HMV will devour us all

It doesn't matter where you are, there are two universal truths in this world;

1. McDonalds tastes the same in any country (i.e. suspicious)
2. HMV's in any country are overpriced yet allude to have 'bargains'


I was in Sendai at the end of the end of the year, and whenever I'm in Sendai, I do like to have a browse around the Book-off store near the station. Most Japanese retailers sell CD's at the recommended retail price (3000-4000JPY, or 15-20GBP), so second-hand is a good avenue to reasonable value.
I bought the debut solo album by Miki Furukawa, former Supercar bassist. It comes in a shiny blue card case that unfolds into a pentagon. It's pretty neat. You can listen to her on Myspace here, and see her on Youtube here. She's clearly sticking to the late-Supercar blueprint that brought her success.

I then realised that this was the first CD that I'd bought in 11 months. Despite my poverty, I used this as some sort of justification when, a week later, I found myself in the Shinjuku Times Square mall with nothing to do, so I cruised around the 13th floor HMV whilst Rumi browsed shoes amongst the rabid, packed throngs downstairs. I went down their later. It was an ugly sight. Like the Tokyo Game Show, but with shoes.

HMV were having their "biggest ever sale!!!" (Their emphasis). To be fair, there were plenty of DVD bargains available, ranging from 500 - 2000 yen, some of them pretty new titles. No doubt they are trying to clear the stock, so that they can overcharge us aaaaaall over again with Blu-ray/HD-DVD. Can't wait for that one.
Still, thanks to the "biggest ever sale!!!", I somehow ended leaving the store with 4 CD's, but my wallet was 12,600JPY lighter... that's 55GBP!! That seems like a lot if you ask me. That sounds like how much it should cost before the sale.

Anyway, I used this rare opportunity to flesh out my Supercar collection with more average CD's (it's horrible when a great band break up and you already own the best albums - you end up scavenging). I'll do a Supercar round up post some other time.

I spent a good half-hour at the Indies music stations in the far corner of the room. It was nice. Should do it more often. I found several albums that I almost rash-purchased.

I did come out of the store with this little doozy though.



Cornelius has been around for a while now - I think he's even collaborated with Bloc Party. He makes very sparky, upbeat experimental music, using lots of live instruments as opposed to synth. It's very trendy boutique music that you could easily imagine being played in a shop that sells expensive T-shirts. Very Daikanyama, I would say (there are lots of stores in Daikanyama that sell expensive T-shirts).

This album will definately be sitting next to Susumu Yokota's "Grinning Cat" in my CD collection for years to come. He's playing in the Liquid Room, Ebisu in March - might have to go check that one out.

Cornelius home page

Cornelius on Myspace

I've made another Flash player over there on the right. In the future, I'll be putting what cool Japanese music I find into there, so be sure to check it out every once in a while. I've put some Cornelius in there for now - have a listen, then I won't have to describe the music! It makes sense really, doesn't it.

NOTE: I've just checked Cornelius' Myspace page, and seems that he hails from Nakameguro - just one station from Daikanyama. So there you go. Maybe he is directly responsible for the trendy T-shirt stores.