10 City Pop Songs About Summer
Ah, feel that Yokohama breeze! The azure horizon sparkles in the distance as the ocean whispers its crescent waves coalescing onto the sandy shore to meet your toes. The crystal blue waters look like glass and as you breathe in deeply you feel the kiss of the sun peaking through a perfectly white cloud atlas as you exhale deeply, finally. Summer is here…
I think everyone has had a very difficult year and having lost the summer of 2020 it feels like the planet is finally starting to speed up back to something that seems normal, even if only an approximation of what it once felt like. Summer is especially welcome as the masks are starting to come off and the usual seasonal activities we all once enjoyed are being phased back into our lives. The human psyche has always associated the seasons with different things, and this extends to all cultures and eras in human history. In Japan, the season is associated with certain symbols, especially the Goldfish, Dragonfly, Wind Chimes, and Watermelon.
Japan being an island has a special affinity for beautiful beaches, white sand, and the celestial body that adorns their flag; the sun. It’s no wonder why City Pop has such a close relationship with Summer and everything the season brings to mind. As an added feature to these kinds of posts, I am hyperlinking the lyrics and also the Discogs page for each one, where you can see purchase options for every record if you’re in the market for picking up one of these on wax. With that, I present to you 10 City Pop songs about Summer!
City Pop Songs About Summer
Miki Matsubara - One Summer Night
Miki Matsubara is a City Pop legend, and in the spirit of the season she too sang about hot Summer flings on her 1981 album Cupid. The song is a bit of funk, and a bit of pop; the usual flavor combination that Miki is most known for. The lyrics are about [you guessed it] a summer night where she meets someone and falls in love only to find that summer romances are often just illusions that fade with the blue waves crashing on the shore. Summer love is just a mirage on the glimmering sands on a pristine beach. We can all relate, Miki.
Tomoko Aran - ひと夏のタペストリー
Tomoko needs no introduction. Her voice is iconic and her 1983 album Fuyü-Kükan is one of the most classic City Pop albums of all time. With her eclectic mix of genres and singing styles she finds a balance between sultry slow-jams and electro-boogie beats like ひと夏のタペストリー [Hitonatsu no Tapestry] where she is essentially a Summer funk diva. The lyrics talk about meeting a sexy stranger during a vacation[?] and the usual mysterious courtship rituals that are discussed in similar themes that glorify the nuances of summer romance; mystique, bare skin, and the illusion of love at first sight. Sips navy blue cocktail.
Toshiki Kadomatsu - Off Shore
Toshiki’s entire discography is dripping with Summer vibes. He has multiple albums dedicated to the season and its very hard to find any other artist that referenced the beach as much as he has. On his album On The City Shore from 1983 he spares no exposition and makes it clear even from the cover art that you’re going to be baking on the beach while listening to this immaculate LP. The lyrics on this gem are understandable via the few English phrases in the chorus which allude to the Summer Lady. Ever the ladies man, Toshiki sings about Beach Angels and how the Summer Lady [here they come] are on their way to frolic on the shore with their beautiful golden skin shining in the sun. What a good eye Mr. Kadomatsu must have for the girls playing on the sand. Keep riding that surf!
Yuko Asano - Summer Champion
A classic track from 1979 worthy of attention, Summer Champion carries the weight of the season by sounding like a breezy victorious anthem. The lyrics talk about the blue seas, the wind, and the glory of a scorching summer day on the beach. You can literally smell the sweet sweat coming off her as she sings the tune. For the uninitiated it does sound a bit like she is saying ‘summer breeze’ in the chorus, but in actuality she is proclaiming ‘summer queen’ which is equally evocative. Yuko truly is a summer queen and this song unmistakably a champion.
Oh, Tatsuro! His voice is like a bowl of butter on this track and the glowing yellow orb high above in the sky beckons to be kissed in this 1979 hit. The lyrics on this song, and many of his other works, are almost poetry in their vivid descriptions of romance, seasonal attributes, and whimsical ideas. He often provides a very cinematic landscape in his lyricism that evokes an open invitation to interpretation. Many of the lyrics are ambiguous yet still charming and wonderful in their context. Yamashita is a god of summer vibes as clear as the LP cover art he often employs from the immaculate works of Hiroshi Nagai.
Hideki Saijo is very much an under-appreciated City Pop artist, and his work is often not given enough credit for how much it advanced the City Pop genre in new ways. Even still, his reputation continues to grow today as more fans discover his music. かぎりなき夏 from 1984 translates to Endless Summer. For a very good introduction to the lyrics, I am quoting a fan of his from Twitter named Goldenearrigs who also helped provide the translation and lyrics. “The lyrics of this song are very literary. In fact, the lyrics don't mention the word 'love' at all, and there are no words that refer to any specific action or relationship between him and her. It's hard to explain, but it's like a scene from an old European film, describing a scene on the beach and a mental image in his mind. The sea breeze, the man standing on the empty beach, the hazy illusions, the passing seasons, his endless melancholy... He is just looking at what is lost with the passing seasons forever... That's what this screen looks like.” - @Goldenearrigs via Twitter.
Kiyotaka Sugiyama & Omega Tribe - Futari no Natsu Monogatari
In 1985, at the peak of the 80s comes Kiyotaka Sugiyama & Omega Tribe to drop some incredible music almost entirely focused around summer. If you follow their music you’ll notice this is a reoccurring theme that comes up very often. They clearly love the summer, and love making summer-based music just as much. Futari no Natsu Monogatari translates to something along the lines of ‘Our Summer Story” and the lyrics paint a picture of a [no surprise here] summer romance that is turning out to be another story to be told after the season comes to an end. I’m sure by now you are noticing a trend that many Japanese artists are fascinated with romantic summer themes. This is a bit of a higher energy track and really brings the City Pop beat to a feverishly danceable tempo.
Taeko Ohnuki - Summer Connection
Oh, Taeko! Words cannot describe how much I love Ohnuki’s music. Having been an original member of Sugar Babe, Tatsuro’s proto-City Pop band in the early 70s, she eventually branched off and created a wonderful discography of her own. This song is from 1977, and it still leaves you feeling that summer-y mood that is at once uplifting yet somber. Much like the title of the album, Sunshower, this song too hits like a misty rain on a sunny day. The lyrics are reminiscences of vacation-esque adventures, the kiss of the sun on an island in the sea, and the bitter sweetness of experiencing it all while sometimes alone. I can relate…
Anri - Windy Summer
Anri is the true goddess of Summer. No other Japanese singer can evoke the feelings of the season quite like her. Originally she was more of an idol in the 70s, but going into the 80s completely revamped her aesthetic to be almost purely about being a Summer girl. This album, Timely!!, was produced by Toshiki Kadomatsu, who we previously discussed as being another summer-obsessed artist. It makes perfect sense when listening to his album On The City Shore, and this album, as they are almost perfect companions in themes, production, and style. The lyrics are slightly opaque and describe being like the summer wind, reaching high and far, often forgetting even who you are in the moment, and the magic of being on the sand and sea. The song feels like a literal sea breeze from the beginning with that instantly recognizable drum fill.
Anri - Remember Summer Days
Anri is such a summer staple that I had to include her twice! Reason being that this song, Remember Summer Days, is probly my favorite City Pop Summer song of all time. It has everything you could ever want; romance, sentimentality, nostalgia, memory, and on top of it all it’s just an absolute banger of a track. The lyrics talk about emotions and wanting to escape it all and to return to how you once felt, how things used to be. Sadly this track never made it onto the vinyl pressing, and only available on the CD version that came out later. True to the title, she sings subtleties about becoming like the wind [likely referencing the previously mentioned song], and the magic in your heart helping you find that the summer was always in you all along. I think we can all look back fondly when we remember summer days.
And there you have 10 City Pop songs about Summer. You can tell that there is something about beaches, romance, and melancholy that permeates a majority of these. I certainly am not complaining, as they satisfy a certain mood that doesn’t get enough coverage in the west. These 10 songs are only scratching the surface of what the genre has to offer in terms of Summer anthems. I neglected to mention quite a few of my other favorites but if you know any that I missed feel free to drop them in the comments below. Enjoy your Summer! - Van
AUTHOR
Van Paugam is an Internationally-Acclaimed DJ and leading figure specializing in 70s and 80s Japanese Music, dubbed City Pop. He has organized and hosted over 100 events dedicated to the style, and actively promotes Japanese culture while on the board of the Japanese Arts Foundation of Chicago. He has been featured on CNN, NHK, and many other publications for his dedication to City Pop. Van is credited with being the first person to begin popularizing City Pop online through his mixes on YouTube in 2016, and subsequently through live events. Learn More…
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