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: Kome Kome Club “Kimi Ga Iru Dakede”

 I first fell in love with the classic Kome Kome Club song “Kimi ga iru Dakede” as the wonderful intro to the 1992 drama “Sugao No Mama De”starring Narumi Yasuda and Akina Nakamori. The tale of the two different-as-can-be friends always opened with the winsome song, and I particularly love  the way the song ended, with Yumiko and Kana holding hands against a sunset as Kome Kome Club lead singer Tatsuya Ishii crooned out the final lines “Whaoooh~True Heart…Whaoooh~True Heart…!”

After seeing them perform the song live on a music show (I think it was Pop Jam) I loved the song so much that I just HAD to get a copy of it for myself! But I was in for a SHOCK when I discovered that the official released version of the song did NOT end on that magical “Whaoooh~True Heart”, but instead jumped into a refrain and then faded out on a La-la-la chorus! WHAAA!

I have to tell you: I.WAS.CRUSHED. This was the second time this happened to me, as Eguchi Yosuke’s theme song for his drama Kekkon Shiyouyo “Traveling Boy” did the SAME thing! I was robbed of that perfect, pure ending and given a la la la fade out! NoOOOOooooo....

In time I did get more or less used to it, as the song itself is one of Kome Kome Club’s very best songs ever, and as a consolation of sorts, I realized that I could always hear the “drama” version ending of the song…whenever Kome Kome Club performed the song LIVE on TV programs! Because while the official single version faded out, the drama one had a proper ending, making it  a NATURAL to do onstage!

Over the years I've managed to get ahold of a few great renditions of the song by the K2C gang, but there was ONE performance that PARTICULARLY tickled me: A short version of the song on MUSIC FAIR with Tatsuya Ishii and actress-turned-singer Takako Matsu!

The premise of Music fair was to take two different artists, have them sing their classics, and then have the two acts collaborate on a few tunes. One of the ones they picked was Kimi ga Iru Dakede, and what a SWEET little rendition it was! Takako’s gentle voice perfectly contrasts with Ishii’s huge vocal, and when they swell up to that perfect “True Heart” ending I could have DIED!

In past years I’d tried to find that old VHS tape with the performance of Takako Matsu and Tatsuya Ishii, but could not locate it. Then, just the other day, i thought, “I wonder if anyone uploaded the performance to youtube?” Crossing my fingers I logged it on, and was THRILLED to see it there, clear as crystal…and as WONDERFUL as I remembered it!

Check It Out!

I would remark to my friend Golden later that if it had been the whole song, it would have been one of my favorite live performances EVER, sadly it was part of a greater medley in the show and as such was only given a verse and a chorus. But it was THIS performance that propelled Kimi ga Iru Dake De to become one of my all-time BIG faves from the group!

Favorite J-pop Singles:Tatsuya Ishii featuring NORA / Rhythm

Next up we have “Makasete Darling” the drama surrounding the goings-on with the Kagetora family. The theme for this drama is “Rhythm” by Tatsuya Ishii (he of Kome Kome Club fame) featuring Nora, and this opening credits play over cartoon backgrounds of the three members of the family, as they work, play and …eat!I dunno, I've always felt that Makasete Darling was a really under-rated drama. In fact, I think I was the only one I knew who watched it! Even my friends who loved "Pokka Poka" dismissed Makasete Darling as a Pokka knock-off (which it probably was, to a degree...demo sa...) and didn't bother tuning in! But this show was really sweet, and heck, after seeing Jinnai Takanori doing his Mister Bill impressions in that wacky show "Stalker Sasaou-Onna" (a guilty pleasure, I admit), it was refreshing to see him in a "normal" role, and he'd go from this drama right back to wackiness as Yoshimi Tendo in "Heaven Cannot Wait"!

Asai Kagetora: Jinnai Takanori

Minako Kagetora: Kaku Chikaku

An awesome, catchy song, complete with all those Kome Kome Club "hooks" that we're used to hearing.
This single from Tatsuya "Carl Smoky" Ishii came out just after KK2 called it quits back in (I think) 1996 or so, and while this wasn't a substitute for the real thing, It sustained our hunger til the group reformed in 2006!

And MAN, when Smoky sings the lines
"Subete Futari No Rhythm, Oh My Love Kokoro No Rhythm",
You realize that whether it be Kome Kome Club or solo, this is as good as it gets!!

Kohaku Uta Gassen 2007

Nakai and Shofukutei, note Sayumin looking adorable as heck in the background!

 Well, I have to say that this yer's Kohaku Uta Gassen (or, rather, the Red and White Song Festival) was a pretty straight forward event, and resonated (at least with me) as about as average on the whole scale of Kohakus, anyway. I should have known things would be  meh when I saw that for the first time, they were gonna use two GUYS as the Red and White Captains, respectively Nakai Masahiro for the Red (Female) Team and Tsurube Shōfukutei for the White (Male) Team. How off is THAT?

Apart from that diversion from the traditional, the show went off without hitch and there were a few acts I thought stood out for me...

The Princesses and the Queen:

Morning Musume started the show with an explosion of girlish playfulness...and then Kenichi Mikawa followed with this year’s example of excessive gaudiness! 

 

 

Once again, the Kohaku proved that Enka is still alive and well, and like last year, Yoko Nagayama did her always fierce performance of "Jonkara Onna Bushi", rockin' that Shamisen while growling out those lyrics and delivering the steeliest gaze ever...

And they had cute young girl groups backing up the seasoned pros, this time with Shoko Nakagawa and AKB48 backing up Natsuko Godai...

Kohaku Regulars TOKIO were back again, this time performing their rocker "Seisyun", that cool little theme song from the terrific Nagase Tomoya/Aibu Saki drama "Utahime"...

Nakamura Mitsuko was the one to ring in the “matsuri” stage…

The Shakalabbits- flavoured Mihimaru GT roused the crowd

WaT did their best Simon and Garfunkel….

We had the reunion of Kiyoshi Maekawa and Cool Five…

Enka goodness with Kaori Kozai

We got a TREAT with the reunion of the awesome KOME KOME CLUB, back in rare form performing their old classic hits like Kimi Ga Iru Dake and Roman Hikou!

Ai Otsuka came on to deliver the funniest, zaniest and most eccentric performance of the night, with the bouncy fun "Chu-Lip"!

K-pop Diva BoA wows! 

And speaking of WOWing, even Kimutaku can’t hide his awe at the epic pyrotechnics of Satomi Kobayashi!

 

A softer side of Kumi Koda...

A strangely ghoulish performance by Mika Nakashima…

Ayumi Hamasaki knocks it out of the park as usual

While Gackt does his Taiga Drama performance (in full get-up!!!)

Next we had 80's veteran Noriyuki Makihara come on, but wasn't his performance of his song "Green Days" that did it for me as much as the admiring gaze of adorable Yui Aragaki watching over him as he sang the theme to the drama "Love and Farm"...

Gakky watching Makihara perform

...she approves!

Speaking of which, there was not one but TWO cuties on the judges table this year, with not only Yui Aragaki, but Aoi "Atsuhime" Miyazaki in attendance!

 

 

For me, the absolute highlight of the evening was the incredible performance of "Winding Road" by the smooth sounds of Kobukuro duetting with the stellar vocals of singer AYAKA, man, such a  great song, such a COOL delivery, I loved it! Ah, and wasn't Ayaka just sooooooo PRETTY?! YES!

What Kohaku can be complete without seeing Saburo Kitajima with confetti in his hair (and,occasionally, in his mouth)?

But they seem to be shuffling around the younger acts in recent years, and instead of Saburo Kitajima, we had acts like the mighty Dreams Come True as the penultimate act...

...And having SMAP close the Red and White is definitely something I’ll have to get used to…. 

All in all a fun time!
Well, that was about it for me, We'll see what they come up with NEXT year!

Favorite J-Pop Singles: Kome Kome Club / Subete wa Honto De Usso Kamone

Theme song for the romantic comedy Shinkon Nari, starring Mikami Hiroshi and cute Riho Makise as newlyweds who have to move in with the groom’s domineering parents!
This was really a zany show, and the theme song by Kome Kome Club sums it up nicely with the title called (roughly), “Entirely, Absolutely, a Lie…Maybe!" Hahaha! Nice touch on the single, too: A beautiful white dove...and a BAT!
Supporting characters like Koji Matoba and SUPER SEXY Senri Yamazaki appear as the “foils” who are trying to break up the new marriage for their own wants, and as an added bonus, we have Kobayashi Akiji (beloved Tachibana Tobei of the Kamen Rider series) as the doddering father of the groom!