An off-white Sony Walkman WM-22 with a white printed cassette inside, next to the outer sleeve of Taeko Ohnuki’s Sunshower cassette, with the inner liner unfolded underneath, showing b&w photos of the artist plus Ryuichi Sakamoto and others from the studio.
Saturday afternoon with Taeko Ohnuki’s Sunshower — a fave city pop treat and comfortingly toasty on tape.
One of the UK's very best bands and I won't hear otherwise.
One of my very favourite bands. Caught them live many times — mostly with The Cure but also a couple wonderful solo acoustic shows. Agree they've always had something special, but the last album took things up a level and the new songs are stunning. We've got tickets for the upcoming Brudenell show.
One for fellow spoolers: WalkmanLand is a database of all 80s/90s portable cassette players (found via @simplebits.com's fine newsletter). My WM-22 still outperforms any modern alternatives and it's lovely to get this much detail. walkman.land/sony/wm-22
The ice hockey has been thrilling from day one. Crazy second period today; me and my Canadian in bits hoping for a win after the devastating women’s final.
Ryuichi Sakamoto's Opus, his final performance on 4xLP box set, 2024 Japanese edition. Photographed on wooden floor with all four inner sleeves showing black and white photos of the performance.
Found a couple of hours to give this the attention it deserves. Sometimes it’s too much: knowing it’s the last time he’ll play these songs, hearing him struggle for breath. And yet some of his most beautiful pieces have never sounded so good.
Looking up at the amazing grey and yellow Tower Records building from street level Shibuya.
Me reflected in the window of Ella Records, Hatagaya, with Technics deck and amp in foreground, records and reflected street behind.
A bright yellow handmade sign for Flash Disk Ranch at the bottom of the stairs on the street in Shimokita.
On an underground street, a neon sign reads Siam Time and lots of bins holding citypop records are stacked below, with eight albums displayed on a stand in the foreground.
…bought from (L-R) Tower Vinyl, Ella Records, Flash Disk Ranch and Siam Time, plus Waltz and Coconuts Disk. I skipped Disk Union and Kankyo because I’d already exceeded my packing (and spending) limit.
Don't go to Japan!
Non-Japanese artists, clockwise: Japan, Tin Drum; David Sylvian, Brilliant Trees; Rockin’ On magazine, Radiohead cover; Fleet Foxes, Crack-Up cassette; Kate Bush, Hounds of Love cassette; Kate Bush, The Kick Inside 1978 Japan pressing; Radiohead, Kid A with Japanese obi.
City Pop, clockwise: Toshiki Kadomatsu, Touch & Go; Tatsuro Yamashita, Ride on Time; Mariya Takeuchi, Request; Akiko Yano, Oh Hisse Oh Hisse; Akiko Yano, Ai Ga Nakuchane; Shigeru Suzuki, Band Wagon cassette; Tatsuro Yamashita, Circus Town.
Ryuichi Sakamoto, clockwise: Thousand Knives of, Async, Opus 4 x LP box set 2024 Japanese edition; two magazine specials.
Yellow Magic Orchestra, clockwise: debut album, Japanese edition; Solid State Survivor; Public Pressure.
Good haul from this Tokyo trip — focused on classic 70s/80s city pop and YMO/Sakamoto, but couldn’t resist the 1978 Japan pressing of The Kick Inside, a 1985 Hounds of Love tape, and that Kid A obi. (See ALT text for details)
Holding a copy of Site Nonsite’s Tokyo EP casssette against blue sky with the Skytree and column blossom in the frame
Returning a nonsite to its site.
Vinyl, magazines, and stickers from this trip.
Ryuichi Sakamoto’s Fairlight CMI, as featured in the Tokyo Melody film.
Illuminated Tokyo Melody film poster at 109 Cinemas Shibuya.
Fairlight data samples on floppy disks and other materials on display in a metal case.
Many Sakamoto moments on this trip. Watched the Tokyo Melody 4K restoration and also got up close with his Fairlight CMI. The highlight was an afternoon at Sakamoto Library (secret location, strictly no photos). Quietly reading a book that I know he cherished and finding his pen notes was moving.
Black Yamaha upright piano with mixer, microphones, laptop and chair in a tiny studio.
Spent the day re-recording software piano parts on a lovely Yamaha YU-11 in a tiny Harajuku studio — then went record shopping.
I’ve eased right back in, so will you. Yeah, Glow World was a low-key release, never streaming. All the tracks are similar but what a vibe. It’s a bit “Bladerunner ambient” because it fizzes like that rain-soaked market where Deckard eats noodles. Tokyo on cover but static and hum feels more Osaka.
My photo of Hakata Tenjin Ramen, Shinjuku, taken this evening.
The cover of Rod Modell & Taka Noda’s Glow World, featuring the ramen bar illuminated with doors open on a hot night.
Visited the ramen bar featured on the cover of Rod Modell & Taka Noda’s ambient masterpiece Glow World. (Hat tip to my old friend Patrick Lauke for sharing this location: Hakata Tenjin Ramen, Shinjuku.)
Tokyo Skytree
It’s been almost eight years (which is eight years too long) and I’m so excited to be back 🇯🇵
Fun update: I made an app over the holiday break!
It’s called Unstream: Find your favorite music on alternative platforms, directly support the artists you love, and move off streaming.
You can check it out here, at a URL I still find amusing: unstream.stream
#indiemusic #musicsky #bandcamp
Yep, that’s the one. I shared this earlier — you might appreciate… bsky.app/profile/site...
Bowie's passing really hit me a year later, at X Japan's Wembley Arena show, when rock guitarist Sugizo reappeared alone in the Earthling coat with a violin and this happened. Sat in the front row, I was overwhelmed by memories of my dad and how Bowie soundtracked our life, and I cried buckets.
Here’s my 22nd annual music roundup — bigger and more ridiculously obsessive than ever. colly.com/journal/twen...
✨ Stars of the Lid Forever (starsofthelidforever.com)
Christmas update! I’ve just published 8 new shows, bringing our total to 25 🙌
Saint-Jean-Baptiste au Béguinage,
Nottingham Contemporary
St John-at-Hackney
Le Poisson Rouge
Les Voûtes, Paris
St Giles in the Fields
St Mary's Church Philadelphia
Album cover for 'Blackstar' by David Bowie superimposed with the words '52 Albums To Shape A Soul : #52'
Thank you so much for all the support you've shown for this series throughout the year. Its meant a great deal.
For the final edition. The series started with David Bowie. It was always going to end with him too.
52 Albums To Shape A Soul - Part 52
🖤⚡x
lippykidmusic.substack.com/p/52-albums-...
bsky.app/profile/site...
She’s a legend, "the Japanese Kate Bush" that predates Kate Bush, toured with YMO (was later married to Sakamoto). My fave of hers is the joyous 7 O'Clock in Tokyo live album (1978, recently reissued) with an all-star band.
Akiko’s joyful solo performance was followed by a fierce quintet made up of tenor sax legend Kosuke Mine (love his First album), expressive pianist Fumio Itabashi, dynamic drummer Takeo Moriyama, genre-hopping bassist Takashi Sugawa, and the alto sax of Miyuki Moriya. Top night.
Signed copy of Akiko Yano’s Iroha Ni Konpeitou album.
I never expected to see Akiko Yano play live, let alone briefly meet her and get an album signed. Good fortune to discover that the closing night of the London Jazz Festival at The Barbican was happening the day after Radiohead, so we stayed in London for it. She’s amazing.
Yet to come down from last night’s Radiohead gig. We were lucky to get codes and decided we’d stump for vip tickets if that’s all there was, and got front row. I’ve seen them several times, including Glasto ‘97, but last night was perfect, the entire band giving everything. Just… wow. Here’s Jonny…
I love this so much. Jon's side project is a wonderful example of what it means to really love music and how rewarding it is to be a fan.
Shocked about Mani. Forever grateful that my teens aligned with the rise of the Roses' in 1988-90, when the summers went on forever. Here's a love letter I wrote back in 2012. colly.com/journal/the-...
