Yukihiro Takahashi: S & D

Anyway i like DONE so... fell free to E-Mail Me Anyone, E-Mail adress above. Thankyou

P-UNIT

P-UNIT

Neuromantic

I just dug up a solo record by Takahashi, from the back of my closet. From 1981, I think? I can't remember much about it, to be honest, but the first track is essentially YMO--the credits list Hosono and Sakamoto ('on Fairlight'!)

Neuromantic

this is my all time takachan jam

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEXiosaWjsM

the synths in the chorus are so sick

Who wrote the lyrics for that? They don't seem like they were written by an English-speaker. Either way yeah thats one of his best

ha! there's something very '80s Bowie about that video clip

wow! That's Bill Nelson playing guitar!

both Sakamoto and Takahashi seemed to imitate Bowie at some stage - look at "Left Handed Dream"

turns out Peter Barakan wrote the lyrics to that song which is weird b/c they're oddly clumsy. i love when Japanese bands write their own English lyrics, it results in things like "fall in love with elevator/see you later, re-frig-u-ra-ator"

another great album to search out is the beatniks. Takahashi & Keiichi Suzuki

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iLNQcTkETI

has anyone heard YT's later stuff?

I have some of his 80's and 90's albums and they're usually decent with at least one awesome tune on each. His stuff with Hosono as "Sketch Show" is really great and I've heard his later solo albums all sound like that

three days to SF YMO show

damn it if I was within like 16 hours driving distance to that i'd be there

COME TO CHICAGO OR MINNESOTA OR SOMETHING

im actually really bummed out about this. this might be the last chance americans get to see YMO

I expect the US YMO shows will be close to what they've been doing live for the past few years: acoustic reinterpretations with some glitchy elements. Very stripped down. Light on synths. Therefore a big yawn IMHO.

Hate to be a party poop but - you know - I could be proven wrong. i hope so!

i like the sketch show albums and the HASYMO singles but I don't see them working live at all. the LONDONYMO disc didn't even feel live but it was a really good listen regardless

the World Happiness set they did last year was something different and probably closer to your liking

saw some live clips from a few years ago and it sounded like bad lite jazz. and i like lite jazz.

oh, and some shitty beatles coverzzzz

i dig that Beatniks record

when i saw YMO a few years ago it was like weird glitchy minimalist lounge music w/ epic visuals, though think it was technically HASYMO. def completely electronic. it was pretty good but not something i'd usually seek out. the version of "Ongaku" was completely amazing

I regret not buying tickets and flying to LA from from NY for this. As frogbs said, they're moving away for the glitchy Sketch Show sound. I saw a photo of them rehearsing and there's a Prophet 5, so there ya go!

I can't believe I started this thread 7 years ago. I'm still as big a fan as ever.

Rehearsal Pics!

That's Bill Nelson playing guitar!

Yeah, Takahashi featured on Bill's excellent "Chimera" EP along with Mick Karn.

Just saw this Pocky ad with YMO (×∞ Multiplies-inspired design--I dig it)

http://pocky.jp/index.html

are you in the J, geeta?

lol at hosono napping in those rehearsal pix

has anyone heard YT's later stuff?

i really like his 2009 album 'Page By Page', has collaborations with Cornelius, Steve Jansen, Lali Puna

are you in the J, geeta?

ha, i wish--I've never been to Japan (will hopefully remedy that sometime soon)

you lucky sods who are going to the LA or SF shows over the next couple of days, report back

ha ha the Pocky ad is still blowing my mind!!

make sure your speakers are on, 'Rydeen' is the soundtrack

new Beatniks album coming soon, that's unexpected
apparently Towa Tei did a track with him on his new album. awesome how Towa keeps paying respects to YMO, I think all three members have guested on an album at some point. you can clearly hear Hosono doing backing vocals on "G.B.I." but he's uncredited

as for as the albums go - his late 80's/early 90's work seems a little weak, but the 'new' version of "Betsu-ni" from A Day in the Next Life is so incredibly beautiful

I'd be interested in giving that Beatniks album a listen. There was a few weeks earlier this year when all I listened to were the four albums he did from Murdered By The Music to Tomorrow's Just Another Day. It was amazing finding basically a bunch of other brilliant YMO albums, especially as Naughty Boys is my favourite and they're quite similar.

This is one of my favourite songs from those albums.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbAoCw1gSgU&feature=related

So many great tracks though, School Of Though, Drip Dry Eyes, Blue Colour Woker, My Bright Tomorrow and Kagerou especially.

The great thing about What, Me Worry? is all the guest vocalists that kinda take the pressure off Takahashi. His voice is decent but I don't know if I like it to carry a whole album. That said I think it did improve a little as he went on.

That is a great album but I've never really had a problem with his vocals. My favourite YMO song is Opened My Eyes which is made by his vocal, especially the way he sings " I couldn't sleep in my bed at night, I didn't have any appetite for anything"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZSUEJgM47Q

The new Beatniks album came as a surprise to me as well (Amazon Japan is good at notifying me). I pre-ordered it this morning!

IMO his best vocal is that garbled up thing he does in "Camoflauge"
I dunno, I did get annoyed by the way he seems to add an extra syllable to some of his words. That said the vocals in "It's Gonna Work Out" are pretty ace. As long as he stays within his limitations he does fine.

kitchen you've heard "Exitenialism" haven't you?

Neuromantic is a masterpiece

p much

http://www.discogs.com/Yukihiro-Takahashi-Live-1998-Run-After-You/release/782065

Been geeking out over this one lately. I like YT's work in general but I have tended to notice that many of his albums are a little uneven, and almost all of them feature at least one or two totally knockout tracks. Here's a 1998 live release that focuses a lot on his mid-to-late 90's work, but with some great callbacks to his early solo albums ("Something in the Air" and "Kid-Nap the Dreamer"). His work certainly took a turn for the more mature crowd (in other words: kinda boring) but the songs on here are almost universally gorgeous, alternating between big, powerful ballads and really pleasant pop songs. Production is great and Yuki himself sounds about as good as he ever has. Check it out!!

finally listening to What Me Worry? after being obsessed with Neuromantic for several months. It's great! "This Strange Obsession" seriously should have been a massive global hit.

"flashback" is the bomb

try "murdered by the music" next!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVWwb8LQCpM

yeah "murdered by the music" is great - kind of like a more fleshed out companion album to Xoo Multiplies

"school of thought" is so good, the main synth riff kinda reminds me of sparks for some reason.

Takahashi, Towa Tei, Yoshinori Sunahara (ex-Denki Groove), Cornelius, Tomohiko Gondo, and Leo Imai to form a supergroup, good God:

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2014/07/15/music/ymos-yukihiro-takahashi-recruits-towa-tei-cornelius-yoshinori-sunahara-tomohiko-gondo-and-leo-imai-for-an-impressive-supergroup/#.U8XjdCj23QU

Towa Tei ft. Yukihiro Takahashi and Kiko Mizuhara - "The Burning Plain"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=769QwzmW22Q

Great song. Amusingly enough the song is about the act of watching the movie rather than the movie itself.

have you heard his metafive supergroup album? towa tei is in that one too. and cornelius.

http://coolestsound.jp/Takahashi_Yukihiro_Metafive_Techno_Recital_Takahas/2014.07.20/010395/

Had no idea they actually released something - will try to grab as soon as I can find a cheaper copy ;) The trailer sounds good. The In Phase release seems interesting too, I dig the more mature stuff too so long as the songwriting is there. I've posted about his "Run After You" live release which is maybe my favorite YT album overall but I don't think anyone knows those songs.

Lately I've been obsessed with a song called "'00" from his 1999 album The Dearest Fool. Can't find it on Youtube but it's really neat, has a really similar groove to "Jumbo" by Underworld

yeah, agreed, trailer sounds pretty good. def curious but these things are always a little disappointing...

then again, there's also a song credited to the metafive group that was used in the new ghost in the shell series and it's actually quite good imo. production sounds a bit like some of cornelius' work on the salyu x salyu album. you can hear that one here:
http://cornelius-kokakua-sound.com/#splitspirit

actually still haven't heard much YT solo stuff outside of neuromantic. one day!

i get this stuck in my head sometimes and can never remember where it's from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knojf1neSwc

Made a nice YT playlist last week that I thought I'd share with you guys. Most Takahashi albums have one or two killer tunes so I figured, why not put them all together.

1. '00 - The Dearest Fool (1999)
2. TURN TURN - Sketch Show, Audio Sponge (2002)
3. Pure Jam - YMO, Technodelic (1981)
4. MIS - Lifetime, Happy Time (1992)
5. The Burning Plain - Towa Tei, Sunny (2011) (YT only does the vocal here but I really like the track)
6. Flying George - Sketch Show, Audio Sponge (2002)
7. Kaze Ni Tsuzuku Michi - The Dearest Fool (1999)
8. It's Gonna Work Out - What, Me Worry? (1982)
9. Radioactivist - Murdered by the Music (1980)
10. You've Got to Help Yourself - YMO, Service (1983)
11. Ballet - YMO, BGM (1981)
12. Something in the Air - Neuromantic (1982)
13. Coincidence - Tomorrow's Just Another Day (1983)
14. The Sensual Object Dance - Broadcast From Heaven (1990)
15. Betsu-Ni - A Day in the Next Life (1991)
16. Merci Boku - Fate of Gold (1995)
17. Une Femme N'est Pas Un Homme - Beatniks, Exitentialism (1981)
18. Umibe No Ie - Fate of Gold (1995)
19. Set Sail - Run After You (1998)
20. Iron Man - Run After You (1998)
21. Split Spirit - YT + Metafive (2014)
22. Ekot (Cornelius remix) - Sketch Show, Loophole (2003)
23. Prayer of Gold - Run After You (1998)

So the first half is mostly his technopop stuff, second half the more romantic, classier side. Looking back he did a lot of killer tunes in the 90's even though I'm not crazy about many of the full albums (Fate of Gold and Run After You, a live disc, are my favorites - the latter is maybe my favorite YT disc full-stop). I'm lacking some of the later albums, maybe there is good stuff on there I don't know about. But I'm digging this playlist quite a bit, maybe you will too?

https://www.sendspace.com/file/o9oq91

DOWNLOADING

thank you so much!

i am totally ignorant of takahashi outside of YMO and his solo stuff through what me worry, so i am fucking pumped for this

yeah, thanks for this. i have some of the albums but in general YT is the YMO member whose solo stuff i'm least familiar with.

Thanks frogbs!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUYLpNjggTo#t=22

Is that sendspace upload expired? the download is currently a <1MB .dmg file. Would be great if someone (frogbs, zs?) could re-upload it!
Scored great copies of Solid State Survivor, BMG and Neuromantic yesterday (I left Naughty Boys in the racks, definitely going back to get that soon) - would love to hear more YT solo stuff.

there's a checkbox on the download page, you have to de-select it first

D'oh, thanks! (I should've included a stupidity disclaimer...)

Towa Tei featuring YT - "Radio"

This is really great, kind of references YMO's Technodelic period in the middle there - wish these two would just do a full album together

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvUapYCZeSA

new song by Metafive (YT's supergroup with Cornelius, Towa Tei, Yoshinori Sunahara, and a couple others) - great song!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LBUEYGfisQ

very impressed by the singer - hope he features a lot on the upcoming album

Mental, it's like The Power Station/INXS/Nik Kershaw/Thomas Dolby rolled into one.

weird question -- were there ever any record stories in the USA (in LA or NY i imagine) that specialized in japanese music? i mean ones that really went deep? do any still exist?

Great version of Cue

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFCZ0GYpZnM

Album coming 1/13/16 - based on the strength of this tune and "Split Spirit" I'm weirdly optimistic about it, both those songs have so much going for them and they really do sound like what you'd hope a band full of so many great and creative musicians would sound like, nobody's stepping on anyone else's toes, and if you're familiar with the artists involved you can identify where some of the individual pieces come from. Obviously its just two songs but I can't stop listening to them, I'm definitely ordering this CD once I can figure out how.

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/WPCL-12294

haven't ordered from them for many years but have good experiences

I haven't ordered from them yet - the live disc I got off eBay for a surprisingly reasonable price (like $16 after shipping)

found the full tracklisting:
1.Don’t Move
2.Luv U Tokio
3.Maisie’s Avenue
4.Albore
5.Gravetrippin’
6.Anodyne
7.Disaster Baby
8.Radio (META Version)
9.W.G.S.F.
10.Split Spirit (META Version)
11.Whiteout h
12.Threads

"Radio" was previously released by Towa Tei, featuring YT, probably my favorite song he's ever done. Looks good so far.

make sure u wish YT a happy birthday on facebook today

i know it's heresy but "hear say i", if you will: i'll take solo takahashi over hosono any day of the week

so many long stretches of both what me, worry and neuromantic are just siiiiiiick

like i just listened to "it's gonna work out" while watching sheryl crow's band rock out on mute at farm aid, and it made it seem like they were slaying the crowd with a journey of rhythm

and i like hosono a lot, too! he can't be denied! but i just feel like takahashi also cannot be denied

when people talk about takahashi's voice, it's often about the bowie/ferry thing, but too often it is left unmentioned that he really had a great ear for melody. i think they're infectious and have a way of sounding very familiar while also kind of unpredictable at the same time.

I am 100% waving my Hosono san Ichiban!! giant foam finger most of the day, but I've come to really like YT's vocals over the last year. His voice nowadays though is a lovely mature thing.

Afraid the download link from Frogbs has really expired this time. Anyone want to do a re-up?

I believe I've mentioned this on one of the other YMO threads but this asami kado album produced by mr. YT is one of my fave things he's done:
https://www.discogs.com/Asami-Kado-La-Fleur-Bleue/master/1102921
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFIJtZjISWo

as for YT's solo stuff, those two records are solid. but generally... I feel like his albums are really patchy? I prefer hosono myself. um, very strongly.

I like Takahashi's solo stuff the least of any YMO member (including Matsutake), but he's still an essential member of YMO. His combined live/Electronic drum sound is very distinct, and so are his vocals.

A lot of YMO records have a vocal melody that's pretty hard to follow, because Takahashi is sort of speaking/singing in a Lou Reed kind of way, and then there appears to be a pitch LFO on his voice on top of that. That style is all over BGM, and I have never heard that anywhere else -- except this Minks record from 2010.

for sure! I particularly love his playing on "perspective"; it's a drum track that doesn't draw much attention to itself at first but is so crisp, lean, and propulsive. and those fills rule <3

yukihiro wrote some absolute classics.. "ballet", "rydeen"...

whoa @ that Minks track. that is a really distinct effect.

I'm surprised how well he's kept up his drumming, especially since he's been a frontman/solo artist for like the last 30+ years. This track (which feels to me like an update of "Expected Way") has some real superb drumming of it, a bit more complex even than what he was doing in his YMO days

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkc5u9r5VF4

new Beatniks album coming soon, that's unexpected

and again. this time called "Exitentialist a Xie Xie"

I guess I've only just now pored over that first album. Despite featuring two excellent musicians I never really gave it much time. It's quite an odd little record, they intentionally go for a weird outsider and somewhat avant-garde vibe though (as expected) the tunes are pretty good. I'm still amused that Aphex Twin remixed a track from it on his "26 Mixes For Cash" album. No way did anyone pay him any money for that!

awesome

ビートニクスが今度出す新作のアナログ盤ジャケットが…大名盤セカンドのリイシューで狂喜乱舞❗ pic.twitter.com/oYLluvgmwl

— チキン カツ夫 (@djwaffle) April 21, 2018

Neuromantic is a masterpiece

― VENIET IMBER (imago), Monday, December 16, 2013 10:12 PM (four years ago)

No joke. Just bought it a couple of days ago and I love it.

I got a copy of What Me Worry at the beginning of the year. Has a really cool synth pop take on “It’s All Too Much”

blessed image

https://scontent-ort2-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/39569808_1895132173914923_2904513252153098240_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=baf50ae94f39867a437cb889ce671602&oe=5C07780F

YMO circa "Multiplies" X Sparks circa "Whomp That Sucker" would be something.

https://scontent-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/45066105_566410803773123_4338783272453537792_n.jpg?_nc_cat=108&_nc_ht=scontent-ort2-1.xx&oh=79faa70de92d9a4b70f387192b7e75f0&oe=5C88E1B8

the drummer for the greatest band of all time, and Ringo Starr

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOoENQtlA-s

i skipped straight to 29:00 for some reason, and just like magic i heard some talking head in a documentary saying "punk was a response to the perception of theatrical excess in genres such as progressive rock"

Yeah that Druid performance is ghastly

Druid cementing their reputation as the British Starcastle there.

Ha, Cedric Sharpley on drums! I don't think he brought the gong with him when he joined Gary Numan's band.

What was the video MaresNest posted up here, two months ago? It's gone.

I've been listening quite a lot to Takahashi's later solo albums, and they're really nice. 'Neuromantic' is an all time classic, but I've never really bothered with his more traditional song-based albums. 'Page by Page' has guest contributions by Lali Puna, Cornelius, among others, it's good. But it's 'Blue Moon Blue' that I keep returning to.

It was Sadistic Mika Band on The Old Grey Whistle Test, someone was uploading full episodes, off-air recordings with the clocks and all, guess it wouldn't last long before the BBC shut them down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8f_t6NY7mo

This one? :)

Yeppers, with fantastically racist modified GLEY in the signage at the back of the studio.

lol that he's been making that same lip-biting face while drumming for 40 years

forgot there's a few YT albums I haven't caught up on. I thought Blue Moon Blue was pretty good. I actually like The Dearest Fool from 1999 a lot. From '95 on his stuff got good again...there's a whole decade of YT stuff (from say, 1984 to 1994) that I don't really have any interest in.

blessed image

METAFIVE✨ pic.twitter.com/VhrFg4lcXn

— TOWA TEI (@towatei) April 25, 2019

1) who is the guy on the bottom? (not Cornelius, the other one)
2) how is Takahashi five years older than my Dad?

ok so a Page by Page track showed up on shuffle ("Atomic Chicken Dog") and for the first 3 minutes I was like, "what Mouse on Mars track is this?"

I feel guilty about being so sniffy towards YT for years, he rules, not quite as hard as HH but damn close.

I always end up listening to a lot of YMO this time of year.

Just been going through some of Takahashi's early 80s albums and they are blowing me away all over again. I think I've been sleeping on how brilliant What Me Worry is. I need more albums like this.

Also, Murdered By The Music! That album is a ridiculous amount of fun.

picked up Neuromantic on vinyl in a tiny second hand store recently and its reaaaaally great stuff. love it.

That's a good find. Possibly my favourite of his.

That is a good find! Is it the Alfa or the Epic lp? And how much did you pay? (expecting an unassumed 0.50 price tag here)

Also, Murdered By The Music! That album is a ridiculous amount of fun.

― kitchen person, Tuesday, November 26, 2019 12:12 PM (three hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

"School Of Thought" is amazing

"disposable love" off what me worry is a gem too

but you all know this <3

so many great songs on Murdered by the Music - really love "Kid-Nap the Dreamer" (and the weird ass ska coda), "Blue Colour Worker", and "Radioactivist"

that last one was even on one of the Metafive live albums

those 3 LPs he did concurrent with YMO are excellent of course, anyone who digs the poppier side of YMO will love those three. I also like some of his later discs, particularly The Dearest Fool from '99 which has some really choice tunes on it

they actually had 2 copies. it was about £4 and average condition, plays totally fine. not sure of the pressing/label as dont have it to hand.

i'm guessing a lot of YMO connected records had fairly good western distribution compared to most other Japanese artists in the 70s/80s... in the UK at least

Didn't Yen have distribution in Europe?

At least anecdotally, Takahashi's solo LPs seem pretty easy to get hold of over here, way more than Hosono and Sakamoto.

I got my copy of Wild & Moody in a tiny shop in Bruges, of all places.

(Here = London)

yeah, I see copies of them fairly regularly at record fairs and shops round here (uk south coast)

BLESSED IMAGE

https://i.imgur.com/PhbxbBX.jpg

wow!!

is there a picture of Ron Mael breaking character?

brain tumor :(

http://amass.jp/138576/

fortunately he seems to be doing okay, hope all is well with the guy

That's sad news. Hope he pulls through. I was just listening to What Me Worry yesterday. It's such a masterpiece.

Damn :(

Fuck that shit :(

oof, hang in there, mr. yt. it's gonna work out.

by chance, i just purchased a copy of Wild & Moody yesterday, haven't even listened to it yet. bad news about takahashi - wishing the best for him.

:(

:(

sounds like a good update (according to translate)

This morning, the result of the MRI test that I was thinking that I was going to go to the future of the very important future, and the night I was worried about it, the doctor's teacher rushed to the other person's surgery, and I heard the results." It's going well. No problem, no brain swelling, and finally, you saw the lights at the exit of the tunnel ′′
My tears were overflowing, and I gently hid it.
For the next week and a half, the treatment continues, and even after the discharge, the anti-cancer agents will continue, so I will attend regularly.
I'll do my best,,,
Everything is to heal,,,

Phew! Clicking on this thread is stressful

in other news...a copy of Murdered by the Music arrived today. what happened to the cover? the one I got (an '82 UK version) has this weird clip art cover, like something you'd use for a promo image if the actual cover wasn't finished. and where is "I-Kasu"? how do you delete that part?? but man, I forgot how much I loved this album. its got all these goofy elements to it that other YT albums don't have. "Radioactivist" is such a great tune...I love his phrasing "a rah-dee-ohh-act-ivv-eeest?"

Bloody hell, I missed this news. Hang in there yukihiro!

I have a boring admin day today. So, while I'm tied to my laptop, I shall dig out some Yuki.

released from the hospital today

YT otm

https://i.imgur.com/3cjiDGr.png

What's this from?

it's a HASYMO interview from about a decade ago. whoever translated it was clearly having a good time:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzXwYjL4DZ4

Ah I think I've got the DVD of this somewhere... Thanks!

finally got a copy of Neuromantic and am giving it a close lesson and I'm amazed how great it is. I always knew it was good but for some reason its greatness eluded me until now. the rhythms on this thing are sick - its got that Numan/Ultravox sound to it but the fact that it's written by a drummer makes it unlike anything else. like who else could pull off something like "Connection" back then (also makes me wonder if he's responsible for that bonkers rhythm on Akiko Yano's "VET"? I mean it is unlike anything else she's ever done). also I hadn't noticed but "Charge" is basically "Rydeen 2". for so long I had thought of this as little more than "Drip Dry Eyes" and "Something in the Air" but I was dead wrong.

Neuromantic is the fucking bomb

lol just slowed down "Extra-Ordinary" by 10% and it does sound like something off Replicas

New METAFIVE and it's good!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRQMwFS0ZU0

lmao this is one of my favorite Twitter interactions

https://i.imgur.com/VHJ7xQN.jpg

it's how it should be

I can't stop listening to Disposable Love.

I wonder how his health is these days.

he's posting pics of himself with his dog again, so I guess that's good

still do get a bit nervous when this thread gets bumped

a bunch of his catalogue is getting reissued. that's cool but unlike Hosono idk how necessary it is, his 80s records aren't really that hard to find. a lot of the good ones got a UK pressing so copies are definitely out there.

his 80s records aren't really that hard to find.

oh god, seeing this and the obituary thread bumped at the same time caused my heart to skip

may be a good time to revisit some of those post-What Me Worry 80s records. I recall not digging them much but each has one song I really loved. some of his 90s albums are really nice though.

thanks for the spotify head's up! i'm listening to the GRAND ESPOIR comp that Light in the Attic put out last year (https://lightintheattic.net/releases/8520-grand-espoir). 1980-85 tracks on Disc 1, assorted tracks he produced or had a hand in on the second

Yuki in the 90s is a real blank spot for me, I need to do something about that.

my go-to for 90s YT is the live CD Run After You, which is really well recorded and contains most of the great tunes he wrote around this time (many of which were just on EPs). "Iron Man" in particular is a favorite, but I can't find it on YouTube. I really love this song from one of his EPs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LPGsYpsEIg

his '95 album Fate of Gold is pretty good. can't help but wonder what the "explicit lyrics" on the cover is alluding to

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyiGhXYCGuc

The Dearest Fool from 1999 is where he really jumped into making electronic music again. Parts sound kinda dated now but I think the songwriting is pretty good on this one. Keiichi Suzuki & Steve Jansen appear, so it's kind of like a continuation of his 80s stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4vBXABbsFE

Aw thanks Frogbs, this is a great pointer.

ahh yeah "Ray of Hope" from 1998 is another good one. though I think it's actually more of a compilation. I think this and Fate of Gold contain some of his best songwriting, if you combined the best songs from the two you'd have a real killer album

I had a dream
You gave me a sign
And put me in a new truck

Started with The Dearest Fool, and it is excellent!

People posting RIP messages on Takahashi's Facebook profile :-(

Noooooooooooo

ah fuck.

Oh lord, I am going to be so eternally bummed out about this......fuck

Seems it's true.

aww no way :(((

One of the absolute pillars of Japanese modern musical culture.

Thinking about the thousands of late middle-aged, natsukashi salarymen crying into their whisky over this.

One of the absolute pillars of Japanese modern musical culture.

Thinking about the thousands of late middle-aged, natsukashi salarymen crying into their whisky over this.

RIP :(

Noooo! RIP Yuki... what a legend.

Amazing work and then some. Sad to hear it!

ah, goddamnit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYGjl9gp4kA

the best

I’m devastated. Not only a fantastic musician and songwriter but also a fashion icon and by all accounts a very nice guy. He felt like such a kind soul. He left behind so much music but it still felt like he had more left to give. For now the song that feels appropriate was this one. Such an absolute legend.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LPGsYpsEIg

Love both the photo and the opening bit from this piece from 2018:

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2018/11/23/music/ymos-yukihiro-takahashi-celebrates-pair-40th-anniversaries/

The past few years have been a boom time for Japanese reissues, as labels dredge up everything from ambient obscurities to glossy disco-pop for the benefit of listeners who missed them first time around. For Yukihiro Takahashi, it’s all a bit confusing.

“Do you understand that?” the 66-year-old musician and style guru asks, pondering the current appetite for vintage Japanese sounds. “I don’t get it. It was all just copies of music from overseas, wasn’t it?”

That is a bummer! I've only barely dipped into his solo work so I have little sense of what he was doing at present... but I think I imagined I would "catch up" before he passed. RIP.

one of my fave yuki productions

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxSkKWQBNjQ

rip

Gutted. I listened to the What Me Worry album obsessively during the first year of the pandemic. This song and performance in particular helped me a lot during some really hard times. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUmG1SlR8fs

I posted the wrong clip (as much as I also love that video). I meant to post It's Gonna Work Out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBFpX2e3thQ

Love that video so much, especially the degree to which YT is enjoying himself compared to the other two. The song is credited to all three but I love the implication that it’s Takahashi’s song and the other two fucking hate it

RIP handsome genius

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gZLXah5HXY

Oh yeah that one rules too. I gif’d part of the intro to use on my music blog. I think Barakan wrote the lyrics but I am pretty sure he was half-translating something YT wrote. And when he sings it he’s kind of emphasizing the wrong parts. It’s really cool because the lyrics are so good. And the tune itself, it’s kind of the quintessential Takahashi techno pop song. The first few seconds always give me such a rush.

Some really amazing lyrics in that one too

"There are things beyond the control
Ain't no point in worrying about them
So get older take a look around
Can't you find a little joy in something?"

Also

"People say fate is what you make it
But people say anything that suits them
Whatever it was took me by surprise
By bring you crashing into my life"

I’m sure I’ve posted this before but it’s utterly insane to me that he was front and center on 3 incredible YMO solo albums, plus 3 great solo albums of his own, that incredible first Beatniks album, plus countless productions and songwriting credits for other YEN records artists, all within the span of about three years. One of the most incredible runs in pop music history and it’s even more impressive since I think all of that music really holds up today.

i'm just hearing about this. RIP to an absolute legend and an easy top 3 choice for "best singing drummer of all time"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMxAWP1xUfI

Vocals in this are so lush.

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK RIP. i got really deep into his solo catalogue this year :(

Shit. RIP to a real one.

Ah shit, I was hoping he'd have years left yet. Absolutely fantastic drummer in Sadistic Mika Band days, and exactly the right musician for YMO. Amazing singer and writer too, RIP big guy.

Relistening to ×∞ Multiplies (original release obv) just now and I'm still amazed at this existing. I finally did some digging to find out what the hell was with the comedy sketches and that's how I learned about Snakeman Show (run it through autotranslate as needed).

Yep, that led me to this album, which is still one of the strangest LPs I own:

https://www.discogs.com/master/288369-Snakeman-Show-Presents-Melon-And-Exotic-Sounds-Of-Water-Melon-Group-Pithecan-Thropus-Erectus

That's...quite a title.

still at a loss for words, just gonna post one of the prettiest songs ever written

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFGV2bYcgys

Gets it...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq3jk1nPEwk

frogbs, that song is lovely - thank you!

just been listening to this classic, so sad:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUjWXopQZDY

I am deep in the Takahashi YouTube rabbit hole, someone just uploaded a really good quality rip of the excellent 'Boys will be Boys' concert film today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0BGPoA6qYw

I had a look at Steve Jansen's Twitter feed.

Noticed he's been posting lovely pics and memories of himself with YT all the way from the end of last year.

Speculation, but I'm guessing he knew what was coming :(

I’ve seen that speculated before. What worried me is when Metafive silently fell apart and the word was that YT just wasn’t feeling good enough to play anymore. The new album is nice but Takahashi himself was barely on it. Plus he’d been silent on social media for like a year when previously was pretty active. So I guess the signs were there that things weren’t progressing in the right direction but I never really wanted to think too much about it.

今日、定期検診。まんまと嫌な予感が当たり、
僕はまた別の治療始めます。兎に角それしかないんで、前に進むには、、、
別に再発までは言われてないですよ！
まだ負けられない、前をを向いてね。

— yukihirotakahashi (@room66plus) June 18, 2021

he'd mentioned having to start treatment for some other health condition in june 2021 and then cancelled live appearances a few months later, at the time citing recovery from his surgery the previous year, but you can probably read between the lines a bit there.

yeah looking at some news reports it appears he was in rough shape for a while but apparently he didn't want to say anything about it until he got better. poor guy.

Takahashi's presence on here - and Nelson's on "Tomorrow's Just Another Day" - was one of the greatest things to come out of 1983.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxkSwiOJnjg

That Boys Will Be Boys film is a damn treat.

been listening to this performance a lot lately. this is such a pretty song and one I can't get out of my mind since he passed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CL-t5g23VBw

I'm not clear on the details but his 60th birthday party felt like a real event, he did two performances, one focusing on his technopop stuff and the other on his more recent singer/songwriter material, both with completely different bands. from the videos it looks like pretty much everyone showed up. I am pretty sure this is how Metafive started. as I said at the time I don't know if there's another person on this planet who could've put a band like that together.

I love that clip, so great! Is that from a longer concert film, frogbs?

I am so eternally sad about his passing. I'm glad that there's so much brilliant music and video out there, that I haven't yet explored, and I can easily distract myself, it is really comforting.

Really love that Boys Will Be Boys footage. As I mentioned the other day, the performance of It's All Gonna Work Out is so good. I love that it has some Tomorrow's Just Another Day songs on there. That's one of the albums that really made me fall for him and get fully into YMO.

I found Chronograph and Stella, I assume there's more but I can't find it on Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FohmnZct4wk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XW9GkN8HAdg

no clue what he's talking about with Hosono in the second one but it's still heartwarming to see. despite everything YT still looks nervous on stage! and the song they play is almost too much to bear right now

I found this also today...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rvMcSMiDoM

Love the little nods to 'Computer Game' in the opening track.

God, this too, there's so much out there...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXUQQKchGuc

I'm sure this has made the rounds again and again but I did only just finally see the YMO at Budokan in 1980 performance last night -- man, Takahashi on drums in particular, that's something to note. Not simply metronomic at all, that's a real control to things as well as flow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clNt7ba3N6A

Whoops, sorry that one didn't go through! But easy enough to search by title...

i love that budokan show - i've watched it so many times it feels like an official release

that reminds me, i picked up the "IT'S GONNA WORK OUT" box earlier this year and need to check out the videos

On a related note it's Ryuichi Sakamoto's birthday today and WKCR radio in NYC is doing one of their marathon 24 hour birthday broadcasts.

yeah I was watching some of that Budokan show yesterday and noticed the same thing. he's so impossibly precise. never goes outside of the tune but plays just slightly enough in front that it sounds like he's leading the songs. also fun to note Akiko in these performances, she always looks like she's having twice as much fun as everyone else. you'd think it was because her parts weren't as involved but she's almost doing more than Sakamoto sometimes!

Lord I love watching comps of old Japanese ads, someone recently uploaded this, which appears to be more YT-centric than the others I've come across.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NplZoZgE2cY

Hosono issued a statement today. had to be Google translated obviously but still some very nice words

I'm going to face my life and death with the uncomfortable feeling that I can't hold onto my chest. That's the death of a friend. Emotion rejects death, Reason accepts it. There's no escape from this sorrowful storm.

A man's life is like a book. I just finished reading the book "Yuki Takahashi", and many fans are trying to write a sequel. The story ends but the book doesn't disappear, it's always there.

Yukui's death resonated the world. Only now knowing the magnitude of his influence on overseas musicians, it turns out that Yuki Takahashi is actually a big star.

When I first met Kuyoshi he was 16 and I was 21. And then half a century of dating. I think it's strange that we know each other for a long time, we broke up for a long time.

What I was to Mr. Yuki Takahashi. Maybe that's my "weird uncle". His stern eyes must have been watching me the whole time. Seems like they've admitted it a bit since some time. The glare was directed at himself and eventually became the most fashionable musician in the world.

Very moving indeed. There's a real depth of feeling there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQ_TQwI38-w

well, that sure looks like a must watch

I found a copy of it but with no subs and I can't locate a .srt file for it, super frustrating. It looks like a pretty light kitchen-farce. However, the director is the same guy that made Hausu, 10 years earlier!

oh, if you haven't watched any other obayashi movies... well, you're in for a treat!

with subtitles here

Interested to see this. Thanks, visiting!

Sites like that drive me up a wall. Tried a few different things to download the video and only something called "Internet Download Manager" worked. Can upload in 720p to whatever sharing site if anyone wants.

(really doesn't seem to be any way to get it legitimately with subtitles)

visiting, thanks for that link! that bottle of wine they're thinking of opening near the beginning, 300K yen...that's 367K yen today, or $2800 US dollars :-o

Can upload in 720p to whatever sharing site if anyone wants

Don't think anyone here will say no.

Absolutely, I found a pretty good rip of it but with no .srt, so I'd love to watch it in any format

what's a good site to send a file that big these days? that's not blocked for many. can do in 9hrs or so.

I like Fromsmash, it has the same 7 day limit but I find it's less flakey than Wetransfer

ok will do thanks

fwiw i think only "server 2" on the pirate site had it in the higher res. Looks nice.

ok here's download link, good til Jan 31 evening

FUCK YEAH

*chants* M-V-P! M-V-P!

*pounding of fists on the table, bedlam rising*

can do in 9hrs or so.

― maf you one two (maffew12), Tuesday, January 24, 2023 5:32 AM (nine hours ago)

*multiple people begin writing wikipedia entry*

the file works well for me, playback via VLC. thanks maffew12!

Roxor. Will grab it later! Deeply appreciated.

amazing! many thanks

According to japanese wikipedia, YT did this movie in response to RS having starred in Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence.

haha yep c'mon if I were him I'd also be offended if RS was considered the movie star in YMO. no offense obv

anyway wanted to post this track, one of the last things he's on. god I love his "make some noise" sample

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5j95nu5jSHo

Thanks so much, maffew!

Yukihiro tribute for the next hour on NTS channel 1, starting right now!

oh damn whatever's playing now is excellent, anyone know what it is?? do they release tracklists after?

It's fantastic - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uedrxUW8exo

The guy's channel is great btw, well worth checking out.

oh wow a live "Nice Age", never heard this before. Akiko's on it

awww man this is great

I actually know who this DJ is! Towa Tei did a song with them and the video is mesmerizing. YT appears...as the robot

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lgUz4t9fJw

Thanks listening now!

Right now it's "River in the Ocean" by The Beatniks. idk how many ILXors know this record but it's really great, this song in particular is great. and to think it wasn't even on the original version!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Y-Rvgtgfjk

(also worth mentioning: this album came out the same year as BGM, Technodelic, and Neuromantic...what an insane year that was for him)

Really enjoyed that! Tracklist normally gets added when the show is archived, will post a link when it goes up

could someone please re-up the poisson d'avril movie?
i always enjoyed the soundtrack and came too late for the link posted a few posts up...

best ymo members with a better solo output: takahashi and hosono

XP - Here y'go - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/eg69fi25suep02a100xmn/h?dl=0&rlkey=8613qupgg3bl7btlitu8qmzzq

whoa!
1000 Dank!!!
(̶◉͛‿◉̶)

Cheese & wine party w/Yuki (and eng subs) count me in!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll86KLqZFTg

A master of French cuisine!

its recently occurred to me how many of his lyrics I absolutely love. I know they're translated by Modell and Barakan but they kinda try to keep the structure of the original which results in a lot of cool and odd phrases. "Feel like I've been through a washing machine", "It doesn't take a genius to know", "I think I'm out on a winning streak", "This must be the ugliest piece of bread I've ever eaten", pretty much everything on "It's All Gonna Work Out", etc.

the strangest of the strangers...secondhand teenagers

Finally watched the movie. it is insane! highly recommended.

The link from poster visiting is fine if you've got an ad blocker

oh yeah, I forgot to report back but watched that basically immediately after grabbing it. a total blast! the kind of thing I'd picture grabbing at the video store and seeing a quote like "a truly delightful romp!" on the cover.

re: movie + the wine and cheese vid - was mr. yt known for being a francophile or something? or maybe everyone was in the 80s...

also recently watched obayashi's the island closest to heaven, he's in that one too, tho briefly. loved it, in any case.

back cover of his first album
https://i.discogs.com/YG39ydbuIyKovYS8vw5CTfGfyolRrPKJeY7YgTv5QcI/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:600/w:600/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTc3NjMx/MC0xMzk0MDY5MjM4/LTIzMzguanBlZw.jpeg

was mr. yt known for being a francophile or something?

well Keiichi Suzuki (the other half of Beatniks and one of his best friends) for sure was. plus there's the whole first album thing.

well, here's where I admit I've never listened to the first YT record...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASxctAzCKkE

Also 71 today!

lol he calls Steve Jansen "Steve-O"

The Alfa YT channel is v underrated, so much great stuff in there.

Here's a translation of Sayonara, one of the two Japanese songs on What, Me Worry?

...

(spoken)
It's really such good, bright weather...
The sun's glare casts a shadow behind the two of us.

(sung)
You swing your hand so broadly it seems it's about to fall off.
I close my dazzled eyes.
Such nice weather
and I'm going to say goodbye...

A bright goodbye
A bright goodbye

(spoken)
In such good, quiet weather,
the cicadas are singing a little too loud...

(sung)
You swing your hand so broadly it seems it's about to fall off.
I'll be alright -- for sure I'll be alright.
I'm going to say goodbye sadly to you,
bathed as you are in the bright light.

A bright goodbye
A bright goodbye

...

This song could bring me to tears before I even attended to the lyrics; how much more so, now? I love you forever, YT.

And the other, Flashback (Sakamoto's music, Takahashi's words). Didn't quite cry while translating this one, but a couple times I had to stop and say, "Holy fuck." There are elegant elements of the Japanese that I couldn't get across in English -- places where Takahashi's text is poignantly succinct, or beautifully vague, or drifts off in just the right way.

...

A phantasm drifts at the edge of the water,
rustling faintly and sadly in the weeds.
Back then every day was like a dream.
That fragrance always flooding everything.

In the full light of a lovely morning,
my heart cracked. Come, let's find somewhere to throw it away.

And honestly, I didn't understand any of it,
any of the absurd falsehoods spoken over and over and over again.
To this day, I try and summon the faded images of what I witnessed --
though, where...? I can't remember.

Deep in the tender twilight,
my heart cracked. Come, let's find somewhere to throw it away.

[instrumental verse]

To this day, I try and summon the faded images of what I witnessed --
though, where...? I can't remember.

Deep in the tender twilight,
my heart cracked. Come, let's find somewhere to throw it away.

To this day, I try and remember
the fading colors, the timeworn tale, the customary scene.

A phantasm drifts at the edge of the water,
rustling faintly and sadly in the weeds.
Back then every day was like a dream.
Always that faint fragrance in the shadow of the flowers.

Love this. Hosono looks so happy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzIpofcS3e0

Listening to Tomorrow's Just Another Day. I don't know why I waited this long, it's fantastic! That bittersweet spirit permeating his post-Murdered by the Music stuff, oh man. And there's a song on here that's like a vocal version of Final Fantasy airship music, it's the best I've ever heard gated drums sound.

Is it the time of day or the... time of life?

Damn it! Wrong! Time of year...

Point is, Tomorrow's Just Another Day, despite some thinness relative to What Me Worry, is amazing.

Been listening to What, Me Worry after seeing it namechecked by Imai Hisashi. This is genuinely lovely and I can see why he digs this album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-L5V0lLw5e8

It's driving me batty trying to work out what that intro reminds me of. For once, I don't think it's B-T. Might be Pure Phase era Spiritualized?

The George Harrison cover was a nice surprise. They have quite similar vocal qualities.

And what a surprise to see Urban Dance up thread! There's a Soft Ballet link with Urban Dance but the details have escaped me. I think they were good mates of Morioken?

So many broken links on this thread of images I wanted to see and tracks I wanted to listen to. (sadface)

it's poisson d'avril and I know what I'll be watching tonight...

oops, link got snipped!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQ_TQwI38-w

These ymo and related threads are a godsend. Thank you instigators. I like you, I like you, I love you

Aren't they? One of the most joyous things on the Internet.

I wish I could find the rest of this interview because the few snippets I have are Takahashi dissing things that Hisashi loves and Hisashi swinging between fanboy and (sad face)

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54565236906_ccd0ec05e8_o.jpg

Hisashi: I love Bauhaus
Takahashi: I HATE Bauhaus, they're so pretentious it's embarrassing
Hisashi: (sad face)
Takahashi: I saw that Joy Division do a 3-hour show in London and they were TERRIBLE
Hisashi: (impressed face) but you watched them for 3 hours?
Takahashi: NO WAY! I can't stand it! Peter Barakan and I walked out halfway
Hisashi: (sad face)

I've never heard of YT dissing anything!

^^^ this. Those comments are pretty funny as YT usually seems so easy going.

wait a minute...3 hour Joy Division show???!

Assuming he's intentionally exaggerating there.

i guess!

funny enough..
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/watch-peter-hooks-3-hour-tribute-to-joy-divisions-ian-curtis/

It's funny because Takahashi actually talks about his easygoing image in the interview, how he seems really chill but he can be very extreme when he gets angry. This seems like it's missing quite a bit. Because I got this off a BT fan resource, the pages with only photos of Takahashi but not Imai were missing. I'll have to dive into the depths of Tumblr or VK to find the rest. But I'll spare you the luscious pouting twink photos and copy the text I do have:

今井：僕はYMOがきっかけで、ロックを聴き始めたんです。
中3の時、TVのCMかなんかで『テクノポリス』をいてカッコいいなと思って、シングル買ったんです。
高橋：まあルックスだけ似てるグループはいっぱいいるけと。みんな明るい歌ってたりするじゃない、普通のラヴソングだったり。でも、とっかかりって何でもいいんだよね。例えばヴィジュアルであったり、珍しいとか。暗いって言われるでしょう？
今井：ええ、だから、デビューの頃とか「ハリー・アップ・モード』の方がいいって言う人もいます。
高橋：だけど、今はバクチクはバクチクであるわけで、YMOを聴いてたっていうのは、ファンには関係ないことなんじゃないかな。
今井：でもファンの中には、僕たちが聴いてたからってYMOを聴いてるっていう人もいるみたい。
高橋：でも、それもバクチクを通してのことだから本質的なことじゃないよね。今井くんが受けたような影響を、今YMOを聴いて受けるわけがないわけで、音楽も時代といつも関連していくから。
今井：僕、ずっとヒトラーが気になっていて、最新作は彼をモチーフにして作ったんです。
高橋：うん、僕は「プロパガンダ』のステージを思い出すね。
今井：それは、すごく意識してます。ヴィジュアルも含めて。「プロパガンダ」はヴィデオで見たんですけど、あのコンセプチュアルな感じは真似したいって、思ってました。
高橋：ただ僕は、ああいう退廃とかデカダンとか、最後の「プロパガンダ」の感じって、すごい嫌いだったの。
今井：それは何かのインタビューで読みました。あれが嫌いだって言ってたんで少しガッカリしたんですけど好きだと思ってたから（笑）。でも、幸宏さんが、そうおっしゃるのはわかるような気がします。
高橋：あの時アート・ディレクターが3人もいたから。井上ツグヤと、奥村ユキマサと、そして佐藤さんが監督だったわけで。黒テントですからね、なんてったって（笑）。で、もうちょっと僕はYMOの最初のイメージっていうのは、ヤケッパチの尖った部分っていうのは、ずっと後期になって好きなんだけど、やっぱり最初の頃のドライな感じっていうのが、イメージだったからね。どうしてかって言うと、80年代ニュー・ウェイヴから出てきてテクノとか言われた、アンチであることが正しいっていう考え方の時代があったでしょ、2、3年間。79年ぐらいから。あれが凄い楽しくてね。高野なんかもそれは言ってる。あの時代だけは生き生きできたって。バクチクのヴィジュアル感って見ると、やっぱりそれなりの、完成品という感じがするんだよね。またちょっと違うとらえかたかなと思うけと。けっこう耽美的だよね。
今井：ええ、バウハウスとか、好きなんで。
高橋：バウハウスってグループじゃなくて、ホントのバウハウスの方？
今井：ええ、両方とも。
高橋：俺、グループのバウハウスって嫌いなんだよ
（笑）。とうしてかって言うと、おこがましい。だって、生意気だよ。僕だったら、恥ずかしくってつけられないなあ。そんな名前。
今井：あ、名前が生意気。
高橋：でも、あの人たちも好きなんだろうね。あの頃のロンドンは、飽きなかったな。1年のうち半分くらい行ってても飽きなかった。ジョイ・ディヴィジョンとかニュー・オーダーのステージに行くと、3時間ぐらい、つまんないステージやってんの。暗くて（笑）。でピーター・バラカンと「こりや耐えらんないな～」とか言いながら見てんの（笑）。
今井：でも3時間見たんですか？
高橋：いや、耐えられなくて僕は途中で出た（笑）。
耽美的なものには、それほど憧れてないの、実は。ただナイーヴなものには、すごく憧れる。例えばガラス細工のような、とか。それは裏を返すと、ガラス細工が壊れた時の角なものに憧れるのと同じようにさ。あるじゃない、子供時代で言えば、喧嘩は強くないけど、怒らしたらアイツ人殺すかもしれないぜっていうヤツの方が好きなの。だって、僕ってねえ、すごい喧嘩弱かったの、子供の頃。高校ぐらいかな。でもぜったい自分で許したくないことってあるじゃない？人に犯されたくない部分。それを守るためにナイフを持って歩いてた時期があった。何かあったら殺してやろうと思って。
今井：アブナイ奴ですね。僕だったらナイフ持つってことを考えたとしても、実行には移さないと思うな。
高橋：それぐらい僕ってアブナイ人間だったの。今でもそれはあんまり変わってなくて。
今井：ナイフ持って歩いてるんですか
高橋：それはないけど、いつもニコニコしてるわりに、スタッフなんかは知ってるけど、いきなり怒りだすと、極端な方向に行っちゃう。でも、そういう興奮のしかたって残ってるうちは、音楽とかやれるなって思う。やっぱり憧れるのは中原中也ですね。
今井：中原中也の詩集、僕も最近買ったんです。ずっと前から欲しくって探してて、やっとこのあいだ

Machine translation of the relevant bit:

Imai: Yes, I like Bauhaus and stuff.
Takahashi: Bauhaus is not the group, but the real Bauhaus?
Imai: Yes, both.
Takahashi: I don't like the group Bauhaus
(laughs). To put it simply, it's presumptuous. I mean, it's insolent. If it were me, I'd be too embarrassed to have a name like that.
Imai: Ah, it's a cheeky name.
Takahashi: But I guess those guys like it too. I never got bored of London back then. I never got bored even if I went there half the year. When I went to see Joy Division or New Order, they would do a boring show for about three hours. It was dark (laughs). So Peter Barakan and I were watching it and saying, "This is too much for me to bear" (laughs).
Imai: But did you watch three hours?
Takahashi: No, I couldn't stand it so I left halfway through (laughs).

Aww, but you know the Japanese and their modesty! I'm sure all these remarks were being delivered with that lovely Yuki smile and modest head-nods in Mr. Imai's direction.

Thanks a lot for that, Ether <3

Agreed! I don't think Takahashi is being mean with his dissing of Hisashi's favourite bands here. He's laughing throughout, I think what he's saying is quite playful.

Especially in the context of the previous bit of the conversation about Bakuchiku fans compared to YMO fans (like Hisashi). He's acknowledging that he's from a very different generation. I'm pretty sure YMO were all - I don't know the Japanese expression but the German word would be 'Nachgeboren'. Like Kraftwerk. Born in the late 40s / early 50s. Born into a ruined, occupied country. Stunde Null. While Hisashi's generation, Gen X, the Band Boom generation, have a different relationship to the imagery that they were discussing.

But I just found it funny - both haha funny and interesting funny. Takahashi's discomfort with YMO's image during the Propaganda era. Which Hisashi loved and found very influential and frequently paid homage to.

Anyway, now I need to watch Propaganda.

I love how he pulls in New Order, a band who, in the early 80s at least, rarely played for more than 40 mins :)

I think the implication is, he found them so intolerable that 40 minutes felt like 3 hours! 🤣

Oh sure, it makes me realise that I don't know very much about what YT's roots were, musically speaking.

There's plenty that is obvious about Hosono, we know Sakamoto had a Tokyo School of Fine Arts upbringing, but other than drumming in the SMB, I wonder if he was a Beatles kid, into folk perhaps, or the Group Sounds scene.

oh he was definitely way into the Beatles

Not relevant to the question of origins, but I just remembered a great YT anecdote.

Hosono had wanted Caramel Mama's Tatsuo Hayashi to be YMO's drummer (so: Hosono / Sato / Hayashi versus the triumverate we all know & love) but Hayashi hated playing along to a click track, which Hosono deemed a requirement for this new, more electronic project.

Enter Takahashi, who blew his audition out of the water AND, in playing along with a computer-dictated beat, felt like his entire drumming life had been justified. Apparently the Sadistic Mika Band and earlier bands he'd been part of were always complaining that YT played too fast. "SEE, you assholes? I was right on goddam time ALL ALONG"

I've probably mentioned this before but I feel like Takahashi's drumming was always the secret sauce to what make YMO's stuff so ahead of its time. there were definitely some cool sounding drum machines back then but most of them felt tinny and kinda blocky. even Kraftwerk's drum pads (or whatever they used) sounded like thin layers of foil. YMO had a drummer who could play like a drum machine, but on an actual kit. the first time I heard them I thought it *was* a drum machine and wondered how something from that long ago could sound that good. I thought the lack of any reverb at all was a giveaway. it's such a joy to watch live footage of him too. he doesn't screw up. like...ever.

I have now watched Propaganda during a slow afternoon at work. I am somewhat at a loss as to the plot or purpose of the non-concert scenes. Kind of an extended extremely 80s extremely arty extremely concept music video. But it was fantastic to see YMO live at the height of their powers. Really interesting to see how much of the instrumentation my ears got wrong. Hosono played a lot of live bass, which contributed to how incredibly funky they were. Yet many sounds that I had previously thought were guitar were actually Sakamoto playing a distorted synth sound with pitch bend and glissando. And how much drumming David Palmer did at the lives, allowing Takahashi to take more of a traditional frontman role.

But I also laughed a lot. Because there were several points in the film where I laughed aloud, suddenly seeing even more imagery that B-T referenced.

But yeah, I have much more appreciation for Takahashi now. And had I first seen this film at the age Hisashi did, I would probably also have been tying a red armband round my leather jacket and running around pasting my band's logo over everything in Tokyo haha.

Is "Present" the ultimate city pop song?

Is the above a rhetorical question?

Brought to helpless tears by Sayonara again, goddam.