December 4

It’s the season when a million stars are glimmering in the trees all over the city. Everybody’s busy, but still they all look excited, and I kind of like this feeling. It’s also the season when editors speak of the "year-end race", and so do we at +81, hurrying to get all sorts of interviews and articles for the next (February) issue done by the end of the year. In other words, we're facing a dash that won't stop before December 31st, overflowing with ambition, a peaceful feeling, and a hunger for the fresh air that the new year is going to bring.

December 8

I've been waiting and looking forward to the Daft Punk concert with nervous anticipation since the day I got my ticket several months ago. "Discovery" is definitely on of my own private discoveries when it comes to good music. Every time an event I was looking forward to see disappoints me; every time I suffer some mental scars; and every time I think so much that I end up understanding nothing, this is the CD that lifts me up. I just think it’s a fantastically balanced thing somewhere between pop and punk, highly tasteful and really never daft. The show is in Makuhari. During the opening act I fall asleep in my 2nd floor seat. That’s to charge up, but I guess it’s a bit too much this time, as I catch myself bouncing around like mad once Daft Punk begin to play… The only thing I realize (in the form of muscle aches) is that it’s just such great fun!

December 11

I haven't had much of the sun recently, I say to myself and walk over to a bench in the little park right in front of my house. I make myself comfortable, close my eyes, and turn my face toward the sky. On my iPod roars Spanova. My dialogue with the sun makes me feel my pulse, feel that "I'm alive!" The song "Te no hira wo taiyo ni (We are not alone)" that I used to sing a lot when I was a kid, and Madsaki’s "Sunsex" are some of the thoughts that flash across my mind.

December 14

That photosynthesis kind of experience deepens my sense of affinity to Madsaki. I attend the opening party of his first solo exhibition in Japan at Meguro Rice Factory, to admire the huge "Sunsex" object that fills almost the entire, high-walled gallery space. I'm trapped in the illusion that I'm looking at something that was casually dropped into this otherworldly dense set of yin and yang. Later I meet Inbe-san from N.Hoolywood, who sponsored our "Fashion as Culture" issue (Vol.38), and graphic designer Handa-san. Some other people from the +81 production team, and for some reason also Yamazaki-san from "Dazed Japan" take part in our little party as well. The jokes of the N.Hoolywood team have the effect of all natural lemon juice, in that they make me contort my face until my cheek muscles ache. That sure is a kind of fun you can't have by yourself. It’s really important to laugh together - laugh about people’s jokes, and make them laugh about yours. I'm thankful to these guys for making me laugh an awful lot tonight!

December 30

Another party in Makuhari, this time it’s the "rockin'on" hosted "Countdown Japan 07-08", which I'm mainly visiting to check out the sets of Apogee and Sakanaction. I'm listening to much more foreign than Japanese music, but sometimes Japanese lyris just have the stronger impact on me. The two bands mentioned above are perfect examples for this. Their shows are fantastic, and I decide to catch them again a day later at Quattro.

January 6

At the Chillout Village New Year’s party at Takaido Kurabu, I catch the first live performance in a while by Kuniyuki Takahashi a.k.a. Koss. I end up getting totally swallowed up by the waves of his music, and eventually shed a few tears of joy. That’s not because it reminds me of some past scenes or feelings, but because it gives me a kind of sensation that is totally new to me. These are my first tears in 2008, and definitely the most peculiar in my life so far. The sound is delicate yet powerful, gentle yet pungent, and charged with all kinds of emotions. Well, it’s impossible to explain it in words, so better try and listen to it yourself.