I had the great fortune of working in a diner in the 90s and early 00s where people sat at the counter for hours, drinking coffee refills and doing the crosswords. Not unlike bartending, it was a kind of hard knocks education in human nature, and not just want made people tick, but what made YOU tick. Could you maintain an ongoing conversation with a regular or navigate a conversation with a (read: “every”) stranger. I never remember a time in life lacking “people” skill but my few years at the diner honed my gift gab. And it proved handy on this day, many, many years after my diner days, when I sparked a conversation with friendly Tom Tom, sitting alone, a table down from mine, in the tiny, customer-only bar inside Big Love Records.
“How’s it going?”
“Not bad, you?”
“Pretty good, cool record shop, huh?”
“It’s awesome. I come here all the time. What did you score?”
“I got a Kurt Vile EP and a Beck/St. Vincent RSD single from a few years ago. How about you?”
“Nice! New press of the Drop Nineteens, and this Louis Cole with Metropole Orchestra & Jules Buckley, oh and this Aloisius cassette.”
“Whoa, quite interesting choices, I’m Brian. What’s your name?”
“I’m Tom Tom.”
During our conversation, I came to gather that Tom Tom was sort of an anonymous salaryman by day, and a Harajuku back alley hipster DJ fashionista on the weekends! He shared his devotion to the English electronic music dio Lamb (who I prior to this had never known and listened to them for entire next week) and he also told me about Record BAR Hellish APT in Meguro where, if I remember correctly, he sometimes spins sets. We had a long great chat, and I explained to him about Tokyo Record Style and mentioned how this day happened to be my 10th edition of “Tokyo Record Style Day”, a day to go to the record store with my homies. Considering I was sitting with no homies, and only a coffee and some nuts, Tom Tom looked a little confused. Well, knowing Big Love attracts only a certain kind of record collector, (let’s call them “the cool kids,”) I didn’t really promote, or even officially announce the event, but hosted it anyway, knowing I might be the only one who’d turn up. I went ahead and did it, and it was indeed just me. And so I used the opportunity to make a little video about the shop, (Search “Big Love Records” on Tokyo Record Style’s YouTube page). I like and respect what Big Love is (almost as much as a trend-setting Ura-Harajuku fashion brand as it is a record store). Anway, by the end of my chat with Tom Tom, though TRS Day Vol. 10 had started as a solo mission, now felt like it had been a communal one, as they’re supposed to be, and I made a new homie.
Thanks Tom Tom. Nice to meet you! See you next time!
More Tokyo Records Style on the way!
Drop Nineteens – Delaware
Label: Wharf Cat Records – WCR155JPN
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Limited Edition, Reissue, Red/White/Blue Tri-color [Barbershop]
Country: Japan
Released: Aug 9, 2024
Genre: Rock
Style: Shoegaze, Alternative Rock, Indie Rock
https://www.discogs.com/release/31514630-Drop-Nineteens-Delaware
Louis Cole with Metropole Orchestra & Jules Buckley – Nothing
Label: Brainfeeder Records – BF146
Format: 2 x Vinyl, LP, Stereo, White Vinyl
Country: Europe
Released: Aug 9, 2024
Genre: Electronic, Jazz, Funk / Soul
Style: Funk
https://www.discogs.com/release/31446080-Louis-Cole-2-with-Metropole-Orchestra-Jules-Buckley-Nothing
Aloisius – thx98
Label: Life is Beautiful Records
Format: Cassette + Digital Album
Country: UK
Released: February 16, 2023
Genre: Hip Hop, Jazz, Pop
Style: Hypnagogic pop, Alt-Pop, Free Improvisation, Avant-garde Jazz
https://aloisius.bandcamp.com/album/thx98
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