I have to admit something... I have total Jap Envy. I know that reading this, some members of my family will be quite upset, because I come from a fairly racist clan (though they would never admit it). It seems that most Americans are split when it comes to the denizens of the Land of the Rising Sun. Either they feel that the Japanese simply steal our ideas, and sell them back at a mark-up, or, like me, they are blown away at the level of perfection the Japanese bring to their endeavors. Now, I'm not claiming to be an expert on Japanese culture. I don't speak the language, I've never been closer than California, I don't like Sushi (Though, I appreciate its aesthetic quality. Jennie makes adorable heart shaped rolls at home.), and I've never enjoyed the company of a Companion Girl. I am, however, a fan of many of their exports. Their groundbreaking animation, such as "FLCL", "Spirited Away", and "Paprika". All of which blow just about anything American out of the water, with the possible exception of Pixar films. I've read a few books on the Yakuza, and I highly recommend the book "Speed Tribes" for a look at the seedy subcultures us round-eyes are often unaware of. So, today I'm sharing with you a fine example of Japanese ingenuity: Melt-Banana. An almost perfect blend of Noise and Punk. Thrash and Studio-trickery. Cute and Spastic. "Charlie" is wholly original in its mashing of genres. In fact, I'd call them one of maybe twenty absolutely unique bands. Please to enjoy.
Ichiban!
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4 comments:
I love Japan, especially their music and movies and sushi!. And Melt Banana is one of their many awesome bands!
um, Dumplings is a hong kong movie and Oldboy is korean
Demogoro: You caught me on both fronts. A quick trip to IMDB showed that neither of those movies are, in fact, Japanese. I wrote this post in haste, without doing the proper research. I think I had just been told that both were Japanese, and didn't bother to actually check. I had written a different version of the post, which didn't mention any movies, then rewrote the whole thing in a hurry. I apologize for lumping in three different Asian races. I stab my head, now.
Asian movies still rock in general (though I am mostly a japan fan!)
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