Rob Masters

This week let's go to Japan, and an instrumental dance track " 自主制作アニメーション『the TV show』" (2009) , directed by  SUGIMOTO Kousuke and music by MANABE Takayuki . The music is frantic synth - almost chiptune - with an accelerating beat. The video is something special. After a test pattern opening we see a videowall with (presumably) Manabe and Sugimoto at the controls. We then dive into the video stream an see each screen from the wall as videos nested inside each other... until the fourth wall fractures and one of the videos breaks into another. After that, things get complicated, but helpfully colour-coded for your convenience. Featuring tropes from almost every genre of TV, and the chaos caused by the genre boundaries melding, it is a sight to behold. A visit to Sugimoto's site has dozens more of his animations - all quite amazing! https://sugimotokosuke.com/contents/works.html

It is my birthday week, so I'm celebrating with a big one this week. I could not post just one of these, so here is the 2003 album "Discovery" by Daft Punk, animated by Leiji Matsumoto (of Star Blazers/Space Battle Ship Yamato and Captain Harlock fame) into the epic "Interstella 5555 : The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem ". Turning a basic post-disco electronic/house dance album into a concept album is one of the most amazing things I've seen. Taken by itself, Discovery is danceable, but really not that special. Wrapping it up in Matsumoto's signature "enough style, and who needs content" mien was an act of genius. I would argue that his  approach is uniquely suited to music videos - even more so than his more complex works.          Wikipedia has something to say about the ending that I disagree with. [spoilers - highlight to read] Wikipedia: " At the end, it is implied that the whole story was the dream of a young boy, inspi...

Well, the latest scavenger hunt has had the reveals announced, so I can share my entries at last. First - the list: And then my entries, in order (or view them in an album ): All bar one of my entries feature models from the game Wings of Glory - a WW1 dogfighting game.

Indie 'cuddlecore' band Seasons did an album for each season, and this is from 2011's "Winter" and is titled "...of Our Discontent". I'd just like to say that the boyfriend is a complete spleenweasel. Dr Macher is not much better. As a bonus - the Dr Macher's De-Speakering Services ad.

Back to the 80's and Thomas Dolby. Is it SpecFic? It might as well be. So there.

From the surreal to the stupid. This week we have one that just makes the cut, with just enough pantomime intercuts to make up for the bizarre bandclip sections. As for the story? Well... it is not much of one, but, hey, he is the son of man and god and lion, how much more can you ask for? So without further ado, here is Big Dumb Face and "Duke Lion".

There's a whole series of games that are ripe for the picking: Coming Soon! Zork: The Movie! Edit: It seems that back in 2001 the whole series was optioned, but nothing has been done with it.

So, last night the Girls School Cinema ran a Back to the Future marathon. This was great for us, as we had not seen the sequels (shocking, I know). No sooner had we pulled up in the car park , than another car pulled in alongside us. A silver and black car. With the number plate "88MPH". Yep, it was a Delorean. And the owner has had fun kitting it out, as you can see at the link. https://photos.app.goo.gl/3ebbKeeg7njWTsRw5

Robyn, David, Aubrey, and Hannah sing a cappella  Last night we went to see Scott Bradley's Post Modern Jukebox for the fourth time. And for the fifth time in Perth, it was a sellout show.  Anyone who has been to one of their performances would not be surprised by this. The tour group conisists of five singers, five musicians, a tap-dancer, and a phenomenal grasp of every musical style known. The greater collective runs to ... it must be nearly a hundred performers. Performing last night were: The irrepressible and multi-talented Aubrey Logan on her first visit to Perth. Possesses a wicked sense of humour, an amazing vocal range, and killer trombone skills. Steaming her way through Taylor Smith's "Bad Blood", and rocking out in full 60's style for The Red Hot Chilli Peppers' "Give it Away". The unstoppable Casey Abrams, on a return visit to Perth (his third, I think), shown on the right with Adam Kubota (bass, bass guitar,...

This week we have a look at a triptych of videos from the Swedish/US band Miike Snow. Telling a tale of alien abduction, involuntary surgery and genetic modification, displacement, and a search for acceptance, this is a surreal and powerful series of videos. Our ... err ... hero has a name, by the way - "Jean Noel". There will be more from Miike Snow in later releases. First up is Paddling Out Followed by The Wave And lastly Pretender

To give you a sense of what to expect from Postmodern Jukebox, here's a sampler... First, the one that started it all for us And you've never heard 'Narf' sound so seductive!

The Postmodern Jukebox tour is coming to Perth again next week (20th September). As we have for the last 4? 5? years, we are going. If you have never been to one, they put on an amazing show where you step into an alternate reality, where today's songs are re-imagined into the styles of yesterday - mostly 20s - 40s themes, but with occasional excursions to other eras. It is always a full-on show, and well worth the price. There are still a few tickets available for the Perth show next Friday - you can get them here:  http://postmodernjukebox.com/tickets/?region=411

50's B movies have always been a rich hunting ground for inspiration for many things. Music videos are no exception. This brings us to the late Brainbug's "Nightmare" from 1996 works the mood perfectly, with distorted camera angles, a mad scientist, and the inevitable twist at the end. Combined with the song's late 90's eurotrance beats and you have a classic video. And Don't Believe It Couldn't Happen!