Ark Nova was created as a result of joint efforts of British sculptor Anish Kapoor and Japanese architect Arata Isozaki and it is the only inflatable concert hall currently in the world.
[Found here, h/t Gorehound.]
Tag: Japan
Saturday Matinee – Compact Living, Andrea Motis & Joan Chamorro, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, and Die Häder Bänd w/ Linda Krieg
The tenants’ reviews are interesting [via].
Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings did a great cover of Gregg Allman’s Midnight Rider (even though it’s a commercial). Sharon Jones succumbed to pancreatic cancer in 2016 at the age of 60.
Acclaimed German blues group Die Häder Bänd covers Memphis Minnie. Can’t find the lineup, but that’s Linda Krieg is on vocals and harp.
Don’t know what happened, but I lost a day this week and missed the .Gif Friday Post. Maybe it’s because I got mask-shamed by a dwarf. Again.
Meanwhile have a great weekend and we’ll go on a link binge tomorrow.
1970 Schizophrenia Treatment Center
The Mitsukoshi Department Store, Japan 1970
[Found here.]
75 Years Ago Today
Saturday Matinee – Rats & Star, Oh!Sharels & Shelly Trip Realize
Rats & Star (ラッツ&スター, Rattsu ando Sutā), formerly called Chanels, was a Japanese pop group that specialized in R&B & soul music… in blackface. Good stuff otherwise. {Had to update the vid. Original was sent to the YouTube gulag.]
Oh!Sharels is also Japanese and also do some nice retro covers, like this 1959 hit by the Flamingos (which was a cover of the song from 1934).
How ’bout some Japanese rockabilly? Not sure just what to make of Shelly (aka Shelly Trip Realize, aka Tinc), but the band rocks.
Have a great weekend or something. See you back here tomorrow for stuff.
Go Away. We Don’t Want You Here.
[Found in here.]
The .Gif Friday Post No. 558 – Riding The Door, Tokyo Crowd Control & Loading Dock Slider
Gotta Look Sharp.
Yoneji Inamura’s Contribution To The World: 20,000 Beetles
Although [Yoneji] Inamura created several sculptures out of beetles, he spent 6 years in the 1970s constructing this one, which has become his masterpiece and the largest sculpture he ever made. When it was done he donated it to the city.
The sculpture, made from rhinoceros beetles, winged jewel beetles, drone beetles, longhorn beetles and other types of local beetles, depicts the senju kannon bosatsu (1000-armed bodhisattva), a popular Buddhist deity in Japan.
[Click on the smaller images to enlarge. More here, found here. Somewhat related posts here.]
Block Parties Here Are Incredible.
“Hey, Bob! What’s going on this weekend?”
“The Stones are coming back again.”
“Aw, crap.”
“The [Nankai] Hawks were sold and moved to Fukuoka City in 1988 or 1989. Since the stadium was abandoned, the City of Osaka, working with a trade group, turned it into a giant outdoor home show with rows of various model homes from several construction companies.
“If I remember correctly, the houses were a failure, as most Japanese in the greater Osaka area were not interested in western style housing and the quality of construction was not up to their expectations. I think the stadium was finally demolished in the late ’90s.”
[Found in here, additional images and story found here and here.]
Tacky Raccoons 