Saturday 17 January 2009

Nan desu ka?

Ok, I'm a big fan of all things Japanese, I admit it. I love the 'manuals for life' like the Hagakure, the beautiful haikus of Basho and Issa and the fantastical films and anime of people like Kurosawa and Miyazaki. The overiding theme in Japanese culture seems to be refinement and simplicity, qualities which, I believe, many of us aspire to.

Many westerners have become enthralled, even heavily influenced by this weird and wonderful Land of the Rising Sun. It is said (perhaps apocryphally) that upon seeing imported Ukiyo-E from Japan Vincent Van Gogh set out to capture the vivid and sensual feel of those paintings and incorporate it into his art, going on to paint the famed 'Sunflowers'.

So, given the above I feel I have to set the record straight a little and point out that not everything from Japan is artistic, spiritual or inspiring. Nay, some of it is just damn weird and disturbing. Feast your eyes upon the attached vid and let me know if you agree. (My god the crowd loves it, and what in the 9th circle of hell is GREENL?!)

4 comments:

  1. Maaaaaaaaaaan! That shit is so fucked up.

    Love how the crowd don't just enjoy this but they seem to know all the dance steps. The song is compelling.

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  2. I think incidentaly GreenL is what the band is smoking.

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  3. What the hell?! Did they pay the crowd?
    ha! just read Nigel's comment too.
    :P

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  4. Hehe, I think they are smoking something more potent than Greenl :). Yeah, you're right Nige, the fact that the crowd knows the moves just makes it all the more unnerving.

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