Tokyo Kid Brothers - Throw Away Your Books Let's Go Into The Streets! (1971)

This is the first of what I think are three super-important soundtracks, so I guess I'll be sharing them as some kind of half-assed triptych. This is a repost from the wonderful amazing spectacular Mutant Sounds, because I don't know about anyone else but I can't get their copy of the album to download without having a hernia.

Anyway, the Tokyo Kid Brothers were a Music Theater Commune who, despite operating for thirty years or so, left almost no trace of their existence. Even when they started making soundtracks, the only existing copy of their music appeared in the movie itself, which is why you'll hear dialogue, sound effects, and incidental noise in addition to the actual music.

Although this soundtrack is even more compelling when accompanying the movie (Tokyo Pilgrimage Poem, for instance, is doubly wrenching when it plays over the protagonist losing his virginity to a prostitute hired by his father), just listening will give you an idea of the wild, genre hopping, Boredoms-like intensity of this group. Bearing in mind the soundtrack's release was a few years delayed, Tokyo Kid Brothers were making this stuff when everyone thought the White Album was so freaking crazy. Influential, revered, unmissable. Of course, you don't have to take my word for it; they're on THE LIST.

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Also, look at this. Their readers consistently have 60-100 post discussions, and it's a blog about freaking cakes. I don't care if you love the music or hate it. Just talk about it. Please.

9 Responses so far.

  1. Tropolist says:

    I think that goes for your blog's main demographic. Maybe next time I'll write it in Japanese and see if anyone notices.

  2. DeeKay says:

    I think the problem with this blog is people just use it to discover new music, and indeed it is such a great tool to do so. That of course isn't bad, but it means peoples main focus is to get the music, they don't necessarily want to discuss about it.

    Although you get plenty of hits and downloads (for which I am sure people are silently grateful) I don't think you're going to get much if any discussion on the subject matter. That being said I love a good discussion about music with someone who actually knows something so I defiantly would join in.

  3. It's stealing music too. People will love talking about the music itself, on last.fm or in record stores or in trying to impress some girl, but at the mouth of the river, not so much. People think it's easier to be traced, or something, and they run from the government like ET

    That said, this is pretty good.

  4. jc says:

    discuss music here:

    http://www.last.fm/group/we+fucking+love+music

  5. jerod says:

    make it easier - i don't like going to a separate page away from the site. i want to be able to comment & see threads on the main page

    plus i have to do this goddamn captcha and sign in bullshit

    spending 5+ seconds to make a comment is just too much ;)

  6. unfire says:

    I don't think you should take it too personally - it's the same on every mp3 blog.

    By and large I should probably comment more when I read blogs, even when I have nothing particularly breathtaking to say.

  7. lambs says:

    I came.
    (after listening to this music)

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