Flipper's Guitar - Doctor Head's World Tower

SWIMMING IN LIQUID PRISMS OF COLOR

Damn I am kicking myself for waiting so long. The sick, timeless cover. Flipper's Guitar's status as Shibuya-Kei pioneers. Cornelius - known primarily for the giddy, evocative Fantasma - in his adolescent years. Sampling! Doctor Head's World Tower had been in my peripheral for some time. Now it's the center of attention. Every checkbox has been ticked; saturated psychedelic ravings, dance floor euphoria, instantly-gratifying samples, Trance-like indulgence, exquisite mastering of transient Baggy, and even, one could argue, the logical climax of Tokyo's City Pop. World Tower might be the coolest album in existence. It exudes natural positivity, a rarity amongst music not made in the early 90's. We're talking Baggy (The Stone Roses), Noise Pop (Pixies), even Jazz Rap circa the D.A.I.S.Y. age. Even with this era well-established, Japan's booming economy in the 80's - a byproduct of Capitalism's takeover of city life - helped the alacrity of Flipper's Guitar take on a life of its own.

Because of the myriad of popular overseas samples - including The Beach Boys, Rolling Stones, Velvet Underground, and Sly & The Family Stone - accusations of Flipper's Guitar's originality came into question. A valid discourse, especially in the early age of Plunderphonics where crate-digging talent wasn't in its appreciatory stages. 'Groove Tube's' clear-cut Stone Roses influence certainly didn't help matters. However, one song nips that in the bud; 'Aquamarine.' Any and all will decry its Loveless comparisons before realizing one thing; World Tower beat My Bloody Valentine's transformative classic to release by five months. Considering how engulfed 'Aquamarine' is in the purple wave, the wall of sound, the droning psychedelia, their eminence in Shoegaze's evolution can not be understated. There's even another prophetic moment, and that can be found with 'Winnie-The-Pooh Mugcup Collect's' walloping Noise Pop. Yes, the crunchy guitars borrow from Jesus & The Mary Chain, but one thing that duo failed to predict? 90's rapture. To many, through nostalgia, winter didn't exist that decade. And 'Winnie-The-Pooh' exemplifies that celebratory commotion. A hubbub of raucous, yet entirely playful energy.

None of this takes into consideration just how good World Tower stands on its own though. Sure, to reach cult classic status one needs to forecast the future, of which Flipper's Guitar did with ease. Hell, I didn't even mention The Avalanches and their indenture to this album. Without it, Since I Left You doesn't exist. But this isn't like those influential albums both primitive and archaic (apart from, arguably, the sampling techniques). Released today, World Tower would still turn heads. Not just once, but over and over as it's impossible not to get lost in the reverie of songs like 'Groove Tube' and 'Blue Shinin' Quick Star.' The claustrophobia is embracive and not constrictive, like a warm hug during a commune ritual. 40 years from now, when I'm withered and feeble, I just know that chorus on 'Groove Tube' is going to satisfy as much as it does right now. 'The Quizmaster's' building connection to 'Sympathy For The Devil' (admittedly the most thievish, abusive sample), the disjointed tandem of 'Dolphin Song' and 'The World Tower' adopting the fluidity of Sound Collage, even 'Going Zero' and its zany waves of carnival instrumentation likening itself to splattered, magic, hippie buses, there is never a dull moment on World Tower. Song in, song out, Flipper's Guitar never approaches mediocrity. It is exactly my kind of music. Now and forever.