David Sedaris recently appeared on the Daily Show to promote his latest book, "When You Are Engulfed in Flames" (which I still need to order). On the show he talked about his time in Japan and says that he went there to quit smoking. He also talks about the humorous posters all around Tokyo asking people not to smoke in crowded public places because you might poke kids in the eye with your cigarette or burn someone's jacket (listen for the Comme des Garcons reference).
One thing I dislike about Tokyo is the constant cigarette smoke, everywhere. Outside, people are restricted to smoking areas, but that doesn't mean you can't smell it as you walk down the street. Inside, people can burn away as much tobacco as they want. Quite the opposite of California law, where smokers must go outside. In Japan people are encouraged to go inside restaurants, arcades, pachinko parlors, bars, clubs, etc. to enjoy their smokes. Stepping outside to light one up on the street corner is unheard of.
I went to one of David Sedaris' live readings(?) a few years ago, and after reading several short stories he went on to talk about Japan for what seemed like an hour. He took a trip there and was completely fascinated with everything, so much so that he said that he had an apartment lined up to move to Tokyo. Ever since then I've been anticipating his new book, hoping that it's full of more of his incredibly entertaining stories, this time from Japan (why haven't I ordered the book yet?). I also have tickets to another reading this fall. You wouldn't think listening to a guy standing at a podium reading short stories would be fun but it is 100% entertaining. I must not be alone because his one-man act sells out auditoriums across the country. His audio books are great too, actually more enjoyable than reading his books because his voice is so peculiar.
How cool is this? One of the best mash ups I've heard. Perfect. (By the way the "Vox this" tool is great. I can embed NICO DOUGA vids now. Yeah I know it's been around for awhile. I'm always late.)
I'm obsessed with the part when they say "polyrhythm" repeatedly and the beat gets swirly. And the quick cuts of them singing in their stiffness style like robots is too cool.
Hurray for bubbleness! This looks old, but could be new, I don't know. Gotta love toward the end when just the music rolls with head shots of the girls bobbing their heads with cheesy smiles and poka dot wallpaper. I could watch it all day.
I could watch this one all day too. I almost want to learn their awesome dance. Nah..I'll just watch them do it.
I saw the macaroni video first here on VOX several months back (thanks to miyagawa). Liked the music, liked all the videos, but convinced myself to stop listening/watching. I have this inner conflict with enjoying jpop/idol music. I feel guilty and strange when I catch myself humming along with songs performed by underage girls. But whatever. I'm over it. In fact if Idol Master was released on the Sony platform I would have bought it first day. Yeah that's right.
Just got back from the Glow in the Dark show at Arco Arena. It was pretty good but I was hoping for more from Lupe Fiasco. I like Kanye West (sometimes) and I knew his live show would be great with the amount of money behind it, but I was just as interested in seeing Lupe's live show. Unfortunately he was the first of four which means lower volume, less stage time, and minimal lighting. I thought for sure he would be right before Kanye but I guess he's not as popular as I thought.
Lupe's set wasn't bad but the sound quality wasn't great either, which can be common at Arco Arena. Lupe could have used a live band which would have been much better, but being the opener that's probably too much to ask for. He played the "hits" including songs with Matthew Santos (who I thought was a well known singer for some reason but apparently he's not) and the girl from his video (don't know her name or the song) who actually lip synced! That's not cool. All of the music is already pre-recorded, so how can you stand there and lip sync over the album recording? Oh and another thing, Lupe Fiasco needs to stop singing. The singing is bad on the album, and the singing live is worse and he even sings more. He shouldn't do anymore singing until he's had more practice. Lots more. Well I just dumped on Lupe but nevertheless I enjoyed the performance.
Next up was NERD who I know nothing about. I don't understand their music, meaning that the sounds I hear do not combine well in my brain. The music is upbeat, funky, lots of synth, some rock. Then the vocals are somewhere between rapping and singing but I don't know where. Definitely an original sound but one that is hard for me to figure out. The live band was cool and I especially was grooving on the two drummers both rocking with full kits.
Rihanna came next. I've never heard of her and was surprised to see her 3rd in line. Her last song (or I thing it was last) sounded good. I think she said it was number one on some chart. Never heard it before but it had a good, full sound that I liked. On some of the slower songs her voice reminded me of Nelly Furtado. Her stage had more flare; dancers, props, and more lighting to give the show more excitement. The live band was good and once again I enjoyed the drums.
And then Kanye West took over with an elaborate setup that I was quite impressed with. On top of the stage he had another stage with uneven terrain on top of which was a moving platform on which Kanye delivered his rhymes. Behind and around him were lights, video projectors and yes, smoke. Overall the narrative and visuals were very cool and fun to watch. He also had a live band, but still a lot of the sound was probably synthesized. The band was lined up in front under the stage like you would see at a Nutcracker performance, which left Kanye alone on his moving platform surrounding by lights while the band was kept in the shadows below. He also did not invite any guests on stage so it was all Kanye and his big ego up there. I'm impressed that one man can be the focus of and entertain 10,000+ people for over an hour so I give him a lot of credit for pulling that off. If I saw the show again I'd want to sit front and center and would expect better sound quality, which could change with different seating and venue of course.
Here's some further random observations I made at the show:
1. Lots of Asians. I expected a large African American audience, being that every performer was African American, but I may have seen more white people, and definitely more Asians.
2. Everyone was well-behaved. Usually concert goers are aggressive, loud, and potentially dangerous. This crowd had none of these qualities. No fights or ejections that I could see.
3. Light security check. Before getting into the venue, a man briefly waved a metal detector across my abdomen and asked me if I had a camera or cell phone. I said yes and he motioned me to move forward. I've never been to a concert without a full contact body examination and emptying of pockets.
4. Fresh air. The Arco Arena has never felt so fresh. The air was cool and breathable. Where was all the smoke and body odor?
5. No weed. With the exception of a few whiffs, the air was free of both marijuana and tobacco smoke. How is that possible!?
Great song but I'm surprised to see it as the next video. But anyway, the video looks cool. No special effects or robots, which I'm always down for, but I also like a variety.
The new video has Utada in a large room where she is writing and recording music alone. Now people (you know who you are) can see that she is unlike other pop girls in that she does in fact write all of her own tunes, as evidenced by this lovely video.
I want to hang out in that room and play with all her recording equipment. In between sessions I would also do push-ups while wearing a purple hoodie with matching purple Nikes. Love the glasses too. She can keep those though.
I just noticed that Amazon ramped up their site to include social networking. So now when you read a review from someone and you click their name, not only do you see their other reviews but you see their recent purchases, wish list, etc. Nice feature, I guess.
Here is the new issue of CDでーた with a large section dedicated to Utada. I like the photos; especially with the Kuma. The feature is about her new album of course but also about the last 10 years of her career, along with an "a to z" section about random things, and a section about things she likes (she plays Shiren on DS!).
Yesterday I went to the new Hundreds store on Post in San Francisco that opened a few weeks back. The interior design is too cool. And I mean that. It's so dark in there that you have trouble seeing the clothes. You have to move the garment around before the light hits it right if you want to see details. But that's okay. I'll take the awesome dark interior over visibility every time. I also like the huge blast door for the entrance and the fact that the building has no windows or indication that it's a clothing store (more so than Bape stores) other than a large sign with the bomb logo.
By now I've probably listened to Heart Station at least a dozen times. Plus I've already been listening to half the songs in single format dozens of times individually over the last 2 years. I want to say that this is Utada's best, but after a few months I may change my mind since I say "this is the best" with each new release. However, Heart Station is much closer to my ideal musical style than Utada's previous albums, which had much more pop and R&B influences. I'm not saying I dislike the "R&B" flavored songs (even though I dislike R&B in general), I'm just saying that Heart Station as a whole is the sound that I prefer.
With the exception of one or two tracks (I'm thinking Celebrate) the whole album is not as upbeat as previous albums and I feel a sense of sadness from each song. Even Boku wa Kuma which is supposed to be a kid's song is very sad. It's about a bear living alone talking to his pillow. That's sad. And it's not just the lyrics, but the music throughout the album is melancholy even when upbeat.
Maybe it's the sadness that I like so much. I suppose she's written plenty of sad songs in the past but those were standard love songs really. Heart Station's lyrics to me are more about loneliness and isolation. I dig that.
The title track, Heart Station, is my current favorite even though I didn't care for when I first heard the single. Now I can't get enough of it. I love the heavy bass and the subtle chord changes filling in the background when the pre-chorus hits. The song has a good sorrow vibe going on. Even the video is sorrowful. Very nice.
After I've listened to Heart Station another 50 times I might get sick of it and decide that Ultra Blue is #1. But for now Heart Station takes the top position. This may sound strange but I put Heart Station along side my favorite albums of all time like Nirvana's In Utero and Tool's Lateralus.
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