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 heard this particular song on last night's episode of NHK's "Shin BS Nihon no Uta"（新・BS日本のうた）as performed by none other than bidanshi enka singer Keisuke Yamauchi（山内惠介）who really rocked one out and maybe scratched up his larynx in the process.
To be honest, I hadn't heard of Ulfuls'（ウルフルズ）"Ehh Nen" whose meaning is the Kansai dialectal variant for expressions like "Hey, it's OK", "No worries" and "We're good". It came out as the band's 25th single in November 2003 but also as a welcome back song to one of the original members of Ulfuls, bassist John B. Chopper, after he'd left the band in 1999 due to philosophical differences with the band's sound. I can imagine that the return was loud, joyful and boisterous with plenty of those ehh nen. Written and composed by vocalist Tortoise Matsumoto, the lyrics are basically letting listeners know that whatever the issue, no probs man!
Hey, I can imagine "Ehh Nen" being a popular choice at karaoke, especially if two good buddies in a company department, baseball team or neighbourhood association had gone through a sudden tiff followed by the making-up phase. Although "Ehh Nen" was a big hit in the Kansai region, overall, it "only" got up to No. 20 nationwide which nullified some plans to provide variations on the song through regional ways to say "Ehh Nen".
Not that I ever was a John Travolta on the disco floor myself, but Kayo Grace, I'm not sure if that is a disco move you're making there. But hey, who am I to criticize? You're enjoying yourself...that's the important thing.
Anyways, just out of a sense of whimsy...and "Kayo Kyoku Plus" has shown plenty of that over the past twelve years, I'm putting up some of my favourite disco-tinged tunes. Good times!
Ahhh...the Ulfuls（ウルフルズ）. Being from Osaka, they're loud and proud. These would be the guys you'd want to have at your year-end party and they would indeed come over and stay over until January 2nd. I reckon that I've only been at one such party in my lifetime, and no, I wasn't an Ulful. However, I did get to see a strip rock-paper-scissors match between one guy and one gal at the apartment which went all the way.
Yup, just like the above. Incidentally, I'm still waiting for that second season of "Grand Blue".
Speaking of crazy and hilarious anime, I found out about this 2003-2005 anime adaptation of a manga titled "Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo"（ボボボーボ・ボーボボ）. Never saw it myself but from what I've gleaned, it sounds like a mix of "Mad Max" and "The Naked Gun" taking place in the far future.
And speaking of the Ulfuls, they were responsible for the second opening theme song for "Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo", "Baka Survivor" (Stupid Survivor) which was also their 26th single from November 2004. Written and composed by vocalist Tortoise Matsumoto（ トータス松本）, it's a Kansai-dialect buddy encouragement and admonishment to get the troops up and running. As usual for the band, the arrangement is a catchy 70s rock march that seems to fit the anime and its insane characters.
"Baka Survivor" hit No. 13 on Oricon and ended up on Ulfuls' 9th album, suitably named "9", which was released in February 2005 to a No. 6 ranking. The song was so catchy that it wasn't just used as the opening theme for a zany anime, but it was also the theme tune for a televised drama, a variety show, a commercial and a video game based on "Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo".
Happy Monday to you all! After several years of hearing about this legendary sketch on "Saturday Night Live" (I haven't watched the show in nearly 30 years), I finally caught it and had a good laugh. I might be enticed to catch the 50th anniversary of the NBC show in a few years but knowing how hit and miss it has been and the fact that I'm no longer one to watch network television, we'll all have to see.
In the Sudden Delusion by J-Canuck department, if there were ever a Japanese band that could possibly fit into the dynamic on SNL as both guest musical act and guest participants in sketches, it would be the Osaka rock band Ulfuls（ウルフルズ）. Vocalist Tortoise Matsumoto（トータス松本）and the gang can do the wild n' goofy stuff and I can imagine them getting up in their cowboy outfits to do this very song.
"Kawaii Hito" (Cute Guy) was Ulfuls' 15th single from October 1997 and it's a son's tribute to his Mom (Awwwww), so I think putting it on now is appropriate since Mother's Day is just around the corner. Created by the band and Ken Yoshida（吉田建）, "Kawaii Hito" is a sunny and jangly tune that probably did lead to the idea of having a music video based on a good old-fashioned gunfight in a Western town. The old vet in the video was portrayed by the late tough-guy actor Joe Shishido（宍戸錠）.
The song managed to get as high as No. 5 on Oricon and it went Platinum. It was also seen as a good tune for the commercials since it was used for Pocky (above), a brand of Asahi Beer, and the cosmetics giant Shiseido over the years. "Kawaii Hito" was even brought on as the ending theme for an NTV medical information program.
Ooh! Wow! It's truly been a long time since I've had Tortoise Matsumoto（トータス松本）and his Ulfuls（ウルフルズ）up on the blog; the last article up here was the hit "Banzai ~ Suki de Yokatta"（バンザイ 〜好きでよかった〜）that's become one of the go-to songs for celebrations of any sort, especially weddings. I saw the Osaka rock n' soul band late last year on television for the first time in quite a while and during the interview, one of their more recent tunes "Bakayaro"（Moron） was playing.
Wait a minute! "Bakayaro". My mind suddenly registered a not-so-old memory. I remembered that I did cover a few songs that had the singer scream out that Japanese epithet in anger and frustration (quite pliable in meaning depending on how it's translated), and those songs were Hideki Saijo's（西城秀樹）"Shiroi Kyokai"（白い教会）, Masahiko Kondo's（近藤真彦）"Blue Jeans Memory"（ブルー・ジーンズ・メモリー）, and Katsuhiko Miki's（美樹克彦）"Hana wa Osokatta"（花はおそかった）all the way back in 1967. When I wrote up Saijo's tune, I sardonically referred to it as the latest in my bakayaro series, and when I registered it onto Twitter, one of the Hideki fans retweeted it also as such with some humour.
Therefore, when I heard Ulfuls'"Bakayaro", I felt that I've met the fourth in the series and it just so happens to be the title of the song itself. Actually, "Bakayaro" is a track on the band's 14th original album, "Jinsei"（人生...Life）, released in May 2017. It's slightly quieter and more relaxing as an Ulfuls tune which was created by Matsumoto and fellow member John B.（ジョンB）, but the venom and frustration in the lyrics are very loud and clear as Tortoise screams out in very earthy language about the stupidity of having dreams and believing in destiny when the personal problems are here and now without anyone to help out. However in the end, he admits that life is all anyone has (for that limited period of time) and one just has to walk the walk alone (nice animal analogy in the video, by the way) to wherever it leads. I can imagine that this probably has been a karaoke tonic for all of the working folks out there in Japan.
"Jinsei" hit No. 12 on the album charts. Also, have a look at the brief article on the album by Arama Japan.
When I first heard about the Ginza Six complex opening up in... well, Ginza, naturally, I just thought that most of that high-priced neighbourhood was already difficult to enter for a bloke like me. Now, Ginza Six seems to be an even more exclusive place with representation from stores like Fendi, Yves Saint Laurent and Vivienne Westwood. I'm being a bit snarky here, but I think to get in, you have to show proof in the form of an American Express Centurion Card or its equivalent at the entrance to the doorman (WHAT? Only a Gold card? Shoo! There's a Fujiya family restaurant across the street..go!). One of my students actually possessed that card, and yes, she was that wealthy. She could buy her own island with that card (maybe she did).
G Six is built upon the former site of the venerable Matsuzakaya Department Store, an old-style emporium that I sometimes visited with friends for some tea on the first floor. The most notable thing for me there was the bakery which sold the Baumkuchen cake, a dessert from Germany that has long taken hold and gained a popular following in Japan. It was a trademark for Ginza Matsukaya to have those spits rolling the iced cake. Ah, times do change.
Anyways, the new place came with a theme song. Titled "Menuki Dori" (The Main Street), it was released around the time of the opening of G Six in April 2017 as a digital download song and was performed by Ringo Shiina（椎名林檎）and Tortoise Matsumoto（トータス松本）from the Osaka band Ulfuls（ウルフルズ）. Written and composed by Shiina, it was the song that the two performed on last year's Kohaku Utagassen with plenty of glitz and glamour.
I will be honest here. I like Ulfuls' hits from the 1990s such as "Gattsu Daze!!"（ガッツだぜ！！）and of course, I've got a good listing of Shiina's songs on the blog all the way from her debut in the late 1990s including her later, more jazzier offerings and have loved them all. Having said that, watching her and Matsumoto perform on the Kohaku, it was frankly a bit of a hot mess on the Shibuya stage on New Year's Eve, so I was a bit disappointed. It just sounded like all of the instruments including Shiina's and Matsumoto's voices were all ferociously competing to get on the Olympic podium and there was only room for Gold.
Watching the short version of the song and the campaign video for Ginza Six, there was a better fit between the two, and I think Matsumoto looked a whole lot more dapper. I gather that the tone was supposed to be one of giddy chaos and glamour in good ol' Ginza so having the recent Shiina tropes of urgent orchestral strings followed by the fast n' hot jazz were no surprise. And the producers of the video certainly wanted to match that with some pricey fast-paced scenes of life there with the tempo of a screwball comedy. But for me at least, the song seemed a bit too scrunched in. As I said, it was the short version so if I ever decide to download my own copy, I hope that the full version has a larger opportunity to breathe.
Getting married in Japan? I got the song for ya! Probably one of the most memorable hits by good-time Osakan bandUlfuls（ウルフルズ）, "Banzai ~ Suki de Yokatta"(So Lucky to Love You) is just one big exhortation of matrimonial joy right from that first "YEAAAAAAAAH!" I wouldn't be surprised if this is the song that's been played at every wedding reception since its release in February 1996 as the band's 10th single.
Written and composed by leader Tortoise Matsumoto（トータス松本）, it wasn't long after the release of "Banzai" that the man himself got hitched so the fans thought that he had created the song as a present for his blushing bride, but according to J-Wiki, Matsumoto put down those rumours by stating that those lyrics came after the proposal. However, its reputation as one of the Japanese wedding party songs to be sung was pretty much sealed.
(karaoke version)
And why not? Have some of the guys drink down some of the bubbly with one of them on guitar (there is always one guy in the group who played guitar back in high school) and sing away. It's a best-of-times song for the best of times.
"Banzai" didn't break the Top 10, getting as high as No. 13 but it did go Double Platinum and sold more than half a million copies...that's still a hit in the Japanese language. It was also used as the theme song for a Fuji-TV drama "Shouri no Megami"（勝利の女神...Goddess of Victory）starring Masahiro Nakai from SMAP. Eventually it became the 46th-ranked song for 1996. And interestingly enough, it was produced by Matsumoto and veteran singer-songwriter Ginji Ito（伊藤銀次）.
The above is certainly not the official video, but it's still nice to see Tortoise Matsumoto and the rest of the Ulfuls （ウルフルズ）put on another entertaining show. With "Gattsu Daze!!"（ガッツだぜ!!）, the video was a parody on all things chambara. For "Sore ga Kotae da!" (That's The Answer), it's a fun look back at the disco days (i.e. my childhood). And what better combination is there than a bunch of happy Osakans and disco?
"Sore ga Kotae da!" is Ulfuls' 14th single from February 1997 which was written and composed by Tortoise. And just like "Gattsu Daze", it's an inspirational exhortation to get off one's duff, dust off any negativity and strut forward with a mile-wide grin. Indeed, that is the answer for whatever ails one. And I think whenever there was a lull in the proceedings at a Friday night karaoke session with the guys and girls, "Sore ga Kotae da!" would be the one to get everyone back in high gear....that, and imbibing more pitchers of the ever-flowing beer.
Although the song peaked at No. 15, it still managed to go Gold. And I'm sure for a lot of folks in their mid-thirties and older, it still is a must-hear and must-sing.
Side note: If you're situated in Japan and can't access the above video, please use this link instead: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGtnAp8KZ_8 (J-Canuck: unfortunately that URL no longer works), or you can try a VPN server like I did. After all, this song is best enjoyed when you understand the lyrics.
Anyways, I have 6 days of holidays coming up starting Saturday, and between Monday and Thursday I'll be spending some time in Osaka. It's my first real travelling adventure since coming here to Japan and I'm looking forward to it like a little kid going to Disneyland. It just seems like such a fun place to be with friendly locals, good food, and the amusing local dialect. When I told my trainer during the training session in Nagoya that Osaka was one of my top places to visit in Japan, he told me to try fake-slashing a local with a virtual sword and watch them fall over like a defeated samurai. Perhaps I'm not that brave to actually try this, but I got the impression that many Osakans have a pretty animated sense of humor. Which takes me to the band that comes from Osaka itself and pretty much embodies what it's all about: Ulfuls (ウルフルズ).
Before scoring a big hit with "Guts Daze!!", Ulfuls released this funky comical number called "Osaka Strut" (大阪ストラット) in May 1995. Its message is basically: "Come to Osaka! It's a fun place to be!" After hearing so many Japanese pop songs dedicated to Tokyo, it's nice to come across ones like this that celebrate the unique culture of another city/town. The whole thing is splashed with references to things like the Umeda district, the famous Kante G teahouse, the Hanshin Tigers team, etc.. The extended version on their "Banzai" album also contains an extra verse mentioning Amemura and Shinsaibashi. Yeah, I'll definitely check a bunch of these things out. As for the "Naniwa Guitar!" part, Naniwa is an old name for Osaka.
And of course, there's the band's characteristic humor. I do suggest to listen to the song along with the video above since it pretty much acts out the dialogue contained within the lyrics. Along with "Guts Daze!!", it was this song and video that attracted me to this band. And of course, it educated me a bit about their hometown. Their personalities just shine through it, and I especially just love watching the singer Tortoise Matsumoto (トータス松本) in all his various guises blurting out one hilarious line after another in Osaka-ben.
It was only recently that I found out that "Osaka Strut" is actually a cover of a much older song by Eiichi Ohtaki (大瀧詠一) called "Fussa Strut Part 2" (福生ストラット Part 2), which appeared on his 1975 album "Niagara Moon". And yes, there is Part 1, but that's almost a different tune altogether. Ulfuls made the fact a little more obvious by titling their single "Osaka Strut Part II". Fussa is one of Tokyo's suburbs, by the way, and different context means different lyrics. Besides the main melody and the funky vibe, I'd say that the two songs feel quite different. Ohtaki's contemporary Ginji Ito (伊藤銀次) helped Ulfuls out in the arrangement department.
So yeah, this song is gonna be the soundtrack of my life for those four days. And yes, I will be buying a ticket to Umeda when I arrive at the central station. That's where my hotel is.
I gotta admit when I first saw the video for Ulfuls'"Gattsu Daze"(Gotta Have Guts) on one of the music channels in Japan, I wasn't quite sure what to make of it. To quote Steve McClure in his "Nippon Pop":
"The video of their hit tune 'Gattsu daze!!' is a wicked send-up of Japanese cinematic clichés, with ninjas, geishas, samurai and other Edo-period characters cavorting madly in what looks like a Kabuki show choreographed by Spike Jones. Totally insane."
Yeah, I'd probably bring in Weird Al Yankovic and Monty Python into the mix as well. Plus, the song had this old disco beat sung by a group totally not taking themselves too seriously. But with this song, Ulfuls' destiny as this comic rock band from Osaka was set. They definitely set themselves apart from some of the other popular bands at the time like Spitz, Mr. Children and Sha Ran Q. And that extended to the names that the band members took on: Tortoise Matsumoto (vocals), Ulful Keisuke (guitar), John B. Chopper (bass) and Sankon Jr. (drums).
Written and composed by Matsumoto, "Gattsu Daze" is a fun and tongue-in-cheek song of empowerment and encouragement, best sung after a few brewskis at a karaoke box with the guys or gals. The alcohol helps in bringing out the energy needed for the song.. Released in December 1995 as Ulfuls' 9th single, this was the breakthrough song the band had been dreaming about after toiling about since their inception in 1988 and their first single in 1992.
According to J-Wiki, somehow Matsumoto got some direct advice from the technopop dance king of the 90s, Tetsuya Komuro（小室哲哉）; Komuro apparently suggested, "Why don't you put a bit more disco into it?" and then Matsumoto took a listen to one of Komuro's prodigy groups, trf and their big hit of 1995, "Overnight Sensation". And from there, the bones of "Gattsu Daze" were built up. Staying on the disco theme, Matsumoto then came up with the song's repeated refrain via inspiration from KC & The Sunshine Band's classic "That's The Way I Like It"(one of my musical touchstones way back when I was growing up).
Well, with the disco inspiration, the man-up lyrics and the whack-a-doodle video, "Gattsu Daze" may have started slow, but eventually clawed its way up the rankings to peak at No. 6 on Oricon. and become the 36th-ranked song of 1996. Reaching double platinum status, it also got the boys into the Kohaku Utagassen and received "Best Video of the Year" honours from the Space Shower Music Video Awards.
The band's outsized personality also had them as natural pitchmen for commercials. Here's one for Poscam gum.
Ah, as for the derivation of the band name....apparently, it was a misreading of the word "soulful" on one of the band members' favourite albums that was responsible.
A couple of years after Kyu Sakamoto （坂本九）had the biggest hit of his career, "Ue wo Muite Arukou", （上を向いて歩こう）i.e. the Sukiyaki song, he released this upbeat number written and composed by Yukio Aoshima (青島幸男）and Hachidai Nakamura（中村八大） (who had also composed "Sukiyaki"). Yukio Aoshima was not only a comedian and TV personality, but he eventually became the 13th governor of Tokyo from 1995-1999. Instead of the somewhat melancholy original lyrics in "Sukiyaki", "Ashita ga aru sa"(There's Always Tomorrow) is optimistic through and through. It's about a male student who keeps trying to make the first move on the object of his affections but just can't execute.
Since it would be a few years before Oricon would start its ranking system, J-Wiki doesn't supply any numbers but the song did sell over 800,000 copies.
In 2001, the song got a second life when rock groupUlfuls and a one-off unit consisting of 11 core members of the Yoshimoto Kogyo（吉本興業）Agency (which represents Kansai-based comedians) known as Re: Japan gave their own respective cover versions of Sakamoto's hit. For Re: Japan, their "Ashita ga aru sa" debuted at No. 5 on Oricon and spent 2 weeks in the top position. The video above has Re: Japan doing it old school with dinner jackets and a full studio orchestra. And it also comes with translation. The song itself was so successful that it begat a series of commercials for Georgia Coffee with the Yoshimoto comedians appearing as businessmen in a regular company, and that ended up becoming a Saturday night comedy serial that ran for about 12 weeks. One guess as to what the theme song was.
Ulfuls' version had come out almost a couple of months before Re: Japan's take on it. It debuted at the No. 5 spot before staying at its highest position of No. 4 for 5 straight weeks. The single also went double platinum. Their video below has the boys helping out at a ryokan.
