Mega Shinnosuke -- 18-sai no Natsu Yasumi（18才の夏休み）

 

What was I doing at 18 during the summer? Easy answer there. I was out in a suburban townhouse development painting fences, watering lawns and picking up trash. For two months, I earned my money to help pay for my tuition into university (the other help came in the form of government grants and student loans). It was weird being all by myself (kinda "Omega Man") in this huge area but along with the sunburn and athlete's foot, I did get my wages.

Meanwhile, thanks to singer-songwriter Mega Shinnosuke's July 2024 digital single "Juu-hassai no Natsu Yasumi" (Summer Holiday of an 18-Year-Old), actress Yui Okamoto（岡本ゆい）can enjoy a very pleasant walk out during the summer season (apparently, she can take 35-degree-Celsius-plus temperatures with high humidity) and read the screenplay for "The Trouble with Tribbles", one of the most famous episodes on the original "Star Trek" in a library. No judgments here, though. Any opportunity to soak up the sun and perhaps partake in copious amounts of iced drinks in July or August will always be welcome.

As well, Mega Shinnosuke's song is so relaxing and casual, it could probably hold hands with Ms. Okamoto for that walk through town. "Juu-Hassai no Natsu Yasumi" is also a track on his new album "Kimi ni Motetai!!"（君にモテたいっ!!...Wanna be a Hit with You!!）which is due to be released in September in a few weeks' time. Ah, incidentally, the below video is one scene from "The Trouble with Tribbles".

Mega Shinnosuke -- Midnight Routine

 

Midnight routine? That means my shower and tooth-brushing before either hitting the hay or indulging in some YouTube viewing, although I've been trying to tone it down a little as far as the latter is concerned. At times, I've gone a little overboard with the various videos, and yet there is something to be said about enjoying some quiet time in front of the computer.

Back in 2019, I discovered this fellow by the name of Mega Shinnosuke and his form of neo City Pop called "Togenkyo to Taxi"（桃源郷とタクシー）. I also noted that the Fukuoka-born singer-songwriter has delved into City Pop, rock/funk and synthpop, and this time, his September 2020 digital single, "Midnight Routine" sounds a little different.

"Midnight Routine" actually goes more into some of that indies rock character, perhaps even shoegaze/dream pop, although I can additionally pick up on a bit of ol' Flipper's Guitar Shibuya-kei and a little synthpop. I'd say that it does transcend the genres. It's all quite hazy and breezy in a way mindful of enjoying that after-hours taxi ride home with the backseat windows all the way down one summer night.

Mega Shinnosuke -- Togenkyo to Taxi（桃源郷とタクシー）

I didn't really use taxis all that much in Tokyo when I was living in the area since the subways and JR trains were plentiful and much cheaper, but when I did, it was always a comfortable experience with the drivers in uniforms and white gloves, plus those automatic rear doors...😃. The cab was definitely a godsend whenever I ended up missing the last train home, and it was quite the walk from the outskirts of Tokyo to my neck of the woods in Ichikawa City although by the Tozai Line, I could get from Minami-Gyotoku to downtown within 20 minutes.

Taxis have shown up in a number of titles for Japanese pop songs over the decades such as "TAXI" by Kiyomi Suzuki（鈴木聖美）with Rats & Star, and Miho Nakayama's（中山美穂）"Midnight Taxi", and they've all seemed to have that glow of urban contemporary in their DNA. Well, this number I found some time ago, "Togenkyo to Taxi" (Shangri-La & Taxi) by singer-songwriter Mega Shinnosuke has got some of that modern City Pop essence with some club kid sentiments thrown in. It's nice and groovy and spacey, and the music video has the fellow hanging out with his buddies in an all-night video game parlour in Shinjuku or Ikebukuro, perhaps. The gang also has electropop musician Aaamyyy helping out in the chorus. I think the video and the song make a good match.

Just grabbing bits and pieces from various sources including his Twitter account and Tower Records, Mega Shinnosuke was raised in Fukuoka on November 20th 2000 but now resides in Tokyo. The Tower article mentions that he often traverses the genres of City Pop, rock/funk and synthpop, so he's gotten my attention right there. Also, "Togenkyo to Taxi" has been included on his EP from this June, "Honne".