It has been announced. The new Prodigy album. Invaders Must Die. If you're anything of a decent Prodigy fan, or scope the music blogosphere, you already knew this. You also knew that the date to put in your diary is March 9th, 2009. After the solid performance these guys put together at Summer Sonic coupled with the mix of their stuff that was kicking around earlier this year, it's safe to say I'm well excited.
What you may or may not have picked up is the title track is available for download on theprodigy.com for the next few days (and then at many different blogs such as Jacuzzi Killers). As far as Liam Howlett goes, its a step in yet another direction from Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned, feeling very much like a club bombshell and less like the stand-out sound he's known for. The collaboration with Does It Offend You Yeah?'s James Rushent give rise to a more progressive mainstream guitar riff and accompanying synth which is like nothing else he's done. Having said that, the raw drums and occasional synth flourish in the background are very much what we hope to hear from the man. Can't wait to hear it on a dancefloor.
Warning: These pictures feel like a silent movie. Piers has been slowly uploading the photos he took over here, and I'm impressed with the results. It does make Japan look like a cold concrete jungle (it's not as bad as all that), but as artistic work it's quite lovely. Can't wait to see more. Pics available on flickr here
Warning: This post is not for those who don't like hearing their favourite songs murdered.
One of the activities I dragged Piers to while he was visiting was a night of dirty dirty singing.
Everyone loves a bit of karaoke. Well, not everyone - shy people and those with sensitive hearing may be put off by it, but hey who counts people like that in the general populus anyway. I, on the other hand, have a fondness for it that often borders on the obsessive. I tend to run out of vocal ability near the end of a karaoke session, thanks to singing songs that are at least mildly yelled, drinking too much and joining in on everyone else's songs too. I also bang on the table (or the tamborine, if we have one), harmonise and adlib like it's nobody's business, and occasionally dance on the couches.
I do love the booth system in Japanese karaoke. Places like K-Bar in Wellyville or anywhere where it's a stage in front of all the clientele (meaning you have to wait like 40 mins to sing in front of dozens of people) is no fun - acting like lunatics in the comfort of your own personal room with mates, is. The optimum karaoke-going group size is 4-6. Any less and it feels a bit empty (though sometimes that's good too), any more and you have to wait forever til its your turn again.
Karaoke is also one of the best ways to kill 2 hours early in the morning if you're waiting for the first train/bus/plane to get home. You can always just sleep on the couches, and its cheaper than a hotel (about 6 bucks/hour if you have 5-6 people).
Songs that I think are particularly fantastic to sing at karaoke include: Remedy (I Won't Worry) - Jason Mraz Barbie Girl - Aqua Word Up - Cameo Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen (but of course) By The Way & Other Side - Red Hot Chilli Peppers Helicopter - Bloc Party miss you - m-flo (Japanese pop-rap) Baby One More Time - Britney Spears Your Song - Elton John El Scorcho - weezer Play That Funky Music - Wild Cherry
Songs that are far harder to sing that you may first assume: Under Pressure - Queen Living La Vida Loca - Ricky Martin Wake Me Up Before You Go Go - Wham! (the last two because of the taxing repetitive chorus) Where is the Love - Black Eyed Peas (have to practise that rap beforehand...)
Songs that are not really karaoke material: Around the World - Daft Punk Hey Jude - The Beatles American Pie - Madonna Anything by Nickelback (for taste reasons)
So there's been a bit going on of late. We had a trip to the States for work (fun but not worth blogging), a trip to Hong Kong (worth blogging), and a bunch of other shenanigans. But for the sake of (belated) chronology, let's cast our minds back to the weekend before Halloween, which was as far as the clubs in Osaka were concerned, was Halloween too.
There was a pub crawl going on in town that myself and some mates attempted to attend, but we had a slight conflict of interest: Alex Metric from Marine Parade (who brought you Adam Freeland and Evil Nine) was playing at Onzieme 11. So we did a bit of both, but in the end the night was all about that. The pre-gig drinks were at the now-defunct Herb bar, and we bumped into a bunch of trick-or-treaters in the cramped space. Japan is big on Halloween- I'm assuming they might be next after the US and Canada. Not much in the way of pumpkin carving, but they throw one hell of a good club night - probably a bigger evening than New Years, mainly because so many people go to temples on that night instead.
My mate Mark loaned me his rather homo-erotic panther suit, which was hotter than hell and a bit short in the leg department (but extremely comfortable, thanks to the baggy middle). 6,000yen or so from Tokyu Hands. Also, dressing up as a furry animal will get you more attention from women than if you were Brad's stunt double.
Off to Onzieme around 11, though like any good country, the party didn't really get started til after midnight. Call me old-fashioned, but parties that start at 10pm feel a bit like high school socials, while ones that start at 5am are just a bit silly, really. I'd prefer to leave round 4, sleep til 12 and still have half a Sunday before work.
I was completely out of it by the end of the evening (tequila may have played a cameo role), but I was focussed enough to give it a good go on the dancefloor. The guy was nice enough to drop Evil Nine's They Live! (Roger Seventytwo Remix), which kicked as much as I hoped. His own track Deadly on a Mission also went a lot farther live than I had previously given it credit. Finishing on a sweet high with Free Things (Alex Metric Remix) by Infadels was the perfect way to go out. Videos courtesy of Mio's fantastic little Lumix DMC...
Tried to have a chat with the guy afterwards - genuinely nice young man - but I think I came off sounding like a spaced-out lunatic. I must refrain from trying to meet famous people at 4am when I'm off my face. Doesn't really leave the right impression. Still, we did get pictures out of it. Full credit to the Gaidai crew who came down for the gig - we had a posse of around 13, the most people I've ever hit an electro event with. Dancefloor domination! Looking forward to the next one - Steve Aoki in December, anyone?
