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.
Last night's "Uta Con"（うたコン）was quite good. It was one of the occasional kakudai（拡大）, or extended, specials at 75 minutes with the overall theme of spring. The show had a good variety of singers including the first-time appearance, if I'm indeed correct, of pop singer-songwriter Kaela Kimura（木村カエラ）.
Kimura first performed her wedding-reception favourite, "Butterfly", and then she returned to do a rather happily eclectic number called "MAGNETIC" with a couple of dancers dressed like conventional U-shaped magnets. Then I saw the above video for which I realized that she hadn't been alone when she recorded this track for an album of the same name which had been released in December 2022.
One thing about Kimura is that she can create tunes which are so catchy that everyone aged 5 to 99 can get in on the fun. For the little tykes, her voice and lyrics are the thing while for the older folks, it's the beats. I think that was the case for her 2020 "ZIG ZAG" with rapper BIM, and "MAGNETIC" is her collaboration with R&B singer AI. Her cute-as-all-heck sing-songy vocals are paired with AI's rap in the middle. Not surprisingly, both performers were responsible for the lyrics while Mito（ミト）, the bandmaster for Clammbon（クラムボン）, took care of music and arrangement.
Kimura also did a First Take performance of "MAGNETIC" a couple of months ago.
As the expression goes, "Hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.", or something thereabouts. That's probably been the case with the long-running Suntory Highball commercials since they've been using variations on the same song for about 30 years.
"Whiskey ga O-Suki deshou?"(You Like Whiskey, Don't You?) all started with Sayuri Ishikawa's（石川さゆり）torch song original back in 1990 and since then, the torch has been passed down to a number of other singers and bands including acapella group The Gospellers（ゴスペラーズ）about a decade ago. This time, it's Clammbon's（クラムボン）turn.
A couple of nights ago, I was listening to a "Light Mellow" CD and in it, I heard one rendition of the venerable song as a duet by original composer Masamichi Sugi（杉真理）and the late Kaoru Sudo（須藤薫）. Unfortunately, that version isn't on YouTube but this time, with Clammbon's contribution to the latest series of Suntory ads, the band has a fresher take on "Whiskey". The jazz is still there but it's more of a spritely French tango with a jigger of a reggae beat for good measure.
Clammbon released it as a digital download single about a couple of weeks ago, and at one point near the end, recording stops for the band to get a few laughs in. Perhaps they were sharing highballs during the session. Hey, if it smooths out any rough edges at the studio, then I'm not judging.🍻
For those who may be curious in creating a highball, you can take a look at the above. Along with the whiskey, all you need is some ice and soda water. Though I was never a fan of the hard stuff, I may have had a highball at the izakaya once or twice during my Japan days.
Clammbon（クラムボン）is a band that has had a presence here on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" through three previous articles, but only through anime such as their contribution to the second opening theme for the beloved "Shirokuma Cafe"（しろくまカフェ）. And yet, Clammbon also had a presence at the main Shibuya branch of Tower Records which I visited regularly once or twice a month. It used to be that sometimes when I entered the store, there would be some display for the band's latest album or single featuring vocalist/keyboardist Ikuko Harada（原田郁子）, bassist Mito（ミト）and drummer Daisuke Ito（伊藤大助）.
However at the time, even though a part of me was curious about what Clammbon was all about, the rest of me kinda sloughed the idea off since indie pop wasn't really my thing, and that's how I saw them. Well, that was a mistake on my part now that I look back.
That is so especially true after listening to Clammbon's debut single"Hanare Banare" (Separated) from March 1999. I'd like to cite a sentence written on the Wikipedia article for the band, "Their music is characterized by their quirky sound combining jazzy chord progressions with J-pop and electronica influences." That was a paraphrasing from the original description of the band in Akira Morita's October 2005 piece for Chin Music Press.
If I had read this description and got a chance to listen to "Hanare Banare" years ago, chances are that I would have gotten one of their albums at least by this time. Well, as I always say, better late than never. I will have to study them some more.
With "Hanare Banare", which was written by Harada and composed by Mito, there is that feeling of cool soul coming through. At the time, the Japanese version of the genre was starting to pop up more through the works of singers such as Misia and bird, and for some time, a lot of my younger students were really into the oeuvre of Jamiroquai.
The song didn't make it up into the Oricon rankings but, y'know, I think it is one of those numbers that folks like myself have probably discovered in retrospect and delighted in the present. This isn't an avant-garde tune at all; it's very relatable to me. So I will have to further explore Clammbon, which incidentally got its unusual name from some character in a Kenji Miyazawa novel, and see how they have continued their music over the past couple of decades.
It's been a pretty calm and comforting Winter 2018 season of anime, except for a rather harsh episode of "Ryūō no Oshigoto!"（りゅうおうのおしごと!...The Ryuo's Work is Never Done!）that I caught last night (started so nicely in Hawaii...). One big reason for this is the series "Hakumei & Mikochi"（ハクメイとミコチ）. The slice-of-life story of two best friends living together in a tiny fantasy land is so laidback that it would be dangerous watching it immediately following dinner. Luckily, it was the very last feature last night so I could stay awake, and that is not a backhanded compliment to the show. Considering the poor lass on "Ryūō no Oshigoto!"collapsing at the end of the most recent episode, I was more than happy to see "Hakumei & Mikochi" live life before the end of the evening.
So far, it's been the ending theme that has caught my ears. Alternately folksy mellow and folksy jaunty, "Harvest Moon Night" is the type of number that would be performed at the town pub or at a seasonal festival. Performed by seiyuu Shino Shimoji（下地紫野）who portrays the level-headed and culinarily talented Mikochi and Aoi Yuuki（悠木碧）who plays slightly uptight and musically inclined semi-regular Konju, the shortened version played over the credits is wonderful. However, listening to the full version with that wood bass and percussion thumping away really makes it worth buying. And in all likelihood, my anime buddy, who is in thrall to "Hakumei & Mikochi", will indeed get it.
"Harvest Moon Night" was written, composed and arranged by Mito（ミト）from the band Clammbon（クラムボン）. It's as hearty as a welcome bowl of harvest vegetable soup.
I guess this has been the season for bite-sized anime for me. First off, there is the 2-minute "Wakako Zake"（ワカコ酒）whose good old-fashioned theme song "Shiawase no Kaeri Michi"（幸せの帰り路）has been as appetizing as some of the dishes Wakako has been noshing in each episode.
And then there is "Wakaba Girl"（わかば*ガール）whose episodes are only 10 minutes long but also provide a goodly amount of comedy as Wakaba Kohashi, as the proverbial rich fish out of water, struggles happily with being a regular high school girl while her 3 buddies of Moeko, Mao and Nao show her the way. Once again over here, the theme song has also been the extra spice although this one is definitely another earworm.
"Hajimete Girls!" (First Time Girls!) basically laid its eggs in my ear canal right from the beginning pin-pon. Mito（ミト）from the band Clammbon came up with the super-catchy rapid-fire melody (with a bit more rock in the full version) while the prolific Aki Hata（畑亜貴）provided the lyrics. The can't-stand-still music sounds perfect for the goofiness of the show.
Singer Ray, aka Reika Nakayama（中山怜香...according to Wikipedia but her full name isn't listed in J-Wiki）, seems to have a grand ol' time with her 7th single from August 2015. She was born in 1990 in Sapporo, and got the singing bug when she was listening to some of anison goddess Nana Mizuki's（水樹奈々）CDs in her brother's car. Her debut was in 2012 with the song "Sign" as the theme tune for anime "Ano Natsu de Matteru"（あの夏で待ってる...Waiting in the Summer）which peaked at No. 11 on Oricon. As for "Hajimete Girls!", it managed to get as high as No. 21.
I haven't been all that prolific on the blog over the past few days since I've been battling a bit of a gastrointestinal issue. It's pretty obvious to say that it hasn't been all that fun but it looks like I've finally started getting a handle on things again. Last night, though, since I wasn't feeling all that happy, I decided to check out an anime once more that brought more than its share of gentle smiles to my face when I watched it for the first time.
"Shirokuma Café"(Polar Bear Café) had a good year. Aside from a certain magical girl franchise or two, it's awfully hard to encounter an anime that actually goes beyond the typical 13-episode cour, and the adventures of Panda, Penguin and Shirokuma went four times as long, from April 2012 to March 2013. It was the anison equivalent of a good hot cocoa with a marshmallow as I viewed this odd fusion of "Cheers" and "Wild Kingdom" with its quirky yet amiable characters and the running gags such as the one above where Panda would frequently fall prey to his Mom's vacuum cleaner.
So, now that some of my energy has been replenished, I've decided to cover all of the three opening theme songs that greeted me through the 50 episodes of the series. The first opening was "Boku ni Invitation"（ボクにインビテーション...An Invitation For Me） by JP which is short for American singer-songwriter John Paul Lam from Hawaii. According to Wikipedia, he collaborated with Misia to write a song titled "Work It Out" for her 2009 album, "Just Ballade". However, "Boku ni Invitation" from 2012 was JP's debut single with Avex Group. JP took care of the melody while Yoshiharu Shiina（椎名慶治）wrote the lyrics.
"Boku ni Invitation" was an appropriately weird and hip-hop way to start off this series about a gently droll animal comedy. I had never heard quite that much Auto-Tune in an anison before, but the song had that 21st-century vibe but was reminiscent of the old welcoming theme song from "The Flintstones" as Shiina incorporated some of the cafe's goodies and the opening credits had the three main characters dancing away. The credits automatically set the friendship core for the series.
(Sorry but the video has been taken down)
Strangely enough, the episode I re-watched last night is represented in some of the stills in the above video. It was the 2nd episode in which the gang hold a picnic in the park. The highlight was seeing a drunk Penguin give his ode to Penko-san, his unrequited love.
Some months later, the opening changed. The credits now centered upon one of the few main human characters, Sasako, as she made her spirited bike commute to the cafe while the new opening theme of "Rough & Laugh" flowed. Of the artists covering the songs here, Clammbon（クラムボン）is the band that I have heard the most about. I've always associated this alternative pop-sounding unit with my old Tower Records in Shibuya since often when I entered the huge emporium, I would usually see either a display of their latest album or hear one of their songs on the store speakers. But to be sheepish, "Rough & Laugh", which was their 11th single from November 2012, was the first song that I've heard by them in its entirety. Written by vocalist Ikuko Harada（原田郁子）and bassist Mito（ミト）, and composed by the latter, I liked the melody which was as spirited and cheerful as Sasako's race to work, and also Harada's sweet vocals. The song peaked at No. 57 on Oricon.
Then, there was the third and final opening theme, "You & Me" by singer-songwriter Rie fu and Saki（紗希）who was behind all of the ending themes sung by the characters of "Shirokuma Café". Splitting up the composing and writing duties, Rie and Saki came up with this huggable tune that seemed to wrap its arms around the entire cast and setting for the series in a sign of affection and thanks for a job well done. Although there were several weeks to go before the show finally wrapped up, "You & Me" and the credits seemed to signify a goodbye of sorts from Shirokuma and the bunch with everyone heading back to that park for another picnic which for me was the first memorable scene from the show.
Allow me to end this tribute to "Shirokuma Café" with another one of the show's rituals, the introduction for the next episode. Also, you can check out a couple of my favourite ending themes from the show by Panda and Penguin.
