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.

Monday, December 3, 2012

Yui Asaka -- C-Girl


First off, let me thank jarteaga obregon, one of the commenters on this blog, for giving me the request to translate the lyrics for "C-Girl" when he was commenting on the entry for Iyo Matsumoto's "Sentimental Journey" (jarteaga, your translation is in the comments section of that entry).

Yui Asaka(浅香唯) was a name and face that I'd seen frequently during the late 1980s in the pages of the pop idol magazines such as "Myojo"(明星) and "Heibon"(平凡), usually in a swimsuit. However, the Miyazaki Prefecture native really didn't pick up on my radar as much as Shizuka Kudo (工藤静香) and Miho Nakayama(中山美穂) did, although with the success of "C-Girl", her 10th single released in April 1988, she was called one of "The Four Aidoru Queens" along with Kudo, Nakayama and Yoko Minamino(南野陽子).

"C-Girl", most likely short for "Candid Girl" since that was the title of the album that also had this single, is the song that I will also relate with Asaka, whose birth name was Aki Kawasaki(川崎亜紀). It also helped that one of my classmates at university was a huge fan of hers, so the song became very familiar to me. The hit was seen as the breakthrough for Asaka, although it was actually her 2nd No. 1; her first was "Niji no Dreamer" (虹のDreamer....Rainbow Dreamer) released in September 1987. "C-Girl" became the 17th-ranked song for 1988, and considering the video above, it was not surprising to note that it was also used as the campaign song for that year's Kanebo Cosmetics commercials. The song, by the way, was written by Yukinojo Mori(森雪之丞) and composed by NOBODY.



Yamadakatsutenai Wink -- Christmas, Christmas


This cute little ditty, "Christmas, Christmas", by Yamadakatsutenai Wink (やまだかつてないウィンク)is the final track on the album, "Yamadakatsutenai CD" (やまだかつてないCD) released in March 1991, although it was released the year before as a single. It got its fair share of airplay on Kuniko Yamada's(山田邦子) comedy-variety show, "Yamadakatsutenai Terebi". Unfortunately, there are only a few YouTube videos of the actual show and none of them have the Xmas episodes (August 2020: Merry Xmas! Look below). Yamada certainly liked to celebrate the holiday on her show with the cast all dressed up in Santa Red and White, and musical guests singing their seasonal tunes, including this one. Not sure if the real duo, Wink, ever covered it.


The song was written and composed by Senri Oe. It goes down like a mug of hot chocolate with a candy cane in it (well, not quite that diabetic). 


Yamadakatsutenai Wink -- Christmas, Christmas

Junichi Inagaki/Junichi Inagaki & Kohmi Hirose -- Christmas Carol no Koro ni wa(クリスマスキャロルの頃には)

  

Ah, yes! This is one of the biggies for J-Xmas music. I first heard "Christmas Carol no Koro ni wa" (At The Time of the Christmas Carols) when it was actually used temporarily as the theme song for that Saturday night music show on TBS, "Countdown TV". I'd known about Junichi Inagaki(稲垣潤一) for a few years as this crooner of Japanese adult contemporary music since I already collected a few of his discs with hits like "Natsu no Claxon" and "Long Version"....summer sunset songs. So it was a bit of a surprise to hear him tackling the very seasonal topic of Xmas. However, this song has turned out to be probably his most famous hit to the public at large.


"Christmas Carol no Koro ni wa" was originally the theme song for a drama titled "Homework". Never saw it but I did catch the opening credits on YouTube one time, and I just thought it was somewhat of a mismatch hearing this song against some very un-Christmas-y scenes of summer. However, according to the lyrics written by current AKB 48 Svengali Yasushi Akimoto(秋元康) (composed by Makoto Mitsui「三井誠」), the song deals with a man's view on the current doldrums of his relationship with his girlfriend; they are currently living far apart, and the man is wondering how to make things right. So, not particularly the most Yuletide of themes, perhaps, but considering the title and its release date of October 1992, its status as an Xmas song has stuck. For me, whenever I hear the melody at least, my image is that it should've been the theme for some sort of Tokyo-based suspense-thriller.


The song entered Oricon at No.3 and within a couple of weeks, it hit the top spot for a total of 4 weeks (not consecutive). Inagaki's 27th single was his first really big hit in about a decade since his 3rd single, "Dramatic Rain" in 1982. It would become the 34th-ranked song for 1993.


In November 2009, Inagaki's 48th single was in the form of a duet covering this song with songstress Kohmi Hirose(広瀬香美). Also, it was included as a track in his 2nd album of duets with other female singers, "Otoko to Onna 2" (男と女2....Men and Women 2). I did get the single for myself but compared to the original, I found this version to be a bit underpowered.


The original still contains a lot of punch 20 years after its release, and it gets a lot of airplay in my ears around this time of year. Not surprised by this piece of trivia considering how self-effacing Inagaki is, but the singer has remarked that one time when he went into his local supermarket, he heard a Muzak version of his magnum opus on the speakers....and quickly made a beeline for the exit.

Junichi Inagaki -- Christmas Carol no Koro ni wa
(I wonder if this cover was meant to be seen with 3D glasses.)

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Checkers -- Gizagiza Heart no Komori Uta (ギザギザハートの子守唄)


"Gizagiza Heart no Komori Uta" (Jagged Heart Lullaby) was Checkers' very first release (although it was the second song recorded by the young band). Right from the start, it had that 50s doo-wop style which made the boys famous (although lead vocal Fumiya Fujii once remarked that when he had first heard it, he thought it was enka....oh that Fumiya, what a card). This was another favourite at Kuri, and a heavy-rotation song by my old university friend in her apartment.



Written by Chinfa Kan(康珍化)and composed by Hiroaki Serizawa(芹沢廣明), "Gizagiza" was released in September 1983, and spent about 42 weeks bouncing about the Top 100 of Oricon, peaking at No. 8 and becoming the 20th-ranked song for 1984.

As for how Checkers got its name, someone on the production or managing staff got a brainwave via the fact that a number of the Western bands from the 50s and 60s had names that started with a 'C' and ended with an 'S'. Apparently, "Checkers" hadn't been taken, so the name stuck.

Yumi Matsutoya -- Lodge de Matsu Christmas (ロッヂで待つクリスマス)

(AI cover)

Yup, my first official Xmas-themed kayo kyoku. So, let's start from the beginning. According to kayo kyoku folklore, Yumi Matsutoya's(松任谷由実) "Lodge de Matsu Christmas" (Christmas Waiting at the Lodge) is apparently the very first Japanese pop song dealing with the Yuletide*. I've come across one other blog stating that point, but in the journalistic world of getting confirmation from at least two other sources, I cannot definitively say that this is an actual fact. However, I have yet to come across any other original J-Xmas song dating before 1978, which is when this song first came to light.

"Lodge de Matsu Christmas" is the very first track on Matsutoya's 6th album, "Ryusenkei '80"流線型 '80....Streamlined '80) which was released in November 1978, and was the 2nd album to be recorded under Yuming's married name. The title pretty much says it all: a young lady waiting at the ski lodge for her boyfriend to arrive over the Holidays. Cue 1990s Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan movie plot. The melody seems to pay a slight homage to The Carpenters, the duo that has near-legendary status in Japan, and it seems to simultaneously address the adult and child in its listener through its arrangement.

It's become quite the standard song during this month, and if you take a look at YouTube, you'll find more covers of it by various people than the actual person.



Another track on "Ryusenkei '80" has already been profiled: "Futo wo Wataru Kaze"(埠頭を渡る風).

*December 9 2012....I found a song that even predates this one (by over 20 years) as the first J-Xmas song...possibly.

Yumi Matsutoya -- Ryusenkei '80

An Aidoru Medley of Christmas

Well, seeing that I've been in December for almost an hour here in Eastern Standard Time, I might as well start with the Christmas festivities that I'd been promising for a couple of weeks. So from now until December 25th, I will be coming up with at least one J-Xmas song a day. Some of the entries will be well-known, others not so much.

I found the above YouTube video purely by accident, but it fits the beginning of this Xmas project to a tee. What better way to start the Xmas season for this blog but to have a few of the most famous aidoru of the 1980s do an Xmas medley on "Yoru no Hit Studio"? Not sure when the show was taped, although with two of the ladies in there, I would have to peg it somewhere in the latter half of the decade.

The Tokyo Hilton in November 2009.

Judy and Mary -- Sobakasu (そばかす)


One night, I caught a rather noisy commercial on TV plugging this band led by a post-punk pixie who reminded me of a Japanese Bjork. Had to turn down the volume. But then again, I noticed this band, Judy and Mary, coming up on a lot on the "Countdown TV" rankings. "Countdown TV" was a Saturday late-night show that had these three CG characters do the weekly music rankings. I saw one of their early hits, "Over Drive", and thought there was a bit more melody to be had there in that song. Then came "Sobakasu"(Freckles) some months later, this tune that started off with a monstrous electric guitar riff before it suddenly shifts into this pop-rock-blues line. After hearing it a few more times on TV, I was hooked. It was time to get the CD single.



The start of Judy and Mary was something like out of the movies. In fact, it was out of a movie. Back in 1991, bassist Yoshihito Onda(恩田快人), who had been with a heavy metal band called Jacks N' Joker, was visiting Hokkaido when he crossed paths with Yuki Isoya(磯谷有希), a college student who had been recruited as an extra on some action film. Isoya had wanted to start a band but didn't know how to go about it so she asked Onda for some advice. A couple of years and a few more added people later, Judy and Mary was born in 1993 with their debut single, "Power of Love".



As for "Sobakasu", Judy and Mary's 9th single was released in February 1996, and became their first and only No. 1 hit until their breakup in 2001. It was the first theme song for the anime "Rurouni Kenshin"るろうに剣心), but strangely enough, the YUKI-penned lyrics (Onda composed the song) were actually an ode to the anime character, Candy Candy. It became the 18th-ranked song of 1996, and was included in their 4th album, "The Power Source", released in March 1997. It was also a No. 1 album and was ranked 4th for all of 1997.