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Andrew Fisher
18-08-2005, 02:54 PM
This maybe a little too off track for any kind of response (like the post saying what revs you changed up at - a bit personal except for those of us lucky Beat owners who always change up at exactly 7249 rpm), but after the coins found in vehicle post, I was wondering if anyone had any wild Japanese music that played in a meaningful way in their car.

I've only ever played two CDs of Japanese origin in my Beat, so I thought I'd share them with you.

Satori by Flower Travellin' Band, from 1971 was made in Japan, but sounds like it came from Wolverhampton just as 1969 turned into 1970. This is highly rated by some (Julian Cope gives it a very glowing review on his website), but to me sounds pretty leaden and uninspired. But it is quite chunky greebo psycho raga blues type stuff. There is a moment just at 8 minutes into Satori part 4 when you think 'no surely they're not going to pull _that_ one out to its logical conclusion too' and it's quite funny and touching, but generally, despite a sublime sleeve barely visible on the CD, I wouldn't recommend it much.

Unlike Fantasma by Cornelius from 1996. This guy is something of a renaissance man in Japan with a design company and fahion house etc, and he did seventeen hundred records or something just in Japan before this was released 'to the world', and he has done 'the Point' since but look as hard as I could I couldn't find it ('(Absolutely no) Point' would be a better title), but this is actually a fantastic CD and perfectly matched for your Beat (imho).

It's an all of them flow into each other job starting with a can being opened and ending with a world-weary sigh, but in between there are Beach Boys bits, cartoons and obligatory Planet of the Apes references, nods to the Clash, garage bands and Jesus and Mary Chain, and a feeling of someone playing around in the studio having fun and actually making somethign worthwhile. It makes for very jolly driving music, silly but not totally.

He's described as 'the Japanese Beck', but that doesn't quite make the nut.

What have you?

Jennifer
18-08-2005, 04:20 PM
I listen to mainly Ayumi Hamasaki and Yukie Nakama in my borrowed beat.

smartbeat
23-04-2006, 05:25 PM
Try "Towa Tei" sound museum
very funky :)