"BGM" by the Yellow Magic Orchestra is the greatest electronic pop album ever.

no, I've never been to the Meltdown fest...

frogbs - I agree, it'd be really interesting to interview Hosono. (Have you ever heard 'Cochin Moon', his fake Bollywood record from the '70s? It's really interesting.) But I really do think that Sakamoto is very interesting, and I do think his personality comes through. He was (and still is) a total pop icon in Japan, and he's an incredibly engaging conversationalist, despite the fact that he wore sunglasses the entire time I talked to him (about three hours or so.) Glad you liked the interview!

yeah, of course I've heard that record. love "Hum Ghar Sajan" so much. for whatever reason his music sticks with me a lot more and displays a lot more emotion. dunno if you've heard the soundtrack he did for "Nokto de la Galaksia Fervojo" but theres this piano piece there called "La Travida Malgojo de Giovanni" that's so totally heartbreaking and disturbed, as good as Sakamoto is, he never got close to that on an emotional level. I've always seen Sakamoto as a very intellecutal type, I'm not surprised he does 3 hour interviews, he seems to be able to wax philosophical forever but ultimately his work doesn't hit me in the same way.

I'm not surprised he does 3 hour interviews

Ha, I think that's my fault, not his. I've done a lot of interviews over the past ten years, and I don't think I've ever done one which was shorter than three hours!

I like asking people questions about all sorts of things--not just their music but trying to get a better sense of their lives. When I interviewed Blixa Bargeld in his kitchen, eight years ago, we talked about cooking, pyrotechnics, and Russolo while drinking sake out of crystal goblets...when I interviewed David Byrne, we talked about our favorite neuroscience textbooks...etc.

revive!!

apparently Yoko Ono joined YMO on stage last night in LA:

http://laweekly.tumblr.com/post/6975129683/yoko-ono-on-stage-with-yellow-magic-orchestra-los

that must have been the Cornelius connection. you could hear Cornelius on guitar; Fennesz I wasn't even sure was in the band until they all took a bow (although there were two songs with some odd noisy high-end sounds in there that in hindsight must have been him)

I don't know what else to say, I loved it. After the initial drone, they opened with 'Firecracker' and went straight into 'Behind the Mask' and then 'Riot in Lagos'

They sounded great and it meant so much

details, milton, details! come on, i'm living vicariously through this

A friend picked up the tour program for me. Supposed to be lovely. I anticipate!

Milton - did they break out the old gear?

Gaw'd bless D.A.D.

http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=362959

LA:

Firecracker
Behind The Mask
Riot in Lagos
City of Light
Tokyo Town Pages
Seoul Music
Taiso
Tibetan Dance
1000 Knives
Cosmic Surfin'
Tong Poo
Rydeen
It's Been Very Hard (Yoko)
Hello Goodbye

Incredible to see. Bit of a lag in the middle with some of the mellower material which didn't lend very well to a big crowd (many of whom I think were not terribly familiar w/YMO...Cibo Matto probably got the biggest response). But the run of 100 Knives thru Rydeen was just unreal, so satisfying. Hosono plays bass like a motherfucker.

Also Yoko went 100% Full On Yoko which was truly amazing to see in an outdoor stadium setting

Didn't look like they were using real synths. Looked like Buffalo Daughter had a Minimoog tho.

footage from the SF show last night is showing up on youtube! here's 'firecracker'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeB5pH2rO58

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbV5HYj6G40

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UquSsGx0nI

man, that's all i can find--someone just posted "cue" but it's sideways!!

yes!

Sakamoto had a battery of synths including I think a Prophet 5, which would be an impressive thing to tour with (though I'm not sure he played it that much)

i should have just changed my flight so i could've made this gig

dig the spaced-out disco vibe for "behind the mask" in LA a couple of days ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSCO6rNDVxk

more clips surfacing from the show in SF

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpflqAnd2dc

yoko clip

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcM8i8zQcF0

It's got to be just a matter of time before they announce a London date, surely.

That "Behind The Mask" posted above is great. Sounds almost like the album except a bit slower. Good to see they put away the minimal/glitch tendencies for this string of shows and went all-out lush.

I had no idea there was a DVD of the 2008 London shows ('POSTYMO')

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcDcJvUi_2I

Though I think for fun these CA shows are an improvement over 2008

Not from any of the recent shows but still a gorgeous live version of one of their best newer compositions:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FTQk9qWv6g&feature=related

There are two of those HASYMO DVDs, can't quite recall where the other gig was filmed

In Spain I think? Gijonymo or something.

When City of Light came out I thought it was really slight, but now I think it's fantastic

My favorite Behind the Mask, from 93

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFdC7A69rDQ

From the Warfield SF show, Seoul Music in great sound quality - begins at 1:12. I don't know if this was broadcast in Japan from rehearsal, or if somebody recorded soundboard for later FM broadcast or what.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8QFEEHH6kU

keith emerson (?!) with sakamoto backstage at the warfield:

http://twitpic.com/5j8zs5

huh, that didn't work--damn you, nu-ilx: http://twitpic.com/5j8zs5

YMO in the studio, early 1980s:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgkj7-VCmEw

I wish so hard for an "official" release of the SF show. I remember hearing a boot of Sketch Show playing "Gradated Gray" and it was one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard. Such an underrated tune.

YMO as covered by... KEANE??

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A59Yps4pQq8

Not the weirdest cover when you consider Clapton did "Behind the Mask."

idd

weirdest thing to me has gotta be that "behind the mask" almost made it onto thriller

...which got re-recorded by Phil Collins and sung by Eric Clapton. Point: Clapton's version.

anyone seen the ridiculous "Kimi Ni Mune Kyun" video? really cheaply made but it's hilarious. i've never seen such miserable dancers!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HTyPPELmY0&feature=player_embedded

ha! that is really endearing.

Yeah I saw that a while ago, one of those clips that sums up exactly why I love a band so much.

i love how they apparently didn't even bother to do a second take on any of it, it's just so terribly made (then again, what videos in 1983 weren't?)

The Taiso video is pretty funny too.

hahhaa, forgot about this video. even the camera angle is terrible. kind of 3 feet above them, so it feels like you're watching your children doing the worst dance ever

i guess they were trying to play up the image of being "fun boys"

they should've change their name to fun boy 3

possibly a stupid question, but what is the "fun boy" image?

you know — they are boys, they like to have fun

it looks like they are being forced to have fun at gunpoint

I prefer YMO as waxy aliens meself.

its really kind of amazing how many radical changes in style these guys went through in the span of only 5 years