It's been a quiet day. I was going to try to tape the 59th NHK Red and White Song Battle, but the VCR appears to be dying. It chewed up one tape, and almost chewed up another. I stayed at my parents' home to watch about an hour of it before leaving. I think I might be able to watch the rest of it somehow. Nakama Yukie is one of the hosts for the show. Hamasaki Ayumi was the first pop singer to perform. I try to watch the yearly concert show (which is always on New Year's Eve) more for the enka than the JPop. I saw Godai Natsuko sing--I am hoping that Nagayama Yoko will also be present. Most of the JPop singers do not sing very well. But I was struck by the fact that there is nothing like it on American television any more. Jessica and Nick tried to do a variety show, but that didn't last long. There's no family-friendly music show on network TV. Is there no audience for it? Do Americans have a low appreciation of good music, relying instead upon their IPods and MP3 players for entertainment? If it were the case that such televised spectacles (and it is a spectacle, with all of the dancers and performers on the stage) were replaced by local forms of entertainment and popular participation in music, that would be progress and the loss of such shows would not be missed too much. But that is not what has happened here in the United States. Another indication of the decline in quality of American television and/or the American TV-viewing audience? (Too bad Hee Haw ended before I learned to appreciate country and bluegrass.)

There's a Japanese girl group called Pabo. I wonder if they know what the word means in Korean. (It's associated with Hello Project.)

I was watching Nakama Yukie's expressions, and her face and eyes are very expressive. She doesn't really do the annoying kawaii mannerisms and girly voice that many of the younger women (girls) have cultivated. But she is feminine. I'm just wondering if she wouldn't be annoying in her own way, with the constant changes in facial expressions. Perhaps that is done only as a part of her stage presence and announcing. (Although Japanese pop stars and performers are a bit better than American ones in the way they carry themselves in public and speak, eventually they put me in a bad mood. It's not really their fault, even if they represent both the good and bad of pop culture. Unless they are being really shallow and artificial when they talk.)

She wore a kimono at the start of the show, and then changed into a white dress.

Which reminds me, Kerry M. is in town and singing with the St. Ann Choir. Her voice is prominent and her singing skillful. I don't know if she is Catholic. I don't think I'll be able to attend First Vespers for the Solemnity of the Mother of God tonight (at 8 P.M.). Instead, I should be leaving shortly to meet with my sisters and their families for dinner. Is there rush hour traffic today?

Links:
official website: NHK紅白歌合戦
59th NHK Kohaku lineups - Vox
Pictures of Yukie Nakama - Stardock Alpha
Yukie Nakama - Japanese Idol
Barbara's Enka Site - Yoko Nagayama
Ayumi Hamasaki > Divine AYU
official site for Hee Haw

And then there's Lawrence Welk.
JB Funky's Lawrence Welk Page
Stars Of The Lawrence Welk Show