Friendly Dean from Christchurch via Osaka was up in Tokyo with Malin and Bastian from the previous post, shopping for records. Dean was rawking a VW Bus T-shirt which, having spent many years driving around America in my own, was speaking to me.
Nobody probably cares about this but why don’t I just take a few a few lines to hip you to old VWs. Whereas “Beetle Bugs” are called “Type I”, “Vans”, “Combis” or “Microbuses” are called “Type II”. “Type III” are “IV”s are these sorta less interesting sedans. “Karmann Ghia” are “Type 14”, “34” or “145” depending on the year, and “VW Things” are “Type 181”. That’s basically all the form factors from the old VW that matter, and there are of course HEAPS of variations, but with the Vans, there are two main distinctions (and more nicknames), but this is where it gets rather confusing cuz even though ALL vans are called “Type II”, within the van family, you also have T1, T2, T3, T4, (and T5 and T6 but they don’t really matter) Basically for the two old “Hippy Vans, you have the “Splitty” or split-window “T1” from 1949-1967 which has the famous variants like the “21-window” with all the rooftop windows or the “23-Window” which also includes the back corner windows, and the “Samba” camper with just the mini pop-top that you can stand up in, but not sleep in, and so on. Then you have the “Transporter” (though they’re all technically transporters) or “T2” from 1968-1979 which is NOT a split-window, and which is a much bigger vehicle and 200-400 more CCs and in the slightly-different pancake-motor configuration, and many of these (but not all) had the famous wedge-shaped camper pop-tops that you know from Grateful Dead lots. Mine was this one of these, an orange “Type II, T2” “Campmbile”. Then you T3 which is the “Vanagon” (I’d love a Syncro – dream car after a 911), and then T4 which is the front-engine 5-cylinder “Eurovan” which, although there are pop-top camper type variants, is basically a completely different car …by I digress.
I guess it’s appropriate that one of the three 7-inches that Dean had was Gary Numan’s Cars! Haha! How about that!
Great to meet you, Dean! Hope to stay in touch! Safe travels back to Osaka!
ゲイリー・ニューマン [Gary Numan] – カーズ [Cars]
Label: Atlantic – P-500A
Format: Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM, Single, Stereo
Country: Japan
Released: Nov 1979
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: New Wave, Synth-pop
https://www.discogs.com/release/647435-%E3%82%B2%E3%82%A4%E3%83%AA%E3%83%BC%E3%83%8B%E3%83%A5%E3%83%BC%E3%83%9E%E3%83%B3-Gary-Numan-%E3%82%AB%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BA-Cars
Led Zeppelin – Black Dog
Label: Atlantic – P-1101A
Format: Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM, Single, Stereo, ¥ 400
Country: Japan
Released: Jan 1972
Genre: Rock
Style: Classic Rock
https://www.discogs.com/release/2772245-Led-Zeppelin-Black-Dog
Devo – The Day My Baby Gave Me A Surprize
Label: Virgin – VS 265
Format: Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM, Single
Country: UK
Released: 1979
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: New Wave
https://www.discogs.com/release/576312-Devo-The-Day-My-Baby-Gave-Me-A-Surprize
Try Best Offer Score
On Instagram