Quruli -- BIRTHDAY

 

For all those in the United States, Happy Memorial Day! Hope all of you are enjoying the long weekend. And for anyone else who was born on this day, May 29th, Happy Birthday! Without trying not to sound like "Entertainment Tonight", you are sharing birthdays with composer Danny Elfman, seiyuu Saori Hayami（早見沙織）and former Spice Girl Melanie Brown.

We're still exploring the varied discography of rock group Quruli（くるり）and today I have here their 14th single from February 2005, "BIRTHDAY". The band has been full of surprises for me since nikala came up with their 2014 eccentric pop tune "Liberty & Gravity" while I went back to their debut single not long ago, "Tokyo"（東京）from 1998 which is more alternative rock from that decade.

"BIRTHDAY", which was written and composed by vocalist/guitarist Shigeru Kishida (岸田繁) during their third phase (July 2002 to December 2006 with a year off in between), is also a track on Quruli's November 2005 6th studio album "NIKKI". According to J-Wiki, the band had wanted the album to follow a 1960s UK rock path a la The Beatles, The Who and The Kinks, three groups that Kishida greatly respected. "BIRTHDAY" is an upbeat love tune that also strikes me as having a bit of country in the guitars and bouzouki. I was also interested who was helping out with the background vocals, and I found out that it was singer-songwriter Inotomo（イノトモ）.

It's kinda too bad that we only have the shortened version of the music video here since it's nice to see the Man in Pink dancing about in Tokyo. "BIRTHDAY" reached No. 10 on Oricon while "NIKKI" hit No. 3 on the album charts.

Inotomo -- Calpis（カルピス）

I wouldn't mind having a sip of the drink right now. It was always so easy in Japan to get a Calpis whether it was in a PET bottle from the nearest conbini or a can from a vending machine. Nowadays in Toronto, though, it's one of those drinks that I can get perhaps once or twice a year and at a fairly hefty price.

Well, there is always a trade off. I get great Greek food here but only went to a Greek restaurant just once in Tokyo in my 17 years there, and I wasn't too impressed. I do enjoy my souvlaki and flaming saganaki!

Before I get further away from the topic, allow me to introduce the very relaxing "Calpis" by Fukuoka-born singer-songwriter Inotomo（イノトモ）, aka Tomoko Inoue（井上ともこ）. This "Calpis" from her 4th album "Nanairo"（七色...Seven Colours）in May 2003 is worthy of several sips from a tall cool glass of the famous Japanese yogurty drink, preferably in a hammock. The song even has a bit of bossa nova in there, too.

Inotomo came to Tokyo as an 18-year-old and after learning about acoustics, she initially started work as a sound designer for a theatre troupe before making the switch to a musician. She made her debut in 1998 and has released 10 singles and 12 albums including a BEST compilation and a live release. Inotomo has also created many jingles for commercials.