The weblog you see now did not really exist till 2005.
The previous incarnation of Musicwhore.org was far more extensive, remnants of which can be found over at the archive. I did a lot of data entry for that site, developed the entire administrative backend and wrote all the content. The site had gotten somewhat popular, and I could have asked for more help to expand.
At the same time, all the Japanese music coverage pigeonholed the site. I had wanted it to reflect my own music tastes, and that was getting lost. So in 2004, I expanded the editorial scope of the site to include more catalog and classical releases. (Sound familiar?) It would be another 3/4 of a year before the weblog you read now was launched.
This list shows a shift in my listening. The Japanese titles started to make room for more domestic acts, a growing number indie in nature. With the 2005 relaunch, the Favorite Edition lists were introduced, so this list also concludes a 20-year exploration of listening.
So far, this trip back home to Hawaiʻi has been a wash where CD shopping is concerned. I dropped a ridiculous amount of cash on ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION’s World World World just because it was convenient to buy at a cash register. Had I exercised restraint, I could have ordered it online for $15 cheaper.
I did find Ann Sally’s Moon Dance and Fuji Fabric’s Ala Carte over at Book Off in Shirokiya, but I don’t think I loved those albums enough to spend money on them.
Last year, I made off with some ACO, bloodthirsty butchers, Quruli and SUPER JUNKY MONKEY. This year, no such discoveries were found. And it was a pipe dream to think I could find BUGY CRAXONE, Fuji Fabric’s TEENAGER, the Port of Notes best album or DVDs from Cocco, Supercar and Tokyo Jihen.
Had I wanted to spend cash on Do As Infinity, Hamasaki Ayumi or even Remioromen, I would have been well supplied. But for the usual favorites, I would need to resort to my usual online avenues.
My trip ends Monday night. I’ll be back in Austin on Tuesday noon-ish.
One of the better assignments I was given back when I worked for Austin 360 was covering Tina Turner’s San Antonio concert on what was then billed as her final tour. I appreciate Turner, and I grew up listening to "Private Dancer" and "What’s Love Got to Do with It?" on the radio.
But even without much insight into her work — aside from what’s commonly known by legend — I dug the show. She was damn energetic, and if the large video monitors at the Alamodome were any indication, she has better biceps and triceps than I do.
I don’t know why it crossed my mind a few weeks back, but I thought it would be nice if Turner came out of retirement and did a few more shows. Well, she is.
It’s shocking to think it’s been eight years since that concert. If she’s in as good a shape as she was eight years ago — and by most conventional reports, Turner takes excellent care of herself — audiences are going to get their money’s worth from a show that will most likely be exorbitantly priced.
I had to rearrange this list and the 2004 a list a bit. Two titles from 2003 made it on to the 2004 list, so I’m putting them back to where they’re supposed to be. Likewise, a few 2004 titles showed up on the 2005 list, et cetera.
Honestly, Shiina Ringo’s Karuki Zaamen Kuri no Hana just about overshadows every other title on the list, which is a big deal given the number of really quality releases that came out in 2003. I’m almost wondering if 2003 is the pinnacle year of this decade. It sure isn’t 2005.
In 2003, I made way back to the corporate world, taking a job with another technology company, while still working at Waterloo Records. If anything, the next two years would be dominated by work.
I received an e-mail from CD Japan announcing the debut single from a new project by L’Arc~en~Ciel’s hyde and OBLIVION DUST’s K.A.Z. The pair are calling themselves VAMPS, and the single is titled "Love Addict". It comes out on July 2.
hyde’s nü metal solo work isn’t very impressive. Rather, it sounds like he’s been slumming since releasing the incredibly moody Roentgen back in 2002. But his teaming up with K.A.Z. is intriguing. hyde is no Ken Lloyd, though, and I wonder whether K.A.Z. can really beef up hyde’s emotive style.
And further on the horizon Rhodes says the group hopes to release "Reportage," the album it scrapped in favor of "Red Carpet Massacre" that features the last work original guitarist Andy Taylor did with the band. "We want it to come out one day," the keyboardist says. "It’s a really interesting record…more of an edgy, indie rock album, obviously going back to our earlier roots. There are a lot of songs I’m very proud of that I’d like people to hear."
Here’s what my cynical-colored lenses see:
We’re trying to figure out how much to pay off Andy Taylor to let us release an album that was probably better than that tanking piece of crap "Red Carpet Massacre" turned out to be.
Justin Timberlake and Timbaland did far better with the new Madonna album than with Duran Duran.
After successful performances at various festivals earlier this year, ELLEGARDEN announced it would break up, according to Bounce.com. Creative differences were cited as the reason for the break-up, with a statement on the band’s web site stating the members wanted to work on new projects.
ELLEGARDEN had already scheduled a number of festival appearances when recording sessions for a new album broke down. The band honored their commitments before announcing its dissolution. ELLEGARDEN seemed to have a lot of momentum, with a successful performance at SXSW a number of years back, followed by the US release of Riot on the Grill and Eleven Fire Crackers.
Myself? As much as the rest of the SXSW crowd dug the band — especially the short bit of Weezer played during the sound check — I wasn’t convinced. Then again, I’m no fan of Weezer either.
I’ll be traveling to Honolulu from May 7-13, so entries here will be scarce in the next few weeks.
The playlist itself is a bit slim, and I’m slowly getting familiar with the 20 hours of stuff on there now. I probably won’t have anything about which to write till later in the month.
With allergy season easing up here in Austin, I might be drawn back into the studio to hash out more stuff with Eponymous 4. Oh, and there’s that matter of releasing an EP (essentially an over-glorified short run of 100 copies, but hey, I filed papers with the county clerk’s office for a DBA.)
So yes, I’ve got a lot of distractions to keep me busy. I’ll pop in as usual if something catches my eye or ear. And with any luck, I’ll come home from Hawaiʻi with all new music bounty.
I’ve scoured a number of new release sites, and I can’t really find anything coming up in the next few months that interest me. Oh, there’s lots of music coming out in the next few months — even I’mreleasing an EP this summer — but very few things that would get me to the record store.
So instead, here’s a quick round-up of items about which I’ve already posted.
After working in the Internet industry for five years, I joked that if I ever got laid off, I would go to work at Waterloo Records, but even as I said it, it felt more like a prediction than a joke.
Well, guess what?
Waterloo Records, believe it or not, was the first retail job I ever had. In college, I did mostly office work, with a stint of library circulation for about a year. I’m not a "people person", but when it came to guiding customers to the music they didn’t know they wanted, I was in my element.
The employee discount also guaranteed a steady musical fix, although my dependence on file sharing would actually increase at this time. My minimum wage salary still went mostly to bills.
Waterloo also honed my tastes a lot more. I became much more dismissive, and I lost patience with anything that required too much work on my part. As much of a music lover I am, I don’t have to love everything.