Category: Radio

TMNETWORK weekly radio program

#18, July 29, 2026 Hosted by Takashi Utsunomiya
For this episode, Utsu-san took the lead and introduced his favorite song.

Featured Tracks:

M1:

• Artist: Olivia Newton-John
• Title: Take Me Home Country Boards
• Released: 1973

M2:

• Artist: Olivia Newton-John
• Title: Physical
• Released: 1981

M3:

• Artist: Olivia Newton-John
• Title: Have You Never Been Mellow
• Released: 1975

Olivia Newton-John was very popular in the U.S. country music scene before starring in the 1978 musical movie “Grease.” When she joined the cast, she was initially hesitant about shifting her musical style, but she bravely took on the challenge. It seems that TM NETWORK has also been trying different music genres. Utsu-san truly likes her voice as a vocalist.

Utsu-san’s favorite Olivia song is “Have You Never Been Mellow,” which was a huge hit in the US in 1975.

Listen to “Take Me Home Country Boards”:

Listen to “Physical”:

Listen to “Have You Never Been Mellow”:

Listen to this episode on podcast:

TMNETWORK weekly radio program

#17, July 22, 2026 Hosted by Tetsuya Komuro.
For this episode, Komuro-san took the lead and introduced his favorite song.

Featured Tracks:

M1:

• Artist: Ed Sheeran
• Title: Shivers
• Released: 2021

Ed Sheeran is known for using a looper. He played by himself on stage even at Wembley Stadium over 3 days to a total audience of 240,000. Komuro-san was really amazed by his performance and became deeply interested in the looper, later using one in “TMNETWORK QUANTUM TOUR 2026” for his TK solo “FATE”.

Komuro-san also talked about “Shape of You,” released in 2017, as the best-played song in the world as of 2026. If you listen closely to the song, the fourth bar’s loop pattern is slightly different from time to time. He uses customized loopers, a guitar, and sequence data to make his music unique.

We might witness a looping performance on the next TMNETWORK tour if given the chance.

Listen to “Shivers”:

Listen to “Shape of You”:

Ed Sheeran and Jimmy Build “Shape of You” Using a Looping Station | The Tonight Show:

Listen to this episode on podcast:

TMNETWORK weekly radio program

#15, July 15, 2026 Hosted by Naoto Kine.
For this episode, Kine-san took the lead and introduced his favorite song.

Featured Tracks:

M1:

• Artist: Elton John
• Title: Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)
• Released: 1973

M2:

• Artist: Elton John
• Title: Your Song
• Released: 1970

No introduction is needed for Elton John, as he is a legendary musician, and Kine-san deeply respects him as a pianist as well.

In this episode, several fascinating connections between TM NETWORK and Elton John were discussed:

• You can dance” Inspiration: The TM NETWORK song “You can dance” was inspired by Elton John’s “Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting).” Because of this, when performing the song at Stand 3 Final in 2024, TM NETWORK wore striking sunglasses as an homage.
• “Your Song” Connection: Kine-san also revealed that the title of TM NETWORK’s song “Your Song” was borrowed directly from the title of Elton John’s classic track.

Listen to “Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)”:

Listen to Elton John’s “Your Song”:

Listen to TM NETWORK’s “Your Song”:

Listen to this episode on podcast:

TMNETWORK weekly radio program

#15, July 8, 2026 Hosted by Takashi Utsunomiya
For this episode, Utsu-san took the lead and introduced his favorite song.

Featured Tracks:

M1:

• Artist: Styx
• Title: Boat on the River
• Released: 1979

M2:

• Artist: Styx
• Title: Babe
• Released: 1979

M3:

• Artist: Styx
• Title: Mr. Robot
• Released: 1983

Styx is a progressive rock band known for using synthesizers, formed in Chicago, the US. Even though they are from the US, “Boat on the River” from their album Cornerstone became a hit song in Europe. It features a European folk arrangement with accordion, mandolin, and upright bass.

Utsu-san attended Styx’s Japan tour, Paradise Theatre, in 1982 and enjoyed their theatrical live performance. Utsu-san mashed up Styx’s “Mr. Roboto” and Kumiko Yamashita’s “Sekido Komachi Doki!” for his solo live, “Live Utsu Bar, Soreyuke Kayo Kyoku, 2022”.

Listen to “Boat on the River”:

Listen to “Babe”:

Listen to “Mr. Roboto”:

Listen to this episode on podcast:

TMNETWORK weekly radio program

#14, July 1, 2026 Hosted by Naoto Kine.
For this episode, Kine-san took the lead and introduced his favorite song.

Featured Tracks:

M1:

• Artist: The Beatles
• Title: Let It Be
• Released: 1970

Kine-san first heard “Let It Be” back in junior high via the school broadcast during lunch break. He practiced playing the piano with this song and recalled that this song triggered his playing the piano in his music life.

At the time of recording the TM NETWORK album “Self Control”, Komuro-san asked Kine-san to write a ballad like “Let It Be”. Kine-san was surprised because “Let It Be” is an extremely famous and great song and he felt he could not create a song like it. It turned out that Kine-san borrowed the chord progression from “Let It Be” and wrote “Time Passed Me By”. In fact, this song is one of the most popular ballads among TM NETWORK songs.

Kine-san also shared an episode where he had an opportunity to interview the legend, Paul McCartney, in 1990 during Paul’s Tokyo Dome live tour for Kine-san’s radio program “All Night Nippon”.

Listen to “Let It Be”:

Listen to “Time Passed Me By”:

Listen to this episode on podcast: