Finally a more familiar November day of wet snow and rain hitting the streets of Helsinki. Do I feel more alive now? At least more annoyed I didn’t buy new winter shoes to replace my leaky old ones in time.
Buying new apparel to replace my old ones is tough. I have a winter jacket I’ve been using for at least eight years which is now showing enough wear and tear that bought a new one. Yet getting comfortable with the new coat is so difficult that even today I preferred to use the old familiar one despite the broken zipper requires me to use a paper clipper to close and open it!
But I will get over it, as with all new purchases entering my life.
A moment of praise to Laputa
Lately I’ve been listening a lot to an old, long ago disbanded Japanese rock band Laputa, after learning that their singer Aki actually died last year at the age of 52. What a pity it took me this long to know this, as Laputa is one of my favourite rock bands from Japan.
Back some 25 years ago when I was discovering Japanese popular music, Laputa was in my mind a cut above the rest of the visual kei bands with melodic songs, delicious guitar playing and oh so sweet singing by Aki himself. I try not to think about the lyrics, though.
My first overseas order from Japan contained various CD albums from Japanese artists and one of them was a compilation album of their music from their early years (1995-1999) spanning three discs. That online order was so special for me that I still have the receipt that came with the shipment stored!
This was still a time when I haven’t visited Japan yet. When I finally booked my first trip to the country in 2002, I remember playing their mini album Glitter a lot on repeat in excitement of the special days ahead. They had taken a more different electronic sound by then, which I also liked and even now listening to it fills me with a smile and energy!
Oh the power of nostalgia. Oh the moments of joy. Rest in peace Aki.
Laputa recordings from my CD collection.