Stuck In A Pagoda With Motoko Aoyama

As I begin to type this entry out, I have my Numark TTUSB Turntable out and a 200-gram pressing by Classic Records of the enduring Miles Davis album Kind Of Blue – one of the greatest albums ever made in any genre – playing; specifically, side two in the middle of Julian “Cannonball” Adderley’s alto sax solo on “All Blues”. I seem to be playing this album in this particular format at least once a week – I have owned Kind Of Blue in a couple of its different CD issues (the early 80’s release with its unnecessary digital remix of the album’s tracks and a totally different cover photo, and the remastered edition released in 1997 that is the version readily available, the master of which the vinyl pressing I am presently playing is based on) and I must say, even through the Logitech iPod speakers that my turntable is presently plugged directly into, the record sounds absolutely incredible. Just mentioning this particular pressing of the album on my LiveJournal led my colleague Vee to remark, “Holy crap, CJ, I got chills just reading that sentence”’ – which makes me wonder how she would react if she had been in the room with me to hear the actual record.

Vinyl has been making a rather unique resurgence over the past few years, notable enough for Time magazine to recently write an article about the phenomenon. The format has never disappeared – punk rock, alternative/indie rock, hip-hop, and electronic dance music have all kept the format alive, but most chain music stores do not stock them (unless they’re as big as Virgin Megastore’s Times Square, New York location).

Ironically, one national chain that is carrying some vinyl is Hot Topic. Don’t laugh. It’s not a wide or even a large selection – the selection is limited to some punk, alternative and metal releases (not surprising given Hot Topic’s sales demographic), but if you wanted to grab Paramore’s Riot! or No Doubt’s Tragic Kingdom on colored vinyl, or a picture disc of Fall Out Boy’s Infinity on High or Slayer’s South Of Heaven (not Reign In Blood, American Recordings?), you’d be set.
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After many a delay (engagement announcement preparations, day job bullshit, inability to keep my hands off of my new USB turntable, and finally, the goddamned flu), I’ve finally gotten around to doing my top albums of 2007 list. Since trying to do individual reviews for the ten albums is a bit out of the question of the moment (I’ll be starting anew this week with a couple of slightly overdue reviews), I’ll use this as an excuse to reignite the Pagoda Five feature for 2008 as well.

10. Desoto Jones - Aurora (Deep Elm) An up-and-coming post-emo group led by three brothers deals with tragedy in the form of having to bury their father during the time they were recording the album. One can only hear this and wonder what kind of an album Hawthorne Heights will deliver as the follow-up to If Only You Were Lonely once they kick Tony Brummel to the curb and finish mourning their fallen comrade Casey Calvert. (http://www.deepelm.com - available on limited edition CD and through iTunes and eMusic.)

9. Northern Liberties - Ghost Mind Electricity (Badmaster) Third album from the Philadelphia trio that discovered the fine line between Joy Division and the Misfits. Recorded at the legendary Inner Ear Studio in Virginia (home of 98% of the Dischord catalog) with its equally revered owner/engineer Don Zientara, its’ the trio’s most accomplished recording yet. (http://www.northernlibertiesband.com - available on CD)

8. Paramore - Riot! (Fueled By Ramen) The trolls at PunkNews.org that complain about this album not being punk enough or being terrible don’t know what they’re talking about. “Misery Business” and “crushcrushcrush” are only the tip of the iceberg on this group’s second album. (http://www.fueledbyramen.com, available on CD, limited edition vinyl and limited edition CD/MVI combo)

7. Koda Kumi - Black Cherry (Avex Trax). A concept album? Looks like one to me, even if that wasn’t Kumi’s intention. The only difference between this and Dark Side Of The Moon is that Ms. Koda didn’t have to fly to Pompeii to make the companion movie. (http://www.rhythmzone.net/koda, available on CD)

6. Tommy Heavenly6 - HeavyStarryHeavenly (DefSTAR). A stronger effort from Tomoko Kawase’s darker alter-ego than her eponymous 2006 release, and her best solo work since Tommy Airline. Earth calling Amy Lee: You’ve been out-gothed; turn in your piano and quit ripping off Tori Amos and your ex-bandmates. (http://www.sonymusic.co.jp/Tommy/)

The top five of this list in about an hour…