Loudness "Disillusion"

Heavy Metal Thunder! Hell yeah. I picked this up on my recent trip to Tokyo to visit the other Hardworlder, Joel. I think these guys are one of the first True Japanese Heavy Metal bands, but I'm not certain of that. This is their third or fourth album filled with some true ragers. I noticed it gets compared to Rush a lot, and I can hear that, but it's definitely NWOBHM all the way. 'Cept maybe more like NWOJHM.

Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and even some Bay Area thrash (this is '84, after all) are heard in this MIGHTY stew. This is really good. Better than I thought it would be. I had heard of Loudness since I was a kid, but didn't ever really think much about 'em (cuz my older brother didn't), but this is well worth checking out. Also, this is the Japanese version, so most of the lyrics are not english (some are, like the last 2 live tracks). I picked this up at Yellow Pop in Kawaguchi along with a YMO, a Lovers Rock comp, and a Japanese heavy metal comp called "Metal Warning" which I'll probably post later on. I haven't even listened to that yet.

Tracklist:

1. "Crazy Doctor" - 4:13
2. "Esper" - 3:45
3. "Butterfly" - 5:12
4. "Revelation" - 4:19
5. "Exploder" - 2:29
6. "Dream Fantasy" - 4:34
7. "Milky Way" - 4:17
8. "Satisfaction Guaranteed" - 3:39
9. "Ares' Lament" - 5:30
10. "Crazy Doctor" (live English version) - 4:18
11. "Dream Fantasy" (live English version) - 4:37

LOUDNESS! download

so this is what I just picked up last time I was in small music. 

Twinsistermoon, levels and crossings, which my brother just sent me some of their other songs by way of a new fangled idea,  dropbox where you can send and share shit online without have to go through your goddamn email.  anyway,  twin sister moon is a nice easy ethereal sound sleepable to, relaxing and sometimes a little frightening  maybe not so sleepable actually,  more like evil folky shit with devils and witches, as I guess the name suggests.

myrmyr,  the amber sea,  kind of a rachel's sound.  easier than twinsistermoon and yet still a little dark, maybe white witches mating with the dirty three.

vetiver,  more of the past,  michael hurley plays violin on one of these tracks. along with about fifty million other folks it seems.  good stuff I first heard of at recycled books though I can't remember which album that was...  This one's more upbeat folky stuff with some decent vocals and a nice clean sound


sun city girls, singles volume 2,  I haven't ventured into this one yet, but I got it for sake of the past.  Im looking forward to the bizarre memories I hope this one conjures up.

Small Music

www.smallmusic.jpThe coolest thing i've found in tokyo lately...

We happened into a little empty junk shop in koenji and the girl working there was checking out the new cd's she'd just rented.  of course jeff recognized it and so we struck up a conversation.  She ended up drawing us a little map how to get there.


Usually record stores here are pretty well stocked and I've spent fifty or sixty bucks just on random purchases, but here  you can just borrow anything you like and take it home for a listen.    Probably the sheer volume of quality music lifts it beyond any similar shops I've seen.

later we spent the evening at an izakaya feasting on raw chicken and beer and sake.  later things blurred but there was Okinawa and karaoke in there somewhere

Welcome Hardworlders.

There are too many blogs out here, and that's why this one exists: to add to the heaping pile of shit. However, the two men that will be writing (and hopefully more later) have interesting ideas, and backgrounds. They are men that live in other lands. We are both from Texas, but we have not taken the easy road (although, it's usually a good idea to do that). Joel lives very close to Tokyo, Japan; and I (Jeff) live very close to Seoul, South Korea. Together, we are THE HARDWORLDERS! I know it's a bad ass name, but we didn't come up with it. I will give you a small hint where we got it: Slough Feg.

This is a blog about our lives, but also what we enjoy, and what we see. Kind of an autobiographical thang. There may be pictures, music, film, books, food and more recommended because we really like it, and we want to share it. I hope there's more than one post, because I think everybody has something interesting to share, and it gets lonely being a HARDWORLDER! Don't fucking forget it!