Who is it?
It’s October! Trick or Treat! 🎃
It’s October! Do you know what it means?! Halloween is near! What will you do or be this year? I don’t go to many parties, but I do dress up for the preschool that I work at as we always have a Halloween party (Yes, we are going to have a party with safety measures). This year, I’m dressing up as a Carmen Sandiego.
The students have started to learn about Halloween since Thursday, but they are excited about the party and to show off their costumes. They are also excited about trick or treating. But, I’m excited as it is a month full of Halloween-themed Battles of the Bands! But, what would be the theme: would it be zombies, vampires, witches, mummies, pumpkins?
For the first Halloween-themed Battle of the Bands, I choose “witch” in honor of the trailer for “The Witches” remake that came out yesterday. Even though I’m holding my breath about the remake until I see it (because I like the novel more and Anjelica Huston), this battle isn’t about songs from the movies (I don’t think there are any…?). But instead, songs that have “witch” in the title or lyrics.
Check out the songs below and listen to both. Let me know which one is your favorite in the comments!
“WITCHES” by Miho Nakayama (1988)
“Witches” is the 14th single released by Japanese pop singer and actress Miho Nakayama. It was released on November 14, 1988. Like the previous single “Ningyohime mermaid” (人魚姫 mermaid, which is my favorite Nakayama song), “Witches” has a similar theme of fairies within the lyrics.
Nakayama is my favorite Japanese idol singer of the 80s and you can hear why in “Witches”. Her music is always catchy and her voice is really pleasant. She isn’t a diva, but she does have a nice tone that matches the instrumentation well. I could listen to “Witches” over and over for her voice but also to dance to the catchy beat!
“Majo” (魔女 Witch) by Kyoko Koizumi (1985)
“Majo” is Kyoko Koizumi‘s 16th single that was released on July 25, 1985. This singer, idol, and actress has many likable songs and recently featured all her singles and albums on Spotify. I like KyonKyon (which is her nickname) with her cute charm and catchy songs.
This song is a bit too sweet as it represents the classic Showa era sound called Kayokyoku. Why? It features a very easy to follow and cute melody. If you check out the English translation of the lyrics, you notice the theme is very simple and usual: a day in the life of a schoolgirl, who is debating on being a bad girl or keep on being a good girl for the sake of jealousy. “Majo” is a textbook example of what an idol kayokyoku song was back in the 80s.
“Majo” isn’t my favorite Kyoko Koizumi song, but it is definitely cute.
