SOUNDTRACK: GOGOL BORDELLO-Tiny Desk Concert #66 (June 28, 2010).
I had heard a few minutes of Gogol Bordello before this concert but it was during a TV show that I was half watching. When I sat down and listened to this show, I was blown away by hem and immediately bought two of their CDs. Gogol Bordello is a multi-piece, multi ethic band that plays rocked-up Russian folk music (mor or less). The sound is very traditional, with a kind of gypsy edge sprinkled onto it. I’m not sure how many people are in the band, or how may people showed up for this concert but it sounds like about 100 in the tint room. This is also the longest Tiny Desk show that I’ve heard (it runs almost 25 minutes).
The band plays five songs (and there’s a little chatting in between) and as the session goes on the band gets more rowdy (and more fun). The video (also available at the same site) shows the singer sitting in the laps of the NPR folks and jumping on some desks and just having a blast. And even though I enjoy shoegazing music, this is the kind of rollicking fun that I would love to see in concert.
The songs are political, but not overtly so, it’s more of a communal feel, of people uniting (which is indeed political). I think they could get old kind of quickly, but in small doses the band is energizing and wonderful.
[READ: March 27, 2011] “U.F.O. in Kushiro”
This story was originally published in the March 19, 2001 issue and was inspired by the incidents of the 1995 earthquake in Kobe, Japan. It was reprinted here to memorialize the recent earthquake in Japan. The story is accompanied by rather devastating photos (and some surreal ones) of the aftermath of the earthquake in Kobe.
The story (translated by Jay Rubin) opens a few days after the Kobe Earthquake. And even five days after the Kobe earthquake, Komura’s wife is still engrossed in the TV footage from Kobe. She never leaves the set. He doesn’t see her eat or even go to the bathroom. When he returns from work on the sixth day, she is gone. She has left a note to the effect that she’s not coming back and that she wants a divorce. Komura’s wind is knocked out of him.
A flashback shows how they met and what an impact she has had on Komura’s life. They may not have been the most a passionate couple, but the were consistent and happy. And now this, with no explanation.
The rest of the story concerns Komura’s attempt to get away from his troubles. A coworker suggests that he should go to Hokkaido. The coworker’s sister lives there. Perhaps he could deliver a package to her for him and have a vacation at the coworker’s expense.
The most fascinating aspect of the story for me was this mysterious package Why wouldn’t he mail it or courier it? What could be in it that is so important? He assures Komura it’s not drugs or anything else that would get him in trouble. It’s also very light. What could it be? Komura doesn’t seem even the least bit curious about it.
When he finally does arrive, the coworker’s sister and her friend meet him at the airport. He transfers the box and they plan to show him around the city. The girls get a little tipsy and start telling stories (the one about the bear is wonderful) and this is where the titular alien comes in.
The story gets a little twisted at the end, and it ends with wonderful introspection. As usual, Murakami writes a great story. It has elements of surrealness, but is always grounded in reality.
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