After all the effort of carefully selecting music for my iPod before I left, I’ve hardly even listened to it so far. On the first flight from London to Tokyo I was kept entertained by the films and muic they had on the wee screen at my seat. They had the new Raconteurs album (Consolers of the Lonely), which I hadn’t got round to buying/hearing yet, so I listened to that while I was snoozing. It’s pretty good! Although to be fair I always find that music sounds twice as good when your half asleep – it’s a strange phenomenon.
As I mentioned in my ramblings about Tokyo, the new Oasis album (Dig Out Your Soul) was released in Japan the day we arrived (a week earlier than in the UK), so I was dying to get alisten to that. When I got to Mount Fuji on Sunday night, I had an email saying that as part of the deluxe box set I’d ordered, I could download the album the day before it’s UK release! Which I did, but then couldn’t actually listen to on my iPod for various technical reasons. Until I got to Hiroshima, got it sorted and had a good listen. First impressions are good although it always takes a while to draw your attention away from the first couple of tracks and any singles you’ve heard already.
The new Metallica album is awesome! There’s probably not much more to say on that. It’s fast. It’s loud. It’s catchy. (Some would say too loud but that’s a story for another day!)
First stop Tokyo! Well, first stop Heathrow so it’s a bit of a false start. But then it’s eleven and a half hours non-stop to the land of the Rising Sun. Am I prepared? Who knows. Probably not. But hey it’s the first time I’ve done anything like this so how prepared can you really be.
I’ve got a few pre-departure photos lurking on the camera at the moment, but I won’t get the chance to upload them before I go, so we’ll need to wait for the first installment proper from Japan.
JAPAN! Mental! One of those places I always thought would be cool to go to, but never thought I would. And yet for the last few months i’ve been talking about it so much (yes even I’m bored of listening to me) it’s as if it’s the most normal thing in the world.
eboPod is all loaded up and ready to go. The plan for months has been to wipe it clean and load it up with all those albums I’ve never quite got around to listening to, because its so easy just to go back to the same old lazy stuff you’ve been listening to for years because it’s right there in your pocket. So what have I got lined up then? In no particular order (it’s tucked away in the hand luggage now so this is off the top of my head!): Bat Out of Hell, Never Mind The Bollocks, Dark Side Of The Moon, Thriller. Due to time and effort constraints I had to settle for a few ‘Best Of’s (Elvis, Bruce Springsteen), which I normally wouldn’t stand for. The Guitar Hero 3 playlist, courtesy of Alan’s time and effort. The odd curveball (3 Colours Red). I reckon I’ve got enough to keep me going til Christmas anyway.
Of course I won’t be relying on music all the time, I’ve got a few books packed. ‘Round Ireland With A Fridge’ I started a couple of months ago, then kind of forgot I was reading it – it was bloody hilarious so far though, so I’ll probably start by finishing that. ‘Bringing Down the House’ was recommended after I saw the film version (’21′ with Kevin Spacey), so looking forward to that one. Lastly I’ve got ‘iPod Therefore I Am’ which I also started reading ages ago, but found it a bit difficult and weird, but I’ll give it another bash!