it sound just like if it had been time-lifted as a so-called "lost track" from Taeko Ohnuki's（大貫妙子）1970s City Pop/New Music masterpieces "Grey Skies" and "Sunshower" right down to the rhythms and the instruments used.

In fact, what I realized was that Hiyajo in the late 1990s and 2000s sounds just like Ohnuki in the 1970s! That high-pitched, feathery and spot-on singing is unmistakable. Just imagine it...going from the style of a mid-20th-century romantic flick ending ballad to a breezy and swinging 1970s Japanese City Pop song. And they both sound great.

Naoko Gushima -- Ku-gatsu no Umi（9月の海）

 

Yesterday, I put up that list of mine regarding late summer-to-autumn Japanese pop songs. If I'd known about this one that I am about to talk about, I would have included it there, too.

Singer-songwriter Naoko Gushima（具島直子）isn't someone that I get a chance to write about a lot, but over the years, I've gained more appreciation for her stylish approach to pop with some soul thrown in. I wouldn't consider her "Ku-gatsu no Umi" (September Sea) to be Neo-City Pop or even really R&B, but there's something undeniably urban and cool about it. Written and composed by the singer, the gravitas-laden piano and the bluesy guitar set the tone for a song whose image to me through the lyrics is of a lady walking barefoot along the beach wondering whether love will strike again. Another image is of an amiable Friday night dinner for a couple in their favourite neighbourhood restaurant of class and style.

"Ku-gatsu no Umi" was a new song added to Gushima's first BEST compilation, "Magic Wave", from April 2009.

Tommy february6 -- ◯Strawberry●Cream◯Soda●Pop◯

 

Ah, for that faithful reminder of what my music was like back when I was a teenager, I can always go to Tommy february6, aka singer-songwriter Tomoko Kawase（川瀬智子）of the indie rock group the brilliant green. Good ol' Tommy february6 was one of Kawase's personae representing the 80s synthpop period.

Tommy was releasing singles and albums between 2001 and 2005 when she took a bit of a break. However, she released a BEST compilation in February 2009 titled "Strawberry Cream Soda Pop “Daydream”" which included all of those fizzy and frothy singles and album tracks from the past. And then as the final track, she included what would be the title track for the album, "◯Strawberry●Cream◯Soda●Pop◯". 

It was just like she never left the stage since the song sounded like what I would have expected from Tommy February6, cute-as-all-get-out vocals, twee 80s analog synths and crisp syn-drums smacking away. Heck, even the video has some Boy George emulators frolicking in there. Now, wouldn't that be a thing to have some of the Culture Club visit Tommy's tea party?

As for the album, it peaked at No. 5 on Oricon. I vaguely remember having cream soda as a kid decades ago, but for the life of me, I can't even remember what it tastes like! 🙀

Miharu Koshi -- Belle Tristesse ~ Myo naru Kanashimi（妙なる悲しみ）

 

As much as I remember the wonderful working partnership between Taeko Ohnuki and Ryuichi Sakamoto（大貫妙子・坂本龍一）of Yellow Magic Orchestra during the early 1980s with their eclectic mixture of synthpop and French-feeling music, I also have in mind another fascinating tandem. That would be the relationship between Miharu Koshi and Haruomi Hosono（コシミハル・細野晴臣）, also of YMO, starting from around 1983 in which Koshi transformed from the good-time City Pop lady into a New Wave gamine, heavy into the synths but with a different aural sensation, more along the lines of Old Europe in general for the lack of a better description.

I found a good representative of that new Koshi sound in the 1980s through "Belle Tristesse ~ Myo naru Kanashimi" (Strange Sadness). This wasn't a part of her albums or singles under her name but it was a track on a November 1983 compilation album by Alfa Records titled "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" produced by the Takahashi Brothers, Nobuyuki and Yukihiro（高橋信之・高橋幸宏）, the latter of whom completes the YMO trio.

The words, music and arrangement were all handled by Koshi and Hosono, and the feeling that I get from "Belle Tristesse" is some sort of weird technopop drama occurring within a toy shop based in Germany or Austria. Perhaps the toys come alive and are now pondering existence...maybe it's an emo version of "Toy Story"? In any case, it's quite the 80s Koshi tune and just from the title alone, I can understand the potential melancholy that can arise in folks around the Yuletide, and after all, it's a common trope in J-Xmas songs.

If "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" is hard to come by, then "Belle Tristesse" can be found as a bonus track in Koshi's remastered CD "Epoque de Techno" which came out in 2009.