Ken Shima -- Cool Lunch Time（クールランチタイム）

 

As I mentioned in my previous article, Toronto is at the beginning of its first heat wave since 2023. It was indeed hot out there when I went out for grocery shopping and the air conditioning in the supermarket was very welcome. However, I have to say that summers in Japan helped to heatproof me to a good extent; I faced weeks upon weeks of very hot and humid weather day and night until mid-September. Of course, there were times when I really didn't want to actually heat something up during a roasting-hot day so I often bought a package of hiyashi chuuka（冷やし中華）to nourish myself and keep cool to the best of my ability. You can take a look at the above video by Japanese Cooking 101 to see how it's prepared.

Of course, I wrote the above to provide a fairly smooth segue into this particular song which made up the soundtrack for this particular "Heart Cocktail"（ハートカクテル）vignette called "Cool Lunch Time" some time in 1987. Now, the vignette is not referring to a cold meal such as hiyashi chuuka but the fact that some young fellow in the throes of the wonders of the Bubble Era of Japan is enjoying a spectacularly kakkoii noon hour.

Leaving your Ralph Lauren suit on a branch while you surf during your lunch hour?! Living life large, my friend! Would like to see your life insurance coverage as well. Anyways, the song that adorns "Cool Lunch Time" is another Ken Shima（島健）concoction with the same title that is powered by Nobuo Yagi's（八木のぶお）romantic and saucy harmonica. I always love a good bluesy-jazzy harmonica so you can imagine that I'm also getting some wonderful Toots Thielemans vibes as I listen to this. Now if the name Nobuo Yagi sparks a memory, then you may know about his group Curtis Creek Band.

Originally, "Cool Lunch Time" belonged to Shima's contributions to "Heart Cocktail", "Heart Cocktail Vol. 4" from August 1987, but I gather that from the thumbnail image to the video of the song below, it's also been included on the recent "Heart Cocktail ~ Original Soundtracks" from 2024. Also, have a listen to his "Yakko Ressha"（夜行列車）which is also a part of Vol. 4.

My own cool lunch time back in the day? Well, it wasn't surfing. It was more like hitting Mickey D's and then browsing through Tower Records in Shibuya.

Naoya Matsuoka -- Cosmos Avenue（コスモス アベニュー）

 

As with Kayo Grace above, I was also eating sushi with a couple of friends at a place that I'd never been to before, Jyugyoya in the Bayview-Leaside neighbourhood. The weather wasn't the greatest since the clouds kept threatening to open up on pedestrians but it was still a nice walk through this quaint area in the city. The food was good, the service was fine and the company was wonderful.

I'd like to start this edition of Urban Contemporary Fridays on KKP with another entry from the "Heart Cocktail"（ハートカクテル）series. First off, the original NTV film "Cosmos Avenue" involves a couple who look to be fairly long into their relationship judging from the nature of their banter, and it looks like they seem to be exchanging stuff over a fairly long distance between their respective homes. 

The somewhat banging "Cosmos Avenue" soundtrack which plays during the nearly three-minute vignette is by Naoya Matsuoka（松岡直也）and is included in the 1986 "Heart Cocktail Vol. 1" album of songs. It's elegant and busy at the same time with the string synths flowing over a hammering synth rhythm punctuated by syn-drums. Still for something more organic, there is a piano beating away at its heart.

WISE (Tony's Show) -- Omoide One Cushion（思い出ワンクッション）

 

It's been a while since I've put up anything from the Seizo Watase（わたせせいぞう）"Heart Cocktail"（ﾊｰﾄｶｸﾃﾙ）collection. Feeling the stress build up over the past several days, I can do with something musically relaxing.

When I began the "Heart Cocktail" file near the end of 2022, the first article in there was the 1986 "Glass ni Yubiwa"（グラスに指輪）by the duo which went by the names Tony's Show or WISE. Well, I brought them back again but this time, it's for an instrumental titled "Omoide One Cushion" (One Cushion of Memories). This comes straight from the Tony's Show YouTube channel and it's listed as a 1987 creation with it being included as the first track from "Heart Cocktail Vol. 3" although I couldn't track down the exact "Heart Cocktail" vignette that it accompanied on NTV. Apparently, it's also included on "Heart Cocktail Original Soundtracks" which was released last year.

Those opening keyboard notes and the soft summery afternoon vibes have been enough to take a bit of the load off my shoulders. In addition, the trombone solo contributes some good old nostalgia. Takumi Yamamoto（山本拓己）of WISE was responsible for both composition and arrangement.

Ah, whaddaya know? I could find the vignette!

Naoya Matsuoka -- Knock wo Shinakatta Santa Claus（ノックをしなかったサンタクロース）

 

Well, I guess today being a Sunday, it will be a cocktail-related instrumental day for "Kayo Kyoku Plus". My previous article was Nash Music Library's "Cocktail From Japan" and for this one, we go back to the wistful and sophisticated stylings of Seizo Watase's（わたせせいぞう）"Heart Cocktail"（ハートカクテル）given animated life in the 1980s.

Today's "Heart Cocktail" entry is titled "Knock wo Shinakatta Santa Claus" (The Santa Claus Who Didn't Knock) and it's about a fellow on the borderline between melancholy and pragmatic. He's had one final drink at Jesse's Bar during the Yuletide a week after having a major fight with his girlfriend who hasn't been seen since. The guy heads to his cold apartment (no central heating in Japan), probably even colder without his girlfriend and thinking that's the end of a beautiful relationship before hitting the hay in his clothes. He then has a dream involving a flying car and a Miffy-like rabbit behind the steering wheel (what was in that egg cocktail?!) before waking up and finding his girlfriend puttering away in the kitchen. Cold War resolved.

Of course, it wouldn't be a "Heart Cocktail" episode without the accompanying stylish soundtrack and sure enough, the late musician Naoya Matsuoka（松岡直也）comes up with the song, also titled "Knock wo Shinakatta Santa Claus". It's a classy slice of mellow Latin jazz that lightens the so-be-it moroseness of the protagonist's story of love lost and surprisingly regained. The song is the penultimate track on "Heart Cocktail Vol. 1" from 1986. I have a feeling that the entire album can be used as dinner music anytime during the year.

Shigeaki Saegusa -- Sally no Shiteiseki（サリーの指定席）

 

For your information, the photo is of the interior of the Tokyo International Forum just north of Ginza. Cavernous is an understatement.

Coming to the end of the year, I would be remiss if I didn't include at least one more song from the original vignettes of Seizo Watase's（わたせせいぞう）"Heart Cocktail"（ハートカクテル）on NTV in the 1980s. I always appreciate the classy and poignant.

The less-than-two-minute segment here is titled "Sally no Shiteiseki" and I could have easily translated it as "Sally's Reserved Seat" but it's not meant in that way. The better translation is "Sally's Usual Seat" or "Sally's Old Seat" since it refers to a former flame of Tatsuo who used to sit in the front passenger seat next to him in their old jalopy. The narrator and Tatsuo get together at their favourite stylish bar where they speak about their former girlfriends and by the end, the narrator (who is only drinking the lightest of beers and cola) drives Tatsuo home in the jalopy with a bag of green apples where Sally (real name Saori) used to sit.

OK, I'd like to let you all know right now, I've only got a speck of dust in my eye. Nothing more.😭 Anyways, the classy and very poignant score for the episode has the same title as the vignette and it was created by composer and arranger Shigeaki Saegusa（三枝成章）. "Sally no Shiteiseki" almost forces listeners to go back into fonder memories of yore and I could imagine that the score could have easily belonged to any live-action trendy drama soundtrack.

The Hyogo Prefecture-born Saegusa has worked on operas and other areas where classical music is involved. However, he has also provided scores for anime including "Heart Cocktail", specifically his own contributions to the show via the 1987 "Heart Cocktail Vol. 5" album, and even the "Gundam" franchise including the famous "Char's Counterattack".

Naoya Matsuoka -- 2500-nen: Takeru no Ai（2500年 - タケルの愛）

 

Usually the fifth article on Urban Contemporary Fridays is set aside for the weekly Yutaka Kimura Speaks translation, but I did want to put this one in (no worries...Yutaka will still be getting completed tonight) since I actually referred to him earlier today in the MASH article.

Yup, the late Latin jazz musician and arranger Naoya Matsuoka（松岡直也）was also involved in the anime project for Seizo Watase's（わたせせいぞう）"Heart Cocktail"（ハートカクテル）in the 1980s. In fact, Volume 2 of the soundtrack series for the show is under his purview. Specifically, he brought in the music for this episode in 1987, "2500-nen: Takeru no Ai" (The Year 2500: Takeru's Love). This time, "Heart Cocktail" takes us far into the future for a sci-fi story where love and City Pop still co-exist apparently. 

I didn't quite get all of the story but the main character of Takeru lives in a society where emotions are literally non-existent within a person until one becomes old enough to handle them in a more civilized fashion or they're just kept suppressed for a certain period of time. On the eve of his surgery to get those emotions back, he has some hint of something for the pianist in his favourite bar and the pianist appears to oblige him with a date the next day immediately after his surgery. However, he finds out from his buddy that it was all a ruse by the pianist who's been "processed" in what might have been a "cruel-to-be-kind" strategy to get a lock on his newly-recovered emotions as he also gets a Dear John message via future Skype from the lady. Was she a replicant? Did she end up getting dismantled after fulfilling her final mission? Inquiring minds want to know. 😕

As much as I was left a bit confused by what had happened in the vignette, I really did like the accompanying music which also has the same title of "2500-nen: Takeru no Ai". It's got plenty of variety: a classical streak in there for some Fashion Music, the technopop to represent the future, and maybe some of that City Pop sheen. Unfortunately, the recorded version on "Heart Cocktail: Vol. 2" doesn't have the brief vocals that were displayed while the vignette was playing out. All in all, it's a beautifully enigmatic piece by Matsuoka.

Ken Shima -- Yakko Ressha（夜行列車）

 

What was one of the famous quotations from "Casablanca", my favourite old Hollywood movie? 

"Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." by Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart).

Perhaps replacing that "Louis" with "Minako" may sum up the guy's feelings in this vignette "Yakko Ressha" (Night Train) from the 1986-1988 anime adaptation of "Heart Cocktail"（ハートカクテル）, the ultimate City Pop manga by Seizo Watase（わたせせいぞう）. I couldn't help but get those "Casablanca" vibes and for that matter, vibes from a lot of those old romances. Now I know how a bottle of Suntory, cheese, crackers and almonds can be made adorably lovey-dovey. Nice touch with the old-timey fashion, too.

Jazz pianist and arranger Ken Shima（島健）was responsible for the dreamy urban music for "Yakko Ressha" which could have earned a place on any live-action drama. According to from what I could figure out from the J-Wiki article for "Heart Cocktail", the vignette probably came out in 1987 and the track was a part of Shima's contributions to the show under "Heart Cocktail Vol. 4". Shima took several years to work in the United States with folks like drummer Tony Williams and saxophonist Joe Henderson and returning to Japan in 1986, he's collaborated with Southern All Stars（サザンオールスターズ）, Mika Nakashima（中島美嘉） and Ryoko Moriyama（森山良子）among others.

So far, this is the third entry in the "Heart Cocktail" file on KKP to join Mio Honda（本田美緒）and Tony's Show.

Fair use is “a doctrine that permits limited use of copyrighted material without acquiring permission from the rights holders. Examples of fair use include commentary, criticism, news reporting, research, teaching, library archiving and scholarship.”

Mio Honda -- Monochrome Fantasy（モノクローム・ファンタジー）

 

Earlier this afternoon, I presented WISE's "Glass ni Yubiwa"（グラスに指輪）which was the musical accompaniment for one of the vignettes in the 1986 anime adaptation of Seizo Watase's（わたせせいぞう）"Heart Cocktail"（ハートカクテル）. Since last night, I've viewed a few of those 3-minute romantic introspectives. I was struck first by the City Pop stroll of "Glass ni Yubiwa"; considering the content of "Cinderella Express 4 ~ Sepia Iro no Kamome"（シンデレラエクスプレス 4 「セピア色のカモメ」）, I was surprised that the song hadn't been made a campaign song for Japan National Railways.

Well, after "Cinderella Express 4", I tried my luck some more like a guy at the slots to see if I could find some more similarly cool City Pop among the "Heart Cocktail" mini-episodes. Unlike the poor guys at the one-armed bandits, I did hit another jackpot soon enough. The vignette here, "Aki ni Mukatte"（秋に向かって...Heading Into Fall）, has struck me as being a little less straightforward. If I have the script right, the narrator is a friend of a rather self-absorbed guy who seems to express more love for his new Suzuki motorcycle than for his girlfriend. The girlfriend is in one scene only and once she's gone, that's probably all for that relationship. The rest of the vignette has the boyfriend go on his touring trip when he may finally realize that there is no one to come home to. Judging from his final appearance, he may not be too unhappy either. But that's my take...if anyone can understand Japanese and confirm or correct me, please let me know.

The vignette's title "Aki ni Mukatte" should have hit me right on the head where the plot was going to go. After all, a lot of kayo which are set in the autumn have illustrated that the season is one where romance goes to die. Bittersweet to be sure, but the accompanying song is another fascinating element. "Monochrome Fantasy", which turned out to be Mio Honda's（本田美緒）4th and final single, was released some time in 1987, and just like the episode itself, the tone is bittersweet and uncertain about the future although it expresses some beauty through Honda's firm yet feathery vocals.

Kouichi Seitou（清藤耕一）handled the lyrics of a woman on her own after the death of her own romance while jazz pianist and composer/arranger Ken Shima（島健）took care of the melody. "Monochrome Fantasy" fits the tone of the vignette but I can also see it as being an ideal one as a sophisticated pop tune for a night out in Tokyo.

There's not much on Honda's bio but what I could find on "Idol.ne.jp" is that she did pretty well on the 1981 edition of the audition show "Star Tanjo!"（スター誕生!）and made her debut in 1982. I also sampled her debut single but I'm not quite sure how to pronounce it: is it "Ai Dancer" or "Kanashii Dancer"（哀ダンサー）? Regardless, the meaning is "Sad Dancer". I'll cover that one soon enough although knowing how my memory works, I may decide to do it sooner than later rather than risk forgetting about it for years.

WISE (Tony's Show) -- Glass ni Yubiwa（グラスに指輪）

 

I'm not particularly huge on art but I have to admit that I'm an admirer of the illustrations of mangaka Seizo Watase（わたせせいぞう）. To add onto that, I've been buying his calendars for the past couple of years, and I've already gotten my 2023 edition ready to put up on the wall in a few weeks' time. He seems to be a purveyor of the romantic scene with beautiful and well-to-do couples in various milieus such as a beach or a well-apportioned home or a classy soiree. 

from eBay

I knew that Watase had created a very popular manga, "Heart Cocktail"（ハートカクテル）, which lasted for several years beginning from 1983. Never read it myself since romance isn't exactly my thing. My take on it was that it was all about the beautiful people in Japan doing beautiful things in beautiful cities and towns with a slight helping of ennui on the side. My other conclusion was that if my favourite genre of City Pop were created into a visual art form, then it would be done by Watase.

Well, then I started looking around to see if there were any connections between Watase and City Pop, aside from any album cover designs that he may have done back in the 1980s. It didn't take long before I hit pay dirt when I discovered on YouTube that in that decade of Japanese economic success and the Bubble Era, NTV had broadcast an anime adaptation of "Heart Cocktail" between 1986 and 1988. It was the network's first late-night anime in about 17 years and it was shown more as very brief 3-minute vignettes of love (past or present) in the metropolis to reflect the style of the original manga. In fact, according to J-Wiki's article on "Heart Cocktail", the show was given the subtitle of "A Story Lasting One Cigarette" (not surprisingly, the show's sponsor was Japan Tobacco).

One that I found above is titled "Cinderella Express 4 ~ Sepia Iro no Kamome"（シンデレラエクスプレス 4 「セピア色のカモメ」... Sepia Seagulls） so there was even a sub-series within the series, and if it's anything like Yumi Matsutoya's（松任谷由実）"Cinderella Express", it was all about the weekend romantic commute between Tokyo and Osaka back then. And with this fourth entry, the fellow remembers an old romance with Misako in which he had to do that exact Cinderella Express on the Bullet Train since he was working in Osaka at the time. Unfortunately, the relationship didn't last but one night coming off the Shinkansen, he notices a seagull pattern on a young girl's cardigan; the girl and her mother are going up the stairs as he is going down. His memory flashes to an identical pattern of seagulls on a drink coaster at his and Misako's old haunt, Melty. Then, he wonders whether the mother was indeed Misako. Ahhh...that succulent heartache!😘

It didn't take long for my question on Watase and City Pop to be answered. The song that was playing all throughout those three minutes is "Glass ni Yubiwa" (The Ring in the Glass) which sounds so City Pop or J-AOR that my heart grew three sizes today (wait, that's The Grinch!). I'd say that the languid and bittersweet tune was tailor-made for Omega Tribe（オメガトライブ）but it was indeed by a different act. It took a while but apparently the duo of Takumi Yamamoto（山本拓己）and Shingo Kanno（菅野真吾）either went by the name of WISE or Tony's Show. But hey, I'm good either way.

The two of them worked on the lyrics while Yamamoto tackled the music. Apparently to match with the number of volumes for the VHS tapes or LDs, there were also a number of soundtracks for "Heart Cocktail" the anime, and with "Glass no Yubiwa", it was placed onto "Heart Cocktail Vol. 3" whose tracks were taken care of by Tony's Show.

from Pinterest
(if you wish this to be taken down, please let me know)

I've known Thomas Gibson as Aaron Hotchner on "Criminal Minds", but dang, if there had ever been an American live-action version of "Heart Cocktail", he would have been on that Bullet Train! Ah, as a postscript, I managed to find another delectable tune from the show that I will write about promptly.