Level 42 -- Running in the Family

 

It's been said that Level 42's "Something About You" from 1985 remains as the band's biggest accomplishment, and I couldn't disagree since it was the first song that I heard by the English group on the radio and it really grabbed me by the shoulders and has never let go. However, having said that, I think Mark King and his guys released a lot of other great tunes as well, some of which I'll be writing about on this week's Reminiscings of Youth...this time as an album, namely their March 1987 "Running in the Family".

Buying the LP and then recording it onto audiotape, "Running in the Family" became one of those go-to albums that I played whenever I had to pull an all-nighter during university. In fact, it was one of three LPs that I put onto tape, the others being Hiromi Iwasaki's（岩崎宏美）1986 "Wagamama"（わがまま）and "Uchuu Senkan Yamato Kanketsuhen Tehma Ongakushuu II"（宇宙戦艦ヤマト 完結編 テーマ音楽集Ⅱ）, one of the soundtracks for the 1983 anime movie "Final Yamato". Yes, it's a rather eclectic musical triumvirate but I was playing these guys non-stop while typing away to desperately get my thesis done and keep away that bothersome gnat called sleep. The cups of green tea helped as well.

I just wanted to feature my three favourite tracks from "Running in the Family" although the entire album is great. These three were all released as singles with arguably the most famous one being "Lessons In Love" that had actually been released almost a year before the album itself. The album, by the way, has been categorized as a sophisti-pop creation which I'm not sure about. Sophisti-pop is something that I actually think has plenty of champagne-clinking strings and brass along the lines of Swingout Sister. "Lessons In Love" certainly sounds more like funk-rock plus pop, and it's an infectiously fun piece either in its original four-minute-and-change form or the longer extended take, and I think it was the latter where I first heard "Lessons In Love" which was another grab of my shoulders. I got to know more about the famous King slap-bass technique through this one, too.

"Lessons In Love" reached No. 14 in Canada and No. 12 in the United States while it reached No. 1 in nations like Denmark, Finland and Spain.

The second of my favourites is the title track. "Running in the Family" is a cheerful melodic treatise on the average family with average rambunctious kids. In a way, although the band's description of the family is not really dysfunctional, I've often wondered if this could have made for a pretty cool theme tune for a movie on a really dysfunctional family such as "The Royal Tenenbaums". The blasting synth riff will always live rent-free in my head. The single was released in February 1987 and it was also hitting the Top 10 in several countries including the band's own UK.

"To Be With You Again" starts off on Side B of the original LP and it has such a great intro that I was always looking forward to it on the tape to get my eyes and brain fully awake once more in the overnight hours. It's quite the soaring piece and I have to mention here that I've always liked the vocal combination of keyboardist Mike Lindup with his high voice and King's deeper and grounded tones. The song was also the first single from "Running in the Family" to be released after the album's release by coming out in April 1987. It did more modestly than the aforementioned songs although it did come in at No. 6 in Italy and the Netherlands.

Meanwhile, the album reached No. 6 in Canada, No. 23 in America and No. 2 in the UK. I haven't done all-nighters since the first George Bush was US President but wouldn't it be nice to place that audiotape into the machine again (although I'm still worried about Jaws!)? Then again, I have a perfectly benign record player that can handle the LP.

So, what were three singles in Japan that were being released in the merry month of March 1987?

Fuyumi Sakamoto -- Abaredaiko (あばれ太鼓)

Checkers -- I Love You, SAYONARA

Miho Nakayama -- Hade!!!（「派手!!!」）

Fuyumi Sakamoto -- Tooi Mukashi No Koi No Uta（遠い昔の恋の歌）

 

Enka veteran Fuyumi Sakamoto（坂本冬美）appeared on "Shin BS Nihon no Uta"（新BS日本の歌）last weekend and stated that she has long been an admirer of fellow enka singer Sayuri Ishikawa（石川さゆり）, and like her great sempai, Sakamoto has dabbled into other genres during her long career.

On the same episode, Sakamoto performed her latest single from March of this year, "Tooi Mukashi no Koi no Uta" (A Love Song From Long Long Ago). Written and composed by Yuka Kawamura（川村結花）with Kei Wakakusa（若草恵）handling the arrangements, it's a relaxing jazz ballad that has me thinking of Mariko Takahashi's（高橋真梨子）own jazz songs from long long ago. In a way, it seems to bring together the strings of the beautiful music that had been seen as the "good" music of yesteryear and the trombone of jazz that had been considered to be the "evil" music way back when. 

I also recall Ishikawa tackling the century-plus-old genre a few decades back with "Whiskey ga O-Suki deshou?" (ウィスキーが、お好きでしょ）.

Fuyumi Sakamoto -- Rashomon（羅生門）

 

Frankly speaking, I can count the number of Akira Kurosawa（黒澤明）movies that I've seen on one hand. I've heard about a lot of them but I've only watched "The Seven Samurai" and his final work "Madadayo" in 1993. I've also seen clips from "Ran" and "Ikiru", but that's about it. I have yet to see "Rashomon" but its storytelling device has become so influential that I've seen it being used in TV shows ranging from "Happy Days" to "Star Trek: The Next Generation".

You can imagine my surprise then when on a recent episode of "Shin BS Nihon no Uta"（新BS日本の歌）, enka veteran Fuyumi Sakamoto（坂本冬美）appeared on the stage to sing a song titled "Rashomon". I wondered whether Sakamoto had been intending to pay tribute to the Kurosawa classic. 

Written by Souko Niimoto（新本創子）, composed by Keisuke Hama（浜圭介）and arranged by Kei Wakakusa（若草恵）, this was actually released as Sakamoto's 33rd single from June 2006. "Rashomon" launches with an intro that I thought was going to make this a classical/enka fusion thereby having this land into the genre of New Adult Music but then as the song goes on, the compass takes things into full enka. However one listens to it though, it is dramatic right down to Sakamoto's kobushi. As for the music video, I thought that this was more "Kill Bill" than "Rashomon" the movie. The song peaked at No. 29 on Oricon.

Fuyumi Sakamoto -- Horoyoi Mangetsu（ほろ酔い満月）

 

Getting drunk under a full moon, eh? Must be a September in Ueno Park then during tsukimi season. It probably does happen a fair bit although I have never participated in a moon-viewing session myself.

The last time I wrote about enka singer Fuyumi Sakamoto（坂本冬美）was a little more than six months ago when I noted her 1990 single "Noto wa Irankai ne"（能登はいらんかいね）that has gained quite a lot of poignancy since the Noto Peninsula earthquake on New Year's Day 2023. But this time around, it may be time for a little more fun in a teasing way.

In February 2024, Sakamoto released her 55th single, "Horoyoi Mangetsu" (Tipsy Under a Full Moon). The cover of the single features a sultry-looking Sakamoto not looking like a prim and proper enka singer at all with those long luxuriant tresses, black dress and shoeless feet which should be enough to convey that things could get a little irresponsible, carefree and chaotic, thanks to some libations. Written by Mami Takubo（田久保真見）and composed by Masato Sugimoto（杉本眞人）, I could say that the arrangement of "Horoyoi Mangetsu" kicks things between the genres of enka and rock n' roll, so maybe we can categorize it as a New Adult Music tune. The song reached No. 39 on Oricon.

(very short version)

Fuyumi Sakamoto -- Noto wa Irankai ne（能登はいらんかいね）

 

"Uta Con"（うたコン）is once again going on a bit of a hiatus until April 1st but its final episode earlier tonight had some solemnity and poignancy since today is the 14th anniversary of the Tohoku Earthquake in 2011. In fact, much of the program was filled with songs in tribute and in support of the various areas that had been hit by natural disasters such as Fukushima and the Noto Peninsula which had suffered a major quake on New Year's Day 2024. Of course, Yoko Kanno's（菅野よう子）"Hana wa Saku"（花は咲く）was sung in full force.

Enka singer Fuyumi Sakamoto（坂本冬美）is a pretty frequent guest on shows such as "Uta Con", and up until last year, her go-to song seems to have been "Yozakura Oshichi" (夜桜お七), her hit single from 1994. However, with the Noto Peninsula earthquake last year, Sakamoto has been singing "Noto wa Irankai ne" (Don't We Need Noto?) in support of the victims of the quake for much of the past year. Written by Katsuki Kishimoto（岸元克己）and composed by Kosho Inomata（猪俣公章）, it's a very gentle go-touchi song that flows as smoothly as the many rivers that run through the area, although there is a little diversion of taiko drums in a festival atmosphere.

"Noto wa Irankai ne" was Sakamoto's 7th single from May 1990. It reached No. 13 on Oricon and ended up as the 83rd-ranked single for that year. However, I think it has received a second wind of popularity in the last several months and she sang the song on last year's edition of the Kohaku Utagassen for the second time.

Fuyumi Sakamoto -- Saikai Sakaba（再会酒場）

 

First off, let's point out this seasonal fact: Tokyo is 13 hours ahead of Toronto currently in Eastern Daylight Time. Last Tuesday night, TV Japan was going to broadcast NHK's "Uta Con"（うたコン） as usual, but then on Wednesday morning over in East Asia, North Korea decided to lob over a missile or a satellite which pretty much stopped all normal programming for several hours due to live reporting on the situation. Therefore, the taped-delay "Uta Con" was cancelled last week. C'est dommage!

However, the compensation is that we get "Uta Con" two nights in a row this week. Last night, we actually got a rare Monday TV Japan broadcast of "Uta Con" and tonight we get the usual show (expanded for some reason).

The theme for the show broadcast last night was the annual tribute to the late Queen of Kayo Kyoku, Hibari Misora（美空ひばり）, and so everyone did their covers of her songs. But as usual, we did get some new stuff from the guests, one of whom was enka singer Fuyumi Sakamoto（坂本冬美）and her 53rd and most recent single as of this writing, "Saikai Sakaba" (Reunion Bar) which was just released early last month.

"Saikai Sakaba" was written by Ou Yoshida（吉田旺）and composed by Koji Tokuhisa（徳久広司）as a heartfelt enka about folks meeting up once more in their beloved watering holes after the years of the pandemic. Now that Japan has basically lifted virtually every COVID restriction, folks are free to meet up in the various commercial establishments once more although my friends have been informing me that half of the folks they see out on the streets of Tokyo have still been keeping their masks on. And yet, I'm sure that there have been some hearty reunions in restaurants and izakaya.

Tokuhisa's melody is one of joy and warmth while Yoshida's lyrics express the return of the camaraderie and excitement in the favourite bar, including a final hearty toast from Sakamoto. I'm sure that the libations and snacks have been flowing very rapidly. I can understand that sentiment since meeting up with some friends earlier in February for dinner for the first time in three years. Even earlier, my family got to have a special breakfast in our old neighbourhood diner after such a long period away. I also have to mention that it's the first time to have Sakamoto back on the byline in over three years as well.

Go-Touchi Songs（ご当地ソング）: The Kyushu region and Okinawa

 

Well, all things come to an end, and such is the case with the go-touchi series of kayo which began all the way up in the north more than a month ago. Continuing from the Chugoku region and Shikoku last week, it will now come to an end in the south with the southernmost of the four main islands of Japan, Kyushu, and then Okinawa. Once again, the regional songs here are just the tip of a really large iceberg, and I hope that you can find some other famous go-touchi songs not just for these territories but for the others that have been covered over the past several weeks. The island of Kyushu consists of Fukuoka, Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Oita, Saga, Kagoshima and Miyazaki Prefectures.

1. Fuyumi Sakamoto -- Abaredaiko (あばれ太鼓) for the Kokura district in Kita-Kyushu City (1987)

2. Nyc Nyusa -- Sachiko（サチコ）for Fukuoka City (1981)

3. Hiroshi Uchiyamada and The Cool Five -- Nagasaki wa Kyou mo Ame Datta （長崎は今日も雨だった）for Nagasaki City (1969)

4. Saburo Kitajima -- Satsuma no Hito（薩摩の女）for Kagoshima City (1968)

5. Yoshio Tabata -- Shima Sodachi (島育ち) for Amami-Oshima in Kagoshima Prefecture (1962)

6. Shoukichi Kina -- Haisai Ojisan（ハイサイおじさん）for Okinawa (1972)

Here's one final look at some of the delectable dishes from the area. This final time, we have toruko rice （トルコライス）from Nagasaki and then goya champuru（ゴーヤチャンプル）in Okinawa.

Billy BanBan/Fuyumi Sakamoto -- Mata Kimi ni Koishiteru（また君に恋してる）

Amazing what a sake commercial can do for a song. Well, actually, I'm not sure whether it was the song that enhanced the ad or vice versa, but whenever I hear this number, I can only remember this one.

I believe that is actor Koji Matoba（的場浩司）, a fellow that I used to know for playing insolent punks back in the day, in ancient warrior garb making that mad dash for the camera. Ordinarily, I would have snarked that he really needed that drink, but with this ballad playing in the background, the ad now comes across as an epic scene from a period romance in the Edo Era in which the samurai is desperately catching up to his lady love who he hasn't seen in weeks or months.

The song is "Mata Kimi ni Koishiteru" (I'm In Love With You Again) by Fuyumi Sakamoto（坂本冬美）. Usually my image of Sakamoto is that she gives out plenty of brio-laden enka tunes, but this ballad is purely pop. In fact, according to the Wikipedia article for the song, when Sakamoto had her first looks at the song, she had it pointed out by the original singer that it was indeed pop when she had initially thought about asking for the song to be changed slightly where the refrain comes in at "...mata kimi ni..." and the tone goes high there. She'd felt that it was a little unnatural for her, but he stated that this was perfectly OK in the pop oeuvre and that the vocal ramp-up was used a lot in British (!) music.

In all honesty, that particular part in the refrain is the most recognizable part of "Mata Kimi ni Koishiteru" for me, and it's what makes the song. Veteran lyricist Goro Matsui（松井五郎）provided the words while guitarist Masaaki Mori（森正明）was given the composer credits; apparently, a lot of other musicians including had a hand in the crafting of the song, but ultimately, it was decided that Mori would be the official composer.

"Mata Kimi ni Koishiteru" was released as the coupling song for Sakamoto's 37th single in January 2009, "Asia no Kaizoku"（アジアの海賊...Pirates of Asia）. Any remaining doubts that Sakamoto had held probably dissipated quite quickly as the single went Platinum and eventually as high as No. 3 on Oricon. It later became the 14th-ranked single for 2010, and it was so popular that the singer got to sing it in succeeding Kohaku Utagassen shows in 2009 and 2010.

The intriguing thing is, though (and I've already hinted at it above), that as much as this tune has become one of Sakamoto's trademark songs, it's actually a cover of a single that folk duo Billy BanBan（ビリーバンバン）had released twice, starting a couple of years earlier in November 2007 and then August 2009 (probably with the success of Sakamoto's cover) as their 31st and 32nd singles.

I finally get to write about Billy BanBan since I've heard about these guys for years and was interested just on the name of the duo alone. Like another folk duo, Bread & Butter, Billy BanBan is a brother act with Takashi and Susumu Sugawara（菅原孝・菅原進）from Tokyo. They have been performing since 1969 (although there was a break between 1976 and 1983), so I was a little surprised on finding out that they were the original singers for such a contemporary song. The guitarist-composer, Masaaki Mori, that I mentioned a few paragraphs above happens to be a member of Billy BanBan's backing band.

The original version sounds even softer going towards the folksier side of things, and I love the gentle harmony between the Sugawara brothers in the refrain. Their "Mata Kimi ni Koishiteru" did more modestly by hitting No. 72, marking the first time in 36 years that Billy BanBan got into the Top 100 again. Interestingly enough, the original also got to adorn the same brand of sake in a commercial.

Fuyumi Sakamoto -- Iwaizake（祝い酒）

I may have mentioned this before, but there was a period during my Japan days which seemed to be filled with wedding invitations for friends and students. For one student, the reception took place at the dance club Twin Star around the Ichigaya area in Tokyo. That establishment was apparently one of the birth places for the para para dance craze but there was none of that occurring on that day. Anyways, when the announcement came for a toast to my student and her new husband's happiness, some of us at our table went slightly into Ricky Gervais (indeed he was in a feisty mood last night, wasn't he?) mode and surreptitiously muttered something like "Yeah, that's what they all say at first.". Since it's been many years since I've heard anything about that student, I have no idea how the marriage is doing.

That old vignette was brought back into memory by Fuyumi Sakamoto's（坂本冬美）"Iwaizake" (Celebratory Drink) which the veteran enka singer performed at last week's Kohaku Utagassen. There was plenty of brio in Sakamoto's time on the stage as she was backed up by a small battery of taiko drums and a large temple background.

At first, I'd assumed that this was a new single by Sakamoto, but I found out sheepishly that "Iwaizake" was actually her 3rd single released all the way back in April 1988. Layered onto Kosho Inomata's（猪俣公章）stately march-like music, lyricist Takashi Taka（たかたかし）provides not only reason to celebrate but also some forewarning about what married life is all about, and it's unsurprisingly not a bed of roses all the time. It almost sounds like everyone involved was infusing "Iwaizake" with that necessary parental advice.

"Iwaizake" hit No. 16 on Oricon and sold around 330,000 copies with it earning a Gold prize at the Japan Record Awards. By the end of 1988, it became the 24th-ranked single for the year, and it got Sakamoto the first of her 31 invitations to the Kohaku, and in fact, her performance of the same song last week was actually her 4th time doing so.

Fuyumi Sakamoto -- Ore de Ii no ka（俺でいいのか）

I don't quite remember when I started enjoying enka and Mood Kayo. I mean, it's been something that I have been listening to for my entire life when my parents played the old LPs on the stereo but I always considered that brand of kayo kyoku the stuff that my parents liked and I just had to hear it. Pretty sure that it wasn't during that 1981 trip to Japan or even exposure to "Sounds of Japan" on the radio since enka tunes were the main songs on most of the broadcasts (which I didn't listen to) while the pop stuff that I fell for (which I did) made their presence known perhaps once a month. Still, listening to Takashi Hosokawa's（細川たかし）"Kita Sakaba"（北酒場）on "Sounds of Japan" opened the door a bit for me.

Most likely, it started to a small extent during my 1981-1991 JET Programme stint when karaoke almost became a job-related obligation and then things started further expanding during my far longer stint between 1994 and 2011. Of course, watching "Uta Kon"（うたコン）and its predecessor "Kayo Concert"（歌謡コンサート）on NHK and doing this blog over this decade has further strengthened my amity toward these older genres. The music for enka and Mood Kayo with its noble koto, violins and Latin brass among other instruments has also proven to be a tonic of sorts whenever I feel that I've gotten a little too much of the J-Pop stuff, even my favourite genre of City Pop. Maybe the bouncy bass has its limits within me.

In any case, I was watching a recent episode of "Uta Con" when enka veteran Fuyumi Sakamoto（坂本冬美）appeared near the end to perform her 48th and latest single, "Ore de Ii no ka" (Will I Do?) which just came out late last month in August. For some reason, I was struck by this one although I have heard my fair share of enka on this show and elsewhere.

My father remarked during the performance that this was a refreshing change since I believe that Sakamoto had perhaps gone for a more modern enka approach in recent years with a truly rock guitar and arrangement. And I think that's what struck me positively about "Ore de Ii no ka" which is a story of a lifelong love between two soulmates, represented by Ou Yoshida's（吉田旺）lyrics. Koji Tokuhisa's（徳久広司）music with Toshiaki Maeda's（前田俊明）arrangement doesn't seem to have that contemporary enka feeling to it; there is something more old-fashioned as if "Ore de Ii no ka" had been composed back in the 20th century. The song peaked at No. 36 on Oricon.

Hiroshi Itsuki & Fuyumi Sakamoto -- Last Dance（ラストダンス）

Watching last week's "Uta Con"（うたコン）, I wasn't quite sure whether the theme of cover songs came off all that successfully. However, when the singers went into their own works, things stabilized a lot better.

Case in point, the duet between kayo vets Hiroshi Itsuki（五木ひろし）and Fuyumi Sakamoto（坂本冬美）. Itsuki's latest single as of this writing, "Last Dance" from February this year, is a snazzy collaboration with Sakamoto whose general theme of love in a nightclub is a well-trodden Mood Kayo trope. However, what gives the brio to "Last Dance" is a nice shot of downtown soul thanks to an enthusiastic brass section that sounds as if Masayuki Suzuki（鈴木雅之）had kindly lent it to the two singers (coincidentally, he was also a guest last Tuesday).

(short version)

Give thanks to lyricist and composer Yoshiki Mizuno（水野良樹）and arranger Masayuki Sakamoto（坂本昌之）for this nice update to the Mood Kayo genre. Nothing like a nice stroll down in Ginza or Akasaka in 2018 with "Last Dance". Incidentally, Sakamoto was the arranger behind Ayaka Hirahara's（平原綾香）hit "Jupiter" back in 2003.

Good golly! The video has backup dancers and even hand gestures from the singers. Maybe there's even a bit of AKB48 in there. 😆

Chiyoko Shimakura -- Ai no Sazanami （愛のさざなみ）

Caught my first "Uta Kon"（うたコン）in a few weeks. The theme was one that has popped up on the program a number of times in the past including when the NHK kayo show was titled "Kayo Concert"（歌謡コンサート）...all about ardent love. The show even had an actress give a reading of some messages of love from some famous folks such as novelist Soseki Natsume（夏目漱石）and songwriter Rokusuke Ei（永六輔）.

Most of the songs that were featured have already shown up on this blog so the one new tune that stood out to me was Chiyoko Shimakura's（島倉千代子）"Ai no Sazanami" (Ripples of Love) that first saw the light of day back in July 1968 as the single commemorating her 15th anniversary in show business. What was interesting about the song was that despite its categorization on the J-Wiki article as an enka song (and all the singers in this article dressed in kimono), I really don't think it sounds like an enka tune...or a Mood Kayo song, for that matter. I don't hear any Japanese instruments; it's a gently rolling piano and guitar anchoring the ballad. In fact, I think there is almost something downright Carpenters about it. According to that article, the backing chorus was actually recorded in Los Angeles at the composer's suggestion but I'm not sure if that meant that an American group of backup singers was hired or whether Japanese backup singers were brought into LA.

"Ai no Sazanami" was written by Rei Nakanishi（なかにし礼）and composed by Kuranosuke Hamaguchi（浜口庫之助）. Nakanishi definitely leaves the love out there for Shimakura to sing. The first verse is as follows:

If there is truly a god on this Earth
I want to die in your arms
Gently, gently kiss me
In that lone boat on the lake
Over and over, just like ripples

I think it was a good choice for the song to be presented, and it was a good opportunity to find out about this fascinating pop song of the times performed by an already well-regarded enka singer. "Ai no Sazanami" was a huge hit for the late Shimakura, becoming a million-seller. And if I'm not mistaken, with Oricon just starting out, it was the singer's first entry into those charts, topping off at No. 20 for 2 straight weeks. December 1968 was also a busy one for her since she won a special prize at the Japan Record Awards as well as gaining her 12th straight appearance on the Kohaku Utagassen.

Of course for such a lovely song, covers are inevitable and I found this really wonderful version re-arranged as an R&B ballad and performed by none other than Yumi Matsutoya（松任谷由実）, Kyoko Koizumi（小泉今日子）and Ann Lewis（アン・ルイス）back in the late 1980s.

Plus, there is Fuyumi Sakamoto（坂本冬美）providing her own version in 2006. But strangely enough, when I first heard the Shimakura original, I thought that "Ai no Sazanami" would also be an ideal choice for Kiyoshi Maekawa and The Cool Five（前川清とクール・ファイブ）to tackle.

Marcos V.’s Early 2017 Special Selection

Rio de Janeiro, October 2016

Hello, folks. Out of nowhere, I decided to write about some of the songs I discovered recently. There’s no particular theme or order in this list, so it’s nothing more than a collection of random J-Pop songs, old or new, that I’ve been listening to in the past couple of months.

CHAGE and ASKA -- Boku wa Kono Me de Uso wo Tsuku (僕はこの瞳で嘘をつく)

First, a hit from famous duo CHAGE and ASKA: “Boku wa Kono Me de Uso wo Tsuku”, which was released back in November 1991. Even though I’m not a fan of the duo (sorry, Noelle), I couldn’t resist ASKA’s powerful vocals coupled with this funky rock arrangement. Also, I can see how the duo became a hit in the Japanese early 90s landscape, when artistry was becoming more valued rather than all the overproduced aidoru of the 80s. I still prefer the glossy 80s, but this particular song by CHAGE and ASKA caught me off guard. It’s really good!

Fairies -- BLING BLING MY LOVE

Generally speaking, I don’t really care for Avex’s groups, with the exception of TOKYO GIRLS’ STYLE (東京女子流), but Fairies’ (フェアリーズ) “BLING BLING MY LOVE”, from September 2014, is a super catchy and modern dance tune that makes me want to sing and dance (THAT CHORUS IS AMAZING!!!). Other than that, I’m aware it shares some similarities with Ke$ha’s hit “Tik Tok”, but both songs are fine… and I’d rather listen to Fairies than Ke$ha because I’m a J-Pop supporter (funny thing is that I saw Ke$ha live at Rock in Rio 2011, because Jamiroquai was going to enter the stage right after her show. I remember how my friends were not very receptive towards her songs, so I ended up dancing and jumping with some 13, 14 years old girls who were next to me. I was 21 years old back then, by the way).

Seiko Matsuda -- Seychelles no Yuuhi (セイシェルの夕陽)

Seiko Matsuda’s (松田聖子) 80s singles are hyper famous aidoru-pop classics, but some of her album cuts are great as well. That’s basically why I decided to dive through her enormous discography a little bit to discover some gems… and “Utopia’s” (ユートピア) “Seychelles no Yuuhi” is one song that could have been a single alongside “Komugi Iro no Mermaid” (小麦色のマーメイド), for example. In an interesting side note, Seiko-chan stated “Seychelles no Yuuhi” is a song she truly loves from the “Utopia” album (which, by the way, was released in June 1983), and that’s why she includes it in several concerts. As for the song itself, I could listen to it in a relaxed beach coast (I can even imagine some water sounds mixed in the arrangement). It’s that sort of Japanese 80s song that makes the listener feel this way.

Fuyumi Sakamoto -- Asia no Kaizoku (アジアの海賊)

Released in January 2009, this song is truly at home in Fuyumi Sakamoto’s (坂本冬美) discography. It reminds me of the risks she took trying to mix enka with other music genres when her “magnum opus” hit “Yozakura Oshichi” (夜桜お七) was released back in 1994. In fact, even though nothing could come out as epic-sounding as the aforementioned hit, I think “Asia no Kaizoku” is strong enough to cause a good impression. The hook is simple and very straightforward, but the gorgeous Japanese-styled arrangement and Sakamoto’s vocal delivery are enough to make me pay attention.

Monari Wakita -- Boy Friend

From enka straight to cheesy synthpop that could have come out of PWL in the late 80s: that’s the essence of this list. Ex-Especia member Monari Wakita (脇田もなり) debuted with a safe City Pop song last year, but now it’s time for some sugary pop with “Boy Friend”, which was aptly released back in February 2017. In the end, aside from the over-the-top 80s synths and simple structure, there’s a very bright chorus and an even brighter Monari Wakita acting extremely cute and adorable while trying to make every life form on Earth forget that the video is as cheap as possible. It works for me, so it's fine!

PASSPO -- PlayGround

PASSPO☆ is an aidoru group focused in recording pop-rock songs while maintaining a strange flight attendant gimmick. I’m not a fan of their music, aside from a couple of singles released back in 2012, but new promotional song “PlayGround”, which was released in February 2017, is a very good piece of funk-rock that doesn’t make me ashamed of headbanging a little bit while on the bus. As for the video, the zombie theme is warned out these days, so I don’t know why they’ve chosen to do it, but the music makes up for all the crappy acting.

Yumeko Kitaoka -- Mou Ichido Aetara (もういちど逢えたら)

And here we are with “Mou Ichido Aetara”, a very tender song from the late 80s in the voice of Yumeko Kitaoka (北岡夢子). That’s another song that makes me feel nostalgic… probably because it sounds a little bit sad, especially in the chorus. Released in June 1989, it also represents a period when aidoru music’s popularity was decling. So, at the time, mostly strong names were able to sell, and new aidoru had a hard time maintaining a career. It’s a pity, since “Mou ichido Aetara” is a pretty solid forgotten gem.

Yuki Maeda -- Tokyo Kirigirisu (東京きりぎりす)

Just like Sanae Jonouchi (城之内早苗) back in the Onyanko Club (おニャン子クラブ) days, and even Misaki Iwasa (岩佐美咲) in AKB48’s recent boom, Yuki Maeda (前田有紀) was one of Hello! Project’s solo enka singers during the agency’s heydays (First Generation member Yuko Nakazawa [中澤裕子] was H!P’s prime enka singer, but I like Yuki Maeda more). A talented and beautiful young woman in the early 00s, she initially recorded light enka songs, which I appreciate a lot since I’m not the biggest fan of the more over the top vocals in enka. Released in July 2003, the catchy “Tokyo Kirigirisu”, for example, just shows how restrained her music was back then, even if the melody and arrangement are evocative of Showa Era pop music. Instead of going deep in the enka style after some years in the industry, maybe she could have established herself as a mature ballad singer. Unfortunately, she probably decided to stick with her initial plans and success never arrived.

Golbies (from TPD) -- JUST LIKE MAGIC (ジャスト・ライク・マジック)

Ok, “JUST LIKE MAGIC” is that type of straightforward, repetitive and mechanic Eurobeat song that was being mass-produced during the late 80s/early 90s in Japan, but I like the epic main synth hook, the raw aidoru vocals, and also the catchy chorus (which is a must in Eurobeat songs, since they don’t have much to offer anyway). It was released in May 1990 by Golbies (ゴルビーズ), a subunit from the aidoru group Tokyo Performance Doll (東京パフォーマンスドール). Apparently, Ryoko Shinohara (篠原涼子) was a member of this subunit during her stay in TPD.

Arisa Mizuki -- Kimi ga Suki Dakara (君が好きだから)

To finish, we have “Kimi ga Suki Dakara”, a song composed by songstress Yumi Matsutoya (松任谷由実) for early 90s aidoru Arisa Mizuki (観月ありさ), which was released as a single back in August 1993. Even though it wasn’t a big hit like “Densetsu no Shoujo” (伝説の少女), “TOO SHY SHY BOY” or “Happy wake up!”, and is often overshadowed by them, this song offers some simple yet beautiful piano hook right from the beginning. Other than that, I agree it’s a grower, and maybe not an instant favorite, but there’s a melancholy in the song that makes me want to listen to it several times.

Fuyumi Sakamoto -- Abaredaiko (あばれ太鼓)

Now where have I heard this before? Taiko, Kokura, Muhomatsu. Even some portions of the strings in the Kosho Inomata (猪俣公章)-composed melody sound familiar... Ah! That's right, Hideo Murata's "Muhomatsu no Issho" (無法松の一生)! I wonder if "Abaredaiko" is some sort of tribute to her predecessor's own debut. It's either that or the Muhomatsu franchise just has a penchant for songs based on it to sound like that. I'd like to think it's the former.

Just like "Muhomatsu no Issho", Fuyumi Sakamoto's（坂本冬美）debut single has got a manly edge and the taiko adds more power to the intense score. Even Sakamoto's muscular delivery nicely depicts the violent character that is Matsugoro. But I have to say that it seems to have lost some of the intimidating factor with the acoustic guitar in it, which mellows the otherwise abrasive song. No matter though, it's still a cool tune and I can imagine Murata having a go at "Abaredaiko". Accompanying Inomata's composition was Takashi Taka's (たかたかし) lyrics.

(empty karaoke version)

"Abaredaiko" was released on 4th March 1987 and was quite well received, as seen by the "Newcomer Award" and "Best Newcomer Award" Sakamoto managed to bag at the 29th Japan Record Awards and the 20th Japan Cable Awards respectively. She had sung "Abaredaiko" on 46th edition of the Kohaku in 1995, as well as the 54th one in 2003. I wouldn't mind if it were to be sung again this year. Sakamoto's 2nd single, "Abare Taiko ~ Muhomatsu Ichidai Iri ~" (あばれ太鼓〜無法一代入り〜), which is in the video below, has an extra excerpt that - I think - includes more stuff on Muhomatsu.

Wow, Sakamoto playing the Taiko?! Even though she got emotional at the end, dang, she's one cool lady! Hmm, I believe she's the first female enka singer I've ever primarily described as "cool", rather than "demure"/"elegant". I mean, she is also those but I see her as more of the former.

hiro-star.at.webry.info/201303/article_15

Kokura Nadai wa Muhomatsu (小倉名代は無法松) - can't really disagree when songs that have Kokura (city) in them inadvertently feature Muhomatsu. Or should that be the other way round?

Fuyumi Sakamoto -- Otoko no Hi Matsuri (男の火祭り)

What I've come to like about Fuyumi Sakamoto (坂本冬美) is that she can be elegant and genteel, and at the same time able to pull off aggressive and macho songs with that voice of hers that can turn from mellow crooning to forceful growling at the drop of a hat, like when she sang Muchi's "Osho" (王将) during last year's "Osaka Melody". Not going to lie, I was expecting a manly man to sing it, but Sakamoto's rendition left me thoroughly impressed. That reminds me, I wonder if NHK will air another round of the "Osaka Melody" this year. If they are, I hope someone sings "Juso no Yoru" (十三の夜)!

Anyway, Sakamoto has got a couple of songs in her own repertoire that show off her tough side, for instance, "Otoko no Hi Matsuri" (Man's Fire Festival), which is also one of those festival-based enka I enjoy listening to. The thumping of the taiko, the electric guitar revving away, it's actually not far something that Takashi Hosokawa (細川たかし) would belt out, all that's missing is the shamisen. But there is still a feminine touch to this masculine tune, probably from the strings and the acoustic guitar. This was composed by singer-songwriter Masato Sugimoto (杉本真人).

As seen in the title, "Otoko no Hi Matsuri" centers around the Fire Festival, but as to which one of the many variations , I'm not too sure. Takashi Taka's (たかたかし) lyrics don't seem to give me a clear idea about the exact Fire Festival being sung about, so I wonder if he's just writing about the festivals that involve fire in general. A number of prefectures hold their own Fire Festivals at different times of the year, and prefectures can have more than one of these festivals. From what I've been seeing, they each have their own reasons for it, though something is bound to be set on fire, that's for sure, be it massive torches, wooden shrines with people on it - don't worry, I think those poor fellas get off the structure first before the others actually viciously burn it to the ground - or just trees.

All this talk about fire and things being set on fire brings back hilarious memories from my mildly dysfunctional Chinese language class from secondary 3/grade 9 where a classmate of mine's signature answer for every scenario imaginable was "It/he/she explodes/exploded." It got to the point where my teacher (who had remarkable patience and humour) banned him from saying the word explode, and so the classmate switched from "explode" to "catch fire". From then on everything was "on fire" or "caught fire". My teacher gave up. Ah, it was moments like these that made me forget about how much I hated learning the language. In fact, it actually made me do pretty well by the end of that year... and then I got dropped into the supposedly better Chinese class on the next year. Think of this situation like putting a minnow into pool filled with barracudas being ruled by a tiger shark. I was the unfortunate minnow. Quite terrible, I can tell you that.

Okay, coming back to the main topic, "Otoko no Hi Matsuri" was released as Sakamoto's 42nd single on 2nd October 2013, and apparently, it was her first single in 5 years that's an enka song. It did well on the regular Oricon charts, peaking at 31st position, and she sang it twice on her recent appearances on the Kohaku (2013 and 2014). I remember watching that performance on the Kohaku last year (it feels good to finally be able to say that!), and if my memory serves, she wore a pair of black high-heeled boots with a stylish red kimono. The first person that came to mind was Akina Nakamori (中森明菜) since she wore a similar-looking outfit when she sang "DESIRE" back in the 80's.

fuyumi-fc.com

Fuyumi Sakamoto -- Fuyumi no Soran Bushi (冬美のソーラン節)

For half of the precious weekend, my high patience - I'd like to think so - had been tested as my brain wrestled with a science research proposal concerning herbal extracts and whether or not they're able to kill food-spoiling bacteria. Now here comes the reason for my burning ire, the main purpose is to get us students who don't even know what herbal extracts are - I had only heard of them, but I never knew what they really were - to learn how to write a research proposal, and this was our given topic. So there I was struggling with the decision of how much information I should put into that  because at the end of the day, it's only the structure that's important and being graded... putting in lot's of info could just be a waste of time and effort. With 40% Wikipedia, 30% food safety sites, 15% lecture notes, 5% online grocery store catalogues and 10% pure bull (reserved for desperate situations), that was probably the most effort I had put in for a topic that's probably at least 90% irrelevant to my course of study, Marine Science and Aquaculture.

Well, nightmarish research proposals aside, while taking breaks from investigating mold and the anti-bacterial qualities of mint, lemongrass and rosemary, I had also been digging around for information about the "Soran Bushi" (ソーラン節), a Minyo with its origins stemming from the gritty, salty fishermen of Hokkaido to cheer themselves on while performing backbreaking labour on the high seas. And just like many other Minyo like it, this rousing sea shanty with its signature, "Yaren soran, soran, soran...!" has been sung a multitude of times by enka singers both young and old, most notably by the late veteran and resident of Hokkaido Michiya Mihashi (三橋美智也), the exuberant Kiyoshi Hikawa (氷川きよし) and enka beauty Fuyumi Sakamoto (坂本冬美)... or at least those are the versions I had heard of as of now.

I had first heard of "Soran Bushi" via Hikawa with his rendition that's aptly named, "Kiyoshi no Soran Bushi" (きよしのソーラン節) on a summer festival-themed "Kayo Concert" last August. I must say that this version is very... Hikawa..., and it's sits nicely between contemporary and traditional, but I can't say I'm a fan of it. Michi's take on "Soran Bushi" (that's the title) is a lot more deconstructed and is the most traditional sounding out of the 3 I've mentioned, it doesn't sound bad, it's just that the backup singers with their squeaky "Hai! Hai!" and "Dokkoisho! Dokkoisho!" irks me to no end.

And then we have Sakamoto's version, which is my favourite. I actually heard this on the plane while on the way to Hong Kong. It was the first song under the enka album in the Japanese music section, so I gave it a shot since I had some prior experience with this Minyo. Admittedly, I thought it was quite odd to be listening to a traditional sea shanty, but the music to "Fuyumi no Soran Bushi" allowed me to settle into it quite easily. Composed by Kaoru Hanagasa (花笠薫), it is very much Pop/Rock-like with the sting of the electric guitar and the trumpets blasting away, but the flute... I think it's called the shakuhachi and the constant, manlier "Soran! Soran!" helps the song retain it's Minyo/enka-ness. The lyrics were by Yo Yashiro (やしろよう).

"Fuyumi no Soran Bushi" was released on 2nd November 2005 as the B-side to "Futari no Tairyo Bushi" (ふたりの大漁節), which is her 35th single. It peaked at 24th place on the regular charts.

amazon.co.jp

Fuyumi Sakamoto -- Yozakura Oshichi (夜桜お七)

I generally don't listen to female Enka singers (some male singers as well, I have to clarify) as much since sometimes their singing style and pitch at which they deliver the song would just drive me up the wall. But Enka beauty Fuyumi Sakamoto's (坂本冬美) 12th single was one that managed to impress me. It also was a great help that her voice was relatively easy to listen to.

Since my Japanese is quite poor, the first thing I would look out for in a song (especially for Enka) would be its music. In the case of 'Yozakura Oshichi', it started off rather muted and it kinda gave an air of mystery to it. Unfortunately, that immediately flipped the switch on my brain to off and I was just staring at this woman in her kimono blankly, waiting for the song to finish and get the show (Kayo concert) on the road. And then, there was a sudden change in music that slapped me back into reality and actually made me check the song's name at the the top corner of the TV screen to make sure it was the same song, or that Sakamoto was doing a medley of her hits. It was the same song. Whoa, that difference! From such a mellow tune to something so upbeat and sounding like the type of song the singer would sing with a flashing disco ball above her head.

Now that I think of it, that was the second time it had happened to me (yes, same song by Sakamoto). First time was hearing it on YouTube. Exactly the same reaction as the one I described above... I didn't remember the song's name back then... ...

Anyway, 'Yozakura Oshichi' was released in 1994 and was Sakamoto's first single to be released after the death of her mentor Koushou Inomata (猪俣公章). It did quite well, peaking at 24th position on the Oricon charts and staying within the Top 100 for 25 weeks, making a what they call a 'long hit'. This would also eventually become the Wakayama native's representative song which she would sing at the Kohaku 5 times out of her 25 appearances.

Oh yeah, doesn't her mentor's name ring a bell? If it does, its because he had composed quite a number of hits for different singers like Hiroshi Itsuki's (五木ひろし) 'Chikuma Gawa' (千曲川) and Hiroshi Uchiyamada and The Cool Five's (内山田洋とクール・ファイブ) 'Uwasa no Onna' (噂の女).

Moving on, the song's lyrics were written by Amari Hayashi (林あまり) and the one responsible for this strange yet alluring score was the late composer Takashi Miki (三木たかし), who would bag one of the two awards awarded to the song at the 36th Japan Record Awards in 1994. That being 'Best composer', then the other one for Sakamoto herself for 'Outstanding performance'.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0LNd4ejdxY

Link above is to a more recent performance of 'Yozakura Oshichi'. To end off, here's some trivia: The 'Oshichi' (お七) part of the title was supposed to refer to this woman by the name of Oshichi Yaoya (八百屋お七) from the Edo period, who was burned at the stake for trying to set fire to a temple to see the guy she had a crush on again (a simple love letter wasn't going to cut it eh? ) - they met for the first time when that temple caught fire a year earlier. A tad desperate on the woman's behalf, don't you think? 

http://plaza.rakuten.co.jp/kusukutu/diary/200901300000/