I know it is interesting Mr P - But what does it mean ? ? ?
He Says:
Yes, it’s Hawaii time ! As you may have gathered I am a bit of a fan, having , in the mid 90s, spent more than is entirely sensible or sane on several trips to these lovely tropical islands. Today, children, we are going to concentrate on the music of this blessed ( and cursed a bit too) land. My thesis is that Hawaiians have played a bigger role in the development of our music than most people realise. Several elements that we regard as traditional American things acutally developed way out in the Pacific in the days when Hawaii was still an ( sort of ) independent state. Not least guitar based music, slide guitar, “Slack key” tuning and, by extension, electric guitars ( the first electrics were slide guitars).
So onwards we go , plunging forth like an experienced surfer into the (musical) waves ( doest that work as a metaphor ? I’m not sure it does…)
She Says:
I really do not know very much about Hawaiian Music but I had a lot of fun discovering things I wanted to share with everyone. The variety of things going on in Hawaii was really surprising, and it I think the mix of US and Pacific and Asian influences with traditional influences also make this a very interesting place to visit on our travels. It is going be a lot of fun ! ! ! Continue reading →
" Do you really think we will find a punk band in China Mr P ? "
He Says:
The Big C. Perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise that, as the country opens, up the music scene has begun to blossom. Shanghai was always a bit of a “show town”, the San Francisco of the east and it’s here that the indie scene really seems to flourish. Still early days, apparently the distribution and manufacturing systems aren’t really geared up for the small, independently produced labels but this appears to be changing and there’s a real wealth of great music coming out of China now.
She Says:
China ! ! ! Of course rock music in its different forms has a very short history in China. It is really only since about 2000 that rock bands could form and play without state approval. And it ha been a long and hard road for many of them. It is easy to forget the price paid by some musicians for their art and courage. Of course we want to celebrate the great things that are happening now, but we also will humbly acknowledge a true hero.
Most people associate Korea with really well produced, totally professional and internationally successful K-pop boy bands and girl groups. But there is a really exciting alternative music scene and in this post we want to share some of the music by our favorite Korean punk and Indie bands.
He says:
Yes. In the “man eat dog” world of Korean music it’s the massed ranks of synchronised girlie bands that have garnered most attention, but there is a small but significant “underground” scene too. What strikes me here is the sheer “professionalism” of the tracks. Clearly helped by advances in technology, even the scrattiest of punk bands can now produce a decent sounding ( and looking) recording.
Taiwanese popular music was stuck in a rut for a long time during the period of military rule in Taiwan. The army censored a lot of music and artistic expression of all types, but when Military Rule ended in 1986 censorship and government control of music ended and Taiwan began to catch up quickly in producing great bands and music as well as art, drama and films. Taiwan is now a fascinating place culturally and a creative hub in Asia.
Pairubu and I wanted to share with you some of the wide variety of music that is being made in Taiwan. We will follow our usual he said – she said format. Each of us has chosen three tracks and we will say a few words about our track and then the other will comment also.
Japan is a country where Punk is very popular and vibrant punk scene exists with many clubs hosting Punk concerts and you can see new bands and some of the old bands every weekend in here in Tokyo and the major cities.
Pairubu and I wanted to share some of our favourite Japanese punk tracks with you and so we decided to produce this joint post. We will follow a He said – She said format. So there will be a track from each of us with a brief discussion of the track by the person who chose it and also each of us also commenting on the other’s selection.
Pairubu – Bolshie – Robot in Hospital
He said
This is the earliest example on offer, from ( I think) 1979 and very much “of it’s time”. I would, perhaps, class this as “post punk” in that it has the elements that went on to , more or less, define that genre. The bass is prominent and the guitar used as much as “decoration” as to drive the song. I’m not totally sure but it sounds like this is a live recording which is pretty good for the time. And it’s got robots. What more do you want?
She said
This was recorded live in January 21 1979 at Shinjuku Reich as part of the Tokyo Rockers Second Generation event but I can not find out anything about the band at all. I love this track, I thought it was really direct and simple and accessible and it is the type of track you know will have everyone in the room jumping up and down ! ! !
Sakura – Gauze – Kao O Aratte Denaoshite Koi(Go and wash your face then come back)
She said
I like Gauze very much as they are what I think of as typical punk. They are a great old time punk band that formed in 1981 and are still playing and making records ! ! ! This song is from 1997 and was released as a 12 inch single. It is just so energetic ! ! ! They just make you want to shout along and punch in the air when they say “Kao O Aratte – – Denaoshite Koi ! ! ! ” It is just so much fun I think so ! ! !
He said
I’d class this under “hardcore”, it’s a bit “heavier” and more serious in delivery than some of the others ( and none the worse for that). A definite “shout along with” number.
Pairubu – The Glash- I’ve got a gun (ch3)
He said
An interesting one this. I’ve read, on the web, that they were a “joke” band but , to me, they have managed, perhaps inadvertently, to capture the true “spirit of 76” better than any of the others here. There is a level of D.I.Y incompetence and a “let’s put on the show right here” element that really speaks to me. I saw loads of bands who played music just like this BITD and still recall fondly that time of spit, safety pins, amphetamines and noise.
She said
This is a track from self made EP – Natural Born Punks and was released in 1993. This is a very rare record actually. It is actually completely home made as it was recorded in the band house and released on their own label. I think it is unfair to call them a joke band, they were simply enthusiastic amateurs and friends who put out their own record. I like it very much and it really is the spirit of punk ! ! !
Sakura – Stance Punks – Kuroi būtsu(Black Boots)
She said
How can you have a post about Japanese punk and not have the Blue Hearts? Well you just have Stance Punks instead ! ! ! This band were formed in 1999 and are really very influenced by the Blue Hearts and have a very similar style. I like this track as it is not so raw as Mr P choices but it is not overproduced. I am sure you also thought it was going to be a version of “My Way” when you heard the first few minutes ! ! ! I like punk when it is not too serious and this is a fun track about one of the typical punk items of clothing, Black Boots, and how much pleasure they give the owner ! ! !
He said
The Blue Hearts influence runs deep here ( even down to the singers actions) which is not a bad thing, if you’re going to “pay tribute” to a band why not go for one of the greats. I shall be looking out for more by this band.
Pairubu – Booted Cocks- For oneself. (Second version as requested by SpottedRichard)
He Said
A marvelous piece of “oiness” from one of the better known bands ( outside of Japan). They even, I believe, had some stuff released over here. This one interests me because of it’s “simple complexity”. It’s changes in pace and feel are quite “prog” ( for a punk band) . It’s like jigsaw, a big, noisy jigsaw put together by shouty me ( and one lady). It is, I feel , pretty irrisistable in it’s martial glory. Like being stamped on by size 10 Doc Martens but musically.
She said
I do not know very much about this band but the track is from the 2004 début album For Oneself. I like the keyboard in this track as I think it fills the arrangement up and makes it more sophisticated somehow. I also think there is like a Celtic influence in this track that I like very much. I think it just drives along and makes you want to shout OI!
Sakura – The Discocks – Long Live Oi!
She said
I am sure you were all singing “One two three – I love Oi” before the end of the track ! ! ! The Discocks are one my favourite punk bands. They formed in 1992 but split in 1998 but reformed with a different line up in 2003. This track is from 1997 EP Knock Out and so is the original band. I think this track is has great energy and is a lot of fun. When ever I hear this track I can not stop sing along with it ! ! !
He said
What a lot of cocks there are in the Japanese punk scene ! Discocks, Booted Cocks even Cockney Cocks ! You can’t go wrong with the Discocks, You know exactly what you are going to get. Basic, shouty “Oi” with bundles of attitude.
We Say
Can we ask you to pause for a moment and gape in wide eyed wonder at just what this post represents. At no other time in the history of mankind would it have been possible for someone in Tokyo and someone in a tumbledown shack in Gloucestershire to have cooperated in this way. Isn’t the Internet the most awesome of things ?
We would both like to thank you very much for reading the post and we hope you enjoyed it and found it interesting.
Yes! That’s right, may I present to you the final ever edition of 30MOT.
Has some terrible tragedy befallen your 6th favourite ‘Spill-based podcast?
Has your humble narrator stormed off in a huff due to some unnamed and ill-perceived slight?
Well, you’ll just have to listen to find out!
Thanks to anyone who has ever listened to an edition of 30MOT, every one was a lot of fun to make and present to you all!
Enjoy!
P.S. For anyone who downloads from Dropbox to listen on their iPod, hopefully, if the images survive the transition to DB, this should be a specially enhanced Podcast with random pictures and some photos of me gormlessly brandishing vinyl and attempting (and failing miserably!) to match my sartorial elegance to the tone of the tune being spun!
“I’m a sprightly 31 years of age, living in Tokyo with my lovely Japanese wife, a child of grunge and Britpop, I now listen to a wide wide range of stuff (except Jazz and classical – but i’m willing to give ’em a try) my specialist subjects (if this were mastermind) would be obscure and forgotten Britpop never-were’s, and the current US psychedelic drone underground which I love to bits. This week i’ve been listening to a LOT of Metallica!”
This is a (rather embarrassing) extract from my original e-mail to Blimpy upon becoming a Spiller.Well, I was true to my word, although I haven’t gone into classical territory yet. Before joining the Spill I had never, not once, deliberately listened to any jazz at all. Zero. Zilch. Nada. But along came Radio Abahachi and a small spark was lit, the timing of it was combined with an unexplained urge that made me get Miles Davis’ “Live at Fillmore East” CD out of the library.
I wasn’t hooked instantly, but I found something that definitely connected and I made a silent promise to try to find out more about the mystery that was “jazz”. I kept my eyes and ears open to any mention of jazz on RR and the ‘Spill and quietly went about investigating the weird and wonderful names via the wonder of Wikipedia.
I still didn’t really know where to start with such a big genre, so I headed to the shop in the picture which is 3 storeys (+ a seperate all vinyl floor) of nothing but jazz. This first visit I didn’t buy anything, but spent about a hour and a half in the shop methodically going through each section and familiarising myself with the exotic titles, names, record labels and getting to grips with the whole aesthetic; colours, fonts, style; (mostly) young (mostly) black men looking improbably cool.
The next time I went back, I picked up a copy of Ornette Coleman’s “The Shape Of Jazz To Come”, this was a calculated purchase based upon my background reading thus far, I was looking for the link between the improvised noise of Lightning Bolt and the musicality of Jazz . I excitedly took it home and dropped the needle (every jazz album i’ve bought so far has been on secondhand vinyl, mostly for under a fiver, not counting the odd download and the Blue Note compilation albums I got from the library), readying myself for the anarchy and chaos I had read about…..it didn’t come, but I did discover a beautifully mournful sound that made me make another personal pledge to buy one jazz album a month, just to keep the interest up and hopefully discover some new tunes.
I stuck with this for a couple of months, but around March or April after getting some great tips from a jazz-lovin’ friend in Canada, it started to snowball and I got bitten by the jazz bug! The classics (and not so classic) came thick and fast; Duke Ellington (thanks Goneforeign) Cannonball Adderly (cheers nilpferd), Sonny Rollins, Wynton Kelly, anything and everything on Germany’s FMP Records and soon I was buying not one, but three or four jazz albums a month!
My jazz collection, has then, ballooned from zero to a small collection (it would have been at least double what it is if it hadn’t been a credit crunched year). I still remain a complete sophist in this vast and complex ocean, but I am enjoying the journey so far and am looking forward to the next turn. Any tips and recommendations from all you knowledgeable jazzers out there are always welcome and will be greeted with grateful enthusiasm.
Here is just a small selection of some of the wonderful music I have discovered over the past year that has caught my ear and taught me to re-evaluate the way I listen to music.
**Pre-posting Edit** After writing all of the above I have decided (possibly against my better judgement!) to turn the playlist into a full on podcast, maybe the journey needs to be explained in a little more detail….here goes my no doubt poor attempt…….
I found a had an hour or two spare this afternoon so I decided to hastily put together an idea that had been brewing in my head for a while, which was to do a podcast dedicated entirely to METAL!
Now, I know I may not be the likeliest candidate to attempt such an enterprise and I would never claim to be any kind of authority on the genre (I defer to DsD’s, Kalyr’s and others’ superior knowledge each time) but there are certain strands of metal that I do love (very different strands to that of the aforementioned experts i’m sure!) and I felt it was a bit of an untold story.
So, raise the “devil horn” salute and prepare to wake up tomorrow with a throbbing bangover!!
Enjoy!
p.s. apologies for the rushed nature of the whole thing and the hissing noise in the background, I think it must have been the cicadas outside (seriously!).
p.p.s. Warning!! Contains strong language. Not out of choice of course, just in the reading of band names and song titles.
p.p.p.s. I should have mentioned that I don’t approve in any way of the lyrics and sentiment of the last track in part 1, I wanted to play it as an example of how the genre had lost any positive political force and had just become a contest to be the most offensive and extreme.
Taking advantage of the current strong yen, I finally got the majority of the rest of my treasured record collection (well, the vinyl part anyway) shipped over last week.
The records had lain dormant in my brother’s bedroom for the last 7 years, untouched, un-played but by no means unloved. To commemorate my tearful re-union with said pieces of wax, I was going to do a normal ‘Spill post. But as I became lost in the reminisces (I know, I know it’s only 7 years!), I thought it would be fun to expand it into a full podcast and share a few memories.
All tracks were purchased (but not necessarily released) between 1998 and 2002, when I was living a stone’s throw away from the beautiful piece of architecture you can see at the top of this post.
As usual, comments and criticisms are all welcome.
N.B. I’ve put it on Boxstr and in Dropbox, and i’ve also put the individual tracks into Dropbox too. This does spoil the surprise a bit, but whenever I listen to other people’s podcasts there are always a few tracks that i’d like to have for myself, so I thought i’d drop ’em in for whoever wants them.
He Says: 
She Says:
The 'Spill 