Here’s the connective tissue as to how I stumbled upon Takseshi Terauchi, the premier guitarist of late 60s Japan, a purveyor of the surf sound made popular by The Ventures, who (if you believe the liner notes) were a bigger influence in post-war Japan than The Beatles. I was home on the couch, depressed and anxious, and I got an email announcing a repress of Terauchi’s first album with his backing band The Blue Jeans. Seeking to fill a gaping hole via media consumption I spent about 15 minutes checking out his music and instead settled on Eleki Bushi (1966-1974), an admittedly fantastic retrospective of the man’s style and technicality. Shockingly, I’m still massively depressed and anxious, but now I have some cool Japanese surf rock to serve as background music.

Is that glass half full?

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