[TV] NHK quietly aired "1970’s Graffiti A to Z", a hidden gem
On the busy late night of March 25th, the end of the fiscal year, I stumbled upon an unexpected "hidden gem" when I turned on the TV. It was a one-hour program quietly aired on NHK called "1970’s Graffiti A to Z," which seemed to capture the atmosphere of that era. Let me write down a record of this nostalgic and stimulating time travel, where hit songs intersect with precious archival footage from that time.
1. A luxurious archive that deciphers the era: "A to Z"
As the title suggests, the program's structure links iconic events and songs of the 1970s using the letters A through Z as keywords. It has a hardcore, narration-free style reminiscent of the legendary 90s Fuji TV program "19XX" or NHK's collection of classic music clips "MUSIC BOX," which is quite pleasant. The lineup is as follows.
[Part 1]
amazing…Time Travel (Shinji Harada) → High-rise building construction
beautiful…Miserarete (Judy Ongg) → Fashion trends
cruel…Kandagawa (Kaguyahime) → Oil shock and runaway inflation
dreamy…Yume de Aetara (Minako Yoshida) → Harumi Motor Show and the supercar boom
educational…Seishun Jidai (Koichi Morita and Top Gallants) → The overheating entrance exam war
fast…Sensou wo Shiranai Kodomotachi (The Jiro's) → Newly opened convenience stores
gastronomic…Oyoge! Taiyaki-kun (Masato Shimon) → People lining up for taiyaki, etc.
hazardous…Keiko no Yume wa Yoru Hiraku (Keiko Fuji) → Yodo-go hijacking incident
innovative…Galaxy Express 999 (Godiego) → Popularity of the Walkman, emergence of car phones, etc.
joyful…Sexy Bus Stop (Dr. Dragon & Oriental Express) → Disco, ski resort leisure, etc.
kinetic…Kokoro no Tabi (Tulip) → Young travelers with backpacks (Kani-zoku)
lost…Mata Au Hi Made (Kiyohiko Ozaki) → Abolition of the Tokyo streetcar
magnificent…Blue Lagoon (Masayoshi Takanaka) → Opening of Narita Airport, construction of the Honshu-Shikoku Bridge, etc.
[Part 2]
nostalgic…Ano Hi ni Kaeritai (Yumi Arai) → The last group employment train arrives in Tokyo
opaque…Jidai (Miyuki Nakajima) → The changing landscape of the town with cupolas
peaceful…Hitori Janai no (Mari Amachi) → Normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and China and the pandas Lan Lan and Kang Kang
queasy…Tsubasa o Kudasai (Akai Tori) → Air pollution, public pollution
rapid…Nagori Yuki (Iruka) → Shinkansen line opens to Hakata
sensational…Time Machine ni Onegai (Sadistic Mika Band) → Mona Lisa exhibited in Japan
tense…Kasa ga Nai (Yosui Inoue) → Asama Sanso incident, etc.
unknown…Yume Saki Annainin (Momoe Yamaguchi) → Unidentified creature recovered from the ocean
vivid…Dounimo Tomaranai (Linda Yamamoto) → Miniskirt boom and Women's Lib movement
worried…Ichigo Hakusho o Mou Ichido (Ban Ban) → Disputes demanding high prices and stable employment
xenial…Oretachi no Tabi (Masatoshi Nakamura) → 1970 Osaka Expo
youthful...Summer greetings (Candies) → Swimming at the beach becomes a popular leisure activity
zealous...TOKIO (Kenji Sawada) → Space Invaders boom
First, let's look back at the lineup for Part 1.
The first song at the beginning was Shinji Harada's "Time Travel".
Starting with the keyword "amazing," this song is the perfect opening, symbolizing the time travel into the decade that was about to begin.
The subsequent lineup is also truly clever. The fashion trends of the time flow along with Judy Ongg's "Miserarete," and footage of the oil shock and frantic inflation overlaps with Kaguya Hime's "Kandagawa." Watching the cars lined up at gas stations and people scrambling for toilet paper, I cannot help but draw parallels to the current situation where oil prices are soaring. Compared to the "frenzy" of that time, is the current situation better, or is it worse?
What is interesting is the treatment of proper nouns. Koichi Morita and Top Gallant's "Seishun Jidai" depicts the overheating exam war, while The Jiro's "Sensou wo Shiranai Kodomotachi" features a newly opened convenience store. Although the name "7-Eleven" does not appear in the subtitles, anyone who sees its unique exterior and sign will realize it is the "first store." In Godiego's "Galaxy Express 999," the Walkman was introduced by the generic term "headphone stereo." There was also documentary value beyond a mere music program, such as the leisure scenes at ski resorts shown during Dr. Dragon's "Sexy Bus Stop" and the nostalgia of the discontinued streetcars spelled out in Kiyohiko Ozaki's "Mata Au Hi Made."
2. Urban singing voices and collective employment: The "shadow of the 70s" depicted through contrast
As we enter Part 2, the composition gains even more depth. Particularly impressive was the sequence continuing from Yumi Arai's "Ano Hi ni Kaeritai" to Miyuki Nakajima's "Jidai."
Set to Yumi's urban and sophisticated singing voice, introduced as "nostalgic," is footage of 15-year-old boys and girls arriving in Tokyo on the last collective employment train. Immediately after their expressions, which are a mix of hope and anxiety, "Jidai" plays. The footage, along with the keyword "opaque," shows the closure of factories that once thrived in the "city with cupolas" and the changing cityscape. I could not help but feel the extraordinary "intent" of the production side in presenting the two great queens of New Music in succession and contrasting the glamour of the city with the sorrow of the provinces.
Of course, the "heat" unique to the 70s is also thoroughly covered. The normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and China and the panda boom with Mari Amachi's "Hitori Janai no," the visit of the Mona Lisa with the Sadistic Mika Band's "Time Machine ni Onegai," and the miniskirt and Women's Lib movement with Linda Yamamoto's "Dou ni mo Tomaranai." Personally, while women's hot pants and miniskirts were introduced in detail, it was a little disappointing that the transition of men's fashion, such as bell-bottoms and psychedelic patterned shirts, was not touched upon much.
3. The "icon of the era" released at the end
What makes this program interesting is that it does not just cover songs that reached number one on Oricon; it links quite maniacal song selections with footage, such as pairing Momoe Yamaguchi's "Yumesaki Annainin" with footage of unidentified creatures, or showing the grand construction of Narita Airport and the Honshu-Shikoku Bridge with Masayoshi Takanaka's "Blue Lagoon."
As it headed toward the climax, it went through Ban Ban's "Ichigo Hakusho wo Mou Ichido," which reflects social anxiety, and Masatoshi Nakamura's "Oretachi no Tabi," which looks back at the 1970 Osaka Expo, and finally concluded with Kenji (Julie) Sawada's "TOKIO." Julie, singing while wearing a parachute and draped in electric lights, is the very icon that summarizes the turbulent decade of the 70s and bridges it to the next era of the "symbolized city" of the 80s.
Throughout the entire program, the minimal production, which excluded narration, conversely highlighted the message of the visuals and music.
With such rich content, I would definitely like to see a "Western music version" or a "World news version." If they could spell out music history, from the breakup of the Beatles to the rise of hard rock and the shock of punk, and modern world history, such as the end of the Vietnam War and the East-West Cold War, from A to Z, there would be no better historical teaching material.
To the NHK staff who love world history and Western music, please consider a sequel.
*Honorifics are omitted for organizations and building names in the text.