Arisa Mizuki -- In The Rain

Although I thoroughly enjoyed Arisa Mizuki's（観月ありさ）debut single "Densetsu no Shojo"（伝説の少女）to the point that I shucked out the yen to get the CD single, after listening to a few of her other songs on TV shows such as "Music Station", frankly, my impression was that her first song was a fluke and that she really couldn't sing all that well. This would explain why there aren't too many entries for Mizuki thus far.

Well, when I was writing about singer-songwriter Chika Ueda's（上田知華）unique "Hurricane" a couple of weeks ago, I also discovered this Mizuki song that had been both written and composed by Ueda. For me, Ueda has had a good track record in crafting very pleasant pop songs for other singers, so I decided to give it a go.

Indeed, the Ueda reputation isn't only still intact with me but I was happily surprised to find out that Mizuki recorded "In The Rain" quite well. I do realize that there is a difference between the actual recording for an album and a live performance on a TV show, but still, it was nice to hear Mizuki not sounding off-tune or me visualizing eighth notes with bandages. The song is mellow and groovy and rather classy, and the singer even sounds like she was really trying to emulate Ueda herself. Those 90s synths really set the mood.

"In The Rain" was a track on her 2nd BEST compilation, "Fiore II", which was released in December 1997. It got as high as No. 69 on Oricon.

Michiru Kojima -- Sunset Boulevard（サンセット・ブールバード）

I'm considering Michiru Kojima（児島未散）to be one of those unsung pop singers from the 1980s and 1990s. With a nice and light voice reminiscent of aidoru singing some of that straight-ahead pop, she reminds me somewhat of Hiroko Yakushimaru（薬師丸ひろ子）and Yuki Saito（斉藤由貴）to some degree.

When I first came across this song title, I had assumed that it was "Sunset Bluebird" instead of "Sunset Boulevard"; amazing how one dash can change everything (just ask Ben Johnson...sorry, that was a very old joke there). I have seen the 1950 film noir of the same name by Billy Wilder, but I can assure you that Kojima's "Sunset Boulevard" is a whole lot more happier.

The arrangement of this song that got onto her debut album "Best Friend" back in September 1985 has that gently lilting 50s feeling which automatically had me thinking Yumi Matsutoya（松任谷由実）and Mariya Takeuchi（竹内まりや）. However, it was actually Tetsuji Hayashi（林哲司）who composed "Sunset Boulevard", and he's no slouch when it comes to mellow tunes. It's a pleasant sepia-toned 5 minutes of nostalgia with lyrics by Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）. Quite relaxing and I can just as easily imagine the aforementioned Yakushimaru and Saito covering this one. "Sunset Boulevard" was also the B-side on Kojima's debut single, "September Monogatari"（セプテンバー物語...September Story）.

I will have to thank YouTuber オンガクch2号 since he put this one up in the last 24 hours or so. It's always nice when some of the more obscure pop songs from Japan reveal themselves.

Yutaro Miura -- Home Sweet Home!

Almost a couple of months ago, I wrote about the cheery opening theme to one of the more comically violent anime I've seen in recent memory, "Jashin-chan Dropkick"（邪神ちゃんドロップキック...Dropkick on my Devil!）.

Yes, folks! Quentin Tarentino and anime...discuss.

Anyways, along with that opening theme, there is always the just-as-cheery ending theme by Yutaro Miura（三浦祐太朗）"Home Sweet Home!" that comes across as half-anime ender and half-game music. Perhaps for all of the mayhem that Jashin-chan generates and attracts, the song may be pointing out that the half-girl/half-serpent actually likes being on Earth in Tokyo.

Written by Miura and composed by prolific anison writer Kenichi Maeyamada（前山田健一）, there's nothing here that makes "Home Sweet Home!" a classic but it's a nice enough ending theme which reflects a typically chaotic episode. The download-only single came out in July of this year.

Asami Kobayashi -- Transit

Recently, I was asked by a commenter on how I was able to quickly peg a particular tune from the late 1970s as a Yuming-penned one. I simply answered that it was because of the 50s pop feeling imbued into the melody and I think the only other singer-songwriter who could do that, Mariya Takeuchi（竹内まりや）, had just debuted herself.

When I heard the intro for Asami Kobayashi's（小林麻美）"Transit", I received that same inkling that this was another Yumi Matsutoya（松任谷由実）creation especially in the way that piano tinkled away. Well, actually, I was wrong in that Yuming（ユーミン）wasn't responsible for the music. She provided the lyrics. Meanwhile, it was Yosui Inoue（井上陽水）who composed "Transit", the B-side for her 9th single "Kanashimi no Spy"（哀しみのスパイ）from August 1984.

Compared to the suspenseful technopop of that A-side for which Yuming also provided lyrics while Koji Tamaki（玉置浩二）gave the music, "Transit" is a shorter and dreamier musical interlude with a bit of blues in there. Yuming's lyrics describe a woman who is in the middle of a stopover just making adjustments to the time and settling into that airport relaxation rhythm. Perhaps she's following that kayo trope of taking an international flight to get a breather after breaking up with a fellow.

I figure that the song was probably the final track on either Side A or Side B of her 4th album "Crytograph ~ Ai no Angou"（愛の暗号...Code of Love）which came out in the same month of the single. Well, I saw on Amazon that it was Track 5 out of the ten tracks, so I think my guess may actually win out here.

Tomoyasu Hotel -- Bambina（バンビーナ）

Tomoyasu Hotei's（布袋寅泰）18th single "Bambina" has a melody that has stuck with me all these years when I remember the guitarist's name. One fellow on YouTube put it thusly when he/she wrote that only Hotei himself can play that fiery guitar and sing out those rapid-fire lyrics written by Yukinojo Mori（森雪之丞）. However, I'm sure that hasn't prevented any of his fans from trying the song out at karaoke.

"Bambina" (Italian for baby girl) was released in April 1999, and it's Hotei style all the way on stage and in the music video. I was surprised to find out that the girl in "Bambina", model Niina Uchida（内田仁菜）, was perhaps all of thirteen years of age at the time, so along with that and the lyrics of the ardor for the titular girl, I couldn't help but feel that the director may have been partially inspired by "Lolita". To be honest, I was a tad creeped out especially when I saw Uchida in the suitcase.

Still the song is an energized tune of rockabilly fun and I'm sure that anytime it gets played at a Hotei concert, the joint will be jumping. "Bambina" went all the way up to No. 2 on Oricon and became the 70th-ranked single of 1999 as it went Platinum. Its first appearance on an album was for Hotei's "Greatest Hits 1990~1999" which came out in June of that year, reached No. 1 and ended up as the 21st-ranked album, becoming a million-seller.

Chage & Aska -- Hitorizaki（ひとり咲き）

Earlier this morning, NHK's "News at 9" was on and there was apparently a feature on singer-songwriter Ryo Aska（飛鳥涼）. I was having breakfast at the time so I didn't have a direct eye on the TV but when I was able to grab a view, I saw a middle-aged and introspective and probably a penitent man. I couldn't hear too clearly but I think he is trying to make another go at his career after his latest problem with drugs a few years earlier.

As I've mentioned in past articles, it's always interesting to see and hear longstanding music acts when they first debuted since comparisons can be made between the sound that I'm accustomed to hearing from a singer or band and the sound that had been generated at the very beginning of the career; a prototype version, you might say. Chage & Aska（チャゲ&飛鳥）are no different. For years, I've known Shuuji Shibata（柴田秀之）and Ryo Aska as these simultaneously singing epic balladeers who can sing the heck out of a love song and an uptempo pop number with the force of a cannon.

I've finally been able to listen to their debut single "Hitorizaki" (Blossoming Alone) which came out in August 1979. Their heartfelt voices were already there but they were paired with this contemplative 1970s folk sound. Then, there was their first nationwide appearance to sing this very number on Fuji-TV's "Yoru no Hit Studio" (which I believe is represented in the above video). I found out in the J-Wiki article for "Hitorizaki" that Chage & Aska had been called up urgently by the show's producers when the originally scheduled Takuro Yoshida（吉田拓郎）had to cancel suddenly. There wasn't even time to change the set which had been built to fit Yoshida's appearance.

No matter. Looking at the above introductory performance to Japanese fans, it was obvious that Chage & Aska made the most out of their golden opportunity. But man, would you look how cute they looked back then? No cool suit (and coiffed short hairstyle) for Aska and no hat or sunglasses for Chage! They looked like a pair of busking university kids. Ahhh....those humble beginnings.

Aska wrote and composed "Hitorizaki" whose lyrics deal with a woman encouraging a now-former beau to buck up and get on with his life without her. But with that delivery, I think the song can be used as a song of encouragement in general. The song didn't too badly for a debut, peaking at No. 24, but it became a longtime occupier of Oricon by hanging around in the Top 100 for 31 weeks. The song also made it onto the duo's debut album "Kazemai"（風舞...Wind Dance） from April 1980 which made it all the way up to No. 11. The above video has Chage & Aska coming back onto "Yoru no Hit Studio"（夜のヒットスタジオ）some years later (nope, it's been taken down), it looks like, and in the appearance and sound that I've been familiar with all this time.

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu -- Crazy Party Night ~ Pumpkin no Gyakushuu（ぱんぷきんの逆襲）

Indeed, I still remember that Tom Hanks sketch on "Saturday Night Live" where he portrayed the bizarre David S. Pumpkins and improbably immortalized himself as a live-action version of a 2018 meme (namely Markiplier E). His status as a character icon may be guaranteed alongside Harrison Ford's Indiana Jones and Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt.

Yes, realizing that Halloween went away a couple of weeks ago, I still ended up listening to a part of the Halloween 2018 episode on Japan Top 10 today, and discovered Kyary Pamyu Pamyu's（きゃりーぱみゅぱみゅ）song "Crazy Party Night ~ Pumpkin no Gyakushuu". It's been translated as "Pumpkin's Counterattack" on Wikipedia and "The Pumpkin Strikes Back" for one YouTube video, but if I had to choose between the two, I would have to opt for that second choice.

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu's 11th single from September 2015, I should have figured out that the singer would do a Halloween-themed tune like "Crazy Party Night" since she's got the flair for cosplay, and what better holiday is there for cosplayers than on October 31st? The song was written and composed by Yasutaka Nakata（中田ヤスタカ）, and it is chock-filled with the flavour of a Disneyland spectacle and a Danny Elfman score.

Looking at the video, yep, to quote the lyrics from the original "The Addams Family" TV theme song, they're creepy and they're kooky, mysterious and spooky, they're altogether ooky...but at the same time, the strange characters don't look like bad sorts at all (well, maybe with the exception of that guy in the rocking chair). They wanna party like anyone else. I wonder if they would do private Halloween parties. "Crazy Party Night" peaked at No. 12 on Oricon.