Thatness, Thereness

Some of my favorite songs...

I wanted to link more, but I've already linked too many...

Sakamoto Ryuichi - Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (theme)

I saw Oshima Nagisa's Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence some time in high school because I was in love with David Bowie on film since The Hunger. As a result of watching this movie, I was introduced to Sakamoto Ryuichi and became an avid collector of his 1980s-90s works. Based on what I knew of his music, I was surprised when I saw him perform live at UC Berkeley ~20 years ago. It was a loud, lively, and jazzy show with a lot of singing.

The screenplay is based on Laurens van der Post's "The Seed and the Sower," mostly taking place in a Japanese POW camp in Java during World War II, concluding with the outcome of a war crimes trial. The film is a brutal, humorous, and sentimental character-driven story about people unable to or not wanting to look past their cultural bubble as they collide during a tempestuous time.

Kitajima Saburo - Django Sasurai (from Sukiyaki Western Django)

I hated enka when I grudgingly listened to it as my mother watched Kohaku Utagassen on tv. I find myself frequently listening to this song after hearing it for the first time last August while watching the Miike Takashi and Quentin Tarantino film, Sukiyaki Western Django.

Dead Can Dance - Rakim

I've been fan of Dead Can Dance since 1986 and bought every LP, then switched over to imported CDs, as soon as they became available. To date, Dead Can Dance is the best group performance I have ever experienced and my most favorite band. They actually sounded better live than in studio! I saw them during their Spiritchaser tour in 1996. Lisa Gerrard's range, Brendan Perry's timbre, and musical arrangements varying through dark, lyrical, medieval, and tribal make them a timeless and unmatchable group.

The Gorillaz - El Manana

I love the video of this song and "Demon Days" is an awesome album!

The Gorillaz are an interesting marketing concept, a band made up of fictional characters -- a virtual band. Each band member has a history. The video for "El Manana" focuses on Noodle, a mysterious girl from Osaka.

Gogol Bordello - Start Wearing Purple

Bug caught Gogol Bordello 4 years ago on NPR when they came out with the album "Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike." We've been fans since, and have seen them live whenever they've swung by. I would have linked up "60 Revolutions," my FAVORITE song from them, but I am unable to link up a studio version of that song. Oh well.

Their live shows are really entertaining and you feel that everyone is having FUN. They're spunky, captivating, with a lot going on the stage. The downside is that time slips by so quickly that the end of the show (2 hour set) sneaks up on you, and you're left wanting more...

Eugene Hütz, the lead singer, co-starred with Elijah Wood in the movie, "Everything is Illuminated," based on the book by Jonathan Safran Foer. Wood plays Jonathan, who is in search of a Ukrainian woman who hid his grandfather during the Holocaust. Hütz plays Alex, who, along with his grandfather, guide Jonathan around the Ukrainian countryside looking for the village, which was decimated by the Nazis. It is an excellent film with quirky characters scribed into a beautiful diorama of humor, solemnity, and illumination.

Lacuna Coil - Swamped

I used to watch Bug play Vampire: The Masquerade -- Bloodlines because it was an interesting game and the music was pretty solid. It introduced us to "Swamped," by Lacuna Coil, which is off of their third album, "Comalies." Too bad Troika, the gaming company, went belly up, and Lacuna Coil's subsequent album isn't as good. "Closer," from their fifth album, is used in Guitar Hero III and "Swamped" is available for download.

KMFDM - A Drug Against War

My mother introduced me to KMFDM years ago when the band came out with their new video "Vogue" (?early 1990s) and have been one of my all-time favorite bands; thus I've collected everything they've put out since Naive.

I love all of KMFDM's videos and album covers done in block print by Aidan "Brute!" Hughes.

Sakamoto Ryuichi - Fade (from Aile de Honneamise)

A good friend of mine back in college showed me a 5th generation videotape copy of Aile de Honneamise (Wings of Honneamise), or as many affectionately call it, Wings of Mayonnaise.

The anime was released in 1987 so the artwork is obviously older looking. It is classified as a military-sci-fi drama, note that "action" isn't included. The movie takes place in a territory on a parallel Earth trying to get a struggling, doomed-to-fail space program to launch their first space orbit amidst depressive circumstances -- war, poverty, as well as dealing with faith and sacrifice.

Of course, being a Sakamoto Ryuichi fanatic at the (one and only) time I watched this, I had to get the CD to the movie right away. "Fade" is my favorite track off the CD.

- Cassaendra

Dororo

Trailer to Dororo, 2006

Dororo is a movie, game, and anime based on the manga by Tezuka Osamu. The movie is entertaining, with humor, action, and drama woven together fairly well. Two-thirds through the movie, the pace slows down a little, but picks up 3/4 through. The pay-off is worthwhile, and marches us toward Dororo 2.

The movie begins with a warlord, Kagemitsu Daigo, who appears to be on the verge of defeat in a campaign during the Sengoku period and runs into a temple for cover. Against the monk's advice that he not enter one of the buildings, the warlord enters and shuts himself in.

Kagemitsu mutters his frustration in his attempts to quickly conquer the country and asks for help. One of the 48 demon statues in the room speaks of being able to assist him gain power. In exchange, he must give the demons his unborn son. Kagemitsu quickly agrees.

Opening cinematic for Dororo on PS2, 2004
Also known as Blood Will Tell in the US and Europe

Shortly thereafter, the warlord's baby is born; a husk...a piece of flesh with no face, limbs, heart,...48 parts of his body missing. The father tries to slay the infant, but the mother cannot bear to see the infant slain. She finally agrees to let go of the child by setting it afloat down a river in a basket.

A physician, Jukai, sees the abomination and brings it back to his home. As this is a time of war, the physician has been treating many of the wounded, making prosthetics for some. We find that he also practices necromancy. With the bodies of dead children from the war, Jukai forms the missing parts for the infant that he names Hyakkimaru.

Trailer for Dororo on PS2

A bard appears one day, and the physician and bard exchange stories. The bard leaves a blade of vengeance with Jukai for the boy.

We see the infant as a child, still physically without sight, hearing, or speech, but able to function "normally." Jukai teaches him how to appear normal and to fight. Each limb has a hidden weapon of some kind.

Segment from Dororo the anime, 1969

Hyakkimaru is now a young man. Wars are still ongoing. Jukai relays his wish before his last breath, to have their home and his work destroyed, as he is afraid his discoveries of immortality falling into the wrong hands.

A young boy is running away, trying to elude someone he pickpocketed, when he runs into a tavern where Hyakkimaru is in the midst of slaying one of the demons. He is stunned having witnessed Hyakkimaru slay a demon with a blade imbedded in his left arm, and then writhe on the floor as one of his molded body parts disintegrates and a new fleshy real body part is regenerated.

Credits for Dororo the anime

The thief sees the bard and Hyakkimaru talking. When Hyakkimaru leaves, the thief asks the bard what had transpired. Intrigued by the story and his burning desire to kill Kagemitsu, the warlord who killed his parents, he wishes to obtain the imbedded blade, and sets out to journey with Hyakkimaru, who later names her Dororo.

- Cassaendra