On the playlist, or Japan booty (as in treasure, not call)

(Holidailies Ed. note: "On the playlist" is a repeating column that gives brief reviews of what has been in rotation on my media player.)

In all honesty, everything I bought in Japan was something I previewed through the Evil Sharing Networks. I wanted to make sure if I were going to live with an album during my daily commutes, it would be something worth 3,000 or so yen.

In the months preceding the trip itself, I pretty much stopped buying CDs. Waterloo Records even had their pre-holiday season storewide sale, and the only thing I bought was a Kate Bush album. I have, however, been milking my eMusic quotas for all their worth.

If you think this list is big, note the last time I did this kind of entry was back in August, so all this stuff has been spread out over three months. It still does look like a lot, though.

  • Alfred Schnittke, Symphony No. 4/Requiem I’m not big on orchestral works, so I begin this exploration of Schnittke’s larger forms with some trepidation.
  • Anton Webern, Complete Works (Pierre Boulez, conductor) Huh. Maybe I went too far with trying to explore the Webern.
  • Annie Lennox, Diva When it was released, I thought Diva was overrated, and listening to it again, I still don’t think it’s the watershed everyone claims it is. I no longer think it’s totally bad, however.
  • ART-SCHOOL, 14souls If you haven’t remembered anything after LOVE/HATE, this album doesn’t seem to help matters.
  • avengers in sci-fi, SCIENCE ROCK I liked avengers in sci-fi when I saw them at SXSW, but I could kind of tell it wouldn’t be a long-term fan relationship.
  • BLEACH, bleachstone Probably the most tuneful album this Okinawan hardcore trio has produced since its self-titled third album. So sad it’s their last.
  • Bruce Brubaker, Time Curve: Music of Philip Glass and William Duckworth Not sure the works on this album are as memorable as Brubaker’s previous albums.
  • Cocco, Cocco-san no Daidokoro At this point, I’m still listening to Cocco because her voice is wonderful, but she’s so mellowed out now.
  • Dmitri Shostakovich, 24 Preludes and Fugues (Konstantin Scherbakov, piano) Not sure why I was expecting something more radical than what I heard.
  • Do As Infinity, ETERNAL FLAME I was hoping the clarity of Van Tomiko’s second studio album, Van., would find its way to this Do As Infinity reunion album, but that is not the case.
  • Duran Duran, Rio (2-CD Collector’s Edition) It’s so, so nice to hear the US remix of this album, the one from my youth, but the demos are pretty revelatory as well.
  • Exposé, Exposure Surprisingly enduring for an ’80s dance album, and I’m not even talking about the four big singles.
  • FLiP, Kanshou Chuudoku Not sure if it’s budget or a lack of material that keeps FLiP from recording a full album, but this second mini-album is no slouch next to the band’s 6-song debut.
  • Hem, Twelfth Night Incredibly incidental.
  • Hüsker Dü, New Day Rising, Flip Your Wig and Metal Circus I made the mistake of using Zen Arcade as my introduction to the Hüsker Dü oeuvre, but I really should have started with New Day Rising.
  • Hyakkei, Okurimono I forget I’m listening to a Japanese post-rock trio, instead thinking I’m listening to Bill Frisell.
  • KAREN, sunday girl in silence Another sleeper from KAREN.
  • Kate Bush, The Red Shoes Time doesn’t seem to be kind to the critical reception of this album, but I find it far more engaging than The Sensual World.
  • LEO Imai, CITY FOLK As much as I’ve liked Imai’s major label output so far, this independent debut finds him a lot funkier and more adventurous in his self-described odd mix of Kylie Minogue and Black Sabbath.
  • Maserati, Inventions for the New Season The recordings don’t really do this band justice, and wow — RIP Jerry Fuchs.
  • My Bloody Valentine, Loveless I can understand why people lose their shit over this album, but I can’t say I’m entirely moved.
  • Nirvana, Bleach (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) Oh, thank you for the remaster!
  • Onitsuka Chihiro, DOROTHY Onitsuka Chihiro does not have a rock ‘n’ roll voice, but I love the fact she tries.
  • Philip Glass, Music in Fifths/Two Pages I had two credits left on my eMusic account.
  • Shiina Ringo, MoRA Box Dammit, I should have gotten this when it came out last year. The remastering of Shiina’s albums on this limited edition set are amazing. Please can haz individual reissuez? KTHX.
  • The Dukes of the Stratosphear, Chips from the Chocolate Fireball A podcast Andy Partridge did with John Leckie spurred me to get this compilation, finally.
  • The Stone Roses, The Stone Roses It took me a few listens to fathom this album because it is way, way British.
  • U2, The Unforgettable Fire (Remastered) I’m slowly reaching the conclusion that despite the title, this album kind of is forgettable.
  • UA, ATTA Sorry, folks, she’s abandoned the hooks again.
  • VOLA & THE ORIENTAL MACHINE, SA-KA-NA ELECTRIC DEVICE I’m starting to miss Aoki Yutaka as well now.