music and talk and whaddaya no

February 27, 2005

come on back from way out west


Married Friends

Let me begin by congratulating by very good friends Nathan and Misato. They were married this past weekend in Japan. Congratulations, guys! You're very lucky to have each other.

I was in Japan to visit them these past winter holidays, and although I spent 3 weeks there, it was nowhere near enough. I could definitely do with spending more time there. The people: as courteous as you can imagine. Generally quiet, keep to themselves, but stay at their place and you are treated better than family. And, from what I have seen in Tokyo, as numerous as you can imagine. My obsession with the crowds in Tokyo is ongoing. "Dense" doesn't even begin to describe. Walking in the crowd is never difficult or intimidating, though. The food: well, tasty. All of it. Even the fast food places there are gourmet compared to those here in Canada. The places: it goes without saying that all the old castles and temples and shrines are gorgeous, better than imagined. On top of that, it's great that in Kyoto you have shrines in the middle of the mall. A very tranquil stop in the middle of the busy busy malls and streets. In Tokyo, every little side street is full with shops and restaurants. The clutter is beautiful in its own way. I do feel as if I've brought some of the country back with me, even from such a short trip. I'm sure I'll be back someday.

Shugo Tokumaru - Typewriter As part of my travels in Tokyo, I made the obligatory stop at the record stores: Disk Union, Recofan, and Tower Records in Shibuya, supposedly the biggest record store in the world. I usually like to pick up an album whenever I travel somewhere as a memory of the places I visit. So I bought up a couple of records by Japanese artists. One was Super Ae (which is spelled differently depending where you read -- I'm still not sure how to spell it) by the Boredoms. It's phenomenal to say the least, much more substantial than I expected. The other was Night Piece by Shugo Tokumaru. This is truly one of the most singularly stunning albums of last year. It is incredibly unassuming, but given (not too much) time, reveals itself to be a lush, lovely, truly unique point of view. Although it is said that Tokumaru's primary influence is Brian Wilson, there is definitely much more going on here. But, as with Wilson's best work, everything is exactly in its right place within these songs, and every song has its own distinct character. I have no idea what the lyrics mean, but I would really like to find out (hint hint). This track, "Typewriter", is near the middle of the all-too-short-but-exactly-what-you-need 23-minute album, and is probably my favourite, but not by much. (You can purchase it at Tonevendor)
Posted by: Rob / 10:49 1 wonderous examples of witty banter

February 16, 2005

from start to...


Welcome to stuck in the sun.

So this is my first entry, and accordingly, here is the description of what I want to do with it.

Talk - I'll talk and comment about everyday things, from film, to politics, to annoyances, to pleasures, and whatever else. But don't worry: I will try not to bore you to death with the mundane intricacies of my daily life. But if there's something I want to say here, I'll say it.

Music - It's not the only thing that's important to me, of course, but it is high high up there. So yes, I'll talk about it, discuss it, obsess over it. It will most definitely be a central part of this blog, just as it is so central to my daily life. I intend to provide links to music I am listening to now, or that I spontaneously feel should be listened to. I'll sometimes link the subject of my entry to the music, sometimes not. I am not (as of now) equipped to the extent of other fantastic blogs and sites (see links) in providing the newest, rarest, most-hyped tracks available. I will post songs that do it for me at the time, trying to stay away from the ultra-popular stuff, 'cause you've heard them already, or they are easy enough to hear. I'll hopefully be getting mp3s from great bands that I happen to know who deserve to be heard. This is done out of love of music and not for any gain whatoever, and they will only be available for a short time.

I'm looking forward to seeing this site evolve over time and see where it goes. I welcome and appreciate any comments on anything I post on here, or whatever else.

So, here is the first song:

Sons and Daughters - Start to End   I didn't want to put too much thought into this, otherwise it would have taken me forever to choose. It's a good song from a good band that is up and coming and not afraid to use their accents; most of all, the title works for this first post. (You can purchase it at Domino USA)

See you soon.
Posted by: Rob / 22:16 1 wonderous examples of witty banter