🎃 Happy Halloween!!🎃
Yes, the most magical, spooky time of the year has finally come upon us! Some of us will celebrate Halloween by trick-or-tricking. Maybe watching a couple of scary movies like Friday the 13th or IT? Or perhaps, going to a party in a costume. Yet, any Halloween-related activity cannot be complete without music! Especially a spooktacular tune by Jrock musician Tomoko Kawase or Tommy heavenly6 .
I mentioned “On Our Own” by Bobby Brown two years ago as my Halloween tune of 2015. The song was featured in the 1989 featured film Ghostbusters II. It is one of my favorite new jack swing songs. In fact, I could play it over and over on Halloween and never get sick and tired of it. Yet, I decided for this Halloween to feature a tune that is different and from another country that isn’t the United States. For this post, I picked a tune from Japan and by Tomoko Kawase.
I wonder what song it is?
A Perfect Halloween Jrock Tune
This year’s pick is Tommy heavenly6‘s 2006 song “Lollipop Candy BAD girl”. Tommy heavenly6 is actually an alias for Japanese rock singer Tomoko Kawase, who has another nickname: Tommy february6. Tommy heavenly6 is the rockish bad-girl side of Kawase. While the february6 side brings out the innocent, pop-ish side.
“Lollipop Candy BAD girl” is mainly a Tommy heavenly6 song. Yet, some bits and pieces feature of the tune features the sweet, innocent february6 side. The song starts out with a long, creepy introduction that is followed by a pop-ish verse. This sound is something that one might hear from The Beatles or a Broadway musical production. Even the verse at the 1:44 mark has more of a cute pop sound than a heavy rock one, which is the staple of Tommy heavenly6 . The heavy rock side of “Lollipop Candy BAD girl” doesn’t appear until the 3:12 mark. That is when the heavy electric guitars kick off the rock side.
My favorite part of the song is during the heavy rock section at the 8:42 mark. This is when the guitar slows down so the melody can “break apart” in order to end the song. I also like Kawase’s vocals during this part, they are what I would envision to be a female rock vocalist with a powerful melody line and vocal presence.
You can listen to the song by clicking on the video below. Let me know what you think about the song below? Is Halloween and heavy rock a good combination or a bad one?
What is your favorite Halloween tune?
Tell me in the comments below!
About the Artist: Tomoko Kawase
Tomoko Kawase is a Japanese rock singer that hails from the ancient capital city of Kyoto. Working part-time jobs during her high school and early adult life, she got her break in the music industry. She was scouted in a club to be the vocalist for a then-upcoming band called the brilliant green. The band released their first single in 1997, entitled “Bye Bye Mr. Mug“. Between 1997 and 2001, the band released many successful singles and albums, including their hit single “There will be love there -Ai no Aru Basho-“.
The band decided to take a break in 2001. This left Kawase to pursue a solo career. She released her first single “EVERYDAY AT THE BUS STOP” under the pop moniker Tommy february6 . Two years later, she started her next solo project: Tommy heavenly6 .
Kawase is still going strong in recent yea. She has released more material under her solo project monikers. the brilliant green also came back together over the years. The band released new material. They even celebrated milestones like their 15th anniversary in 2013.
