carol rich - tokyo boy (1984)

 carol rich - tokyo boy 7" (1984)

carol rich is a swiss singer who got recognition in the late 1980s for her performances on eurovision--specifically her 1987 single, "moitié-moitië." moitié-moitië is not my favorite of hers & sounds like the typical euro-pop that was dominating charts everywhere at the time (you can probably find dusty singles stashed away in dollar bins at record shops all over europe). however, carol rich's earliest release, 1984's tokyo boy is anything but derivative. side a has the hit single, "tokyo boy," with a cheesy & unremarkable guitar intro that is very much a symptom of its time (& would be parodied to death after the explosion of hair metal later in the decade). the kitschy transition from guitar shredding to stereotypical bamboo flutes (which is done in earnest) only emphasizes this story of a euro girl completely captivated with a japanese boy--east meets west! even carol's vocalization at the start mimics that of modern enka. it's catchy, cute, & fun, but personally, not the standout in this release. side b's "computered love" though.., is utterly mesmerizing! the glittery synths, drum machine claps, & carol's girly & coquettish breathy vocals tenderly describing the act of digitally sending a message to a lover via computer or machine (or possibly to the computer itself). sending e-mails didn't even become accessible to all until the mid-1990s, so the concept of sending a digital message through a computer in the early 1980s would have been a novel concept at the time. a few years earlier, kraftwerk pioneered this idea as well with their prophetic & influential single, "computer love." this concept particularly fascinates me; i'm always interested in the past's optimism of the future that existed before the onset of the internet & smartphones (& anything pre 9/11, really). this kind of positive imagining that technology can better lives & society, rather than hinder it; that it can connect, rather than alienate. kraftwerk has touched on this decades before that revelation. i always try to seek out electronic music (esp those of the 80s & early 90s) that have a more naive & innocent conceptualization of technology (maybe i'll make a topical playlist about this soon). anyway, i absolutely love this decade of female fronted minimal synth / synth-pop that was propagating everywhere, especially in europe (marie möör comes to mind). please give it a listen. 

give tokyo boy (diff versions) a listen please:

single: tokyo boy

year: 1984

label: not on label

tracklisting:

1. side a: tokyo boy
2. side b: computered love

 transcribed lyrics (not 100% accurate)

from my digital device

to your terminal

i'm writing you a letter

sound, video, text

analog keyboard

digital system

i'm writing you a poem

to tell you that i love you

~computered love, computered love, computered love,

computered love, computered love, computered love~

electronic message

transmitted by optical fiber

i'm coming to say hello

to talk to you about love

~computered love, computered love, computered love,

computered love, computered love, computered love~

calligraphic response 

programmed in basic

okay message received

thinking of you, bye

(above for dl)

and more importantly, if you love this album, why not purchase the physical thing?

(it's so expensive & has been that way for more than a decade.. trust me, i've been checking ever since & it's still too high..)

currently listening to: carol rich - "computered love"