Family Book is now my Bitch

Hello hey hello!

September approaches. Kirsten: 1 Boondocks: ZIP!

Kashiwazaki in August is comparable to Florida. Insects of unusual size lurk behind shrubbery. The air is so humid it's like breathing warm blood. And there is precious little to do besides hang out at the beach or...karaoke. However, with astounding powers of bullshit and mime I managed to score a membership card to Family Book DVD/CD rental outlet. YEAH BABY YEAH!

So what is on the roster?

I am the last person to be interested in TM Revolution's new flamboyance or Fukuyama Masaharu's latest whatever. The bands I seek are old or dasai (uncool) in any language. Although I did hear something at karaoke last time that I would have turned my nose up to at home, D-51's No More Cry. Oh god, it was the musical equivalent of a car wreck. I know I must not bounce and yet I cannot turn away...

They can be infectious, these uber-genki bands. And if you're not careful (or sober, at that), addictive.

The Japanese are especially good at career synergy. Most pop stars are models, designers, actors, etc. I am especially interested in the singers who fancy themselves authors. Cocco, for one, has published at least one book and I believe is working on another one of her prose. From Kansai, Kou Machida has been brought to my attention. A punk rock writer creature. His book is titled "Tribulations Avec Mon Singe" which if I am not mistaken means "Trouble with my Monkey"? His album: Nounai Shuffle Kakumei is supposed to be witty, cutting and essentially "punk". The Japanese translation of this concept I am still trying to determine. Fuck that, I'm still trying to get a grip on the English one. ^^ Music aficionado I am not, dudes. Nonetheless, I look forward to listening to Machida rant.

Because I am infatuated with Chiba Yuusuke and the name ASSFORT, I rented my first ROSSO album. Yuusuke has never let me down. I pray ROSSO won't be a gallon of suck. Reviews will follow.

And finally, I scored a copy of Higurashi Aiha's latest album Platonic because Seagull Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her was a good thing and good things come from good things. I say this because I am an optimist and know no better. I didn't mind Aiha's English delivery and her sound didn't go all jangly pop after SSKHKH. Besides that Downy, Miho Hatori, that dude from Supercar and Asa Chang are all listed as collaborators. Can this go wrong?

Possibly. But if I can find more than one song worth the rental fee, I will have considered this yen well spent.

Shite, it's 5. Gotta go!