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.
Ahhh...living in Tokyo. Well, actually to be perfectly accurate, I was living in the satellite city Ichikawa in Chiba Prefecture (which is only 20 minutes away by the Tozai Line to downtown Tokyo). As with any residential situation, one has got to weigh the good with the bad. Lots of things to do versus higher prices or commuting hell versus many interesting neighbourhoods with their own distinctive character.
Certainly, I'm not the first and I won't be the last to wonder about city living especially in one of the biggest vibrant metropolises on Earth (really gotta extend the subway hours, though). The aidoru group ℃-ute has also mused about the trials and tribulations of this very topic through their 23rd single "Tokai no Hitorigurashi" (Living Alone In The City).
Released in November 2013 as this rapid-fire funky disco number by Hello Project guru Tsunku（つんく）, the ℃-ute ladies wonder nonchalantly about how to handle the changes brought about by a move from the countryside to the big city and then maybe even overseas, probably to get away from hectoring parents and then even the boredom of urban Japanese life. Considering that pad that they're dancing in within the video and all of that fashion, I don't think Airi Suzuki（鈴木愛理）and the bunch are hurting too badly.
"Tokai no Hitorigurashi" hit No. 3 on Oricon, and it was also placed in ℃-ute's 8th original album"℃maj9" which came out in December 2015. It hit No. 8. Right now, though, former member Suzuki is getting a fair bit of attention from a duet with another Suzuki.
I was reminded by a comment for Anzen Chitai's（安全地帯）"IV" album that I had yet to write anything about Koji Tamaki's（玉置浩二）solo "Ikanaide"(Don't Leave Me Alone) single from November 1989.
It was used as the theme song for the Fuji-TV 30th Anniversary commemorative drama "Sayonara, Ri Koran"（さよなら李香蘭）, a biography for the singer Yoshiko Yamaguchi（山口淑子）who had gone by the name Li Hsiang-lan or the Japanese Ri Koran while living in the Republic of China around World War II. I never saw the drama starring Yasuko Sawaguchi（沢口靖子） myself, but considering Tamaki's song and the times depicted, I can only imagine many tears were shed in front of the telly.
As an old friend and fellow Anzen Chitai fan once told me years ago, Tamaki once performed a song in concert for the first several bars without any instrumental accompaniment and audience encouragement. It was just his voice alone singing a ballad, and he had everyone in the hall wrapped around his vocal cords with that incredible talent. Probably, a few gallons of lachrymal fluid were left on the floor, too. I wouldn't be surprised if the ballad in question had been the topic of this article. It's beautifully haunting and heartbreaking at the same time. Mind you, for non-fans, "Ikanaide" could also be treated as being a little too overwrought; I remember the song being played on some sort of parody in a "Tunnels" comedy show once. Still, assuming that "Sayonara, Ri Koran" was melodramatic, "Ikanaide" was the perfect tune.
This particular song would probably be the quintessential Tamaki song showing off that remarkable high range. Just how he was able to go through several rounds of practice and recording before the release of the CD without shattering his throat is beyond me. It's pretty much pop opera with that orchestral arrangement. Once again, it was the triumvirate of Tamaki, lyricist Goro Matsui（松井五郎）and arranger Katsu Hoshi（星勝）behind the creation of "Ikanaide". Since its release, it has been covered in both Mandarin and Cantonese by a number of other singers.
According to the J-Wiki article for the song, it wasn't seen as a huge hit for Tamaki when his 5th single peaked at No. 16 on Oricon, but it's been a favourite entry on the concert playlist for his fans for many years. That's no surprise and I'm sure fans knew to bring very absorbent handkerchiefs for that particular song. Apparently, "Ikanaide" first made its appearance on an album through "Anzen Chitai/Tamaki Koji Best"（安全地帯・玉置浩二ベスト）released in August 1994.
Pretty busy day and night today, so before I end the festivities for another broadcast day, let's try one more City Pop outing.
Let's give Mayumi Horikawa's（堀川まゆみ）"CA-SI-NO" a spin on the roulette wheel. A track from her January 1986 album"Maym", and yep, despite the dark background for that video above, it still works. A song from the jazzier side of City Pop, it still provides some walking fun...or maybe some strutting fun...on any of the main avenues of Tokyo on a Friday or Saturday night. Fine funky beat, tight horns and that sax solo...just the instruments you need for some cool urban contemporary stuff in Japan in the 1980s.
Through the Daemonskald method, I could find out that Masako Arikawa（有川正沙子）was behind the words, while it was a joint effort between Mayumi and Toshio Kamei（亀井登志夫）for the boppy music. "Maym" also has the track "FM Radio Band".
Like Kazuhito Murata's（村田和人）"TRUST", this song is another entry in "Light Mellow ~ Avenue". A lot of gems in that particular compilation.
"Itsumo Dokodemo" (Always Someplace) is that concoction of silky sophistication that I've come to expect from Tomita Lab（冨田ラボ）. His stuff usually demands that flood of endorphins to wash through my brain. This time, his collaborator is singer-songwriter Yu Sakai（さかいゆう）and the two of them create this song of healing from a romantic breakup and perhaps even a lesson for the guy when the next relationship comes along.
The song was originally a track from Tomita Lab's 2013 album"Joyous". The Lab took care of the music but it was Kirinji's（キリンジ）Takaki Horigome（堀込高樹）who provided the tender lyrics. When I saw Horigome's name in there, I knew the partnership would be wonderful. "Joyous" also has Sakai helping out on another group effort, "Kono Yo wa Fushigi"（この世は不思議）.
August 29th 2024: It seems as if "The Tasogare Touch" has disappeared from the Net since I wrote this article back in 2020.
I was contacted yesterday by a fellow J-Pop blogger by the name of jigenbakuda regarding his own creation, "The Tasogare Touch".
"The Tasogare Touch" mainly deals in the contemporary aidoru scene in Japan, but jigenbakuda has also mentioned that he likes to also dissect songs from the Showa era since he's interested in what makes them tick and also why they make him tick. For example, he's provided articles on Akina Nakamori's（中森明菜）"Eki"（駅）and Junko Ohashi's（大橋純子）"Tasogare My Love"（たそがれマイ・ラブ）.
Now, my own comments on both "Eki" and "Tasogare My Love" weren't exactly voluminous so I appreciate the contact from jigenbakuda since he's provided more insights into them through more of a musicologist's approach including translations. I sometimes wish that I could provide a more "scientific" analysis of songs but with our blog, it's usually going to be more of an expression of the layman's like for the kayo.
In any case, have a look at his articles through the links in the second paragraph above and enjoy. It's always nice to have different angles on the same songs.
Ordinarily, Japan would be entering one of the biggest holiday periods of the year, Golden Week. However with COVID-19, that's not going to be possible. In fact, this will end up becoming the largest mass staycation in Japanese history, and I hope that this record will be achieved. So, certainly, all of my good wishes are going out to my friends and relatives over there to stay safe and healthy during this time.
The last time that I showed any interest in an NHK morning drama serial (8:00-8:15) was all the way back in 2012, the year that I started "Kayo Kyoku Plus", when I watched "Ume-chan Sensei"（梅ちゃん先生）. Right now, with the schedule being vastly changed on TV Japan, there is this huge block of time between 5 pm and 9 pm Eastern Daylight Time in which we're getting NHK in real time. So that means getting the 2-hour morning news followed by the current morning drama serial and then the information show "Asaichi".
I have watched the news and then "Asaichi" with the latter being usually presented at 1 pm on tape delay on weekdays when TV Japan used to have its regular schedule. I didn't have much interest in catching the morning serial, but frankly, I think it would have been rather churlish of me to just step away from the living room for 15 minutes between the end of the news and the beginning of "Asaichi" just to avoid the drama so I decided to grin and bear it.
Strangely enough, "Yell"（エール）hasn't been too bad at all. Basically the biography of sorts of songwriter Yuuji Koseki（古関裕而）, whose works including the Hanshin Tigers fight song have already been represented on "Kayo Kyoku Plus", it's been pretty entertaining because there seems to be more comedy than what I would have expected for an NHK morning serial. There is the star, Masataka Kubota（窪田正孝）as songwriter Yuuichi Koyama（小山裕一）who looks a bit like David Hyde Pierce from "Frasier" and has the fidgety timidity of Don Knotts transmitting through his face and gangly limbs. His co-star, Fumi Nikaido（二階戸ふみ）, who plays force-of-nature wannabe singer and future wife Oto Sekiuchi（関内音）, has also displayed her own share of goofiness. The narrator, Kenjiro Tsuda（津田健次郎）, only recently played a literal corporate lizard in an anime.
Of course, there is the theme song that always plays during the opening credits. This time, it's "Hoshikage no Yell"(Starlight Yell) by the band of dentists-cum-musicians GReeeeN, and I gotta say that the song is growing on me as I watch the show. It comes across as an optimistic happy-go-lucky march that foretells the musically-inclined couple's weathering of the usual obstacles (such as World War II) to happiness and success, including something to do with the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
"Hoshikage no Yell" will be released as a digital download single next month. As for the show itself, I'm not sure whether I will catch every episode, but so far, it's been a nice re-entry for me into NHK morning dramas again. I just wonder whether the current pandemic will cause any disruptions in filming future episodes.
As an update, "Hoshikage no Yell" hit No. 1 on the Oricon digital single charts.
Well, hadn't realized that it was so long since I put up a Mariko Tone（刀根麻理子）article, and in that one for "Just A Moment", I had mentioned that I regretted not including her in the blog a lot sooner. Some 5 odd years later...
For that matter, one Gibbs slap later, I've decided to include Tone's"Matenro Monogatari"(Skyscraper Story) into the blog. A track from her 2nd album"Purple Rose" from October 1985, this paean to the chilling effects of heartbreak in the cruel grey city was written by Tone and composed by Masahiro* Kawano（川野真寛）, and it's got that lovely arrangement of a late 1980s City Pop with that certain melody line bringing in those certain synths of the time.
In a way, "Matenro Monogatari" (great name for a City Pop tune, by the way) rather reminds me of some of the songs that Ruiko Kurahashi（倉橋ルイ子）sang during that decade. There's that feeling of sophisticated urban pop further enhanced by that doodling jazzy guitar. However, whereas I picture Kurahashi sitting rather languidly in that expensive restaurant at the top of the Keio Plaza Hotel in West Shinjuku, there's something closer to the ground floor when I listen to "Matenro Monogatari" as if Tone is not at the top of that ivory tower but she's actually surrounded by a lot of towers as she makes her way pensively through the concrete jungle. Nothing like West Shinjuku to bring up a lot of City Pop images.
