Midaregami

Stupid subject line, I know. Here are two songs, both Japanese, both with a similar manic hoedown feel. They’re also both the final tracks from their respective albums. The GO one is off the NEW album, which Miss J got for me while she was in Seattle. It’s a departure for them. I love how “Otona no Himitsu” switches from major to minor and back with reckless abandon.

And the Bump of Chicken (ugh) song? Well, it’s just too catchy not to like.

• GO!GO!7188, Otona no Himitsu, from “Ryuuzetsuran”
• Bump of Chicken, Dandelion, from “Jupiter”

Quruli is a real conundrum for me. Each of their albums is very different from the others. This one’s called “Team Rock”—their foray into electronica. Here’s track one.

• Quruli, TEAM ROCK, from “Team Rock”

And now for something completely funky. Galactic is the notional heir to The Meters, and features Stanton Moore on the drums. The New Orleans street beat he plays in this tune stymies me to this day, and I’ve been working at it on and off for three years. It’s hip—very hip.

• Galactic, Baker’s Dozen, from “Late for the Future”

This is the first Spitz song I really fell in love with. As it turned out, it was the first of many. These guys seem kind of bland and saccharine until you realize that their melodies are divinely inspired. Then they tend to make you, y’know, cry.

• Houkiboshi

This is a very nostalgic piece for me; I can’t listen to it (or the rest of the album) too much; my melancholic disposition is awfully vulnerable to this sort of thing. Also, I expect that I will be laughed out of the notional club for liking something so, you know, mellow. To those of you laughing: shut up and listen to that voice. Just listen. Thank you.

• Orange Pekoe, Adagio, from “Organic Plastic Music”

Life got you down? Had to get up at 3 AM one too many times? Snarky graduate schools attempting to erode your tenuous sense of direction and meaning in life? Do what Judy and Mary does: Rock out, and pray to Jesus.

• Judy and Mary, Jesus! Jesus!, from “Pop Life”

I have been going through the CDs of my youth, most of which are pretty embarrassing, but some of which are standing the tests of time and (slowly) broadening horizons.

Take this one, from The Mermen: Epic, reverbelicious guitar music perfect for (say) careening down the slopes of a remote Andean peak on your flaming snowboard.

• The Mermen, Slipping The Glimpse, from “Songs of the Cows.”

Upgraded to Movable Type 3. It was harder than it should have been. There may still be some residual problems, but (hopefully) nothing that will show up on the front end.

It was really stressful. When the site rebuilt sucessfully, some fun music played. As MC Solaar put it: Avec des la la la.

• Dave Grusin, Ascension To Virginity, from the Ocean’s Twelve soundtrack

Today’s genre: Getaway music. The second album from Pe’z, “Kiwamari Zuki” is even more manic and weird than their first one. The world needs more groups that describe themselves with terms like “Samurai Jazz Warriors.” This track, “T.K.O.,” has a subtitle that translates as “That’s a bit fast, don’t you think?”

Oh yeah.

(This is Hiizumi’s other band. You know, the freaky kid behind the keys in Tokyo Jihen.)

• T.K.O.

Before I went on my pink-cotton-candy-flavored Flaming Lips binge, I’d heard producer Dave Friedmann’s work elsewhere—he was behind the board for the raucous Japanese group Number Girl. These guys are nuts, all metallic-tasting blood and frustration. The Pixies, but Japanese and angrier.

NUM-HEAVYMETALLIC is track one from the album of the same title, and although it has kind of a kitschy Japanned melody hook-ish thing going on, I think it works. Oh, who am I kidding, I’m a total sucker for this sort of thing. Also, it’s spooky.

• NUM-HEAVYMETALLIC