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May 28, 2006

Here We Are - Live Blogging - We are the 21st Century

Okay, I'm here at Office in Gaienmae - the Music Related event - using some sort of "wireless" Internet contraption called "wifi" (pronounced: why-thigh) on some sort of Apple Macintosh II - all white - that requires all sentences to be overextended and run-on and unfortunately my typing is damaged from weeks writing on a Japanese keyboard where the computer7s apostrophe key is above the "seven" instead of below the quotation mark.

Across from me: Shugo Tokumaru - a guitar player. On the stereo, Michael Jackson, a man in town as we speak. I just saw a semi-naked Digiki in an old issue of Relax. We can chart that magazine's decline by how few naked Digikis are in the new issues.

Someone on another computer is currently creating the Wikipedia page about this event, and another person is editing out all the profanities.

I am milking every drop out of my potato shochu. No, no, Miss. I am going to keep chewing this giant ice cube...

The girl across from me is wearing a Wisut Ponnimit shirt. He's a Thai artist.

I just showed up from the あっぷりけ event, where in the middle of the concert, DJ codomo starts playing Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit (a song with the opening riff that is "our generation's 'Smoke on the Water'") although he had not told the bassist and drummer that this would be happening. The bassist - June from Bear Garden (also from Thailand) - started just ripping the bass line up in perfect Novoselicism and they broke down several times trying to figure out how to do the song, also hampered by a sudden on-stage phone call. Also, his vocals were pitched an octave up.

Someone has a rough mix of the new nhhmbase album. Can I go home and listen to it - right - now?

I hate the Internet. And yet - it is our generation's "indoor plumbing."

Update 11:50: Now a man in a t-shirt is "scratching," which is apparently when you take a record and manually force it back and forth on the turntable. The crossfader is also employed to industrious effect - "cutting" in and "out." I can't imagine this is good for the record.

Update 12:12: This is a small place, but it is seriously crowded. I've met everyone here in the last thirty minutes, so let me draw you out a seating chart, so you can imagine what it was like to be here.

JerikoTadShaneRhino
BoffRimikoChackNumber &
Colspan Equals TwoRoff-KoffRiowChad-Schlotsky
Creature Comfort Dot ComCliffChack IISome Girl

(Actually, Roff-Koff wasn't there. My mistake.)

Update 12:30: I think I broke the Da Vinci Code.

Update 1:21: Shugo Tokumaru is accompanying our 100 yen caramel corn snack, and he is much, much better than the caramel corn. I would go as far as to say that this guy is making my Early-Mid Aughts. So much better than Ugly Kid Joe was in their time.

Pandatone goes on soon, so I lose the computer. I will do some analog blogging while I am offline - bugging people with incomprehensible conversations: Did "Alf" become a less popular nickname for Alfred following the late-80s television show?

Update 2:58: Three-thirty-to-four-thirty in Tokyo is the least pleasant hour. "Everybody looks tired." Handshakes exchanged, yawns, taxis make a healthy profit, Sundays wasted, and Monday back to work.

BOOM. BOOM. Yawn. BOOM. BOOM.

Update 4:23: Nothing is good at 4:30 am except your own bed, and maybe, IHOP. The latter went out of business in Japan. I am wearing earplugs and it's still really loud. Good event, though. Like the grown-up version of a Eighth Grade Lock-In.

Looking down on Tokyo from the Office window: ever notice Yamazaki bread's mascot is a young white child? Like Americans, the Japanese need to get over the concept of White, Blond universality.

Riow is playing his Tsujiko Noriko tracks, the sun is out, and we are all taking a five minute nap before we start heading home.

Six months ago, Trevor from Music Related got caught using a Riow Arai track on his motion graphics reel without Riow's permission. Now they are throwing events together in Tokyo. Viva la Internette.

Update Monday Morning: Pictures of the event can be seen on a clothed Digiki's blog.

Looking back on my Saturday, perhaps the tone of this entry reflects the never-ending 16 hour revelry of the MB-Kao wedding party, Applique gig, and Office party.

Posted by marxy at May 28, 2006 12:15 AM

Comments

all apologies , ,, now you win. (meanwhile in little italy..)

can't wait to get back to tokyo, that7s where it's at (...and contagious , the 7 wans't deliberate

Posted by: alin at May 28, 2006 4:12 AM

It is lamentable, the Alf taboo.

Posted by: michael at May 28, 2006 11:23 AM

Like Americans, the Japanese need to get over the concept of White, Blond universality.

Think of it as a slightly pumped-up Polish-Irish universality and it loses all its iconic power.

Posted by: Momus at May 28, 2006 12:52 PM

in all seriousness, was IHOP ever here?

Posted by: Chris_B at May 28, 2006 3:24 PM

I on the other hand, am presiding over open mic karaoke. Currently being subjected to a rather well-delivered Dir En Grey renedition.

I hope that everyone appreciates how my sacrifice benefits humanity. Someone has to take the fall.

Posted by: Mike at May 29, 2006 3:25 AM

in all seriousness, was IHOP ever here?

Yes. Apparently they were very liberal on coffee refills as well.

Posted by: marxy at May 29, 2006 10:33 AM

Surely it&d be instead of it7d?

Posted by: Bob at May 30, 2006 4:06 PM

Surely it would be "computer&s" instead of "computer7s". Also the needles used for scratching have either a hemi-spherical or triangular point instead of a hook shaped point and so don't damage the records unless you are retarded...which in many ways, you are

Posted by: bob at May 30, 2006 4:09 PM

Surely it would be "computer&s" instead of "computer7s". Also the needles used for scratching have either a hemi-spherical or triangular point instead of a hook shaped point and so don't damage the records unless you are retarded...which in many ways, you are

Posted by: bob at May 30, 2006 4:17 PM

On this keyboard, the ' is above 7.

Posted by: marxy at May 30, 2006 4:37 PM

Exactly, so if you're on a normal keyboard, pressing shift + 7 would give you "&"

Posted by: bob at May 30, 2006 4:56 PM

Welcome to my style of meta-humor.

Posted by: marxy at May 30, 2006 5:26 PM

Meta meaning non, then...

Posted by: bob at May 30, 2006 6:55 PM

Now you're catching on!

Posted by: marxy at May 30, 2006 8:18 PM