My trivial thinking

As I was listening to Emi Fujita’s songs on YouTube, I came across Eva Cassidy. Eva Cassidy is hardly known in Japan, and almost all of her CDs available here are imports. I had never heard her songs—or even her name—before. But her beautiful voice and remarkable musical sensitivity have the power to captivate listeners instantly. Eva Cassidy was born in Washington, D.C. in 1963 and grew up in Maryland. She had an interest in both art and music from childhood. When she was nine, her father began teaching her to play the guitar. At eleven, she joined a local band as a singer. In 1992, at the age of twenty‑nine, she released her first album, a duet album. Still, her name was known only in the Washington, D.C. area. In 1994, she was diagnosed with skin cancer. In 1996, Eva Cassidy passed away at the age of just thirty‑three. In 2000, the BBC broadcast her performance of Over the Rainbow , and it caused a sensation across Europe and eventually around the world. She became known as a legen...

I happened to come across this song and was captivated by its melody and the singer’s voice. The singer is Emi Fujita , and the song is “Wide Awake.” It was my first time hearing it.     Although it was only a few days ago, I don’t remember why I found this song on YouTube. WIDE AWAKE   ･ ･ ･ ･ ･ ･ ･ ･ ･ You were the rolling tidal wave That swept my barren shores If you will let me share your day My life's forever yours I will never understand the reason why We fail to learn from our mistakes I will wait for you as the days go by With my dream - though I am wide awake I don’t think many Japanese people know who Emi Fujita is. I looked her up online and found that she was the vocalist of Le Couple .      Le Couple is famous for their song “Hidamari no Uta,” which was part of the soundtrack for the 1997 TV drama Under One Roof 2 . The CD single sold over 1.8 million copies. After the band suspended its activities, Emi Fujita began her solo ...

  “It would be nice to visit a hot spring in autumn, wouldn’t it?” I remembered my younger daughter saying that before. So last week, our family — including my elder daughter and her husband — went to Kinosaki Onsen in Hyogo Prefecture. The crab season had just begun on November 7 this year. The weather wasn’t great, but we enjoyed a sumptuous crab dinner at a comfortable ryokan , and of course, we relaxed in the famous hot spring.   The next day, after browsing some souvenir shops, we stopped by Nova , a coffee house near Kinosaki Onsen Station.   The coffee was excellent and the music created a pleasant atmosphere. I asked the owner’s wife what music was playing, and she showed us the CD jacket. It was LANDSCAPES by the Jan Lundgren Trio , a Swedish jazz group.   On our way home, we made a stop at Amanohashidate , known since ancient times as one of the Three Views of Japan. The name means “bridge to heaven.” I had been there twice before, but it was t...

It’s New Year’s Eve, and I’m happy to have finished all my work for the year. I’m relaxing now, sitting back and listening to music. Seiko Matsuda’s 1996 song “Missing You” is really good.   You can easily find the English version of the song on YouTube. I’ve heard that she can be a bit eccentric. Many men adore her, while many women don’t like her very much. But I like this song. Enjoy!