SOUNDTRACK: FUJIYA AND MIYAGI-Live at the 9:30 Club, Washington, DC April 30, 2007 (2007).
I was turned onto Fujiya & Miyagi through a sampler CD from WXPN (the song “Ankle Injuries” was included). “Ankle Injuries” has such a simple template. It’s an electronic song, full of washes and beats–nothing too high or low–with the repeated lyrics (sort of whispered) “Fujiya, Miyagi.” I kind of forget that there are other lyrics, since that “chorus” is repeated some seventy times during the song. The rest of the lyrics are also whispered (but mixed loud so they are audible) and are sort of weird, rambling nonsense.
It’s slick and catchy and with the simple lyrics, it’s really easy to sing (or whisper) along. The problem is that pretty much all of their songs (in this live NPR show, anyhow) sound like this. That’s dismissive and not entirely true, but they all tend to follow this similar template: smooth, catchy keyboard melodies and whispered vocals.
The thing is that it works quite well, and the show is kind of fun. And yet, it’s also rather repetitive. This seems to be the kind of show that I need to be in the mood to enjoy. It also makes me glad I didn’t buy the album. I think little doses are enough for me.
This concert (available from )
[READ: April 1, 2011] “Where Are the Men”
This is another story that, once I was about halfway through, I remembered reading the first time. This one in particular was quite memorable because of the middle section. But let’s go back to the beginning.
As the story opens, a woman is talking, out loud, to herself. Her name is Eye-Dora; she’s in a dark basement and sees searchlights flooding into her room. But she herself is dark: her skin is dark, her house is dark so she feels safe.
She is from Barbados, a single mother (her husband left many years ago and is now dead) with a son who wears a robe and now goes by a muslim name. Eye-Dora is pissed. She is pissed at the state of black men in Toronto. She is pissed that a black man is going through her garbage and leaving it strewn all around. She is pissed that a black man was killed for wandering down the street claiming to be Jesus. She is pissed. (more…)
I Just Read About That... 