



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.]
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.
The Mitsukoshi Department Store, Japan 1970
[Found here.]
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.

[Found in here.]

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.]