Aloha, Mr. Cash.

As many of you may know by now, my good friend and creative colleague, Justin Cash, passed away on March 11. He is sorely missed.

We had only met once In Real Life – our first and last meeting was in Cupertino, California, when we were both training for the same position at a certain computer company named after a particular fruit. Since then, we had been exchanging ideas and conversation via Twitter, email, and recently, Google Wave. Geeky, eh?

At the time of his passing, Justin was waiting approval for a transfer to join the Hawai‘i Apple team. He had always taken an avid interest in Japanese and European cultures, and though he had never been to Hawai‘i before, the islands’ culture fascinated him, as well. He especially fell in love with Hawai‘i’s music.

The idea for “Does Not Suck” – writing about the music we love – was something he initially came up with. The name of this blog was actually the name of a graphic design set he had on Flickr.

Here are several links so you can get a glimpse into his world:
Justin’s graphic design/illustration portfolio
Justin’s Twitter page
Justin’s Last.fm page
Justin’s Flickr page

The following review of the Cornelius album, Fantasma, was to have been this blog’s inaugural post. Actually, what am I saying? It IS this blog’s inaugural post. =) Here it is for all of you to enjoy.

- Liberty

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Cornelius – Fantasma (Trattoria, 1997 Japan)
By Justin Cash

What could easily be a Beach Boys sample, a breath, then a pop, echo… You look to the left to check if someone is in the room with you. And then the laughter before the cats begin to sing. Don’t worry, all is safe. The world is at peace. You are listening to Cornelius (better known to his wife, composer/musician/writer Takako Minekawa, as Keigo Oyamada). If you’ve never heard of him, that’s okay, but I guarantee, after you hear this album you will never forget him.

Cornelius was a large part of the Shibuya-kei movement in Japan in the ’80s and ’90s with his band Flipper’s Guitar. Along with the Burt Bacharach influenced, heavy designed and very tight Pizzicato Five.

But unlike Pizzicato Five, Cornelius veered left and became more and more experimental. There are no boundaries on this album. No genres. This is not a classic verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus album. Just layers and layers of samples, vocal recordings and instrumentals. And they fit perfectly.

You forget all the adult trappings and remember what it was like to be a child again. And  it can at times be a very sweet and innocent album.

The only way I can let you listen to this album, with a clean conscience, is all the way through. Track one straight through to the end. If you must stop to use the restroom or feed the children, then you must. But please keep that to a minimum. There are important things going on here between your ears. I joke, but this is really not an album where you pick a song or two, then download them from Amazon.com. Simply because the album is a such a pleasure to listen to in its complete state. And listening to only a few pieces of this beautiful puzzle would be disappointing.

A few highlights:
Track 8 ”Chapter 8~Seashore And Horizon~” This song could have been a simple but well done pop song. Written for any number of Japanese pop stars in the mid-to-late 90s. A strumming guitar and two singers. Nothing too wild. Very formulaic. Then the change-up.

Track 11 “God Only Knows” I remember years ago, before I had the complete album, I owned this track (I know, I broke my own rule). There’s a simplistic quietness to this track. Scratch that… a peacefulness. This is the track you turn on, when you are driving through the countryside, with the top down, the stars overhead.

Track 12 “Thank You For The Music” A pulsating beat pushes this track along, keeping in time with a banjo (it won’t make any sense at all until you hear it). Surrounded by samples and then mid-song it slows down and Cornelius does something that seems so strange at first. But on repeat listens, it fits in perfectly on Fantasma. His talent as a producer are what we are marveling at on this track.

As for format:
There are several versions out there. I would not recommend the US release of the album. Mainly because it’s missing four tracks from the Japanese release (what this review is based on). The Japanese version is well worth the shipping costs and the shipping time. Either way, I recommend getting the highest quality version you can. Vinyl or CD. But if you can’t wait, there’s always the Amazon.com mp3 download. It’s the US release and low quality, but if you don’t mind cutting a few songs out, be my guest.

A few notes about the Japanese disc packaging that are really interesting. The liner notes, besides having really well done artwork, have the lyrics in Japanese and English. On the Obi Strip (a strip of paper that wraps around a Japanese cd casing and includes the UPC, track listing, etc.), the following messages read:

“FANTASMA: The album you are about to hear was recorded using 3D microphones. Maximum listening pleasure can be achieved by using stereo earphones.

DIRECTIONS: Slowly place the stereo earphones in your ears before meals, at bedtime, or as directed by your mother.

WARNING: DO NOT USE IF THE PLASTIC WRAPPING IS MISSING OR BROKEN!! Keep this and all other drugs out of the reach of parents.”