Men At Work -- Down Under

 

In the last several months, I realized that I'm once again a late bloomer. All these years, these YouTube videos of the Australian morning show "Today" have been showing up and it's amazing how loose these fellows are in terms of their humour and laidback manner. It's gotten to the point that I frankly know these broadcasters by their first names now: Lisa, Georgie, Sylvia, Ben, Steve, Brooke, Ally among others, and of course, the heart of the show, Karl. I can honestly say that there is no one like Karl in any of the morning shows that I've seen in Canada or the United States. Just for the record, the first "Today" video I caught was the infamous "Pussy! Get out of my pants." one.

When I was but a wee lad, geography wasn't particularly my forte and I kept wondering about nations such as Australia and Austria and what the big difference was between them. And it was quite interesting when I found out about the switch in seasons and the Coriolis force and that magnificent accent down under. Well, guess what? This week's Reminiscings of Youth article will be on "Down Under" by Australian band Men At Work.

I remembered Men At Work and their hit song "Down Under" as closer to being a mid-1980s tune so it was a surprise to get a memory check and realize that it was actually released in November 1981 as an official single, some time after first getting onto vinyl as a B-side to a 1980 release. Of course, back then my vocabulary for music was embryonic at best so I had just treated it as a catchy quirky pop number with a flute, years before I read on Wikipedia that it's been categorized as New Wave, reggae, pop rock and pub rock. Vocalist Colin Hay and lead guitarist Ron Strykert came up with the melody with Hay also providing the lyrics. I didn't pay too much attention to the lyrics being more of a melody man but there was plenty of Aussie terminology in there. For example, what I'd thought was "...and gave me a a bite of his sandwich" was "...and gave me a Vegemite sandwich". I wouldn't have my first taste of Vegemite for many years afterwards in Japan, and to be honest, I actually prefer Vegemite over natto (sorry, Japan).

"Down Under" was up and over on the charts and in a number of nations including Australia, Canada and America, it hit No. 1. Though the song and the weird music video didn't give me any concrete insight into the country at the time, it did provide a bridge to Paul Hogan and his popular commercials regarding Australia.

Speaking of Aussie slang, I have to admit that I never knew that completely innocuous terms here in Canada such as "Dutch oven" and "muff" could elicit wails of laughter down under.

Anyways, what else was coming out as singles in Japan in November 1981?

Sugar -- Wedding Bell

Hiroko Yakushimaru -- Sailor Fuku to Kikanjuu （セーラー服と機関銃）

Junko Ohashi -- Silhouette Romance（シルエット・ロマンス）

Hall & Oates -- I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)

 

Just in the last several days, I've been hearing about this feud between Daryl Hall and John Oates over a massive decoupling of their business partnerships. Every couple or partnership has their ups and downs but the fact that Hall & Oates are now going up against each other in court is rather sad considering all those wonderful songs that they've given us over the past half-century.

I can imagine that the late-night show hosts have already made darkly humorous hay over the battle, but I'm thinking that the two are basically attacking each other in the courtroom with their own hit song titles: "I can't go for that!", "No can do!", "Say it isn't so!", "You're out of touch!", and "Some things are better unsaid!". They're grooving each other into legal submission.

However, let's get back to happier decades with Hall & Oates. This week's Reminiscings of Youth article will be on their 1981 hit "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" which was released in November. Created by the duo and Sara Allen, I remember it for that sly smoky groove and the percussion, and then there was the music video which was as atmospheric as all get out with the gauzy lighting and just Daryl, John and saxophonist Charles DeChant grooving away in a darkened room. 

Considering the current frayed condition of the relationship between the two Pennsylvanians, the following which I got from "Something Else!" via Wikipedia is poignantly ironic concerning the meaning of the lyrics:

Speaking about the meaning of the lyrics, John Oates has stated that while many listeners may assume the lyrics are about a relationship, in reality, the song, "is about the music business. That song is really about not being pushed around by big labels, managers, and agents and being told what to do, and being true to yourself creatively." 

"I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" managed to reach as high as No. 2 on Canada's RPM ranking list while in the United States, it hit No. 1 on Billboard, going Gold in both countries. 

Now, which other three singles in Japan were being released in November 1981?

Hiroko Yakushimaru -- Sailor Fuku to Kikanjuu （セーラー服と機関銃）

Junko Ohashi -- Silhouette Romance（シルエット・ロマンス）

Sugar -- Wedding Bell

Sugar -- Kiss ga Ippai（キスがいっぱい）

Good Free Photos

Whenever I think of the vocal trio Sugar（シュガー）from the 1980s, I always envision their most recognized song "Wedding Bell"（ウエディング・ベル）and shiver a bit. After all, those lyrics that the ladies sing so sweetly also carry a major shiv in vengeance against a former beau and his blushing bride. Not sure how the audience reacted at the Kohaku Utagassen that New Year's Eve when Sugar performed it.

But no worries this time...the shields can come down. "Kiss ga Ippai" (Plenty of Kisses) is a straight-on gushy love song that has quite the feeling of a Candies（キャンディーズ）tune in arrangement and delivery by Miki, Kumi and Mohri. Written by copywriter-turned-lyricist Yoshiaki Sagara（さがらよしあき）, composed by Shinji Harada（原田真二）and arranged by Ichizo Seo（瀬尾一三）, this was the trio's 6th single from April 1983. With those particular keyboards in there, I'm not quite sure whether "Kiss ga Ippai" would be considered a pop tune or a technopop tune so I've decided to cover the spread by including both genres in Labels. Kinda too bad that the original recording isn't up on YouTube.

Wedding Songs

 

Well, I was traipsing through Mariya Takeuchi's（竹内まりや）J-Wiki file the other day when I realized that she and Tatsuro Yamashita（山下達郎）got married in April 1982. Whoa! That would mean that last month, the First Couple of City Pop just celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary. Finding out that the traditional 40th anniversary gift is ruby, I wonder whether the two got a gift from Akira Terao（寺尾聰）...very inside joke there.

Yes, I forgot to laugh, too. Anyways, realizing that piece of Japanese popular music trivia and also knowing that the upcoming June is a favourite time for those weddings to take place, I figured that I could create a short list of wedding-themed songs. Now, I also know that there are many many of those songs all over the kayo and J-Pop spectrum, but these are ones that came relatively readily to mind once that idea came into my head. Plus, they already have representation on the blog, so here we go in no specific order.

Mariya Takeuchi -- Let's Get Married (1984)

Reimy -- Marry Me (1990)

Yumi Matsutoya -- Anniversary (1989)

Yuzo Kayama -- O-Yome ni Oide （お嫁においで）(1966)

Sugar -- Wedding Bell (1981)

(Warning: Don't play this at a wedding reception...lovely bossa nova tune but really spiteful lyrics😁)

Takuro Yoshida -- Kekkon Shiyo yo (結婚しようよ）(1972)

Hiromi Go -- Oyome Samba （お嫁サンバ）(1981)

Rumiko Koyanagi -- Seto no Hanayome （瀬戸の花嫁）(1972)

To finish up, Happy 40th to the Yamashitas and congratulations on any viewers who will be tying the knot in the next little while!

Sugar -- Ijiwaru Shine（いじわるShine）

Happy Monday! Didn't think that I would find, let alone, hear another song by the 1980s pop trio, Sugar. The trio of lead vocalist/keyboardist Miki Kasamatsu（笠松美樹）, leader/bassist Kimiko Mohri（毛利公子）and guitarist Kumiko Nagasawa（長沢久美子）were famous for the sweet-sounding but bile-filled hit "Wedding Bell" which got them their lone shot on the 1982 Kohaku Utagassen. After that, though, my impression was that Sugar was more of the one-hit wonder.

Still, I was happy to discover that one of their later songs got onto the "Drive" entry in the "Light Mellow" album series of City Pop/AOR. Titled "Ijiwaru Shine" (Nasty Shine), this was written and composed by the late Mohri as a plenty mellow urban contemporary number about keeping the good summery times going. Originally, it was a part of their third album "Sugar Bean" from May 1983. Very pleasant combination of those familiar City Pop instruments including a flugelhorn (I think) and the harmonies of Sugar that I remember from "Wedding Bell".

In Mohri's lyrics, there was mention of drinking back a ginger ale, probably between puffs of that cigarette. Considering that I've heard the drink even being included in a City Pop song title, I'm kinda wondering whether Canada Dry was the official non-alcoholic libation of the genre everywhere.

Sugar -- Wedding Bell

I remember back in the 1982 Kohaku when the Southern All Stars gave their bizarre performance of "Chako no Kaigan Monogatari" and ended up having the NHK switchboard light up like a Xmas tree with tons of complaints. But I also remember just before the band came on, the Red team had this other unit, Sugar, appear for their first and only time.

The three members, Miki Kasamatsu（笠松美樹） (lead vocal, keyboards), Kumiko Nagasawa（長沢久美子） (vocal, guitar), and Kimiko Mohri（毛利公子） (vocal, bass, leader), sang their only big hit, "Wedding Bell". They started off with a harmonious intro before going into a bossa nova swing worthy of listening while drinking cocktails by a swimming pool. Kasamatsu's really high vocals made the aidorus sound like the baritones in a barbershop quartet, but all three were aiming for the stratosphere. Since I'm also a casual bossa nova fan, it was nice to hear this song as a contrast against some of the aidoru pop songs that had preceded it. And at the end of their performance, their harmony started quivering a little before they all gave a very cute "Domo Arigato"in unison.

Sugar was formed in 1981. Mohri and Nagasawa first met in high school in Kanagawa Prefecture and then formed the unit, Karinto (named after the sweet crunchy Japanese snack). When Kasamatsu joined up, there was the name change. As for the reason for choosing "Sugar", they simply said "We are not the salty types". Uh....yeah. In any case, their debut song was indeed "Wedding Bell" released in November 1981.

However, as sweet as the music and vocals are, the lyrics by Yoshiaki Furuta（古田喜昭） (who also composed the song) are pretty bitter. "Wedding Bell" tells of the story of a young woman invited to her old flame's wedding, and her grousings of resentment against the groom and bride. And the final line in the refrain is "Kutabacchimae! Amen!"(くたばっちまえ！アーメン！）That first word roughly translates as "F**K YOU!" Kinda like getting cursed at by Minnie Mouse. I'm sure a lot of the more refined audience members were waving their sensu a little more quickly in front of their faces after that one....but then again, Southern All Stars may have trumped Sugar in that department.

The song peaked at No. 2 on Oricon and became the 13th-ranked song of 1982, so the band waited over a year to get their limelight on the Kohaku. Sugar released 13 singles and 4 original albums before breaking up in 1987. By that time, the members had given up their instruments and became known as a purely vocal group. Sadly, in 1990, the leader Kimiko Mohri passed away at the age of 29 due to complications during pregnancy.