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.
Well, I figured that if I could come up with a Yonin Musume（四人娘）of my days on the JET Programme in Gunma Prefecture between 1989 and 1991, I should have my own Goyonke（御四家...The Big Four） during that time as well, as opposed to the traditional Gosanke（御三家）; permit me my whimsical side. Of course, I'm referring to the quartet of male performers that garnered the attention of my ears and memories from that time.
Here is another song of the city that sings of the hustle and bustle there when "...the twilight is drenched by the wind" (from the lyrics). The setting of a secret crush on a woman whose footsteps send a man's heart a-flutter is quintessentially Tatsuro Yamashita（山下達郎）the Romanticist, so his own handling of the guitar solo has that excitement imbued into the musical notes to send them flying into the crimson sky. After "Ashioto", when you listen to his "Mokusou"（黙想）and "Christmas Eve" in succession, that feeling will further increase.
The above comes from "Disc Collection Japanese City Pop Revised" (2020).
I actually found out about this song from the "Japanese City Pop Masterpieces 100" section of the 2020 edition of "Japanese City Pop" as curated by Yutaka Kimura, so this will be getting handled for next Friday's Yutaka Kimura Speaks session.
"Anata kara Tooku e"(From You to Beyond) apparently was selected to also go into Sony Music's own City Pop compilation, but I think that there's more going melodically here than just some 1990s City Pop. As sung by tarento and former 1980s aidoruMarina Watanabe（渡辺満里奈）for a track on her 9th original album"Ring-a-Bell" from March 1996, I can hear the mellow bossa nova in there but there's some pretty old-style sophisticated pop as well thanks to Akira Inoue's（井上鑑）strings arrangement, so I'm starting to think Shibuya-kei, too, especially with some of the keyboard work. There's also a fellow by the name of Tarao Bannai（多羅尾伴内）who was in on the overall arrangement and, for that matter, the production of the album itself. It turns out that it's Eiichi Ohtaki（大滝詠一）.
Watanabe's song was actually a cover of the original as written, composed and performed by folk singer Sachiko Kanenobu（金延幸子）. I first wrote about her almost a couple of years ago when I covered her "Aoi Sakana"（青い魚）from her first album, "Misora"（み空...Beautiful Sky） released in September 1972. Arranged by Haruomi Hosono（細野晴臣）, the original version of "Anata kara Tooku e" which also resides on "Misora" has a folk/pop feeling which reminded me of the works of Carole King. The lyrics relate the tale of a woman who's struggling a bit as her significant other is no longer beside her in bed.
California singer-songwriter Cameron Lew who has led the Ginger Root project has not only been providing some new groovy songs of nostalgia over the past few years, he's also been producing the music videos stringing together a narrative of an 80s aidorunamed Kimiko who could no longer stand the rigors of stardom and putting up a false front. She literally runs away back to normalcy and anonymity while her songwriter Ginger Root himself is suddenly thrust into the limelight and revels in his new position in life and career.
"Nisemono"(Imposter) is the title track from his September 2022 EP. Waves of nostalgia crashed over my ears and eyes as I first heard the synths and percussion seemingly being filtered through a diaphanous but steady time field dividing the 2020s and the 1980s. The video this time has Kimiko wondering whether her sudden decision to leave show business had been a little hasty. Will there be a final confrontation between her and Ginger or will there be collaboration? Stay tuned.
I used to remember some of the girls in my junior high school coming to class wearing hot pants like the one that this young lady was wearing on the cover. Not that I stared...much.😎
Anyways, this song is coming down as one of the rarest of the rare. I couldn't find anything on Izumi Sara（沙羅いづみ）online outside of this one October 1980 single she released called "Spacy Love"（スペーシィ・ラブ）, but for today I am covering the B-side, "Heartbreak City". Virtually the only thing that has been written about her is that she was a B-class aidoru although considering her lower vocals and the nature of the song, you'll forgive me if I don't see her that way.
"Heartbreak City" is indeed a City Pop tune written by Fumiko Okada（岡田富美子）and composed by Kunihiko Suzuki（鈴木邦彦）. It's got that refined disco style with the strings and the boppy bass and once again after listening to this one a few times, I think Sara's vocals make me feel as if she were more of an urban siren rather than a cute aidoru.
I realize that it's just been a few short weeks since the last article regarding Masayuki Suzuki（鈴木雅之）but when the God of Love Songs beckons, I simply cannot refuse the call.
For one thing, his newest original album came out on April 12th. "SOUL NAVIGATION" boasts a goodly amount of collaboration with other artists resulting in songs such as this soul-funk track "Michishirube"(Guideposts). Martin may be 66 years old as of this writing but he's still swiveling like a pro in ways that would have had me reaching for my Salon-Pas within a few minutes. Written and composed by YOASOBI's Ayase (with a bit of Jamiroquai reminiscings), the music video reflects the lyrics of two kids growing up into adults with all of the trials and tribulations expected, and happily they both get together.
Suzuki had actually performed this on "Uta Con"（うたコン）a few weeks ago but when I initially searched for the song on YouTube, it hadn't arrived yet. Patience is indeed a virtue.
Also from "SOUL NAVIGATION" is a love letter to all of those "Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai"（かぐや様は告らせたい...Kaguya-sama: Love is War） fans, especially where Martin has left his immortal mark via his opening themes for the first three seasons and a movie including "Love is Show". Sound producer CARTOON + YELLOCK has mashed together snippets of all of the themes to form a funk fest remix.
It's already Saturday April 29th in Japan so that means that the annual Golden Week holidays have begun there. Apparently all of the COVID measures have been lifted so the hordes of tourists will be engorging every source of transportation around the country. My friend will be headed to Japan himself but he's making sure that he will be avoiding Golden Week.
Anyways, let's begin Urban Contemporary Friday here on KKP with some 70s City Pop. Just by coincidence, it's almost been a year since I put up a song by Mari Kaneko & Bux Bunny（金子マリ & バックス・バニー）. The band has been categorized as a rock group and indeed Kaneko has been called the Janis Joplin of Shimo-Kitazawa (a cool bohemian neighbourhood in Tokyo), but I think that this particular song from their 1978 album"Shoot the moon" is something quite different altogether.
"Serenade" is a mostly laidback, sip-the-whiskey, sunset sort of City Pop tune of the 1970s with that characteristic haze effect on the synths, some bluesiness and comforting vocals by Kaneko. It was written by the late gospel singerYuka Kamebuchi（亀渕友香）with melody by keyboardist and sci-fi writer Hiroyuki Namba（難波弘之）, who had also been one of the other founding members for Bux Bunny. I would love to know who was on the trumpet.
