film
From the 12th to the 20th of August Centre Culturel de L'Athenée Français [map] will be holding a series of seminars on works by German non-fiction filmmaker (and CalArts film professor...or is that dean?) Hartmut Bitomsky. Five of the seven films will be shown with English subtitles (the other two will have Japanese subtitles), and are as follows.
DEUTSCHLANDBILDER (PICTURES OF GERMANY) (35 min)
12 August, 6 pm (discussion from 7 pm)
"In this insightful work, Bitomsky and Mühlenbrock examine more than thirty 'Kulturfilme': Nazi documentary shorts made between 1933 and 1945 that were regularly shown in commercial movie theaters before the feature films. With titles like 'We Have No Problems' and 'Holiday Fun,' these portraits of leisure-time activities and work portray a self-confident Germany populated by nature lovers, craftsmen, and people devoted to both progress and tradition. Pictures of Germany shows how these skillful films created a reverse plebiscite—suggesting the regime's support through the depiction of a population of devoted participants." [link]
DAS KINO UND DER TOD (DEATH AND THE CINEMA) (46 min)
14 August, 6 pm (discussion from 7 pm)
"A video documentary made like a film—shot by shot, with light that was designed and set up for one shot, and from cut to cut. The filmmaker works against the live character that video simply brings with it and which his monologue conveys by means of the basically artificial code of the production. These two discourses are supposed to cross—the discourse of photographs that deal with killing and dying, and the discourse that is heard coming out of the filmmaker. Special Award from the Minister of Education and Culture of North Rhine-Westphalia." [link]
DER VW-KOMPLEX (91 min)
15 August, 5 pm (discussion from 7 pm)
"This documentary retraces the history of Volkswagen, from its beginnings 50 years ago, to the progressive dehumanization that lurks today in any such company, where machines are little by little replacing human workers. Another Volkswagen creation is also brought to light: Wolfsburg, a town completely planned and run by the company, thus controlling not only the efficiency, but also the private lives of its workers. " [link]
HIGHWAY 40 WEST-VOYAGE IN AMERICA (180 min)
16 August, 1:30 pm (discussion from 7 pm)
Can't find an English description of this one. But the nearest I can figure is that it's a four-part documentary following Highway 40 from Atlantic City to San Francisco over a two-month period. This road flick investigates American history and culture, following the direction in which America expanded—covering the life, work, music, entertainment, loves and desires of the people who live along the path...circa 1980.
DAS KINO UND DER WIND UND DIE PHOTOGRAPHIE
(THE CINEMA AND THE WIND AND PHOTOGRAPHY) (56 min)
19 August, 6 pm (discussion from 7 pm)
"A film about other films—the reality of films and about theories concerning this. The situation of creating the adaptation and working on the project is integrated into the film. It is a look inside a workshop in which work is at this moment being done. There is no commentary, only a discussion of films that involves dealing with ideas and quotations, and in doing so there is a direct and unmediated confrontation with the film clips on the part of those discussing. The cinema is examined using its own instruments." [link]
Also showing:
B-52 (112 min)
(in English and German with only Japanese subtitles)
20 August, 5 pm (discussion from 7 pm)
"For his most recent experimental documentary, Bitomsky explores one of the most vaunted weapons in American military history—the B-52 bomber—as an instrument of strategic and tactical warfare and a parable for American contemporary culture. He chronicles the aircraft from its design and construction in 1947 as the 'Stratofortress' through the heyday of its tenure as the Cold War purveyor of nuclear weapons and its present day deconstruction on an airbase in the Arizona desert. Out of this story comes a critical portrait of a culture of immense power and wealth, technological sophistication, and intelligence that invests all of its economic surplus into military machinery of dubious legitimacy." [link]
The seminars are being held in co-operation with Waseda University's School of Art and Architecture (Bitomsky himself is scheduled to lecture at their workshop in addition to these seminars), and seems to be directed specifically at those interested in studying documentary filmmaking. But the public is welcome to attend as well. Advanced tickets can be purchased from Pia [p-code: 678-027] for 1800 yen per event or 8000 yen for all seven seminars. At the door, tickets are 2000 yen or 10,000 yen, respectively.
Thursday, July 31, 2003
Tuesday, July 29, 2003
Taming of the Shrew
theatre
Where's my head? I didn't see this until just today. The Oxford University Dramatic Society will be presenting their production of The Taming of the Shrew in cooperation with the British Council.
Performed in English with Japanese supertitles, the play will start at 7 p.m. tonight (the 29th) and tomorrow at Setagaya Public Theatre (Theatre Tram), with a post-performance discussion. Tickets are just 2000 yen. Not bad for live theatre. I believe you can buy at the door, but call them just in case. 03-5432-1526
Where's my head? I didn't see this until just today. The Oxford University Dramatic Society will be presenting their production of The Taming of the Shrew in cooperation with the British Council.
Performed in English with Japanese supertitles, the play will start at 7 p.m. tonight (the 29th) and tomorrow at Setagaya Public Theatre (Theatre Tram), with a post-performance discussion. Tickets are just 2000 yen. Not bad for live theatre. I believe you can buy at the door, but call them just in case. 03-5432-1526
Monday, July 28, 2003
Femi Kuti and the Positive Force
music
This is just a reminder that Femi Kuti and the Positive Force are playing at Tokyo's Blue Note this week, with two shows per night until Wednesday. (It's quite odd that the Metropolis has them billed as "Femi Kuti and the Positive Voice" considering that they at least bothered to get the name right the last time the group was here.)
In a sad effort to convince you that I'm right and you're wrong, I'd like to present you with a series of reviews from various online rags.
"I knew it would be a good show; I just wasn't prepared for how good. Kuti and Positive Force bring a contagious energy, a roving, laughing, ready-for-anything spirit of joyfulness that permeates the mind of everyone in the room. You can feel a change in the room, the rustle of fabric as arms unfold, and standoffish strangers loosen up into a crowd of rocking, grooving co-participants in the raising of a long lost, collective soul."
--Phillip Endicott, Festivals
"Those attendees expecting to enjoy some cocktails while nodding their heads to some funky African jazz were given a thunderous awakening, from the moment the rhythm section took the stage, that this was an experience that commanded everyone's full attention for the duration. Afro-beat alone would fill the room with intoxication."
--Jim Welte, Ink Blot
"His tight, funky take on his father's creation was so galvanizing even unbelievers could not remain unmoved...Femi lets the jazz elements be more ornamental, preferring instead to clothe his messages of unity and spiritual surcease in cleaner, more dance-oriented robes. This was body music, not so much in a sexual sense (though certainly that as well), but in the sense that Femi and his band feel this music deeply, right down to the lowliest cells, and they were determined that the crowd feel it as well."
--Michael Toland, High Bias
"As a singer-songwriter, Kuti has a talent for catchy hooks and a way of stretching verse melodies across the beat that is closer to Bob Marley than to Kuti's famous dad, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. You can't take your eyes off him as he strides, struts and runs around the stage, declaiming his heartfelt songs."
--John L. Walters, The Guardian
"Femi Kuti and the Positive Force just might be the best musical experience you'll have all year...I've seen the Meters, I've seen George Clinton and P-Funk, and I've even seen the Godfather himself, but truly, they all fall short of the pure visceral power generated by the Positive Force...By the end of the night, band and crowd were both exhausted, yet Femi came out for a rousing encore that tore the roof off The Fillmore. Capping what might have been the set's most ferocious tune, Femi circular-breathed through his sax, allowing the band to tear open the jam while he held the same note for what must have been 10 minutes. It was a thrilling display of both Femi's endurance and the band's incredible energy. Like a sonic orgasm, the band finally peaked with explosive, anguished power, and faded out to a languid finish. Once the house lights came on, you could see that warm, post-coital glow and loopy smile beaming off everyone in the crowd."
--Jonathan Zwickel, JamBase
If that last one doesn't do it, I don't know what will.
This is just a reminder that Femi Kuti and the Positive Force are playing at Tokyo's Blue Note this week, with two shows per night until Wednesday. (It's quite odd that the Metropolis has them billed as "Femi Kuti and the Positive Voice" considering that they at least bothered to get the name right the last time the group was here.)
In a sad effort to convince you that I'm right and you're wrong, I'd like to present you with a series of reviews from various online rags.
"I knew it would be a good show; I just wasn't prepared for how good. Kuti and Positive Force bring a contagious energy, a roving, laughing, ready-for-anything spirit of joyfulness that permeates the mind of everyone in the room. You can feel a change in the room, the rustle of fabric as arms unfold, and standoffish strangers loosen up into a crowd of rocking, grooving co-participants in the raising of a long lost, collective soul."
--Phillip Endicott, Festivals
"Those attendees expecting to enjoy some cocktails while nodding their heads to some funky African jazz were given a thunderous awakening, from the moment the rhythm section took the stage, that this was an experience that commanded everyone's full attention for the duration. Afro-beat alone would fill the room with intoxication."
--Jim Welte, Ink Blot
"His tight, funky take on his father's creation was so galvanizing even unbelievers could not remain unmoved...Femi lets the jazz elements be more ornamental, preferring instead to clothe his messages of unity and spiritual surcease in cleaner, more dance-oriented robes. This was body music, not so much in a sexual sense (though certainly that as well), but in the sense that Femi and his band feel this music deeply, right down to the lowliest cells, and they were determined that the crowd feel it as well."
--Michael Toland, High Bias
"As a singer-songwriter, Kuti has a talent for catchy hooks and a way of stretching verse melodies across the beat that is closer to Bob Marley than to Kuti's famous dad, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. You can't take your eyes off him as he strides, struts and runs around the stage, declaiming his heartfelt songs."
--John L. Walters, The Guardian
"Femi Kuti and the Positive Force just might be the best musical experience you'll have all year...I've seen the Meters, I've seen George Clinton and P-Funk, and I've even seen the Godfather himself, but truly, they all fall short of the pure visceral power generated by the Positive Force...By the end of the night, band and crowd were both exhausted, yet Femi came out for a rousing encore that tore the roof off The Fillmore. Capping what might have been the set's most ferocious tune, Femi circular-breathed through his sax, allowing the band to tear open the jam while he held the same note for what must have been 10 minutes. It was a thrilling display of both Femi's endurance and the band's incredible energy. Like a sonic orgasm, the band finally peaked with explosive, anguished power, and faded out to a languid finish. Once the house lights came on, you could see that warm, post-coital glow and loopy smile beaming off everyone in the crowd."
--Jonathan Zwickel, JamBase
If that last one doesn't do it, I don't know what will.
Wednesday, July 23, 2003
Kiri Te Kanawa
music
This is really weird. Just a few days ago, I clicked on the Pia link to check ticket sales for Kiri Te Kanawa at Suntory Hall. At that time, they were sold out. Now? Not sold out at all. There are tickets available at every price level if you still want to go. You are the luckiest boy and/or girl in the world.
This is really weird. Just a few days ago, I clicked on the Pia link to check ticket sales for Kiri Te Kanawa at Suntory Hall. At that time, they were sold out. Now? Not sold out at all. There are tickets available at every price level if you still want to go. You are the luckiest boy and/or girl in the world.
Guitar Wolf
music
Oh, hell yeah. It's almost that time again—time for the Rock'n'Roll Summit in Odaiba. If you are Stephanie or Steve, you're probably not reading this. But if by chance you are, then you'll remember that I couldn't go last year. I'm sure I had something pressing to do just then, like asbestos removal...I really can't remember. But no excuses this time!
Once again, my favorite Japanese bad boys Guitar Wolf are headlining. As previously established, I'm too much of a prissy little princess to go see them at Fuji Rock, but I'll gladly thrash about in their sweat and glorious presence in the greater metropolitan area! And at the very least, it'll keep my mind off of the Belle and Sebastian concert I'll be missing that same day in L.A.—not long before I arrive—because I have obviously offended the gods. (Yes, I know. Very different music. All good.)
Tickets to most Guitar Wolf shows cost at least three times more than the mere 1000 yen admission to the Summit (p-code: 152-387). And as if that weren't reason enough, Beat band Neatbeats and punkers Laughin' Nose are among the ten acts performing that day in "Tribute to Elvis." But if you're really still too strapped to pay the 1000 yen, you can watch the show for free from above, seeing as it takes place at the Fuji TV building and there are walkways and windows everywhere you look. (Last year, Stephanie and Steve arrived near the end of Guitar Wolf's set and were able to watch and listen from the outside. So there's a good chance that they'll have the same set-up this year.)
Rock'n'Roll Summit 2003 starts at noon on 24 August and is expected to go until about 8 p.m. For old people like me, that's important to know; it means eight hours of standing...or flailing about, kicking the crap out of complete strangers, as the case may be. Let's slather each other in muscle ointment when we're done! Sexy, no?
Hmm. No, you're right. It's not.
Oh, hell yeah. It's almost that time again—time for the Rock'n'Roll Summit in Odaiba. If you are Stephanie or Steve, you're probably not reading this. But if by chance you are, then you'll remember that I couldn't go last year. I'm sure I had something pressing to do just then, like asbestos removal...I really can't remember. But no excuses this time!
Once again, my favorite Japanese bad boys Guitar Wolf are headlining. As previously established, I'm too much of a prissy little princess to go see them at Fuji Rock, but I'll gladly thrash about in their sweat and glorious presence in the greater metropolitan area! And at the very least, it'll keep my mind off of the Belle and Sebastian concert I'll be missing that same day in L.A.—not long before I arrive—because I have obviously offended the gods. (Yes, I know. Very different music. All good.)
Tickets to most Guitar Wolf shows cost at least three times more than the mere 1000 yen admission to the Summit (p-code: 152-387). And as if that weren't reason enough, Beat band Neatbeats and punkers Laughin' Nose are among the ten acts performing that day in "Tribute to Elvis." But if you're really still too strapped to pay the 1000 yen, you can watch the show for free from above, seeing as it takes place at the Fuji TV building and there are walkways and windows everywhere you look. (Last year, Stephanie and Steve arrived near the end of Guitar Wolf's set and were able to watch and listen from the outside. So there's a good chance that they'll have the same set-up this year.)
Rock'n'Roll Summit 2003 starts at noon on 24 August and is expected to go until about 8 p.m. For old people like me, that's important to know; it means eight hours of standing...or flailing about, kicking the crap out of complete strangers, as the case may be. Let's slather each other in muscle ointment when we're done! Sexy, no?
Hmm. No, you're right. It's not.
Friday, July 18, 2003
Frida Kahlo at Bunkamura
art
Okay, don't ask. I don't know what happened to my template last night (in case anyone actually noticed), but I assume it's back to normal. Today's blog title comes courtesy of UltraBob, who used to think this thing was called "Mindy Daddy." I like it. I think it's got pizzazz. Like a Pimp Daddy, but with a certain winter freshness to it. I'm keeping it until the next time I update.
On to the shiny things. I read about the Frida Kahlo exhibit on the ever fabulous esthet, where lil mentions that the exhibit is meant to coincide with the screening of Frida. To be honest, I have no intention of seeing this film, and it has nothing to do with the fact that the San Francisco Chronicle called it "a domestic melodrama with weak dialogue and biopic clichés." I don't like seeing films about artists. Even if Julie Taymor is directing. I'm just not interested in seeing a single interpretation of what goes on inside a creative mind, and I've noticed that these artist biopics tend to be on par with films about acid trips or manic depression anyway. As a matter of fact, some of them are films about acid trips and manic depression—with sexual experimentation thrown in for good measure.
So, rather than witness all that again, I'd much rather drag my lazy ass to Bunkamura and simply ponder some of the results up close. While the exhibit highlights Kahlo and other "Women Surrealists in Mexico," they're also including photographs by Lola Alvarez Bravo, who is neither a painter nor a surrealist herself. I'm sure the reason for her inclusion is specifically in the photos she took of Kahlo, a lifelong friend, so I don't know how wide a scope we'll be able to see from her. A shame since, along with her husband's, Alvarez Bravo's work is among the few to document "a Mexico that no longer exists." With the political atmosphere and fertile art movement of the Mexican Renaissance, she was in a position not only to capture the intensity and spirit of the Mexican intellectual elite of her time—some of whom are being featured at this very exhibit—but to also focus her lens on a side of Mexico that would've otherwise been largely misrepresented. One biographer wrote, "unlike so many others before and after, [the Alvarez Bravos] never idealized Indian faces or traditional rural life, nor did they convert the religious beliefs of interior Mexican into mere folklore. Along with the painters, musicians, and poets of their generation, they saw aesthetic subjects where others found only filth and poverty."
"Women Surrealist in Mexico" will be at the Bunkamura Museum of Art from 19 July to 7 September, meaning I have to make time next month since I can't do it in September. So if you're not a stalker, let me know if you want to go some time in August. Admission is 1200 yen for adults and 800 for students. But I don't know any students, so I guess that last part is totally irrelevant. Ignore me, would you?
Okay, don't ask. I don't know what happened to my template last night (in case anyone actually noticed), but I assume it's back to normal. Today's blog title comes courtesy of UltraBob, who used to think this thing was called "Mindy Daddy." I like it. I think it's got pizzazz. Like a Pimp Daddy, but with a certain winter freshness to it. I'm keeping it until the next time I update.
On to the shiny things. I read about the Frida Kahlo exhibit on the ever fabulous esthet, where lil mentions that the exhibit is meant to coincide with the screening of Frida. To be honest, I have no intention of seeing this film, and it has nothing to do with the fact that the San Francisco Chronicle called it "a domestic melodrama with weak dialogue and biopic clichés." I don't like seeing films about artists. Even if Julie Taymor is directing. I'm just not interested in seeing a single interpretation of what goes on inside a creative mind, and I've noticed that these artist biopics tend to be on par with films about acid trips or manic depression anyway. As a matter of fact, some of them are films about acid trips and manic depression—with sexual experimentation thrown in for good measure.
So, rather than witness all that again, I'd much rather drag my lazy ass to Bunkamura and simply ponder some of the results up close. While the exhibit highlights Kahlo and other "Women Surrealists in Mexico," they're also including photographs by Lola Alvarez Bravo, who is neither a painter nor a surrealist herself. I'm sure the reason for her inclusion is specifically in the photos she took of Kahlo, a lifelong friend, so I don't know how wide a scope we'll be able to see from her. A shame since, along with her husband's, Alvarez Bravo's work is among the few to document "a Mexico that no longer exists." With the political atmosphere and fertile art movement of the Mexican Renaissance, she was in a position not only to capture the intensity and spirit of the Mexican intellectual elite of her time—some of whom are being featured at this very exhibit—but to also focus her lens on a side of Mexico that would've otherwise been largely misrepresented. One biographer wrote, "unlike so many others before and after, [the Alvarez Bravos] never idealized Indian faces or traditional rural life, nor did they convert the religious beliefs of interior Mexican into mere folklore. Along with the painters, musicians, and poets of their generation, they saw aesthetic subjects where others found only filth and poverty."
"Women Surrealist in Mexico" will be at the Bunkamura Museum of Art from 19 July to 7 September, meaning I have to make time next month since I can't do it in September. So if you're not a stalker, let me know if you want to go some time in August. Admission is 1200 yen for adults and 800 for students. But I don't know any students, so I guess that last part is totally irrelevant. Ignore me, would you?
Friday, July 11, 2003
Kiri Te Kanawa, Thomas Hampson
music
Two of today's finest operatic voices will be ringing throughout Suntory Hall this fall, those of Maori soprano Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and American baritone Thomas Hampson.
I remember when I first started getting into opera. The music was great, and the sex and violence were scandalously good. But it was voices like these that really got me hooked--beautiful, strong and passionate all at the same time. I love these singers. I love listening to them and watching them feel every note. I love the appearance of control that accompanies the sound of pure abandon in some of their more emotional arias. And I love the fact that both of them are pretty good actors to boot. The bitches kick ass is what I'm trying to say.
A better writer has said of Te Kanawa, "Listening to her sing is like watching a smooth thick cream pour from a pitcher -- evenly, without lumps, richly, carressingly. As if that were not enough, she acts with conviction, temperment, and tremendous poise." Despite the fact that she has been singing almost her entire life, she has been said to have become an "overnight success" after her 1971 Covent Garden debut as the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro. So I think it's quite fitting that she return to Mozart's music in this Suntory Hall recital, featuring arias from La Clemenza di Tito.
Baritones don't seem to get the same sort of adoration as tenors and sopranos. So it's a bit of a shame that a talented and intelligent artist like Thomas Hampson isn't exactly a household name (though he's at least famous enough to teach a televised master class, as I saw on BS2 earlier this year). Of Hampson, the New York Times has said, "One is so beguiled by the qualities of Thomas Hampson's voice that it is easy to overlook that this is vocally not just another pretty face...Mr. Hampson's Schubert begins from inside. Every phrase becomes a subject for speculation. The body remains wisely immobile, and stories are told with a sense of theatre expressed solely in the voice...This is a very intelligent and thoughtful singer. The fact that he sounds as well as he does is a doubly luxurious gift to his listeners." We can listen to Hampson tackling Schubert and Mahler at his 11 November recital, and then lieder by Richard Strauss on the following 13th and 14th with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. (His website calendar and the Wiener Phil's give both the 13th and 14th as dates, but Pia just gives the 14th so far.)
Tickets for Te Kanawa's recital are almost gone, with only the top and bottom prices left (15,000 yen and 8000 yen, respectively) [p-code: 146-807]. But tickets for Hampson's recital don't start selling until 22 July [p-code: 151-884], and the concert with the Vienna Philharmonic starts ticket sales on the 19th [p-code: 146-696].
Two of today's finest operatic voices will be ringing throughout Suntory Hall this fall, those of Maori soprano Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and American baritone Thomas Hampson.
I remember when I first started getting into opera. The music was great, and the sex and violence were scandalously good. But it was voices like these that really got me hooked--beautiful, strong and passionate all at the same time. I love these singers. I love listening to them and watching them feel every note. I love the appearance of control that accompanies the sound of pure abandon in some of their more emotional arias. And I love the fact that both of them are pretty good actors to boot. The bitches kick ass is what I'm trying to say.
A better writer has said of Te Kanawa, "Listening to her sing is like watching a smooth thick cream pour from a pitcher -- evenly, without lumps, richly, carressingly. As if that were not enough, she acts with conviction, temperment, and tremendous poise." Despite the fact that she has been singing almost her entire life, she has been said to have become an "overnight success" after her 1971 Covent Garden debut as the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro. So I think it's quite fitting that she return to Mozart's music in this Suntory Hall recital, featuring arias from La Clemenza di Tito.
Baritones don't seem to get the same sort of adoration as tenors and sopranos. So it's a bit of a shame that a talented and intelligent artist like Thomas Hampson isn't exactly a household name (though he's at least famous enough to teach a televised master class, as I saw on BS2 earlier this year). Of Hampson, the New York Times has said, "One is so beguiled by the qualities of Thomas Hampson's voice that it is easy to overlook that this is vocally not just another pretty face...Mr. Hampson's Schubert begins from inside. Every phrase becomes a subject for speculation. The body remains wisely immobile, and stories are told with a sense of theatre expressed solely in the voice...This is a very intelligent and thoughtful singer. The fact that he sounds as well as he does is a doubly luxurious gift to his listeners." We can listen to Hampson tackling Schubert and Mahler at his 11 November recital, and then lieder by Richard Strauss on the following 13th and 14th with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. (His website calendar and the Wiener Phil's give both the 13th and 14th as dates, but Pia just gives the 14th so far.)
Tickets for Te Kanawa's recital are almost gone, with only the top and bottom prices left (15,000 yen and 8000 yen, respectively) [p-code: 146-807]. But tickets for Hampson's recital don't start selling until 22 July [p-code: 151-884], and the concert with the Vienna Philharmonic starts ticket sales on the 19th [p-code: 146-696].
Thursday, July 10, 2003
White Stripes - 21-22/10/03
music
I think I have a problem. It's hard for me to admit to liking something that everyone else likes, even if the quality of that something has only changed for the better since I first started liking it. So now, seeing as a girl's got to grow up sometime, I'm just going to shrug off this pseudo-cool habit, take a huge leap in maturity and admit that, yes, yes, I like The White Stripes.
There. I said it. Are you happy now?
But really, how could I not like a band that plays a song called "The Big Three Killed My Baby"? A band that records on eight tracks using analogue equipment? A band that shares a corn souffle recipe in an Entertainment Weekly interview? I remember a loooong time ago, while watching Fiona Apple on some talk show or something after her first album became a commercial hit, my brother saying, "She got famous really quickly. How's she supposed to follow that up?" I replied, "She's going to sing a bunch of songs about how it sucks to be famous." A cynical response, but that's kind of what White Stripes have done with "Seven Nation Army," the first single off of Elephant. After the critical success of De Stijl and the commercial success of White Blood Cells, they're feeling more eyes on them, more tongues wagging, and more people wanting to know if they're "married, related or what?"
Fortunately, the Stripes' music is so good that we don't have to care who's dating whom. There's something for everyone but the pop fans--folksy blues, classic rock, garage and hints of punk. As the L.A. Weekly put it, "Four albums of persistently outrageous, inspired rock & roll can't be wrong." Unfortunately for Candy Cane Children, Jack White has hinted in interviews that there'll only be one more album after Elephant and they're done.
That in mind, their upcoming Japan tour may be one of our last chances to see a great act before they move on to (what's likely to be) bigger and better things. In the Tokyo area, they'll be playing at Shibuya-AX on October 21 and 22. But tickets go on sale starting July 19 (p-code: 152-116) for a very reasonable (reasonable for Tokyo anyway) 6000 yen. Check the band's official website for other Japan dates.
I think I have a problem. It's hard for me to admit to liking something that everyone else likes, even if the quality of that something has only changed for the better since I first started liking it. So now, seeing as a girl's got to grow up sometime, I'm just going to shrug off this pseudo-cool habit, take a huge leap in maturity and admit that, yes, yes, I like The White Stripes.
There. I said it. Are you happy now?
But really, how could I not like a band that plays a song called "The Big Three Killed My Baby"? A band that records on eight tracks using analogue equipment? A band that shares a corn souffle recipe in an Entertainment Weekly interview? I remember a loooong time ago, while watching Fiona Apple on some talk show or something after her first album became a commercial hit, my brother saying, "She got famous really quickly. How's she supposed to follow that up?" I replied, "She's going to sing a bunch of songs about how it sucks to be famous." A cynical response, but that's kind of what White Stripes have done with "Seven Nation Army," the first single off of Elephant. After the critical success of De Stijl and the commercial success of White Blood Cells, they're feeling more eyes on them, more tongues wagging, and more people wanting to know if they're "married, related or what?"
Fortunately, the Stripes' music is so good that we don't have to care who's dating whom. There's something for everyone but the pop fans--folksy blues, classic rock, garage and hints of punk. As the L.A. Weekly put it, "Four albums of persistently outrageous, inspired rock & roll can't be wrong." Unfortunately for Candy Cane Children, Jack White has hinted in interviews that there'll only be one more album after Elephant and they're done.
That in mind, their upcoming Japan tour may be one of our last chances to see a great act before they move on to (what's likely to be) bigger and better things. In the Tokyo area, they'll be playing at Shibuya-AX on October 21 and 22. But tickets go on sale starting July 19 (p-code: 152-116) for a very reasonable (reasonable for Tokyo anyway) 6000 yen. Check the band's official website for other Japan dates.
Tuesday, July 08, 2003
Silverfish postponed, Pia article
dandy
Just for the sake of a little housekeeping, the Tokyo Silverfish Playfest that I mentioned here has been postponed until further notice. Not enough actors, I'm guessing. Plenty of actresses, though.
And the article for the horror discussion I mentioned here is in this week's issue of Pia, available at a blood-sucking convenience store near you...provided you live in Japan. Track one down if you want to see what I look like on a seriously bad-hair day. No lipstick even. Cruel, cruel photographer.
Just for the sake of a little housekeeping, the Tokyo Silverfish Playfest that I mentioned here has been postponed until further notice. Not enough actors, I'm guessing. Plenty of actresses, though.
And the article for the horror discussion I mentioned here is in this week's issue of Pia, available at a blood-sucking convenience store near you...provided you live in Japan. Track one down if you want to see what I look like on a seriously bad-hair day. No lipstick even. Cruel, cruel photographer.
Monday, July 07, 2003
Woyzeck 19-24/09/03
theatre
"If there's one thing you can say about mankind/ There's nothing kind about man."
It would seem that the Tom Waits fans in Tokyo are all on tight budgets. That's the best I could do to explain why the lower-priced tickets to Woyzeck are selling like hotcakes while all other tickets are selling like--what sells slowly?--lemon-flavored Pepsi, I suppose. If the moneybags only knew what they were missing...
Even though Georg Büchner's Woyzeck was written in the 1830s, it's still closely associated with the expressionist movement of the early 20th century. And that's thanks in large part to the Alban Berg opera Wozzeck, which premiered in the early 1920s. Its themes of pessimism and anti-realism lend well to the movement's tendency to oppose the conventions of pre-existing artistic forms. And Berg's music, which blends post-romantic and atonal music to fit the characters and scenes, did well to depict mental instability "in such a way that the audience shared this instability, rather than simply observing its outward effects."
Woyzeck tells the story of a soldier of "lowly rank and intelligence" who tries to support his family by selling himself for medical experiments. Faced with further humiliation from his superiors, disturbing hallucinations and the infidelity of his wife (after going through the sadistic experiments for naught), the soldier eventually loses it altogether. (Just don't read any reviews if you don't know the already famous ending and you have an aversion to "spoilers.")
Given that story line and the history of the play and opera, I'm excited to see what Tom Waits and Robert Wilson will make of it. According to the Los Angeles Times review:
The collaboration...is the shock of cold and hot. Waits' music, written in collaboration with his wife, Kathleen Brennen, is gleeful mockery of angst, with simple but deformed tunes, impaled oom-pah-pah accompaniments and deliciously mean lyrics.
Meanwhile, the New York Times says:
At times, Mr. Wilson's imagery can be breathtakingly obvious....But as always in a Wilson production, there are moments of eerie perfection, among them a dance hall scene that has the performers slanting and twitching to a subliminal beat.
Waits and Brennan's Woyzeck (in English with Japanese supertitles) will be at the Tokyo International Forum, Hall C [map] from 19 to 24 September, with matinées on the weekend and on the 23rd, a holiday. (Ah, the perfect way to celebrate Autumnal Equinox Day...maybe...I think.) Tickets run from 5000 yen to 15,000 yen [p-code:326-204]. But as I mentioned above, the 5000-yen tickets are going quickly.
"If there's one thing you can say about mankind/ There's nothing kind about man."
It would seem that the Tom Waits fans in Tokyo are all on tight budgets. That's the best I could do to explain why the lower-priced tickets to Woyzeck are selling like hotcakes while all other tickets are selling like--what sells slowly?--lemon-flavored Pepsi, I suppose. If the moneybags only knew what they were missing...
Even though Georg Büchner's Woyzeck was written in the 1830s, it's still closely associated with the expressionist movement of the early 20th century. And that's thanks in large part to the Alban Berg opera Wozzeck, which premiered in the early 1920s. Its themes of pessimism and anti-realism lend well to the movement's tendency to oppose the conventions of pre-existing artistic forms. And Berg's music, which blends post-romantic and atonal music to fit the characters and scenes, did well to depict mental instability "in such a way that the audience shared this instability, rather than simply observing its outward effects."
Woyzeck tells the story of a soldier of "lowly rank and intelligence" who tries to support his family by selling himself for medical experiments. Faced with further humiliation from his superiors, disturbing hallucinations and the infidelity of his wife (after going through the sadistic experiments for naught), the soldier eventually loses it altogether. (Just don't read any reviews if you don't know the already famous ending and you have an aversion to "spoilers.")
Given that story line and the history of the play and opera, I'm excited to see what Tom Waits and Robert Wilson will make of it. According to the Los Angeles Times review:
The collaboration...is the shock of cold and hot. Waits' music, written in collaboration with his wife, Kathleen Brennen, is gleeful mockery of angst, with simple but deformed tunes, impaled oom-pah-pah accompaniments and deliciously mean lyrics.
Meanwhile, the New York Times says:
At times, Mr. Wilson's imagery can be breathtakingly obvious....But as always in a Wilson production, there are moments of eerie perfection, among them a dance hall scene that has the performers slanting and twitching to a subliminal beat.
Waits and Brennan's Woyzeck (in English with Japanese supertitles) will be at the Tokyo International Forum, Hall C [map] from 19 to 24 September, with matinées on the weekend and on the 23rd, a holiday. (Ah, the perfect way to celebrate Autumnal Equinox Day...maybe...I think.) Tickets run from 5000 yen to 15,000 yen [p-code:326-204]. But as I mentioned above, the 5000-yen tickets are going quickly.
Friday, July 04, 2003
Pia Film Festival 12-25/07/03
film
Couldn't get enough of the Short Shorts Festival's Maestro series? The Pia Film Festival hears you. From the 12th to the 25th the festival will be showcasing works by filmmakers from around the world, not the least of which will be shown as part of their Kyoshotachi no First Step series. First Step takes a look at the earlier works of such directors as Akira Kurosawa, Roman Polanski, Martin Scorsese and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, not to mention George Lucas's student films from the '60s, if you're into that sort of thing. Probably before he lost touch with reality.
Also of note are the World Now documentaries showing on the 21st and 22nd. Not all of them are accessible to English speakers, so, for example, I won't be able to see Leni Riefenstahl's Dream of Africa, which follows the controversial filmmaker-photographer upon her return to war-ravaged Sudan, or James Longley's Gaza Strip, which covers the Palestinian struggle in a way that isn't usually done by mainstream media. (According to the website, despite excellent reviews, the film has been facing rejection from U.S. broadcasters.)
They are, however, showing documentaries by Michael Moore (including a compilation of segments from his old TV show The Awful Truth) and acclaimed documentarian Frederick Wiseman's 2001 film Domestic Violence. "Wiseman's incredible shrinking camera is integral to his patented style: no voice-over, no interviews, no identification of subjects, no intentional acknowledgment of the camera. His aim, he says, is 'to record an experience as it took place, without any kind of intervention or mediation.'" The goods news is that it sounds brilliant; the bad news is that it's well over three hours long. So just remember to come having eaten.
There's a time table in English that only gives you the schedule for films that organizers think will be of interest to English speakers, so you'll have to go to the Japanese time table to find out about films in other languages. Ticket information is here (p-code: 500-074, specify date and time; or p-code: 677-880 for a "free pass") and a map to Hibiya Chanter Cine is here.
Couldn't get enough of the Short Shorts Festival's Maestro series? The Pia Film Festival hears you. From the 12th to the 25th the festival will be showcasing works by filmmakers from around the world, not the least of which will be shown as part of their Kyoshotachi no First Step series. First Step takes a look at the earlier works of such directors as Akira Kurosawa, Roman Polanski, Martin Scorsese and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, not to mention George Lucas's student films from the '60s, if you're into that sort of thing. Probably before he lost touch with reality.
Also of note are the World Now documentaries showing on the 21st and 22nd. Not all of them are accessible to English speakers, so, for example, I won't be able to see Leni Riefenstahl's Dream of Africa, which follows the controversial filmmaker-photographer upon her return to war-ravaged Sudan, or James Longley's Gaza Strip, which covers the Palestinian struggle in a way that isn't usually done by mainstream media. (According to the website, despite excellent reviews, the film has been facing rejection from U.S. broadcasters.)
They are, however, showing documentaries by Michael Moore (including a compilation of segments from his old TV show The Awful Truth) and acclaimed documentarian Frederick Wiseman's 2001 film Domestic Violence. "Wiseman's incredible shrinking camera is integral to his patented style: no voice-over, no interviews, no identification of subjects, no intentional acknowledgment of the camera. His aim, he says, is 'to record an experience as it took place, without any kind of intervention or mediation.'" The goods news is that it sounds brilliant; the bad news is that it's well over three hours long. So just remember to come having eaten.
There's a time table in English that only gives you the schedule for films that organizers think will be of interest to English speakers, so you'll have to go to the Japanese time table to find out about films in other languages. Ticket information is here (p-code: 500-074, specify date and time; or p-code: 677-880 for a "free pass") and a map to Hibiya Chanter Cine is here.
Wednesday, July 02, 2003
Lesbian and Gay Film Festival 17-21/07/03
film
How dare I not mention the 12th Tokyo International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival? Slap my hand. Slap it, I said.
From July 17th to the 21st the--oh crap. Crap! I'm going to be tracking down Moses and UFOs that weekend. Ack.
The good news is that I still have the 17th and 18th to spare. The festival opens with Britney Baby, One More Time, a DV movie that follows a struggling filmmaker's journey to, uh, do something or other with a Britney lookalike. See, I have no idea. It was a little difficult trying to find reviews for this flick. The best I could come up with was one that claimed "What is most refreshing about Britney, Baby, One More Time is that it is a totally gay film that has only one gay character. There's no gay drama. There's no talk of AIDS or drama over coming out. It isn't about a sad person struggling with his identity." Huh. I guess people don't want to hear about the difficulties of being gay in a disapproving society. They just want you to put on a dress and sing and dance like a big, gay, sparkly clown.
I'm so judgmental all of a sudden. Where did that come from? Let's just shut me up before it happens again.
All the information you can ever want about this festival is on their website, including a schedule and ticket prices. (You can pay by program or get a pass.) I highly recommend picking up one of their brochures (strewn all over town) because, unlike the website, it gives you genre information, noting whether a movie is sad, funny, romantic, sexy, etc. etc. if that kind of thing is important to you.
It also notes that all film screenings will accomodate both Japanese and English speakers (subtitles for everyone!). So an illiterate like me could even see a German feature or Japanese shorts without too much worry. Not that I'm going to see either if Moses has anything to say about it.
How dare I not mention the 12th Tokyo International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival? Slap my hand. Slap it, I said.
From July 17th to the 21st the--oh crap. Crap! I'm going to be tracking down Moses and UFOs that weekend. Ack.
The good news is that I still have the 17th and 18th to spare. The festival opens with Britney Baby, One More Time, a DV movie that follows a struggling filmmaker's journey to, uh, do something or other with a Britney lookalike. See, I have no idea. It was a little difficult trying to find reviews for this flick. The best I could come up with was one that claimed "What is most refreshing about Britney, Baby, One More Time is that it is a totally gay film that has only one gay character. There's no gay drama. There's no talk of AIDS or drama over coming out. It isn't about a sad person struggling with his identity." Huh. I guess people don't want to hear about the difficulties of being gay in a disapproving society. They just want you to put on a dress and sing and dance like a big, gay, sparkly clown.
I'm so judgmental all of a sudden. Where did that come from? Let's just shut me up before it happens again.
All the information you can ever want about this festival is on their website, including a schedule and ticket prices. (You can pay by program or get a pass.) I highly recommend picking up one of their brochures (strewn all over town) because, unlike the website, it gives you genre information, noting whether a movie is sad, funny, romantic, sexy, etc. etc. if that kind of thing is important to you.
It also notes that all film screenings will accomodate both Japanese and English speakers (subtitles for everyone!). So an illiterate like me could even see a German feature or Japanese shorts without too much worry. Not that I'm going to see either if Moses has anything to say about it.
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