MUSIC!!!

I haven't phyiscally purchased music in a long long time. Ever since I got my itunes account, I sort of thought buying cd's was pointless. Specially since once they are on my computer and ipod(s) I never touch them again. Plus finding a place to store them is a pain in the ass too. I already have enough trouble with my crazy dvd collection. But today I had the day off and decided to hit the HMV across from where I'm staying in Tokyo. The joys of browsing the aisles of racks looking for something to pique my interest suddenly came back to me and I went crazy. This first CD was in the Japanese indie section and after listening to the first track on the listening station I threw it in my basket. Can't understand anything in the jacket but I think it's a live session with these two rockabilly bands. The Shell Rockets wear old skool biker jackets and The Specters wear mod suits. There are a couple of Elvis covers but mostly original stuff, all in Japanese.

Bloodest Saxophone. I love the name of this band. They are another old skoll 50's rock revival band with two Saxophones and matching suits with slicked up hair. Miso Soup Booghttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifie is the best song on the album. They do a great version of Tequila too.
The BlueHerbare heavies in the underground Japanese hip-hop scene. My friend Kenya highly reccomended me to give them a listen. Although I can't understand the lyrics, they spit them deep and dark. This album's got a certain cinematic element to it. A nice alternative to all the Hip-Pop crap out there today.

The ZooBombs. This album rocks hard and is probably the best find of the day. This recording is from a furious live gig in Toronto. They play rock like it was meant to be. The liner claims they are one of the best live bands in the world today. A hefty statement to make but after a listen I think I might have to agree. They're playing in Yokohama soon!
I got this album just for a laugh. An orthodox Jew singing reggae/dub? Turns out homeboy's got serious skillz, a silky voice and a tight band to back him up. Watching him live must be a trip. This recording is from a live session from an Austin, Texas gig. Check out his website he's got some interesting ideas about his approach to music.
Ever buy an album just because of the cover? I used to do that all the time, sometimes you get a golden egg and sometimes you get shit. In this case I got the egg. The cover reminded me of Portland, Oregon. I lived there for a year back in college and have always liked the place. Turns out this is probably Helsinki, Finland where the three Stance Brothers are from. This album is full of funky new skool jazz. Stuff that makes your head bob. Isiah Stance gets super groovy on the vibes.
And last but not least. Miles Davis is probably my all time favorite musician and this set of recordings with John Coltrane as part of the Miles Davis Quintet is seminal in the history of Jazz. They're alternating solos feed so beautifully together. Coltrane, a relative no name at the time, blew up and went his own way after this time spent developing his style with Miles. Freddie Freeloader, So What, Blue in Green, all hands down classics are included here of course. The book that came with this box includes written testaments about how this group came to be and how Davis hustled Colombia records to take him on. This six disc set has got some of the best jazz ever recorded.
It'll probably be a long time before I go out and buy CD's again but I'm pretty proud of the booty I scored today.