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.
As far as I know (and if I'm wrong, please correct me), the two main air routes to Japan from Toronto via Air Canada are the ones going to Tokyo and Osaka. I don't know whether there are flights coming and going to the northern island of Hokkaido but certainly I wouldn't mind getting there directly someday. My one and only time to Sapporo was a good one, and I wish that I can actually attend the annual Snow Festival there along with visiting some of the other areas such as Hakodate, Furano and Otaru.
Hokkaido was the place that I imagined as I listened to singer-songwriter Rui Tachihara's（立原累）"Kita no Daichi"(Great Land of the North). When my ANA flight landed at Shin-Chitose Airport close to Sapporo, I noted how similar the land seemed to my impression of my home country of Canada, and thanks to my favourite sketch comedy show "SCTV", we are known as The Great White North, after all.
I never heard of Tachihara before and there's very little written about him on J-Wiki; in fact, it doesn't even say where he comes from. But the way that he sings "Kita no Daichi" which was a 1974 single, his resonant vocals show a good amount of personal passionate investment in that big land of the north. He was behind the folksy music while Keisuke Aso（麻生啓介）provided the lyrics relating the land's changes throughout the four seasons.
"Kita no Daichi" may be Tachihara's debut single and since then, he's released a number of other singles and albums at least as far ahead as 1979 and most likely into the early 1980s. I see that he also has some representation on YouTube so I'll have to give some of his other creations a look-see.
Apologies for throwing in another Reminiscings of Youth article so soon after the last one but on hearing about actor Ed Asner's death earlier today, I just had to include this one. Many folks might recently remember the Kansas City-born TV and movie star from the 2009 Pixar-produced computer animated film "Up" where he played the main character of Carl Fredricksen. However for people of my generation, I will always remember Asner as crusty but lovable news director Lou Grant from "The Mary Tyler Moore Show". Can hardly believe that the show first started almost 51 years ago.
With the announcement of Asner's passing, I've only just realized that almost all of the stars from that famous 1970s sitcom, including Mary Tyler Moore, Gavin MacLeod and Ted Knight are now gone. I think actress Betty White is the only actor from that show who is still here. From what I've gathered over the years since its run between 1970 and 1977 and beyond is that "The Mary Tyler Moore Show", which was about Mary Richards and her personal/professional life involving her work buddies at WJM-TV in Minneapolis, Minnesota, could also have been originating network CBS' first attempt to break out of its reputation of being the farm comedy network since many of its successful sitcoms in the 1960s were based on characters who came from the countryside such as "Green Acres" and "The Beverly Hillbillies".
Even as a kid, I remembered "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" right from its first season since Mary herself had such long hair. The very first time I ever saw the actress was when she was playing Laura Petrie on the black-and-white "The Dick Van Dyke Show", another beloved sitcom from the 1960s, so there was some confusion about her new hairdo and the fact that I was seeing her in colour. And for that matter, where was Dick?
I also remember seeing episodes from time to time in its initial run right from Season 1 along with the tropes of Mary's first apartment, the camaraderie among her and the WJM staff, and the appearance of the cute kitten at the end of the ending credits for each episode. But for me, I think it was in the latter half of the show's 7-year run when I was laughing my guts out at a lot of the episodes including the one that is represented at the very top of the article, "Chuckles Bites the Dust", when the local TV clown is killed in a hilarious accident. It's been voted as one of the top episodes of all time for all American television and it has even merited its own Wikipedia entry.
Yes, I still remember that this is a music blog, and a Japanese one at that, but bear with me. The show was that memorable for me. Besides, it's not the first time that I've given a TV theme song the ROY treatment (see "WKRP in Cincinnati" and "The Odd Couple").
Another thing that I wax nostalgic over when it comes to "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" is the theme song. There have been a number of variations of Sonny Curtis' "Love is All Around" played over the seven seasons, but I will always choose the original version from Season 1 as my favourite take. Created by Patrick Williams, the original is cool and swinging like a Burt Bacharach song (especially with the more pronounced horns), and even the instrumental version of "Love is All Around" used for the ending credits is also my favourite among the variations used during the show's run.
Well, I can perhaps say that almost all of the WJM staff have gotten together once more in a new and better place with love all around. In any case, since the show premiered in September 1970, what were some of the singles that came out around that time? Two of them are actually re-releases from the early 1960s while the other one is once again showing a discrepancy in terms of release month with Showa Pops.
Well, it isn't exactly early August now, but I did promise to bring Side 2 of the "Friends" LP portion of Anzen Chitai's（安全地帯）mammoth undertaking "V" from December 1986 at that time. At least, I still got it in within the month itself. Side 1 has been up since July 24th.
The original Side 2 began with a brief and lonely instrumental version of "Friend" that I had talked about in the very first article on "V" that I created back in 2012, but then it goes into the darker and introspective "Chigiru Night"（チギルナイト）. I'd always wondered what that title meant and a part of me rather darkly, as it were, thought "Chigger Night" which of course had me going "Ick". The last thing anyone needs on the mattress is a horde of biting chiggers.
But then I checked out good ol' Jisho, and I found out that chigiru（契る）can mean "having sex". Well, that would be a great improvement over having to grab a can of Raid. Still, there doesn't seem to be any sort of romanticism in this particular song created by vocalist Koji Tamaki（玉置浩二）and lyricist Goro Matsui（松井五郎）. There is quite a bit of urgency and mystery, though.
Then, we come to "Kowarerushikanai"（こわれるしかない...Gotta Break It） which brings back some of that old Anzen Chitai sound and maybe even a soupcon of Beatles near the end. With the background of crickets sounding off in the background, it's another fairly serious song about a breakup that is inevitable and cold to the touch. Love isn't always a fun thing, apparently.
"Fushigi na Yoru"（不思議な夜...An Odd Night） has Anzen Chitai's brand of bossa nova with a synthesizer or some contraption making like glass bottles. It all sounds rather woozy after a night of carousing with the final destination being bed. Tamaki's vocals especially have a certain sinister and sneakily tempting tone as if the man himself were offering a Faustian deal to a fellow who has a little too much romance on the mind.
"Yakusoku"（約束）already has its own entry and as I mentioned there, it's a summer sunset sort of a song with plenty of mellowness. The following track also hints at happier themes compared with the first few tracks of this side. The romantic "Omoide ni Tsutsumarete"（想い出につつまれて...Wrapped in Memories） was actually used as the commercial jingle for Osaka Gas portable heaters, but aside from that point, the song is another example how Tamaki's falsetto can send any listener into rapture. Y'know, if "Chigiru Night" is about plain ol' sex and "Kowarerushikanai" is about the ugly breakup, "Omoide ni Tsutsumarete" can just be the melodic equivalent of snuggling up close. Incidentally, the song was also Side B for Anzen Chitai's hit "Suki sa"（好きさ）.
The final track is "Kioku no Mori"（記憶の森...Memory Woods）, a short ballad but one of the most beautiful that the band has ever created with the piano phrasing and then the entry of some epic strings. And Tamaki has never sounded so gloriously haunting through his vocals as he describes gradually being unable to remember many things as time passes except for that one kind voice in his heart. I can imagine a ballet or some form of contemporary dance being set to this song.
Generally, I think Side 2 of "Friends" has more of that exploration into the sadder and darker places of the heart but with some glimmers of hope. It makes for an interesting juxtaposition with Side 1 which had that party hearty atmosphere for the most part. Anyways, the next entry in "V" will be Side 1 of the "Suki sa" LP.
Conversing with my anime buddy weekly, I've been aware that he has not only been enjoying the second season of "Kobayashi-san no Maid Dragon"（小林さんちのメイドラゴン）but there's been another series catching his eye.
Titled "Kageki Shojo!!"（かげきしょうじょ!!...Opera Girls!!）, the original manga is all about a fictionalized version of the famed Takarazuka Revue Company, the all-female musical acting troupe known for their very elaborate performances. I actually put up an article earlier this month on what has become the troupe's trademark song. As for the anime adaptation that began almost a couple of months ago, it's all about the laughter, tears, trials and tribulations for the girls going through the exclusive academy to train and educate them into becoming top stars on the stage.
Frankly speaking, I've yet to see an episode (it may be a tad too melodramatic for me) but my anime buddy did cotton me onto the ending theme. As soon as I saw that ending credit sequence, I knew that it was just screaming Takarazuka at me. The ending song itself is "Hoshi no Tabibito"(Star Traveler) which is performed by a couple of the seiyuu cast, Sayaka Senbogi（千本木彩花）and Yumiri Hanamori（花守ゆみり）. Both voice thespians are familiar to me from other shows, especially with Hanamori since she has portrayed the long-suffering but immensely resourceful Ai Hayasaka from "Kaguya-sama: Love is War".
In the past, I have heard of the same anime ending theme being performed by different members of the cast in a particular show for different episodes, but I think that this might be the first time that I've ever heard of an ending theme of the same composition being performed under different lyrics, a different title and by different members of the seiyuu cast for each episode. And indeed, this has been the case for "Kageki Shojo!!".
For this particular ending, Riko Sasaki（佐々木李子）and Sumire Uesaka（上坂すみれ）tackle the theme under the title "Shinayaka na Mirai"（シナヤカナミライ...An Elegant Future）. Apparently, the ending for Episode 8 features yet another version with another change in title and lyrics and seiyuu. In all cases, I can also hear the Takarazuka-ness of it all through the nimble and dramatic melody by Tsuneyoshi Saito（斉藤恒芳）, and he was also responsible for the different sets of lyrics.
Happily from what I've read, the annual Tanabata Festival in the city of Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture was back on tap earlier this month after having to cancel the 2020 edition due to COVID-19. Mind you, it was apparently a smaller version because of the ongoing pandemic but at least the show did go on. Sorry to say, though, I never had the opportunity to visit Sendai or any of Miyagi Prefecture, especially considering that one of my good friends here hails from the area.
Some months ago, I discovered this folk/pop song in tribute to the province titled "Ah, Miyagi-ken"(Ah, Miyagi Prefecture) as originally created and sung by Miyagi-born radio personality, potter and singer-songwriter Danjuro Kikkawa（吉川団十郎）. Released as his second single in April 1976, it's a down-to-earth and happy singalong about his home prefecture with the usual lyrical theme of realizing that the fresh fish and incredible rice, among other charms, of Miyagi outweigh anything that Tokyo has to offer.
Almost a quarter of a century later, a more contemporary version of the song titled "Ah, Miyagi-ken 2020" was recorded by local tarento Manami Kawada（川田愛美）.
Obviously, there have been plenty of tie-ups between anime and hit songs but once in a while, I encounter songs that have been inspired by manga. In fact, I think that I have written about one other example but unfortunately at the moment, I can't remember the song although I'm pretty certain that it was an 80s tune.
Anyways, one example that I have here is the manga "Neko Janai mon!"（ネコじゃないモン！...I'm Not a Cat, You Know!）by Kentaro Yano（矢野健太郎）that had its initial run in "Young Jump" magazine between 1982 and 1985. The story revolves around the character of college student Naoko Miyamoto who suffered lasting trauma as a young girl involving a kitten, only to draw the attention of a cat. For some reason, although J-Wiki doesn't have any article about the manga (though it does have one devoted to Yano), Wikipedia has one, and according to it, there has yet to be any sort of anime adaptation.
Still, the manga was popular enough that a single and a full album based on "Neko Janai mon!" were created in 1983. The single's A-side took on the title of the manga but for this article, I'm looking at the B-side, "Feel so Nyan-Nyan" which I guess could be translated as "Feel so Meow Meow". Written and composed by singer-songwriter Hiroko Taniyama（谷山浩子）, the singer behind the song is Yumi Kojima（児島由美）who brings her own kittenish qualities to the performance. I'm happy enough with "Feel so Nyan-Nyan" to call it a pop song but it does have elements of jazz and City Pop bouncing around here and there, and the lyrics talk about the carefree life of a cat.
Kojima herself is a singer-songwriter who was raised in Sapporo but currently lives in Tokyo. She started learning piano at a tender age and then learned koto in her teens. As with many budding artists in the music industry, she entered the Yamaha Popular Song Contest in the late 1970s where she won a prize for her creation "Yume no Tabi"（夢の旅...Dream Trip）. In 1979, she made her single debut with "Otoko no Ko Mitai ni"（男の子みたいに...Like Boys） with an album later on called "Comme des Garcons"（コム・デ・ギャルソン）. I've just heard one track on YouTube from that album, and I will cover it next month.
Ahhh...the bright lights of East Shinjuku. I just hope that they are still burning bright during this pandemic. Would love to walk on those streets once more.
Mind you, when I was living in the mountains of Gunma Prefecture over 30 years ago, I learned a gesture and an expression from my fellow staff and teachers at probably one of the many enkai that I had to attend. The gesture was doing jazz hands and the expression was "neon ga yonderu"（ネオンが呼んでる）. It literally means "The neon lights are calling" but I believe the true meaning is an invitation to paint the town red, and of course, living in the old town of Tsukiyono where the traffic lights start flashing on and off from the late hour of 8 pm every night, yep, I can imagine that there were folks in Gunma who were itching to get some big city time in Tokyo, 70 minutes away by Bullet Train.
During my time in the Tokyo area, I basically had access to the nocturnal lights and delights of the megalopolis pretty much all the time, but of course since I had something called a job and I was frankly anything but a party animal, "neon ga yonderu" only applied to me for a surprisingly smaller amount of time than expected. Of course, I had acquaintances who more than compensated for my introverted nature...and sometimes paid a heavy price, and I just don't mean financially. Still, I can understand the attraction of having fun in one of the largest cities on Earth.
Anyways, my preamble ramble was all to introduce a song whose title is quite similar to that expression that I learned in Gunma decades ago. The band evening cinema, which now has fair representation on "Kayo Kyoku Plus", has been around to give out their brand of urban contemporary music with a base of 70s and 80s City Pop. The most recent article that I devoted to leader and vocalist Natsuki Harada（原田夏樹）and company was back in December with their 2020 single, "Night Magic", which I felt had some of those influences of Kirinji and ORESAMA.
Well, I've gone back even further into November 2019, and this time, their single from back then, "Neon Sign ga Yonderu" (The Neon Signs are Calling) seems to be harkening back to the rhythms of Tatsuro Yamashita（山下達郎）. Written and composed by Harada, the song also has those tiny bleeps and bloops to keep things nice and contemporary. However, the lyrics don't really talk about getting that invitation to frolic in the big city; actually, they seem to be about a guy hopelessly in love and getting all restless every minute that he's away from the target of his ardor. Still for me, it's the bass, piano and saxophone that have gotten my attention.
"Neon Sign ga Yonderu" is also a track on evening cinema's August 2020 mini-album"Aesthetics". I think the effect of Vaporwave was not lost on these guys, and certainly the cover for the single itself has that sort of look.
