Sun, 1 Dec: Weekly Review 38

At work I borrowed the book Intimate Ephemera, with a subtitle ‘Reading young lives in Australian Zine culture’, by Anna Poletti. Started it. The author mentions a thing called ‘perzines’, a contraction of personal zines. This sounds like what I’m doing with my blog. Only difference is I use the net, and zinesters use xeroxes and photocopiers. Are zines even relevant now in this age of blogs, social and electronic media?

Reading more of that Ephemera book. Got me thinking of presenting my blog visually as a real zine, since it feels like that’s what it is. Expect changes in the offing! The book, as expected, is full of academic jargon, which I can handle. It just means I’m skimming a lot of things to get to the good stuff.

I’m still reading my volume 16 of the Urusei Yatsura manga. Just read a fabulous story called Fortress of Fastidiousness. Side character Asuka, whose family is very rich, has had a very protective upbringing so that she fears all men (except her brother, whom she has incestuous feelings for). With this in mind, her mother decides to send her to an all-girl’s school called Fastidious Female Junior High. Fastidious because no man is allowed in – not even a male dog – according to the school’s Principal, a woman who looks suspiciously like a Buddha (turns out all the teachers look like Buddhas!). Not only that, but the school is surrounded by high walls, with a crocodile-filled moat and man-hating dobermans patrolling the grounds. This placates Asuka, but inspires the Principal at the nearby Tomobiki High School (where MC’s Ataru and Lum reside) to issue a challenge to have his students infiltrate the girl school’s defences under the guise of a physical fitness test. Will the Tomobiki students succeed? Will Asuka’s peace of mind be rent asunder and will she, once again, have to bop boys into the stratosphere, saying ‘Eeek, a man!’? (It’s funny every time. Every single time.) As this is the last volume I needed to complete the set, I just know that when I finish it and place the manga with the others it’ll be like putting a key in a lock. But to close it or open it?

Finished Volume 16 of the Urusei Yatsura manga. The third last story, Nagisa’s Fiance, is clearly the inspiration for Rumiko’s next series, Ranma ½. The father character looks exactly like Ranma’s father Genma, and Nagisa, a ghost who’s attracted to Ryunosuke, the girl who looks like a boy, turns out to be a boy who looks and dresses like a girl. After finishing it I placed it in my collection and heard the key click into place. Satisfying! Thinking back on this entire series, the sustained inventive story-telling, the wonderful character development, this is truly a masterpiece of manga!

Listened to my Urusei Yatsura soundtrack that I bought when I was in Japan. I love the all-cast song at the end, We’ll Meet Again, where they go all Burt Bacharach on our asses. And Lum’s Ballad from the first film, Only You, as beautifully sung by the voice of Lum, Fumi Hirano. This is one of my favourite cd’s ever. It inspired me so much I put in an impetuous order for all of the Urusei TV eps, ovas and movies with Etsy. I figure, if I’ve got all the manga, I may as well have all the animes and movies too. Necessary poichases all. Lumarama!

Watched another Media Watch, which is Paul Barry’s second last episode ever as host. I wonder why he’s leaving? The ep was mainly about the misinformation bill, which passed parliament. News outlets were saying how it’s a first for the world, but some people interviewed said France and Russia has one. And maybe even China, which is great if we want to model ourselves on China. Whoopsy! A couple of things I know: it won’t come into effect until late next year, and it will require Everyone, no matter the age, to update their profiles on many of the social media platforms. A stupid, stupid piece of legislation.

Finished the Starship Operators anime. I have to admit it was ultimately a very average show. In the end the baddies, namely the Empire and their fleet, got defeated by the goodies, namely the crew of the Amaterasu, headed by MC Sinon. Some nice things in it, that I’ve mentioned, but otherwise ho-hum.

Bought Picard season 3 DVD. Watching the first episode, I realised I’d seen it before, when I watched the first few eps on the plane coming back from Japan last year. Seems like a pretty solid final season, bringing back all the old crew. Can’t wait to finish what I started on that flight, now (just) over a year ago.

Borrowed a board book called Baby Biographies: Rock and Roll by Daniel Grogan and Nichola Cowdery. It’s a fun profile of lots of great music artists, even including The Velvet Underground. Lou Reed would have a laugh. I like how it narrows down a group’s achievements to four songs, albums, a start date (birth or formation) and a brief description. I like the quirky art style, but sometimes it’s hard to recognise the artists. Makes me want to do something similar to lots of other bands and artists not featured.

Here’s a start:

The Kinks. Formed in 1964. Hit Songs: Waterloo Sunset, You Really Got Me, Celluloid Heroes, Come Dancing. Hit Albums: Face To Face, Something Else, Village Green Preservation Society, Arthur. Brothers Ray and Dave Davies brought music hall, heavy rock and Englishness to the Swinging Sixties.

The Moody Blues. Formed in 1964. Hit songs: Nights In White Satin, Ride My Seesaw, Question, The Voice. Hit albums: Days of Future Passed, In Search of the Lost Chord, Seventh Sojourn, Long Distance Voyager. The Moodies took us to the far reaches of outer space and the inner mind with their cosmic music.

I’m looking over my journal from my trip to Japan last year. This time last year I had my last full day in Japan. Spent it going to Yasakuni Shrine and museum in Tokyo City and going up to the 45^th floor lookout in the Metropolitan Government Building in Shinjuku. There’s something about one year anniversaries that are most special. After they’re gone things are never really the same, like the connection has been broken. It seems to be the point where some part of you just has to let go. I still feel like I left a part of me back there, and I want to go back to reclaim it. But will I?

I watched the Misamo Once More Doco part 2 on Youtube, which focused on Sana. We finally got her answer to the question of her identity. It seems these days she defines it as someone who is not as deep and considered as she was. Success has made her more superficial, in a way, which she regrets. But she finds strength in her friendship with the other members. We also found out how it came to be that only Momo appears at the top of the tower at the end of the Identity music video. It seems Momo expected all three to make the something like 15 flights up to the top (there was no elevator), but Mina and Sana chickened out. Was she tricked into doing it? It’s not clear. I think the video would have been better with all three standing there. I also feel like we’ve only gotten half of this story. Otherwise, it was a terrific making of doco with lots of wonderful candid moments and details. Next time, it’s Momo who’s the focus.

Still on the Twice theme, I also watched Home9round Twice Fan Meeting, a behind the scenes look at the recent fan anniversary meeting. It was the usual look at the rehearsals, behind the scenes prep and a much-edited highlight reel of the actual show. I may have said it before, but I don’t much like the way the girls seem to have to perform silly games and routines during these things. It feels like they’re slumming it for what is ultimately a small group of mostly Korean fans. The highlight was, of course, the end performance of the new song, Sweet Obsession, where Sana and Nayeon inadvertently kiss, and Sana falls to the ground in gay panic. I mean, I’ll take anything they dish up to me, but I want something a little more classy.

Speaking of classy, someone did a nice compilation clip of Mina’s song Misty. The footage is culled from various ads she’s done, plus MV moments. I liked that the editor didn’t try to match up any kind of awkward lip sync, just lets it flow. Now I’m wanting an official video. And, of course, one for both Sana’s and Momo’s solo songs.

Borrowed 20 Million Miles to Earth, the Ray Harryhausen film. Also bought The Haunting (Jan De Bont version I’ve been lookng for for ages), with Atomic Blonde and Inception as a cheapy deal. I actually just wanted The Haunting, but figured I may as well take the other two if they were gonna be free. Both good films I’ve seen before. I also saw the Haunting when it was released in 1999. Thought it was a bit disappointing at the time. We’ll see if I still hold that opinion.

Watched The Haunting. Still disappointing. Gave it two out of five stars on Letterboxd. The sets for the house were amazing. Actually, the house truly was the star. Labyrinthine and creepy as hell, it’s a goth masterpiece. All the actors, except Lili Taylor, who plays MC Eleanor, were pretty cardboard. I’m talking Owen Wilson, Catherine Zeta-Jones and, especially, Liam Neeson. The house managed to outshine them easily. As presented, the setup was never believable. Neeson’s researcher character sets up a controlled experiment in fear using Hill House’s reputation as haunted to scare the bejeezus out of his three unwary lab-rats, who think they’re participating in a sleep deprivation study (they all suffer from it). Character motivations are confusing and all over the place. Some good scare moments (someone or something starts to braid Eleanor’s hair, a skeleton comes up out of a fireplace grate) and there’s some good sfx – especially the ghost child who visits Eleanor. The main problem for me is the film compares poorly to the superior earlier version directed by Robert Wise, a film that has ‘haunted’ me since I first saw it as a child. Also, I’ve read the Shirley Jackson novel it’s based on and it’s not a great adaptation. I’m hoping one day a film-maker will remake the film and at least include the classic scene where Eleanor and Theo (Zeta-Jones’ character) take a walk outside the house at night. It’s in neither of the films, but it’s the best scene in the book.

Had the idea I should compile a list of songs and artists mentioned in Music Goes Round My Head that I must investigate. Either ones I have or search out ones I don’t have. Like the Masters Apprentices’ Buried and Dead. The Vibrants’ There’s Something About You, Baby. And a band called Tol-Puddle Martyrs whose song Nellie Bligh is said to sound more Kinks than the Kinks. Then there’s The Mood and Rockin’ Vickers plus a host of others. I’m doing way more reading about these songs than listening to them at the moment.

I retweeted a nice thread by Eric Alper based on responses to this photo of hippy girls dancing around in a circle. What a beautiful nostalgic image. The question given was ‘What song comes to mind when you see this?’ Some hippy anthems were I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing (The New Seekers, plus others), Get Together (the Youngbloods), Suite: Judy Blue Eyes (CSN), San Francisco (Scott McKenzie), Goin’ Up the Country (Canned Heat) and The Golden Road (Grateful Dead). Even REM’s Shiny Happy People was mentioned. I liked Kaiser Kuo’s comment: God Hates Us All by Slayer, of course. I also liked the recommendation of All Good Gifts by Merrill Jackson from the Godspell soundtrack. That song and soundtrack is pretty solid. The song I think of when I see this image is One Tin Soldier by Coven, the theme song for Billy Jack. It was a good thread, and plenty more where that came from. Check it out!