朝生愛 (Ai Aso) - Lavender Edition & Chamomile Pool

2004; 9 tracks


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2007; 10 tracks


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朝生愛 (Ai Aso) is psychedelic-y folk-ish pop music with dreamy vocals to add to it. Not much can be said about substance, ethereality being a focal point, but it's the perfect accompaniment to a night spent reading spooky Wikipedia articles (one of my favorite pastimes) and checking out the neglected books site. So many books that never get read.

So, um... AI ASO. Musique précieux.

二階堂和美 (Nikaido Kazumi) - また おとしましたよ

2003; 13 tracks

Nikaido Kazumi is a lovely young Japanese singer of mellow pop/folk music. With just her and her guitar, these lovely waves of tracks turn simple melodies into gorgeous songs, as warm and beautiful as a day by the ocean. Nikaido's music is a precious blend of cute, heartbreaking, and ethereal. I realllllyy recommend this!

"また　おとしましたよ (Mata oto shimashita yo), or You Dropped Something Again, Didn't You?, is a foray into beautiful and simplistic pop album that focuses on Kazumi Nikaido's beautiful voice as the instrument of choice. Fragmented melodies that feel so innocent and playful in the most childish manner ever. What we have here is mostly just soft acoustic strumming that manages not to sound like every other singer/songwriter who uses an acoustic guitar. It's even slightly experimental, and Nikaido uses her voice to great effect, whether it's sounding more intimate or more screechy (like in "Even Though the Time Passes"). Nikaido can make eight minute songs seem like nothing; you really do just drift along with her music."


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The Residents - Demons Dance Alone + Bonus Disc

2002; 28 tracks


everyone is a resident



Bonus Disc





2002; 16 tracks


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Okay, so, it has to be said... this album seriously makes me swoon. It is utter perfection, any angle you look at it. GOD I FUCKING LOVE DEMONS DANCE ALONE EDFJDGAODFAG.

Anyway, I guess I shouldn't be too lighthearted about it, even if many of these tracks are... well... very cheerful-sounding. This is The Residents' response album to the 9/11 attacks. It is a concept album dealing various emotional effects, such as loss and denial and "three metaphors" signifying something I cannot fathom. Out of the whole of The Residents' discography, which is extensive and I haven't even gotten through it all, these 28 + 16 tracks are full of some of the most touching, comical, absolutely enthralling music. Some tracks are achingly beautiful ("Neediness," "Demons Dance Alone"), others are so hilarious you have to laugh out loud ("Mickey Macaroni," "Make Me Moo"), and then... the ones you just love with all your heart instantly ("Weatherman," "Betty's Body," "Beekeper's Daughter"). So yeah. Try to listen to this album with all of your attention focused on it - imagine the face behind that low, southern-sounding drawl of a voice, and the others dressed as giant suited-up eyeballs of the beyond. If you haven't heard The Residents before, now is a good time to start.

The bonus disc includes 13 early recordings of tracks from Demons Dance Alone, along with 3 previously unreleased tracks.