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.
Being summer, it's festival season in Japan and I know that it's in full swing whenever I hear about or see Tokyo's Sumida River Fireworks Festival on the final Saturday of July. I've seen it on television from the air-conditioned comfort of my Ichikawa apartment and around thirty years ago, I actually saw it with my own eyes from the apartment of a student who generously invited teachers and fellow classmates over for a fireworks party. We were very fortunate in that the apartment was right by the Sumida River in Asakusa where I used to work, so the fireworks literally exploded right over our heads. Getting back home, though, was quite the adventure in time and physics.
Festivals in Japan also mean bon odori...the great communal dance around the raised stage all draped in red and white like the colours of the Japanese flag. Nothing says the dog days of summer than doing those rhythmic steps while sporting a colourful yukata and geta while a min'yo is being sung and performed on stage.
However, in the last several years, there has been some relaxation of the rules in terms of the music, so instead of the traditional stuff, examples of kayo kyoku and J-Pop have been used to get the crowds all roused up and dancing. Thanks to an NHK report yesterday, I was rather inspired to put up this list that I got from a far bigger list on Line Music. Yes, you can dance to these in the Bon Odori style!
Well, we're in the homestretch now at seven day's worth of sleeps before Christmas. I was playing around with the Bing AI to see if I could get some lovely Christmas Town images (Unionville would be our local one in the Greater Toronto Area), and I could get at least a couple of them. This one seems to have that pleasant mixture of contemporary and old-fashioned with a café at the corner.
I was also searching around to see if there were any aidoru Xmas tunes within the last fifty years or so, and I got lucky with AKB48's"Totteoki Christmas"(Special Christmas). I say lucky because the video is set in one of those happy and shiny Christmas Towns. To be honest, I half-expected a KFC to pop up in one corner but then we'd have copyright issues and the like, wouldn't we?
Anyways, "Totteoki Christmas" was a track on all of the iterations of AKB48's 29th single, "Eien Pressure"（永遠プレッシャー...Eternal Pressure） from December 2012. Of course, written by Yasushi Akimoto（秋元康）and composed this time by Kazunori Watanabe（渡辺和紀）, the song is a typically jingle bell-happy tune about a young lady wanting to spend that romantic Yuletide with her boyfriend. For all those veteran AKB48 fans out there, watching the music video above should bring plenty of nostalgic feelings with a lot of AKB48 members from those days showing up in appropriate Christmas garb. And isn't it nice to hear a Japanese Christmas tune that isn't all about heartbreak?
"Eien Pressure" was another No. 1 hit for the group and despite it being released in December, it quickly became the 5th-ranked single for 2012. If I'm not mistaken, I've only had one other AKB48Xmas song up on the blog, and that would be the earlier "Anata to Christmas Eve"（あなたとクリスマスイブ）.
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.
Happy Monday! Just to let you know how much time has flown, any girls who had been born in the year that this song was first released are probably now old enough to audition for the group itself, maybe by singing this very song. I can recommend some stores which sell Metamucil or Geritol.👴
Indeed, I am talking about "Aitakatta" which can be translated as "I Missed You" or "I Wanted to Meet You" depending on which site you check, one of AKB48's signature tunes and their first one under a major label. Released in October 2006, I was surprised that there hadn't been any sign of "Aitakatta" on the blog up to now; I'd always assumed that one of the other writers posted an article on it.
Written by alphabet aidoru group Svengali Yasushi Akimoto（秋元康）and appropriately composed by BOUNCEBACK, "Aitakatta" is indeed a bouncy tune that did make a splash for AKB48. It also has those classic aidoru-themed lyrics of making that brave move to kokuhaku that lucky high school guy. It hit No. 12 on Oricon, going Gold, and was placed onto the group's first BEST compilation, "Set List: Greatest Songs 2006-2007"（SET LIST〜グレイテストソングス 2006-2007〜）which was released on New Year's Day 2008, peaking at No. 29.
To be honest, the impetus for me putting up "Aitakatta" happened earlier this morning as I was watching NHK News. I found out that choreographer and director Mayumi Natsu（夏まゆみ）had passed away in June this year at the age of 61 from cancer. She not only came up with the choreography for this particular song but had worked with many aidoru and aidoru groups over the past few decades, and that includes the Hello Project ladies with for example, Morning Musume（モーニング娘。）.
I've never posted anything on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" regarding choreographers but I am making a case for Natsu because I remember her very well through footage when the girls in Morning Musume were working on their own dancing for performances and music videos. As with anyone who has to train entertainers to be at their most professional, Natsu ran her sessions hard like basic training at a Marine base, so I often got to see her snarling at the troops on TV.
And of course, when it came to those hit songs, fans also remember the dancing. So I leave you with a few of the songs that she helped translate into moves on stage. My condolences go to Natsu's family, friends, fans and of course, all of the singers that she trained.
Took a little break to refresh myself after tackling Part 1 of Tsugutoshi Goto's Creator article, and now I'll go for Part 2.
With all of Goto's bass work and provision of cool tunes for folks like Shinji Harada（原田真二）and Kenji Sawada（沢田研二）, the musician and songwriter has also given lots of music to various aidoru over the decades and that includes the first mighty aidoru supergroup, Onyanko Club（おニャン子クラブ）, and its individual members. For example, one such song was "O-saki ni Shitsurei"（お先に失礼...Sorry In Advance）, which was composed by Goto alongside Yasushi Akimoto's（秋元康）lyrics. At one point, the two of them were known as a golden combination for songwriting, and "O-saki ni Shitsurei" was the Club's July 1986 5th single and a No. 1 hit for the group, thanks to the cute lead vocals by Harumi Tomikawa（富川春美）, Yukiko Iwai（岩井由紀子）, Tomoko Fukawa（布川智子）and Marina Watanabe（渡辺満里奈）, and that rockabilly arrangement by Goto. It ended up as the 69th-ranked single of the year.
Cue ahead twenty years and that golden combination was still working for another aidoru supergroup, AKB48. According to J-Wiki, there was a set list for Team A's 2nd Stage performance "Aitakatta"（会いたかった...Wanted to See You） in 2006 with one of the songs being "Rio no Kakumei"（リオの革命...Rio's Revolution）, a catchy dance-club type of tune.
As I mentioned above, Goto also provided songs for the individual members of Onyanko Club including Sonoko Kawai（河合その子）. In fact, a number of her tunes were composed by Goto and some of them are represented on this blog along with her "Jessy no Higeki"（ジェシーの悲劇）. Over here, we have her second single"Ochiba no Crescendo"（落葉のクレッシェンド...Fallen Leaves Crescendo） released in November 1985. Once again, the golden combination of Akimoto and Goto were at work to provide Kawai with a surprisingly summery-sounding tune despite the title's hint of autumn. The song peaked at No. 2 and became the 54th-ranked single of 1985.
One interesting point that I discovered about Goto on his J-Wiki profile was that he had been known as The Aidoru Killer. The reason for such a fearful nickname was that he had "dared" to break the cardinal rule and actually have romantic relationships with the female teenyboppers. In fact, he first married Tae Tamai（玉井タエ）of the folk duo Simons (シモンズ). Then later on, he was wed to 70s aidoruMidori Kinouchi（木之内みどり）for a while before finally getting married in 1994 to the aforementioned Kawai.
But it wasn't just only the female aidoru for whom Goto created songs. He also composed and arranged for the male aidoru including popular 80s Johnny's groupShibugakitai（シブがき隊）. For them, he came up with "Sushi Kui ne!"（スシ食いねェ！）and over here, we have his "Samurai Nippon"（サムライ・ニッポン）, another rousing rockabilly-like number for the boys. Masao Urino（売野雅勇）came up with the lyrics for this hit which got as high as No. 3.
Goto delved a bit into enka as well here and there. He composed and arranged "Natsu Koi Bayashi"（夏恋囃子...Summer Love Band） for Sayuri Ishikawa（石川さゆり）with bit of extra guitar-led brio in 1998. The song was used for a Kincho mosquito coil commercial which does fit since those spiral insect repellants are as much a sign of summer as any local festival. Masao Urino（売野雅勇）came up with the lyrics.
My final song for the works of Tsugutoshi Goto, although it's obvious that I've only scratched the surface of his creations, is Mariko Takahashi's（高橋真梨子）"Apple City"（アップルシティ）. This was a track on Takahashi's 2nd album"Sunny Afternoon", and it was composed/arranged by the bassist alongside the singer's own lyrics. So, along with his ability with the enka idiom, Goto was also able to come up with some of that exotic kayo flavour for the late 1970s going into the new decade. I never got the impression that this was another tribute to New York City, especially with what sounds like a bouzouki in the arrangement. As such, I thought that this was a vacation through Greece.
To get a better idea of the breadth and depth of Goto's works, you can browse through the Tsugutoshi Goto file here or go through the deeper list for his songs on J-Wiki. I'm just going to go take a catnap before dinner.
J-Canuck recently wrote about 365 Nichi no Kami Hikouki (365日の紙飛行機) and that inspired me to write this article.
Speaking of AKB48, I first came to know them through a classmate in my Beginning Japanese class in Foothill College California back in 2010. He was watching some YouTube video and I asked him what it was. He replied that it's AKB48. I was surprised at the thought that there's an Aidoru group with 48 girls and wanted to ask him further. He didn't care to explain and I ended up Googling myself. Turned out that I was not entirely wrong about the 48 people part, but this "AKB48 Corp." is much more complicated than any Aidoru group I've ever known!
First, a big disclaimer: I'm not an AKB48 fan. Fans out there, please keep me honest if I say something stupid.
Some background info for people who may not know much about AKB48. Since there're so many people in the group, not every one gets the chance to participate in every single album. They have to go through a selection process (選抜会). This process also decides who gets to play center, or the prominent dancer for the single album.
I haven't done enough research about this selection process. I think fans' ballot counts. I definitely think Akimoto Yasushi (秋元康) has so much power that he can overrule anything. There's also something called Janken Taikai (じゃんけん大会), or Scissor Paper RockTournament, where members play scissor paper rock against each other. The last 16 people remaining are eligible to participate in the single album, whereas the final winner plays center.
I think whoever coined the idea is a genius!
Ue kara Mariko was the result of such Janken Taikai, with Shinoda Mariko (篠田麻里子) being the scissor paper rock champion, Fujie Reina (藤江れいな) as the 1st runner-up, and Minegishi Minami (峯岸みなみ) and Kobayashi Marina (小林茉里奈) losing to Shinoda and Fujie respectively in the round of final four. That's why both Fujie, Minegishi, and Kobayashi got quite a lot of air time in the official MV above. Since anything can happen in scissor paper rock, this selection process is purely based on luck (unless the whole thing is a fake). Consequently, big fan favorites like Maeda Atsuko (前田敦子), Ooshima Yuuko (大島優子), and Itano Tomomi (板野友美) were not in the song. In fact, Maeda was out as soon as the 2nd round (she lost to Akimoto Sayaka 秋元才加).
Music-wise, Ue kara Mariko has a light and cheerful tone and rhythm. Like any pop song, it has some easy-to-remember melodies throughout the song. It's quite a typical AKB48 song in my opinion. The lyrics is what I think is interesting. It's telling a story from a male perspective. A boy was going out with a girl older than him. In Japanese terms, he's dating his senpai. Moreover, this senpai he's dating was unpredictable and regularly "tested" him. For instance, she would suddenly close her eyes, expecting our boy to kiss her. If he showed the slightest hesitation, she'd call him a wimp! The boy called her sadistic (サディスティックな奴め), but clearly he found this kind of flirting cute and exciting!
Akimoto Yasushi seemed to have written the lyrics tailored for Shinoda Mariko. Even her name was there in the song title. Furthermore, Shinoda Mariko was the oldest in the group and it fit the song's story (i.e. a boy was dating someone older). Apparently, she’s also the tallest.
Finally, I want to talk about the story in the MV, especially for AKB48 fans who don't know Japanese. Besides enjoying the music, the dance, and the cute little girls, I think it's a bonus if you also understand what the story was about.
The story took place in what seems to be an all-girl high school. Shinoda Mariko (篠田麻里子) played the biology teacher. Akimoto Sayaka (秋元才加) played the physical education teacher. The rest of the cast were students.
In the first scene, Minegishi Minami (峯岸みなみ), Fujie Reina (藤江れいな) & Kobayashi Marina (小林茉里奈) were meeting on campus. The school's Student Body president was up for grabs, but nobody wanted it and there's no candidate. As a result, each class would hold a lottery, and the 8 people who "won" would be forced to become candidates. Furthermore, the presidency would subsequently be decided by scissor paper rock.
Minegishi was complaining why she "won" the lottery, even though there're more than 30 people in her class. She didn't want to become president because it's a job that only attracts criticism but no appreciation. She turned to Kobayashi and asked her to come forward as a candidate. After Kobayashi refused, she turned to her "best friend", Fujie, and begged her to become a candidate. Before Fujie had a chance to respond, Kobayashi said no for her. She whispered to Fujie that she didn't need to be so mellow even though Minegishi was her senior (senpai).
Minegishi spotted Shinoda Mariko (篠田麻里子), their biology teacher. She's talking to a foreigner in fluent English. Minegishi commented that Shinoda looked so cool (apparently, fluent English is a cool factor in Japan😁).
In the second scene, Fujie was in Shinoda's biology class. It had already ended but they remained in the classroom. Fujie commented that Shinoda was the chosen one. Shinoda paused, and told Fujie that she thought they're alike. Fujie didn't think so. Shinoda then suggested that Fujie should try to dress up a bit, and a hair ornament might be the perfect item for her. Shinoda then took a faraway look, and said she had chosen instead of being chosen.
Back on campus, Fujie, Minegishi and Kobayashi were together again. They're looking at a web site featuring some photos of Shinoda. Kobayashi made a comment that Shinoda felt like a celebrity. Fujie said Shinoda sang rock when she's young. Even now, some of her photos could be found on auction sites. Minegishi then made a comment that Shinoda didn't look like a typical biology teacher at all. Fujie followed by saying that Shinoda had to be born under a lucky star. Minegishi, highly frustrated, complained why the presidency would be decided by scissor paper rock.
The 4th scene happened inside a library with Ooya Shizuka (大家志津香), Maeda Ami (前田亜美), and Satou Sumire (佐藤すみれ). Ooya said the Student Body presidency appeared to be decided by scissor paper rock once in the past. Maeda said she also heard about it. Satou found out that indeed it happened 8 years ago. They then found the photo of the first ever paper scissor rock president, but they didn't recognize that it's Shinoda, their current biology teacher. Satou commented that just by looking at the face of that person in the photo, there's an unlucky aura all around her.
Finally, it's time for the scissor paper rock tournament. Shinoda came in and sat behind the crowd. Akimoto Sayaka (秋元才加), the physical education teacher, noticed her and told the students that Shinoda was the first ever scissor paper rock president. Everybody was shocked. Ooya made a comment that it's unbelievable that Shinoda was the loser that became president. Akimoto corrected her and pointed out that 8 years ago, because there're too many candidates, they decided to play scissor paper rock to settle the presidency (why not hold a simple election is beyond my grasp 😂). In other words, Akimoto explained, Shinoda won the presidency and was no loser. She further commented that ever since that time Shinoda really started to shine. "This is a SUPER upgrade!" Minegishi bursted out, to which Shinoda replied, "Responsibilities make women grow! I’m telling you."
In the last scene, Shinoda and Fujie met in the corridor. Fujie wanted to return the hair ornament, which Shinoda lent her as a lucky charm. Shinoda said she could keep it, and walked away. Fujie called her and made a peace sign (=scissor). Shinoda, continued walking and without turning back, returned with a fist (=rock), showing that Shinoda would always be the queen of scissor paper rock.
This song has been gnawing at me for the longest time and I figured that I would have to get it onto the blog at some point since it has become one of the trademark tunes for AKB48.
AKB48 was enlisted to come up with a song for the 2015 NHK morning serial "Asa ga Kita"（あさが来た...Here Comes Asa）, the first time that the aidoru group was given that opportunity, and what resulted was "365-nichi no Kami Hikouki" (365 Days of Paper Airplanes). On the network site for the serial (via the J-Wiki article), lyricist Yasushi Akimoto（秋元康）analogized the song with the carefree life of the main character of Asa Shiraoka（白岡あさ）, a paper airplane that kept on flying forever despite the restrictions that women had faced in Japan in the mid-1800s onwards into the 20th century.
The melody was supplied by Toshikazu Kadono and Hiroki Aoba（角野寿和・青葉紘季）, and with the main instruments of acoustic guitar and strings, the two of them wanted to achieve something along the lines of a 1970s Japanese folk song. Indeed, there is something in the arrangement that hit me as something very old-fashioned, which in retrospect, made it stand out even more considering that my impressions of the aidoru group was that they often enjoyed their disco (which I do, too).
I think that "365-nichi no Kami Hikouki" definitely grew beyond its parameters as the theme song for "Asa ga Kita" since its release as the coupling song for the single "Kuchibiru ni Be My Baby"（唇にBe My Baby..."Be My Baby" On My Lips） in December 2015. In recent years, whenever AKB48 has popped up on any music show, it's been to perform this particular relaxing tune along with any new release. The single did hit No. 1 on the Oricon weeklies, and the group was able to perform the song on the 2015, 2017 and 2020 Kohaku Utagassen.
Commenter Fireminer mentioned this song to me about a couple of weeks ago since he wasn't quite sure what the lyrics were about and if they had anything to do with the official music video.
"Tsubasa wa Iranai" (I Don't Need Wings) was AKB48's 44th single released in June 2016, and the video's setting was a Japanese university in 1972 among the tumult of student demonstrations. Things looked pretty harsh for a while but the magic of AKB48 won out by the end with the two sides locking arms and swaying happily.
As it was, Yasushi Akimoto's（秋元康）lyrics spoke on the opinion that we could have wings to soar into the sky and above the fray but that wouldn't solve the problems. It's better to get back down on the ground, do that walk and face up to those challenges to inevitably solve them. Not a bad angle at all.
In fact, the title "Tsubasa wa Iranai" was inspired by an old and famous folk kayo "Tsubasa wo Kudasai"（翼をください）by Akai Tori（赤い鳥）, according to an article in "Real Sound" via the J-Wikiarticle on the song. Furthermore, I did think that there was that lilting kayo feeling in the arrangement when I first heard it, and sure enough, according to another article in Nikkei Business Publications in July of that year, the melody by Makoto Wakatabe（若田部誠）was based on the music for another couple of kayo chestnuts "Omoide no Nagisa"（想い出の渚）by The Wild Ones and Pedro & Capricious' classic "Go-ban Gai no Mari e" (五番街のマリーへ）. Have a listen to those two and you can hear some of the similarity that went into "Tsubasa wa Iranai".
Probably that reason explains why I've started to enjoy this one. If AKB48 can do disco, they can also do folk! And a lot of other folks apparently appreciated "Tsubasa wa Iranai" too since the song not only hit No. 1 on the Oricon weeklies, selling around 2 million copies, but it became the No. 1 song for 2016 proper.
A few days ago, I was rewatching some music videos and it crossed me that one particular song would be one of my picks when it comes to the most representative songs of the late Heisei era in terms of idol music - it's catchy and prone to be liked by the general public. So, I decided to brainstorm a few others I would consider worthy of entering that category and joined them in one post. It is a top 6 of my Modern Idol Classics (from 2010 to 2019).
1. BiS - nerve
This one takes first place for me because it is personally one of my favorite idol songs ever, and I feel like it embodies what was the late Heisei for idol music. The traditional idol trope started to be defied by some groups such as BiS and now we have a pot-pourri of genres being presented by the kind of performer one would consider an idol. I also feel like, even though there is still one or two major groups ruling the idol scene, there is a larger number of "tiers" when it comes to popularity. No longer do we have the popular idols and the underground ones, there is more to that, and the idol scene in this moment is very diverse.
2. AKB48 - Koisuru Fortune Cookie (恋するフォーチュンクッキー)
To me, this was the absolute peak of AKB48, since which they have started losing momentum as the "national idol group" of Japan. So, it seemed like an obvious pick for this selection. To this day, this is the go-to song to present in all kinds of TV specials, and had a small revival when it propelled the Thai sister group BNK48 to national stardom. I like this song very much! It's catchy and retro sounding and I don't really get tired of listening to it. I think it is the true classic of AKB48 and showcases the very best this group has to offer.
I feel like it had been a long time since any group had such a strong debut single as Keyakizaka46 did. This song was the absolute hit of 2016 and made me hooked into the group for quite some time. Besides this A-side, "Saimajo" is a very solid single with really good songs (I feel like I still want to write about it someday). I haven't been following Keyaki closely, but it seems to me that the popularity they achieved at the time of their debut has vanished a bit. Still, Silent Majority is unforgettable.
4. Maneki Kecak (まねきケチャ) - Kimi Wazurai (きみわずらい)
This is actually the song I mentioned at the beginning of the article. I don't know if it is surprising, since this group is, let's say, at a different level of popularity as the other groups I mention in this article, at least in the West. But to me, this song is an absolute classic. I think it's the whole progression, starting slow and then building up to a quick succession of emotional lyrics. At first, I had to get used to the difference in sound and skill in the members' voices, but it definitely grew on me.
5. BiSH - Orchestra (オーケストラ)
Well, Orchestra comes in the same category as Kimi Wazurai - a slow progression that builds up quickly. I find it better executed technically in Orchestra, but there is something about the rawness of vocals and emotions in Kimi Wazurai that also pulls me into that song. But when it comes to whether they are classics, they both are. And Orchestra is one of the songs that brought BiSH into national fame, and they keep rising by the day, which has been amusing to see! Let's hope Reiwa brings a lot of success for these girls.
6. Nogizaka46 (乃木坂46) - Kimi no Na wa Kibou (君の名は希望)
I wanted to include a Nogizaka46 song because they are the current top idol group in Japan, and whenever I think about Kimi no Na wa Kibou being used as a jingle in the Nogizaka Station, the song stands out to me as a classic. The thing about this group is that they have several songs that stand out to the general public, but not one that one can pin-point as their true number one hit. When it comes to sales, I think Influencer takes the cake, but Kimi no Na wa Kibou is, in my opinion, the one tune that better appeals to the general public. It's a pop song without a doubt, but it sounds so warm and with lyrics so encouraging that I would recommend it to anyone.
Happy New Year 2019. I wish everybody good health and prosperity this year.
First article of 2019. Nothing special though. I suddenly remember this song that I encountered some years ago when I was frantically searching for AKB48 videos on YouTube. And I decide to write about it.
I signed up for Beginning Japanese at Foothill College around 2010. There was a young student from Hong Kong watching a girl group during break. As I wrote in my previous articles, I was still living in Showa era in terms of Japanese music and I didn't know anything about the new music scene at that time. So I asked him what he's watching, and he said "AKB48". I think he also mentioned his favorite was Atsuko Maeda (前田敦子), who was the "lead" in the group.
Like any good student, I googled. Of course, a few clicks later led me to hits like Heavy Rotation, Ponytail and ShuShu etc. I'm not an idol fan, I said to myself. Okay, Akina was an idol, but she's different, okay :) I kind of ignored AKB at that time but kept their name in mind. I mean, how can I even get their name off my sight in the next 5-6 years when they became the hottest thing in Japanese music, at least in terms of sales. And by the way, I ended up buying one song from iTunes Japan, Sakura no Ki ni Narou (桜の木になろう) , my favorite of AKB48. And oh, one more, Sho Nichi (初日) , which is another favorite but I don't own yet. But I digressed...
I forgot when but when I was on YouTube one day, I saw this song title that looks interesting, Temo Demo no Namida, and it means......nothing. That caught my attention (advertisers who want to target me, take notice) and so I clicked and listened. It has a very familiar melody reminiscent of the 80s, or event 70s. The dance was also interesting, typical early AKB stuff. I think what's intriguing to me is the interactions between the 2 girl singers. Like Wink, there's a certain kind of mystery.
A few google search later, I finally understand what the title means. In the chorus, there're these 2 lines:
Kona ni Aitaku Temo (こんなに会いたくても)
No matter how much I want to meet you
Kona ni Suki Demo (こんなに好きでも)
No matter how much I love you
And in another chorus section, we have these 2 lines:
Kona ni Kanashiku Temo (こんなに悲しくても)
No matter how sad it'll be
Kona ni Dame Demo (こんなにだめでも)
No matter how inadequate I am for you
And so the song title is just formed by the conjunctions "Temo" and "Demo" in the chorus, plus the word Namida (涙), for tears.
The song is about a teenage girl (middle-school/high-school) who broke up with her first love (maybe in the same school). She was waiting for him at the 2nd intersection on the boy's way home (stalker again?). It was raining. The boy just passed by without noticing her. She wanted to call him but was too afraid. Tears were coming from her eyes, as if it rained on her cheeks. Unable to do anything, she watched him from afar, buried with nostalgic memories as well as her loving thought towards him.
Music was composed by Sachiko Terahata (寺畑早知子), and of course, like any other AKB48 songs, lyrics was written by Yasushi Akimoto (秋元康) (It used to be that ALL AKB48 songs' lyrics were written by him but I don't know if it's still true these days).
Temo Demo no Namida was never released as a single or in any AKB best album. However, you can find it in this special album Team B 3rd Stage: Pajama Drive.
I am not an AKB48 expert but from what I've read on J-Wiki, it was a song that AKB48 Team B performed on stage during their live performances. As such, it has been performed by different pairs of AKB Team B members. Here're 2, one performed by Yuki Kashiwagi (柏木由紀) and Rena Kato (加藤玲奈), and another by Rina Ikoma (生駒理奈) and Ayane Suzuki (鈴木絢音). The latter is actually Nogisaka46 (乃木坂46), and Rina was an original AKB48 Team B member. I wonder if they have to get "permissions" from current Team B beforehand :) Enjoy!
After having watched my fair share of "The Simpsons", "Family Guy" and "South Park" over the years, my response to this famous lyric would be "And then I saw Daddy grabbing for his baseball bat..."
Yes, I can be pretty snarky when I want to be, but as much as the Holidays here are about Mass, Jesus Christ, Santa Claus, turkey and presents, December 24th and the 25th in Japan are all about the partying, KFC, Fujiya cakes, and romancing. I can guarantee that last night in Tokyo, there were plenty of hotels being booked and restaurants getting reserved for some of those Second Valentine's Day dates.
So, for my final J-Xmas song this season, I give you "Anata to Christmas Eve" (Christmas Eve With You) by AKB48. I had only discovered this one just earlier today, and it's dripping with all of that Xmas romance-y stuff, just like a roasting turkey and its juices ready for basting. Written by Yasushi Akimoto（秋元康）and composed by SHUJI, this apparently came out as one of the songs on the setlist for a concert by the group and then recorded for a CD which was released in March 2007. To be honest, it's a bit too treacly for me even as an Xmas song, but hey, I could imagine this song hovering over a lot of young couples walking through Tokyo neighbourhoods such as Shibuya and Omotesando.
From what I could find from the J-Wikiarticle, the CD is titled "Team A 1st Stage 'PARTY ga Hajimaru yo'"（チームA 1st Stage「PARTYが始まるよ」...The Party Is About To Begin）. "Anata to Christmas Eve" was performed by members Ayumi Orii（折井あゆみ）and Michiru Hoshino（星野みちる）.
Sister group SKE48 released their own "PARTY ga Hajimaru yo" album in October 2013 with that track (and for that matter, I think a lot of the other sister groups have given their own cover of the Xmas song). However the video above has AKB48 members Yuki Kashiwagi（柏木由紀）and Miyu Takeuchi（竹内美宥）performing a cover originally done by their own sempai.
In any case, I wish everybody out there...fellow collaborators, commenters and viewers...all the best for a Merry Christmas!
It’s
been a while since I last listened to something surprising coming from the
Japanese market. Besides the usual artists, such as Megumi Hayashibara (林原めぐみ),
Chisato Moritaka (森高千里) or Shizuka Kudo (工藤静香), I’ve
spent a lot of my time listening to New Kids On The Block lately (“Step by Step” is
pop perfection, by the way). Yeah, my fault for falling in love with the
boyband’s late 80s/early 90s cheesy numbers.
However,
with some help, I can still get into some creative aidoru songs from nowadays.
Even though I’m well aware that the majority of them is safe, bland and
formulaic, I can still hear bits of imaginative pop music construction coming
from this niche, and maybe a good example is the strong, dramatic and over the
top “Teokure caution” by aidoru group =LOVE (イコールラブ).
Partially
produced by AKB48 and HKT48 superstar member Rino Sashihara (指原莉乃),
=LOVE is a group comprised by seiyuu aidoru singers that made its major debut
last year, in 2017. Now, in May 2018, they’ve released their third single, “Teokure
caution”, with a music video full of bad acting accompanying this surprisingly
good song.
“Teokure
caution” isn’t an easy ride that will make you chill and relax. In the end, your
ears will probably be a little worned out, thanks to all the wild strings and
the typical AKB48-like unison singing during the choruses. I feel like being
hit by a blast of obscure energy, but one well put together. Not that the song
is perfect, and it’s far from it, but I enjoy the dare shown by all the people responsible for producing and releasing songs like that in the mainstream market. Something that’s
so detached from the common sense generally adopted in the pop music world, or,
as I like to say, a song with so many wrong elements put together in a beautiful
way.
The
single reached #3 on the Oricon charts, selling around 75,932 copies, according
to. Lyrics were written by Rino Sashihara, while music was composed by Hiroshi
Imai (今井ひろし). As
for the arrangement, Tatsuya Kurauchi (倉内達矢) was the responsible.
It’s been a while since I’ve truly liked one of AKB48’s
main songs. Even though I’ve found last year’s "Negaigoto no Mochigusare" (願いごとの持ち腐れ)
an interesting, solid and experimental release, I was somewhat missing their
disco/funk tunes in the style of 2013’s “Koi Suru Fortune Cookie” (恋するフォーチュンクッキー), 2015's "Halloween Night" (ハロウィン・ナイト) and 2016’s “High Tension” (ハイテンション).
Now, starting off 2018, the group is releasing “Ja-ba-ja”,
a catchy, sexy and groovy tune full of character that I’ll probably give a lot of spin,
which is always good coming from Japan’s top aidoru group. Yeah, it can sound a
little bit slow at some points, but I like how full of swag its arrangement can
sound with the beat and all the horns. Also, the ‘ja-ba-ja’ hook is pretty nice
and effective, since I always catch myself singing along to it, and the chorus is
a winner as well, because it deviates from AKB48’s traditional and tired
hyper-cute formula. In the end, like always, they’re not reinventing the wheel,
but it’s not bad to release a true fun song from time to time.
Lyrics were written by Yasushi Akimoto (秋元康),
while music was composed by Akira Sunset and Naoki Endo (遠藤ナオキ). As
for the marvelous arrangement, APAZZI was the responsible.
Greetings everyone! My name is Joana and I'm a new collaborator of Kayo Kyoku Plus.
I've been following this blog for the past few years, since I started listening to Showa era Japanese music, and it's a pleasure to be able to write my own posts in it. My thanks once again to J-Canuck for the kind invitation.
As this is my first post, J-Canuck reminded me of this project and I thought it would be the ideal way to start things around as I introduce a little bit about myself.
I was first and foremost an anime fan. Growing up as a kid I watched the series that aired here in Portugal, particularly the classics of the magical girl genre. In 2011 I finally got around to start watching anime in the original Japanese versions and in a regular basis.
In 2015 I was following the anime "Ore Monogatari!!" (俺物語！！) and in an evening of boredom during the Summer holidays, I decided to search about who sang the theme songs. The opening was called "Miraikei Answer" (未来形Answer), from the band TRUSTRICK. I had never heard of them before, but I went on to find out their vocalist was called Sayaka Kanda(神田沙也加) and was the only daughter of a 50-something Japanese singer called... Seiko Matsuda (松田聖子).
To be honest, at the time I didn't really like the opening that much. But with time, and after the unexpected landmark it has become in my life, it grew on me. It's a light-hearted pop tune and Kanda's vocals are pleasant to the ear - as expected, I'd say, of someone who grew up side-by-side with a superstar mom, doing sporadic appearances in Seiko's own career (both albums and concerts).
I sometimes try to find similarities between the two. I think Sayaka looks a bit like her mother when she's smiling. What do you guys think?
I'm sure Seiko-chan doesn't need further introduction. Anyway, I decided to look up for videos of her and the first one that popped up was the above performance of "Tengoku no Kiss" (天国のキッス) in a 1983 broadcast of Yoru no Hit Studio. J-Canuck has already covered this song so I linked his article, and will keep on linking the songs already in the blog.
I was struck with a nostalgic feeling, even though I wasn't born at this time. I didn't feel like I wanted to live at that time; instead, I found it more wonderful that I had the chance to hear this song more than 30 years after it was created. Internet really is an amazing invention - so I thought, and I still do sometimes.
I immediately fell in love with the song and the whole 80's atmosphere. Influenced by my parents' extensive record collection, I always liked music that was older than me. Also, I simply love cute things in general, so nothing better than a cute girl in a cute frilly pink dress singing a cute song, lol. I'm glad my first impression of Seiko was this one.
The next few days were spent following YouTube recommendations and the next artist I started listening to was Momoe Yamaguchi (山口百恵). Legend after legend, right? I wasn't aware I was going backwards on chronological order but Momoe ended up catching my heart even more than Seiko did.
The first song I heard from her, IIRC, was "Yokosuka Story" (横須賀ストーリー), one of her staple songs. Though she had a completely different aura from what I've seen from Seiko-chan, her deep voice and mature tunes captivated me. Maybe because she has considerably less titles in her discography than Seiko does, I ended up listening to all of her albums before I listened to Seiko's.
My passion for Momoe culminated in the purchase of the DVD of her famous last concert in the Budokan, in 1980. It was a day of joy as I still remember coming back from the post office with the order in hand and unpacking it carefully, lol. It was my first Showa idol-related purchase.
Despite all of this, it was Akina Nakamori (中森明菜) who ended up becoming my favorite aidoru and artist overall. I had watched some videos of her while getting to know Seiko and Momoe but she didn't quite strike me at first.
The only song that left an impression on me was "Shoujo A" (少女A) and for some time, that was the only song from Akina I had actually saved to keep on listening. I wonder why that was the one. Well, as a matter of fact, I didn't look up for more Akina tunes until I got to listen almost all of Seiko and Momoe's. Also, maybe because it reminded me of some of the later Momoe hits. Akina the aidoru was modeled after her senpai's image so it's understandable they resembled each other at the beginning.
I got around to know Akina better and now I'm a huge fan of her. I sometimes think whether I do prefer her or Momoe. I usually go with Akina but it's honestly hard to choose. They are comparable, but they aren't; their careers, music style, and themselves as individuals are different. So, I try not to compare them much, and just enjoy each of them for who they are and what they sang.
To finish this post, a slightly different note.
After some years of Japanese Showa aidoru and music in general, I started to feel like exploring something different, but still not completely unrelated. I decided to look up more about currently active aidoru. I already knew AKB48 from their original anime AKB0048 and other bits and pieces from several sources, so I guessed I'd go from there.
My initial favorite member of the group was Sayaka Yamamoto(山本彩) because of her beauty and her voice. She is actually a member of NMB48 but there was some point in the history of 48-groups when they decided to mix members around, so now I (and the management itself) prefer to talk about AKB48Group as the supergroup formed by all the something-forty-eight. But I digress.
"365-nichi no Kamihikouki" (365日の紙飛行機) has become somewhat of a signature song for Yamamoto and it's probably the greatest hit that AKB has landed with the general public in the past few years (let's say, the "post-Atsuko Maeda era"), along with "Koisuru Fortune Cookie". It was included both in the single "Kuchibiru ni Be My Baby" (AKB48) and "Amagami Hime" (NMB48), the latter being the solo version by Yamamoto, which I personally prefer.
From them I got to know several different idols, including one particular girl very similar to Momoe-chan... But that's a story for another time.
Thanks for reading and I hope you'll enjoy my posts from now on. :)
I
don’t really know why, and it probably don’t even have a reason, but Wink
became somewhat trendy nowadays among aidoru acts paying tribute to the long
gone 80s aidoru era. Initially, I was planning to write a bigger post about this,
commenting every act who payed homage to them this year (well, three acts, but
that’s already a good number), but one of them, which is Avex’s doll-like duo FEMM,
just recorded an updated cover of “Samishii Nettaigyo” (淋しい熱帯魚), and
the other, lovely and trashy aidoru duo Bed In (ベッド・イン),
didn’t quite succeed in making a good impression on me with their Wink tribute,
“CO.CO.RO Gradation” (CO・CO・RO グラデーション). Last but not least, there was
fairy w!ink, an HKT48 subunit comprised of Misaki Aramaki (荒巻美咲) and
Hirona Unjo (運上弘菜) that ended inspiring me to write about this subject
in the first place.
When
I was looking for some random stuff, I came across the cover of fairy w!ink’s
single “Tenshi wa Doko ni Iru?” and thought I was hallucinating while seeing a
Wink single I didn’t know in front of my eyes. Soon I realized it was a tribute
done right, but I’d never expect it to come from the AKB48 factory. While I
remember they’ve already done something similar with Seiko Matsuda before, I
didn’t think Wink was quite as iconic as Seiko-chan. Now I see they are probably
iconic enough, since three acts decided to pay tribute to them on the same
year.
“Tenshi
wa Doko ni Iru?”, which was released in December 2017, is a good mashup of Wink
and AKB48, both in the visuals and the sonority. We can hear the melodrama
that’s typical Wink, with the piano and all the classic European flourishes
backed by dance beats, while childish vocals coming from the two HKT48 members
just makes the whole thing more tender. As for the visuals, they emulate Wink’s seriousness and porcelain doll-like
expressions, but with some cheesy and cheap outfits… which, I think, is
something AKB48 and its sister groups could do better at this point (I do realize that they release a video for each song on their singles, but Wink was never that cheap-looking, even
if they wore some plastic accessories and over-the-top outfits all the time).
Overall,
I liked how the melody and arrangement were done in pure Wink fashion, while
still sounding somewhat modern (at least for AKB48 and J-Pop’s overall
standards nowadays). In the end, I kept thinking about some of Wink’s own
songs, like “Kitto Atsui Kuchibiru ~Remain~” (きっと熱いくちびる ～リメイン～) for example – and that’s a great
accomplishment since we’re talking about a tribute song –, but also meltia’s
“Shirobana no Corsage” (白薔薇のコサージュ).
Lyrics
were written by Yasushi Akimoto (秋元康), while music was composed by Daisuke Toyama (外山大輔). As
for the arrangement, APAZZI was the responsible.
I
would never expect to see LOS INDIOS paired with an NGT48 member any time, but
now we’re here with this song called “Daiteyaccha Sakuragicho”. To be honest,
this is very wrong in so many levels that I can’t even start, but the
possibility of this outrageous combination is the main reason why I love
Japanese pop music in the first place.
“Daiteyaccha
Sakuragicho” is a coupling track to the Type-B edition of NGT48’s “Sekai wa
Doko Made Aozora na no ka?” (世界はどこまで青空なのか?) single, which was released in
December 2017. As a song, it’s a return to Showa Era Kayo Kyoku in great style,
and I even enjoy Rika Nakai's awkward squeaky vocals backed by the Latin beat, a
wailing guitar, dramatic strings and LOS INDIOS’ harmonies. Like I said
earlier, it doesn’t work properly, but its audacity makes up for all the bad
things. It vaguely reminds me “Kudokinagara Azabu Juuban” (口説きながら麻布十番), a
song released by the extinct SDN48 with Mino Monta (みのもんた)
back in 2011.
The “Sekai
wa Doko Made Aozora na no ka?” single reached #2 on the Oricon chart, selling
148,442 copies in the first week. Lyrics for the song were written by Yasushi
Akimoto (秋元康),
while music was composed by Kensuke Toyoda (豊田健甫). As
for the arrangement, Makoto Wakatabe (若田部誠) was the responsible.
The last time I wrote on an AKB48 song was around Halloween 2015 for the appropriately timed "Halloween Night". I may not be an aficionado of their brand of aidoru pop but when the melody goes for something a little more off the beaten path for them...such as 70s disco for "Halloween Night", I can be down for that.
Well, on an episode of "Uta Kon"（うたコン）late in May, the group appeared to perform something that was indeed out of the ordinary. Sounding like it was a folk song/romantic ballad created in Europe, "Negaigoto no Mochigusare" kept my attention due partly because of the marionette-like choreography and partly due to an arrangement that had me reminiscing of some of the "exotic" kayothat was coming out around those late 70s that I already referred to above. Of course, a song that sounds as if it came from the European countryside will have me thinking of Taeko Ohnuki（大貫妙子）by default.
Released right on May 31 2017, the J-Wiki write-up on "Negaigoto no Mochigusare" had AKB48's papa and lyricist Yasushi Akimoto（秋元康）and composer Shiori Uchiyama（内山栞）going for the feeling of a Russian folk song in 6/8 time. For me, I was thinking of a melancholy waltz. The Wikipedia translation of the song has it as "Wishful Tumbling" which is quite vague to me; mochigusare is translated on Jisho.org as "unused possession" or something that is being wasted away from disuse, so perhaps "The Unwanted Part of a Wish" might be the more down-to-earth and harsher translation. From taking a cursory look at Akimoto's lyrics, AKB48 is singing about wishing everyone on the planet to be happy but being quite realistic about it. Total happiness may be as easy to grab as a mirage of apples but at least continuing to hope for it means that all hope is not lost.
There's not much of an explanation about the official music video on Wikipedia but there is one on J-Wiki. An elementary school in Shizuoka Prefecture (the place for green tea) closed for the last time on March 19 2017 so there was an air of the inevitability of parting as being such sweet sorrow which was what Akimoto wanted as the theme for the song. So several days before the official closing, some of the members of AKB48 paid a surprise visit to the school and the kids with the song being performed there.
Some of the comments I've come across about the song have not been too complimentary which I'm not too surprised about. "Negaigoto no Mochigusare" has a melody which might have caught at least some of the fans off-guard and may be seen as being too melancholy or just plain too old-fashioned. As someone who likes the old stuff, though, I don't mind it at all and it makes for an interesting change from the usual pop and disco (which I also like). In any event, it has become another No. 1 as the group's 48th single but of course we'll just have to wait and see how it does on the yearly charts.
