Takao Kisugi -- Kibun wa Gyakukousen（気分は逆光線）

 

Oh, man! It is the coldest that Toronto has gotten in quite a while. I don't recall it being this cold in a couple of years at least. This morning, it was -18 C with a -29-degree wind chill. My face did hurt when I went outside.😱

Anyways, let's begin Urban Contemporary Friday on KKP with a summery tune to get my mind off of the winter frigidity, shall we? I was able to dig up this April 1982 single by crooner-songwriter Takao Kisugi（来生たかお）titled "Kibun wa Gyakukousen" (Backlit Mood). The first few bars might hint at a dreamy AOR tune, but then things get downright funky as Kisugi sings about admiring a young lady on the beach as she's seen in silhouette against the water.

Kisugi and his lyricist sister Etsuko Kisugi（来生えつこ）took care of "Kibun wa Gyakukousen". I've been enjoying this one for its combination of funk, sophisticated pop and a hint of old-time jazz, and though it's quite the juggle of genres, the Kisugis did a pretty bang-up job here. I don't know how it did on Oricon, but the song is also included in his BEST compilation, "Biography II" which came out in the same month as the single.

MKLNtic -- Happy Life（はっぴーらいふ）

 

I've been faithfully watching my choice of anime over the past few weeks. One has been the very well-regarded "Bocchi The Rock!"（ぼっち・ざ・ろっく!）and the other one is the second season for the series "Uzaki-chan wa Asobitai!"（宇崎ちゃんは遊びたい!...Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out!）. I did see the first season and with Season 2 it's been the usual comfortable slice-of-life fun and games involving the supremely genki Hana Uzaki（宇崎花）and her grumbly senpai Shinichi Sakurai（桜井真一）in university.

The theme songs for the first season didn't particularly hit me in any direction and the opening theme for Season 2 seemed a little conventional. However, I've been a bit more partial to the ending theme, "Happy Life", which I had assumed was sung by seiyuu Naomi Ozora（大空直美）who portrays Uzaki since her character was mouthing the lyrics during the closing credits.

But of course, I was wrong. It was actually recorded by the duo MKLNtic who are virtual singer Kano（鹿乃）and singer Lon（ろん）. Consider me a sucker for the changing chords in this one and the light rap by the pair is adorable enough. "Happy Life" was written, composed and arranged by chinozo.

Paix2 -- Kaze no you ni Haru no you ni（風のように 春のように）

 

Manami Kitao（北尾真奈美）and Megumi Ikatsu（井勝めぐみ）both hail from Tottori Prefecture with the former having been a technical assistant while the latter was a nurse. However as of 2015, the two of them have been prison corrections officers.

In between those very different occupations, Manami and Megumi formed the singing duo Paix2, pronounced as "Paix Paix" (meaning "peace" in French), in 1998 during a music festival held in their home prefecture. Paix2 apparently toured a number of institutions including prisons so that they came to be known as "The Prisoners' Aidoru" according to their J-Wiki writeup. In 2000, they released their debut single as an indies act and then that single got re-released when they were picked up by a major label in April 2001.

"Kaze no you ni Haru no you ni" (Like the Wind, Like the Spring) is an upbeat song about keeping that chin up while moving optimistically through life. Written and composed by Hajime Katayama（片山創）, the song sounds like a folksy number with a touch of country from the 1970s. I can imagine that some of the prisoners at least were provided some cheer and hope from Paix2's visits. In fact, according to that same J-Wiki article, because of their good work in prisons, the Minister of Justice gave Manami and Megumi an official commendation in 2005. In 2020, Paix2 performed their 500th concert in prison.

Kate Bush -- Babooshka

 

To be honest, when I decided to bring in Kate Bush for this week's Reminiscings of Youth, I had planned to talk about "Running Up That Hill" since the 80s hit received a new lease of life due to its use in an episode of "Stranger Things" last year.

But then, I came upon "Babooshka", her single from June 1980 and my mind was set. The image of Bush in that Valkyrie costume has forever remained with me since I first saw the music video decades ago. And watching it once more last night, I remember being rather flabbergasted at not only how pretty (and terrifying) she looked but also at the whole thing about her in a black bodysuit interacting with a contrabass as she switched scenes between that and her Valkyrie self.

Still trying to gain my bearings with all sorts of music at that time, I couldn't quite understand the genre of "Babooshka", although it's been described in Wikipedia as a rock song. However, my feeling is that it was either Art Pop or Baroque New Wave Pop (which could be one and the same). Regardless, the video and the song and her vocal style stand out very clearly, and isn't that what any singer wants? Bush definitely succeeded, and the chorus was playing out in my head repeatedly when I went to bed last night and when I woke up this morning. 

To further emphasize that I've always been more of a melody man than someone who is into the lyrics, I had never paid attention to the straight-ahead story of the titular embittered wife Babooshka putting on the guise of a younger woman through correspondence as a test to see if her husband would stray away from the marriage. In fact, I'd thought "Babooshka" that was simply a play on the singer-songwriter's name because of that second syllable in the title.

Although there's no information on how the song did on the charts in either America or Canada, "Babooshka" was Bush's 2nd Top 5 single in the UK by hitting No. 5 according to the relevant Wikipedia article. I will have to do "Running Up That Hill" sometime in March. Anyways, what was at the top of Oricon in June 1980?

1. Monta & Brothers -- Dancing All Night

2. Shinji Tanimura -- Subaru （昴）

3. The Chanels -- Runaway

Gosanke: Sengo Sanba Garasu (戦後三羽烏)

As of late, J-Canuck has been doing a series featuring the various Gosanke (御三家) trios in Japanese music. His article featuring the Enka Sanba Garasu (演歌三羽烏) did catch my attention since it featured the three enka greats: Hachiro Kasuga (春日八郎), Michiya Mihashi (三橋美智也), and Hideo Murata (村田英雄). It was a little surprising to see that this trio had been given this collective label as I know them as the Sannin no Kai (三人の会). Still, the music industry back in the day did seem to have a thing for labelling a trio of popular male singers as a bunch of ravens/crows. That, then, brought to mind the trio I knew with this very label: Sengo Sanba Garasu (Three Ravens of the Postwar Era).

The Sengo Sanba Garasu include Haruo Oka (岡晴夫), Yoshio Tabata (田端義夫), and Toshiro Omi (近江俊郎). I would argue that they could've also been a Senzen (prewar) Sanba Garasu since they debuted in the 1930s and Okapparu and Batayan had spawned a number of classics in the immediate prewar era. But some of their most recognizable hits did come from the immediate postwar era, including Omi's late breakout single "Yu no Machi Elegy" (湯の町エレジー) from 1948. Those hits seemed to have been a reflection of those living in a devasted nation, encompassing both their sadness and hope in the war's aftermath. With their song, perhaps these ravens served as the harbingers of solace for the many who needed it. Now, if only the crows outside my place sounded as good as these guys.

"Oi, karasu san! 'Ume to Heitai' onegaishimasu!"

Haruo Oka -- Akogare no Hawaii Koro (憧れのハワイ航路)

Yoshio Tabata -- Kaeri Bune (かえり船)

Ooooossuu!!

Toshiro Omi -- Yu no Machi Elegy (湯の町エレジー)

Y'know, I wonder if there had been a Senzen Sanba Garasu. Even if there wasn't such a trio, I can imagine who'd be the three: Ichiro Fujiyama, Dick Mine, Noboru Kirishima... or Taro Shoji... or Bin Uehara. Okay, the last one may just be favouritism rearing its head.

Paradise Lunch -- Nevermind

 

Well, welcome to February! We got reminded very sternly by Mother Nature that winter is back with a vengeance. No snow and in fact, it's very sunny out there which we didn't have a lot of during January. However, it is bitterly cold, too, with a wind chill of -18 degrees Celsius.

In the early months of the pandemic back in 2020, I wrote about the opening theme for the 2007 anime "Baccano!"（バッカーノ！）, "Gun's & Roses" by the all-female jazz band Paradise Lunch. This is a group that can really cook with the music and it fits the all-action opening credits sequence like a glove.

"Gun's & Roses" came out as a single in August 2007. I was doing the usual maintenance on the blog last night when I re-encountered the article for "Gun's & Roses", so I opted to see what else by Paradise Lunch was out there. It turns out that I did find a coupling song to that single, "Nevermind". With the nocturnal panache of Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, Paradise Lunch brings together swing jazz and some 70s rock. And this time, there is a vocalist by the name of Akiyo Hoshino to lead the charge. Unfortunately, that's all I could find out about the singer.

Tomita Lab -- M-P-C "Mentality, Physicality, Computer" (Part 2)

 

Last week, I provided an article on Part 1 of Tomita Lab's（冨田ラボ）2018 album "M-P-C 'Mentality, Physicality, Computer'", and so far, from him and his collaborators, it's been some a mixture of R&B, hip-hop and even a bit of synthpop. All music is by the Lab himself.

I guess with the overall concept of what life is like in early 21st-century Japan, there will be a couple of interludes. "Interlude 1" which is officially Track 5 is another cooperative effort between Ryohu of KANDYTOWN and Tomita that has disco and rap as the former gives his patter about making that first step going into the big city for what might be a terrifyingly exhilarating night. Looking in the liner notes, I gotta say that I never expected a couple of clarinet players alongside the horns helping out here.

Track 6 is "Let It Ride" which I already wrote about and the link to that song can be found in Part 1, so let's go over to the soulful "OCEAN" featuring Naz, aka Nazu Yamada（山田なづ）, an Okinawan R&B singer. With lyrics by Lori Fine of COLDFEET, Naz delivers a pleasingly smooth and smoky performance about suddenly finding joy, reassurance and power. Her website is currently out of commission but her Facebook and Twitter accounts are still open.

One more track is "POOLSIDEDELIC" featuring singer-songwriter and guitarist Rei. With lyrics by Jun Kamoda（鴨田潤）, aka hip-hop musician Illreme（イルリメ）, I'm not quite sure which part of R&B this track belongs to, but the percussion is snazzy. Lyrically, there seems to be an Agatha Christie novel's worth of suspense and intrigue surrounding one recreational pool. In any case, I will wrap up "M-P-C" with Part 3 next week.