Musicwhore.org

In 2004, Enya’s management company, Aigle, had to backpedal the overly enthusiastic announcements of Warner Bros. Japan regarding a new album by the meticulous Irish songstress.

So when Tower Records Japan started accepting pre-orders for a new Enya album back in September 2005, I had to wonder whether it would be for real.

To gauge whether I looked forward to a new Enya album, I took out A Day Without Rain, her previous album from 2000, and gave it a spin. At the time of its release, I didn’t warm up to it. When I listened to it again half a decade later, I confirmed what I couldn’t bring my long-time Enya-loving ass to consider — it really, really sucked.

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I never listened to Hüsker Dü nor Sugar, and the only exposure I’ve had to Bob Mould’s solo work is a 7-inch single from his first album, Workbook.

So I can’t approach a review of Body of Song in context of his previous work. My credentials are insufficient.

I can, however, approach the album in terms of gay men who play rock music. Lesbians usually have a lock on the really good rock bands, ranging from the defunct Butchies to the gay-inclusive Sleater-Kinney. What do gay men have? Judas Priest and Pansy Division.

Insert requisite Seinfeld quote here. (“Not that there’s …”?)

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I wish YesAsia had a wish list more like Amazon — a gift registry rather than a personal checklist. Because my wish list is look mightly long at the moment.

I was surprised to find ZAZEN BOYS 3 available for pre-order. YesAsia doesn’t usually have a great track record when it comes to stocking indie rock bands. A bit of random browsing also revealed Sasagawa Miwa will release her third album, Yoake, on Feb. 22, 2006.

If Shikakui Vision by SLOTH LOVE CHUNKS turns out to be any good, I might bundle these purchase up together. I guess I’m going to have to resort to Amazon for VOLA & THE ORIENTAL MACHINE’s Waiting for My Food.

I haven’t been very vigilant with posting Bounce.com news items as of late, but two stories I saw on the site in recent weeks deserve some belated coverage.

Luminous Orange is the first Japanese artist to be announced for the SXSW music festival in March 2006. Other artists slated to appear at the festival include such alumni as Cat Power, Neko Case and Elbow, seasoned acts Echo & the Bunnymen and Tom Verlaine of Television, plus newcomers the Arctic Monkeys and Talking Heads Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah. (Um, no.)

Dry & Heavy singer Likkle Mai is doing the solo thing, so says Bounce.com. Two weeks ago, she released a single, “Why You In Such a Hurry?” It also looks like Likkle is also about to release of an entire album, Roots Candy.

This past weekend, I played King Tubby Meets Dry & Heavy in the Jaws of the Tiger during a shift at Waterloo Records. A customer really liked what he was hearing but balked at actually purchasing it. I mentioned Dry & Heavy were from Japan, and they’re purists when it comes to dub. The novelty of Japanese reggae band sounding as good as they do wore him down, and he bought the album.

All that to say, I’m really jonesing for some new Dry & Heavy.

Nirgilis is set to release a new single titled “sakura” on March 1, 2006, Bounce.com reports. The title track serves as the theme song for the anime Kookyooshihen Eureka Seven, which begins airing on Japanese television next year.

A visit to the band’s official site reveals its been signed to Sony Music, namely the DefStar label which counts the brilliant green on its roster. Nirgilis is a fun band, no doubt, but I wonder how its music will turn out with founding member Moyo Satake long gone.

I am still interested in the band nonetheless.

(And here you thought the Number Girl song title in the subject line of this post meant another Number Girl-related post …)

Brevity is the soul of wit, some guy in 16th century England once said. I will be the first to admit Musicwhore.org reviews can be witless, on that count and many others.

Since the backlog of albums in which I’ve intended to toss my 2.332 yen has become mountainous, I figure short reviews should suffice to purge those opinions out of my head once and for all.

Should keep the wankerdom down, too.

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Yeah, I haven’t been very mindful of this site in the last few weeks. The office has kept me busy, and I’ve been taking classes this semester, so about the only thing I can squeeze in is an occassional post about former members of Number Girl.

I’ve been meaning to review quite a number of albums I’ve been listening to in the last few months. At the risk of stealing my own thunder, maybe I’ll do the Television Without Pity practice of writing a “reviewlet” before replacing it with a full-fledge review. Or I could do what my friend Jette does with her six-minute reviews.

But really, I’m just writing out loud right now.

I am, however, planning to write about:

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I guess this site is becoming a Number Girl blog now, huh?

Quick on the heels of its debut single, SLOTH LOVE CHUNKS announced the release of its debut album, Shikakui Vision, on Feb. 9, 2006, Bounce.com reports. SLOTH LOVE CHUNKS includes Number Girl bassist Nakao Kentaro, Belters singer Kayo, Kiwiroll guitarist og and Laughin’ Nose drummer Kenji. The album is expected to contain 10 songs, including “Loveless Ideal”, the band’s debut single.

On the same day as the release of ZAZEN BOYS’ third album, bandleader Mukai Shuutoku will also release a DVD of his apperanace on the Space Shower TV program, Yuigadokuson. Titled Yuigadokuson presents Kendai no Mukai ~ZAZEN BOYS~, the DVD features Mukai performing six ZAZEN BOYS songs solo, plus some rehearsal footage of his covering Matsutoya Yumi’s “Mamotte Agetai”.