Warm Visions

It’s Sunday night, right on the precipice of Monday. An awful feeling. Dig yourself out of that dark place with Masayoshi Takanaka’s infectious “Oh! Tengo Suerte” which employs a triple threat of smile-inducing action. What does this mean? It means that with a three-pronged approach, Masayoshi Takanaka will make you feel better.

First, you’ll see the album artwork pictured above. That’s the real art for the album this is off of – All Of Me, released 1979. This man is living his best life, skydiving over a pacific island (my guess is the Seychelles, as they’re referenced multiple times during the album) and giving a great smile & thumbs up to the camera. Incredible. Likewise, the suit and boots he’s decked out in are top notch.

Second, the music itself, which you’ll find above, accompanied with its music video. These are the two next fronts on your seasonal depression and pre-Monday blues. The song starts off with the following: a summery, psychedelic guitar, an audible representation of a heat mirage seen in the distance; with a shimmering acoustic guitar, mimicking the ocean’s surface on a beautiful day; and a whining, slide guitar, to represent the gentle breeze that caresses your damp hair as you stroll along the beach. The song eventually blossoms into a bonafide jam, building upon all the pieces in the intro, establishing a main voice in a chiming melody guitar, and furthermore adding in hand drum percussion, marimba, incredibly funky bass and rhythm guitar. There’s also a short burst of Spanish vocals that pop into the mix near the end, giving the track its name, like a pair of dancers strolling by and handing you a lei. Takanaka attempted to emulate paradise on this track and it’s safe to say he essentially succeeded.

But then the music video. I was not been familiar with this video until I started writing this post. I had planned for it to be pretty short & sweet, just talking about the tune and probably the album art. But this video put me over the edge. It shows Takanaka enjoying himself in a tropical paradise: jet skiing, driving around in a jeep, taking a nap under a tree, having dinner with an old man, looking out from a hotel balcony, and playing guitar at an outdoor cafe. When this album came out, Takanaka would have been about 26 or 27, which is essentially my age. That lucky duck. Takanaka tiene suerte indeed, for he is able to take a relaxing holiday in a beautiful, seaside oasis – a rather vacant and tourist-free one at that. Best of all, he brought a cameraman along with him so we can enjoy it alongside him.

Now if you feel nothing after watching that video and looking at that album art: you might already be dead. Go take a vacation. Lighten up. It’s Monday tomorrow. That’s no way to start your week. People need you. Channel your inner Takanaka and take it easy.

LASTLY – we’re warmvisions.net now! No .wordpress here. Very exciting after 9 years of doing this. Can’t wait to take advantage of all the features I’m now allowed to use.