Simon Collison

Sony WM-22 ▶ Walkman.land The WM-22 was the first Walkman model that was sold in the UK for under £30.

One for fellow spoolers: WalkmanLand is a database of all 80s/90s portable cassette players (found via @simplebits.com's fine newsletter). My WM-22 still outperforms any modern alternatives and it's lovely to get this much detail. walkman.land/sony/wm-22

Lynn Fisher’s Concert Archive An attempt to document a lifetime of concerts.

Launching a little project today! I spent the last few weeks piecing together an archive of every concert I’ve been to. I grew up in the “show up at a door and hand a guy $5” era, so this was an interesting endeavor. More shows to add soon, too!

🤘 concerts.lynnandtonic.com

Non-Japanese artists, clockwise: Japan, Tin Drum; David Sylvian, Brilliant Trees; Rockin’ On magazine, Radiohead cover; Fleet Foxes, Crack-Up cassette; Kate Bush, Hounds of Love cassette; Kate Bush, The Kick Inside 1978 Japan pressing; Radiohead, Kid A with Japanese obi.

City Pop, clockwise: Toshiki Kadomatsu, Touch & Go; Tatsuro Yamashita, Ride on Time; Mariya Takeuchi, Request; Akiko Yano, Oh Hisse Oh Hisse; Akiko Yano, Ai Ga Nakuchane; Shigeru Suzuki, Band Wagon cassette; Tatsuro Yamashita, Circus Town.

Ryuichi Sakamoto, clockwise: Thousand Knives of, Async, Opus 4 x LP box set 2024 Japanese edition; two magazine specials.

Yellow Magic Orchestra, clockwise: debut album, Japanese edition; Solid State Survivor; Public Pressure.

Good haul from this Tokyo trip — focused on classic 70s/80s city pop and YMO/Sakamoto, but couldn’t resist the 1978 Japan pressing of The Kick Inside, a 1985 Hounds of Love tape, and that Kid A obi. (See ALT text for details)

Yep, been here two weeks, leaving in a couple of days, sadly. Hope you’re enjoying Sri Lanka!

Holding the beans I just caught at the Setsubun event. Sunlight is illuminating the beans in their packet, and the crowd and buildings are in the background.

Happy Setsubun ("seasonal division," the day before spring in the old Japanese calendar). I was half-blind from staring into the sun, but managed to catch a packet of beans, which should help me ward off a few demons.

Vinyl, magazines, and stickers from this trip.

Ryuichi Sakamoto’s Fairlight CMI, as featured in the Tokyo Melody film.

Illuminated Tokyo Melody film poster at 109 Cinemas Shibuya.

Fairlight data samples on floppy disks and other materials on display in a metal case.

Many Sakamoto moments on this trip. Watched the Tokyo Melody 4K restoration and also got up close with his Fairlight CMI. The highlight was an afternoon at Sakamoto Library (secret location, strictly no photos). Quietly reading a book that I know he cherished and finding his pen notes was moving.

Black Yamaha upright piano with mixer, microphones, laptop and chair in a tiny studio.

Spent the day re-recording software piano parts on a lovely Yamaha YU-11 in a tiny Harajuku studio — then went record shopping.

My wife Geri apparently is, says she'll be picking up a copy when we go (I'm returning for the first time in 7 yrs later this month, and we have good sumo tickets). She's been slowly working on her own modern illustrated guide for visitors, and I'm hoping this year allows her to push that forward.

The one I’ve been waiting for. Colly always puts so much effort in to his end of year roundups, and there’s loads here I’ve not listened to, but will be

Thanks, Paul. I love seeing where my list overlaps with and veers away from people whose taste I really rate. And thanks for the entire 52 Albums series and for sharing such deeply personal stories – the Blackstar post had me welling up. Wishing you and Mrs LK a very merry Christmas xx

2025 in music Here’s my 22nd annual roundup: sixty short reviews across five categories, plus shows, stats and playlists. It gets more ridiculous every year, but I do it to myself, I do.

Here’s my 22nd annual music roundup — bigger and more ridiculously obsessive than ever. colly.com/journal/twen...

Radiohead at the O2 From one of the best seats in the entire arena, I saw my favourite band for the fourth time. Within minutes, I realised this would be the best gig I’d ever experienced.

A deep one for fellow fans... colly.com/journal/radi...

Yet to come down from last night’s Radiohead gig. We were lucky to get codes and decided we’d stump for vip tickets if that’s all there was, and got front row. I’ve seen them several times, including Glasto ‘97, but last night was perfect, the entire band giving everything. Just… wow. Here’s Jonny…

Side project launch time!

This one is for fans of Stars of the Lid & ambient/classical music. I've made a site in @getkirby.com to archive all the live recordings and of act as 'SOTL’ site as none exists. Adam Wiltzie also provided the previously unseen video footage:

starsofthelidforever.com

The Stone Roses at Heaton Park In 1989, a band changed my life, but when they recently reformed I didn't want to know. This weekend, I gave my scepticism the slip and witnessed the resurrection.

Shocked about Mani. Forever grateful that my teens aligned with the rise of the Roses' in 1988-90, when the summers went on forever. Here's a love letter I wrote back in 2012. colly.com/journal/the-...

Composing with field recordings Musician Henry Claude asked me some questions for his field recording research project, and was kind enough to let me archive my detailed responses here.

Archived a deep Q&A about how I use field recordings and why they mean so much to me. colly.com/journal/comp...

It was wonderful. For the many people in the UK who care about this sport and all of its brilliant details it’s been quite a week.

Grand sumo Closing ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall.

Grand sumo closing ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall. What a treat!

Having a tape stock sale, from now until end of #BandcampFriday.

I've found enough EP tapes to create five bundles — all four tapes (without maps or other extras) for £20

Reductions on everything else: Live at Delia’s £6, Remixed £5, Japan Series compilation £7

sitenonsite.bandcamp.com/merch

This Is What You Get Radiohead’s music and art are inseparable, and a constant source of inspiration for me. I couldn’t miss this exhibition at The Ashmolean in Oxford.

Some waffle about the Yorke/Donwood exhibition, embracing a loose creative process, and why an album can be "good art". colly.com/journal/this...

Andy Goldsworthy: Fifty Years Ways of seeing and feeling that I first learned from land artists have remained invaluable. This extensive show offered a chance to reconnect with one of my favourites.

Some reflections on the big Goldsworthy show and why I think environmental art creates a necessary dialogue between humanity and nature, inviting us to participate in its cycles, understand its processes, and recognise our place within it. colly.com/journal/andy...

Everyone criticises this album but I've always loved it; lots of good Kid A/mnesiac shit still going on throughout and these performances illuminate loads of those details. Where I End's climax is definitely a standout here and also those weird string sounds on Sail To The Moon.

Thanks, Andy. Yeah, I think I love the north as much as you love the south; I need to spend more time in Devon, always inspired by your adventures.

A few more days up North It’s becoming a habit that we head up North each Summer. This time we spent a few days in remote Northumberland, before heading to Edinburgh, Glasgow and Motherwell.

Notes from another short trip: remote landscapes, outdoor experiments, the art of light and space, exploring our universe, meeting owls and eagles, queuing for pâtisserie, and supporting amateur sumo. colly.com/journal/a-fe...

Deep listening: an afternoon of advanced sound discovery My recent session with a field recording expert was truly ear-opening. If you’re curious how Greenwich sounds through shotgun mics, hydrophones, electromagnets, anti-radios, bat detectors and binaural...

Notes and audio clips from a recent field recording session with Dr. Marcus Headley — revealing the hidden electromagnetic soundscape and capturing the audible world with greater clarity and intention. colly.com/journal/deep...

‘The place is bleached, a dead zone’: how the UK’s most beloved landscapes became biodiversity deserts National parks, famous for their rich natural heritage, should be at the heart of efforts to protect habitats and wildlife. Instead, experts say they are declining – fast

‘The place is bleached, a dead zone’: how the UK’s most beloved landscapes became biodiversity deserts

The Major Oak means a lot to us in Notts, and it was upsetting to see such poor leaf coverage (due largely to extreme heat and drought) earlier this month. Huge gratitude to the people working hard to relieve its stress and protect what's left of Sherwood Forest. markavery.info/2025/07/17/r...

Ah, wonderful! You'll love it.

Simon Collison | Journal | Camp france Notes tagged 'camp france'

I ran into the CAMP residency (“a place to think/work/create/live”) via @colly.com's journal and, after mulling it over for a while, decided to sign up for a week of my own in November. I aim to dedicate it to writing. Really looking forward.

colly.com/journal/tag:...

Protecting nature doesn’t stop us building.

The Planning Bill still threatens our most precious habitats. It’s now in the Lords - and it needs to change.

Read what happened in the debate 👇
www.rspb.org.uk/whats-happen...