Aki Yashiro -- Ai no Shuuchaku Eki （愛の終着駅）

It's becoming a Tuesday night ritual with me as I pick out another old kayo from "Kayo Concert". The theme tonight was on love letters, and one of the songs was "Ai no Shuuchaku Eki" (Love's Last Station) by Aki Yashiro（八代亜紀）. Written by Mitsuo Ikeda（池田光男）and composed by Shinichi Nozaki（野崎眞一）, this was one of Yashiro's original singles from September 1977. It peaked at No. 13, and although it wasn't the song she sang at the 1977 Kohaku, she did get her chance to sing it on the 1992 show.

Yashiro's performance tonight was a bit growly so I actually preferred her earlier takes. Right from the title, "Ai no Shuuchaku Eki" sounds like it was created for its own segment on that old show "Enka no Hanamichi"（演歌の花道）, and I have no doubt that it most likely did make it onto TV Tokyo. I'm sure there was a set of a passenger train heading up north with the snow steadily coming down as Yashiro sadly sings her ballad of heartbreak as she writes her letter pleading her paramour to return.

The song is listed as a straight kayo kyoku. And I guess I can't be that surprised since I'm not quite sure whether to place it solidly as an enka ballad or as a Mood Kayo tune, although I'm tending more toward the latter genre since I think this could be sung easily by the late Keiko Fuji（藤圭子）. And perhaps she did.

KOTO -- Platonic Planet (プラトニックプラネット)

So far, 2015 has not been an amazing year for aidoru. Some unique acts, such as Dempagumi.inc (でんぱ組.inc) and Especia, are still releasing interesting songs, but the more mainstream stuff seems quite slow or stagnant (with the surprising exception of AKB48, the infamous monstrous act that usually releases lackluster singles, who is having a somewhat strong year).

One other thing that started gaining attention in 2015 is the mixture of aidoru pop with rock/heavy-metal, something very well done in BABYMETAL’s case, but that is kind of ruining all the fun of aidoru pop this year, as a good portion of embryonic acts are trying to be successful with this particular style (without BABYMETAL’s sophistication, of course).

On the other hand, traditional-style aidoru Yufu Terashima (寺嶋由芙) has finally released her lovely major debut single “Fuhehehehehehehe Daisakusen” (ふへへへへへへへ大作戦) in May, and that’s a solid start, even though she still have to continue the hard work until getting the well deserved recognition. A little bit different from Yufu, but also on the lonely solo route, we have KOTO, a young (sixteen years old) and cute aidoru that adopted a quirky Technopop style since her debut in early 2014.

KOTO started with a cute video game-like song called “Kotorippu” (ことりっぷ) and the more modern “Ai wo Todokeru Oningyo” (愛を届けるお人形). Both songs were nice and surely were enough to keep me paying attention to this new and promising talent. After the release of “Ai wo Todokeru Oningyo”, she continued releasing even more interesting songs (“Question Quest” [くえすちょん くえすと] and “Valentine’s Ballerina” [バレンタインズ・バレリーナ], for example) that were all accompanied by stunning live performances from the girl, as it’s well documented in her YouTube channel.

Now, in July 2015, she’s releasing her first album, “Platonic Planet”, which includes eight amazing songs. And here I have to emphasize... all the tracks are really amazing, with no fillers at all, which is probably due to the fact that KOTO is an indie aidoru still trying to find her space (or not. Maybe she’s fine being an indie aidoru).

“Platonic Planet”, as the title suggests, is the album’s promotional song, and it does a great job at introducing KOTO’s sound to a new listener. The song is quite busy with lots of synths and blips, helped, of course, by KOTO’s aidoru vocals and the playful melody in the chorus. In a way, some Techno Kayo songs (テクノ歌謡) from the past came to my mind while listening to it, probably because of the primitive electronic usage and space disco sound, but it also screams early Perfume in some areas, which is not a bad thing at all (especially now that the famous trio is trying a little too hard on American-style electronic pop music). However, besides all the comparisons, I still find KOTO quite an adventurous Technopop aidoru on her own, and also a nice adition to the scene.

The aesthetic presented in the video is also eye candy for all the retro lovers. If I had to guess, I think they were trying to recapture the vibe of some late 80s/early 90s shows with the very low budget scenery. As one who follow aidoru’s history probably knows very well, the aforementioned period was a downpoint for aidoru singers. So, with the end of popular TV music shows like Yoru no Hit Studio (夜のヒットスタジオ) and The Best Ten (ザ・ベストテン), less popular aidoru singers (not Chisato Moritaka [森高千里] or Wink, of course) had to perform at not very glamorous TV shows.

As an example of what I think video director Yoshiaki Kotani (小谷佳晃) tried to accomplish with the “Platonic Planet” video, and also a way to finish the post in a somewhat cultural way, here’s a beautiful performance of “Cosmic Rendez-vous” (コズミック・ランデブー) by Rumi Shishido (宍戸留美), an aidoru with a Techno Kayo approach who started her singing career in 1990 with that very specific song.

“Platonic Planet” was written and composed by Kissa Sasaki (佐々木喫茶), while arrangement was done by IG.

The cute girl looks like a doll!!!

Rumiko Koyanagi -- Imasara Jiro （今さらジロー）

As I hinted in the article for Rumiko Koyanagi's（小柳ルミ子）"Ohisashiburi ne"（お久しぶりね）, there was quite the change between the singer-actress' early 1970s innocent country girl persona and the super-confident maneater that she showed from the early 1980s. Obviously, a decade is more than enough time for anyone to metamorphose, but still it was like seeing Olivia Newton-John's Sandy character from "Grease" making that switch from Sandra Dee into that leather-clad vamp at the end of the movie.

"Ohisashiburi ne" was performed by Koyanagi at the Kohaku Utagassen of 1983, and I got to see the new playgirl side to the singer then. The next year, she came out with her follow-up single, her 38th, "Imasara Jiro" (Too Little Too Late Jiro). Written and composed by the same fellow behind "Ohisashiburi ne", Masato Sugimoto（杉本真人）, "Imasara Jiro" had Koyanagi feeling even brasher and more ravenous on the stage with another harem of good-looking fellows tripping the light fantastic with her. Of course, there was another appearance at NHK Hall at the end of 1984.

The singer took on the gleeful role of a spurned vengeful lover as she took the screws to a fellow who had dumped her a few years back, only for the heel to come crawling back for a second chance. Not this time, Jack...or Jiro. The lass has got some new plans and none of them include the guy, since she probably has a whole ton of guys now at her beck and call.

"Imasara Jiro" was released in May 1984. It didn't do quite as well as the previous single, only peaking at No. 66. But that's OK...I'm sure Koyanagi didn't really mind too much with all those fellows around her. The interesting thing is that in the J-Wiki article for the song, it was labeled as an "aidoru" tune! She may have started out as one back in the 1970s, but I think she certainly graduated from that era by the time this song came out.

Takashi Hosokawa/Naomi Chiaki -- Yagiri no Watashi (矢切の渡し)

As mentioned in J-Canuck's article on Koichi Aoki's (青木光一) "Kaki no Kizaka no Ie" (柿の木坂の家), the recent "Kayo Concert" featured the works of Toru Funamura (船村徹). Needless to say, I was wonderfully surprised to see that the renowned, aged composer was still alive and kicking - he's in his early eighties, but from his frail exterior and wispy voice, he looked like a nonagenarian. That aside, Funamura had composed a great number of hits back in the day, some of which were sung by deceased enka veterans I love. So you could say that the first 3 minutes of the show knocked my socks off (figuratively, I don't wear socks at home) by showing old footage of Hideo Murata (村田英雄) who was at his imposing/intimidating best as he sung his most successful hit "Osho" (王将), which was then followed by a rather dapper-looking Hachiro Kasuga (春日八郎) mournfully warbling "Wakare no Ippon Sugi" (別れの一本杉), and to wrap things up for that little segment was Michiya Mihashi's (三橋美智也) performance (in COLOUR) of a song I'm not yet familiar with... it sounded good though. I would have been satisfied to just see just one, but ALL three of them!? That was like hitting the enka-jackpot! It was absolutely aMAzing!

Anyway, another highlight for me during the rest of the 40 minutes were the appearances made by Takashi Hosokawa (細川たかし), who looked as regal as ever in an all black, and later, all white, kimono and haori. He first appeared to sing one of his many successes from the 80's, "Yagiri no Watashi". Now, although I didn't give "Yagiri no Watashi" the attention it deserves, I had seen the title of this hit many times, usually associated with the man himself or Naomi Chiaki (ちあきなおみ), and I had read that both singers (and actually along with a few others) "competed" to see whose version did better. Long story short, Hosokawa's rendition received more love, peaking at 1st place on the Oricon monthlies and it eventually came in 2nd by the end of 1983, he even sang it on his 9th Kohaku appearance that same year. And through his performance that night, I could see why.

"Yagiri no Watashi" occurred to me as rather grand, both in an elegant and manly sort of way from the combination of accordion and the deep, rhythmic thumping of the drums. It kind of reminded me of  Muchi's "Osho", though not as forceful, which allowed me to learn the stark musical styles of this grey composer - he could either go cry-in-your-sake-melancholic, or I'm-the-big-cheese-grand, or maybe somewhere in between. But the important thing is, I appreciated this interesting contrast going on in Hosokawa's version - it fits his stage persona. This contrast was what was lacking when I had a listen to Chiaki's rendition. While I enjoyed her deep, husky voice, there just seemed to be something missing... ... Come to think of it, I suppose it's actually meant to be gentle and feminine like that since it was first sung by Chiaki in 1976 (B-side to another single), but it was beefed up years later to accommodate Hosokawa's stronger vocals.

Moving on, lyricist Miyuki Ishimoto (石本美由起) had penned the lyrics for "Yagiri no Watashi", and from what I've been trying to understand from the J-Wiki pages, "Yagiri no Watashi" is actually just a ferry to cross the Edogawa, from the city of Matsudo, Chiba, to Katsushika, Tokyo, where the Shibamata Taishakuten temple is. Well, the "Watashi" part makes sense now, but I'm still figuring out the "Yagiri" part. The temple and the ferry ride have been included as one (yes, just one) of the 100 Soundscapes of Japan. (Noelle from 4/11/15) Found out the meaning of "Yagiri no Watashi". It's sort of a Romeo-and-Juliet story as the couple in the song are intending to elope (by way of the Yagiri no Watashi) due to their parents objecting to their relationship. Hopefully they don't end up killing themselves even before executing their grand escape across the Edogawa.

As I've said earlier, Hosokawa's rendition did a lot better than Chiaki's, who had re-released "Yagiri no Watashi" on the A-side while her cover of Hachi's "Ippon Sugi" was on the B-side in 1982. It did fairly alright, placing at 57th on the charts.

(Yup, the video didn't stay up for long.)

The video above showcases the old footage of the San'nin no Kai from the "Kayo Concert" episode. I don't think it'll stay up for long, so enjoy while you can. Man, I'm still ecstatic that I've seen these enka veterans on TV! And as Muchi is performing, you can actually see that unmistakable, beaming countenance of Haruo Minami (三波春夫) in the back as he proudly watches his rival growl out the song.

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Hiroshi Miyagawa -- Desslar's Theme & The Comet Empire's Theme

Yep, one of my geek articles this time. When it comes to one of my old favourite animes of all time, "Uchuu Senkan Yamato"（宇宙戦艦ヤマト...Space Cruiser Yamato）, there have been a lot of songs that were created for the franchise, especially with the maestro of anison himself, Isao Sasaki（ささきいさお）. Of course, there is the theme song which can still put a charge through me like a good cappuccino. However, I also have to say that some of the instrumental tracks were really outstanding to me.

Case in point: the theme song for Desslar（デスラー）, the mighty leader of the Gamilas Empire and the arch villain (later to become sage ally) in the early parts of the franchise. When I first saw (the very un-blue) Desslar lounging around in his huge bathtub, there was merely a creepy twang of what sounded like an electric guitar to introduce him. The twang did aurally describe the man as somewhat of a debauched figure full of himself who first considered the Yamato as another pathetic attempt at resistance.

But then when the 2nd season with the Comet Empire was televised in 1978 (a few years later in Toronto), composer Hiroshi Miyagawa（宮川泰）must have decided that the Man In Blue needed something epic, so he whipped up this new theme for Desslar which begins with this thumping relentless bass before the brass just comes crashing in like a musical blitzkrieg.

Then there was one episode in the Comet Empire saga which had Desslar turning on his erstwhile benefactors and fleeing from the empire in a good old-fashioned jailbreak with the help of his loyal adjutant, Talan, while a disco-fied version of Desslar's theme ran as quickly as the fugitive Gamilans. At the time, I just went "HOLY FREAKIN' MOO COW!" (or something equivalent) and thought that this was one of the coolest sequences I've seen in the show.

And it looks like I found a recording of "Disco Desslar" right here.

Of course, the more overarching villain theme song was that for the Comet Empire, an organ piece which sounded like a mix between something for a church of evil and an intro to a house of horrors (the only thing missing was Vincent Price's cackling). It's been branded into my brain...as soon as I hear it, I know what it is and where it comes from. I actually heard it being used in a variety show one night with the target of the borrowed theme being a particularly aggressive amoeba...really.

I gather with all of the disco versions of theme songs released at the time such as "Star Wars", "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and "Desslar's Theme", the Comet Empire had to go the way of the mirror ball as well. I'm not sure which episode but an excerpt of it was used in one of the later episodes of the Comet Empire saga.

But I have to say that the most epic version of the Comet Empire's theme was at the very end of the 2nd-last episode when it seemed as if the comet was finally destroyed...only for a Super Star Destroyer to emerge from the ashes and make the Yamato look like a flea. The show once again managed to freak me out. Good days, they were.

Ryukyudisko -- NICE DAY featuring Beat Crusaders

To be honest, I don't know very much of either party that is involved in the song. Beat Crusaders I knew as this rock band which had the gimmick of their members performing with their heads covered with dot-matrix printer illustrations of their faces. Also, I vaguely remember that they also had some form of collaboration with Kaela Kimura（木村カエラ）.

As for Ryukyudisko, I got to know about them solely through this song, specifically the above video. The twin Hiroyama brothers from Okinawa were featured in some article I came across dressed up like some ancient Ryukyuan priests or nobility, and according to the above "NICE DAY", they incorporate some of that Okinawan sound into their music.

I actually saw the video one Sunday on one of the cable music channels and was tickled pink at the jittery but high-speed trips through the decades of the lives of families, especially when the video reached the apex of the earliest point when the wedding party of the grandparents got into high gear with the Hiroyamas helping out.

"NICE DAY" was Ryukyudisko's 2nd single from June 2007.

Utaban（うたばん）

For a good long while in my Ichikawa abode, Thursday nights were basically Tunnels' nights on TV. I knew about Fuji-TV's "Tunnels no Minasan no Okage-san desu" (or "...deshita" as it is called now) starring the crazy comic duo Tunnels（とんねるず）since my JET days in Gunma Prefecture. But then as I was channel-surfing by turning the dial on my little television set (yep, it was THAT old...no remote control) one night, I encountered another show with the even crazier half of Tunnels, Takaaki Ishibashi（石橋貴明）, bantering on a day-glo set with SMAP leader, Masahiro Nakai（中居正広）.

The show was "Utaban", short for "uta bangumi"（歌番組）meaning music show, and it was on the rival TBS network an hour before (although for the first few years since its debut in 1996, it had been showing on Tuesday nights) the 9 p.m. "Tunnels no Minasan no Okage-san deshita"（とんねるずのみなさんのおかげでした）. As the title says, it wasn't the usual anarchic one hour of Tunnels variety but a music show with singing artists for a bit of talk between performances.

Not that Taka-chan nor Nakai-kun played it straight. It was more performances between hysteria and hilarity often involving the guests whether it be Miki Imai（今井美樹）or Seiko Matsuda（松田聖子）. Although Nakai-kun could play it up, it was the unpredictable Taka-chan who could tense up the guests since he was pretty much capable of anything including suddenly bear-hugging a Morning Musume member or going on some nutso dancing bent.

Looking at the highest-rated episodes of "Utaban" which ran from 1996 to 2010 (according to J-Wiki), it looks like the most popular shows featured Hikaru Utada（宇多田ヒカル）which came in 1st, 2nd and 4th places.

However, it seemed that the frequent appearances of Morning Musume（モーニング娘。）on "Utaban" were the ones that Ishibashi probably drooled over since he enjoyed teasing the heck out of the ladies, especially Kaori "Johnson" Iida（飯田圭織）.

To finish off, "Utaban" didn't have its own studio-made theme song, instead going with an old 60s classic, "These Boots Were Made for Walkin'" by Nancy Sinatra. Sometimes, after a session with Taka-chan, I wonder whether some of the guests were willing to walk all over him.