Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami is a favorite of both of ours. His new book, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, is a work of non-fiction: a memoir about his experiences as a runner over the past two and a half decades. In particular, it's about how the runner's temparement, and all the skills that come into play when training for a marathon, is much the same as that of a dedicated novelist.
What does this have to do with music? Well, Murakami is a huge music fan as well. Check him out in the photo above in front of his wall of wax! He used to work in a record store, and he owned a jazz club, and he includes lots of musical references in his books.
You'd think that a guy who's so passionate about running that he devotes a whole book to it would be opposed to disturbing the purity of the act by listening to music while he runs. But no, turns out he loves to combine his two hobbies and rock out with headphones while he runs!
And his musical taste is pretty damn hip for a guy in his late 50s. He listens to Beck, the Gorillaz, Red Hot Chili Peppers. Some 60s stuff too: Creedence, the Beach Boys, Lovin' Spoonful (?) And, err, John Mellencamp (but we won't hold that against him).
A friend of a friend of a friend showed me your blog. For us white folk who have listened to bland indie rock the last decade, could you do a list of your 20 essential albums?
Posted by: Anon | December 10, 2008 at 01:57 PM