Friday, October 09, 2009

POINTLESS BUT LINKED

Yes, boys and girls, it is time to play link-dump.


What I'm listening to at the moment:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jjBwz-mg3A
Second choice:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vp_oiE2Fzyc
Third choice:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5I-RTRBua0&feature=fvw



CATEGORY A: KILL 'EM ALL MUSIC

Königgrätzer Marsch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRqssiz__vY

Preussens Gloria
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_D1mYBBHgM&feature=related

The British Grenadiers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDKn3nl9FeY&feature=related

Rule Britannia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63o8exNK4-Q

Marines Hymn
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKkflXlh3C8&feature=related

Zulu - Final Attack (the scene from the movie with the actual soundtrack).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1csr0dxalpI&feature=related



CATEGORY B: QUALITY ENTERTAINMENT

Azumanga Daioh - The best of Kimura
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftAMtTH6mKQ

The school culture fest
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VU7HhHRgCiM&feature=related

Yukari's Driving
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FS9csiX95dQ&feature=related


LAGNIAPPE

And, for those of you who had to take public transit to get here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBvEHJOUbjk
A large furry Totoro at the bus stop.

Youtube - it's a way of life.

7 comments:

jonathan becker said...

i appreciate eclectic musical tastes. i consider my own pretty eclectic, but pretty pedestrian compared to yours. i found your juxtopositon of war anthems and pedophilic anime to be both amusing and disturbing.

i wonder, do you realize that in terms of "kill 'em all" music, the stuff you linked to has been far surpassed by ratm, ac/dc and numerous rap and dark metal "artists"? still, i liked the toms (or whatever kind of drums, not snares i don't think) on the "british grenadiers" link.

i just don't "get" anime. my woman's daughter is a huge japanophile and i keep trying to tell her the japanese are seriously warped but she's having none of it, planning the big trip to japan after her israeli national service. do you have a post explaining to westerners such as myself (who admit to a childhood love of "speed racer" but nothing more) what the hell is so great about anime? i am not completely unfamiliar with the comix form, having been a collecter of marvel and e.c. back in the day, so you don't have to dumb it down too much.

The back of the hill said...

juxtopositon of war anthems and pedophilic anime to be both amusing and disturbing

Actually, Azumanga Daioh is not pedophilic at all. Kimura-sensei is the most "disturbing" person in it, and is, apparently, a type that Japanese highschool girls do encounter more often than Westerners.
He's harmless, though definitely 'pervy'.
The main theme of Azumanga Daioh is the friendship of the various girls during their last three years of high school - they are, in a way, arch-types. And schools are familiar stage-sets for much Japanese anime and manga.

Anime, when it is humorous rather than giant robots or adventure hero stuff, is quite entertaining. Many of the characters are 'types', which means that character traits and some story details can be inferred - this makes the show easier to understand on a plurality of levels than comparable Western animation.

The last link is to 'My Neighbor Totoro', which is a sweet, dreamlike tale of two girls living in a new house out in the country while their mom is in the hospital. Totoro is the Japanese malformation of 'troll' - in Japan, a large furry creature rather like the raccoon dog of folklore.

The back of the hill said...

And yes, the Japanese are pretty warped. Pervy doesn't even begin to describe it.

It's entertaining from a distance, but it would probably be claustrophobic from close-up. The most innocent fetish they have is the panty fetish......

Subdivided into striped, pure white, shocking pink, rose, red, or powder-blue, side-tie versus high rise versus briefs, etcetera.
Imagine some seriously neurotic anal-retentiveness (very Japanese) applied to categorizing, defining, and indulging in particular fetishisms.

Maid cafe? Okay, gothic, Victorian, neo-modern, or dominatrix?
With or without visible underwear, frilly or school-girl innocent? Simple hair or fancy ribbons and ornaments?

Some people swear by hair-ribbons, others obsess over knee-high stockings, strap-on cat ears, skirt-types, plum versus thin, stiletto heels versus petite feet, and, most importantly, DOES SHE HAVE GLASSES??!!!!

Their magazines are incredibly narrowly focused - such things as cat-ear (nekomimi) glasses-wearing (megane-ko) with mild cleavage and frequent panty-shots.
Which of course does not appeal to people who are into fox-ears no glasses maid uniforms baggy ankle socks. Or other things.
It's all very strange.

jonathan becker said...

boy, i'm sure glad you have such "relentless curiousity" or whatever you called it. i would need a lot more curiousity than i have about these particular issues to actually research anime or japanes sexual behaviours (and marketing). so i did what i always do- ask some o.c.d. friend- or in your case, cyber-character- to please get with the "what's up with that". you have been marveloussly helpful. thanks, professor. :) also for your pithy and action-packed description the other day of your own background- fabuluous and surprising stuff, better than i had hoped for. also, while i'm in thank you mode, i've been having a terrific time with your unusual and eclectic blogroll. it's so eclectic (esoteric might be a better word here), with whom am i supposed to share my appreciation of rabbi shmekelstien, for instance? that must be a pretty tiny market for the intrepid author, who has my awe and respect. though i can only take it in small doses. going now...

e-kvetcher said...

Link 2 is the Italian version of the classic Soviet WWII song, "Katyusha".

The back of the hill said...

Tayere e-kvetcher,

Veiss ich, veis ich. But the Italians make communist hymns sound better, more sprightly.
The Russian version of the Internationale, for instance, sounds ponderous. The only decent Dutch recording of the Internationale on youtube sounds "artisitic" and meaningful. Most other versions, including especially Dutch versions, sound roundout walgelijk.

Italian communists: natures little radical songbirds. Who knew?

e-kvetcher said...

You speak emes about the italians, but I have to clarify that "Katyusha" is not a communist hymn. It is a love song written about a young woman who is waiting for her love to return from the war. During WWII, with the entire country being mobilized, it touched many a heart.

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