Favorite J-Pop Singles: Seiko Matsuda "Rock'n Rouge"

Though I've a penchant for Seiko's 90's album releases (as that was the era I first discovered her), I do have a certain attachment to some of her early singles, especially from the '83-'84 era, and among them one big fave is her 1984 single "Rock'n Rouge"!
I recently came across this video of Seiko appearing on the legendary show "Yoru no Hit Studio" giving a live performance of Rock'n Rouge , and I dunno, maybe it's being so used to modern artists with all their electronic editing and pitch correcting, but I was BLOWN AWAY by how awesome her voice was- she really hit all those hooks, sustained it wonderfully,  and belted it right outta the park!

Additionally, I must say that her vibe was just sparkling- besides looking adorable as heck, she looks SO happy singing here, really a true "joy of performing"! And as an added bonus, I love how the song wraps up- in the single, the song fades out after the brass horn refrains, but in this live performance they craft an actual finish which gives it an extra zing!

Seiko had done an oldies medley at the 2019 Kohaku  which did include Rock'n Rouge, but I was sorely bummed when it only got two lines, so wonderful to see the Yoru no HIT Studio performance and hear the song in its "fuller" form! (Yes, I know it's still shortened from the actual 45, but ya know what I mean!)

BTW, the video is upscaled with AI, a new trend I've been seeing more and more of lately, and while artificial enhancing is generally frowned upon, I really love what these techs have been able to do, especially with the earlier 80s and 90's stuff...just great!

Favorite J-Pop Songs: Miho Nakayama: "Title", Revisited!!

 Awhile ago I had gushed about the Miho Nakayama song ”Title”, an album-only track off her excellent 1994  release “Pure White” and, upon seeing the songwriting credited to “To Be Continued”, wondered if they were the same group featuring Kohki Okada/Taka Sato/Tomosuke Goto. WELL, perusing the awesome GENERASIA page recently, I found a footnote to that Miho Nakayama song which noted that not only was it INDEED that selfsame To Be Continued that wrote it, they had actually covered it themselves, on their 1994 album “Beyond The Light”!!!

For some reason, their version was called “Ashita E No ACCENT”, a fitting name since that was the recurring chorus line in both versions, wonder why Miho’s one was called “Title”. In any case, I HAD to hear it, and I have to say that BOTH versions are pretty darn GREAT!!

As some of you know, “Title” was the very first song I knew from Miho Nakayama, heck, one of the very first J-Pop songs I ever knew PERIOD, and I am HUGELY sentimentally attached to it. Even today the strains of the chorus take me back to those golden days of early J-Pop discovery!!

MAN, I still can't believe this wasn't a SINGLE for Miho, I think it woulda rocked the charts at least as much as the album's actual single release "Sea Paradise  OL no Hanran"!

PS: Ironically enough, the first song I ever knew from To Be Continued, (given to me on a mix tape by the same guy who gave me the Miho one), was ALSO a non-single, album-only track, the awesome HOLIDAY (from their album Music-a-Holic), another favorite J-Pop single I've got to write about someday as well!!

Favorite J-Pop Singles: Tokiko Kato: "Bara Iro no Handkerchief"

 By mid-1996, I was completely immersed in all things J-Pop and picked up two J-Pop compilations, Sony Records “Complete CF Songbook” and “TV-CF Songbook”” two terrific albums which introduced me to a whole new bunch of musical artists and songs, including acts like Rie Miyazawa, MISATO, NOKKO, Masatoshi Ono, and Ruriko Kuboh, and of whom had songs on it that would eventually become all-time favorites of mine!

Among all the pop/rock tracks, however, was a decidedly NON poppy song, a gentle vocal ballad called “Bara Iro No Handkerchief” and, though not the style of J-pop I was currently into, really caught my ear and had me replaying it over and over! 

The artist was a woman named Tokiko Kato, and though I did not know it at the time, was (and still is) a legendary vocalist in Japan of Diva-like status for her powerful and moving songs. All I knew was  that I could not get the song out of my head and though it didn’t fit in with my usual J-pop songs and I probably wouldn’t be blasting it at work, still had to tack it on the end of a mix tape so I could listen to it on my walk home!

Eventually I made a definitive mix compilation culling my favorite tracks from those two CD collections, beginning with the explosive “Otoko” by Ruriko Kuboh, down through songs like “Hitosuji Ni Narenai“ by Kome Kome Club, "Totteoki No Toki" Seishiro Kusunose, “Akai Hana” by Rie Miyazawa and others, and for its album closer was, yes,  Tokiko’s “Bara Iro no Handkerchief” , a PERFECT conclusion, and it always left me feeling in a melancholoy mood every time I listened to the tape!

I was just listening to the said J-Pop mix tape, and upon hearing Bara iro No handkerchief again, just got goosebumps listening to it…it’s so darn great! Sombre and soothing, like a cool night wind…

Must say that I had no idea back then that those two Sony Music CD compilations would have such an everlasting impact on my J-pop music experience...two albums well worth their price!!!

Favorite J-Pop Singles: Yoshino Kimura: “Iruka no Natsu”

As we go into season two of the lively buddy cop comedy drama “No Activity2” and are reunited with Yoshino Kimura as the brash and outspoken Police Dispatcher Satomi Misato, I thought it might be fun to harken back to 1998 and reminisce when Yoshino was moonlighting as a sweet, singing IDOL, and on Pony Canyon, no less!

Though her vocal career was brief, one of her songs really caught my ear and became one of my favorite songs of that summer: The song was “Iruka no Natsu” (Dolphin Summer), and I might have missed it altogether if not for my friend Golden, who included it in one of his many J-pop mixes! With its' jangly guitars and solid backbeat, it instantly captivated, and my first thought was, “EHH? That chick from Riso No Joshi can SING????” 

Yep, up until that point I’d only known her from acting in "The Ideal Boss" with Yuriko Ishida and Yasuko Matsuyuki (and Kyozo Nagatsuka as the titular boss), color me impressed when I found that she was a capable singer, belting out a tune that I had to grab for myself!

I had no idea where this song came from or what it was promoting, watching this youtube upload of the Iruka no Natsu MV, seems it was the CM song for some Instant Cream Spaghetti mix, huh, who knew?!

From here Yoshino would go on to star in dramas like "Over Time" and "(Not so) Perfect Love", among others, assuring her ascent into superstardom!

A Catchy Song About…Tandoori? No, It's Rie's "Tender Love"!

Back when I was madly crushing on beauty Misaki Ito (after falling in love with her in the hilarious  2007 comedy “Yama Onna Kabe Onna”), I happened upon a terrific earlier drama of hers called ‘Kiken na Aneki”, which I also really dug! 

It told the tale of a pretty girl from the countryside named Hiroko Minagawa who comes to the big city to support her younger brother Yutaro (Mirei Moriyama) as she looks for her fiance who had run back home.

Half the fun of this drama was watching the wide-eyed and naive country girl taking in the sights of the city lights and learning its fast paced lifestyle,  and whenever they had a montage of Hiroko “glowing up” i.e. trying on clothes, etc, they would always play this cute bubbly insert song which I really liked! It always sounded to me like the girl was saying "tandoori" in the verses, making me call it the "Tandoori Chicken Song", but I had to laugh when I realized that she wasn’t singing “Tandoori” at ALL, but the word “Tenderly”, albeit in full “Engrish” mode! LOLOL

After a few episodes of listening to this catchy tune, I just HAD to get a copy of it, or at least in MP3 form, but had no IDEA what it was called or who sang it! The Dramawiki and Asianwiki stats were no help, as insert songs were rarely credited, and only the main theme song was ever posted. But doing some digging, I found the tracklisting for original SOUNDTRACK for Kiken Na Aneki, and WHADDAYA know, that insert song was the FIRST song on the album! The song was called “Tender Love”, sung by an artist known mononymously as “Rie”! And though I didn't realize it, she was an artist I'd heard before!

Though this girl went by "Rie" on the CD, upon further digging, I found out her full name was Rie Yatsuka and GET THIS- she was part of the awesome trio Letit Go back in the mid 90's! WHAAA!!!  Letit Go was a trio from back in my "Golden Age of J-pop" that I REALLY loved, an act that sang one of my all-time favorite J-pop songs, the beautiful "200 Bai No Yume", a song which I've gushed about here and have loved all my life!

Reading up, seems both Rie and sister Junko Yatsuka left after making that first landmark album and replaced by singer Taemy, which explained why whenever I saw Letit Go later, it was a duo instead of a trio! Who KNEW!! In any case, It's great to find that the sisters, or Rie at least, continued to make great catchy tunes, ones that really spoke to my bubblegummy sensibilities! Here's TENDER LOVE!

Posted by zdorama @zdoramaaagain.blogspot.com

Favorite J-Pop Singles: Chisa Yokoyama: “Ren'ai no Sainou” (Talent For Love)

 
Whenever I ask fellow fans of 90’s idol J-pop what it was that got them into the j-music in the first place, the answer inevitably is through anime shows; most notably shows like Ranma 1/2 and the like, which prominently featured songs from idol acts like CoCo, ribbon, etc. as the beginning and ending songs.

 For ME, the gateway drug into J-pop came through the 90’s Pioneer animated series “Tenchi Muyo~Ryo-Ohki” which was played constantly on the TV monitors of the Tower Video store I worked nights at! Having never watched modern anime before (closest I'd ever got was the 70’s cartoons like Ikkyu-San and Candy Candy), I didn’t quite know what to make of these space-adventuring, demon-god fighting characters and scenarios, but ONE thing that stood out for me was the MUSIC! I loved the songs so much that I couldn’t HELP but gravitate towards the screen whenever it was on and eventually fell in love with the entire series as a whole!

The first song that brought me in was the ROCKING opening number to the second series, called “Boku wa Motto Pioneer” (I’m A Pioneer), which always started the shows out with a BANG, and what REALLY cinched it for me was the awesome ENDING credits to the first series called “Renai no Sainou” (Talent For Love). 

Both songs were sung by Chisa Yokoyama, the voice actress who also supplied the voice for Sasami. Both feature peppy, catchy, hummable songs, both feature great animation, and for MY MONEY, there'll probably NEVER be a BETTER an ending credit sequence than the Talent For Love animated end scene!

Featuring the carrot- obsessed Ryo-oki planting a seed at the beginning of spring, we follow along with him as the music plays, watching him nurse the seedling into a small plant, rake fallen leaves from it during autumn, and protect it from snow during winter! As the song wraps up, we return to spring where, rewarded by his valiant efforts, Ryo-oki pulls up an immense carrot, one which he wastes no time GORGING down…and then immediately PASSING OUT from the overeating experience! LOLOL

 

This captured all the fun, innocence and warmth of the Tenchi-Muyo show, and OH! How I wanted it on CD! Took MONTHS of ordering and purchasing a whole BUNCH of Tenchi collections til I was able to get my hands on the original soundtrack CD featuring the song, and that soundtrack is still one of my BIG all time faves!

Also had to get EVERY Laserdisc in the original series, shown here (though I couldn't find my copy of Vol.4 with Mihoshi no matter how hard I looked)...

...and later, I even got them on DVD!!!

This newly discovered love of anime and j-pop music was all towards the latter half of 1995, and it could not have been better timing. Because just on the horizon was the epiphany of J-pop acts like the aforementioned CoCo, ribbon, Namie Amuro, Chisato Moritaka, etc, and I was ALSO just about to get into J-DRAMAS, with THE CHEF and Aishiteirute to Ittekure” (Say you Love Me) soon to air!! 

From there my life became a completely Nihongo-focused obsession, with Anime, J-Pop and J-dramas dominating my every waking hour! And though my passion has certainly ebbed and flowed through the years, it’s still my MAIN source of entertainment (as anyone even glancing at my blogs can obviously see), and when I happen to take out my old Tenchi-Muyo CDs to listen to, I am taken back to those GOLDEN DAYS of J-pop discovery!!!

Sometimes whenI listen to Chisa’s Renai no Sainou, I’ll be grooving along to it and truly feel “this is where it all began for me!” J-Pop, J-Dramas, J-movies, etc…if not for this sweet and wonderful song as its catalyst, who knows how different my tastes might be today!

Favorite J-Pop Singles: Miki Imai: "Sunny Sunday"

One of the  very first songs I ever knew from vocalist par excellence Miki Imai (along with her beautifully sombre Piece of My Wish), was her song "Sunny Sunday" off her terrific album "Love of My Life"! Not really a "Single Release" proper, Sunny Sunday WAS included as the c/w of her single "Ruby", also off the Love Of My Life album.

I was introduced to this song (as so many other were) through the J-pop mixes my friend (a Tower Records J-pop buyer) would make for me, and with it's cool, shuffling beat (really jazzy!) this easily became a BIG fave of mine to listen to!!!

I remember one fine sunny afternoon cruising around with friends who were curious about all this new "J-Pop" I was suddenly getting into and, as I had been listening to Miki's Love of my Life on my walkman and had the player ON me, took the cassette out and played Sunny Sunday for them, choosing THIS song as a perfect example of all I'd been obsessing over so much!

It wasn't like the song blew them away so much that they ran out to grab the CD for themselves, but I was happy to see all three other passengers in the car getting into the groove of the song, slowly bobbing their heads to the music, and one of my friends, who was a guitarist, even noted how much he liked the little guitar licks peppered throughout!

 A "Thumbs Up" from all for a PERFECT "SUNNY" song to cruise along to!

Favorite J-Pop Singles: The Brilliant Green "There Will Be Love There"

 
Somebody on a J-Pop subreddit just linked a classic live performance of trio the Brilliant Green doing their single "There Will Be Love There" and HOLY TOLEDOOOOO the MEMORIESSSS!!!!

The Brilliant Green came along at a time in my life where I was REALLY branching out into J-pop fandom and now, rather than rely on others to make me my mix tapes, I was perusing all the current MUSIC STATION and POPJAM type shows to hear the new tunes and, upon hearing something I liked, would immediately run out and grab it to add to my GROWING J-pop collection to make mixes ALL on my OWN!!

Among the performances I saw was a sweet and SINCERE sounding song called "There Will Be Love There" by a then newbie (to me, anyway) group called the Brilliant Green...I just fell in love with the song and had to have it! Can't quite remember if I got it at Hakabundo or ordered it thru Tower Records, suffice it to say I GOT it and the song became the BIG mixtape closer of my next cassette!

Funny thing, months later The Brilliant green would come out with another great song called "Sono Speed De" which I also dug a lot- It was the theme song for the Takashi Sorimachi/Esumi Makiko drama OVER TIME, and for some reason, through the years, I mashed the two Brilliant Green songs together in my mind, and even convinced myself that "There Will be Love There" was the theme for the show!

MUCH apologies to Sono Speed De when I realized my error! But just what drama WAS There Will Be Love There from? Looking it up, come to find out that There Will be Love There was the theme song for a drama I'd never HEARD of, called LOVE AGAIN! 

Hmmm, it starred Hikari Ishida, Atsuro Watabe, Miho Kanno and Shinji Takeda...oh wow, they were so young then, as I guess we ALL were, LOL!

Take a trip down memory lane with me....

posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Favorite J-Pop Singles: Kome Kome Club: Hitotsuji Ni Narenai

 While pursuing the Health and Beauty aisle of Costco the other day, came across this display of Nitrile Exam Gloves and it struck me as SOOO familiar for some reason…

And then it hit me- the blue latex gloves against the white background reminded me of the classic Kome Kome Club single “Hitotsuji Ni Narenai”!!

Hitotsu Jini Narenai is one of my all-time favorite singles From Tatsuya Ishii and the Gang. I had first heard it when I purchased a Sony Music CD collection of CM and Theme Songs, it was used as the song for, of all things, Sony Video Cassettes, surely dating it for the 1991 year it came out!

As some friends can attest, Kome Kome club might be the number one artist I love to sing at Karaoke, however, Hitotsuji ni Narenai is one I’ve never tackled! Well, it’s never too late to start!

Better start taking notes....

Favorite J-Pop Singles: Koizumi Kyoko: Anata Ni Aete Yokatta

Was watching a Compilation of J-Drama Theme Song Openings/Endings from the 90's, where I discovered the wonderful Kyoko Koizumi song "Anata ni Aete Yokatta" was the theme song for a drama called "Papa To Nat-Chan"!

Anata Ni Aete Yokatta is one of my ALL-TIME favorite J-pop songs from my "golden age" of J-pop/drama discovery, and to see it as the music for this really sweet drama opening scene showing "Papa" (Masakazu Tamura) walking down the drive outside of the house with his daughter "Nat-chan"(Koizumi herself) throughout the years really warmed my heart!

 

Looks like a drama I really would have loved back in the day...Kyoko is warm and fun as the titular daughter Natchan and Tamura (RIP, Ninzaburo-san!) doing his dapper best as the beleaguered Dad! Along with them we have an eclectic cast including Yumi Shirakawa, Maho Toyota, Senri Oe and even DOWNTOWN's Masatoshi Hamada!

PS: I'm actually pretty surprised that I hadn't already made a post for Anata ni Aete Yokatta years ago as it's truly one of the BIG Jpop tracks of my LIFE! Nice that this wonderful discovery of Papa to Natchan prompted me to get around to actually making one!

 

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Eriko Tamura: "Sukiyo"

One great thing about getting into a new genre of music is that there is a whole world of sounds and artists to hear, and though I’ve now been a fan of J-pop for over 25 years, there are still exciting new acts from years gone by that I’m discovering for the first time!
As some of you know, I’ve only recently become a big fan of 80’s artists like Yuki Saito (since 2017), Yu Hayami (since 2019) and Chiemi Hori (since 2020) and it was while watching a performance compilation of idols with them that I was introduced to my latest obsession!
The clip began with a very cute young girl dancing to a poppy dance intro, and I expected a little girl voice as well- but when this pretty  young girl began singing, she had a mature, smooth voice that belied her sweet and adorable looks..and OH!! What a CATCHY TUNE!
Her name was Eriko Tamura, and while I had known about her primarily as an actress (notably in Hideyoshi), this was the first time actually hearing and seeing her perform, and WOW, she was so GOOD singing this wonderful tune “Sukiyo”!!!

WELL! I just fell in LOVE with boht the song as well as Eriko herself and I needed to hear MORE!  Wanting to hear a full range of her stuff, I got her “Golden Best” Greatest Hits album which covered her singles from her debut in 1989 to 1995! Sounded like a good bet!

WELL, I  took the album for a spin and was promptly impressed by the entire collection! Songs so good, though I did note that only a few were very “idolly” like “Sukiyo", most of the others were more of a rock/pop feel like Mari Hamada or Yoko Oginome, no matter, they all kicked!! Now I’m curious about the rest of Eriko’s catalog. Thankfully there are a few dedicated 80’s forums where I can listen to some of her albums and get a feel for what i should get!!! Looks like I'm about to go down another wonderful 80’s fueled RABBIT HOLE!