I Should Probably Learn Some Japanese

Okay, so some news. Big news. Huge news. Life-changing news (for me anyways).

Remember when I went to Tokyo and I was all “OMG this is the greatest place in the history of the universe and I want to go back more than anything?”

Well, I just took a job teaching English in Tokyo, I start in January.

Holy shit!  This is totally a dream come true. I can’t believe it’s actually working out (fingers crossed). I’m so excited to start this new chapter of my life. I’m probably going to write up something that goes into detail about all the reasons why I’m making this move and career change, but I’ll save that for a later date. Right now I’ll address the question that most of you are probably wondering: what does this mean for Lost Turntable/Mostly-Retro?

That’s an excellent question, thanks for asking. To be honest, I don’t expect things to change too terribly much here at Lost Turntable. I don’t know if you know this or not, but Japan has more than its fair share of record stores, and as you can probably imagine, I’m going to continue to buy music once I get situated over there.  Will the focus of my blog change to cover more Japanese music? Well, it already has a bit, in case you haven’t noticed, but don’t worry, I don’t think I’ll be turning Japanese completely. The Lost Turntable’s focus has always been “weird shit that I want to write about” and that will continue to include Japanese synth-pop, German industrial music, British new wave music, and damn near anything else that interests me.

I do suspect, however, that my productivity on this site will take a hit, especially when I’m first getting settled. I’m actually working on creating a backlog of posts though. Hopefully I’ll be able to keep the site updated on a weekly basis even if I get too busy to write for a month or so while I get used to my new surroundings and work schedule (I have to go to an office! I haven’t done that in years!).

As for Mostly-Retro, well, that’s a bit trickier.

Writing on Lost Turntable is easy. Find songs, rant, maybe write about songs, repeat. The stuff I put up at Mostly-Retro takes a bit more work and planning. While I have no plans on shuttering that site, I really don’t know what its future holds. Perhaps just sporadic updates, or a shift in focus. It remains to be seen. If you’re one of the very few people who read that site, I’m sorry if updates to it become even less frequent than they already are.

Anyways, I HAVE SO MUCH STUFF TO DO. I may not be leaving until January, but I have to figure out what to do with my house, sell a ton of my stuff, get my visa in order, find a home for my fish, pack up stuff for storage and probably do a billion other things that I haven’t even thought about yet. So this will be the only update to this site for a least a week until I get all that stuff in motion. Don’t worry though, when I come back I’ll come back in force with some truly awesome shit.

Now for the only tracks in my “Lost Turntable” folder that I can post without feeling compelled to write a 10 paragraph summary/analysis.

Adina Howard
Freak Like Me (Dub Instrumental)
Freak Like Me (Boogieless)
Freak Like Me (Remix)
Freak Like Me (Remix Without Rap)
Freak Like Me (Instrumental)
Freak Like Me (Accapella)
God, I hope I can find stuff as pointless as this when I move to Japan.

 

22 Responses to “I Should Probably Learn Some Japanese”

  1. Todd says:

    You sound excited! Congrats! Have Fun!

  2. Drain says:

    You’re moving to Tokyo? Lucky! God I hate you so much right now lol.

  3. Checker Can says:

    Congratulations on that massive move. The question I would ask is: What are you doing with all your vinyls? Surly not get them to Japan I think (that would be f***in expensive, as they maybe wheight more than an “Uzi”) 😉 Hope you find a trustable home for them!

  4. Michael says:

    That’s great news. As long time reader and follower of your musical and inevitably personal development I can do nothing but congratulate to that opportunity. As someone who always wonders what to do with my own life your move is very encouraging. Well done. Thank you. Take care and enjoy Japan.

  5. Joel says:

    Wow.. congrats on the good news! I’ve been reading your site for a while and hopefully you’ll find a way to keep posting. Best of luck and once again, congrats!

  6. Brian says:

    Good news for you. I Wish you luck and good times ahead. Please keep us posted 🙂

  7. Matt says:

    An amazing opportunity for you!! Congratulations, and enjoy your experience in Japan(I’m sure you’ll make the most of it)!

  8. ctel says:

    good luck. do keep on posting

  9. solotoo says:

    Hey, congrats and good luck.

  10. serpico009 says:

    Congrats on the job

  11. Jp says:

    Hello J.,
    that’s good news indeed. That’s a big leap, so I wish you luck and success.
    I hope you’ll become “Big in Japan” (no Alphaville pun intended…)

    -Jp-

  12. RDP says:

    I’ve been coming here for a while and never really had much to say other than thanks. But since this is pretty cool news for you, I wanted to say not only Thank you but congratulations. I hope you have fun.
    RDP

  13. Good luck – looking fwd to hearing more about Japan once you get there.

  14. unheard78 says:

    Congratulations on the move! I would’ve done it years ago if I had a degree, but most of the conversational english teaching positions require it. That said, be careful regarding ripping CDs and whatnot and the software for doing so as they’re pretty illegal if I remember correctly in Japan, at least as of now. I mean, hey, people do it, but you’ve gotta be safe regardless, though if anyone can pull it off it’ll be you.

    By the way, if you said it and I missed it I apologize up front, but how long will you be there?

  15. Lost Turntable says:

    I’m going to get into how long I’ll be there and such in a future post.

    As for Japanese copyright law, it’s actually more lax than America’s.

  16. Chris says:

    Congratulations and good luck.

  17. Tim says:

    Hey, congratulations on the job! I did a year teaching English in Japan and it was amazing. Looking forward to your posts from there!

  18. CakeSaint says:

    Great news! Actually, I will be returning to live in Japan (for the third time) in May, so maybe I can show you more of my favorite used record/CD bins in Disk Union and RecoFan stores of the Kanto Plain…おめでとうございます!

  19. Eric B. says:

    Great, great news, congratulations! We’ll continue living vicariously through you. 幸運!!!

  20. Hingehead says:

    Love the excitement that comes with massive change.

    Putting ‘Wide Open Road’ by The Triffids on the turntable for you…

  21. Steve A says:

    Best of luck – bold move!

  22. Lost Turntable says:

    Thanks! I am a bold motherfucker.

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