Ghostroads - A Japanese Rock N Roll Ghost Story Movie Trailer released!

The trailer for the movie I am making is finished. Please check it out. It features some of Japan's best rock n roll bands.

The story is about a struggling artist who buys an antique guitar amp that comes with some bizarre surprises!

Ghostroads - A Japanese Rock N Roll Ghost Story https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOASlR7MQLk

Donald Trump, Border Wall, James Santagata and Me

My good friend, James Santagata, a top-of-the-line professional business consultant, often posts comments that make people squeamish. He has posted another outlandish one today. As always, James is concerned with cost-performance.

Actually, it seems he (nor I) try to entertain, nor deal with subjective morality or reasoning....

I think some people get mad at his posts. I usually laugh.

Today he posted:

"Border Wall? Why are so many pushing for such an expensive solution? I'd settle for concertina wires and landmines. Cost effective and still superior to the watering stations that exist now. But that's just me."

Chuckle. I can see the PC crowd getting into a major huff on that one. He isn't talking about anything excepting cost-performance.... 

Immigration is not the issue here.

Not being a guy to take this sort of inflammatory rhetoric lying down, I responded:

"An exploding landmine that doesn't kill but blows off a leg or two, or sends a 1/8 inch piece of shrapnel rocketing through a left eye, leaving some guy screaming to high hell is a very effective method of "getting the word out" and promoting your product to other people around you. 

My dad, who fought in Korea, once told me that he thought it might have been an early method of Buzz Marketing."

I wonder if a big wall between North and South Korea in 1950 would have prevented the Korean War?

Just thinking from a different perspective, or at least, showing dear reader how most successful businessmen and entrepreneurs think. 

That's all.

Baby Metal is the Ultimate Corporate Musical Act

Baby Metal is not a "Metal Band" in the way we think of most metal bands; High school dropouts in need of a shower and haircut who listened to too much Metallica and AC/DC in school and then one day got together in their dad's garage to make head-banging screaming noise. 

No. Baby Metal is better. Baby Metal is three girls, who never listened to metal music, who were put together as the result of a Japanese record label business meeting where executives plotted in a smoky backroom to decide what kind new Japanese Idol group they were going to create and sell. And they would do so attempting to emulate the quality production evident in many Korean Pop projects.

In my most probably confused opinion, there is not much difference between your average Japanese Idol group and the next. I also don't think there is much difference between Baby Metal and the more immensely popular (at least in Japan) Japanese Idol group AKB48 excepting uniforms, dance steps and that decision by those back room executives as to the "type" of music that would accompany these projects.

Of course I wasn't at any of these Baby Metal meetings but I can guess that: 1) None of the 3 girls in Baby Metal had any input as to the musical direction of this project; 2) None of the Baby Metal girls write or compose any of the songs. 

Generally, speaking, I think many music fans in Japan don't care if their favorite artist writes their own music or not; the average Japanese music fan likes image over substance any day. Then there are those negative nellies who like it when artists write and perform their own music. They claim that an artist making their own songs is more "real." Can you imagine? I wish Justin Bieber would get someone else to write his songs for him; that would make him even better than he is now!

Alas, Japanese Idol singers don't write their own music... So does that make their music "fake"?

Perhaps. But it's not any more or less fake than 99% of the other crap you hear on your standard run-of-the-mill FM radio Hit Parade of Hell countdown program.

"The Japanese Pop Music industry is all that the pop music industry in the west aspires to be: Conveyor belt produced corporate schlock shoved down the throats of the unsuspecting masses." - Me

It really astounds me that people in the west like Baby Metal. I don't know any music fans in Japan who like them (there must be some.) I do know many so-called "serious" music fans in Japan (folks who work at record stores, "Music is my life" types, etc.) who absolutely hate Baby Metal.

I think most of us in Japan scratch our heads when we hear that people in the west like Baby Metal. I don't really care for Baby Metal just like I basically don't really care for all Japanese pop idol groups; I think they are the same thing. Just like I think Justin Bieber and New Direction are the same thing; but most of the fans of one or the other will surely protest.

Baby Metal is a Japanese Idol Pop outfit. It is "metal" with some Japanese "schoolgirls" "singing" over the top (Lolita Complex is strong in this one) with plenty of autotune, all created artificially by some record company so they can flog it to the Western version of "otaku." 

NOTE: ("Otaku" translates into "geeks" or "nerds" but there is a fundamental difference between Japanese otaku and geeks or nerds in the west. Japanese otaku are generally perceived as overweight guys, with a zero love life who read too many comic books and watch too many anime and spend far too much time gaming. Western geeks and nerds, might play games and watch too many anime too, but geeks and nerds in the west are generally considered intelligent. I mean, geeks and nerds in the west are the types who are president of the science or math club in high school... In Japan? otaku, well, otaku play too many games and read/watch too many cartoons and comics.)

Classic Baby Metal lyrics such as these are sure to invoke strong emotions:

NEVER! NEVER! NEVER! 

C! I! O! Chocolate! Chocolate!

Cho, cho, cho,

Is it OK?

But, you know, recently I worry about my weight 

Deep! Bobby Dy----lan! Move over! You've met your match! It don't get much better than this!

Some might say the lyrics are atrociously bad. Not me. Baby Metal and AKB48 are all a sales pitch. And the public are buying, right? So what's the problem? Perfect!

But, really, western music fan, if you are going to go bananas over Baby Metal, then you should be a hardcore fan of AKB48 too. They are, de facto, the same thing (excepting AKB48 videos are more akin to softcore porn). Check it out. Here's an AKB48 video that has almost 100 million views: (You must watch for at least 1 minute or you get penalized!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFf4AgBNR1E 

This is the same thing as Baby Metal, excepting, as I said, dance steps, uniforms (and the AKB48 girls are much prettier and much more famous) and the style of music that was decided in the backroom of some record company by some cigar smoking executives....  a decision, of which, these girls played absolutely no part in. Cool, eh? A perfect pop formula.

Baby Metal and AKB48 are manufactured music projects from the get go. 

I think I can say in the defense of Baby Metal is that (if you do consider them metal - I don't) is that "Metal" has always been absurd, over the top pretentious and ridiculous....That is what Heavy Metal has always been. 

Just ask Spinal Tap… 

And finally, one last thing in their defense: the success and acceptance of Baby Metal by westerners shows us one thing if nothing else: The Monkees were waaaay ahead of their time.

Pop music really is just one big joke. So is metal music.... 

But I figured in the case of metal music, westerners had always known that.... 

Maybe not, eh?

- Thanks to Apryl Peredo

Osaka Fruits! Wild Osaka Japanese Fashions!

A while back, I went to Osaka with my friend Ken Nishikawa to shoot a promotional video for the Japanese girls group, Shonen Knife. While there, we had some time to wander around and I saw some great sights. I love Osaka!

While I was there and wandering around I saw some kids and their fashions really turned my head! Wow! You have to check this out!

Here's several for your enjoyment! 

Enjoy!

I saw these two sweethearts at Shin Osaka station. The train going by the the background gives it a great feel.

Same platform, not 10 seconds later! Wow!

I saw these two guys getting on the elevator and just had to take their photo. Awesome look. Check out those contact lenses! Upstairs from this building was a shop that sold "Lolita Fashions." I went up there but they didn't have any Lolita Fashions in the XXX-Large size to fit me.

Later on, after sound-check, we were walking around by Dontonbori when we came upon a group of ten kids. I thought these three really looked great!

I saw these two going somewhere on Sunday morning. Actually, I saw many others too but everyone seemed in a rush so I didn't have the time to ask them for a pose. I will go to Osaka again soon and take more photos.

This cool photo of Naoko of Shonen Knife was taken by Kevin Riley

Shonen Knife (L-R: Emi (drums & vocals), Ritsuko (bass & vocals), Naoko (Guitar & vocals).  (Photo by Kevin Riley)

And here's the Shonen Knife video we made:

Thanks to Ken Nishikawa, Kevin Riley, Kuniatsu "Coonie" Suzuki, Ms. Yoshida, Shonen Knife members and Atsushi Shibata.

The Best Rock N Roll Band in Japan? The Privates?

The Privates are one of, if not thee most respected rock bands in Japan. The Privates are lead by singer, guitarist and song writer, Nobuhara Tatsuji. They formed in 1983. 

The Privates have been famous in Japan for over 30 years. Here's some information. http://www.generasia.com/wiki/THE_PRIVATES

Here's the data:

Nobuhara Tatsuji (延原達治; Guitar and Vocals) 
Tetsuka Minoru (手塚稔; Guitar) 
Takahashi Tatsuya (高橋達哉; Bass) 
Morihara Koji (森原光司; Drums) 
Yoshida Manobu (吉田学; Keyboards)

Anyway, my mates and I made their newest video. Here it is. It fucking rocks.

It is a cover of "The Litter" 1966 garage rock hit, "Action Woman."

I hope you dig it!

The US Presidency is a Donut Shop - My Comments on the Candidates (Bernie, Don, Hillary)

People are arguing and fighting. It's all over the internet and Social Media... Why?

It pains me to see you guys going through this again. Have we learned nothing over these last 30 years? Especially over these last 15 or so? 

Let me paraphrase my drinking buddy, "Louie" to tell you how it is: 

"The US presidency is just like a donut shop; every few years we get a new shop manager of the donut shop, but we NEVER see who owns the donut shop or the parking lot (That's the big banks, Oil companies and the Military Industrial Complex). 

These new candidates for donut shop manager come in and always say the same sort of thing: "American's are fat! We need to become healthy! We need to eat more vegetables! We can change!" And the US public eats it all up. 

Then, after the election circus for donut shop manager ends, the new manager comes in, and he can give lip service to "Change" and eating healthy," but it's just for show. If he doesn't sell the 24 box of glazed donuts, he's out of a frickin' cushy job." 

The public foams at the mouth supporting this candidate or that for donut shop manager. Some even take their days off and drive to "conventions" wearing ridiculous-looking hats and waving signs and screaming like idiots. Imagine that! What for?

So they can help their team win. 

There's no way in hell that any new donut shop manager every 4 years is going to come in and change the business plan of the US corporation with over 150 years of imperialist history. It don't matter if it's The Don or Bernie. (Sorry, Bernie fans, but you don't serve as a US senator for over ten years if you are not part of the establishment.) 

To think otherwise is delusional and ignores over 150 years of US imperialism.

It seems people have a short memory. Obama was supposedly a Washington outsider too, wasn't he? He was going to change everything too, wasn't he? He was going to end the wars, stop over-throwing foreign governments, stop bombing brown skinned people in the Middle East, and close the prison camps, have a transparent government, not prosecute whistle-blowers, etc..... 

How did that work out for you guys? 

The system is corrupt through and through. All the donut shop owners (The Powers That Be) care about is if the people (proles) think their vote "matters." That's why we go through this circus (and mass media propaganda) every few years. 

Voter participation has been going down steadily for decades. The day less than 20% of the people vote, is the day this system loses all credibility and authority (51% of 20% voters decide the president? 10.5%? That's how the Soviet Union fell down, remember?) 

Don't vote. Your vote doesn't matter (Bernie won New Hampshire big, but still Hillary got the most delegates, remember?) 

"If voting could change things, it would be illegal" is a saying sometimes attributed to Mark Twain... It is a saying that is at least 160 years old. Think about it. It pains me to see you getting suckered into this nonsense again. No offense, my friends. 


Oh, I will admit that I think Hillary is evil incarnate, a criminal and scum-of-the-earth, hence she is the most qualified to be US president.

For further reference, please refer to my pal George Carlin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsL6mKxtOlQ

You might enjoy this too. Doug Stanhope. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4Rm87cqnUI

NOTES: 1) By the way, if you are from another country, don't think your government isn't a donut shop either... OK, maybe not donuts, maybe Belgian Waffles or Swizzle sticks.

NOTES: 2) Highly recommended reading: Aborting the Working Class by my good friend, David Cole.
takimag.com/article/aborting_the_working_class_david_cole/print#axzz4596I2GKb
-Thanks to Lew Rockwell for the inspiration the quotes and for waking me up to the farce. https://www.lewrockwell.com/

-For my dear friends Kevin Hammontree, Jason Brown and James Santagata

Cool and Strange Music Countdown – April 4, 2015 – Coldcut and Hexstatic, Tom Lehrer, Sweden Heaven and Hell!

We’re back to Cool & Strange Music for April 4, 2016! This is THEE Cool and Strange Music chart! 

The only one that matters (probably the only one that exists, actually...) Here is this week’s chart of the most out of this world musical bizarreness!

On last week's Cool and Strange Music Countdown I got thousands and thousands of emails from folks who just went crazy over the Hexstatic version of Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made For Walking." People wrote that they want to see more! (Okay, well, maybe "thousands" is a bit of a stretch! This is Coldcut and Hexstatic. Awesome!

#3) Coldcut and Hexstatic - Timber https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8-QDCKdVO4

It's Springtime in Japan! And what song always reminds me of Spring? It's Tom Lehrer! Thomas Lehrer is an American singer-songwriter, satirist, pianist, and mathematician. He has lectured on mathematics and musical theater. He is best known for the pithy, humorous songs he recorded in the 1950s and '60s.

This song is hilarious! Check out the lyrics of Tom Lehrer's "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park":

Spring is here, spring is here,
Life is skittles and life is beer,
I think the loveliest time of the year
Is the spring, I do, don't you? Course you do
But there's one thing that makes spring complete for me
And makes every Sunday a treat for me

All the world seems in tune on a spring afternoon
When we're poisoning pigeons in the park
Every Sunday you'll see my sweetheart and me
As we poison the pigeons in the park

When they see us coming
The birdies all try and hide
But they still go for peanuts
When coated with cyanide
The sun's shining bright
Everything seems all right
When we're poisoning pigeons in the park

We've gained notoriety
And caused much anxiety
In the Audobon Society
With our games

They call it impiety
And lack of propriety
And quite a variety of unpleasant names
But it's not against any religion
To want to dispose of a pigeon

So if Sunday you're free
Why don't you come with me
And we'll poison the pigeons in the park
And maybe we'll do in a squirrel or two
While we're poisoning pigeons in the park

We'll murder them amid laughter and merriment
Except for the few we take home to experiment
My pulse will be quickenin'
With each drop of strychnine
We feed to a pigeon
It just takes a smidgin
To poison a pigeon in the park

#2) Tom Lehrer - Poisoning Pigeons In The Park https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhuMLpdnOjY

 At #1 is something that is very Cool and Strange. It's Sweden Heaven and Hell, 

Here's what Wikipedia says: "Sweden: Heaven and Hell (Italian: Svezia, inferno e paradiso) is an Italian mondo film from 1968 directed by Luigi Scattini. The film which is made up of nine segments that focus on different aspects of sexuality in Sweden such as lesbian nightclubs, porn films, swinging lifestyle of married couples and sex education of teenagers." ("...lesbian nightclubs, porn films, swinging lifestyle of married couples and sex education of teenagers"!? I'm in!- Mike). The film also examines drug addiction, alcoholism and suicides in Sweden (Been there. Done that. - Mike) The film also featured the debut of the song "Mah Nà Mah Nà" by Piero Umiliani.

#1) Sweden Heaven And Hell (Svezia Inferno E Paradiso) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj_jaAsTpHg

Well that’s it for Cool & Strange Music for this week. As Mr. Spock would say, "Live well and prosper!" Have a great week! – Mike in Tokyo Rogers

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Past issues of:
Cool and Strange Music Countdown – Mar. 21, 2015 – Mr. Diagonal, Hexstatic, Messer Chups, Messer Fur Frau Muller! robot55.jp/blog/cool-and-strange-music-countdown-feb-21-2015-mr-diagonal-hexstatic-messer-chups-messer-fur-frau-muller/

Cool and Strange Music Countdown – Feb. 13, 2015 – Star Wars Mah Na Mah Na, Dj Trotsky, Messer Chups! robot55.jp/blog/cool-and-strange-music-countdown-feb-13-2015-star-wars-mah-na-mah-na-dj-trotsky-messer-chups/

Cool and Strange Music Countdown – Feb. 13, 2015 – Mojo Nixon & Skid Roper, Hexstatic, Great David Bowie & John Lennon Imitator! robot55.jp/blog/cool-and-strange-music-countdown-feb-13-2015-mojo-nixon-skid-roper-hexstatic-great-david-bowie-john-lennon-imitator/

Cool and Strange Music Countdown – Jan. 29, 2015 – Oleg Kostrow, Jimmy Bo Horne & Kim Jung Un, Milky Edwards & the Chamberlings robot55.jp/blog/cool-and-strange-music-countdown-jan-29-2015-oleg-kostrow-jimmy-bo-horne-kim-jung-un-milky-edwards-the-chamberlings/

Cool and Strange Music Countdown – Jan. 14, 2015 – David Bowie Tribute! robot55.jp/blog/cool-and-strange-music-countdown-jan-14-2015-david-bowie-tribute/

Cool and Strange Music Countdown – Dec. 29, 2015 – Eddie Murphy, Messer Chups, Vladimir Putin! robot55.jp/blog/cool-and-strange-music-countdown-dec-29-2015-eddie-murphy-messer-chups-vladimir-putin/

Cool and Strange Music Countdown – Dec. 21, 2015 – Bennie Melwin, Cambodian Space Project, The Rebel Scumbagsrobot55.jp/blog/cool-and-strange-music-countdown-dec-21-2015-bennie-melwin-cambodian-space-project-the-rebel-scumbags/

Cool and Strange Music Countdown – Dec. 15, 2015 – Hexstatic, Stan Freberg, Mary Schneider, The Fancs Brothers!robot55.jp/blog/cool-and-strange-music-countdown-dec-15-2015-hexstatic-stan-freberg-mary-schneider-the-fanc-brothers/

Cool and Strange Music Countdown – Dec. 8, 2015 robot55.jp/blog/cool-and-strange-music-countdown-dec-8-2015/ (Messer Fur Frau Muller, Eliert Pilarm, Zlad)

Cool and Strange Music Countdown – Dec. 1, 2015 robot55.jp/blog/cool-strange-music-dec-1-2015/ (Mrs. Miller, Ray Stevens, Barnes & Barnes)

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