Anniversary Week 2! + Christmas Songs?
December is a big month for Masayukists when it comes to album releases, whether it be original albums or singles. Now that I am free from all those college stuff and it's about time I forget about it for a while, we got another whole week of anniversaries. Starting with....
Megami no Jiyuu on December 18! In case you haven't checked the album yet, it was released under Yamamoto's own record label at that time, which was unfortunately discontinued shortly after. Yamamoto had once again blended a variety of music genres in time for the new millennium. You can hear two baseball related tracks, a peppy pop song for the title track, a 50s style love ballad, and an anime melody style on the final track to finish the 55-minute runtime.
I saw some misinformation that Akemi Takada made the cover illustration. It's clearly Yamamoto's, just by looking at his art style. Takada, known as the character designer for Creamy Mami, actually did cover art for '88.
December 19 will mark the 33rd anniversary of Sainou no Houko, his first original album under another discontinued record label Mycal Hummingbird.
As Oldies Night is available on iTunes for some reason, I enjoyed listening to the album a lot, seeing a rundown of unreleased songs inspired by Yamamoto's difficult life during his high school and college days. The live concert recording felt very reminiscent of his early live shows, and just like New York Whisper, the album is cut down to just the main musical tracks with a couple of MCs/dialogue.
On the topic of acoustic performances, Anime no Daiou THE MOVIE will turn a decade old at the time of this writing. Yamamoto's energetic guitar skills and his vocal prowess make for some amazing anime self-covers as if you're in an Anison Shibari live show. It was a good addition for fans who liked to enjoy more for the holiday season.
Finally, December 21, the start of the winter solstice, sees triple anniversaries within a span of just three years. Sainou no Iseki, Yamamoto's first album under Pioneer LDC, will turn 30, and then came an entry of the Single Bunko Series a year later...twice in a row! Those are Hanabi and the variants/sequels of Ginza no Pachira.
Oh, this ain't the end of this article. Speaking of winter solstice, can you think of a Christmas-related song made by Yamamoto sensei? Not pretty much though. The Japanese tradition of Christmas is strangely similar to that of Valentines Day, so instead of bringing so much joy, it's some sort of romantic affair. To my knowledge, Yamamoto has done three Christmas songs so far. The aforementioned Sainou no Iseki closes off with Screen, about how strange Christmas is with some pterosaur(?) sending off presents and an elderly couple frolicking in romance, and far as I can understand. Masayuki Tengoku had Yuki ga Furu Kara about someone becoming a pen pal with a lover as they longed to meet each other in the snow someday. Last, but not the least, there's one from The Tanpen, which is not about romance: Santa Claus wa Daredeshou.
It's unlikely if Yamamoto would ever produce a Christmas album some time. It seems like instead of spreading holiday cheers with a holiday related release, he just came up and announced those albums as he would normally do for fans to enjoy the Christmas season. And right before the end of the year, he did annual Omokagebashi Request Shows before that one pandemic I'm not gonna mention ever again.
If anything, I'm kinda fine with him celebrating a normal Christmas. Christmas doesn't always have to be jolly and festive all the time. Some people don't wanna spend the season feeling very ecstatic, and that's really normal. Let's hope for a brighter new year and see for another anniversary week next month!
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