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.
Yes, I gather that I am being a little cute with the above thumbnail considering the title of this article's song. Anyways, first off, I hope that folks are slowly digesting the Christmas turkey, stuffing and all of the other foodstuffs from last night. It was surprisingly busy at the nearby shopping mall today but I was able to pick up the paper and a box of Laura Secord chocolate-covered cherries for end-of-year noshing. Glad to have you drop by today on Boxing Day.
I just wanted to start off the final week of 2022 with a City Pop number by actress/singer Kei Ishiguro（石黒ケイ）, although she's going by Kay Ishiguro for her 1982 album"Yokohama Ragtime". It's a concept LP all focused on the famous international sea port and according to Discogs, it has its share of jazz and pop music.
However, I have to say that "Find Me" kinda fulfills that City Pop categorization, too. This is rather notable considering that my past articles on the singer have categorized her songs as either jazz or straight pop. Written and composed by Ishiguro, the feeling is that the protagonist has holed herself up in some dark and deep watering hole in Yokohama, not particularly wanting to be found, although some of the arrangement lifts the song into some form of hope. But definitely no complaints are to be found on my part; "Find Me" does have that coolness factor thanks to the piano and the chord changes. Plus, I really like the cover art.
The male trios had an original Gosanke（御三家...The Big Three） and then a new Gosanke for the next generation, so the same thing happened with the female trios. In the 1950s, there was the Ganso Sannin Musume（元祖三人娘...The Original Three Girls） starring Hibari Misora（美空ひばり）, Chiemi Eri（江利チエミ）and Izumi Yukimura（雪村いづみ）. But then in the early 1970s came the birth of the Shin Sannin Musume (The New Three Girls) featuring aidoru Rumiko Koyanagi（小柳ルミ子）, Mari Amachi（天地真理）and Saori Minami（南沙織）.
Unlike the original Sannin Musume, Koyanagi, Amachi and Minami never appeared in any rom-com movie, but they did have their opportunities to show up in magazines and TV music shows, including the 1972 Kohaku Utagassen. In the article for the Shin Sannin Musume on J-Wiki, I was even able to find the catchphrases for each of them:
Rumiko Koyanagi: Minna no Koibito（みんなの恋人...Everyone's Lover）
Mari Amachi: Anata no Kokoro no Tonari ni Iru Sony no Shirayuki Hime（あなたの心の隣にいるソニーの白雪姫...The Snow White of SONY, Close to Your Heart）
Saori Minami: Minami no Shima kara Kita Cynthia（南の島からきたシンシア...Cynthia from the Southern Islands）
All of them had their singing debut in 1971 with Amachi having the latest one in October.
And a Merry Christmas to you! If you're just dropping by for a little look at "Kayo Kyoku Plus" among the family hijinks at your place for the Yuletide, then I thank you very much. I'm hoping that you are enjoying your day wherever you are.
Since it is a holiday today, I thought that it would be nice to start off with what I think will be the final Christmas song for the KKP season as a Reminiscings of Youth session. I'm not sure when I first heard "Jingle Bell Rock" which was originally recorded by Bobby Helms back in 1957, but as a kid, I was a bit confused on hearing it, thinking "Wait! This doesn't sound like 'Jingle Bells' at all.". Well, duh. It's a totally different song by Joseph Carleton Beal and James Ross Boothe with its laidback country-style rockabilly.
The thing is that it's not Helms' original that I remember the most. I've always associated "Jingle Bell Rock" with the happy cover by Hall & Oates and its accompanying videos. The song and videos just seem to have been around forever although the guys' version came out in 1983 as a single with the video appearing around November of that year. Having grown up during the early age of MTV, whenever I think of the song, I will always remember the video with Hall & Oates and their band including guitarist G.E. Smith enjoying their Hallmark-friendly Christmas at home.
Until recently, though, I'd had no idea that there were two video versions of "Jingle Bell Rock", one with Daryl Hall singing (above) and another with John Oates taking lead (below). May I finally say that Oates has a great voice (and a great cardigan)? I've always loved Daryl but I'm going to have to pay more attention to John. My other realization is that although I'd once assumed that the brief "goofy" videos starring Hall & Oates (with all of the band mugging for the camera) began with "Out of Touch" in 1984, I now believe that it all started with "Jingle Bell Rock". Not that I'm complaining, mind you; it's nice to see a big band showing off a self-deprecating sense of humour.
Well, what was hitting the top of the Oricon charts in November 1983? For Seiko-chan fans, I've got a twofer.
For my final article on Christmas Eve 2022, I've decided to do an Author's Pick to not only commemorate KKP's Xmas season but also to note once again that we've been around for 10 years. Mind you, it was actually around 9 years ago that I put up my "Top 5 J-Xmas Songs" with familiar names such as Tatsuro Yamashita（山下達郎）and Junichi Inagaki（稲垣潤一）. Since the end of 2013, though, we've gained knowledge of many other J-Xmas tunes and as of this writing, there are over 200 entries for "Xmas" in Labels.
As such, I thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to give out my personal alternative list of favourite J-Xmas songs as a sequel to the original 2013 list. Again, I'm going with five songs but they aren't in any particular order.
Yeah, this would be the one to decompress with...preferably with a cup of chamomile tea after that arduous round of Christmas shopping. The lyrics by the Sensei (Karashima's nickname) are on the melancholy and lonely side of Christmas songwriting in Japan but that beautiful string-and-piano arrangement can't be beat.
Again, the lyrics by Yasushi Akimoto（秋元康）aren't particularly happy ones, but "Stardust Memories" is quite an upbeat tune for the mellow-voiced Kobayashi. Instead of focusing on those words, focusing on the melody by the singer can bring images of having fun in the snow and/or finishing up the Xmas shopping and stopping in for a cup of coffee.
Seiko-chan（松田聖子）has come up with Xmas songs in the past but it seems with her 1987 album"Snow Garden", she came up with some of her most refined tunes for the happy season. "Pearl-White Eve" is the favourite one for me because it combines some old-fashioned arrangements and contemporary pop. The singer sounds absolutely innocent although as my university buddy pointed out that at the end of the song, Matsuda sings that she will wrap herself up in her pink pyjamas and she'll be the present for her lover. Hey, I will not judge.😇
As I mentioned in the original article for Reimy's（麗美）kittenish and adorable "Pocket no Coin", I don't think that it was ever meant to be a Christmas song. However, after those images of Christmas markets and couples quickly insinuated themselves into my mind after first hearing it, I just had to treat it as Xmas-friendly. Now, I've also realized that the cordial and languid arrangement can make it into Fashion Music territory.
Well, let's finish this list with a "party hearty" one since that is yet another lyrical theme for J-Xmas. Plus, we do have Tatsuro Yamashita on the first list, so we gotta have his wife here for the follow-up. As much as it might be strange to go nuts on Christmas Eve with the heavy drinking, camaraderie and Kentucky Fried Chicken, that's the thing about December 24th in Japan. A lot of folks simply Wang Chung that night.
Anyways, if you're not showing up on the blog on the 25th because of all those Yuletide obligations, let me speak on behalf of everyone here on KKP and give my hearty wishes for a Merry Christmas. Don't drink and drive!
Well, I managed to get my family's gifts all wrapped up so I'm good to get a bit more blogging before I make the transition from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day.
Along with Original Love's"X'mas NO HI", another track that I found appealing on "Mint Sound's X'mas Album" from 1987 via Scott's "Holly Jolly X'masu" podcast was "Christmas Song" by the rock band The Collectors（ザ・コレクターズ）. In addition to hearing it above at 3:37, you can also listen to it from 10:32 of Scott's podcast and you will also get a description of who The Collectors are. From their J-Wiki article, vocalist and leader Hisashi Kato（加藤ひさし）was influenced by British rock and the Mod subculture and incorporated those elements into his band which was formed in 1986.
"Christmas Song" has some of those jingle bells but there is no supreme flourish of Christmas music production in it which is refreshing. It's just straight ahead jangly rock delivered clearly and forcefully by Kato, and although I and Scott did mention about those influences of British rock and Mod, I couldn't help but also hear a bit of Kiyoshiro Imawano（忌野清志郎）and RC Succession（RCサクセション）in the song.
The Collectors have continued to release singles and albums right up to 2022. In fact, their latest album came out last month, "Juicy Marmalade"（ジューシーマーマレード）.
Taking into consideration that Off-Course's（オフコース）Kazumasa Oda（小田和正）and Tulip's（チューリップ）Kazuo Zaitsu（財津和夫）have been wonderful fellow musicians from around the same era and good buddies for years, I have wondered if the two lead singers have often gotten together to trade ideas about how sad to make their Christmas tunes for their solo careers. Perhaps it's an odd thing to say but a common lyrical theme for the J-Xmas song is the one for heartbreak and loneliness on December 24th or 25th.
Oda came up with the melancholy but beautiful ballad "Kimi ni Merry Xmas"（君にMerry Xmas) from 1989 which follows one fellow's romantic misery after a spat. It looks like the same happened within Zaitsu's "Fuyu no Main Street" (Winter Main Street) which was his 7th single as a solo artist, released even earlier in December 1988.
I actually found out about "Fuyu no Main Street" from one of Scott's "Holly Jolly X'masu" podcasts this year. Written and composed by Zaitsu, it begins with that familiar 80s gloppy synth beat prefacing a supposedly happy major-chord melody before there's a sudden shift in chords near the minute mark showing the reality of someone's romantic situation. I have to admit that those sudden chord shifts can have an ASMR effect on me; quite the coolness factor. "Fuyu no Main Street" is definitely more in the upbeat category when compared to "Kimi mi Merry Xmas".
"Fuyu no Main Street" can also be found on the J-Xmas compilation album "The Night Before Christmas" (also from 1988) which was the subject of Scott's podcast. Also, have a go at the cover below by The Emilys, a copy band for Tulip.
Happy weekend! And for me, personally, it's a weekend to feel relieved. That storm finally managed to grind its way out of our region, and despite the threatening winds out there yesterday and overnight, there were no blackouts in the GTA. Mind you, for a lot of travelers heading out for the Holidays, 2022 may go down as one of the worst years.
My plans for Saturday night (namely, tonight)? Just wrapping presents for tomorrow. I'd figure that folks in Japan may have already gotten their parties in for Christmas Eve, and because the 25th is a Sunday, both we and they can actually enjoy a day off on Christmas Day (since the big day is merely an observed holiday there).
Speaking of Saturday night, singer-songwriter Satoko Shimonari（下成佐登子）created a tune titled "Doyoubi no Yoru ni wa" (On Saturday Night) for her April 1983 album"Weekend"（ウィークエンド）, and though I don't think that it was ever meant as a Xmas tune, the visuals from YouTube and the softly swinging rhythm make it feel like a Yuletide number about a couple out on good old-fashioned date. Shimonari and arranger Tsugutoshi Goto（後藤次利）collaborated on "Doyoubi no Yoru ni wa" which has that certain 1950s pop lilt to bring images of poodle skirts and bobby socks and hair gel.
With all that winter maelstrom behind us, all I can say is that we will be guaranteed a White Christmas this year! 🎄 As well, many thanks to Joana for her splendid article earlier this morning.
