Chika Nakamura -- Too Young

Wowzers! When I heard this one for the first time, I was immediately taken by the snazzy melody. It was rather bracing in a good way like morning OJ. At first thought, without making the effort to track down songwriters, I thought it was either Ryuichi Sakamoto（坂本龍一）or Taeko Ohnuki（大貫妙子）who composed the song because of the snappy drums and that certain synthesizer sound.

However, actually it was singer-songwriter EPO (should've known) behind "Too Young", a track from Chika Nakamura's（仲村知夏）debut album "100 Carat" from April 1988. With Shun Taguchi（田口俊）taking care of the lyrics, this is a pretty catchy non-single cut that flits about like a bumblebee above a clover patch for the right amount of time. Not too long, not too short.

Nakamura, whose real name is Chikako Nakandakari（仲村渠睦子）, hails from Okinawa and started out as an aidoru in 1988. According to her J-Wiki profile, she admired Rebecca's NOKKO and entered the Okinawa Actors School to train in singing and dancing. She didn't have any major hits with most of her 9 singles flitting between the low 30s and high 20s on Oricon. There were also 3 original albums between 1988 and 1989 with only "100 Carat" getting the highest ranking at No. 74, and by 1991, Nakamura decided to call it a short career.

Fujimal Yoshino -- August

'Tis November 2018 now. One would expect that with the Halloween hijinks all done, the Christmas decorations would already be up in shopping malls. Not quite yet at my local mall; the Halloween stuff is still up there. However, much to my chagrin, Frank Sinatra singing Yuletide tunes has already filtered through the mall speakers. I suddenly felt very exhausted.

Well, it's three months past due, but it's nice to hear "August", a track from Fujimal Yoshino's（芳野藤丸） 2nd album "Romantic Guys" from 1983. It's got all of the City Pop tropes in there: nice plump bass, mellow guitar solo and good noodling on the Fender Rhodes accompanying Yoshino's bluesy vocals (fine harmonies, by the way). I would say that the song doesn't just belong to any August sunset but to even a November sunset. The important thing is that the sun can be slowing sinking below the horizon as one is talking a walk outside while this is playing.

I have to check whether "Romantic Guys" is available at places like Tower Records, but Amazon Japan is selling one copy at a nosebleed price. As I've mentioned, Xmas is just around the corner although I would be thoroughly shocked and delighted if "August" were to play on my mall speakers.

Kahoru Kohiruimaki -- Halloween wa Curiosity（ハロウィンはCURIOSITY）

I'm sure that at about this time the kids in my neighbourhood have been getting their candy. And not surprisingly, the weather forecaster on my local news show has been decked up as Frankenstein and making all sorts of merry. This kinda brings about this cross-cultural observation from me. Weather forecasters over here in North America seem to be the Court Jesters of the news teams while their equivalents in Japan are all very button-downed professorial types. Things that make me go Hmmm...

OK, this will probably be my last Halloween J-Pop song for this year, and it's one by Kahoru Kohiruimaki（小比類巻かほる）, "Halloween wa Curiosity" (Halloween is a Curiosity), a track from her 1991 album "Silent". For me, my favourite track from that album is the first one "Mirage Mirror" especially because of that amazing bass intro.

"Halloween wa Curiosity" probably won't ever become one of my favourite Kohhy songs although it was created by the singer and her longtime songwriting partner, Yoshiaki Ohuchi（大内義昭）. The pair have come up with many other songs that I like better, including "Mirage Mirror". Still, this one is interesting to hear since the two seemed to have wanted to go for a Beatles/Rolling Stones vibe. I mean, I think there is a melodic shoutout to "Day Tripper" at the beginning. Also, taking into account that at the time, Kohiruimaki was going more for an R&B sound, I think this particular track takes things back more to her late 80s pop/rock days.

It looks like "Halloween wa Curiosity" goes into a couple's date during October 31st, and considering the time that it was first released, Halloween truly was a curiosity for a lot of Japanese at the time. Perhaps Kohhy encountered the annual hijinks during a trip to Los Angeles which is the city out of Japan that I often associate her with. Evolving from the hijacking of a Yamanote Line train car by drunken English teachers back in that decade to that now-annual massive party in Shibuya, Halloween is as much of a holiday in Tokyo (at least) as Xmas is.

Well, since I'm here, I might as well put up a couple of my favourite Halloween-themed songs. Of course, there is "Ghostbusters" by Ray Parker Jr. Despite the fact that it was the conglomeration of folks from both "SCTV" and "Saturday Night Live", I don't recall laughing too hard (except for that "This man has no dick" snark) when I first saw the movie in 1984. Still, I enjoyed it since it did have a heart among the Ghostbusters themselves. The theme song itself was definitely a hit as one of the most muscular (fictional) commercial jingles ever made, although its performance at the Academy Awards for that year fell regrettably flat for some reason.

The other one is "The Great Pumpkin Waltz" by the Vince Guaraldi Trio for "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" from 1966. I don't think anyone would have thought about creating a romantic jazz waltz as a Halloween song, but Guaraldi did, and even hearing it tonight, I still got that ASMR shiver as soon as I heard that opening piano. Truly one of the classics.

Franchouchou -- Adabana Necromancy（徒花ネクロマンシー）

Happy Halloween 2018! We're still a few hours away here in Toronto before the kids go out trick-or-treating but the furor and craziness of a Shibuya Halloween have largely passed by, although when I checked the live stream camera for the main intersection a few minutes ago, there were still some hardy costumed folks walking about in the wee morning hours of November 1st. Not sure if my good friends were in the middle of that party that walks like a traffic jam but I'm sure that I will find out after they return in a few days.

Back on Sunday, I wrote that there were a couple of anime this season that has been reflecting some of that Halloween spirit. One is "Tonari no Kyuuketsuki-san"（となりの吸血鬼さん）, about the world's most adorable vampire. The other is the subject for this article, "Zombie Land Saga"（ゾンビランドサガ）which apparently has grabbed a lot of folks already, although I can't say that I'm one of the converted...yet. One reason is that I got accustomed to the mile-a-minute gag-a-thon that was "Back Street Girls ~ Gokudols"（ゴクドルズ）, an anime that had transgendered chinpira becoming a successful aidoru group much to their chagrin. For that matter, I may have OD'ed on a whole lot of zany gag anime in the summer.

This time, it's zombie girls getting the aidoru treatment and unlike "Back Street Girls", I was a bit caught off-guard that "Zombie Land Saga" has been more along the lines of last year's "Cheer Fruits" with the slower building up of a local aidoru group. Even my anime buddy has conceded that a good balance hasn't quite been achieved yet although we're going to catch Episodes 4 and 5 this weekend.

The opening theme is pretty interesting. "Adabana Necromancy" (Fruitless Necromancy) by this motley zombie aidoru group Franchouchou（フランシュシュ）has got a fair dollop of pizzazz that seems to incorporate elements of Takarazuka Revue and old tokusatsu/cop show theme tunes. It zigs and zags all over the place like a terrified inhabitant of a haunted house trying to flee from its confines.

Written by Shin Furuya（古屋真）and composed by Yusuke Kato（加藤裕介）, "Adabana Necromancy" is sung by cast members Kaede Hondo（本渡楓）, who I last saw as the hapless bartending Hitomi in the hilarious "Hinamatsuri"（ヒナまつり）, Asami Tano（田野アサミ）, Risa Taneda（種田梨沙）, from "Gochuumon wa Usagi desu ka?"（ご注文はうさぎですか?） fame, Maki Kawase（河瀬茉希）, Rika Kinugawa（衣川里佳）and Minami Tanaka（田中美海）. I was kinda hoping that the Kotono Mitsuishi（三石琴乃...yep, Sailor Moon）was in the recording booth but her character still merely growls a lot and eats dried squid. "Adabana Necromancy" ended up peaking at No. 13 on Oricon.

And just so you know that Xmas is around the corner...

Megumi Hayashibara -- Northern Lights

One of the first songs, if not the first, by Megumi Hayashibara (林原めぐみ) I ever listened to almost fifteen years ago, “Northern Lights” is also one of Megumi’s most iconic songs. I wouldn’t say it’s one of my favorites today, even if it’s one of her concert staples (which means I end listening to it more than I like to think), but it serves, alongside “Give a reason”, as that ever-present hit song every successful artist has.

“Northern Lights” is a powerful and urgent song, but it sounds too much like a shounen/adventure theme song. In fact, it was used as the second opening theme for the Shaman King series, a funny and interesting anime based on a manga of the same name. Overall, I like how catchy and singalong it is and Megumi’s vocals are pretty good, but I think it’ll never be my favorite Megumi song again, just like it was in 2004.

Maybe I enjoy its slow version more, thanks to a down to earth arrangement and a focus in Megumi’s vocals. It’s strange, but the song became quite dramatic too, which is a nice change of pace if compared to the explosive original version. Unfortunately, the “<ballade version>”, as it’s called, is nowhere to be found on YouTube and similar sites.

Released as Megumi’s 41st single in March 2002, it reached #3 on the Weekly Oricon chart and ended selling 93,080 copies. Both the original version and the “<ballade version>” were included in Megumi’s “center color” album, released in January 2004. Lyrics were written by Megumi herself, while music and arrangement (both versions) were composed by Go Takahashi (たかはしごう).

"center color"

Marcos V.’s Special Selection: Omega Tribe

Recently, I’ve been listening to Omega Tribe (オメガトライブ) on a regular basis, in all of its incarnations, thanks to the amazing “Good-bye Omega Tribe 1983-1991” compilation I won in an auction. Their professionalism and polished music is truly astonishing, which makes many of their songs classic standouts. In fact, a lot of them were already covered here in Kayo Kyoku Plus by J-Canuck. Songs like “Summer Suspicion”, “Futari no Natsu Monogatari” (ふたりの夏物語), “Kimi no Heart wa Marine Blue” (君のハートはマリンブルー), “Kimi wa 1000%” (君は1000%), “Super Chance”, “Stay Girl, Stay Pure”, “Crystal Night” and the amazing “Aquamarine no Mama de Ite” (アクアマリンのままでいて) are surely among my favorites, but today I wanted to bring other tunes I’m not capable of skipping while listening to them.

Starting with the band’s first incarnation, Kiyotaka Sugiyama & Omega Tribe (杉山清貴&オメガトライブ), “Asphalt Lady” is one of their most emblematic songs, and also their second single, released in October 1983. Included later in the band’s sophomore album “River’s Island”, from March 1984, it follows that subdued disco pattern of Omega Tribe’s early hits. It also introduces a more epic route, with a vigorous city feel and great arrangement comprised of the fantastic fat bass, strings, horns and the anthemic guitar.  Truly a different side of the band originally not seen in the melancholy portrayed in debut’s “Summer Suspicion”.

Following with another gem from the early years, here’s “Glass no PALM TREE” (ガラスのPALM TREE), the final single with Sugiyama’s lead vocals, which was released in November 1985. Different from the more urgent and shining “Asphalt Lady”, “Glass no PALM TREE”, follows a cooler and mysterious vibe during the verses, even if it stills unleashes a melodic nostalgy-fueled chorus. On a side note, I’ve always been curious about Sugiyama’s reasons to leave the band, since he basically continued recording that same type of smooth City Pop music.

Released as a single in October 1988, “REIKO” is probably the most different song from this particular selection, since it’s not into the band’s traditional City Pop sound, relying in a more typical 80s American funky sound. It’s funny because, even though it loses Omega Tribe’s unique feeling in favor of a more generic dance sound, it sounds like a positive innovation to the band. It also turned into one of my favorite songs from them, thanks to the arrangement (and yeah, I hear a nod to Earth, Wind & Fire’s “Let’s Groove” in some parts, but that's okay), even if the lead vocals were commanded by neither Kiyotaka Sugiyama nor Carlos Toshiki, but by American member Joey McCoy (just like RA MU [ラ・ムー], Omega Tribe was quite multiethnic in the late 80s, which is another interesting thing about the band).

Not released as a single, but part of 1989’s “Bad Girl” album, “Miss Dreamer” is a bouncy song by Carlos Toshiki and Omega Tribe (カルロス・トシキ&オメガトライブ) with a catchy chorus and a great vocal performance by Carlos Toshiki. It’s interesting to notice how, by 1989, the band was changing their sound a little bit. Unfortunately, they were not able to pursue such growth since the 80s were already ending and their songs were kind of difficult to transcend. In the case of “Miss Dreamer”, it’s full of 80s glory, such as the horns, wild guitar solo, synths sprinkling through the arrangement and an explosive chorus. Great non-single cut, for sure.

My last song on this list is “Doushite Suki to Ittekurenaino” (どうして好きといってくれないの), which is a return to the typical Omega Tribe sound with that melancholic vibe. As it was released in July 1989, I immediately feel even more nostalgic, because of how ‘the end of an era’ that particular year represented. The song helps a lot, and it’s one of their most natsukashii-sounding songs since Kiyotaka Sugiyama left the band. About some specific details, the verses are what I like the most in this song (I usually like the verses even more than the choruses in Omega Tribe’s songs), but the expansive horns are great as well.

Ritsuko Tanaka -- Fried Frustration（フライドフラストレーション）

Appropriate commercial since we're looking at Halloween tomorrow. Anyways, Ritsuko Tanaka（田中律子）has been a fairly common presence on TV since she has worn the three hats of aidoru, tarento and actress. She appeared on that 1991 drama "Hyaku-ikkai me no Propose"（101回目のプロポーズ...The 101st Proposal）with Tetsuya Takeda（武田鉄矢）and Atsuko Asano（浅野温子）, and was a co-host on a popular Saturday morning variety show on TBS, "Ousama no Brunch"（王様のブランチ...The King's Brunch）in the mid-1990s.

However, the first time that I saw Tanaka was on those Halls Lozenges commercials where she sang some cute little jingle.

I didn't know that this was actually a single by Tanaka. In fact, it kinda surprised that his was her 8th of 11 singles from November 1990 that she released in her relatively brief singing career since this was the only song that I've registered with her. None of her songs ever got anywhere near the Oricon Top 10; the "closest" one ranked in at No. 93. She also put out 5 albums.

"Fried Frustration" is a tune that I would never have imagined with those two words put together. If I've read the lyrics by Natsumi Tadano（只野菜摘）correctly, it's just about the trials and tribulations of trying to get into love. As for the music, that is by Tadashi Uchiyama（内山肇...I hope that I got the first name right）, and it's pretty catchy although the song will never threaten my Top 10 list. However, I do like the synth work and the chorus with their "SHOO-BE-DOO-WOP-BOP!"