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Caravan Books

Robert checks out Ikebukuro’s Caravan Books, and likes what he finds. I’m tellin’ ya, Ikebukuro is turning into a “destination.” You heard it here first!

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The Band of the 20th Century

COBA-50786And while we’re on the subject of Readymade, today marks the release date of the Pizzicato Five 6 DVD set, THE BAND OF THE 20TH CENTURY (the official “for sale” date is March 31, anniversary of their last show together, but releases are always available the day before in Japan). To mark this event, Patrick, who I first met on the P5ML (Pizzicato Five Mailing List), and another member of the list who happens to be visiting Tokyo this week with his wife, will come over to my place after having bought the box set (I unfortunately can’t afford to get it) for a sukiyaki dinner while we watch some of the DVDs.

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BGM Vol. 1 for Modernica

FLCG-3105Another compilation that’s been getting some fairly heavy playtime on my Mac and iPod is BGM VOL.1 FOR MODERNICA, compiled by Comoesta Yaegashi. Features a bunch of tracks by the likes of Iwamura Manabu, Qypthone, and Comoesta, including a new track by Comoesta’s old unit, 5th Garden. It’s all in keeping with the Readymade esthetics (even though it’s not a Readymade release), and does well to make you feel like you’re a lot more stylin’ that you actually are.

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Cornelius Versus Sakura

I didn’t know Cornelius (Oyamada Keigo) had a photoblog, and it seems like he’s become the official photographer of the Nakameguro sakura. Link via Patrick.

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The Price of Fame

A huge thanks to those who sent in donations after my spiel about the bandwidth issues. Thank you also for all the recommendations I’ve received in the mail about alternate cheaper hosting services. As I’ve answered, I’m paid up for a year (you got a big discount if you paid in advance like that), but when the time comes to renew, I’ll probably look elsewhere. As for the bandwith issue right now, I think I might be safe this month, but I won’t post any new pics over the next few days (until the end of the month). If things get dangerous again next month, I’ll upgrade my hosting package (and again, thanks for the donations that will let me do that).

Also, I’ve got loads of things in the planning stages right now, which I’ll reveal slowly as I feel the time is right. I’ve got the next two days off, so I hope I can get some work done on some of these things. In the meantime, thanks again for your support, and here’s hoping that the next few months will be productive and exciting.

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Style

Jesper’s Next Century Modern front page has a hint of something that I’ll be working on. Should be very cool indeed.

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45 Under 45

The Museum of Modern Art in Saitama will be hosting a new exhibit from April 6 (until May 5) entitled 45 UNDER 45 – YOUNG ARCHITECTURE. From RT:

I somehow find it difficult to warm to architects. That’s partly because of their forceful, presentation-trained voices, but also the snooty comment from some star architect on the remark that the roof of his construction let water in does its bit: “my architecture is art, so don’t you complain about a little water!” Anyway, this exhibition introduces architects from the CAD generation, which means those born in 1956 and later. On display are creations by Aoki Jun, Sejima Kazuyo, Nishizawa Ryue, Tsukamoto Yoshiharu, Kaijima Momoyo, Mikan and others. Some of them already enjoy celebrity status, and I really wish they don’t become like the maestro mentioned above. “Under 45”, by the way, refers to the architects’ age at the time of selection for this show, which explains why the likes of Ban Shigeru and Dan Norihiko are included.

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We Are Escalator Records

escd034_80When I posted the other day about the recent compilations coming out, I forgot to mention one: WE ARE ESCALATOR RECORDS PART 2, again mixed by Cubismo Grafico. Includes the usual cast of Escalator Records mainstays like Losfeld, Harvard, Miniflex, Neil & Iraiza, Le Hammond Inferno, Yukari Fresh, and of course a few tracks by Cubismo. A nice set of tunes, which also seems to go well with sakura season. I’m surprised that I still haven’t been to their shop in Harajuku, especially since they also seem to have a cafe on the premises (and we all know how much of cafe addict I am). I’ll have to convince Patrick to bring me sometime soon.

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New Plusminuszero Shop

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I talked about the Plusminuszero brand from toy maker Takara a while back, and today sees the opening of a Plusminuszero shop in Coredo Nihonbashi (you can find a map here). Also, this month’s issue of WALLPAPER features an article on the brand. I was surprised to find out from the article that the designer behind the brand is also the man who designed the AU Infobar phones.

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Nowondvd.net

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Very nice online DVD shop.