Beloved Invaders!

Beloved Invaders is on my Top Ten Best Rock and Roll Movies Ever Made list. The movie is essentially a feature length travelogue following The Ventures through their first tour of Japan in 1966 (the core members eventually moved there for good). In between scenes of The Ventures walking around Japan and learning the culture are white hot excerpts of their performances on the tour. It was only released in Japan and the only soundtrack currently existing is a Japanese dubbed track, but that does nothing to squash the impact this movie has on a viewer.

The opening of the film is one of the best ever. It starts in the countryside, where a bell is rung by a monk to start the day. We cross cut to a bustling city, people starting their day and teenagers playing "Group Sounds". A boy walks up to a jukebox and makes a selection: Out of Limits, by The Ventures. We're then treated to a montage of a record pressing plant manufacturing discs by the hundreds. The discs are put in sleeves and shipped off to record stores where rock crazed teens buy them up. All this happens before the opening credits and it's marvellous. Then... the credits start and the world is treated to one of the best opening credit sequences ever in a motion picture. I'm not exaggerating or throwing out hyperbole. It's really what life is all about; youthful exuberance captured in Cinemascope!

Here it is in all it's glory.





If this doesn't get you going, then there's no hope for you.

The meaning of life, man. The meaning of life.

Papermoon!

Did you have a good Halloween? I did. It was a quiet one. I didn't even dress up. I wasn't even tempted. Strange days...

Well, if you were looking at the photo above, you'll get the hint that Tommy Heavenly6 has released a new MV. It's called Papermoon (single out Dec. 10th) and it's yet another great one from Ms. Kawase (yes, I know that's her maiden name). The song (the theme to the new Anime, Soul Eater) is prime Heavenly6 material and the video plants viewers into new territory. Whereas, Tommy February6 once did a video as Alice (In Wonderland; the video was for the song Bloomin'), this is the first second time Heavenly6 has donned a famous costume (the first time being Snow White in the Heavy Starry Chain Vid. Thanks to k' for correcting me!). She's decked out as Dorothy from MGM's The Wizard Of Oz and, as you can see from the photo above, she's absolutely smokin'. Yes, I suppose it's true. I only hang around Kaela and Kumi to pass the time until my true Jpop/rock love comes back around. Forgive me, girls. Tommy's my true love!

Here's the video. It's Youtube and it's likely to get banned. I'll keep changing the links as much as I have to to make sure it's available for your viewing pleasure.



Yep, had to replace it. This one has English captions now. Just click on the triangle on the lower right had corner and choose CC. We'll see how long this one lasts...

The Scarecrow in this video, I'm told, is named Jimi Blumer from a Visual Kei band called Laverite. That explains all the fey and precious looks he's shooting the camera with in his shots. What's Visual Kei? I don't want to go too long into it, but it's kind of a really Flamboyant Goth style. Read about it here.

If Google is your friend, then Wikipedia must be your guide.

The Shockedelic Radio Show Episode 3:04 "The Price Is Funk"

The Shockedelic Radio Show

October 13th, 2008 - Episode 3:04

"The Price Is Funk"

Click this here link to download this new episode of The Shockedelic Radio Show to your Computer. It's an mp3 file (80 minutes long, about 38 or so megs) that you can transfer to your MP3 Media Player, burn to a CD or just listen on your computer. If you prefer to just have it stream to your computer via WinAmp or Windows Media Player (or whatever streaming player you use), click On this particular link.

Legal stuff:

It's a very litigious society, so please understand that this MP3 Podcast is presented as a radio show promoting new and lesser well known artists. All of the music here is copyrighted and the copyright proprietors retain ownership of the material presented here. No rights are given to the downloader or listener or are implied as such. In short, listen to the show and enjoy it, but don't go dissecting the program. If you hear something you like, track it down and purchase it. Supporting the artist is crucial. Make sure you do your duty.

Wanna subscribe to this on iTunes? Do this:

Open iTunes
Go Advanced > Subscribe to Podcast
Type the following into the Pop Up Box (exactly like this. No Spaces.):
http://www.geocities.com/Schmilsson1969/Shockedelic/shockadelic.xml

There you go! You'll be in tune with the rest of the Universe now!

Domo-Kun attacks America!

You may have gathered from these posts that I am a fan of certain aspects of Japanese Pop Culture. I'm not enthralled by all aspects of it, but I'm rabid about the one's I do covet. It always amuses me when I see something decidedly Japanese invading Western culture, but sometimes it can be extremely surreal.

Today was a perfect example. I never, never enter Target stores. I'm not against them, it's just they're a bit expensive and just a little more than oppressive. Red is not a color that makes me want to buy. Red is a color that alternately makes me want to punch or hump things.

Halloween is an exception, since I like to visit Target for their $1 section and unique Halloween items (example: the limited selection of monster themed half cans of Jones soda).

So, not knowing what I'm about to be in for, I stroll casually into my local Target store and, just inside the front door, I am faced with a 3 foot plush Domo-Kun hanging from the ceiling. Surrounding the plushie are a series of Domo-Kun Halloween themed ads. For the tiniest of a split second, I forgot where I was. "Did I mistakenly walk into an Asian store?", I asked myself. Nope, it's a Target.


A similar Domo-Kun to what I encountered today (taken from I-mockery.com).

I was so jazzed and disoriented, I quickly made my way to the rear of the store to see what amounted to an absolute shrine to the Japanese NHK TV mascot. Domo-Kun everywhere.

What's more puzzling is the way Domo-Kun is being marketed. The ad copy states he's from Japan and he's new, but that's about it. So, I bought a small Domo-Kun bag with 5 Domo-Kun candy necklaces and a small Domo-Kun Frankenstein's Monster plushie. I suppose I'll be back for more. Crap, I know I will.

To see more pictures concerning this Halloween Ad blitz, go to I-Mockery.com and Target's Halloween Website for more official Domo-Kun shenanigans. Better yet, go down to Target and see it for yourself. It's surreal and, as I'm loathe to admit, pretty wonderful to see.

Tommy, you complete me

I write a lot about Kimura Kaela on this blog and I have a blog (which I haven't updated in a long time) for Love Psychedelico. I love them both dearly and I'm grateful to all of them for providing me with music I'm not sure I'd be able to do without. With all of these new artists and albums of late, I tend to neglect one of my absolute favorite Japanese artists; Tomoko Kawase aka Tommy February6 aka Tommy Heavenly6. The reason I tend not to write about her so much is that her output has been virtually nil as of late (with the exception of a cover of "All Through the Night" for the Japan only Cyndi Lauper Tribute Album, "We Love Cyndi"). She's put out 3 singles with her first, and most famous band, "The Brilliant Green" this year and that's wonderful, but I'm a dyed in the wool fan of her alter egos.

You see, "The Brilliant Green" is a legendary band in many parts of the world and Tommy is an integral part of it's success, but her eccentricities seem to be a bit dampened by being part of a three piece band. That's not to say her bandmates stifle her creativity. Look no further than the video of "The Brilliant Green" where the entire band is dressed as students of Hogwarts with Tommy making a quite fetching Hermione. It's just that, as Tommy February6 and Tommy Heavenly6, she becomes a performance artist. She's not playing a half drunken schoolgirl who sings 80's synth pop or a Grungy Hot Topic casualty with an affection for Blythe Dolls... She simply IS a half drunken school girl who sings 80's synth pop AND a Grungy Hot Topic casualty with an affection for Blythe Dolls. Tommy, whether February6 or Heavenly6, is absolutely unique and brilliant.

My love for her work is (like my love for any of my favorite International Artists) somewhat crippled by the fact that I simply can't find readily available merchandise that won't kill my pocketbook. I bought Tommy February's "Tommy Airline" Special Edition CD+DVD set and Tommy Heavenly's self titled Special Edition CD+DVD sets early on in my fandom, so they were fairly easy to find for an agreeable price; not so for Tommy February's first album. Oh, I could have bought the first album in it's regular CD only edition, but I REALLY wanted that Special Edition CD+DVD set. Why? Well, you have to understand that while Japan has what is possibly the most expansive music releases in the world (they release EVERYTHING), their releases are mostly relegated to limited runs and the Special Edition runs become scarce quickly. I was able to score those other two sets because they were still in print when I bought them. The "Tommy Airline" was an especially lucky break since I obtained it from a US seller for under $20 shipped. Tommy February's Special Edition first album is an object I've sincerely NEVER seen available for sell anywhere in the USA... not even on eBay (and that's rare, folks!)

So, I turned my sights to Japan. Yahoo! Auctions Japan, to be precise. Yahoo! Auctions Japan is the only Yahoo! Auctions site still in operation and it thrives on Japanese people selling to each other exclusively. A look at any auction on that site will invariably carry a disclaimer stating: "Will Not Ship Internationally". Damn. And there were a few really nicely priced copies of Tommy's Special Edition First. What to do, what to do.

Thank goodness for a service that I only occasionally hit up. From Japan is basically a brokering site; a middleman that will bid on Yahoo! Auctions Japan items for you, will have the item shipped to them on your behalf if you win and have that item sent to you. It's expensive: You pay for the item, shipping to their offices, shipping to your home and a commission fee. Thankfully, I took advantage of their free commission promotion and that cut a few dollars off my order. It took 2 weeks from bid to arrival, but it was on my doorstep today. Approximately $32.00 shipped.

Gorgeous, ain't it? That's the front cover. Looks like a Wonka Bar. Inside, chocolate goodness and a ticket to the "Lollipop Candy Land". OK, maybe not, but a splendid time is guaranteed for all who wish to indulge. (Look! You can see me in the reflection!!!!).

The inside. The top one is the CD, the bottom one, the DVD. Perfect shape, both. The Really cool thing is, the inner hub on both are marked as "Sample Loaned". I got a Promo Copy! Verrrry Cool. The booklet is bound into the package (That's the brown part). It contains lyrics and four pages of photos that apparently depict Tommy's High School days. I've taken the liberty of scanning all 4 photos and making a big collage. Click to enlarge. Enjoy!



Isn't that awesome? The CD sounds better than any copy I've ever owned and the DVD is worth the whole thing. The DVD has only 2 videos, "KISS One More Time" and "Bloomin'!", but each video comes in 3 flavors: Regular, Furitsuke (only dance footage is shown so you can learn the dances at home!) and Karaoke (so you can sing like Tommy!). There're are also promo TV commercials for each song and a making of segment for each song. "Bloomin'" is great, but "KISS one More Time" is easily my favorite Tommy February song and video, so I was sent directly to nirvana this morning, as I'm sure you'll find easy to believe.

So there it is. I've completed my Tommy Album/DVD collection (for now). I feel complete, myself. Is that strange???

Along Came A Spider and a free shipping spoon!

I got the vinyl edition of Alice Cooper's new album, "Along Came A Spider" today. I got it from Amazon.com. It was $24.95 and super saver free shipping is $25.00. I had to buy an 8 inch spoon for 95 cents to get the shipping. Yeah. An Alice Cooper Vinyl album and a spoon. Shades of the 70's.


Sans spoon.

So, I'd been listening to the album for a couple of weeks already on CD and MP3 and I think it's a very good concept album. Concept albums are an acquired taste, like movie musicals, so your milage may vary. Still, the aural history of a Serial killer told in song appeals to me. Can't wait for a tour.

Oh yeah, if you get this album as an album.... be careful... Things can happen to you...

RIP: Jerry Reed

Jerry Reed died today of Emphysema. He was 71. It's a shame (and not at all ironic) that the guy who recorded "Another Puff" on his Ko-Ko Joe album would succumb to a smoking related disease.

The obit is here... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080902/ap_en_ot/obit_jerry_reed

This man was another one of my heroes. He was a killer guitarist and songwriter. Most people know him solely from his work as Burt Reynold's sidekick in the "Smokey And The Bandit" pictures, or, to a newer generation, as the coach in Adam Sandler's"The Waterboy".

To me, however, I will always think of him as a fantastic writer and performer of country funk storysongs. Although he had a fine baratone, as showcased in songs like Today Is Mine and A Thing Called Love (A personal favorite of mine), the meat of his hits were performed like near rap narrations. She Got The Goldmine (I Got the Shaft), Tupelo Mississippi Flash, When You're Hot, You're Hot, Ko-Ko Joe and his signature classic Amos Moses were all spoken storysongs that skyrocketed him to the top of the Country Western charts throughout the 70's and early 80's. All of those songs were produced by Chet Atkins solely or with Jerry on hand co-producing and were on the RCA label. They even released a few instrumental albums together; Jerry's guitar in one speaker, Chet Atkins' guitar in the other.

The songs were funky, too. Even if the songs were labeled country, the guitar riffs in the songs were nothing short of diabolical funk. I'm still amazed no R&B producer hasn't sampled the riff from Amos Moses. It's THAT funky.

so, you'll be missed Jerry. I'm going to put on some Jerry Reed albums in his honor tonight.

Here's Amos Moses from 1983