Maki Kanzaki -- Mou Heiki（もう平気）

 

I'm introducing another new face onto the blog and her name is Maki Kanzaki（神崎まき）. One point in her J-Wiki biography that got my attention immediately was the detail that during her time in America, the 22-year-old Kanzaki was one of the dancers in Janet Jackson's famous 1989 "Rhythm Nation" video. That point was also made at the "Anime News Network" and the Transformers Wiki under her other stage name of Mickey-T.

Kanzaki could be the dancer to the left of Jackson from the audience's point of view but I'm not sure. Maybe the more eagle-eyed among you can track her down after taking a look at her visage in the thumbnail below.

The Tokyo-born singer-songwriter had been active even earlier in her high school years by performing in a band around the Roppongi club circuit before going to the United States for a few years. But on returning to Japan in 1992, she released her first single "Arbeit Days"（アルバイト・デイズ...Part-time Days）. This particular song, though, is "Mou Heiki" (It's Alright Now), a track from her debut album "Niji no Fumoto e"（虹のふもとへ...To The Foot of the Rainbow） released in May of that year.

A song that hovers over the line between pop and 90s City Pop, the lyrics by Hiroshi Yamada（山田ひろし）relate the tale of a young woman struggling and then finally getting over a recently broken-up romance and making the strides to recovery. Meanwhile the melody was provided by Ken Yokoyama（横山剣）of Crazy Ken Band, and there's even a bit of Motown injected into the arrangement. Kanzaki's vocals struck me as being slightly less stratospheric than the similar vocals of one Kohmi Hirose（広瀬香美）who was also making her way through the music industry at the same time.

In addition to her six singles and four studio albums along with her live work, Kanzaki has helped out as backing chorus for other acts including Hikaru Utada（宇多田ヒカル）, Ken Hirai（平井堅）and TRF. As I also mentioned above, she has gone under the name Mickey-T to provide songs for a few tokusatsu and anime franchises such as "The Transformers".

Crazy Ken Band -- Christmas Nante Dai Kirai!! Nanchatte（クリスマスなんて大嫌い!! なんちゃって）

 Unlike in some other years, I've been finding some good sources for J-Xmas this year, including a 2-CD compilation of the stuff through "Fantastic Christmas" which was released back in 2006. Most likely, I picked it up at Tower Records or HMV in Shibuya. When the season comes, these compilations pop up like jack rabbits all over the place and I'm Elmer Fudd...a more successful one.

One of the more recent examples on CD 2 is Crazy Ken Band's（クレイジーケンバンド）"Christmas Nante Dai Kirai!! Nanchatte" (I Hate Christmas!! Just Kidding) which was whipped up by Crazy Ken Yokoyama（横山剣）himself with co-writing help from Goro Matsui（松井五郎）. This was CKB's 6th single from December 2002, and I can only theorize, mind you, but that title probably got formed from the observation that it was playing on Yokoyama's usually initially scary appearance but then folks find out that he's really a decent sort. I think the same thing has probably come from first meeting Masayuki Suzuki（鈴木雅之）.

Although I probably wouldn't place it within the City Pop genre, there's something about "Christmas Nante Dai Kirai!!" that sets it on the snow-covered downtown streets as folks are making merry while doing their Xmas shopping and dropping by the nearest café for hot chocolate with marshmallows. If it had been filmed somewhere in Toronto, I think the community of Unionville just a tad north would have been perfect.

Still, the music video setting is just as good and to confirm the uploader's suspicions, indeed "Christmas Nante Dai Kirai!!" was adopted for a cellphone commercial. Couldn't get more Xmas-y than this with a few thespians in there including actress Juri Ueno（上野樹里）. The song peaked at No. 14 on Oricon and was placed onto CKB's BEST compilation, "Crazy Ken Band BEST" which hit as high as No. 10 on the album charts.

Crazy Ken Band -- Ah, Yaru Tok'ya Yaranakya Dame nano.（あ、やるときゃやらなきゃダメなのよ。）

 

On the night before the final month of 2020, even though it's a Monday, it might be nice to have something a little happy and party-like especially during these uncertain times when we have to stay apart.

At this point in my life, I can only fantasize about what a Crazy Ken Band（クレイジーケンバンド）concert or even a Crazy Ken Band soiree must be like, but I'm fairly sure that it isn't boring. Just find some live house in Shibuya or Shimo-Kitazawa and the joint will be hopping with Ken Yokoyama（横山剣）and the guys down there. 

That's the impression that I get especially listening to CKB's coupling song, "Ah, Yaru Tok'ya Yaranakya Dame nano." from their 7th single "Amai Hibi"（甘い日々...Sweet Days） released in February 2003. I can translate it directly as "You Gotta Do It When It's Time to Do It" but the English title for the song is apparently "Ah Means I Love You". This is another one of those tunes that I can't simply stamp with the Pop label; there is just too much going on. I can pick up on some jazz here and some doo-wop (it actually reminds me of "We Go Together" from the movie "Grease") there. But as written and composed by Crazy Ken himself, I think it's just made for live performance when the audience is ready for some good ol' happy fun.

But I gotta admit that seeing what looks like the cast from an NHK kids' show popping up on the stage with the Crazy Ken Band is something that really lands in from left field. Should some of those kids have been up so late? Doesn't matter...it's a fun song! The single itself reached as high as No. 24 and "Ah, Yaru Tok'ya Yaranakya Dame nano." managed to get included on CKB's June 2003 album "777" which peaked at No. 14 on the charts.

Tomita Lab -- Kono Yo wa Fushigi featuring Yuko Hara, Ken Yokoyama, Ringo Shiina and Yu Sakai （この世は不思議 - 冨田ラボ feat. 原由子、横山剣、椎名林檎、さかいゆう）

Up to this point, I had always seen Tomita Lab as this wonderful weaver of laidback cafe-friendly songs such as the ones that I fell in love with on his debut album "Shipbuilding" from 2003.

Then, a few nights ago, I happily encountered this cute video with these kids emulating a typical "Law & Order" episode a la "Bugsy Malone". Even better, the child actors were lip-synching to this cool tune titled "Kono Yo wa Fushigi" (This World Is Strange). Composed by Tomita Lab and written by Shintaro Sakamoto（坂本慎太郎）for the former's 4th original album "Joyous" from October 2013, it brings back some nice memories of Stevie Wonder's brand of funk.

And it's got Yuko Hara（原由子）from Southern All Stars, the divine Ringo Shiina（椎名林檎）, Ken Yokoyama（横山剣）from the Crazy Ken Band, and singer-songwriter Yu Sakai (さかいゆう ). Nice to hear Tomita Lab go a bit more uptempo and downtown here. I'm such a sucker for Stevie Wonder and the horns and can only fantasize this superstar lineup performing this onstage someday. Now I gotta wonder about catching up on the Lab's collection. The album by the way peaked at No. 39.