Like Supercar, Plastic Girl in Closet is another Japanese band treading the boundary between Shoegaze and J-Pop. Also like Supercar, their dress sense seems to come from The Beatles circa 1964.
Posts Tagged ‘video’
Shoegazer Sunday: Plastic Girl In Closet’s “Love is Fun”
Sunday, February 12th, 2012Films Howard and I Will Review: John Carter
Thursday, February 9th, 2012Second up for Howard Waldrop and I to review in 2012 is Pixar’s first live action film, John Carter (based on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ A Princess of Mars) due out March 9.
The first trailer had me worried, because there were no four-armed green dudes. This trailer? Four-armed green dudes everywhere. Also, since Michael Chabon had a hand in the script, I’m really looking forward to it.
Just for the record, I should note that the John Carter of Mars in this film is not my U.S. congressman, John Carter of Round Rock.
Films Howard and I Will Review: Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengence
Tuesday, February 7th, 2012Howard and I signed up to review a number of films for Locus Online this year, and I thought i would put up some trailers for them. First up on the list is Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, due out February 17.
We’re review it because: A.) Someone has to, B.) We reviewed the first one, and C.) I’m hoping with Crank directors Neveldine/Taylor at the helm it will be good, stupid, over-the-top, sleazy exploitation fun.
William Shatner on the Mike Douglas Show
Thursday, February 2nd, 2012The first segment has Shatner talking about difficult acting jobs he had to perform on Star Trek. The second features him singing. Guess which one I watched all the way through?
In Which The “No Disco” Rule is Temporarily Lifted
Friday, January 27th, 2012I doubt I’ll live this one down. Let’s just call this Guilty Pleasure Friday.
I read on Bill Crider’s Blog that ABBA was releasing their first new single in 18 years. Now keep in mind I’m firmly in the “anti-disco” faction. I lived through the 1970s, and disco was right up there with inflation and the Pittsburgh Steelers among things right-thinking suburban teenagers in Houston hated in the 1970s.
So ABBA was never going to be among my favorites. But despite all that, I still remember liking “Take a Chance on Me” when it came out, so I thought I’d give it a listen again.
Whoa.
The refrain is pure disco vapidness, the “sexy” winks are ridiculous, and the 1970s video production values are non-existent. But those first few seconds of high female acapella harmony still send shivers down my spine. Maybe it’s because such harmonies are so underutilized in pop music today, a point I’ve made before.
Say what you want about ABBA, but this was before the age of digital desuckification and autotune, and those girls could really sing.
A Very Old New Film
Tuesday, January 17th, 2012Shoegazer Sunday: Ringo Deathstarr’s “You Don’t Listen”
Sunday, January 15th, 2012Here’s the earcatchingly-named Ringo Deathstarr (note the double r at the end of Deathstar; there’s evidently a New Jersey rapper that goes by the single r version of the name) with “You Don’t Listen.” The band hails from Austin, which has not been a hotbed for Shoegaze (though The Swells have been here a while). My friend Andrew said he enjoyed seeing them at Psych Fest.
And here’ the live version, not because it’s particularly good, but because it provides proof of the maxim that just about any Shoegazer band is improved by including a hot redhead.
Croooooooow!
Friday, January 13th, 2012There’s a scene in Ian McDonald’s The Dervish House in which one of the characters notes that rooks and other birds have had their intelligence enhanced through stray environmental nanotechnology. As the videos below show, they might not have to wait that long. Here are some crows…
Using tools sequentially:
Making a tool:
Via Fark, using a makeshift sled:
And using a vending machine:
In other news, Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds is available on Blu-Ray…
Shoegazer Sunday: The Jesus And Mary Chain’s “Just Like Honey”
Sunday, January 8th, 2012The first (and for a long time only) Jesus And Mary Chain song I’d heard was “Snakedriver” off The Crow soundtrack. It struck me as a sort of post-Beatles bit of psychedelic pop, and only later did I learn that they were considered a Shoegazer band. Here’s their song “Just Like Honey,” which has more echo and less distortion.
Shoegazer Sunday: Pale Saints’ “Sight of You”
Sunday, January 1st, 2012Pale Saints of Leeds were among the original UK Shoegaze wave of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
This is off their debut album The Comforts Of Madness. I could do without the noodly part at the very end…