We Don't Care About Music Anyway

Saw this film at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, as part of the Zipangu Film Festival, back in November:

Been meaning to write something about it for ages. A documentary about the avant-garde music scene in Tokyo, ... We Don't Care About Music Anyway is obviously going to be huge.

It was really great, actually. Went into the cinema with such a bad headache, ... and completely forgot about it until the film had finished. I often find that loud, agressive music blows the pain straight out of my head. Infinitely better than paracetemol, ... I won't dwell on the fact that it is probably more that my attention is diverted.

The film was really engaging. That can be a problem with some documentaries, if it's a load of people talking about a topic in an academic way (either with statements or responses to questions) ... things can become very dry, very quickly. Every artist provided some narration to their own music, but even the roundtable discussions that split up these segments were pretty interesting. It would be hoped that a number of talented musicians placed in the same room would have something interesting to say.

Perhaps the best way to make a documentary is to let the subject speak for itself. Senna is a really good example. It's composed entirely from clips and interviews produced at the time the events were happening.

Back to We Don't Care About Music Anyway. Not all of the music contained in the film was to my taste. One guy (Fuyuki Yamakawa) particularly tested my nerves. The music was pretty poor and he was extremely pretentious, though I'd imagine it'd be pretty difficult for everything in this film to please everyone.

So, my favourite...

...definitely Umi no Yeah!! It roughly translates as Beach House, apparently. According to their website:

The two met in Yutsubo marine park in Kanagawa prefecture. Got along. Formed the band.

Their motto is to have a good business and a tropical sound. Their Curry rice is neither disgusting nor delicious. A profoundly mysterious beach hut. We don’t have boats to let.

Umi no Yeah's members are [Aloha] Takehisa Ken and the actress [Bikini] Tomoko Shimazaki. It’s a Tropical noise unit! Recently they've been joined by a part-time participant Syrup-san (aka Compuma) and Mojah-sensei (aka Kujun). 24/7, 365 day. All year around. Non-stop open business!

Basically the highlight of an Umi no Yeah!! performance is seeing the 'guitar-hero like strip-tease performance of Bikini' backed by cheap synth tunes and powerful guitar drones. I really dig it. There's something to be said for both the music and the performance:

Following the entrance, the wailing guitar and the strip-tease (of part one above) ... the music gets even better (in part two below). Some classic guitar smashing too. Listen to that feedback. The crowd totally aren't getting into this as much as they should be, ... but perhaps that's just me:

Totally need to see this band play live. Apparently they played at Cafe Oto in East London during March 2011, as part of a three-day festival promoting the film. So disappointed I didn't attend.

Ah, well basically ... I just love this band! Tomoko Shimazaki is a true rock star!!

Musically, mention should be made of Sakamoto Hiromichi. An experimental cellist. This guy is totally awesome. The axle grinder on the cello, whilst playing loops through effects pedals, is a pretty nice way to finish off this performance:

So, skipping to the conclusion ... if you ever get the chance (and you have any interest whatsoever in 'alternative' music), just watch this film. Unlikely perhaps, as I'd imagine it will never get a proper UK release ... but totally worth it! Definitely for fans of noise everywhere.

Another train-based anecdote (or the Origins of the Zombie London Mayoral System)

Overheard a conversation between a group of girls on the train between London Euston and Stoke-on-Trent last Friday. Apparently the London mayoral election is conducted using proportional representation (rather than the supplementary vote system, as I previously understood). I can only assume this means that once the votes have been counted, chunks are hacked from each of the candidates based on the percentage of votes they have accumulated and stitched together to make a Mayor. Sounds awesome, right?! ZOMBIE MAYOR!!

My train journey

A man gets onto a train. He's tall. Well dressed. [...] The man sits opposite a woman. Takes out his iPad. Strikes up conservation. [...] The woman is using an iPad too. [...] The man informs the woman that he went for the white version, despite reservations. Some believe that the white version is more 'feminine'. The woman thinks the white version is sleeker. The man agrees. [...] The man asks questions. Is yours the 64 GB version? Does it have 4G connectivity? Alas, price was an issue for the woman. She has the basic model. [...] The conversation dies away. [...] The man checks something on his iPhone. Makes a phone call. [...] Apparently their common interest doesn't lead to discussion of others. [...] Jamie sits quietly. Listening to music on his phone. Two books lie on the table in front of him. One finished. A bookmark indicates the other is half read. [...] Jamie dwells on how inconsequential modern life is. To be fair, ... he is listening to Radiohead.

Smashing Pumpkins

Finally saw the Pumpkins on their November 2011 'Other Side of the Kaleidyscope' UK tour:

First started listening to them in sixth form, after I saw the video for Tonight Tonight on MTV2 at a house party:

It truly is a fantastic video, based on Georges Méliès' 1902 silent black-and-white film 'A Trip to the Moon' (Le Voyage dans la Lune). Apparently Air have composed a soundtrack to a full-colour restoration. Should be interesting:

I'd already heard the majority of Gish during high school, but I hadn't really explored any further. Received Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness for Christmas in 2001. It's probably my favourite album. After a house party in my second year at university, me and a friend listened to both discs until five in the morning.

Attended the first night of the tour at the Manchester Apollo. Corgan was on good form, during the encore at least. The setlist was interesting:

• Quasar
• Panopticon
• Starla
• Geek USA
• Muzzle
• Window Paine
• Lightning Strikes
• Soma
• Siva
• Oceania
• Frail and Bedazzled
• Silverfuck
• Pinwheels
• Pale Horse
• Thru the Eyes of Ruby
• Cherub Rock
• Owata
• My Love is Winter
• For Martha

• Zero
• Bullet with Butterfly Wings

The main set was heavily composed of songs from the Gish and Siamese Dream eras (including Pisces Iscariot), as well as a fair few new songs from Teargarden by Kaleidyscope and their forthcoming album, Oceania. I suppose this makes a lot of sense. The reissues for Gish and Siamese Dream were released just before Christmas. Pisces Iscariot will follow next. In fact, Billy Corgan has tweeted in the past few days about work on the remaster and the bonus disc. A release date for Oceania is due to be announced in the next few weeks.

The gig was a little eventful. Ringo Deathstar were pretty entertaining, then we headed towards the front of the crowd for the main event. Ready for our first 'corgasm'! The first couple of songs were good, if a little underwhelming. The problem with most of the new songs was that nobody knew them. As such, the crowd did tend to get a little restless. Unfortunately, during Starla one of our party fainted. A short trip to the medical room followed and we returned to the back of the crowd around fifteen minutes later. Of course, I don't mind ... but we did miss some excellent songs, including Muzzle. That was a little disappointing. I do love that song. So, anyway ... we enjoyed the rest of the gig from the back of the venue. This was quite interesting actually. The setlist tended to comprise of a couple of new songs followed by a few classics, although these did lean heavily towards the earlier stuff. The crowd did seem to lose focus during the new songs. One guy spent the entirety of the gig calling for 1979, whilst abusing Billy. Whilst I can't condone this behaviour, I could appreciate that people had paid £35 for their tickets and probably expected a few more 'hits'. Sreaming abuse when the band are playing such classics an Thru the Eyes of Ruby (from Mellon Collie) and For Martha (the only song they played from Adore) was ludicrous though. Interestingly, nothing was played from either of the Machina albums. Presumably this will be rectified around the time they get a double-disk reissue in 2013. Looking forward to that. Still, songs like Cherub Rock and Soma received a decent reception. The new songs sounded pretty interesting too. I'd be interested to see them played after I've had chance to digest Oceania later this year. Sounded infinitely better than Zeitgeist.

And the encore:

Stole this video from youtube, not my own work. Some nice banter from Billy. Evidently a Smashing Pumpkins crowd aren't really that fussed about the Stone Roses reunion. Bit of antagonism too. Obviously Billy had noticed that some of the new songs weren't that well received. Asking the crowd if they liked anything:

"Might even play some songs you know next time. Oh, you like that one eh? Cheeky bastards"

Nicely agressive versions of Zero and ... "ah, forgot it" (what a tease) ... Bullet with Butterfly Wings, played at around a million miles an hour. Love the scream around 7.35. That was the corgasm moment, right there.

So, summing it all up. I really want to see them when they tour this year. The new drummer is excellent, particularly on the newer tracks where the comparison to Chamberlain wasn't as evident. The gig was a bit of a weird one, for various reasons. I do want to buy Oceania. The focus on new tracks and the Gish/Siamese Dream era left me a little cold. That probably has a lot to do with the fact I think Mellon Collie/Adore are the better albums mind. Nothing from Zeitgeist, thankfully ... although nothing from Machina either. The new songs throughout the set didn't help the atmosphere either. If they'd played the newer songs predominantly in the first half and classics during the second half, it may have worked better. Perhaps that's just me. Overall, I'm glad that I went.

That was a long post. Have been meaning to write something about this gig since November mind...

Night Terrors

Think one or more of my flatmates may be scared of the dark. It's the only plausible explanation for both landing lights to still be on when everyone appears to have gone to bed.

Raindance

Saw a rather interesting film called Synchronicity (シンクロニシティ) back in October. It was part of the Raindance film festival, an annual independent film festival based in London. Had to get up rather early on a Sunday morning and the cinema wasn't exactly packed.

It was a rather unusual film. Although quite a lot happened plot-wise in the short 80 minute running time, it felt very reflective and almost dream-like. The film opens with the lead actress, Miyamoto Issui (宮本一粋), sensuously kissing a model head, before following the two young leads with a hand-held camera as they run through a park. Two extremely contrasting scenes. I was left completely disorientated by the time the first ten minutes was over.

Basically, the film is about two young people living in Tokyo. Although they sleep together, they're not a couple. Stuck on the cusp of adulthood, with no great desire or motivation to move forwards. Directionless. Sure most twenty-somethings of the current generation will probably relate. We're pretty comfortable in our lives. Living a prolonged adolescence with our parents acting as a safety net whilst we decide whether to further our education or work dead-end jobs to kill time before we find 'a purpose' for our lives. Not that it'll be any different from those who went before us, I'm sure. It's unlikely we'll be married with kids by the time we're thirty though.

Quite a lot does happen in the film. The trials of the young female character snap the young male character out of his stupor to come to her aid, well ... in a fashion. However, it was the overarching themes of the film that stuck with me. Maybe it's due to the fact that those are the feelings that I can relate to. Feel pretty directionless myself after all. My twenty-seventh birthday is fast approaching.

The performance by Miyamoto Issui really struck me. Although I couldn't really find that much information about the film (gather it was a first-time director and would imagine the actors weren't overly experienced either ... guess we'll not be seeing a UK release anytime, not even sure how extensive the Japanese release was), I did discover that she was formally in a band called Nichika (二千花, meaning two thousand flowers) between 2006 and 2009. Managed to get hold of a copy of their album. It's pretty good. Nothing too challenging could perhaps be a fair criticism, ... but still. Really like this video for the song New Water (あたらしい水):

New Year

Okay, figured I should start writing something on this blog again. It's now 2012. Well, it's nearly the end of February actually ... so 2012 has represented the present state for the best part of two months now. Seen as the world is going to end imminently, I may as well find some way to waste my time on a Sunday evening.

In any case, thought I'd start by writing about some of the more interesting things I came across towards the end of last year.