Column: Gordon Raphael #14, Aug 2003
By: Gordon Raphael
Um, I'm on a United flight back from Japan - where the last ten days have been spent taking a break near the end of The Strokes recording their second album. To say it has been a grand adventure, would be a huge understatement.
We were in Osaka and Tokyo for the Summer Sonic festival, where the boys performed with The Radioheads and The Doors in front of a lot of happy rock-fans. It's great to see Tokyo kids singing along in English to the likes of 'Take It Or Leave It' and hearing new stuff from the upcoming album being performed so well in concert... Tokyo just floored me with its progressive, creative thinking, in-your-face styles and wall-to-wall gorgeous girls. It helped travelling with a group of young New York boys who are extremely popular over there, as we had people waiting for us in the hotels, bars, streets and venues eager to say hi and show us how they party in this town...
And after being so impressed with London and New York life, I saw how essentially conservative and limited these cities really are, compared to the sheer variety and extremism present twenty-four hours a day on the streets and clubs of Tokyo. I was at a party at the Lexington Queen with Interpol, The Strokes, Sum 41, Good Charlotte and members of The Doors and the look on everyone's faces as they took pictures and videos of the teenage madness that surrounded us was hilarious... Stunned and in heaven, you might say. Debauchery and wildness, the kind of which we reminisce about and commemorate in NYC and London, but really live more in the 70's and 80's in our Western civilization... not in the Bush/Blair and Tommy Hilfiger dominated 2000's, that's for sure.
And - even - do young teenagers in New York wear shirts that loudly read 'Smart Ass Juicy Girl'? Or even 'We Present To You The Dreamy Time'? No. New Yorkers wear Hugo Boss and Tommy, right? Maybe some tenth generation-designer Led Zeppelin T-shirts with fake, but fashionable, rips... Ah, the crazy video-art, experimental-music done on quadruple distorted basses and motorcycle handlebars... And the sheer sexiness of the people there must have done me some good by exploding my imagination a bit.
I am looking forward to the next few days in Manhattan, though - after all, we are nearly about to deliver an amazing album to Rough Trade, RCA and the rock and roll citizens of this planet, wherever they may live.
On the home front, shoplifterrecords.co.uk features bits and pieces of many interesting new artists I'm working with, and my best friends in Miss Machine have a headlining gig at Barfly, Camden on the 22nd of August to get ready for their new single release: 'Not Another Pop Queen' (see missmachine.com for more craziness). Her new video stars some outstanding animation by our Japanese friend Noriko, who just won a hefty prize at the ICA for her wondrous impressions accompanying the sonic stylings of Ebe Oke. (Ms Noriko and her mum were kind enough to show me around the Zen Gardens and Golden Temples of Kyoto which was a great break - and then we both went to Osaka to participate in the Summer Sonic mayhem featuring thirty cool bands inclusive of The Polyphonic Spree, Blondie and the Stereophonics as well.)
Also back in London awaits a silver spaceship-studio in Limehouse that is readying for Crystal Radio, D.U.N.E and a few other rock and roll guests to be recorded and produced this Autumn.
There is a little video I'm documenting about this New York-Tokyo travelogue (maybe you'll see some online via rockfeedback shortly?), featuring studio shots from The Making Of The Son Of The Strokes Album, and many touristy voyeurisms captured during this intensely musical summer. Have you been enjoying the heat? Now in NYC, it's rainy and grey, just like Japan was this morning... Well, 36 hours ago anyway.
Keep your eye out for any Basement Club activities, and interesting new bands I should check out upon coming back to London - thanks for checking in.
Ciao, GVR