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!!!」）

Miho Nakayama -- Sweetest Lover

Happy Friday! We're at the end of another work week so as far as "Kayo Kyoku Plus" is concerned, it's time for some urban contemporary material. A few nights ago before I went to sleep, I decided to listen to the late Miho Nakayama's（中山美穂）"angel hearts" album from December 1988. 

I'd expected "angel hearts" to launch with a bang such as one of her dance-pop numbers created by Toshiki Kadomatsu（角松敏生）...although Kadomatsu had nothing to do with this album. Actually, the only biggest constant in the songwriting crew is Chinfa Kan（康珍化）, but for this first song, "Sweetest Lover", it was Miporin herself that came up with the lyrics of dedication to the love of one's life; mind you, she went under the pen name of Mizuho Kitayama（北山瑞穂）. The very tender soulful ballad melody was created by another singer-songwriter who also left us very prematurely, CINDY, with Ichizo Seo（瀬尾一三）handling the arrangement. 

"Sweetest Lover" sounds like a nice comfortable way to ease into the waters of "angel hearts" and the style of the song reminds me some of the balladry that was coming out back in those 80s in the States. I'll have to see if I can cover the rest of the album but I'll have to re-listen to it once more; it did too good a job of sending me off to La-La Land.

Some "White" Songs for White Day

Amazon.jp

 

Ah...yes. Shiroi Koibito（白い恋人...White Lovers）...commenter Brian Mitchell (who lives in Aomori Prefecture) and a lot of Japanese travelers ought to know the above wafer cookie very well. I even bought some of them myself as souvenirs. It's one of the more famous ones from the Tohoku area and it goes well with coffee or tea.

Now, I realize that it's Urban Contemporary Friday but when I was watching Jme earlier tonight, I was quickly reminded that March 14th is indeed White Day, the day when the guys give their own version of Valentine's Day chocolates to the gals at school or in the office. So it's a bit of a rush job and after looking out for the appropriate songs on this list, I just didn't want to throw all that out and wait until tomorrow, so the fifth slot today will be for songs that have the word "white" or "shiroi" in their titles.

(1969) Betsy & Chris -- Shiroi Iro wa Koibito no Iro （白い色は恋人の色）

(1969) Billy BanBan -- Shiroi Buranko（白いブランコ）

(1978) Mayumi Shibata -- Shiroi Page no Naka ni （白いページの中に）

(1986) Miho Nakayama -- Iro-White Blend （色・ホワイトブレンド）

(1996) Saruganseki -- Shiroi no Kumo no You ni （白い雲のように）

Ben E. King -- Stand By Me

 

It was often the case that if I were doing an obituary article, it would be for someone in the Japanese music industry. I would wake up in the morning and catch NHK's "News at Nine" which broadcasts live some fourteen hours ahead of us here in Toronto when we're on Eastern Standard Time and then find out if a singer or other person within the industry had passed away. 

via Twitter

This morning though, it was a little different. Via the CP24 news scroll, I found out much to my shock that actor-director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Singer Reiner had been found murdered in their home. Reiner was someone that I'd known since I was an elementary school student. The first time I was aware of him was when he had his memorable if brief guest part in an "Odd Couple" episode in the early 1970s when he was performing with the late Penny Marshall who'd had a recurring role on the show as Myrna Turner and who'd been married to Reiner at the time. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any clip of that scene on YouTube or elsewhere but I was able to find a photo that you can see above. Reiner is the man in the white dress shirt, third from the right standing next to Marshall who would become an A-lister director herself.

Reiner would gain further fame that decade as Mike Stivic, the hippie son-in-law of the irascible and conservative Archie Bunker played by Carroll O'Connor in the landmark CBS sitcom "All in the Family". Not surprisingly, sparks flew fast and furious between them.

I didn't watch a lot of "All in the Family" but I did remember catching one episode "Mike the Pacifist" in which Mike had to do something drastic while he and his wife were traveling on the scary New York subway.

Reiner would follow more heavily on the directing track rather than acting which he did on both TV and movies. His directing career was all for the big screen, and like Japanese songwriters Yu Aku（阿久悠）and Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）, I often went "He did that?!" when I scrolled down Reiner's filmography as a director. He helmed "This is Spinal Tap", "When Harry Met Sally" and "The Princess Bride" among other flicks. I caught "A Few Good Men" and also "Stand By Me", the August 1986 coming-of-age movie mostly based in 1959 with some rough around the edges. There were stars in the making in that one including Wil Wheaton who would take on the role of Wesley Crusher in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" the following year and then Kiefer Sutherland who would become the Jack Bauer of "24" fame.

I remember when the movie came out, the old 1961 Ben E. King classic of the same name was unearthed as the main theme song to much acclaim. During the movie's run, "Stand By Me" got a lot of airplay on the radio and then as a music video starring King alongside at least some of the actors starring in the movie. When King's song was released in 1961, it hit No. 4 on US Billboard and even with its revival a quarter-century later, it returned to the Top 10 there at No. 9. In Canada, it did even better by hitting the top spot. Personally, I also remember "Stand By Me" as a favourite karaoke song in both Toronto and in Japan...not sung by me, of course. It deserved a better fate than that.

My condolences go out to almost all of Reiner's family, friends and many fans.

So for this special ROY, what was being released as music singles in Japan in the same month as "Stand By Me"?

1986 Omega Tribe -- Super Chance

Akemi Ishii -- Cha-Cha-Cha

Miho Nakayama -- Tsuiteru ne, Notteru ne（ツイてるねノッてるね）

Miho Nakayama -- Arukinasai!（あるきなさい。）

 

There is a sad but grateful anniversary today in the Japanese music world. It was a year ago today that singer-actress Miho Nakayama（中山美穂）passed away at the age of 54, and I'm sure that many of her fans have been paying some tribute to the former 80s aidoru-turned-pop diva. They may be listening to her discography or watching her movies and TV shows. Hers was an untimely departure but she left us a grand number of singles and albums stretching for a few decades.

From me, I've decided to post an article about Miporin and one of her more obscure songs. I've written about her single and title track "Mellow" from her 1992 album. Well, this is the second track following that title track which starts it all off, "Arukinasai!" (Walk, Dammit!).

Written by Nakayama without going to her songwriting pseudonym of Issaku（一咲）and composed by Yusuke Asada（浅田祐介）, this is a rather weirdly put-together mash of a few genres and perhaps befitting of its lyrical and overall tone. Miporin's story seems to revolve around a flighty and footloose-and-fancy-free woman who might annoy the heck out of everyone around her, so perhaps the title is their collective admonition to her. At the same time, it could also be the lady's own inner voice to get out there and see the world. Melodically, it's a pop song grafted with some R&B dance elements and a spaced-out middle. Even the singer happily gets into the funk with her delivery.

J-Xmas Songs Without Anything Overtly Christmas-y In The Title

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to December. Not sure how it is meteorologically where you are, but here in Toronto, we woke up to a wind chill factor of around -7 degrees Celsius and a slight frosting of snow on the ground. Not surprisingly, the department stores and malls are in Christmas mode with the appropriate music, and sure enough, even KKP has entered the Yuletide spirit.

Of course, Christmas songs such as "Jingle Bells" and "White Christmas" are famous all around the world. And even the ones whose titles don't have a "Christmas" or "Santa Claus" or "Jingle" or "Eve" are well-known for their Xmas cheer including "Sleigh Ride" and "Little Drummer Boy". Now, in Japan, where Christmas has been taking hold of the population like icing on carrot cake for years and years and years (aside from the fact that it isn't a statutory holiday over there, and really shouldn't be), as we all know in "Kayo Kyoku Plus", many J-Xmas tunes have been created during the better part of the past century. And I'd add that perhaps around 90% of them have those special key words that I've mentioned above that would provide the big hint that Christmas is on the way. There are those tunes such as "Christmas Eve" and "December 24" that pretty much give the show away.

However, the remaining 10% don't have any of those Christmas-y buzzwords in the title. Therefore, for those listeners who have just gotten into Japanese popular music and are starting to discover the Xmas section of kayo kyoku and J-Pop, as a public service, I've decided to start December off with some of those J-Xmas songs that don't overtly include anything Christmas-y in the title. Perhaps they can make for some delightful discoveries for some. So without further ado:

(1985) Akiko Kobayashi -- Stardust Memories

(1988) Kazuo Zaitsu -- Fuyu no Main Street（冬のメイン・ストリート）

(1990) Crayon-sha -- Tokyo Yakei（東京夜景）

(1991) Miho Nakayama -- Tooi Machi no Dokoka de （遠い街のどこかで）

(1997) Caoli Cano & Hiroshi Takano -- First Flight

(2004) Masatoshi Hamada & Noriyuki Makihara -- Chicken Rice（チキンライス）

The Firsts (Audio Ware) by J-Canuck

 

Welcome to the final full week of November 2025. With the autumn in full swing, it's easy to get a bit wistful about the passage of this year and time in general. And I've gotten into this mood as well. I've been doing "Kayo Kyoku Plus" now for what will be approaching 14 years so our baby has turned into a snappy teenager. 

I first started the blog out by talking about the many examples of kayo kyoku and J-Pop that I purchased and knew for years and years and what the surrounding situation was for each article. Of course, that has changed since for the past several years, I'm writing mostly about new songs by familiar and not-so-familiar singers and bands that I've encountered and sometimes when I get into a whole long series of those, I do wonder about getting things "on track" in a manner of speaking and at least presenting those songs that I've known about since my toddlerhood.

We have "The First" category in the Labels and I remember that I put up my own article almost five years ago on some of the firsts that I achieved through particular songs such as the first kayo kyoku that I ever heard. Well, along that similar track, I'm going to post about the first examples of Japanese music media that I ever bought or got as a gift since they are different from that other list. The above thumbnail shows the first entry.

1. First Tokusatsu Maxi-Single: Kamen Rider/Mirror Man/ Silver Kamen/Ultra Seven (1972)

2. First Audiotape: Yellow Magic Orchestra -- Yellow Magic Orchestra (1978...bought in 1981)

3. First 45" Single: Hiromi Iwasaki -- Madonna Tachi no Lullaby (聖母たちのララバイ）(1982)

4. First LP: Seiko Matsuda -- Train (1985)

5. First CD album: Akina Nakamori -- Cruise (1989)

6. First CD single: Miho Nakayama -- Virgin Eyes (1989)

Miho Nakayama -- Moonlight Sexy Dance

 

Listening to this one, I wondered how Madonna was doing these days. I haven't seen her around in many a moon and there's something about "Moonlight Sexy Dance" that reminds me of some of the dance-pop that Ms. Ciccone was performing back in those 1980s.

Anyways, "Moonlight Sexy Dance" is a track from Miho Nakayama's（中山美穂）7th studio album "Mind Game" which was released in July 1988. I've seen that album cover a lot over the years and that picture of her in a very slight bikini was likely playing a whole lot of mind games with fans. Anyways, "Moonlight Sexy Dance" does remind me of some of Madonna's Latin-tinged or 1980s Miami-influenced material with the lighthearted and skippy pop. It also doesn't hurt that Miporin has that delicate and breathy delivery. Chinfa Kan（康珍化）was responsible for lyrics while Takao Sugiyama（杉山卓夫）took care of music and arrangement. As for "Mind Game", it reached No. 2 on Oricon and finished up the year as the 36th-ranked album. 

Alphabet Songs

Wikimedia Commons

Welcome to a steamy Sunday in the Greater Toronto Area. I think you have probably read me referring to Yasushi Akimoto's（秋元康）harem of aidoru groups such as AKB 48 as the Alphabet Aidoru. Well, today to start this broadcasting day on "Kayo Kyoku Plus", I'll be providing some Alphabet Songs through their titles.

There's something here that is almost downright "Jeopardy" about this selection. I'll take Alphabet Songs for $200, Alex!

(1985) AB'S -- CIA

(1985) Miho Nakayama -- C

(1989) Princess Princess -- M

(1986) Bernard Fowler and Ryuichi Sakamoto -- G.T.

(1981) Yellow Magic Orchestra -- U.T.

Miho Nakayama -- Keep Awake

 

The above is a shot of the interior of Roppongi Hills in Tokyo. Can't quite believe it's already been 22 years since construction had been finished on this project. I remember when it first opened, it was absolutely flooded with interested folks trying out its restaurants and shops. 

Keeping awake is one of my problems after lunch now. Right after having the sandwich and stuff, I always plunk myself into the armchair and then end up dozing off for several minutes. My encroaching age is a factor and when I eventually wake up, I gotta shake off the grogginess because I have to get back to the computer and take care of "Kayo Kyoku Plus".

But ironically enough, I have a 1990s Miho Nakayama（中山美穂）song titled "Keep Awake", and if she were right beside me saying this into my ear, I would go "YES, MA'AM!!". The second track from the late singer's 15th studio album from June 1993, "Wagamama na Actress"（わがままな あくとれす...Selfish Actress）, this was another example of Miporin exploring various aspects of Latin or R&B going into the final decade of the 20th century. Smooth with some funky notes, I think some of that percussion kinda goes into the New Jack Swing of things. Nakayama herself came up with the lyrics while Julia provided the melody.

On Behalf of Tanabata（七夕）: It's 7!

Wikimedia Commons
via Immanuel Giel

 

It is (or was in Japan) July 7th 2025 which means another day to celebrate Tanabata, commemorating the star-crossed lovers Orihime and Hikoboshi. This year, though, is particularly auspicious because July 7th is falling in the 7th year of Reiwa (another way of saying 2025 in Japan) and so people noticing that it is the 7th day of the 7th month in the 7th year, much hay has been made out of it. For example, couples have been flooding their local city halls to register their marriages today and in a lot of supermarkets, some products have been priced at 777 yen. 

Now, I've done my commemorating of the holiday sometimes on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" for specific songs in the past, but this time, I've decided to become a little more ambitious by applying a few gimmicks to this Author's Pick.

First off, let's provide three songs that have something to do with the number 7.

(1967) The Echoes and The Misuzu Children's Choral Group -- Theme from Ultra Seven （ウルトラセブンの歌）

(1996) Dreams Come True -- Shichi-gatsu, Nanoka, Hare （7月7日、晴れ）

(1986) Checkers -- NANA (yes, I know...this is more of a pun on the number 7 in Japanese, but hey!)

OK, the next three deal with songs that were actually released on July 7th.

(1986) Shonentai -- Diamond Eyes（ダイヤモンド・アイズ）

(1987) Miho Nakayama -- 50/50

(1990) Hideaki Tokunaga -- Kowarekake no Radio （壊れかけのRadio）

And finally, we have someone here who was born on July 7th 1949: 

(1982) Masaki Ueda -- Osaka Bay Blues

May your wishes come true!

Brenda Russell -- Piano in the Dark

 

By the late 1980s, I'd gotten the distinct impression that the multi-week megahit on video shows and radio programs was beginning to fade in frequency. It wasn't quite like the early 1980s when there would be a song by a music superstar taking the baton from the previous artist to be the new No. 1 (or slightly below) person for the next little while. But perhaps that was just my perception.

So, it was something when Brenda Russell's "Piano in the Dark" first appeared in the pop culture zeitgeist as a single in February 1988. I'd never heard of this singer-songwriter before and to be honest, I never quite heard from her again. But for a long time that year, this soulful song was getting the heavy rotation on radio and TV. Created by Russell, Jeff Hull and Scott Cutler, it was this melancholy tune about wondering whether to leave a guy, only for his piano playing to draw the protagonist back in (kinda reminded of a famous "The Godfather Part III" quote here). The moody and smoky arrangement was such that it had me thinking of Quiet Storm again along the lines of Anita Baker.

In Canada, "Piano in the Dark" did OK by scoring a No. 23 ranking on RPM but did far better in the United States where it reached No. 6 on Billboard. It was also a track on Russell's fourth studio album "Get Here" which came out in the same year.

So, what else was coming out as singles in Japan in February 1988?

Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi -- Kanpai （乾杯）

Miho Nakayama -- You're My Only Shinin' Star

Noriko Sakai -- GUANBARE

Miho Nakayama -- Mellow

 

It was a bit odd seeing the latest "Uta Con"（うたコン）on a Sunday morning but the regularly scheduled broadcast on Tuesday had been abruptly cancelled due to a news bulletin. Still, it was good to see the expanded version as the hosts and guests celebrated NHK's century of existence. Plus, there was some poignancy in that enka singer Kiyoshi Hikawa（氷川きよし）was back on the program for the first time in a few years after taking a hiatus and fellow enka singer Yukino Ichikawa（市川由紀乃）also returned after several months away to battle ovarian cancer.

And another big thing was that there was finally a tribute to the late Miho Nakayama（中山美穂）that we had been hoping for but didn't get during last year's Kohaku Utagassen. There was plenty of old footage of Miporin singing on previous NHK music programs which culminated in Hikawa and guest Hiroko Moriguchi（森口博子）performing a couple of her songs on stage.

My contribution to the Nakayama file this time around deals with an album of hers that I saw on sale via the "Eye-Ai" mail order service back in the early 1990s. It featured the singer-songwriter smiling mischievously somewhere in the desert while most of her back is turned toward the camera. Then there was the elegant script of "Mellow", and so the combination was enough for me to part with a money order to get the album.

"Mellow" wasn't only Miporin's 14th album from June 1992, but the title track had also been released as her 24th single earlier in April. To be honest, when compared to the rest of her vast discography, "Mellow" won't be one of my very favourite songs by her but it does stand out as interesting at least for that hard rock guitar and bashing percussion intro before the measured stomp of a rhythm comes in with Nakayama's delicate vocals. Although Yoshimasa Inoue（井上ヨシマサ）was responsible for the melody and arrangement, I think I've heard that same guitar riff in the intro from some other rock song outside of Japan. Nakayama took care of the lyrics under her pen name of Issaku（一咲）. Both the single and the album peaked at No. 3 on Oricon.

Miho Nakayama -- Last Scene ni Ai wo Komete （ラストシーンに愛をこめて）

 

(And not surprisingly, the video is gone!)

A couple of days ago, fellow Miho Nakayama fan and KKP contributor Marcos V. was kind enough to inform me of a video on YouTube showing the late singer-actress' final concert recorded last July and released late last November, only several days before her untimely death. It's been up on the platform for about a couple of weeks now and frankly I don't know how long it will stay up before the powers-that-be probably clamp down upon the uploader, so get your views when you can. There's also a disclaimer by the fellow stating that the video will only be available at night. I'm assuming that means Japan Standard Time. As well, there are time stamps on the YouTube page so you can check out your favourite Miporin tunes.

When I got my own copy of Miho Nakayama's（中山美穂）"Blanket Privacy", her 6th compilation album of re-recordings of her ballads, two new tunes and three cover songs from November 1993 years ago, I was surprised that one of those covers was Ruiko Kurahashi's（倉橋ルイ子）"Last Scene ni Ai wo Komete" (Fill The Last Scene With Love). Not to say that doing so was the wrong thing to do by any means; Kurahashi remains one of my favourite singers to this day. It's just that I had never expected a former aidoru-turned-pop singer to cover a tune by another singer whose profile didn't reach anywhere near superstar status (although Ruiko has a very dedicated following including myself). To be honest, the only connection between her and any other singer that I was aware about was through the duet consisting of her and Takao Horiuchi（堀内孝雄）, "Hanrira"（ハンリーラ）back in 1985.

And yet, here Miporin is, covering a Kurahashi Fashion Music classic. The original "Last Scene ni Ai wo Komete" has an epic orchestral feeling that makes me feel as if it could be used for an Oscar ceremony "In Memoriam" segment. For Nakayama's cover, the Knock arrangement of Fumiko Okada（岡田冨美子）and Kisaburo Suzuki's（鈴木キサブロー）creation keeps things classy but has more of a contemporary power ballad feeling. Although I think in any emotional tribute video to the singer, a more well-known Miporin ballad will be used, her "Last Scene ni Ai wo Komete" could also fit the bill.

From Amazon.ca

Just for Fun...The J-C AI Gallery -- Shizuko, YMO & Miporin

 

Hello. It's been a while since I've opened the AI art gallery, and nope, this isn't a second Xmas edition like the last one I did back on November 24th. The next Xmas edition will come out on Christmas Eve, I promise you. However, take a gander at today's selections.

Shizuko Kasagi -- Tokyo Boogie-Woogie （東京ブギウギ）

Yellow Magic Orchestra -- Technopolis（テクノポリス）

Miho Nakayama -- Midnight Taxi

Some More of My Favourite Miho Nakayama Songs

 

I think Miho Nakayama（中山美穂）fans are still coming to grips that the singer and actress left this mortal coil last Friday way too tragically and early. As a tribute, I quickly put up most of the songs that Miporin had performed during her several years of performances on the annual Kohaku Utagassen but I didn't realize that I had never put up an Author's Pick of favourite tunes by her. To be honest, those songs that have already been listed on that article are my favourites so it would obviously be repetitious to put them over here as well. 

However, I would like to add two more tunes here since I do love them very much and unfortunately Nakayama never had the opportunity to sing them on the New Year's Eve special on NHK. Of course, if there are fans out there who would like to say what their favourite Miporin songs are, please let us know.

(1990) Midnight Taxi

(1991) Tooi Machi no Dokoka de （遠い街のどこかで）

Farewell, Miho Nakayama (1970-2024)

 

About an hour ago, I was watching NHK's "News at 9" live when in the middle of the broadcast, I saw the screen behind the anchor showing Miho Nakayama's（中山美穂）smiling visage with the anchor seriously saying "A very popular aidoru from the 1980s, Miho Nakayama was...". I just went "Oh, no...not her". 

To say that I was shocked and saddened of her death at the age of 54 is an understatement. It's still very early hours in the situation but apparently, she was found in the bathroom of her house on December 6th by a friend who had come visiting with some concern after not showing up for work. As of this writing, the cause of her death has yet to be identified but she had been scheduled to give a concert later that day which was cancelled because of health concerns. Not surprisingly, on hearing of her sudden passing, some of those fans arrived at the venue to mourn.

My memories of Miporin not only include her many hits from the middle of the 80s well into the 90s, but also my impression that she along with a few other aidoru in the latter half of that decade spearheaded a new look during that time. The early 1980s were led by Seiko Matsuda（松田聖子）, Akina Nakamori（中森明菜）and Naoko Kawai（河合奈保子）as the cutest-of-the-cute teenybopper singers running along the beach or skipping through fields of flowers, but with those singers either taking a hiatus or evolving into pop superstars approaching 1985, there was a next generation from the mid-80s which included Miho Nakayama as aidoru who came off as more street-smart and not-suffer-fools-gladly young women; perhaps ladies who were just as willing to hit the dance clubs of Tokyo as they were to head to the beach. In fact, I had even placed Nakayama, Shizuka Kudo（工藤静香）and Momoko Kikuchi（菊池桃子）into my own imagined Gosanke as aidoru representing this slightly harder-edged group of singers.

I hadn't planned to start the usual Friday round of KKP articles until later this afternoon, but on hearing of her death, I felt that I had to write down some thoughts as soon as possible. My condolences go out to her family, friends and her many fans everywhere. This will be a sad day but perhaps all of us can get together and appreciate the music that she left behind along with her many acting roles over the past few decades. Below I'm leaving some of the songs that she performed on her 7-year run on NHK's Kohaku Utagassen.

(1989) Virgin Eyes

(1990) Aishiterutte Iwanai! （愛してるっていわない！）

(1991) Rosa

(1992)  Sekaijuu no Dare yori Kitto （世界中の誰よりきっと）

(1994) Tada Nakitakunaruno （ただ泣きたくなるの）

David Foster -- Winter Games

 

Tomorrow is the official opening day of the Paris Olympics although there has already been some action today, and I figure that it's time to put up some Olympic fare for Reminiscings of Youth this week. 

A reviewer from "Rolling Stone" once described Canadian record producer and composer David Foster as a "master of . . . bombastic pop kitsch". Like ouch! And nope, it wasn't even a tongue-in-cheek backhanded compliment. However, with all of his contributions to Canadian, American and Japanese pop music, I'd like to state that he is MY master of bombastic pop kitsch. There are songs that he helped craft for other singers that I still like to hear after so many decades.

One of them has even been mentioned before when I did an Author's Pick on the man himself back in early 2019, and that was "Winter Games" for the Calgary Olympics in February 1988. I'd already been aware of his works as an 80s pop song enthusiast but this one landed a 10 on the mat when it premiered because it sounded so epic, friendly, wintry and downright Canadian for some reason. That main piano melody has always reminded me of shushing down the ski slopes without a care in the world, and I believe that it probably hit the Japanese in a nice way, too, because over the years, my impression has been that they have always appreciated nimble-fingered piano pop from musicians like Foster and Richard Clayderman outside of Japan and their own Midori Karashima（辛島美登里）and Hiroko Kokubu（国府弘子）.

So, let's see what else was being released in Japan during the Calgary Games, according to the CD/record sales calendar for 1988.

Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi -- Kanpai （乾杯）

Noriko Sakai -- GUANBARE

Miho Nakayama -- You're My Only Shinin' Star

Some Tropical Dancing, Anyone?

 

I guess Kayo Grace and Mr. Calico both have the same idea. It's summer, the patios are open as well as the dance floors, and right now in Toronto, there is the annual Salsa Festival for this weekend. Plus, if I'm not mistaken, the annual Samba Festival will be taking place in Asakusa, Tokyo later this season. Frankly, I was thinking about putting up some previously posted songs which can potentially have listeners doing a bit of the salsa, cha-cha, samba and other dances from around the Equator (well, the salsa is actually from New York) and southwards. Enjoy!

(1991) Orquesta De La Luz -- Watashi wa Piano (私はピアノ）

(1991) Miho Nakayama -- Rosa

(1986) Akemi Ishii -- Hibiki wa tutu （響きはtutu)

(2000) Mondo Grosso feat. Bird -- Life

"Midnight" City Pop

 

Well, it's a lovely depiction of my AI request for "Walking under Tokyo skyscrapers at midnight in anime style" but I don't think the streets of my old stomping grounds were ever that empty during the bewitching hour. But I digress. 

In any case, I've come to realize that maybe City Pop's favourite hour is indeed 12:00 am considering some of the genre's songs. Perhaps it's because the time is a ripe one to still enjoy painting the town red but with a lot of the folks having raced for their final train or subway, there is now a larger openness to the city boulevards and avenues to fully enjoy the night and inhale that fresh air (or what goes for it in Tokyo). The feeling can be either on foot or in the car although I think that there is probably more of that excitement while whizzing the highways and byways in the latter. Of course, you can get the convenience of hearing the relevant music on the car stereo, too, although pedestrians are also able to listen on their smartphones.

Here are some of those "midnight" or "mayonaka" City Pop songs.

(1982) Kingo Hamada -- midnight cruisin'

(1990) Miho Nakayama -- Midnight Taxi

(1983) Tomoko Aran -- Midnight Pretenders

(1982) Takako Mamiya -- Mayonaka no Joke（真夜中のジョーク）

(1979) Miki Matsubara -- Mayonaka no Door （真夜中のドアー）