Okay so one (new) member of the stable (geddit?) was given leave to visit our friends in the East.

It was a short but refreshing trip and the first with full family in tow. Having lived out there before it was a great opportunity to re-visit old haunts… The biggest ice coffee you can drink served in one of those Pyrex kitchen measuring beakers at Mo’Bo’ / Mo’Gal’…a trip to one of the coolest and best stocked book shops I know, with hundreds of titles on geeky record scenes and photos of lovely LP covers…[three I picked up were Record Buyer's Diary, Jazz Next Standard, & How To Play Air Guitar]

And visits to countless different record stores in the continuous quest for the ever unobtainable June Yamagishi record “My Pleasure” which features Shuggy Otis and Bobby Womack. Oh shizzle, I’ve now just created another few dozen people who will be looking for this now…

I didn’t make it out to Koenji to the Boombox collector’s place which was a shame, but I did find a great little cafe / record shop (living the dream, anyone?) in Shimokitazawa. It was named after War’s huge early NYC club hit (and Mancuso classic) City Country City, so I thought I might find some kindred spirits inside. It was a beautiful little store and Tatsuro the buyer there was an excellent host, even putting me on to some great 70s Japanese vinyl including one piece he had recently sold to an over-excited Madlib…but I’m not telling you what it is…
Instead as a tribute to a great store, and a great holiday here is a link to the track City Country City…though I have to apologise, this isn’t the 13 minute album cut, just the 3 minute single, but I think you can get the idea
See you on the dancefloor