I was heartbroken and living in the suburbs of Tokyo. For many weeks I did nothing but skulk around the local family restaurants, taking advantage of the 100 yen unlimited coffee and reading the few English books I could find at the nearby library.
One day I woke up realizing the one thing that would make me feel better. I took the two hour train ride to Shinjuku station and found my way through the crowded streets to Tower Records. Located on the eighteenth floor of a giant shopping high rise, the third floor of Tower records had floor to ceiling windows that granted one of the most beautiful views of the crowded city. It also had an English magazine rack that sold Maximumrocknroll.
I bought the mag, and with my change bought some inari-zushi from a 7-11 near the train station. On the crowded train home I nearly cried as I read about xLimp Wristx, the singer whom I had interviewed on the last Los Crudos tour. There was also interview featuring the dry wit of Andy, an old pen pal and author of my favourite zine, I’m Johnny and I Don’t Give a Fuck. I savoured every word. Being in Japan was the loneliest time of my life but this magazine became a powerful talisman, reminding me of the rich and tangled community that I was part of back home. I was a punk, godammit, I would get through this shit!
Punk was happening in Tokyo too, of course, but it was hard to figure out where. One night I had tried to enter it but only ended up searching for hours for the club where The Locust and Melt Banana were playing. A helpful record store clerk had even drawn me a map, but the nameless alleys of Tokyo proved to challenging for my rudimentary navigating skills.
The next day I read MRR’s zine column. I almost never bought the magazine at home, but every month I went into the corporate bookstore, picked it off the shelf and read the zine reviews from start to finish, writing down the most appealing titles and addresses in my notebook before putting it back on the shelf. Over the years of doing this I ended up reading some amazing shit. As I circled the best reviews, I thought of how in just a few months I would be home.
All that said, it felt pretty good to get listed in the “Top Ten Zines” column in this month’s issue. Maybe not as good as the first time, when I was seventeen, but still pretty damn good.
