Videos of the Week 10/4/09

FLOPPY "Everything"


Starting off this week is this brand new video from chiptune masters FLOPPY. This video for "Everything" does indeed have everything any 8bit, chiptune, video game, electro-pop fan could want. Some Super Mario, some Casio keyboards, some LEGO...they manage to pack a lot in to this relatively simple video. Also, I think it might be their first official PV, but I could be wrong there. But I think I'm right.

Jump for more!



Detroit 7 "Cold Heat"


Here's the new one from Detroit 7. They've got a new album out called Black & White on the Daruma label. This video for "Cold Heat" is pretty basic, but I think it'll give you a pretty good idea of what the band is all about...namely rockin' hard!

China Chop "Jewel Story"


Here's one from China Cop, the band that would later become Molice. There's a lot going on in this one. Like, for instance, what is that rhino all about? I'm not sure, but it's a good song nevertheless.



Tsugumi from Pine AM recently made some music for a fashion show in Culver City, CA. The fashion show itself was, uh, pretty unique, and Tsugumi's awesome, arty electro soundtrack really turned it into something very cool. This is my favorite clip from the show. You can check out a few more on her blog.



And finally, you've probably heard of the Auto-Tune the News phenomenon buy now. Well, someone made what is probably going to be the high-water mark for zany Auto-Tune videos. They took some clips from Carl Sagan's Cosmos series, as well as a bit of Stephen Hawking, and created a really spin-tingly awesome song. Of course, it might help if you have a thing for Sagan's particular brand of poetic cosmology... "Not a sun rise, but a galaxy rise. A morning filled with four hundred billion suns."

June/July Calendar - Butterflymonkey - NY Shows

Butterflymonkey (Tsugumi of Pine*am)

Jun 21 - Cafe Orwell Brooklyn, New York
July 2 - Don Pedro Brooklyn, New York

Source: CoolestSound

Pine AM to play Rhode Island

The fuzzy, psychedelic and playfully experimental duo Pine AM have announced a new show in Rhode Island. Saturday March 8th will see the band taking the stage in the RISD Auditorium at the Rhode Island School of Design. Show starts at 9:30pm.

Other details are, well, non-existent, so you'll just have to run on out Saturday night and see what happens. (UPDATE: Japanator reader Borrie thinks that this show may be a part of the Rhode Island School of Design's Asian Cultural Festival.) You can probably expect a couple girls rocking out with synths, laptops, guitars and very loud clothing. And hey, they live on opposite ends of the Earth (Chizuko in Canada, Tsugumi in Japan) so the least you Rhode Islanders can do is waddle on down to check them out. Right?

Pine AM

Pine AM, a trio originally from Osaka but now a duo separated by an ocean, are a fuzzy blend of synth pop, psychedelic haze and playful experimentalism. Much if this clashing of styles likely comes from the way they make their music. Instead of sitting together in a room and working things out, they trade their music files via the web, no doubt a necessity since guitar and vocalist Chizuko Matsubayashi lives in Canada and Tsugumi Takashi, the main singer as well as bassist and programmer, lives in Japan. Up until 2006, when keyboardist Taeca Kinoshita left, they were a trio. They had toured extensively through Germany and America, playing small yet very intimate shows to adoring fans and at least one comic book guy. These smaller venues are a perfect match for their small and personal sound. Relying heavily on drum machines and laptops, Pine AM conjures up visions of Kraftwerk and Ladytron in a giggling pillow-fight, Takako Minekawa and Ex-Girl relaxing in a space cafe. They aren't all soft dreamy bliss though. The can crank up the guitars and distortion pedals from time to time, and their driving synth-pop version of Satie's Gymnopédie No 1 (hear it at the end of the first video) is as close to perfect as this world can handle. Let's hope they continue to play those small, intimate shows.

Do I Know You



Official Site
MySpace

Members
Tsugumi Takashi: vocals, bass, programming, production
Chizuko Matsubayashi: guitar, vocals
Taeca Kinoshita: keys and programmings [until 2006]

Major Releases
Pull The Rabbit Ears - 2005.05.31
Playing Intense Neutral Electronica ad nauseAM - 2004.01.28
P.I.N.E.A.M.E.P. - 2004.01.28

Live