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yes

In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, Neutral Milk Hotel

Ooh, I like this album! Especially "King of Carrot Flowers." The cover art reminds me of stuff from Monty Python or City of Lost Children, and actually the music kind of does too. Sort of grungy and carnivalesque, all at once, with surreal imagery in the lyrics ("When you were young you were the king of carrot flowers // And how you built a tower tumbling thru the trees // In holy rattlesnakes that fell all round your feet // And your mom would stick a fork right into daddy's shoulder // And your dad would throw the garbage all across the floor // As we would lay and learn what each other's bodies were for"). Oh, and "Holland, 1945" has me all bouncy, sounding like Everclear but making a whole lot less sense.

And wow, the title track, "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea," as loopy as the lyrics are, captures EXACTLY HOW I'VE BEEN FEELING THESE DAYS. ("And one day we will die // And our ashes will fly // From the aeroplane over the sea // But for now we are young // Let us lay in the sun // And count every beautiful thing we can see // . . . // What a beautiful face I have found in this place // That is circling all round the sun // And when we meet on a cloud I'll be laughing out loud // I'll be laughing with everyone I see // Can't believe how strange it is to be anything at all ").

I am quoting too much, I know. Not sure I'd call it the Best Album Ever (as my friend Jason's friend Rusty called it), but hey, it's good.

Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like A Peasant, Belle and Sebastian

I've been listening to this over and over at work, driving my coclerk crazy (she says it sounds like elevator music, but what does she know?) Man, I love this album. If there's such a thing as melancholically uplifting, "The Model" is it. Ooh, and I really enjoy "Nice Day for a Sulk" and "Women's Realm" and "Family Tree," especially "Family Tree," which is actually rather pointed, lyrically ("It saddens me to think // That the only ones I see are mannequins // Looking stupid, being used and being thin // And I don't know why I hang around with them").

Wasps' Nests, The 6ths

For when you can't get enough of The Magnetic Fields! Recommended to me by Casey, to whom I'm super grateful. A bunch of indie rock artists, brought together by Stephin Merritt, to make a fun and strangely uniform album. Lush and swell and tongue-in-cheek and wonderful. Favorite tracks: "San Diego Zoo," "Aging Spinsters," "Falling Out of Love (With You)," "In the City in the Rain," "You Can't Break a Broken Heart."

Tigermilk, Belle and Sebastian

Mellow sweet happy. Makes me feel like a slow, languid grin, like a cup of honeyed tea. "We Rule the School" and "Mary Jo" are currently my two favorite songs on this album, though "She's Losing It" is fun in a more zippy kind of way as well. Great lines like "do something pretty while you can" and "she says, 'inch for inch and pound for pound, // who needs boys when there's Lisa round?'" And I want to read the pocket novel called the State That I'm In!

Lazy Line Painter Jane, Belle and Sebastian

Three CDs, really. Lazy Line Painter Jane, 3.. 6.. 9.. Seconds of Light, and Dog on Wheels. Good music in mellow, pastel earth-tones. I like how "String Bean Jean" (in DoW) is insistently wistful. And I love the lyrics of "A Century of Fakers" (in 369): "and you pretend to read a book you'll never finish till the day // that the author dedicates it // to A Century of Fakers." I am not as crazy about the CD Lazy Line Painter Jane -- it is a little too droopy for me.

The Boy with the Arab Strap, Belle and Sebastian

Lovely croon-ey music. Droopier than some of the other B&S albums. "Sleep the Clock Around" is great in a pressing, melancholy kind of way. "The Rollercoaster Ride" and "Seymour Stein" are perfect lazy Sunday wakeup songs. And "Dirty Dream Number Two" and "The Boy with the Arab Strap" are just plain happy pop.

Get Lost, Magnetic Fields

Nice album with enjoyable lulling music like (the lullingness attributable, in part, to Stephin Merritt's droopy voice), and darkly self-mocking lyrics. "I dedicate this song to you // and all the desparate things you make me do." So catchy, like "You and Me and the Moon" and "Save a Secret for the Moon." (Dunno why the moon keeps popping up, but hey.) Sleepy hammocky songs like "Why I Cry."

Station, Advantage Lucy

Great great album! "Fizz Pop" is the most incredibly loopy happy song I've ever heard. Cool whistles in the background, and silly lyrics like "I'm looking for a way to make things sparkle // Looking for a way to make things shine // I gotta find that fizzy pop." The fifth song (sorry, can't translate the kanji) is another just plain smiley pop song, as is "June Replay." There is no angst in this music, there are just plain old happy hugs. Oh wow.

Fuan-fua-ichi-re (I think), Advantage Lucy

My favorite album of 2000! Really! And Advantage Lucy is my favorite J-pop band. Their music is just, well, happy. "Solaris," the second song on the album, has this great silly "let's ride on the rocket ship // let's go to the milky way ohh" chorus. Advantage Lucy is not deep. But man, they are a gloriously sweet band. The third song, "Shitorasu" (I think), is just the best best best lingeringly sweet song I've ever heard. Pure niceness. In fact, it was probably my favorite song of 2000. The fourth song is pretty sweet too, but I can't translate the kanji. And "Armond" is just fun in its unselfconsciously silly-pop way. "Hello hello hello!" Some of its riffs actually remind me of "The Milkshake Song" by Angry Salad. Just a little. Or one of their songs, anyway.

I really should get their real first album, In Harmony, which they recorded as Lucy Van Pelt.

Clicktalk, One Star

A slightly more electronic side of J-pop. Very light, though. I'm a big fan of this album. "Optonica" is wispy and blippy, with Sesame-Streety interludes. I especially like how the vocals are fairly soft relative to the instrumentals, which is pretty neat. "His Snail Life" reminds me of Julee Cruise from the Twin Peaks days. Actually, much of this album does. Though "I Kept a Little Dog, His Name Was 'SPOTS'" has more of a beat. I also like the drifty sweetness of "Polyhedron" and "Floater."

The Best of Towa Tei Works

Random collection of Japanese dance music. No huge difference from US dance music, except with some sillier lyrics ("Let's get now romantic baby!!!"). But fun, in a standard dance fun kind of way. Some songs are seventies-style groove stuff with new millenium beats. Others are interesting stylistic jumbles (all the Bebel Gilberto songs). Even other songs like "Oi-Chan," "Kick and Loud," and "Blow Your Mind" (by Geisha Girls, a mixed-gender group, I think) are more J-rap-ey. "Son of Bambi" (by Kinky and Hiroshi Takano) is fun J-hop/reggae. Again, do not get me wrong. This is not deep, culturally informed music. But it is fun, absolutely fun, and would probably be great to dance to. I will test it out at a party next year.

Stomach of Gypsys, Dog Day Afternoon

Good instrumental jazz funk. I really like this album, but then, I tend to like quirky jazz funk. In case you're wondering, there's nothing uniquely J- about the music (DDA is a Japanese band).

The Very Best of Puffy, Puffy Amiyumi

I'm so glad that Dan made me buy this album for him! Because the album is full of wonderful happy stuff. Tons of different "styles": J-disco, J-pop, J-rock, J-sock-hop. It's like you took a big pastel brush to all of Western music. The cover says it all: two happy cartoon Japanese girls, dancing.

JP, Clammbon

Awesome album by Clammbon. Like I said, it's really Ikuko's voice that I'm in love with. The music itself is all right -- the usual fun J-pop stuff. But Ikuko's voice! Weird and nasally and smooth and breathy all at once. And she is adorable! I could squish her.

Chicago and 246, Clammbon

Two singles by Clammbon. I love Clammbon! The lead singer, Ikuko, has a beautiful Bjorkey voice that I love love love! I cannot praise her more. Listening to her on spaceshowertv was what turned me onto J-pop. This is translucent bubbly pop music at its best.

Densetsu, Rappagariya

I know, I got this album because of its novelty value as a J-hop album. My friend Ed is going to hate me when I play this in our apartment next year. I do think that the Japanese language sounds fascinating in rap form, though.

The Art of War <Who Dares Wins>

A two-CD collection of really mellow club music that I picked up in Japan. It's good to listen to as background, but I'm not sure if I have any specific comments to make about it. I liked it, though.

Holiday, Magnetic Fields

Upbeat music and fun lyrics. Like "I read your manifestos // and your strange religious tracks" from "Swinging London." It's true, the songs on this album sound more alike than the songs on 69 Love Songs, with their lush, organ-ey undertones. But that's no problem, because I enjoy all of it anyways.

69 Love Songs Vol. 2, The Magnetic Fields

Good good good! Fun ballady songs, of all different styles, from jazz to rockabilly. I especially like "Papa Was a Rodeo" and "World Love," and especially don't like "Washington, D.C."

69 Love Songs Vol. 3, The Magnetic Fields

Not my favorite of the three-CD set (it's on the really droopy side), but still fab. I still like the slightly more upbeat songs, like "Busby Berkeley Dreams" and "Acoustic Guitar" and "Queen of the Savages," and the silly ballads, like "The Night You Can't Remember."

Evidence that I am a dork: Originally, I had written, "Argh, I seem to have lost Vol. 4." Dan, however, has pointed out that "69 LOVE SONGS only has three volumes. But I think it's cute that you regret having misplaced the fourth. Did you not notice that there were 69 songs on the first three?"

maybe

Kyogen-Shou, Shiena Ringo

Not as crazy about this album as I was about my other J-pop albums. Bought it at the behest of Yoshitaki-san, who thought I would like it. It has a harder edge (remember, this is J-pop! Which means it's not really so hard!) than the other J-pop girl groups that I like. But apparently some of the frilly Japanese goth-girl fashion comes from Shiena Ringo.

Hayabusa, Spitz

The only male J-pop I bought while I was in Japan. Which I think is partly why I'm not as psyched about this album. It's more traditional rock, without the weird translucent pastels that mark the female J-pop groups I like.