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.
Along with the box set of Iyo Matsumoto（松本伊代）I had received over the Holidays, I also got a similar box set of the works of 80s aidoru Yu Hayami（早見 優）, the summery young lady who could speak English. As with Iyo-chan, I've known her but didn't really know her. To explain, Yu-chan has been fully embedded in my kayo memories with hits such as "Natsu Iro no Nancy"（夏色のナンシー）but I never really got all of the full discography for the former Kazumi Tateno（舘野 一美）.
But then on listening to the first CD of her music during the 1980s, I realized that the people around her in the music industry were also providing opportunities for her to dip her toes into a few other genres. I guess with that summery image, Hayami was given a taste of some Anri-style songs in the Resort Pop scene but she also had a chance to try out some of that 50s rock n' roll vibe as well.
Her 7th single from September 1983, "Lucky Lips" was one of the latter type although there was that guitar riff in the intro that sounded something from Taeko Ohnuki（大貫妙子）territory. It was written by Yoshiko Miura（三浦徳子）and composed by Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）, the same duo behind the aforementioned "Natsu Iro no Nancy". It peaked at No. 10 on Oricon and became the 71st-ranked single of the year.
The song was also used as the campaign jingle for a Shiseido shampoo commercial.
OK, in all honesty, watching Ringo Shiina's（椎名林檎）performance at Tokyo City Hall (I know that's not the official name of the place but it's easier for me) on the 2016 Kohaku Utagassen a second time didn't have quite the impact that it did when I had first caught it about 10 days ago. I was never a huge fan of that "Let's all pretend to be mannequins!" craze and I'm starting to get a tad tired of Shiina's vocals often cracking up near the end of a song. Still, her performance of "Seishun no Matataki" (Flicker of Youth) with her old band Tokyo Jihen（東京事変...Tokyo Incidents） ended up as my one highlight from the 2016 show.
"Seishun no Matataki" was a song created by Shiina and arranged by Keiichi Tomita（冨田恵一...aka Tomita Lab） for her album of self-covers "Gyakuyunyū: Kōwankyoku"（逆輸入 〜港湾局〜...Reimport: Ports and Harbours Bureau） from May 2014. I have yet to hear the original version but so far I've enjoyed her concert versions. When I found out that Tomita arranged the song, I nodded appreciatively since from some of the other songs that I've heard, mostly from his great album "Shipbuilding", he has had that wonderful ability to add that cool and classy urban contemporary feeling to his works. I'm not sure whether Shiina meant it to be so, but the song almost seems to be a love song or a lullaby in tribute to Tokyo itself. Moreover, the tune has included the genres that the singer-songwriter has dabbled in all through her career: rock and jazz with some technopop thrown in. I wouldn't mind if Shiina performed this again at the 2020 Olympic Opening or Closing Ceremonies...and with that projection mapping.
(I'm sorry but the video has been taken down.)
Now I did say that "Gyakuyunyū: Kōwankyoku" was Shiina's album of self-covers so there was an original version and that version was sung by actress/singer Chiaki Kuriyama（栗山千明）as the coupling song for her 5th single, "Tsukiyo no Shozo"（月夜の肖像...Portrait of the Moonlit Night/Identité de la Lune） from November 2011. The arrangement there sounded a bit more straight-on pop but I have to say that the former Go Go Yubari didn't sound too bad at all. Kuriyama's version also received the French title of "Le Moment". The single peaked at No. 62. As for Shiina's album, "Gyakuyunyū: Kōwankyoku" went as high as No. 3 on Oricon.
Saw the first episode of "Uta Con" (うたコン) for 2017 last night. And everyone shook off the post-New Year's holiday stupor to give some pretty rousing performances. What was even better was that the finale had everyone getting on stage to sing "Ue wo Muite Arukou"（上を向いて歩こう）in honour of songwriter Rokusuke Ei（永六輔）who had passed away a number of months ago. As I said in my article a week ago on the show itself, I wasn't too thrilled with that usual sign off the producers went with so to see the hosts and singers doing the proper finish was nice to witness and hopefully that will be the way "Uta Con" wraps up from now on.
One of the songs that was featured was Yujiro Ishihara's（石原裕次郎）final single from 1987 before his untimely passing. I was thinking about profiling that ballad but I decided to go all the way back when The Tough Guy first started as that whippet-thin force of nature who had been a juvenile delinquent before getting into show business alleviated some of those symptoms. Of course, there was his acting career but I've known Ishihara mostly for his Mood Kayo songs.
His first single was released in February 1957. Titled "Ore wa Matteru ze"(I'm Waiting For You), it showed that Ishihara was already perfectly capable of providing the bluesy cry-in-your-sake kayo at the ripe old age of 22. But that title was created in a way that a hardened young turk would belligerently spit out at a girl, although the lyrics by Masami Ishizaki（石崎正美）revealed a tenderness of the palooka who really wanted to see his old girlfriend, parted by circumstances. Still can't consider myself an expert on Japanese kayo history of the time but I think it was pretty daring having a torch song sung from the male point of view.
Of course, as with any Mood Kayo, Ishizaki provided the ideal ambiance with the rolling night fog and that wharf by the sea. The setting just begged for Ishihara to walk on the pier while wearing that trench coat. Kenroku Uehara（上原賢六）created the music which seemed to bring together the usual instruments for a Mood Kayo: the mournful horns, the languid guitar and even that accordion. I couldn't find out how "Ore wa Matteru ze" did in terms of sales but it did well enough that a movie was made later that same year in October starring Ishihara, of course.
The above video has an older, wiser and rounder Ishihara performing "Ore wa Matteru ze" on "The Big Show" (1974-1979) which was, you might say, the grand senpai for "Uta Con" on NHK. The accompanying music was even richer with more of that nightclub swing. What I also found notable was how self-effacing Ishihara presented himself, admitting that although he enjoyed singing, he wasn't too good at memorizing lyrics. Frankly, I think his many fans were more than happy to have him sing anything.
Wish things today were as calm as that photo above. That is a shot of the Ito harbour in Shizuoka Prefecture at dusk. To be honest, the temps in Toronto have actually improved from the deep freeze that plagued us over the weekend but we are getting hit with a few centimetres of snow right now. We'll be a couple of more months before the weather becomes more spring-like.
About a couple of years ago, nikala provided some insights about singer-songwriter/Christian pastor Chu Kosaka（小坂忠）through his song "Shirakechimauze"(しらけちまうぜ) which is probably easier to listen to than pronounce for a lot of us. When I listened to it, I found it to be a fascinating example of what the New Musicians were providing music fans who wanted more than just enka and other Oricon Top 10 hits. It wasn't disco at all but some very sunny 70s City Pop to be enjoyed whether one was strutting down Chuo Dori in Tokyo or Madison Avenue in Manhattan back in the day (although I'm not sure whether folks still had to put on the masks in the Big Sushi to avoid inhaling the smog in that decade).
Anyways, I found another song sung by Kosaka and created by Haruomi Hosono（(細野晴臣）called "Bon Voyage Hatoba" (Bon Voyage Wharf). This was actually on the flip side of the single "Shirakechimauze" released in 1975 and was also on the album "Horo" (ほうろう) that nikala had mentioned in her article. "Bon Voyage Hatoba" makes a nice counterpoint with its overall dreamy sunrise character. I could imagine Kosaka singing this on one of the many tetrapods by the harbour as the sun broke up from the horizon; perhaps the singer was out on an all-nighter and stopped by for a "wake-up-and-smell-the-coffee" moment.
"Bon Voyage Hatoba" was also the first track on a later album "Morning" (モーニング) which came out in 1977. This version didn't undergo too much of a change but the tempo was slightly raised and was given a bit more of a City Pop arrangement. Perhaps this self-cover could be experienced from the balcony of an apartment overlooking that harbour instead. In either case, "Bon Voyage Hatoba" is one nice tune to wake up to.
I also found an article which gives a slight mention about Kosaka in his role as a pastor right here.
As I mentioned in that article, I think "Your Song" is the song (their 2nd single) to best represent the duo known as Love Psychedelico. But their debut single"Lady Madonna ~ Yuutsu naru Spider"(Depressed Spider) has got that beat which also fits those unique vocals of Kumi. And I think the guys responsible for the music video must have known that since it looks like it was paying tribute to the late 60s or early 70s. Plus, the underlying rhythm reminded me of the one used to anchor the original version of "Venus" by Shocking Blue which got thrown into huge dance floor popularity in the 80s when it was covered by Bananarama.
The music and words were created by Kumi and Naoki. Not quite sure what those lyrics are all about aside from the fact that they could have been a result of some word association game. But they all sound good coming from Kumi. To add onto the nostalgia, Love Psychedelico's first single was initially available on good ol' primitive audio tape in January 2000 before general release later in April.
As with "Your Song", "Lady Madonna" is also on their BEST album "The Greatest Hits" released in January 2001. The original single ranked in at No. 88.
In the summer of 1990, when I was back in Toronto for a short vacation during my stint on the JET Programme, there was a song that was all over the airwaves since it was this funky slice of 60s or 70s dance music. It was Deee-Lite's"Groove Is In The Heart" with all of that groovy psychedelia in the music video. The band was basically a one-hit wonder but geez, what a wonder it was.
I wouldn't realize it for many years after that, but one member from Deee-Lite was Towa Tei (テイ・トウワ), aka Doug Wa-Chung from Yokohama who's worn the hats of musician, DJ and music producer. And that above image has always been my mind's eyecatch for the fellow. It also happens to be the cover photo for his 2nd album"Sound Museum" from May 1997.
Never got around to purchasing the album (at least, not yet) but I always liked one of the tracks which was a bossa nova, perhaps Shibuya-kei, cover of one of the biggest hits in the career of Hall & Oates, "Private Eyes". As sung by Bebel Gilberto, it's less a cherished musical memory of my high school days and more of a relaxing reason to lie on the sofa and sip back a lemonade. Any images of detectives peeking through the window of your apartment would be pure aberration.
But of course, who can forget the original? "Private Eyes" is one of my favourite songs of not only the band but of my time in the 1980s. Released in 1981, the Hall & Oates hit has also become a classic in Japan. Let's say this, if Daryl & John were a nation, then "Private Eyes" would be the officially recognized national anthem by the Japanese, and the embassy and consular offices would be the many department stores that I have heard it via the speakers. Yup, it was that ubiquitous. Heck, it was even used in a TV commercial over there not too long ago.
And since we are traipsing through the American music of yesteryear, let's finish with "Groove Is In The Heart". Ah, by the way, Tei has been busy with another band these days, METAFIVE.
Breakfast in Toronto is a fairly mundane affair. The mornings alternate between cereal and oatmeal with some form of bread in the toaster followed up with a cup of coffee. Of course, can't forget the OJ! And that was indeed the case for me as well when I was living in Ichikawa. Yep, Japanese supermarkets do sell corn flakes and the other types of cereal; they even have oatmeal on the shelves although I didn't really have that too much. I never cottoned onto the idea of the old-fashioned idea of a Japanese breakfast with pickles, rice, grilled fish and tea. And apparently even Emperor Hirohito eschewed a wa-shoku morning meal for most of his life since he fell in love with the Western variety after his visit with King George V when he was still the young Crown Prince.
The closest I ever got to a breakfast in Beijing was a breakfast in Hong Kong many years ago when I visited there with a couple of students. One of them who absolutely adored HK took her friend and me to a small restaurant in the Central district to have a piping hot bowl of congee with pieces of deep-fried bread stick. Simple yet delicious.
All this preamble of breakfast has been given just to introduce this 1980 debut song by singer-songwriter Takashi Sato（佐藤隆）, "Peking de Choshoku wo" (Breakfast in Peking). Starting right off the bat with a little riff that hinted at those kayo with an exotic beat which were pretty popular during the late 1970s, the song was created by Sato and another Takashi...namely lyricist Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）. The song was arranged by another former member of rock band Happy End, Shigeru Suzuki（鈴木茂）. Although the instrumental parts did have that exotic bent, the sung parts by Sato had a folksy City Pop swing that almost sounded downright European.
Matsumoto's lyrics related the protagonist's wish to find that mystery woman who he may have come across in the titular city while traveling there. The one notable thing there was how Sato delivered the English translation of the title. Although it was written down as "Breakfast in Peking", I couldn't help but hear "Beck! Boston Becky!" As someone who has enjoyed the YouTube series of misheard anison lyrics, I could enjoy the humour.
"Peking de Choshoku wo" was also a track on Sato's debut album from the same year, "I've Been Walking". Since that debut in 1980, he became even more famous for a song that he contributed to chanteuse Mariko Takahashi（高橋真梨子）, "Momo Iro de Toiki"（桃色吐息）in 1984. And he has provided tunes for singers including Kenji Sawada（沢田研二）, Akina Nakamori（中森明菜）and Shinji Tanimura（谷村新司）.
