Or, at least, you got your first steps into the door.
Yes, Shiina Ringo music videos are being uploaded on VEVO accounts, as well as Tokyo Jihen ones, at 360p or 480p- BUT, baby steps. They’re pretty good 360p videos, though. They look better than some HD versions unofficially uploaded and ripped from the net. I’m not picky as long as Japan lets me watch the music videos of the artists I like and stops me from worrying whether the video I’m posting is gonna disappear in the next few days.
Well, I think it’s time, no? This has been my Chulpan Khamatova’s journey so far. Surprisingly, most of the films that remain hard to find (and hence are not subtitled in other language) have been my least favorite. It could be a case of lost in not-translation, but I’m confident in my non-subtitled watch experience to trust my instinct.
If you’ve (for some reason) been following this blog a while, you’d know that I’m a big fan of Xiami, the Mainland China-based music site that has never flashed me with a “this content is not available in your region” message. I’ve actually bought some tracks off of them, started way before iTunes became available in my country, and have continued with tracks that aren’t available in my iTunes store, or with overpriced albums/singles.
It’s particularly useful for Chinese-based artists.
In general, all tracks are priced at 0.8米 (Mi) and 1 Mi is 1 Yuan, which is about 0.16USD, which is like 1/10 of what iTunes charges. They accept Paypal as one of their paying options, which seems way simpler than paying with your credit card (I tried). And since Xiami is a community-based site, they give you points for activities. Every time you log in, you get points and once you log in for a whole uninterrupted week, they give you a red envelope which also serves to download tracks. If you log in every day for a month or a whole year, you’ll get even more for free downloads.
Downloading tracks, adding albums, adding information (photos, lyrics, etc), participating in community discussions, and joining groups also gives you points to raise your Xiami level. Though, I still don’t know what’s that for, other than showing off and user respectability.
I was browsing albums, when I stumbled upon this album cover by Elliot Tupac.
Of course, for those in the know, you’d know that’s a super Chicha style type of typography [1], so interested to see what it was all about, I did a quick search. You’d be happy to know you can stream all of the EP Cuatro Tigres on Soundcloud, as well as their new album Canibalismo. Chicha Libre is a multi-ethnic Brooklyn-based group formed by Americans, Mexicans, Venezuelans and French musicians mixing Peruvian Chicha music with 60s psychedelic music and stuff. It’s pretty trippy.
I never in my life would’ve thought that I’d be sitting through more than one album of Chicha music. The most interesting thing is that there’s no Peruvians in sight on core members of the group. You can check them out on Facebook or Twitter. I’m not entirely a Chicha convert, but I appreciate the variety in the concept of the group. I do think they sound a lot like Chicha groups, but sing in English instead. Novelty, but it gets a bit tiring by the fourth track.
Conveniently, the group was asked to do a The Simpsons tune for one of the episodes.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/81093323″ params=”color=ff0090&auto_play=false&show_artwork=true” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
You know, I read that post about Japan — despite its technologically-advanced image — not being a tech nation at all [1][2], so when finding this about a radio drama took me back in time back to when my mom told me they used to watch radio telenovelas (back then known as radionovelas, of course). Having Yu working on one is so bizarre… not to mention troublesome as a fan xD
Just ran into this song- a collaboration between producer Hamacide and Shanghai singer ChaCha on vocals. The EP — which seems more like an elaborate single really — has different remixes by Downstate, Jared Turinsky, Lightswitch Lafayette as well.
With artwork by Lily Xiao.
You can also buy this on Bandcamp.
This, you have to admit, is pretty darn good-looking.
Psyop is doing a series — in all honesty, it’s only three webisodes — as prequel to a video game, and decided to do the animation by hand with some 3D enhancements.
Soooooo, story of my life. The Shunji Iwai Vampire interview was supposed to begin at 9pm, which means I decided to stay up all the way into 7am my timezone to catch the interview… the problem was I fell asleep well into the 30min. mark with Iwai-san arriving just a few minutes later.
So I missed the whole thing. LOL
I really REALLY REALLY am loving Chochukmo, and not because I interviewed them. I actually accepted to interview them because I really liked their first album, which you can listen to on Xiami or Bandcamp ;O
Don’t forget to check out my interview with Mike Orange from the band.
Thoughts on Ooku?
You know I really really love Kou Shibasaki’s acting (not so much her music), and she was easily the best part in that movie. And it’s not even that scene in which the chambers opened to a sight of pretty men bowing to her, and she tells them they’re a bunch of useless and pretty men. LOL
Is not even that scene.
