Objective Morning

             Sugi Poster design. Tokyo Beams located in Shinjuku’s labyrinthine entertainment district is the setting for an extensive exhibit of international hardcore/punk paraphernalia. For the uninitiated it should be noted that it’s a popular lifestyle brand that sells a range of limited collectibles and unique items that depending on budget can range from the affordable to a small premium. Set to the backdrop of Izakaya’s, bars, clothing shops and Record stores including  Disc Union,  an essential record haunt (located right around the corner from this venue) As can be gleamed from the stated description, it is an area particularly popular with visiting tourists and the many denizens of Tokyo located in this district.   Downtown Shinjuku.   Photo: Adam Farrar Outside Galery B GxBxT. Hardcore Punk Exhibition at Beams.  Photo: Adam Farrar GxBxT  (which stands for  頑張れ ( Ganbatte,  the  Japan...

When I first started writing this list in December 2021, never could I have imagined after two years of uncertainty due to coronavirus, that humanity would be facing the threat of increasing violence in Eastern Europe which would come to overshadow all of our lives, the world has since become a much darker place.  In positive events, personal to me I have been lucky enough to see many great movies during the year and listen to a lot of excellent albums and 7inches which I compiled into the below list which includes some of the stand out out titles which I thought were worthy of a mention. As a side note, one scratch I finally got to itch in November was seeing my first live show since January 2020...  Best Albums of 2020  II by M.A.Z.E.   Maze   - II LP Lumpy Records Tokyo (Japan) M.A.Z.E. are on my 'best of list' two years running and for good reason. After a string of tapes and a 12" they have released their debut album on Lumpy Records. If you know the la...