I've been a fan of Japanese popular music for 40 years, and have managed to collect a lot of material during that time. So I decided I wanted to talk about Showa Era music with like-minded fans. My particular era is the 70s and 80s (thus the "kayo kyoku"). The plus part includes a number of songs and artists from the last 30 years and also the early kayo. So, let's talk about New Music, aidoru, City Pop and enka.
Credits
I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.
I think with Brazil being in the Southern Hemisphere, the weather ought to be getting quite a bit warmer with their summer. A lot of folks here are very envious right now.
Anyways, I have another sparkling track by QYPTHONE from their 5th album from December 2002, "Montuno No. 5". And I guess with its track mate, "On the Palette", "Melody" keeps the music from aforementioned Brazil continuing on full speed, although not with the Shibuya-kei of "On the Palette". Perhaps the entire album has that samba and bossa nova theme; certainly, "Melody", written and composed by Takeshi Nakatsuka（中塚武）, plunges into the Atlantic with some exciting samba and I'm assuming that Izumi Ookawara（大河原泉）is the vocalist here. New Year's must be something else down in Rio.
I can barely remember any major scooter scenes in movies. They just don't seem to add anything to exciting chases. However, I have some affection for the Vespa ride that Princess Anne and Joe Bradley took through the streets of Rome in "Roman Holiday". If I'm not mistaken, it's still probably Japan's favourite Audrey Hepburn flick.
And for some reason, I think of that scene when I listen to this snazzy number by QYPTHONE called "Scooter". The last time I wrote about the mastermind behind QYPTHONE, sound meister Takeshi Nakatsuka（中塚武）, it was for his contribution "How To Cook Macaroni & Cheese" for the compilation album "BGM Vol. 1 for Modernica" from 2004. Well, Nakatsuka/QYPTHONE had another foodie connection in that same year, this time through yet another compilation 2-CD set titled "Camembert & Sushi" which is contained on the second "Sushi" disc.
"Scooter" isn't too long at just a sliver over three minutes but it's sure catchy with the boss horns and lyricist Izumi Ookawara（大河原泉）on vocals. I'd probably say that rather than get on a scooter, listeners would be more than willing to get on a stand and do some energetic 1960s dancing. In fact, I think "Scooter" has a cousin-like relationship to Quincy Jones' iconic "Soul Bossa Nova".
Watching NHK's morning information variety show "Asaichi"（あさイチ）as I usually do, I have to say that the cover for this album above has three people who eerily look a tad like the hosts of that show. I see comedy duo Hanamaru-Daikichi Hakata（博多華丸・大吉）and then NHK announcer Naoko Suzuki（鈴木奈穂子）but I admit that I am probably extending things a bit much there.
Anyways, I mentioned QYPTHONE the other day during another visit to the AI gallery and I knew that I had a song by them on the backlog list for a while. Well, it gets shown now and it's a lively Brazilian number called "On the Palette" on QYPTHONE's 5th album from December 2002, "Montuno No. 5". Unlike some of the other songs that I've covered by them, "On the Palette" swings more toward some good ol' samba than the dance remix feeling and obvious Shibuya-kei vibes although they're still in this song if a bit more subdued. It's quite refreshing and yes, I would like some of that orange tea that the vocalist is offering right off the top. Izumi Ookawara（大河原泉）is the lyricist while Takeshi Nakatsuka（中塚武）took care of the happy melody.
No "Uta Con"（うたコン）this week due to the Golden Week holiday in Japan but perhaps folks over here are already feeling the strain of the work week despite it being Tuesday. If they're anything like the guys in the old series "Mad Men", they probably want to hit home as soon as possible and crawl into a comfy martini.
I may just have the perfect musical accompaniment, too. Looks like it's some lounge-friendly salsa jazz with a bit of technology, thanks to "Mustache" by the eclectic band QYPTHONE centering around music maker Takeshi Nakatsuka（中塚武）. A track from the band's 5th and final original album"Montuno No. 5","Mustache" sounds like it came straight from the 1960s instead of December 2002 when the album was released. Nakatsuka came up with the swiveling music while Izumi Okawahara（大河原泉）was responsible for the lyrics.
I've always had a soft spot for these How To YouTube videos. I'm feeling a bit whimsical so I put a couple of them up although I neither drink martinis nor have a mustache.
I'm actually beginning my KKP night tonight really late...as in I'm less than 90 minutes away from midnight and then Sunday morning. One reason is that I decided to watch an entire Toronto Maple Leafs game on "Hockey Night in Canada" earlier, and the other reason is that I went into my other hobby of dozing off a few times in the armchair. Happily, the Leafs won tonight over the Buffalo Sabres, but for those of you who may be reading this across Lake Ontario in Buffalo, New York, I hope that all of you are keeping safe from that lallapalooza of a snowstorm that you're getting whacked with.
Earlier this year, I wrote about this uniquely named band, QYPTHONE, and their warp-driven brand of Shibuya-kei. Led by Takeshi Nakatsuka（中塚武）, who has his individual songs covered on the blog, his "Go-Go Girl" is one tasty aural catch that would have Adam West's Batman more than happy to do the Batusi on the dance floor. That particular song was on their 1999 album"Organic Sound Theatre".
Tonight's QYPTHONE keeper originates from his October 2000 3rd album"Modernica in the House", and it's the final track known as "Tension Attention, Please". It's a playful number that displays quite the affinity for Fantastic Plastic Machine with the classy 1960s swing and Shibuya-kei and a lot of the dance DJ tricks of the trade. I was half-expecting that Pizzicato Five narrator to say something about a stereophonic experience somewhere in there.
There were a couple of mysteries that I wanted to solve in "Tension Attention, Please". Well, actually, one had to do with the title of the album. I had been wondering about the word Modernica, and I was able to find out that it is a brand of furniture that strikes me as being quite 60s in appearance, perhaps like something by Eames (or maybe that was a 50s design). The other thing was within the arrangement of the song, because I also heard some growly patter and then some high-pitched cartoonish voice being exchanged in there.
Well, at first, I had thought that Popeye and Olive Oyl had decided to make their first foray into Shibuya-kei. However, at the Who Sampled website, I discovered that QYPTHONE had sampled a song titled "Here Comes De Kins" by British novelty act The Pipkins in 1970.
Back in 2019, I first talked about a singer-songwriter and sound creator by the name Takeshi Nakatsuka（中塚武）whose music videos captivated me with their dancing CG polygons while my ears were caressed with the sound of jazz and Shibuya-kei. And it was there that I also mentioned that he had his own band in the late 1990s and early 2000s called QYPTHONE.
In fact, it was through a 1997 German compilation album called "Sushi 4004" that QYPTHONE got their introduction to the world. Four original albums under that name were released between 1998 and 2002 with the second one being "Organic Sound Theatre" which came out in November 1999. From that album, I give you "Go-Go Girl".
Man, "Go-Go Girl" is Shibuya-kei on electronica-laced acid. It's like that scene in the first "Dr. Strange" entry when Stephen gets his first rather sudden trip through the multiverse thanks to a mercilessly mirthful The Ancient One...except that it was fun for him. It was fun for us viewers but now all of us can get to go-go dance. We all get tossed around all over the planet via the most hedonistic and alternately chill and crazed dance palaces before we ultimately get thrown back into our bedrooms at the end of the nearly 5 minutes of "Go-Go Girl".
I see that there are some more of QYPTHONE's delicacies up on YouTube. I'll have to give those a try as well. Meanwhile, allow me to finish with a few minutes of go-go dancing.
