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Favorite Albums of 2002

At the end of every year, me and a few friends make up lists of our favorite albums of the year, to share with each other. Here’s my list of favorite albums that were released in 2002, all 16 of them, in alphabetical order.

Cinematic Orchestra – EVERY DAY – Very smooth and groovy. Sort of the next iteration of trip-hop.

Erlend Oye – UNREST – Solo album by one half of the Kings of Convenience. More up-tempo with lots of electronic sounds, but still retaining a bit of a folk feel. Grows on you.

Flin Flon – CHICOUTIMI – Damn fine pop record by Mark Robinson, of TeenBeat fame. I also really enjoyed his CANADA’S GREEN HIGHWAYS, released under his name, that came out in 2001.

Hideki Kaji – A LONG WEEKEND – This is another excellent pop album by Kaji, and I think it’s actually become my favorite album of his.

Ladytron – LIGHT & MAGIC – I really got into the electronic, sort of new-wave, sound of this band. Also really enjoyed their first album, 604.

Manabu Iwamura – TEOREMA – Probably my favorite album that has come out of Yasuharu Konishi’s (he of Pizzicato Five) Readymade International label that he started last year. This is such a smooth album, a perfect chillout groove. Everytime I listen to this album I’m teleported, and feel like I’m in this really cool lounge-bar.

Mari Natsuki – LA PAROLE – Another fine Readymade International release, this time by the amazing Mari Natsuki. Imagine French Chanson, but jazzier. She’s in her fifties, and has an amazing raspish voice that serves this kind of material perfectly.

Mellow – Soundtrack to the Film CQ – Like the name of the band says, mellow Air-like easy-listening.

Monsieur Kamayatsu – JE M’APPELLE MONSIEUR – Yet another Readymade International release, this time by the 60+ year old Monsieur Kamayatsu, who was a popular rocker in the 60s. Pretty good stuff, especially the single “Ban Ban Ban”, which is him redoing one of his old hits.

Mount Sims – ULTRA SEX – One of the new electroclash bands that appeared during the year. Good fuzzy electronics, with a catchy beat.

Smokey & Miho – SMOKEY & MIHO – Smokey is Beck’s guitarist, and Miho was one-half of Cibo Matto. Together they do wonderful covers of Brazillian classics. This is a great EP.

Sweet Robots Against the Machine – TOWA TEI – At first I didn’t think I was going to like this album much, as I considered it a bit too dancy, but it really grew on me. Very similar to what Fantastic Plastic Machine has been doing recently.

The Breeders – TITLE TK – This album came out of nowhere for me, as I really wasn’t expecting much. It’s a nice, dirty, under-produced (which is a good think in this case) album.

Thievery Corporation – THE RICHEST MAN IN BABYLON – Doing what they do so well, electronica chillout stuff with a world feel.

Tokyo Panorama Mambo Boys – TWIN PERFECT COLLECTION – This is such a great 2-CD collection of a band from the eighties (I think). Great mambo throughout that just really makes you want to shake your ass. They do a killer mambo version of the Bond theme that lasts barely a minute.

Various Artists – SUBA: TRIBUTO – Something that I picked up in a sales bin for next to nothing, knowing nothing about it, and which was a very pleasant surprised. It’s a tribute to a Brazillian producer (well, he was Croatian, but he worked in Brazil) who did some work with Bebel Gilberto among others, and who was instrumental in creating the new Brazillian sound. He died a few years ago, and this tribute has all sorts of great material.

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Towa Tei

There’s an interesting article on Towa Tei in today’s edition of THE DAILY YOMIURI. I’m a really big fan of the Sweet Robots Against the Machine album he released last year, and I’m definitely looking forward to the remix album that will be coming out in a month or so.

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Garter Belts

The new “in” fashion thing in Japan: garter belts.

Oh, yes.

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Hong Kong Film Awards

winners02Have a look at what the Hong Kong Film Critics Society thought were the best HK films of 2002. Although I haven’t seen all of the films they list, I can say that I did find that their best film, CHINESE ODYSSEY 2002, was a hell of a fun movie.

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Dance Dance Revolution

ddrv_popnfs2You have got to check out these videos of people playing the DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION arcade game. These are Japanese people playing the game at the hardest level, and making it look like it’s nothing.

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Record Shops

You gotta love Tokyo record shops. Yesterday I was in Shibuya and Daikanyama checking out some record ships with my friend Patrick. Before meeting up with me, he was in Harajuku checking out the new Elevator Records shop (previously known as Caprice). In Shibuya, we went to Apres-Midi Selecao, Maximum Joy and Zest, and then in Daikanyama to Bonjour Records. The really nice thing about these shops is that they are so well curated. The goal here is not to stock as much as possible, but rather to present people with an interesting choice of records that are carefully selected. In some of the nicer shops, like Bonjour Records, you’ll find little cards next to every album written by the staff that gives info on the artist and album. I just wish I had more money to spend at these stores.

During the outing I made one purchase, at Maximum Joy, which was the Milky album by Momus and his ex-wife Shazna, TRAVELS WITH A DONKEY. Patrick picked up the new Yukari Fresh single, “Horsey Marie”, which I’m absolutely in love with (I listened to it at least 10 times on my iPod today).

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Work

It’s strange, but I think I’m actually glad to be back at work. With 3 weeks of holidays, plus a first week of work that still gave me 3 days off, I think I was starting to get restless. This week I find myself looking forward to heading out to the schools to teach, and I’m having a pretty good time with the kids too. I have to say, this job can be a good one, and it’s pretty much stress free. How many people can say that they spend their days laughing with kids, and then get paid good money for it. Sure, at times I find myself thinking that I could be doing something more worthwhile, but then again, helping children learn a new language is not such a waste of time. And you know what? I’ve had kids that have stayed with me for quite a few years, and they’re actually capable of a lot now (especially when it comes to comprehension, which is probably the hardest thing to master when you’re trying to learn a language). Makes me feel like I’m doing some good.

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Justin Hall

justinbowl-smI’ve just spent an hour or two reading about Justin Hall. Clicking on his name brings you to a website that describes in great detail all of the experiences he’s had in Japan. He’s a freelance writer who’s even published a little guide on Tokyo (which I’ll probably pick up if I ever see it somewhere) called Just In Tokyo. He also keeps a blog. You should definitely go and spend some time digging in his site for loads of fun and interesting stories (like the story about his visa, which is something that I can definitely see happen, even though I’ve been lucky enough not to have this kind of trouble).

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Japanese Hosts

gakugei-bu

From the Japan Times (click on the link for the full article):

Host superstars Issa Tsurumi and Yuya Mikami (above, left and right) of Kabukicho’s Club Gold use their charm, stamina and common sense to earn small fortunes every month.

Also read about a reporter’s night out at these clubs, as well as an article on a woman’s addiction to these places.

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Exposure

Regarding the free London/Tokyo zine (EXPOSURE) I mentioned the other day, they have a website with many of their articles online.