“—Is that good? —Yes, it is. It’s curry flavor. —If you keep making that racket when the movie begins, I might kill you, you know?” I didn’t realize until recently that these lines come from the start of Tampopo (dir: Juzo Itami, 1985). Dressed in an all-white suit, Koji Yakusho plays the role of a yakuza who brings in food that totally unsuited to the cinema before he berates a salaryman who is eating a bag of chips in the row behind him. And so when I heard these lines, played alongside the hiss of a record and a piano melody, during the intro of a mix I often listen to, Yakenohara’s “Oldies × Ramen Western Mix” on SoundCloud, I felt the urge to tell someone about it. Although, I was aware that someone who had seen the film already wouldn’t need telling and the title of the mix itself is a big clue in and of itself too.

There are two mixes by Yakenohara that I’ve listened to more than any others, the very same ones that got me hooked on mixes in the first place: “Summer Gift for You” and “Brilliant Empty Hours”. Fortunately, “Brilliant Empty Hour” is uploaded on SoundCloud, making it easy to listen to. As for “Summer Gift for You”, I got my brother to burn a copy onto CD-R that he bought when it was released (I’m sorry) and although I still have it, I haven’t listened to it for many years now. Without any equipment that can play CDs, recently I pretty much only listen to music on Spotify, but I’ve grown tired of this. I’ve found myself drawn once again to the joy of putting myself in the hands of the curator and enjoying the world (or story) that they have created for the one hour or so that a mix lasts for.

Last year when I went back to my parents’ house, my two older brothers were chatting about how awesome NO RULE & KRBT’s “Split Mix” was. Neither of them use Spotify or Apple Music and they excitedly chatted about CDs of which only a few hundred were ever produced while me, their younger brother, sat uninvolved. This was something that happened when we were younger and still happens now. When I was in middle school, I would be left at home while they both headed out to clubs together. I need to buy a CD player when I can. When I next go back to our parents’ place, I’ll hit them with a smooth, “Have you guys seen Tampopo?”