meltia -- Shirobana no Corsage (白薔薇のコサージュ)

I discovered this one very late, on December 30th, but it could’ve easily been in my year end round-up selection if I had listened to it before.

meltia was an indie aidoru group created in 2014 disbanded around two or three months ago, in October, but managed to release one EP before disbanding. Overall, the story of the group is nothing outstanding – with the only noticeable thing being their Gothic Lolita gimmick – but their main song, called “Shirobana no Corsage”, is an interesting blast of aidoru pop with classical touches that could have easily been a magical girl anime theme.

The vocals are not great, but it’s typical aidoru stuff. As for the song itself, it’s very inspired composition and arrangement-wise. The chorus is killer and the arrangement is rich in synthesizers, strings and even some haunting keyboards in the background during parts of the verses. In the end, it surely smells like indie stuff, but it’s not less interesting because of that. And I think it’s amazing that the group managed to translate their Gothic Lolita thing into the music in a very consistent way.

As for the girls, I know one of the members, Ruruko (the girl who's in between in the album cover), still wants to be an aidoru and is constantly organizing events with fans to eat meat with them. Really strange, but seems like a nice picnic in some way (I’ve seen some pictures). Also, she models for Gothic Lolita brands, so i think she’ll be allright. As for the other girls, I don’t know what they’re doing.

Source: http://imgs.ototoy.jp/imgs/jacket/0066/00106888.1473742069.5741orig.jpg

Yukihiro Takahashi -- Moonlight Feels Right

My nostalgia alarm went on Red Alert when I saw the following video.

I hadn't heard "Moonlight Feels Right" by Starbuck in just about 40 years. It used to be on all those K-Tel record commercials and the radio. The original version came out in 1976 as Starbuck's debut single. It was a huge hit and basically the only hit by them as it blasted all the way up to No. 3 on Billboard, in time becoming the 34th-ranked single of the year. Even here in Canada, "Moonlight Feels Right" peaked at No. 3 on the charts and gradually became the 51st-ranked song.

My re-acquaintance with the song came through a chance discovery of a YouTube video with that recognizable title under Yukihiro Takahashi's（高橋幸宏）name. Apparently, he did a cover version of it as the last track on his 8th solo album "...Only When I Laugh" which came out in August 1986. And he does a pretty good tribute to original vocalist Bruce Blackman, although the YMO drummer does enunciate his T's fairly noticeably. The album reached as high as No. 24 on the charts.

Listening to the original by Starbuck, I have to say that that famous keyboard riff during the refrain sparked off those memory engrams of bell bottoms, wide lapels and corduroys. Plus, it's not everyday that someone could pull off a searing marimba solo in a contemporary pop song. "Moonlight Feels Right" had me thinking that this could have been one of the inspirational touchstones for the New Music movement in Japanese popular music in the 1970s. I could easily imagine singers such as Yumi Matsutoya（松任谷由実）or Tatsuro Yamashita（山下達郎）relishing a cover of that.

Not sure whether the band got any free coupons for a certain globally known coffee shop.

Iyo Matsumoto -- Taiyo ga Ippai （太陽がいっぱい）

I've been in a small quandary for the last several days when it has come to the oeuvre of former aidoru-turned-tarento Iyo Matsumoto（松本伊代）. Recently, I was kindly given the works of Ms. Matsumoto so I've just perused the first of four discs summarizing her singles up to 1990. The question that I have is considering all of the big aidorus to come out of the early 1980s such as Seiko Matsuda（松田聖子）, Akina Nakamori（中森明菜）, Kyoko Koizumi（小泉今日子）, etc., why is it that I only know Matsumoto for just that one song which happened to be her debut "Sentimental Journey"（センチメンタル・ジャーニー）?

Matsumoto had been a semi-regular presence on the telly during all my time in Japan as a TV personality, especially when it comes to the matter of being a celeb housewife and mother. However, when it comes to her music career, the TV hosts and producers inevitably merely show footage of her teenage self bopping about to "Sentimental Journey".

Listening to CD 1, her songs from the early 1980s aren't too bad as far as aidoru stuff goes. But perhaps any lack of exposure of her other songs may be due to the fact that aside from her debut song, they didn't break into the Top 10 of Oricon (proven wrong with at least her 9th single, "Toki ni Ai wa"). Also, as composer Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）admitted in the liner notes in that box set for Matsumoto, she didn't particularly have a beautiful voice although he also noted in the same sentence that Iyo-chan's vocals are included in his personal favourite Top 3 voices alongside those of the nasal Hiromi Go（郷ひろみ）and the breathy Miki Hirayama（平山三紀）. Perhaps Iyo-chan appealed to a smaller fan base of a certain taste.

One of the songs on the first disc that pricked up my ears was "Taiyo ga Ippai" (Full of Sunshine), her 7th single from June 1983. Written by Mayumi Shinozuka（篠塚満由美）and composed by Kenji Hasama（羽佐間健二）, I liked the Latin-tinged melody of intrigue and I will always be happy for the presence of spicy horns. I mean, it was good enough so that I was left with the feeling that I should have picked up on this sooner. Well, better late than never.

"Taiyo ga Ippai" managed to peak at No. 14. Nope, not a runaway hit by any means but still quite respectable. Matsumoto has that nasal quality in her singing that she still has in her speaking voice but it's still quite distinctive. I could listen to a song of hers without any prior notice and still identify it as hers easily. So at this point, I'm having a good time exploring her music and will be awaiting what I come across in the other discs.

Ichiro Fujiyama & Keiko Arai -- Olympic no Uta （オリンピックの歌）

Although I do like my enka tunes, I can't say that I am an experienced observer of that genre in the Japanese music industry. However, my feeling is that singer Kohei Fukuda（福田こうへい）is looking more and more like the heir apparent to the late great Haruo Minami（三波春夫）, and perhaps others are, too. Fukuda has been on the Kohaku Utagassen 3 times as of this date, and the last couple of times including the broadcast a few nights ago, he sang "Tokyo Gorin Ondo"（東京五輪音頭）, a staple in Minami's long discography. And I fully expect that he will do so again at the actual opening ceremonies of the 2020 Games in Tokyo.

Of course, there have been other Olympic-themed kayo over the decades. One other example is "Olympic no Uta" (The Olympic Song) as sung by Ichiro Fujiyama（藤山一郎）and fellow singer Keiko Arai（荒井恵子）who had her 15 minutes in the spotlight during the 1950s. It's a proud march that I could see the former doing in his sleep.

I've often called lyricist Yu Aku（阿久悠）the Irving Berlin of Japanese songwriting but I remember when Berlin himself appeared in the 1943 movie "This is the Army" as this lowly private singing "Oh, How I Hate To Get Up in the Morning". Berlin gave his humourous take on the army life but there was no doubt about how much he loved America. Whenever Fujiyama sang tunes like his trademark "Tokyo Rhapsody"（東京ラプソディ）and "Olympic no Uta", I also got that same feeling from him about Japan that Berlin had about the USA.

"Olympic no Uta" was released in 1952 and was created by Kazuyuki Yamada and Shinichi Takata（山田千之・高田信一）. When I saw that release date, I was a bit confused since Fujiyama was quite clear about his hopes of a Tokyo Games in the lyrics but as it turned out, the song was used as part of the campaign for Japan's participation in the 1952 Helsinki Games. Tokyo wouldn't get official approval to hold its own Olympics until 1959 with the actual Games being held in October 1964.

Unlike "Tokyo Gorin Ondo" which has all the raucous fun of a Japanese summer festival, "Olympic no Uta" is more in the "let's-stand-up-straight-and-tall" vein of being proud of the country. If Fujiyama were still around today and performing on the Kohaku, he would be standing dead centre on the Shibuya stage with a hundred-strong high school chorus backing him up. I couldn't quite imagine anyone quite encapsulating his persona right now but perhaps Kiyoshi Hikawa（氷川きよし）might thanks to his earnestness. As it was though, Fujiyama did have his opportunity to sing "Olympic no Uta" at the 2nd Kohaku Utagassen in that same year of 1952.

Marcos V.’s notes on “67th NHK Kohaku Utagassen” (第67回NHK紅白歌合戦)

That’s a post about my impressions on 2016’s edition of “NHK Kohaku Utagassen”. I don’t intend to talk about every single performance, but just about the ones that took my attention – for good or bad. Honorable mentions goest to PUFFY and their hit medley comprised of debut song “Asia no Junshin” (アジアの純真) and the always great “Nagisa ni Matsuwaru Et Cetera” (渚にまつわるエトセトラ), but also to Kanjani8 (関ジャニ∞) and their surprisingly fun “Zukkoke Otokomichi” (ズッコケ男道).

I will start with the “48 Family” groups, which were not at their best, nor at their worst. AKB48 performed their first number one song, “RIVER” (2009), and that was quite nostalgic. It’s also a reminder of one of the group’s best songs to date. As for “Kimi wa Melody” (君はメロディ), I only listened to it around the single’s release date back in February, but it sounds as uninspired as before. Where’s the great “High Tension” (ハイテンション) to end the year in a good way, girls? Other similar groups were Nogizaka46 (乃木坂46) with the boring “Sayonara no Imi” (サヨナラの意味) and Keyakizaka46 (欅坂46) with their debut “Silent Majority” (サイレントマジョリティー). The latter is not a bad song, but I prefer “Futari Saison” (二人セゾン), which they released in November. In the end, nothing truly outstanding coming from the "Alphabet Groups", but still mildly enjoyable stuff.

I was a little bit disappointed with Hikaru Utada’s (宇多田ヒカル) performance, and part of it was because I expected her to perform on Kohaku’s stage. Well, I understand she preferred to end the year where she’s currently living with hubby and her little boy, but I was waiting to see her on that iconic stage for the first time. As for the performance itself, it wasn’t her best either, and “Hanataba wo Kimi ni” (花束を君に), although very fine, isn’t the most interesting song from her latest album, “Fantôme”. I understand she had to sing it, as the song was a tie-in to a NHK drama. The same can be said about Perfume... “FLASH” is not the best song they offered in 2016, but it was – unfortunately – their sole promo song the whole year, and also associated with a NHK drama. I just hope the trio have a better 2017.

I truly respect X JAPAN for their history and the importance of the band for japanese pop, but singer TOSHI wasn’t in his best days (maybe he always sounds like that, but I can't say). Other rock bands, such as RADWIMPS and THE YELLOW MONKEY were not able to entertain me as well, but that’s probably just because I don’t care for rock in the first place. The only one I liked was -surprise, surprise- TOKIO, and that’s basically because they sang “Sorafune” (そらふね) – a song I like very much.

Even though Seiko Matsuda’s (松田聖子) latest ballad, “Bara no You ni Saite Sakura no You ni Chitte” (薔薇のように咲いて 桜のように散って), is not my cup of tea, she did a great performance alongside YOSHIKI. I was truly happy to see her on stage singing new quality material instead of just rehashing the old catalogue.

About enka artists, the night’s highlights for me were Yukino Ichikawa’s (市川由紀乃) emotional performance, Kaori Mizumori’s (水森かおり) epic and beautiful staging, but also the new arrangement of Sayuri Ishikawa’s (石川さゆり) classic “Amagi Goe” (天城越え), as well as Fuyumi Sakamoto’s (坂本冬美) amazing “Yozakura Oshichi” (夜桜お七). The latter was probably the song I liked the most in this Kohaku’s edition – thanks to the gorgeous arrangement and all the unexpected changes between a slow ballad and a fast-paced dance pop song. A truly amazing and inspired tune, for sure!

Now, among things I truly disliked, there was SEKAI NO OWARI (I just don’t get that group), the always horrible and far from sexy Johnny’s group Sexy Zone, AAA (I like male vocalist Nissy, but just when he’s working on his solo career), Kana Nishino (西野カナ) (everything she releases sounds so bland) and the worst of all in my opinion: Sandaime J Soul Brothers. Man, I can’t stand what they do. Really! They take what’s worst in contemporary American pop music and turns it into a very bad caricature. I’d rather watch Golden Bomber (ゴールデンボンバー) perform “Memeshikute” (女々しくて) again and again instead of anything coming from Sandaime.

Last but not least, ARASHI (嵐) ended the night performing three of their classics. From what they sang, “Happiness” is easily my favorite. I’d love to see a classy performance of their best single in a while, “Fukkatsu LOVE” (復活LOVE), but they just decided to do a performance embedded in nostalgia (it’s understandable, especially since SMAP is no longer among us as a group anymore).

And that’s it for my “67th NHK Kohaku Utagassen” review. I hope we all have a great 2017, full of the best life can offer... and that includes good and old Japanese music.

Hikaru Nishida -- Kinou to wa O-Chigai （きのうとは大違い）

Hikaru Nishida（西田ひかる）has been more in Marcos V.'s wheelhouse although I have known about the bilingual aidoru for years. However it's been more for her appearances on the telly as a young tarento that I've been familiar with Nishida. Apparently, she and her family are living very close to Hanshin Koshien Stadium where the baseball team Hanshin Tigers play. However, although her husband is a dyed-in-the-wool Tigers fan, Nishida is an ardent Tokyo Giants enthusiast. I can only imagine the conversations during the summer in their household.

Getting back to the topic at hand, I encountered this song, "Kinou to wa O-Chigai" (A Big Change From Yesterday) by Nishida which is a track on her 9th original album from July 1996, "24 two-four". I was initially searching for some music by singer-songwriter Kyoko Endo（遠藤京子）since I hadn't written about her in some time but then I came across this tune that she had created for Nishida and took an instant liking.

From listening to Endo's own BEST compilation, I garnered that she enjoyed some of the old-fashioned standard arrangements such as jazz. And true enough, she made "Kinou to wa O-Chigai" as this nice and light and breezy ballad with a bit of Bacharach and Alpert infused in there as Nishida sings about a girl's life being changed forever on discovering her first love. Nope, I don't think Nishida has the most solid vocals especially when she goes high but as has been discussed before between Marcos and me, a fine arrangement of music has often provided good enough support for an aidoru.

Eiichi Ohtaki -- Rock 'n' Roll O-Toshidama （Rock 'n' Roll お年玉）

And a Happy New Year to you all! Woke up at 8 this morning and had the usual o-zoni breakfast of white miso soup with mochi inside. At my age, I guess I gotta be a bit careful about ingesting the rice cakes lest they get caught down my throat and my vacuum cleaner gets a new usage.

Before I forget, I should mention that 2017 is the 150th anniversary of Canada so predictions are that inbound tourism will be increasing. Heck, my old collaborator JTM is currently enjoying Vancouver. So hopefully some of you folks will come over to the Great White North this year. Also, the city of Kobe in Japan is also celebrating its sesquicentennial so maybe tourism will perk up over there as well. Maybe the beef will come at a small discount? Maybe not.

(cover version)

To start off the 2017 edition of "Kayo Kyoku Plus", I was looking for something that would be appropriately New Year's in mood. And so I thought that it would probably be one of the really old songs that has been recognized by the Japanese government. But instead, I managed to find this Eiichi Ohtaki（大滝詠一）tune called "Rock 'n' Roll O-Toshidama" (Rock 'n' Roll New Year's Gift). Now for those folks unfamiliar with the Japanese custom, o-toshidama is the gift of money given in small envelopes to kids on January 1st each year. Being raised in Canada all these years, my brother and I never got an o-toshidama plainly because our parents never told us about the custom. Very shrewd, my parents are.

And true to an Ohtaki tune, there is a good dollop of that ol' 50s honky tonk rock 'n' roll in there as the late singer-songwriter talks about the usual spending of a New Year's Day at home which often involves a lot of TV watching (as my family is doing as I write this) while he also throws in a lot of lyrics from some old American standards from way back. I swear, though, that when Ohtaki sings this, I get reminded somewhat of John Lennon for some reason. The liner notes for the song even dedicates it to folks ranging from Elvis Presley and Fats Domino to the good folks at NHK.

"Rock 'n' Roll O-Toshidama" is a track on Ohtaki's 4th album "Niagara Calendar" which was released on Xmas Day 1977. The novelty about the album is that each of the 12 songs represents a month on the calendar so "Rock 'n' Roll O-Toshidama" starts the album off. The original album didn't seem to chart the first time but a re-release of it in 1996 had it peaking at No. 60.