Old Treasures and New Beginnings

On an evening at a school party in February 1987, I met a girl who became my friend for many years until we lost contact in the 2000s. We hit it off from the first second through music —like so often— when we sang our favorite songs to each other. I don’t remember my choice (and I probably wiggled myself out of the singing part), but hers was “Vision of China” by the UK band Japan.

This was the first time I had ever heard of Japan, but they were right down my alley. After two glam rock albums in 1978, they moved to synth-pop, culminating in 1981 with Tin Drum, which features unique sounds that keyboarder Richard Barbieri called “quite an adventure in synth programming.” It also features “Ghosts,” my favorite Japan song.

In 1987, Japan as a band was already pop history, but the members continued making records I bought whenever I could find one in a store. I remember the excitement of finding Gone to Earth, by singer and main songwriter David Sylvian. It was a double album with a mysterious cover, so I took it home with me without thinking twice.

I also remember the disappointment: the music sounded nothing like Japan, except Sylvian’s vocals. Similarly to Talk Talk’s The Color of Spring, Gone To Earth eschewed electronics for an organic vibe. At this time in my life, I did not understand the record, which features two epic tracks of over nine minutes and ten ambient instrumentals.

But sometimes, you love an album because you want to love it, so I did not give up. Twenty years later, I recorded the vinyl of Gone To Earth on MP3s and listened to it on repeat. Suddenly, every track made sense in conjunction with the nostalgia about the unabashed enthusiasm you can develop in your teen years. “Silver Moon,” the most accessible track of the record, topped my most-played iTunes tracks, and I still feel the chills when I listen to it.

Gone to Earth is available as a remastered version on the DSPs. It is a satisfying sonic journey through intricate soundscapes, sometimes strange, sometimes familiar. Maybe you want to give it a chance, too? Or you know it already? If so, let us know.

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New Podcast on KEXP

Of course, we did not invent the one-song-per-day concept. Maybe the Seattle radio station KEXP did: Their podcast, Song of the Day, ran for almost 20 years. It is not apparent that podcasts are just sound files, and Song of the Day gave you a free, full-length MP3 without talk that you could import into your music library.

That ended on April 15, probably because free MP3s don’t have that much draw anymore in the age of DSPs but still require one-by-one clearance by the right holders. Instead, KEXP sends now *In Your Headphones*, with much less music and way more talk. First impression: It is good to have a music discovery podcast again with background about the artists, but the music clips feel a bit short. What is your take?

Four New Albums out Tomorrow

If you just listened to Gone to Earth and want to keep within the vibe, we recommend Reverse Bloom by North Carolina-based singer/songwriter Emma Geiger. “The record is about passion and ambivalence, aspects of love and longing and loss,” Emma says.

Lawn Girl - the new solo album by Melkbelly singer Miranda Winters aka Mandy takes you into a different sonic space: noisy, distorted guitars contrast with Mandy’s airy vocals. The entire thing lasts only 24 minutes, but you can always rewind and listen again.

Also out on Friday: Shapeshifting by Brooklyn indie pop musician Nisa, and Poetry (for the scorned and lonely) by Mary Middlefield from Lausanne, Switzerland.

Do you miss the Song Pick of the Day? They are now out every Monday.

Nine Photos of Saying Goodbye to Ridgewood, Queens

As a newsletter reader/subscriber, you know by now that Oliver and I are moving. We’re not leaving New York City, this might happen at another time, but we’re leaving Ridgewood, Queens (not quite the suburbs even though at times it feels like it) behind and are crazy excited to be living in Manhattan again. More on this another time. For a quick ‘adieu,’ I decided on the following visuals:
(1) In the M train with Manhattan in the distance.
(2) On the corner of Forest and Metropolitan Avenue, with the fire station in the distance and a burger place we’ve never been in the foreground.
(3 & 7) One of the many wonderful mornings, noons, and evenings we spent on our balcony. I’ll miss gardening the plethora of plants I took care of.
(4 & 5) When we moved here, the neighborhood enjoyed a thriving Walgreens, which over time became less and less a store you’d like to make any purchase at all, with every single item behind glass and bars, if it was available at all. A few months ago, after Walgreens left the premises, a C-Twon took over and the management is very customer-oriented, determined to make the supermarket work. I hope they’ll continue to do such a great job!
(6) Grover Cleveland Park and playground. Yep, you can see Manhattan in the distance, and yes, at times, you can witness stunning sunsets too.
(8) Springtime can be so beautiful! I snapped this after sending Oliver off to work with a kiss or two, of course.
(9) Something I most definitely won’t miss is the M train leaving the station on a Saturday, when it only runs every 20 minutes or so, and also only to Delancey Street. Definitely can do without.

See you in the city!