An interesting look at Tokyo juxtaposing a car-ride on the Tokyo Metropolitan Expressway taken from Tarkowsky‘s 1972 film Solaris with the same ride filmed in 2005.

http://www.fischerelsani.net/kelvin/tme_v.html

Via vvork.

The New York Times has an interesting audio visual piece on Japanese photographer Kohei Yoshiyuki, who is suddenly gaining a bit of interest again in the US, for his documenting of couples having sex and the peeping toms who observed them in Tokyo parks in the 1970s.

“What is so striking … is that everyone is crossing the line. The couples who engage in sex in public, the peeping toms who tresspass on that intimacy, he photographer who has betrayed his acquaintances’ trust, and of course, us, so willing to look at what was not meant for us to see.”

Yoshiyuki’s exhibition at Tokyo’s Komai Gallery in 1979 was an underground success. For the exhibition the photos were blown up to life-size, the gallery lights were turned off, and visitors to the gallery were given flashlights. But shorly after the show, fearing recriminations, Yoshiyuki destroyed the prints.

The photos, simply entitled The Park, resurfaced last year, with the publication of The Photobook: A History, Volume II, by Martin Parr. Parr writes:

“The Park is “a brilliant piece of social documentation, capturing perfectly the loneliness, sadness, and desperation that so often accompany sexual or human relationships in a big, hard metropolis like Tokyo.”

Gallery link: Yossi Milo Gallery

Via Funkalicious

There’s another sunset event happening at Enoshima this weekend. They are always good to go to - spectacular venue and a friendly, up for it interesting crowd… like these cool cats…

Here are a couple more snaps from the last event…

Superpitcher is in town. And to honour the fact, we bring you an oldie, but a goodie, from the man himself.

Listen to the classic Superpitcher Beats in Space Mix.

Playlist:
1. Superpitcher - Tell Me About It - Kompakt
2. DJ Koze - Hicc Up - Kompakt
3. Isolee - My H-Matic - Playhouse
4. Wighnomy Brothers - Frelekksemplar - Freude-am-Tanzen
5. Odyssey - Odyssey - My Best Friend
6. Baxendale - I Built This City (Michael Mayer Mix) - Kompakt
7. Justus Kohncke - Krieg - Kompakt
8. Trulz & Robin - Turn My Head - Planet Noise
9. Pom Pom - Pom Pom 21 - Pom Pom
10. Tocotronic - Pure Vernunft Darf Niemals Siegan (Superpitcher & Wasserman Maxi Mix) - Kompakt
11. Heiko Voss - Running Free - Firm

Just listened to an interview with Michael Hirschorn about his piece in the Atlantic Monthly about “Contemporary Quirk,” worth a read if you’re into indie film/music/culture.

He’s catching some flack for allegedly “attacking” talented directors like Wes Anderson and well-meaning artist/entertainers like Ira Glass of This American Life, but I understand where he’s coming from. In the interview, Hirschorn says that he likes, respects and enjoys the quirky charachters and meandering non-event storylines everywhere now (see Arrested Development, Flight of the Conchords, Napoleon Dynamite), but what started out as fringe culture (think “Ducky” from Pretty in Pink) now dominates the big and small screen. And while these fairly benign non-stories are usually fun today’s talent is capable of much more, if they didn’t use quirk as a crutch.

There’s an undercurrent of baby-boomer melodrama here (or maybe that’s the Gen X cynicism he writes about), but he’s right: instead of making movies with gravity and meaning, today’s top talent tell stories of hanging out and not much else.

Wonder how long it will take for the Big One to take it all down.

I’m still blown away at how over the top Hello Kitty Puroland was. As I said before, I was expecting an excruciating day of rusty bumper cars and chiffon colors, but was shocked to find a technicolor Vegas acid trip instead. You’d have psychedelic Cirque du Soleil moments like this:

And then absurd battles with cheeseburgers the next:

Then there was this forest-themed toilet.

See that sign to the left? It’s pointing to an outhouse with a freaking ANIMATRONIC BEAR taking a dump! (While humming/grunting “Home on the Range,” no less). Don’t believe me? Checkit:

Apparently, in Kittyland, bears DON’T shit in the woods. Well actually, that’s not entirely true – there seemed to be some kind of bears-relieving-themselves-in-nature theme going on in murals on the walls.

Am I lying? And can someone please tell me what the hell that organ grinder monkey is doing?

I checked out the Hitotsubo Photography Exhibition at Guardian Garden this morning, and now wished I had seen it earlier so I could have recommended it for this week’s upcoming HYPTYO list (Closes Thursday, Sep 6th) . I’m not usually a fan of art competitions (you could argue that as an oxymoron, actually), but the photography here was great. Each artists was given 1.82 x 1.82m space to show their photographs. Most were interesting, but one of my favorites was Susumu Shimonishi:

It’s a simple idea: travel the world with a remote shutter release, capturing self portraits in various places (Istanbul, NYC, Disneyland).

But may fave part is at the top left corner of his space. Called “I Am On the Air,” that’s exactly what it is: him with a camera behind TV reporters in Tokyo, Sapporo, Sendai, etc.

Another favorite was Yosuke Ashida geometric train designs:

He filmed trains at Shinjuku Station for 6 minutes, printed them, cut them out and then made the above design. A closeup:

Look, as you may have guessed, Blade Runner made a huge impact on me, but c’mon, Ridley. How many versions are you gonna do, anyway? My favorite quote from the recent Reuters piece:

“A good film is like a good book, you might go to the shelf and take it off and revisit it. There are not a lot of films I can do that with from my collection of material,” said Scott, whose other titles include international hits such as the first Alien, Thelma & Louise and Gladiator.

Who approved the pic for this ad? Not the most welcoming gesture I can imagine the good people of India are capable of. Ok, so when you get a little closer, her warm smile wins out, but try walking by this and NOT seeing a woman telling every commuter in Shimbashi Station to fuck off…

We rented a car this weekend to take the kids to a farm in Chiba, but when it rained, we needed an alternative. My wife suggested Sanrio Puro-land, home of the Hello Kitty overload. “I know, I know,” she said, “but it’s indoors, ok?” Normally, this would be grounds for divorce, but I had a headache and my mother was visiting, so I played along.

I am SO glad I did. The kitsch was completely off the charts. Every inch was covered in syrupy cuteness. I was expecting to spend hours waiting in lines for run-down amusement park rides, but Puroland is basically shows full of glittery dance routines somewhere between a Vegas floorshow, a Miyazaki film and that friendly village in How the Grinch Stole Christmas. We were right up front, next to the unicorns and jugglers:

I was damn-near giddy, giggling as I walked around snapping shots of every little bizarre detail: Kitty dancers in black pleather mini-skirts; walls painted like library with book titles such as “Pyramids are our Friends” and “Is sound Pink?”; a forest-themed toilet with an animatronic bear taking a dump. Every so often I got self-conscious and though I shouldn’t find this place so fascinating. Then I bumped into a pierced-up gaijin punk, and we both gave a knowing nod. Now I understand why goths have their own day at Disneyland.

There were more than a few japanese teen goths at Puroland, too, but my fave was this guy:

More Kitty reports to come as I sort thru clips and pics. Goth day link lovingly relayed via Boing Boing

I haven’t stopped listening to the new M.I.A. record since I got it last week. Miss Arulpragasam represents one of my trends in music: globetrotting populists who make music on the fly and on the road (think Manu Chao and Diplo). She’s set her sights on becoming the spokesdiva of the 3rd world, and succeeding. The low-tech mix of worldbeat and old-school electro is as vibrant and seizure-inducing as her site and myspace page.

The video for Bird Flu: