Twenty years ago, Cornelius releases the track that defined Shibuya-kei | The Japan Times
My grasp of Japanese music is pretty weak, but I have been an admirer of Boredoms/V∞redoms for a very long time. Strangely enough, though, my music collection is much heavier on the OOIOO than the Boredoms. The reason is I find OOIOO more pleasant to listen to for extended periods. Their music kind of matches the flow of my blood or the various speeds of my thoughts, so if I start to listen to one song, I generally end up letting the CD keep playing to the end and the result is a kind of sensory immersion experience where I'm awash in sound and rhythm. I like that a lot.
Shibuya-kei is just something I've heard of, sorry to say. So articles like this prod people like me to get off our asses and do something about such things. The big problem is, I'm writing this at the beginning of a workday, so I have to try to do my best here while also keeping Cornelius in mind so I can do some musical exploration once I get home.
Speaking of Japanese music, I did a few little searches for live shows yesterday. Mostly Shonen Knife (they're off to Europe) and Puffy (they have a new single). My all-time faves, Melt-Banana, are playing a few shows this September here in Japan, then jetting to the US for a major fall tour. I'm very interested in seeing Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, but I'll probably have to go alone. She's the hardest working girl in show biz right now. Of course I'd jump at the chance to see OOIOO or any of their related projects. And what of Hamamatsu's own Spookey? I usually declare October to be "Spookey Month" here and on my comic book blogs as part of my month-long Halloween celebration, but they haven't put out any new material in a while. I don't think they've broken up exactly, just other more pressing matters have interfered.
Are Toy Missile still around?
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