mayonaka no door / stay with me
i recently have been binging japanese city pop - but rather in a unique way. living in nyc record stores are about as ubiquitous as any other so called vintage thrift shop. some sell sealed new, some sell exclusively used. yet 95% of them are not as unique face records. specializing in japanese used and sealed vinyls, their eccentric focus is a refreshing break from the plethora of rock and metal shops that fill east village and chelsea.
as someone who is relatively new to both city pop and japanese jazz, i find myself exploring these genres differently. no longer am i focusing on spotify recommended playlists or weekly release threads on reddit, rather i find myself scouring random youtube compilations and soundcloud mixes. and most of all, i scour face records discogs page.
i spend hours looking through their online catalog trying to decipher a foreign language. i have no idea whats good and whats not. i hardly recognize any artists. sometimes i pick a record to listen to based on its cover - like thats going to help lol.
this is a unique way of looking for music. i find that most the records arent cataloged on streaming platforms. so i have to pull up the album on youtube, only to hear all the flaws from the compression. further my phone and keyboard shortcuts to skip or shuffle arent as readily available. its like i have to intentionally listen an album front to back - just like the artist intended. its an absolute joy. a completely different listening experience.
im looking forward to the day i visit them in person. i recognize that going to a record store blind is part of the fun. yet i would at least like to form some opinions on the genres, some of the artists before going in. i want to be able to have at least a semblance of a conversation if the store staff asks. i cant wait.
side note: shout out to my favorite bar 929 whose current music series is based on city pop. they have 4 drinks that are named after famous songs two of which are on one of my newly favorited albums.
be good,
simple