Nov 25, 2020
Welcome to Episode 10 of Holly Jolly X'masu! In this episode, I discuss the fantastic 1986 compilation, Winter Lounge. Compiled by musician and producer Mari Sugi, it’s one of the best Christmas compilations to come out of Japan in the 1980’s—a decade during which the Japanese music industry excelled at...
Oct 25, 2020
Welcome to Episode 9 of Holly Jolly X'masu! In this episode, I talk about an overlooked classic from 1972, “Merry Christmas From Sellstars,” by Takao Hirata and Sellstars. This is an album I discovered quite by accident. Its unassuming cover, which looks like a big square of loose-leaf paper, is one I passed by...
Sep 25, 2020
Welcome to Episode 8 of Holly Jolly X'masu! In this episode, I talk about the phenomenal 1968 album, “Christmas Tenor Mood” by the Nakamura Hachidai Quintet and Hidehiko Matsumoto. I’ve been looking forward to this album, not just because of how great the music is, but because of its pedigree. As I doing my...
Aug 25, 2020
Welcome to Episode 7 of Holly Jolly X'masu! In this episode, I cover the 2014 compilation, “Flying Dog Christmas,” from Flying Dog records. I figured this would be a good choice for August, expecting to be in the dog days of summer, but ended up recording it during a stretch of fall-like weather.
I didn’t realize...
How to Record and Digitize Vinyl
Jul 31, 2020
One thing my less technologically-inclined friends have asked me is how to rip copies of their own vinyl records. Okay, what they actually ask me is if I can do it for them, but for the more adventurous out there, I thought I’d post some instructions and pointers.
The first thing you need is a decent turntable....
