Julian Cope has followed up his Krautrocksampler book with one on Japanese pysch. At the moment it is only available through http://www.amazon.co.uk and http://www.freakemporium.com.

The almost 2 for 1 dollars to pound exchange rate does make this book pricey.

Cope also has an excellent website: http://www.headheritage.co.uk

Amazon USA is now stocking it too:



Reviews
'This book's astonishing blend of seriousness and hilariousness is testament to perhaps the most remarkable mind in rock today' Word

'The most obscenely enjoyable book of the year enlightening, thrilling and occasionally hilarious Cope is a supremely engaging writer whose aim is to entertain, educate and freak out, like A. J. P. Taylor being spiked by Lester Bangs' Telegraph

'Fascinating keeps the reader gripped his evocations of all this authentically inauthentic music are enticing and convincing' ***** Observer Music Monthly

'Cope's first-hand knowledge of the petty rivalries and idiocies of life in the rock 'n' roll business lends his tales the sheen of authenticity. In its own way, Japrocksampler is a brave book' The Wire

Product Description
In the 1960s rock ‘n’ roll music began crossing the Atlantic Ocean—with The Beatles and The Who leading the British Invasion of the United States—and the Pacific Ocean, as American and European rock slowly began to take hold in Japan. This insightful study from visionary rock musician Julian Cope explores what really happened when Western music met Eastern shores. The clash between traditional Japanese values and the wild renegades of 1960s and 1970s rock ‘n’ roll is examined, and the seminal artists in Japanese post-World War II culture are all covered. From itinerate art-house poets to violent refusenik bands with penchants for plane hijacking, this is the story of the Japanese youths and musicians who simultaneously revolutionized a musical genre and the culture of a nation.

Hardcover (Sep 03, 2007):
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0747589453/?tag=imwan-20

Paperback (Jan 12, 2009):
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0747593035/?tag=imwan-20

Great looking book, hardcover trade paper size book. Very well researched and written like his other 4-5 books.

This will definitely turn the adventureous onto new sounds, particularly heavy pysch and experimental.

Looks like those dudes lost their "leathers"!

Julian Cope has also created a website that further augments the book's contents: http://www.japrocksampler.com

Bump: a paperback edition of this book is going to be published. See second post for updated details.