November 22, 2006
Hello Guido Buchwald
Hi there, what are you up to?
Oh, just slurping up some noodles.
How's life in Japan?
It's still a little bit expensive compared with Germany, but other than that I have nothing to complain about. Good food, enthusiastic players, low crime.
How's the crowd?
Oh, I love their nonstop performance of Father Abraham before, during and after our games.
Do you hear the difference between Urawa Rezzu (±ºÏÂ¥ì¥Ã¥º) and Urawa Rezu(±ºÏ¥쥺)?
No.
Actually, one is your team and the other is Urawa's most famous lesbian night club.
Oh, really?
Yeah, so do you ever miss something German over here?
No, they're selling bratwursts outside the arena.
Guido Buchwald is a legendary German football defender who won the World Cup back in 1990. Presently he is the manager of Urawa Reds who are battling Gamba Osaka and Kawasaki Frontale for the Japanese championship. Three matches to go and The Reds are 3 points up on Gamba and 4 on Frontale. Guido was also, more importantly, the player on one of the first football sticker cards I ever bought - for the UEFA Euro 1988. He has been in Japan three years longer than me.
November 21, 2006
November 19, 2006
It Hurts With Every Heartbeat
Last night at a homeparty in Shibuya: four funky foxes spin the fatest hits, and right before midnight when it's time to leave, one of them whispers "I'm gonna play you the new Robyn track". And so he does. At least he thinks so.
The song is sad, sad, sad and one of the most beautiful bits of sound I've heard in a long, long time. There's a little bit of Alan Braxe, and lots of Annie's Hearbeat and Hour Musik's Your Life Is Beautiful. Then there are the strings from Robyn's latest album, and right there at the party it sounds like she's singing like Cyndi Lauper back in 1984.
Still I'm dying with every step I take
But I don't look back
And it hurts with every heartbeat
And it hurts with every heartbeat
When it's over the party mood is all gone, but the happiness is still there. The fox sees the question marks all over my face and answers them with "it wasn't supposed to leak, but it's all over the net".
So, today I've also been all over the net to find out what Robyn is up to. To cut it short, With Every Heartbeat isn't the new Robyn track, it's the forthcoming Kleerup hit. With Every Heartbeat won't be the best single of 2006, it could end up the best single of 2007.
Especially, there's a moment 55 seconds into the song which hits me with the kind of goosebumps and shivers which I thought were reserved for the loving touch from another human being. The fox will kill me for saying this, but With Every Heartbeat is the exact sound of what was played every single night right before closing time at the legendary Tokion eurobeat club Juliana's. Filled with tears over lost flesh and lost love.
It will be interesting to see who EMI pays to remix this beauty. It needs some raw treatment to really make it onto the dancefloors. Justice, DFA and Alan Braxe would be the obvious choices. Looking forward to be positively surprised. Now I'm just happy sad.
With Every Heartbeat is scheduled for a January release. Listen here!
Kleerup is Andreas Kleerup of Teddybears STHLM.
The video is shot by Fredrik Skogkvist who claims Robyn won't be in it.
Robyn releases The Rakamonie EP in the UK tomorrow.
November 18, 2006
On The Run
Named after one of Japan's most famous architects, Tange profits of today's sparkling autumn weather to discover the vicinity's works.
Well, maybe not for the sake of the architecture, but our cat do love to escape the house. Recently he's started to hangout with the neighbourhood's gang of wild ones, and today when a carpenter was over to prepare for some roof renovations, of course he made his way out there.
Curiously, there's a connection between the name of today's runaway and the fact that our house is old and needs some treatment: once, way back in the late 1930's, when Tange Kenzo was an architect student at Tokyo University, he actually lived right here. 70 years later, the house still stands, only with a different Tange on the chore roll.
November 17, 2006
To Fall In Love
2006's best Swedish single is almost sold out. There are five remaining records at Escalator in Harajuku, and when they're gone 10% of the whole press will have been sold right there. Wonderful. The 50 Japanese purchasers are hopefully as euphoric as I am about The Studio's brilliance in being perfect. As information wasn't thoroughly passed on though, they will think that the heavenly design, the straight beat, the jangly guitars, the arrogant voice, the funk, the breeze, the junk, the grease, all will have been created by none other than Norwegians... From what I know, Dan and Rasmus are rather proud Gothenburgers. But as they say, No Comply!
November 16, 2006
Tsunamin har nått Japan
Blev lite skakis igår kväll precis innan jag skulle gå till sängs. Av någon anledning surfade jag in på dn.se och möttes där av den dramatiska rubriken "Tsunamin har nått Japan". Först ett kort ögonblick av chock och panik. Sen sunt kritiskt tänkande. Hey, isåfall har jag missat den. Eller den mig.
I den anslutande artikeln visade det sig handla om en jättevåg på 40 centimeter som skvalpat upp på nordöstra Hokkaido. Jag vet inte, men jag tror att det är fler med mig som associerar till helt andra vågstorlekar när ordet tsunami används i bestämd form.
Nåväl, idag säger japanska myndigheter lättat att tsunamivarningssystemet fungerat. Eftersom man befarade vågor på nära två meter var det skönt att höra att boende längs kusterna uppmanats att söka sig upp i högre belägen terräng. Bra det. Undrar bara varför endast en av åtta markbundna TV-kanaler gick ut med extragrafik om faran i rutan. Vanligen brukar man redogöra för jordbävningars styrka och effekt direkt efter att de inträffat. Kanske hade man redan blåst faran över.
När sådana här nästankatastrofer inträffar i ens närhet är det väl mänskligt att koppla på självbevarelsedriften och först och främst se om sitt eget hus. Hur stor är egentligen risken att en flodvåg ska nå mig här i västra Tokyo? Jo, om inte obefintlig så iallafall minimal. Enligt Wikipedia kan en megatsunami (över hundra meter hög) färdas ett par mil inåt land, inte längre. Även om ett tsunamihärjat Tokyo förstås skulle orsaka totalt kaos skulle Minamiasagaya klara sig utan översvämmade bottenvåningar. Skönt.
Om Den Stora Jordbävningen som det väntas på istället slår till direkt under land, då skrivs en helt annan historia. Min granne sa att vårt hus står på porös åkermark...
