Make Believe Mailer 78: Bubbling Up (Record Collector Magazine's "Best 100 City Pop Songs Of The 1970s")
The Decade Before What Nostalgia Remembers
Japan-focused pop culture writer Patrick Macias recently shared photos of Shinjuku Shisha Club, a flavored-tobacco joint located on the top of the Don Quijote variety store near Kabukicho. Opened this past February, the pictures and official site display the space as eternally bathed in dark purples and blues, with retro anime on the screens and a view of tall, bright buildings. That’s steps away from a new food hall in the hulking Kabukicho Tower development, opened this spring, similarly bathed in neon. The inspiration for both — and countless other fresh-faced ventures in the capital and beyond — is clear. They want you to think of Japan in the 1980s, or at least what you imagine Japan in the 1980s to have been like.
Japan’s Bubble days remain a point of fascination for both the domestic crowd and those abroad, who now have the chance to visit the country freely again and indulge in all their ‘80s fantasies (or at least smoke coconut-flavored shisha while City Hunter plays nearby). City pop remains a point of fascination with listeners globally, which also intersects with a greater appreciation for the aesthetics of that era — see future Fuji Rock performer Ginger Root1, or everything about South Korean artist Kim A Reum’s latest single. The decade remains just as enchanting to Japanese creators — breakout act imase’s latest single dips into retro reference points, complete with a video luxuriating in Showa vibes.
I totally understand the allure of ‘80s era Japan — if I could have been there opening night for the Checkers’ movie where they turn into freakish tanuki, I would be oh so happy! — but the hyper-focus on it, especially when it comes to music, has always felt a bit limiting. Sure, the glitzy cities and dazzling beach resorts of city pop might have proliferated in the Bubble years…but the sound itself was born in the 1970s. Nobody ever wants to revisit that decade, let alone imagine living in it.
I’ve been thinking a lot about that decade this year for a whole bunch of reasons — the passing of Yukihiro Takahashi and Ryuichi Sakamoto, spending time with Takeshi Terauchi’s music, revisiting Hosono House, listening to Taeko Onuki’s Sunshower a bunch initially for a podcast interview (coming summer 2023!) and then more because it rules. All of this constitutes the roots of city pop — the roots of all kinds of Japanese music — and it still feels quite unexplored compared to everything in the ‘80s. Which fair…great decade…but you can’t get the full story without the ten years before it. Though maybe the world is inching towards it…this year sees Tatsuro Yamashita’s early recordings getting a massive reissue on vinyl, starting with ‘80s staples, but eventually getting around to like, 1976 debut Circus Town. Everyone now is jazzed on “Sparkle” on record, but a few months from now they’ll be digging into “Windy Lady.”
Tatsuro Yamashita, “Windy Lady,” #31 City Pop Song Of The ‘70s According To Record Collectors Magazine
Thankfully, Record Collectors Magazine started the difficult work of investigating this decade of city pop back in 2020, with the June addition of their publication introducing the “Best 100 City Pop Songs Of The 1970s2.” Coming a month before the much more hyped 1980s list, this ranking aims to trace the origins of the style while still taking into account modern interest in this once globally obscure music (prominent placement for Miki Matsubara3). As is well documented, what we call “city pop” but what was then often tagged “new music” was “commercial poison” for most of the 1970s, with Taeko Onuki’s anecdote about drunk rock fans pelting Sugar Babe with bottles at a live show always sticking with me (below). By the ‘80s, the architects of this sound were stars, and working with other acts across the pop spectrum. In the ‘70s, it was a small world, and Record Collectors’ list reflects this (a ton of Yamashita deep cuts).
With more reissues of ‘70s Japanese records on the horizon, a newfound appreciation for / awareness of the fragility of so many creators from this period and the continued infatuation with everything old from Japan, now seems like a good time to share this list4, which aims to present the roots of what has become one of the most globally successful styles out of Japan ever. What I appreciate about this list in particular is the effort from the large team assembled to both deal with how city pop is seen today and offer insight into how the music of the ‘70s captured the excitement — musically and lyrically — of the era ahead. The group’s choice for number one nails it — Sugar Babe’s “Down Town” isn’t just the sonic foundation of city pop to come and one of the most covered songs in Japanese history courtesy of two heavyweights (Yamashita and Onuki), but the song itself is all about the excitement just before night falls, as one watches the city come alive and new opportunities emerge. That’s a perfect metaphor for Japan in the 1970s, and this list captures the giddiness as the country went through an Economic Miracle before entering the Bubble.
Record Collector Magazine’s Best 100 City Pop Songs Of The 1970s List (Originally Published In June 2020, Links When Available)
Bread & Butter, “Pink Shadow,” #2 Of The 1970s
1. Sugar Babe “Down Town” (1975)
2. Bread & Butter “Pink Shadow” (1974)
3. Taeko Onuki — “Tokai” (1977)
4. Arai Yumi (Yuming) — “Chuo Freeway” (1976)
5. Miki Matsubara — “Mayonaka No Door ~ Stay With Me” (1979)5
6. Shigeru Suzuki — “Sunna No Onna” (1975)6
7. Minako Yoshida — “Koi Wa Ryusei” (1977)
8. Chu Kosaka — “Shirakechimauze” (1975)
9. Hiroshi Kamayatsu — “Gorowazu Wo Sutta Koto Ga Aru Kai” (1975)
10. Rajie And Yoshitaka Minami — “The Tokyo Taste” (1977)
Mariya Takeuchi, “September,” #13 Of The 1970s
11. Ayumi Ishida And Tin Pan Alley Family — “Watashi Jishin” (1977)
12. Chu Kosaka — “Ryusei Toshi” (1975)
13. Mariya Takeuchi — “September” (1979)7
14. Yumi Arai (Yuming) — “Cobalt Hour” (1975)
15. Char — “Shinin’ You, Shinin’ Day” (1976)
16. Minako Yoshida — “Yume De Aetara” (1976)
17. Ginji Ito — “Kaze Ni Nareru Nara” (1977)
18. Kimiko Kasai — “Vibration” (1977)
19. Junko Ohashi And Minoya Central Station — “Crystal City” (1978)
20. Shigeru Suzuki — “Binetsu Shounen” (1975)
Kazuhiko Kato, “Gardenia,” #28 Of The 1970s
21. Taeko Onuki — “Summer Connection” (1977)
22. Nanako Sato — “Subterranean Futaribochi” (1977)8
23. Hiroshi Satoh — “Rainbow Sea Line” (1976)
24. Sugar Babe — “Shinkiro No Machi” (1975)
25. Tin Pan Alley — “Sobakasu No Aru Shojyo” (1975)
26. Yoshitaka Minami — “Pool Side” (1978)
27. Tatsuro Yamashita — “Let’s Dance Baby” (1979)
28. Kazuhiko Kato — “Gardenia” (1978)
29. Tatsuro Yamashita — “Love Space” (1977) (bonus VTuber cover)
30. Ozaki Amii — “Meiso” (1976)
Seri Ishikawa, “Moonlight Surfer,” #37 Of The 1970s
31. Tatsuro Yamashita — “Windy Lady” (1976)
32. Tatsuro Yamashita — “Solid Slider” (1977)
33. Ginji Ito — “Konukaame” (1977)
34. Tatsuro Yamashita — “Parade” (1976)
35. Minako Yoshida — “Rainbow Sea Line” (1975)
36. Yumi Matsutoya (Yuming) — “Kage Ni Natte” (1979)
37. Seri Ishikawa — “Moonlight Surfer” (1979)
38. Buzz — “Machi No Uta” (1974)
39. Makoto Kubota & The Sunset Gang — “Hoshikuzo” (1976)
40. Akiko Yano — “Denwasen” (1976)
Shogun, “Lonely Man,” #45 Of The 1970s
41. Haruomi Hosono — “Peking Duck” (1976)
42. Yoshitaka Minami — “Hizukehenkosen” (1978)
43. Yoshitaka Minami — “Oira Gang Dazo” (1973)
44. Chu Kosaka — “Horou” (1975)
45. Shogun — “Lonely Man” (1979)
46. Tatsuro Yamashita — “Dreaming Day” (1976)
47. Junko Ohashi And Minoya Central Station — “Simple Love” (1977)
48. Haruomi Hosono — “Chattanooga Choo Choo” (1975)
49. Tomoko Soryo — “City Lights By The Moonlight” (1977)
50. Tatsuro Yamashita — “Rainy Walk” (1979)
Manna, “Yellow Magic Carnival,” #52 Of The 1970s
51. Haruomi Hosono — “Hurricane Dorothy” (1975)
52. Manna — “Yellow Magic Carnival” (1979)
53. Minako Yoshida — “Tobira No Fuyu” (1973)
54. Minako Yoshida — “Ai Wa Omou Mama” (1978)
55. Shinji Harada — “Time Travel” (1978)
56. Tatsuro Yamashita — “Circus Town” (1976)
57. Yukihiro Takahashi — “Saravah!” (1978)
58. Yumi Arai (Yuming) — “Ano Hi Ni Kaeritai” (1975)
59. Sugar babe — “Kyo Wa Nandaka” (1975)
60. Goro Noguchi — “Good Luck” (1978)
Yumi Arai (Yuming), “Rouge No Dengon,” #69 Of The 1970s
61. Shigeru Suzuki — “Lady Pink Panther” (1976)
62. Sandi Hohn — “Love Squall” (1978)
63. Yumi Matsutoya (Yuming) — “Futo Wo Taru Kaze” (1978)
64. Taeko Onuki — “Kusuri Wo Takusan” (1977)
65. Ozaki Amii — “My Pure Lady” (1977)
66. Tatsuro Yamashita — “Funky Flushin’” (1979)
67. Ichiro Araki — “Janis Wo Kikinagara” (1975)
68. Kaze — “Umikaze” (1977)
69. Yumi Arai (Yuming) — “Rouge No Dengon” (1975)
70. Sumiko Yamagata — “Ano Hi No Yo Ni Hohoen De” (1978)
Ann Lewis, “Koi No Boogie Woogie Train,” #71 Of The 1970s
71. Ann Lewis — “Koi No Boogie Woogie Train” (1979)
72. Kazuhiko Kato — “Kibun Wo Dashite Moichido” (1978)
73. Yumi Arai (Yuming) — “Umareta Machi De” (1974)
74. Tetsuji Hayashi — “Rainy Saturday & Coffee Break” (1977)
75. Southern All Stars — “Omoisugoshi Mo Koi No Uchi” (1979)
76. Bread & Butter — “The Last Letter” (1979)
77. Shinji Harada — “Teens Blues” (1977)
78. Yoshitaka Minami — “Kore De Junbi OK” (1976)
79. Yukihiro Takahashi — “La Rosa” (1978)
80. Yoshitaka Minami — “Yakan Hiko” (1978)
Sadistics, “The Tokyo Taste” (yes, again, different version), #89 Of The 1970s
81. Tatsuro Yamashita — “Let’s Kiss The Sun” (1979)
82. Mariya Takeuchi — “Blue Horizon” (1979)
83. Sumiko Yamagata — “Natsu No Hikari Ni” (1976)
84. Taeko Onuki — “Ai Wa Maboroshi” (1976)
85. Junko Ohashi — “Tasogare My Love” (1978)
86. Yukihiro Takahashi — “Present” (1978)
87. Yukihiro Takahashi — “Sunset” (1978)
88. Hiroshi Kamayatsu — “W. 4th St.” (1978)
89. Sadistics — “The Tokyo Taste” (1977)
90. Masataka Matsutoya — “Kizuita Toki Wa Osoi Mono” (1977)
Moonriders, “Beep Beep Be All Right,” #96 Of The 1970s
91. Shigeru Suzuki — “100 Watt No Koibito” (1975)
92. Yoshitaka Minami — “Monroe Walk” (1979)
93. Sadistic Mika Band — “Time Machine Ni Onegai” (1974)
94. Shigeru Suzuki — “Tokyo Harbor Line” (1976)
95. Chu Kosaka — “Kikansha” (1975)
96. Moonriders — “Beep Beep Be All Right” (1977)
97. Haruko Kuwana — “Akogare No Sundown” (1978)
98. Seri Ishikawa — “Fuwa Fuwa Wow Wow” (1976)
99. Masako Takasaki — “Konukaame” (1978)
100. Hiromi Go — “Iri Nite” (1979)
Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
Twitter — @mbmelodies
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related-ish, Ginger Root is a really interesting case, because there’s a huge push to make them huge here in Japan behind a sound and visual image many actually can connect with. I went to karaoke a couple months ago, and was stunned how many Ginger Root songs are already in the dictionary-sized LiveDAM books.
OK, it’s actually from 1973 to 1979, which I assume is their way of not having to deal with Happy End and having to figure out if they are the birth of city pop or not. Still, for catchiness reasons, I’m going with the 1970s.
Though released too early for the viral success of Onuki’s “4:00 A.M.” which I bet makes it if they do this at the start of this year.
I also recieved an Amazon Gift Card from a non-writing job (freelancing is weird) so I thought “yeah, I have to spend this, better get some old magazines.”
I’ve bought so much City Pop the last three years. Looking forward to the Anri reissues as well
Damnit, more good music to add to my overstuffed playlist. Thanks Patrick! You'll find me shifting through the discographies of long-disbanded acts too old for my parents from halfway across the world this week. But no really, thanks!