trf/TOKYO GIRLS' STYLE -- Overnight Sensation ～Toki wa Anata ni Yudaneteru （時代はあなたに委ねてる）

By the time I got into Japan in late 1994, TK Rave Factory, aka trf, had already become a known commodity within J-Pop and had been in business since 1992. Still considering that I entered the country during their heyday and seemingly got barraged every few months with another chart-topper by the dance-&-music unit, I couldn't help but feel that the title of their 10th single, "Overnight Sensation - Toki wa Anata ni Yudaneru" (The Times Are Devoted to You) was somewhat reflective of their success. It just felt like in my eyes and ears that these guys popped up within a short period of time to take over the industry and spearhead the Komuro Boom (Namie, Tomomi and globe were also on their way).

"Overnight Sensation", yet another Tetsuya Komuro（小室哲哉）creation, came out in March 1995 (just a month after their last hit single "Masquerade"), and unlike the first trf hit I'd heard, "Boy Meets Girl". this one was channeling good ol' disco. And the lyrics described the decadence and trials of painting the town red in one's 20s....as one of my friends terrifyingly put it, the teenage years with a fully-fledged credit card, apartment and job.Yup, I can completely relate to those days when I hear the lyrics "Any way you want, any time you need. Everybody shakes, everybody dance"...and for a good part of my 20s, I only had one of those three things.

trf had their dance moves for their hits but for some reason, I always remembered the choreography behind "Overnight Sensation" best, perhaps because it just seemed so reminiscent of the old disco dance floor that I saw on TV. Mind you, I wouldn't have dared try them out at home. Still, the group still made it all too inviting to grab a handful of friends and head over downtown.....better yet, grab trf and head over downtown.

However, in that official music video, I just found it a bit odd to see them dance in what looked like Clark Kent's farm in Smallville. I half-expected the transplanted Kryptonian to sweep YU-KI, KOO and the rest back off to Japan with a friendly warning about trespassing.

"Overnight Sensation" added to trf's legacy with another million-seller. It was also their 4th of 5 No. 1 hits that got them to the Kohaku Utagassen, along with it becoming the 27th-ranked single of the year. The unit's 5th studio album, "dAnce to positive" also included the song as one of its tracks. The album came out in the same month as the single and also hit No. 1, becoming the 2nd-most successful release of the year, hitting the 2 million mark in sales. It even won Best Album honours at the Japan Record Awards. Yup, I ended up getting my own copy as well.

17 years later, aidoru groups banded together to form a tribute album to trf titled "TRF Respect Aidoru Tribute!!" "Overnight Sensation" got its due via Tokyo Girls' Style as shown above. Below is also the recorded version. The album peaked at No. 119.

Getting back to the original group, the song was also the campaign tune for a Honda product. I'm not sure about the overnight part, but trf was definitely a sensation.

Marina Watanabe -- Marina no Natsu （マリーナの夏）

I was aware that veteran TV performer Marina Watanabe（渡辺満里奈）started her professional life as an aidoru and as a member of Onyanko Club（おニャン子クラブ）but basically my sightings of her over the past few decades have been through her appearances on television as an actress, host or guest panelist and overall tarento. And that includes the above video from "Tunnels no Minasan no Okage desu"（とんねるずのみなさんのおかげです...Tunnels' Thanks to Everyone） which was where I first got to know the Tokyo native. She was often the regularly featured player in The Tunnels' various skits or the overall straightperson to the duo's zaniness (could explain why she ended up getting married to a member from another crazy comedy team, Jun Nagura of Neptune) back in the late 80s. One of the reasons that I enjoyed watching "Minasan no Okage desu" was seeing whether the cute Marina was going to finally crack out laughing at Ishibashi and Kinashi's antics; this didn't happen as much as one might think....she kept a very good hold on her emotions.

But of course, Marina-chan did release singles when not having fun with The Tunnels. I was not very knowledgeable about Onyanko Club but about 7 months after debuting as the No. 36 member in March 1986, she released her first single, "Shinkokyu shite"（深呼吸して...Take a Deep Breath）under the banner of Marina Watanabe with Onyanko Club, and the song hit No. 1 with a bullet. In fact, she became the youngest female solo singer to hit the No. 1 spot at 15 years and 11 months old, breaking the nearly 12-year record established by Momoe Yamaguchi（山口百恵）when she was also 15 years and 11 months old (so Marina's record was achieved by just a smattering of days). No. 36 would hold onto that record for almost 14.5 years until then-Morning Musume member Maki Goto（後藤真希）displaced her with her hit single, "Ai no Bakayaro"（愛のバカやろう...Fool of Love）.

It was quite the achievement to have had. However, one Thursday night at the end of another hilarious episode of The Tunnels, Marina actually picked up the mike to sing a tune, and it turned out to be her 3rd single, "Marina no Natsu" (Marina's Summer). I'm not sure what the special occasion was since she sang it while I was already in Japan between 1989-1991 and she had already released it back in April 1987. It could have been sung to mark her last episode since the song was accompanied by past footage of her time on the show.

I literally haven't heard "Marina no Natsu" in over 20 years so it was great to hear this very cheerful song once again. Listening to it once more, I'd had the sneaking impression that the music was provided by Tetsuji Hayashi（林哲司）because it just sounded so bouncy and summery, but actually it was singer-songwriter Masayuki Kishi's（岸正之）baby (although he and Hayashi had collaborated on one song, "Samurai Music" a few years previously). Svengali for both Onyanko Club and AKB48, Yasushi Akimoto（秋元康）provided the lyrics. It, like her first 2 singles, hit No. 1 on Oricon.

To finish things off, here are Marina and frequent guest Rie Miyazawa（宮沢りえ）on "Minasan no Okage desu" in one of the numerous skits that The Tunnels pulled off.

Source: Yahoo.jp

THE JAYWALK -- Nanimo Ie Nakute... Natsu (何も言えなくて...夏)

Although there is summer in its name, THE JAYWALK's 'Nanimo Ie Nakute... Natsu' just reminded me of the complete opposite. Instead of the unbearable heat and humidity of the season, the chilly air and crisp brown leaves that mark the start of winter comes to mind... along with the clear blue skies and strong but not burning sun of the Mediterranean. Well, I guess that's mostly because I had this song flowing through my head and ear buds while on a trip to Barcelona...

But the music by former JAYWALK vocalist and guitarist, Koichi Nakamura (中村耕一), does give the song an overall cooling feel which I suppose makes it a good summer tune since it counters the heat... figuratively of course. Or is it just me? Lyrics are written by the rock band's leader Mitsuyasu Tomohisa (知久光康). The original lead singer for 'Nanimo Ie Nakute... Natsu' was Nakamura, by the way as you can see from the video above.

This song was the group's most successful hit. Released in 1991 as their 18th single it's actually the summer version of 'Nanimo Ie Nakute' - you know, without the 'Natsu' at the back - which came out in their 1990 album 'DOWN TOWN STORIES'. And it sold around 980 000 copies. 'Nanimo Ie Nakute... Natsu' also was quite the late bloomer, cracking the Top 10 on the Oricon weeklies at 7th place only a year later in 1992, eventually settling at 32nd by the end of the year. It also managed to stay within the Top 100 in 1993 and placed at 64th. The song also earned THE JAYWALK their first Kohaku appearance in 1993. Wow.

'Nanimo Ie Nakute... Natsu' was one of the many songs I had picked up during my 'Popular 90's songs' phase late last year into early this year... those were good times... before my shocking and peculiar shift to Enka/Kayokyoku. Huh, I only just realized the genres' stark differences.

blog.livedoor.jp

Akiko Kobayashi -- Helpless

Akiko Kobayashi（小林明子）wrote and composed "Helpless" for her 3rd album, "Naturally" which was released in September 1987. I bought the tape cassette of the album since the actual LP version didn't seem to exist for sale at Wah Yueh...not that I minded too much since I was just happy at getting any new release from Kobayashi. 

"Helpless" is the first track on "Naturally" and it set the tone very pleasingly. It's vintage Kobayashi with the breathy vocals, the mellow arrangement and that hint of Carpenters in there. And the album cover of her in very casual attire along with the music let me know that I could get nice and comfy right away. It was the aural version of flannel pyjamas.

Joji Yuasa -- Hashire Chotokkyu（はしれ ちょうとっきゅう）

I think when it comes to little kids, they seem to get interested in a couple of things early in life: dinosaurs and trains. Oh, then, to be a kid in Japan with all those speeding Bullet Trains. It's not so much of a stretch to believe that the largest number of tore-ota (train otaku) reside in the country of my ancestry.

So, on the 50th anniversary of the launch of the very first Bullet Train...the recently retired Zero Series...I give you the celebratory children's tune "Hashire Chotokkyu" (Go Super Express). Created by classical music composer Joji Yuasa（湯浅譲二）and writer of children's literature Hisashi Yamanaka（山中恒）in 1967, I've been seeing the musical interlude between the evening anime and the NHK News on TV Japan frequently. And what children cannot resist the footage of the various types of Shinkansen whizzing past at 200 km/h while the kids' choirs are trilling "Byuwa-n, byuwa-n, byuwa-n"?

I've had my own time on the Bullets with my highlight being the 6-hour trip from Hakata to Tokyo back in 1991. I actually got a seat on the Green Car and even had access to the club car for dinner; that particular dining service disappeared soon after. But even so, 6 hours were still pretty tasking for me in a train seat so I was quite happy to see the bright lights of Tokyo Station once I arrived.

Although there have been much sleeker designs coming out over the past few decades, I miss the bulbous-nosed 0 series.

Hiroshi Kamiya -- Zokkon Penko-san （ぞっこん!ペン子さん）

A couple of months ago, I provided an article on the first ending theme for the droll 2012-2013 anime "Shirokuma Cafe"（しろくまカフェ...Polar Bear Cafe）. There aren't a lot of examples of the genre that last an entire year unless they're the crown jewels of a TV station (et tu, PreCure?), and there are very few of them that have more than one or two ending themes. Singer-songwriter Saki（紗希）then probably earned herself a lot of respect (and mucho mugs of beer) for penning no less than 12 ending themes for "Shirokuma Cafe" throughout the show's run...and in different styles, to boot. Plus, a number of the seiyuu involved provided the vocals for all 12.

I'm just a little over halfway through the series so I'm currently on my 7th ending theme. Along with the first cheerful ending by Jun (Panda) Fukuyama, I've become a fan of this earworm...namely the 6th ending theme sung by Hiroshi Kamiya（神谷浩史）who is the seiyuu for the acerbic Penguin (and no, absolutely no relation to the homicidal Batman villain). So far, I've heard rock (Grizzly), ballad (Sasako), country-folk (Jougin Panda) and even enka (Handa-san). However, I've got to admit that Saki took the cake when she came up with this tribute to all things Disney Musical with "Zokkon Penko-san" (I'm Madly In Love With Ms. Penko). I mean, the only things missing here were the talking candle and teapot.

As I've mentioned before, I'm not an expert on seiyuu. However, I did read of some surprise about the person behind this jolly tune since Kamiya has usually been known to voice very cool and erudite characters, albeit guys who inhabit a very wide range on the morality spectrum. In "Shirokuma Cafe" though, his Penguin sounds like a nasal combination of Dr. McCoy from "Star Trek" and the irritated tsukkomi partner of a Japanese comedy duo. It's a wonder that he hasn't smacked his buddies on the show with a paper fan as of yet (then again, it's awfully hard to clasp a big fan with flippers). And then to hear him sing "Zokkon Penko-san" as the ode to his lady love and as the extension of a running gag probably earned him even more accolades.

http://www.animeultima.tv/shirokuma-cafe-episode-2/

Yup, the ads are annoying but I gather that the "rent" has to be paid. However, I believe it's the second half of this early episode which provides the lyrical material for Penguin's lovesickness.

Mizue Takada/Southern All Stars/Juicy Fruits/The Ventures -- Sonna Hiroshi ni Damasarete （そんなヒロシに騙されて）

Wow! It's been almost 18 months since I've put up something by Mizue Takada（高田みづえ）. It might seem that it's all ado about nothing, but when Takada is one of the singers that helped me wade into the ocean that is kayo kyoku in the first place in the early 80s...well, I just had to rectify that.

So, allow me to put up her 21st single from August 1983, "Sonna Hiroshi ni Damasarete" (Tricked by That Hiroshi). If I'm not mistaken, it was responsible for getting Takada invited one last time to the Kohaku Utagassen which was where I first got to hear it. Written and composed by Keisuke Kuwata（桑田佳祐）of Southern All Stars, there was a definite love thing going on for the Group Sounds of the 60s when he created this rollicking tune about a woman absolutely in thrall to the roguish dance floor-loving Hiroshi despite his wayward personality.

For Takada, this was the 3rd-most successful single of her career behind the Latin spice of "Watashi wa Piano"（私はピアノ...I am A Piano） and her debut release of "Glass Zaka"（硝子坂...Glass Slope）, of which the former was also penned by Kuwata back in 1980. It went all the way up to No. 6 on Oricon and sold over 300,000 records. It also became the 45th-ranked single for 1983.

What I hadn't known at the time was that Takada's single was a cover version for the Southern All Stars original which was a track on the band's 6th album, "Kirei"（綺麗...Pure）. The album came out just a month before Mizue's version and hit the No. 1 spot, later becoming the No. 5 album of the year. Keyboardist Yuko Hara（原由子）took care of the vocals here, and both she and Takada interpret the song as a bit of a handwringer about the woman's love for Hiroshi although it sounds like he's already thrown her away like an empty can on the side of the road.

On the same day that Takada's "Sonna Hiroshi ni Damasarete" was released, another band that tapped into the music of the 50s and 60s, Juicy Fruits, also released their own version of the song as their 11th single. It peaked at No. 44.

And finally, I discovered that The Ventures also had their own instrumental version of the song.