Credits

I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Midori Karashima -- Silent Eve (サイレント・イブ)




Basically I know Midori Karashima(辛島美登里) for a few songs only, and one of them is this one, "Silent Eve". Not surprisingly, this was her biggest hit, released in November 1990. Written and composed by Karashima herself, it's a hauntingly beautiful ballad that also served as the theme song for the TBS drama "Christmas Eve"(not to be confused with the Tatsuro Yamashita song). Her 9th single had amazing staying power on the Oricon charts. It hit the No. 1 spot three times before the year was out earning it a ranking of 65 on the yearly charts. But in the following year, "Silent Eve" grew even higher in stature by ending up as the 12th-ranked song of 1991. All in all, it sold 800,000 copies.



I also wanted to show you Karashima (or Sensei as she is often called by friends) herself performing her most famous song. With some of the more frenetic stuff that goes about in the big cities during the Yuletide season, "Silent Eve" kinda helps in toning things down a bit, making sure one has that leisurely cup of coffee. Musically, the song sounds like a quiet afternoon turning into night just after a major snowfall.

Slow down, have that cup of joe and carrot cake!

2 comments:

  1. Hi,
    I'm glad I've discovered your blog. It looks like you're a huge huge fan of J-pop.

    I have started to listen to J-pop ~3 years ago when I started learning Japanese. I have become a big fan of Midori Karashima and Akina Nakamori.

    Very recently, I've started to translate some of the lyrics of the Japanese songs I love. Come visit my blog sometime. http://chanloklun.blogspot.com

    Larry

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    Replies
    1. Hey, Larry, and thanks for your kind comments. Yup, I'm a pretty big fan of the genre. Japanese popular music, especially the older Showa-era stuff, is pretty niche so I was hoping to let others know about it and find fellow fans.

      I've been a longtime fan of Akina. Kinda too bad that she's decided to take a leave of absence from singing but I can understand if she's gotten a bit tired of it all.

      I just went over to your blog right now. I do love my Kozo Murashita as well. He left us too soon!

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