I was listening to Pink Floyd’s heartstring-pulling tribute to their founder and lost-to-the-60’s friend, Syd Barret, “Shine on You Crazy Diamond” this morning in the car, wondering around my brain, thinking, “How many times have I heard this song? How many more times will I hear it in my life? How many songs are there to hear? Should I listen to this again? Could I be using this time more wisely to listen to a song that I haven’t already heard a thousand times? How many more hours do I have in my life to listen to music? 20 more years? How quick did the last 20 go? Pretty quick. Man, I should really savor each song I listen to moving forward, cuz at 46, soon to be 47, maybe I will only hear this song a dozen more times …if I even have 20 years. God, I gotta stop wasting time. Wonder how mom and dad are. They’re just barely 20 years ahead of me.” Now my mom says to me all the time things like, “Fuck this,” or “Fuck that,” or “You gotta do what you gotta do while you got the time. ” “Make the most of it.” “Life is too short.”
It’s really true, but it’s so hard to contemplate your own mortality. They say that when they look at the human brain, it can’t imagine a world without itself for more than a couple minutes. It just is designed to think it’ll keep going. Anyway, with another approaching birthday, I think about this kinda stuff more and more. I think about what things have already been ticked off my bucket list, or what more, realistically, I can still tackle on that list. I think about the things I want to say “Yes” to and about how to better say “No” to the things I don’t want to do. Speaking of which…
I never really know what to do in the moment when I approach somebody with record store bags, pitch them the idea of posing for a photo, and then how to respond when they reply “I guess so, if you can hurry up and do it fast.” On one hand, I’m taking/wasting their time – maybe they are giving me their “Yes” when they really ought to be giving me their “No.” And maybe I should respond with “Thanks anyways, but nevermind (No)” instead of being a junkie for THEIR vinyl. I need a method for us to both walk away gracefully, but on the other hand, sometimes people are just shy, and once I can melt the ice, which I’m pretty good at doing, which conflates the ma more, people open up and we end up having a very meaningful connection.
But for the next two posts, I didn’t quite get there. There were some great records, some great portraits and poses, and backgrounds, but we seemed to be in a hurry, and ice, surprisingly in this insane heat, didn’t get melted. What can you do?
Just have gratitude I guess to Makabe, pictured here in Kichijoji, (and “Scooter Guy” who will be featured in the next upcoming post), for sharing what little precious time you did with me. I mean it. Thank you. I hope we meet again when we… I guess we won’t ever have more time, per se …have more… receptivity. Now there is a word to think about…
More Tokyo Record Style on the way!
The Mops – Psychedelic Era 1967-1968
Label: Fuji – FJTN 1006
Series: GS10
Format: Vinyl, LP, 10″, Compilation
Country: Japan
Released: Feb 23, 2022
Genre: Rock
Style: Psychedelic Rock
https://www.discogs.com/release/22294981-The-Mops-Psychedelic-Era-1967-1968
The Roosters – DIS.
Label: Columbia – AF-7228
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo
Country: Japan
Released: Oct 21, 1983
Genre: Rock
Style: Rock & Roll, Pop Rock
https://www.discogs.com/release/5366019-The-Roosters-DIS
Pigbag – Dr Heckle And Mr Jive
Label: Y Records – Y 17
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: UK
Released: Feb 26, 1982
Genre: Jazz, Rock
Style: New Wave, Jazz-Rock, Ska, Experimental
https://www.discogs.com/release/135289-Pigbag-Dr-Heckle-And-Mr-Jive
Buzzcocks – Singles Going Steady
Label: I.R.S. Records – SP 001
Format: Vinyl, LP, Compilation
Country: US
Released: Sep 17, 1979
Genre: Rock
Style: Punk, Power Pop
https://www.discogs.com/release/15201004-Buzzcocks-Singles-Going-Steady
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