GIANT ENEMY CRAB DOT NET

Right click and download the album art already!I mentioned in a post back in August that 1998 was a momentus year as it was roughly 10 years ago that I first set foot in Japan. During the course of 1998 and part of 1999, I spent two semesters of college attending Kansai Gaidai in Hirakata, Japan. It would be a tremendous understatement for me to say that period of my life was either memorable or important.

That said, one of the things that I find, particularly as I grow older, is that I tend to identify certain pieces of music with certain eras within the 30 plus years I've spent on this earth. I have and will likely continue to do this. As 2008 is the 10th year anniversary of my having first encountered Japan, up close and in person, I find my thoughts drifting to fond memories of that wild-eyed sense of juvenile discovers that I experienced when landing on that distant shore.

During that period of my life, I amassed a peculiar soundtrack that kept me going as I explored all of Japan's cultural crevices. This in itself was particularly important in a country that so internally built on its futuristic, commuter culture. So much so that looking back on that experience 10 years later, the music I harbored during that era has a profound emotional effect on me.

To that end, I'm offering to share some of that experience second-hand with you, dear reader(s). Natsukashii is a Japanese word that simply means, "memorable" but with an extreme, melancholy undertone. Natsukashii Nippon:1998 is a mix I'm offering up to you in order to try and the audio headspace I was in during a time in my life that was particularly important to me.

Track Listing:

• 1. Puffy - Jet Keisatsu


• 2. Beastie Boys - Super Disco Breakin'


• 3. Mantronik vs. EPMD - Strictly Business


• 4. The Dust Fathers - Greed Eater


• 5. Death in Vegas - Dirt


• 6. The Chemical Bros. - Life is Sweet


• 7. Mira K - Overdozer


• 8. L'arc~en~Ciel - Heaven's Drive


• 9. Lovemints - Tokai (Instrumental)


• 10. Kiss - Strutter


• 11. Cornelius - Last Night in Africa


• 12. Quadra - Beginning of Life


• 13. Penicillin - Mr. Freeze


• 14. Hikashuu - The Model (1998 Remix)


• 15. Globe - Sweet Heart


• 16. The Mad Capsule Market's - Midi Surf


• 17. Bjork - Army of Me


• 18. Marilyn Manson - Mechanical Animals


• 19. Quadra - Deep Clear Eyes


• 20. Suzuki Ami - All Night Long


• 21. TM Revolution - Burnin' Xmas


• 22. Glay - Winter Again

If you want to preview this mix, its available online at 8Tracks (currently, one of many replacements for the now, sadly defunct Muxtape). Listen and if you like, support the artists that created this music and go buy some of it - if you can find it.