A Couple of Playlists

 

Hello there. J-Canuck here and though I've put up the apple pie photo, this isn't an APB for a mystery song from yesteryear. 

Talha Yousuf

Tomomiko202

I was informed earlier today that a couple of YouTube channels as noted above came up with a couple of playlists with the "Kayo Kyoku Plus" title to distinguish them. As much as I appreciate them spreading the good word regarding the old Japanese pop music as we ourselves have for the past fourteen years, I would just like to set the record straight that the two channels never contacted me regarding the title and vice versa. So, basically, I am not sponsoring the playlists and they have no direct connection with this blog.

Now, back to your regularly scheduled KKP reading.

Reiko Takahashi -- Let me into your place ~Sunset Road~（サンセット・ロード）

 

(Admittedly, what's written below may be old news to her fans so please bear with me here.)

In the years that we've been writing on "Kayo Kyoku Plus", we've realized that a few singers got their fifteen minutes of fame only to disappear completely from view. Takako Mamiya（間宮貴子）and Meiko Nakahara（中原めいこ）are two notable examples. Maybe another one was Reiko Takahashi（高橋玲子）who a lot of fans know for her super cheerful City Pop "Sunset Road". She released her two singles in the late 1980s and that was all she wrote seemingly.

Well, commenter Robert B. contacted me last week and informed me that he had found this new Reiko Takahashi YouTube channel established by the singer herself on January 27th last week, which includes a video containing a brief statement of gratitude from her for her fans' support back in the 1980s and currently. The number of comments for it has made a steady line upwards.

Then a few days later, the YouTube channel Kimi no Station: The Home of City Pop posted an English-language version of Takahashi's "Sunset Road" with the added subtitle of "Let me into your place". According to the blurb under the video, this version was only available on the tape cassette form of the July 1st 1987 single.

Also through the blurb, I discovered that Takahashi under the new name of Rayko was a part of an all-Japanese house band that played on Season 5 of "The Eric Andre Show" back in 2020. You can see her at the upper right of the screen at the 8-second mark. Plus, you can check out her Instagram account. Thanks to Robert B. for the tip.

All-Points Bulletin: What is This Chinese cover song?

 

We have the apple pie up there which means that this is another All-Points Bulletin article, the first one for 2026. 

Last September, YouTuber Neff Sang contacted me regarding a few Chinese covers of Japanese songs that he couldn't identify so he asked us for some help. Eventually, most of them were identified. However, he's contacted me in the last couple of days for a song by Cheng Lin（程琳）that was released above in 1983 which can be found at 21:57 of the above video containing the album "Little Conch"（小螺号）. The song title is 「春水湾湾」but he would like to know what the original Japanese song is. 

Neff gave me an additional tidbit in that the original song was created by Kunihiko Suzuki（鈴木邦彦）. He's also provided the same song down below albeit under a different arrangement although he's stated that it was also from the same year of 1983. Unfortunately, I couldn't identify the song but if any of you take a listen and can identify it, please let us know.

The 76th NHK Kohaku Utagassen Lineup for December 31st 2025（第76回NHK紅白歌合戦）

 

Well, since the Japanese "Buzzwords and Catchphrases of the Year" were announced last week, it was probably time for the Kohaku Utagassen lineup to be presented very soon. I think it's the first time that I've heard it coming on a Friday but that's no problem. As usual, the hoopla begins at 7:20 pm JST on NHK on December 31st 2025 at NHK Hall in Shibuya, Tokyo.

【Red Team】

AiNA THE END（1st appearance）

Aimyon（7）

ILLIT（2）

Lilas Ikuta（1）

Sayuri Ishikawa（48）

Hiromi Iwasaki（15）

aespa（1）

CANDY TUNE（1）

Fuyumi Sakamoto（37）

Mariko Takahashi（7）

Chanmina（1）

Yoshimi Tendo（30）

Nogizaka46（11）

HANA（1）

Perfume（17）

Humbert Humbert（1）

FRUITS ZIPPER（1）

MISIA（10）

Kaori Mizumori（23)

LiSA（4）

AKB48 (13)

【White Team】

&TEAM（1）

ORANGE RANGE（3）

King ＆ Prince（6）

Toshinobu Kubota（2）

Hiromi Go（38）

Sakanaction（2）

Junretsu（8）

SixTONES (4)

TUBE（3）

Number_i（2）

Leon Niihama（2）

Vaundy（3）

back number (2)

BE:FIRST（4）

Masaharu Fukuyama（18）

Akira Fuse（26）

Mrs. GREEN APPLE（3）

Hiroshi Miyama（11）

M!LK（1）

Radwimps (3)

Kenshi Yonezu (3)

Masaharu Fukuyama (18)

【Special Guests】

Masaaki Sakai

Kiyoshi Hikawa

Gen Hoshino

Koji Tamaki

Yumi Matsutoya

Eikichi Yazawa

Masaharu Fukuyama

Koshi Inaba

Seiko Matsuda

Your congenial hosts will be comedian Hiroiki Ariyoshi（有吉弘行）, actress Haruka Ayase（綾瀬はるか）, actress Mio Imada（今田美桜）and NHK announcer Naoko Suzuki（鈴木奈穂子）.

Some thoughts from me:

1) After some years in the wilderness following the Johnny Kitagawa incident, SMILE-UP (formerly Johnny's Entertainment) is allowing one act, King & Prince, to make its appearance on the New Year's Eve special. According to the website "Sports Hochi", fellow groups SixTONES and Snow Man had also received offers from NHK, but both of them politely declined.

2) There are a lot of new acts who I've never heard of...such as &TEAM and Chanmina（ちゃんみな）, so I'll be looking forward to what they will do on stage.

3) The one omission that I was surprised about was the one for enka singer Keisuke Yamauchi（山内惠介）. He'd been on the show ten times and I thought that he was another shoo-in for an eleventh appearance with a song by Ringo Shiina（椎名林檎）, who is also not appearing this year. 

4) There will be a number of veteran performers who hadn't appeared in many years such as TUBE and Toshinobu Kubota（久保田利伸）. However, I will have a special place in my heart for Hiromi Iwasaki（岩崎宏美）, who is showing up for the first time in 37 years. She was one of the first singers who I fell for when I got into kayo kyoku in the first place and she was on the very first Kohaku I ever saw which was the 32nd edition in 1981.

5) For the fans, you may want to get your tissues ready for Perfume. The trio will be taking an indefinite break after their performance on the Kohaku (forever or not, I don't know).

6) LiSA is back. Will she be performing "Gurenge"（紅蓮華）from "Kimetsu no Yaiba"（鬼滅の刃）again?

What everyone will be singing probably won't be announced until December. And as has often been the case, there will be changes in the lineup through additions most likely. Any announcements on these changes will be posted below over the coming days and weeks leading up to New Year's Eve. You can also take a look at the J-Wiki article on No. 76.

December 3: AKB48 will be officially joining the show as part of the Red team.

December 4: The band Radwimps will be officially joining the show as part of the White team.

December 6: SixTONES will be officially joining the show as part of the White team.

December 11: The band back number will be officially joining the show as part of the White team.

December 16: Gen Hoshino will be joining the broadcast as a special guest.

December 18: Koji Tamaki will be joining the broadcast as a special guest.

December 19: The song list for the teams has been posted.

December 22: Yumi Matsutoya will be joining the broadcast as a special guest.

December 23: Kenshi Yonezu will be officially joining the show as part of the White team.

December 24: The broadcast will begin with a "NHK 100th Anniversary Special Medley".

December 25: Eikichi Yazawa will be joining the broadcast as a special guest.

December 27: Masaharu Fukuyama will both appear as a member of the White team and as a special guest. He and Koshi Inaba of B'z will be collaborating.

December 28: Seiko Matsuda will be joining the broadcast as a special guest.

All-Points Bulletin: What is This Song?

 

Hello and welcome to the first full work week of October 2025 on KKP. Hopefully, you are having a good start and with the photo of the apple pie on top, it's time for another All-Points Bulletin.

I received a contact from Gilbert a few days ago regarding an old kayo kyoku from when he was just a child that he would like to identify but currently cannot. He played a little under a minute of it through this Google link on his piano so you can give a listen to it. The only information that Gilbert could give me was that it had been sung by a woman and it's probably from the 1970s. 

At first thought, I assumed that it was "Seishun Jidai"（青春時代）by Koichi Morita and The Top Gallants but of course, that was sung by a male group and the melody from Gilbert's excerpt doesn't fully follow the original melody. In any case, have a listen and if you can help out, let us know!

All-Points Bulletin: What are these Chinese cover songs?

 

Ladies and gentlemen, the apple pie is up there so it's time for another APB on KKP. YouTuber Neff Sang contacted me to see if I could identify a few songs on this 1986 album of Chinese covers of original Japanese and Western songs. From the blurb underneath the video at YouTube:

Zhang Qiang's 9th album! Released in mid 1986.

This album sees Zhang Qiang returning to Yunnan Audiovisual Press (the company her first two albums were made by) 

This cassette features several covers of Japanese songs, some originally by Seiko Matsuda (松田 聖子) and Momoe Yamaguchi (山口 百惠).

It also features a few tracks by another singer, Huang Wenjun, who sings well too.

Album: 美丽的一天 (Beautiful Day)

Year: 1986/06

Singers: 张蔷 (Zhang Qiang) & 黄文君 (Huang Wenjun)

Also feel free to head over to YouTube itself.

Tracks:

00:00 爱情在心间 (裸足の季節)

03:45 流逝的情感 （光阴的故事）

06:52 风的季节 [黄文君]

10:14 潜入深深的海洋 (I See A Boat On The River) [黄文君]

14:05 美丽的一天 (Unknown English song! Please comment below!)

18:16 真挚的情爱 (赤い衝撃)

21:20 放牧之路 [黄文君]

23:43 红色的鲜花 (赤いスイートピー)

27:56 白兰鸽 (Una Paloma Blanca)

32:19 春诗 (A Comme Amour) [黄文君]

35:36 黑色的眼睛

38:34 旅行 (Unknown Japanese song! Please comment below!)

Neff has been able to identify most of them but there are three that he's still not solved. I've highlighted them in Bold. I tried the various search engines including the one for JASRAC with the titles but alas, I haven't been successful. Maybe you will!

September 21st 2025: An update on the APB. Through Reddit, Neff was able to discover that the song at 38:34 was originally by folk singer-songwriter Masamitsu Tayama（田山雅充）and was titled "Tabi ni Detai"（旅に出たい） from May 1977. Also according to Neff, there was a Yoko Kishi（芹洋子） cover of "Tabi ni Detai" in 1978 which he feels is closest to Zhang's cover several years later (the lyrics can be found here). As well, I have to once again admit to my sieve-like memories because I had actually written about this very song a few years ago since it was also covered by Kyo Nishimura（西村協）in 1982.

Also, the identity of the mystery song at 14:05 has been found. It's actually the cover of a Donna Summer song "Dim All The Lights". So, that just leaves the one at 21:20.

December 15th 2025: I've written up an article on both Tayama's and Kishi's versions.

All-Points Bulletin: Find That Album?!

 

To wrap up today's trio of articles, last night I received a contact from Edward and since you see the apple pie up there, the KKP veterans know that this is the blog symbol for an All-Points Bulletin.

However, the APB isn't for the title and/or singer of a mystery song. There is no aural sample here this time. Edward is searching for an album that is City Pop-related from the 80s or 90s but doesn't know the singer or title here. He did give me a general description, though.

-girl standing in front of a yellow wall

-album title appears above her in bold black letters

-she's wearing a black skirt but no information on the shirt

I decided to play Police Sketch Artist and tried to come up with something through the Bing AI generator. The above is the result but of course, I wasn't trying to come up with anything amazing that could resemble the album cover. It's just a general idea and maybe that could be enough to jog some City Pop-loving minds out there about what this album is and who the singer is. Maybe someone out there actually owns it. Let's see if there's a nibble.

April 25th 2025: Looks like we've had a quick and happy resolution to the mystery. Edward was able to find and identify the album that he'd been searching for. It's Seiko Sato's（佐藤聖子）"Bright Lights" from 1992. The track below is "Moonlight Wolf".

Announcement: Labels got Limits?

 

Well, with all of us contributing to "Kayo Kyoku Plus" in one way or another for a long thirteen years and change, I have always wondered whether we would hit limits. I'm talking about running out of space for articles for example. Thankfully, that hasn't come to pass thus far. However, it may be a different story when it comes to the Labels section on the right side of the blog.

The screenshot above is too small to see without squinting really hard (and you don't want to do that to your eyes) but when I was scrolling down earlier today, I discovered that Labels now only goes as far as Michie Tomizawa before it abruptly stops showing. It means that folks and genres and numbers of articles beyond "Mi" cannot be seen, perhaps because I finally hit my limit there...and yep, your wrist might get a nice workout going down all that far.

I've sent an email over to the good folks at Blogger Administration and I hope that I can get an answer on whether anything can be done to fix this. In the meantime, all I can advise is that you can plummet down further into the bottom burgundy zone past "Plus Past" and insert your favourite singer or song title into "Search This Blog". I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that a resolution can be found. Maybe it's just my computer doing this...it's not exactly a spring chicken anymore.

February 21st 2025: Well, it looks like at around 9:30 pm last night, Blogger Administration restored all of my Labels, so my thanks to them. And also to commenter Robert who was kind enough to monitor the situation as you can see through our conversation below. If indeed Blogger allows a maximum of 5,000 items for Labels, then I've got a little over 500 left.

Primer: What is Japanese City Pop?/DJ Notoya's Tokyo Bliss

 

The above AI Bing image was one of the first I concocted after throwing the title for Miki Matsubara's（松原みき）City Pop classic into the image creator. I hadn't been aware that begging that guy to stay with the lass at midnight involved luring him with McDonalds fries!

Anyways, my good wishes are belated but congratulations to "Mayonaka no Door"（真夜中のドアー）on its 45th anniversary which occurred last November. However, I am using this space and time for something a bit more unusual, and it's to let City Pop fans know of a couple of media creations.

Once again, this first one is a belated affair but the music podcast "Primer" started its run last May with an episode devoted to Matsubara and her debut album "Pocket Park" from 1980. Host Christian Dueñas, music writer Yosuke Kitazawa and radio/tv presenter Linda Marigliano spend the better part of an hour discussing and enjoying the various tracks including the most famous one on it. A couple of days ago, I'd been looking for any sort of podcast to while away the time as I was typing something else when I stumbled upon "Primer" and enjoyed it quite a lot. I've also come across another several "Primer" episodes here as well, so why not give them a spin as well?

The second creation is actually the opposite of my discovery of "Primer" in that it has yet to be released. If the name DJ Notoya is familiar to you, then you probably own a copy of his City Pop compilation "Tokyo Glow" from 2021. And from there, I was able to find out about and post a few songs from that album such as Kumi Nakamura's（中村久美）"Kimagure"（気まぐれ）.

Well, this time around, a new DJ Notoya album is coming out on February 14th 2025 titled "Tokyo Bliss", and it is once again chock-filled with songs of the genre between 1974 and 1988. One of those tracks is Kumiko Sawada's（沢田久美子）"Your Love's Away". The only difference here is that "Tokyo Bliss" will just be the one LP or CD instead of the two-record set of "Tokyo Glow".

The 75th NHK Kohaku Utagassen Lineup for December 31st 2024（第75回NHK紅白歌合戦）

 

I figured that since we've passed the midway mark of November, it would be time for the lineup announcement for the Red and White teams for this year's edition of NHK's annual Kohaku Utagassen. And sure enough, just before I went to bed last night, the lineup had come out. By the way, the Kohaku will be televised from 7:20 pm JST on December 31st at NHK Hall in Shibuya, Tokyo.

Red Team

Aiko (15th appearance)

Aimyon (6)

Illit (1)

Sayuri Ishikawa (47)

Iruka (2)

HY (3)

Fuyumi Sakamoto (36)

Sakurazaka 46 (4)

Ringo Shiina (9)

Superfly (8)

Mariko Takahashi (6)

tuki. (1)

Yoshimi Tendo (29)

Twice (5)

Nogizaka 46 (10)

Me:I (1)

Misia (9)

Kaori Mizumori (22)

Ryokuoushoku Shakai (3)

Le Sserafim (3)

White Team

Omoinotake (1)

Creepy Nuts (1)

GLAY (4)

Hiromi Go (37)

Kocchi no Kento (1)

The Alfee (2)

JO1 (3)

Junretsu (7)

Da-iCE (1)

Together x Together (1)

Number_i (1)

Leon Niihama (1)

Be:First (2)

Masaharu Fukuyama (17)

Fujii Kaze (3)

Gen Hoshino (10)

Mrs. Green Apple (2)

Minami Kosetsu (6)

Hiroshi Miyama (10)

Keisuke Yamauchi (10)

Special Guest -- Kiyoshi Hiyama (24)

Your congenial hosts will be comedian Hiroiki Ariyoshi（有吉弘行）, actress Kanna Hashimoto（橋本環奈）, actress Sairi Ito（伊藤沙莉）and NHK announcer Naoko Suzuki（鈴木奈穂子）.

Some thoughts from me:

1) I kinda figured that either or both Creepy Nuts and Kocchi no Kento（こっちのけんと）would be showing up because of their catchy songs and dances. We might get everyone in NHK Hall participating during their performances. Not sure if the liniment or Salon-Pas will be available, though.

2) I had read a few days ago from the not-most-reliable source in Japan that no act associated with SMILE-UP (formerly Johnny's Entertainment) would be appearing on the Kohaku for the second year in a row, but it has now been confirmed. However, Number_i consists of three former members of King and Prince though this group is now under the TOBE Music label.

3) Mariko Takahashi（高橋真梨子）, Minami Kosetsu（南こうせつ）, The Alfee and Iruka（イルカ）are returning which warms my old kayo kyoku heart. Almost all of them have roots in folk music so will we be getting some of their 1970s material? The Alfee is appearing for just their second time on the Kohaku; the first time they appeared was on the 34th edition back in 1983 which was one of the earliest times that I ever watched the show. Maybe they'll take another swing at "MARIE-ANNE".

4) Of course, there will be the panel of celebrity judges. Will baseball phenom Shohei Ohtani（大谷翔平）be one of them?

What everyone will be singing probably won't be announced until December. And as has often been the case, there will be changes in the lineup through additions most likely. Any announcements on these changes will be posted below over the coming days and weeks leading up to New Year's Eve. You can also take a look at the Wikipedia article on No. 75.

December 12th: Fuyumi Sakamoto will be doing her performance from Wajima City in Ishikawa Prefecture which was struck by a major earthquake on January 1st 2024.

December 13th: Singer Kana Nishina will be joining the Red Team. She resumed her singing career in June following a 4-year hiatus.

December 18th: The lineup of guest judges for the Kohaku was announced. Nope, no Shohei Ohtani but the panel includes the creator of the manga "Case Closed", a couple of Olympic athletes and former Kohaku host, comedian Teruyoshi Uchimura（内村光良）.

December 19th: Koji Tamaki（玉置浩二）of Anzen Chitai（安全地帯）will appear as a special guest and sing "Kanashimi ni Sayonara"（悲しみにさよなら）.

December 20th: Singer-songwriter Kenshi Yonezu（米津玄師）will appear as a special guest.

December 21st: There will be a tribute to the late actor/singer Toshiyuki Nishida（西田敏行）who appeared on the Kohaku four times. Keiko Takeshita（竹下景子）, Tetsuya Takeda（武田鉄矢）, Ken Tanaka（田中健）and Shigeru Matsuzaki（松崎しげる）will perform "Moshi mo Piano ga Hikareta nara"（もしもピアノが弾けたなら）, the song that Nishida had sung on the 32nd edition of the program.

December 23rd: The songs that everyone will be performing have been listed in Japanese and English.

December 24th: There will be a "Disney Fantasy Medley" (which probably means that Jme viewers will be listening to Muzak and/or watching a still photo during that time due to copyright issues...sigh😔).

December 25th: B'z will be appearing as a special guest.

December 26th: The order of appearance of the performers has been established. Gen Hoshino's choice of song has been changed.

December 27th: Akiko Yano（矢野顕子）will be appearing with Misia. Also, comedians Noritake Kinashi（木梨憲武）and George Tokoro（所ジョージ）will be appearing as guests supporting singer Leon Niihama.

December 28th: Seiyuu Ayumu Murase（村瀬歩）and Aoi Yuuki（悠木碧）will be providing narration for video footage.

December 29th: There will be a spinoff dramatic segment for previous NHK morning serial drama "The Tiger and Her Wings" presented during the Kohaku.

All-Points Bulletin: Name Those Tunes

Ladies and gentlemen, it's been a most interesting November Monday on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" as I've posted a couple of ROY articles to Jack Jones and Quincy Jones due to their recent departures, and now for the first time since June this year, we have a new All-Points Bulletin for a rash of songs. Of course, we have the official image up for an APB: the apple pie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_sbgUSIOfg (A2)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYCruL9qnEI (A3)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_h9mHivKhg (A6)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqsPE9_6o4k (B1)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0bNcOCfxeU (B5)

Jeff Song contacted me yesterday to see if I could identify the original singers for the above Chinese covers of Japanese tunes via an old compilation tape that he had come across. He was able to identify the singers for some of them except for six tunes. One of the six samples that I received was actually a cover of the Asami Kado（門あさ美）song "Season" but unfortunately the other five are unknown to me although they seem to cover the City Pop/pop range. So, I'm now passing on the task to you viewers to see if you may be able to identify these mystery songs.

On that note, I have to congratulate the successful conclusion of a long quest to identify what was known as The Most Mysterious Song On The Internet which is now known as "Subways of Your Mind" by FEX. Perhaps this might give Jeff and everyone some inspiration.

November 9th 2024 Update: Jeff was able to find out the original songs for the above covers through Netease, so allow me to share them with you.

A2 is a cover of 恋のエピローグ by 下成佐登子 (Satoko Shimonari)

A3 is a cover of 涙のソリティア by 石川優子 (Yuko Ishikawa)

A6 is a cover of Fly Away by 八神 純子 (Junko Yagami)

B1 is a cover of 恋舟 by 永尾美代子 (Miyoko Nagao)

B5 is a cover of 渚でFu-wa Fu-wa 下成佐登子 (Satoko Shimonari)

Glad to hear that another mystery has been solved.

All-Points Bulletin: Name That Tune

 

You see the apple pie up there which is the official KKP symbol for Name That Tune. In other words, we have another in the Lostwave series for any and all of us to try to identify. I was given word about this particular song by Avery earlier today and according to the YouTube description, it's supposed to be "...from a promotional S-VHS made in the late 1980s & sold in Japan".

Listening to it, I figured that it was indeed a 1980s tune and a pretty catchy one at that. One YouTube commenter surmised that this song was perhaps not supposed to be released, and I'm also wondering about its status as well. It's certainly slick R&B but there is also something about it that hints that it was more to be used as the background music for that VHS VCR or a scene from an action movie of that decade than an actual song to be put onto an album or single. However, have a go at it and enjoy the photo of young and glamourous Brooke Shields!

Congratulations, Akina (and Kiyose Station) ! You're Part of a Train Network!

 

Yes, I am wondering whether she got the good news by telephone or by LINE icons.

I got the good news this morning while I was watching NHK on Jme. Kiyose Station on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line seems to be the main depot in the city of Kiyose within Metropolitan Tokyo where pop superstar Akina Nakamori（中森明菜）had been raised. Well, in commemoration of the 100th birthday of the station, the new arrival and departure chimes now consist of Akina hits.

The departure chime is based on "Second Love"（セカンド・ラブ）which I had mentioned about in my list of favourite female ballads the other day. And then "Desire"（-情熱-）was designated as the arrival chime. It looks like the locals were also over the moon at the revelation. Now, there is enhanced reason for fans to make that pilgrimage to their heroine's hometown.

All-Points Bulletin: Name That Tune

 

It was just a couple of days ago that I put up that APB for a mystery song relayed to us by Javier. And now today, here is one courtesy of Robert.

As with Javier's "Dreaming", this one known as "Celine" has been given either the Vaporwave or Japanese Future Funk treatment. The video above is at least a decade old and I'd like to thank YouTuber luxury elite for "buying" Canadian. All joking aside though, Robert admits that the music used here may not have anything to do with Japan at all, but it's still very pleasant to listen to in a "Can I have another Orange Mimosa, please? I'll put it on my American Express" sort of way.

Robert actually sent me the link to a slightly altered version of "Celine".

https://www.reddit.com/r/citypop/comments/1b6r45p/does_anybody_know_what_this_song_is_it_was/

Could it be Terumasa Hino（日野皓正）, famed trumpet player of Japan? I've got no idea. But if you do, let all of us know.

All-Points Bulletin: Name That Tune

 

Just to remind folks, whenever there is a situation where I can't come up with the appropriate thumbnail for a certain song, I usually post up an apple pie. Well, here it is.

https://soundcloud.com/cosmjc/dreaming

Earlier this morning, I received a request from Javier leading to an APB (about a month since the last one) for a Future Funk-ized tune called "Dreaming" as arranged by Cosmjc Burrito. It certainly sounds like something in the City Pop vein. What we could get from the lyrics sound thusly:

I've got a dreaming that you wanna do

kanojo no hitomi ni | 彼女の瞳に |

I've got a dreaming that you wanna do

kanojo no hitomi ni | 彼女の瞳に|

I've got a feeling that you wanna do

hadaka no kokoro by | 裸の心で|

I've got a feeling that you wanna do

aishiau | 愛し合う

I tried to punch in the lyrics into Yahoo.jp but didn't get anything there although the dynamic music sounds like what the 90s song-and-dance group ZOO used to do. However, I put it out to you readers. If you know what the original song, let us know.

Also, Cosmjc Burrito has his own YouTube channel so you can listen to some of his other creations.

March 26th 2024: Case closed!

All-Points Bulletin: Name That Tune (Hello, Korean Bee!)

 

In the past, I've been asked about the identity of some mystery Japanese songs and so when requested as such, I've put up these APBs regarding them. Sometimes we get a happy resolution and sometimes we don't. 

Over the last couple of days, I've received a couple of comments...one by a person named Korean Bee possibly regarding an excerpt of a tune that you can hear above. Supposedly it's tugged at thousands of ears and to be honest, someone had told me about this some months ago as well. Aside from an immediate comment from me, I hadn't done anything about it because it wasn't part of the kayo kyoku world. But now I figure since I'm doing my own contributions to past Western music via the weekly ROY articles, heck why not put out an APB on this one, too?

My thoughts on this excerpt are that it's either from an 80s song that was never released or was never meant to be released. Perhaps, it may even be a contemporary concoction from an enterprising music maker in this century or decade that is emulating the 80s pop sound. Who knows? But I am putting it out there in the public interest.

April 29th 2024: Well, it looks like we've had a happy resolution to this mystery song thanks to an anonymous commenter under my latest article. It's called "Ulterior Motives" (although I don't think there is anything ulterior from what I've heard in the above video) by Chris S. Booth and it was part of a soundtrack for a 1986 porn movie called "Angels of Passion". I know that in all likelihood most of us are adults here but still I'd like to warn folks that the above video has the sound of the two angels expressing their "passion" (that video has been taken down and replaced). 

As well, the commenter has given the link to an article on the unraveling of the mystery as written by Tom Breihan. Anyways, congratulations to all who were able to finally solve this APB.

The 74th NHK Kohaku Utagassen Lineup for December 31st 2023（第74回NHK紅白歌合戦）

 

Well, we are going into the middle of November which means in Japan that it's time for the announcement of the lineup of both the Red and White teams for the annual Kohaku Utagassen on NHK scheduled for December 31st 2023 from 7:20 pm. The venue will be NHK Hall in Shibuya, Tokyo.

Anyways, here is the lineup for the 74th edition:

Red Team

Artist                                     No. of Appearances

Aimyon                                        5

Atarashii Gakko no Leaders        1

Ado                                              1

ano                                               1

Sayuri Ishikawa                          46

Ran Ito                                         1

Fuyumi Sakamoto                      35

Sakurazaka 46                             3

Ringo Shiina                               8

JUJU                                           2

Superfly                                      7

Yoshimi Tendo                           28

NiziU                                          4

Nogizaka 46                               9

Perfume                                     16

Misia                                          8

MISAMO                                   1

Kaori Mizumori                         21

milet                                           4

YOASOBI                                  3

Ryokuoushoku Shakai                2

LE SSERAFIM                           2

White Team

Elephant Kashimashi                   2

Yo Oizumi                                    1

Official Hige Dandism                 4

Tatsuya Kitani                              1

Hiromi Go                                   36

Masashi Sada                              22

JO1                                               2

Junretsu                                        6

Masayuki Suzuki                         6

Strawberry Prince                        1

SEVENTEEN                              1

10-FEET                                      1

BE:FIRST                                    2

Masaharu Fukuyama                   16

Fumiya Fujii                                6

Gen Hoshino                                9

MAN WITH A MISSION           1

Mrs. GREEN APPLE                  1

Hiroshi Miyama                           9

Keisuke Yamauchi                       9

Yuzu                                             14

Your congenial hosts will be comedian Hiroiki Ariyoshi（有吉弘行）, actress Kanna Hashimoto（橋本環奈）, actress Minami Hamabe（浜辺美波）and NHK announcer Kozo Takase（高瀬耕造）.

As usual, there is the mix of the veterans and newbies. Atarashii Gakko no Leaders（新しい学校のリーダーズ）getting invited was a foregone conclusion considering the year they had with "Otonablue"（オトナブルー）, and when they made their appearance on "Uta Con"（うたコン）some weeks ago, it was pretty much a lock for that invitation. Ran Ito（伊藤蘭）was a surprise since she hadn't appeared on the Kohaku since the 1970s when she was part of aidoru group Candies but recently she's been on a solo tour, and her daughter, actress and singer Shuri（趣里）, is currently the star in the morning serial drama "Boogie Woogie"（ブギウギ）. Also, nice to see Fumiya Fujii（藤井フミヤ）of the 80s rock n' roll band Checkers come back onto the Shibuya stage. Masaharu Fukuyama（福山雅治）and Misia are back as well so I'm assuming that they will be finishing up the special as they have in the past.

What everyone will be singing probably won't be announced until December. And as has often been the case, there will be changes in the lineup through additions most likely. If any of you have any thoughts on the lineup thus far, let us know below.

November 13 2023: Considering the artists that we lost over this year so far: Yukihiro Takahashi（高橋幸宏）, Ryuichi Sakamoto（坂本龍一）, Shinji Tanimura（谷村新司）, Yoshinori Monta（もんたよしのり）and Junko Ohashi（大橋純子）at the very least, I was wondering whether there may be a special tribute medley to them via their most famous works.

November 29 2023: Queen + Adam Lambert have been confirmed as special guests in commemoration of the band's 50th anniversary.

December 7: There will be a special segment commemorating 70 years of television in Japan which will feature some of the big hits that were relayed through the medium. Former Kohaku Utagassen and "The Best 10" host Tetsuko Kuroyanagi（黒柳徹子）will be the special guest.

December 15: As a part of that special segment above, actor-singer Akira Terao（寺尾聰）will be making an appearance.

December 16: As a part of that special segment above, the bands Pocket Biscuits and Black Biscuits will be making an appearance.

December 21: As a part of that special segment above, actor-singer Hiroko Yakushimaru（薬師丸ひろ子）will be making an appearance.

December 22: The full song lineup has been released although it's the Japanese-language version thus far.

December 23: Host Hiroiki Ariyoshi（有吉弘行）and singer Fumiya Fujii（藤井フミヤ）will do a duet for "Shiroi Kumo no you ni"（白い雲のように...Like White Clouds） and there will be a special segment devoted to the 100th anniversary of the creation of the Disney brand. I'm personally worried about that latter development since TV Japan has had a penchant over the past year to not show anything related to Disney on Japanese TV shows, especially "Uta Con"（うたコン）due to copyright issues.

December 26: NHK has announced the order in which the performers will sing in both the first and second halves of the special. Looks like even the red-white-red-white order has gone the way of the dodo.

All-Points Bulletin: Name This Tune

 

Some minutes ago, I received word through the Contact Form about another mystery song lurking about to join the famous "Fly Away" Akiba tape. Dubbed "Wagamama"（わがまま...Selfish）, the explanation by uploader SPS is that it was digitally transferred by a Sony CFD-5 into Audacity. It's a wonderfully sung performance by the smoky-voiced (just about mahogany) chanteuse, and the whole thing reminds me of material that anyone like Miyuki Nakajima（中島みゆき）, Tokiko Kato（加藤登紀子）and Iruka（イルカ）have sung.

One commenter under the YouTube video has likened it to Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" while I also think it has similarities to "Jidai"（時代）by the aforementioned Nakajima. Also, it's important to note that one other commenter who has a hobby in sound engineering has indicated that it could be just someone who isn't in the industry at all but loves singing as her own hobby and simply made a home recording. The video has been up since last December so perhaps a number of you are already aware of it but just in case, at the person's request, I've put up this APB.

The 73rd NHK Kohaku Utagassen Lineup（第73回NHK紅白歌合戦）

 

I figured that it would be sometime this week that NHK would do it, but indeed earlier today, the national network announced the lineup for the 73rd Kohaku Utagassen. In an earlier blog entry this year, I had wondered whether the reformist-minded top 2 fellows would be swinging the axe at this venerable New Year's Eve special that has been around since the middle of the 20th century since they were willing to chop down a few shows that had been on NHK for decades. But it's back on and to be honest, I think that the board probably had to face the question of what else to put on in that huge 4-hour-and-25-minute hole that would appear on the December 31st schedule. As 2022 went by though, I figured that the show was returning, especially when "Uta Con"（うたコン）returned to the revamped NHK Hall in Shibuya, Tokyo and showed off its new bells and whistles.

Anyways, here is the lineup for No. 73.

Red Team                                 White Team

Artist No. of Appearances Artist No. of Appearances

IVE         1                                 Official HIGE DANdism 3

Aimyon 4                                 Kanjani Eight 11

Sayuri Ishikawa 45                 Kinki Kids 2

Uta (by Ado)            1                 King & Prince  5

Aimer                         1         King Gnu     2

Shizuka Kudo    9                     Hiromi Go 35

Fuyumi Sakamoto 34                 Saucy Dog 1

Ryoko Shinohara 2                     JO1  1

Superfly 6                                 Junretsu 5

Sekai no Owari 6                         Masayuki Suzuki 5

Yoshimi Tendo 27                         SixTONES  3

Twice 4                                     Snow Man  2

NiziU 3                                         Naniwa Danshi 1

Nogizaka46 8                         Vaundy  1

Perfume     15                         BE:FIRST  1

Hinatazaka 46  4                         Masaharu Fukuyama 15

Misia  7                                         Gen Hoshino  8

Kaoru Mizumori  20                 Daichi Miura  4

Milet  3                                     Hiroshi Miyama 8

Ryokuoushoku Shakai     1         Keisuke Yamauchi 8

Le Sserafim  1                                 Yuzu 13

Special: Kiyoshi Hikawa 23

(December 6: Fujii Kaze has been added to the White team for his 2nd appearance.)

(December 7: Yumi Matsutoya has been added as a special guest for her 6th appearance.)

(December 11: Yuzo Kayama has been added as a special guest.)

(December 11: milet, Aimer, Vaundy and ikura will perform for the Red team.)

(December 23: Anzen Chitai, The Last Rockstars, Jidai Okure no Rock n' Roll Band, back number

have been added to the show.)

The hosts for the special will be actors Yo Oizumi（大泉洋）, Kanna Hashimoto（橋本環奈）and NHK announcer Maho Kuwako（桑子真帆）. Special navigator Sho Sakurai（櫻井翔）, formerly of the group Arashi（嵐）, will also appear.

It will be nice to see Ryoko Shinohara（篠原涼子）and Superfly, Kinki Kids and Shizuka Kudo（工藤静香）again. I'm also looking forward to hearing Misia and Masayuki Suzuki（鈴木雅之）once more. I only heard about Vaundy within the last few weeks, and I've liked what I've heard so far so definitely anticipating his contribution. There will be some poignancy since both one member of Junretsu（純烈）and enka singer Kiyoshi Hikawa（氷川きよし）will be leaving singing for a while at least. Junretsu's Ryohei Odai（小田井涼平）will be going solo in some undetermined fashion in show business while Hikawa is taking a break. 

What the participants will sing on stage will probably be known sometime in the next few weeks, most likely into December. If any of you have any feelings on this lineup and/or, for that matter, any dashed hopes, please let us know. Also, I figure that there will be some last-minute surprises in store.

P.S. The songs that the participants will be singing have now been announced on Tokyo Hive.

Bin Uehara in Academia (上原敏の晴れ姿)

Oh, wow, it actually happened... So, a few months back, I mentioned that an academic paper I wrote on ryukoka star Bin Uehara (上原敏) was probably going to be published in a school publication accessible to anyone (with internet access). I am glad to say that it has actually come to pass! You can check it out on my school's International Relations Student Association (IRSA) website here if that's your cup of tea. You can read the papers of a couple of other students who had the same honour as me as well and support the IRSA's other endeavours if you'd like.

In a quick summary, I talked about how Bin-san's songs served as propaganda and morale boosters to Japanese soldiers and civilians during the Pacific War. More importantly, the overly optimistic and nationalistic light the lyrics presented had perhaps encouraged cruel optimism in this demographic for the sake of the country's glory. I.e., even though the country was in ruins and suffering was abundant, the hope of success and hApPy songs forced everyone forward, even if it proved harmful to them. 

To give my paper a narrower focus, I picked three of Bin-san's songs to analyse of traces of extreme patriotism and false hope. Spoiler, all three showcased overwhelming amounts of both these traits. I shall give you a rundown of my tunes of choice, but I shan't elaborate on them now and will let past Noelle do the talking in that paper. Future Noelle may do individual KKP features on them too.

The first of which was an Uehara classic, "Shanghai Dayori" (上海だより) from 1938. Not one of my personal favourite Bin-san serenades, but it was perhaps the song that made me write about this topic.

The next two are a little more obscure, but they were chosen due to them being collaborations Bin-san had with other popular singers at the time. One of them was "Naki Warai no Jinsei" (泣き笑ひの人生) from 1938, which was a duet with Uehara's senior, Taro Shoji (東海林太郎). I wonder if this would have been considered a "yume-corabo" (dream collaboration) back in the day. I would've deemed it such.

The final song was a pretty large group project that included the likes of the Batayan (Yoshio Tabata...田端義夫), and that was "Bakudan kurai ha te de uke yo" (爆弾くらいは手で受けよ) from 1941. Uehara sang with Shimeka Asakusa (浅草〆香), Shiro Omi (近江志郎), and Kimisakae Nihonbashi (日本橋きみ栄). This one is the more blatant in terms of war propaganda among the three, I feel.

I had written this paper for a media and pop culture theory class during the Spring semester some months ago. Looking at it again, I could have definitely spiced it up more, but with a fried brain and a limited word count, that was the best I could do at the time. I think I would consider it my favourite paper I've written in my almost four years at school, which says a lot since I dislike/hate most of them. Perhaps it's because I felt that my understanding of the theory I used was stronger compared to some of my other papers. Come to think of it, it's like one of my long KKP articles :) ... Sans the effusive husbando gushing and sarcasm, of course.

I do feel... happy? Cathartic, I think. Because it proves this statement, "I want to learn more about Japanese culture and enka music", which I made when trying to apply for undergraduate programs in Japan, was not void of meaning after all. I could write about enka on an academic level. With Christine R. Yano and her "Tears of Longing" (2002), gifted to me by KKP reader Francium years ago, as my inspiration, I had come to that realisation in my sophomore year. I began to use whatever opportunity I could in relevant classes to do so, probably to the ire of some professors. Getting near Yano's level of a proper publication and contributing to her work, however, seemed like a goal not meant for my undergraduate studies. Then came this writing contest, which I didn't even see as such an opportunity until much later. Of course, I am nowhere near Yano's level. I still have no idea what I'm doing. The words "theoretical framework" and "methodology" still give me heart palpitations. But, I would like to see this as a first step. I did not expect this first step to be with Bin-san, though. 

To round things off, here is Uehara's "Otoko Hare Sugata" (男晴れ姿) from 1941, which was where I first made mention of the paper and of why I wanted this song to represent this mini achievement of mine. Cheers, Bin-san.

The publication's cover

P.S. I could be wrong, but I don't think there has been English literature spotlighting Uehara. At least, not in my hunt for sources there hasn't. If that were actually the case, and if this piece qualifies as proper academic literature, I would find it hilarious that it was my ode to one of my Husbandos that actually became the first one.

P.S.S. I know it's not my usual KKP article, but I just wanted to share this recent kayo-related project I had done with you guys.