Haiku's Music of Asia Archival Adventures (1980-2004) October 24 @13:30 BST

[Haiku Rewrites]

a few ads before we go on to our next section, part 1 of Japan!

 

[Diddy]

Can't believe China was casually popping out classics like this, and what did we have at the time? Louise.

But couldn't you imagine Louise doing exactly this? And we would eat it up! Louise was GOOD!

 

[COB]

Oh MY

 

[RJN]

I have this Uno Attack game

 

[COB]

Surprised the Uno ad featured a Western family!

 

[Diddy]

They couldn't film any Chinese people playing Uno?

China is so interesting

 

[COB]

Well great, now I'm horned up. THANKS PEPSI

 

[COB]

!!!

 

[Diddy]

China really isn't that different, they too have standard-issue boybands doing weak We WIll Rock You covers

 

[COB]

GETS UP IMMEDIATELY

 

[Diddy]

Mystic Megu-san! Have to convince myself this is Japanese even though all the text is in Korean

 

[COB]

Who is this legend?! The subtitles look Korean, I think?

 

[Haiku Rewrites]

Song 6: Akina Nakamori - Desire -jonetsu- (1986 Japan)
One of the earliest Japanese idols, Akina shot to fame in the 80s after winning the talent show Star Tanjō!. While her biggest rival, another singer Seiko Matsuda (to feature another edition) had a more traditional sweet and soft style, Akina to a more about edgier and mature approach to her music, as illustrated here.

 

[Haiku Rewrites]

for whatever reason, the Japanese titled videos of the song keep getting taken down by copyright claims but not the Korean ones.

 

[Diddy]

I feel like she's laying on the Japanese stereotypes a bit thick, which is a bit weird since she's Japanese

anyway an 80s BOP!

 

[COB]

How dare this be televised, quite frankly

 

[RJN]

I like how intense she looks while singing a song thats meant to be fun

 

[RJN]

I feel like she's laying on the Japanese stereotypes a bit thick, which is a bit weird since she's Japanese

anyway an 80s BOP!

mixed with how everyone in the 80s danced regardless of country

 

[Haiku Rewrites]

up next our first male of the night!

 

[COB]

This is what I imagine @Diddy's internal monologue to look like during cherry blossom season.

 

[Diddy]

I hope she's the mother of the Poison Queen from Sakanaction

Very Pat Benetar (from what little I know of her)

 

[Diddy]

This is what I imagine @Diddy's internal monologue to look like during cherry blossom season.

NO!!

I'm doing a Yuna staff dance as the blossoms fall around me in slow motion

 

[COB]

Quite the change of pace! Cute though.

 

[Haiku Rewrites]

Song 7: Kenji Ozawa - Corolla ii ni notte (1994/5 Japan)
A Japanese blog Kayo Kyoku Plus (that does coverage of vintage Japanese song best summarizes this)

"
Considering the Corolla's image as the car for the middle-class masses, "Corolla II ni Notte" (Get On The Corolla II) is note-perfect as the reassuring music and lyrics describe the Corolla II being put through its paces transporting folks doing the usual daily errands and hobbies. The car may not be sexy or sporty but it'll get you to wherever you need to go and then take you back home safely.

The song peaked at No. 2 and ended up as the 42nd-ranked single of 1995. Those Corolla II ads had been shown throughout 1994 and I didn't get to Japan until November that year, so they must have run for a very long time since I could remember the commercials very well. According to a January 1995 issue of the Asahi Shimbun newspaper via J-Wiki, "Corolla II ni Notte" had initially been seen as simply a commercial jingle so only 5000 copies of the song had been pressed, but the popularity of the ads soared it was released officially as Ozawa's single on January 1st that year. It ended up selling more than 800,000 copies!
"

 

[RJN]

I like this folk-esque song

 

[AGinAg (37)]

 

[Diddy]

Oh they love an acoustic guitar here - name doesn't ring a bell though

 

[COB]

This almost feels a bit GREEK in parts, to me at least

 

[RJN]

wait so is this a song made for an ad?

 

[Diddy]

Not very jingly for a jingle, but building quite sweetly

(pleased with myself for reading his name before you posted it)

 

[Haiku Rewrites]

Up next, we have a tune that is in fact a cover of a lesser known Italian Eurobeat track!

 

[Diddy]

This almost feels a bit GREEK in parts, to me at least

Also influenced by my ESC votes this morning, but this did give me some mid-00s Balkan ESC entry vibes somehow

 

[COB]

Up next, we have a tune that is in fact a cover of a lesser known Italian Eurobeat track!

The Italian Stripping Housewives are on STANDBY

 

[COB]

Holy shit yes!!

 

[RJN]

OMG Tora Tora Tora invented hyperpop

 

[COB]

 

[COB]

This is UNREAL, I feel like I'm having an out of body experience

 

[Diddy]

OMG I knew this genre existed but I was too terrified to ask

@COB may be pleased to know Tora means Tiger in Japanese

 

[Diddy]

and I NEED to tell @COB about a few Amuro Namie songs I heard on the first disc of her GH, definitely shades of this 90s europop stuff -thought she doesn't turn it QUITE this HARD!

 

[RJN]

Tora Tora Tora 10/10 (added to my running playlist )