BANK BAND: ito (thread)
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i hate spam.
lately, i've spent more time deleting spam messages, than i've spent actually writing posts of my own.
so, from today i shut down the forum, and hope i can restart it in the future.
and it's snowing in stockholm.
when the last snow had just thawed, and the spring birds had started to sing, it starts to snow again. that's cruel. there should be spring by now.
because, spring is already in my heart.
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yesterday i watched a wonderful movie, the japanese drama SU-KI-DA from 2005, by director hiroshi ishikawa.
this quiet, super-minimalistic masterpiece is maybe the slowest and most meditative movie i've ever seen! amazing acting, superb camera work, and a frustrating story of love.
if you get restless after 4 minutes of silence, without neither dialogue or background music, this movie is not for you. the silence, the inner tension of the characters, is part of the story's frustration.
the story tells of 17-year-old Yu who has a crush on her classmate Yosuke, who's just stopped playing baseball to learn how to play the guitar.
divided in two parts, the movie's first half is seen from Yu's perspective, and the second is seen from Yosuke's, 17 years later when they coincidentally meet again.
it's a highly rewarding movie , which might be a test your patience.... it reminded me of how easily distracted we get when there are no fast edits, no needless conversation, no background music to manipulate our feelings. only the sounds from the wind and the little river.
as viewers we're just left with ourselves and our reflections.
thank you, hiroshi ishikawa.
i think the world needs you.
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TOKYO STORY (tokyo monogatari) is a japanese classic movie from 1953. black/white of course, a beautiful and very slow story directed by yasujiro ozu, often listed as one of the best movies ever made.
it tells the story of an elderly couple from the countryside in post-war japan, going to tokyo to visit their two grown-up children, who are selfishly very absorbed by their own hectic lives.
it's a quiet, heart-warming movie, with subtle humour and great music (even if very sparse).
i was very moved by the acting of SETSUKO HARA, who plays the big-hearted and loving daughter-in-law, noriko. she has sometimes been called the "greta garbo of japan", but i like setsuko more ;)
here's the original 4-minute trailer, subtitled in english:
read more here:
» en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Story
please watch the movie if you get the chance. at least, it makes you feel a bit closer to japan....
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During my last visit to Tokyo, I gave an interview for an internet radio special about me and my new album. It's about 45 minutes with talking and music, the name is "CAFE DE YOSHI".
Date:
Wednesday 4th February
Time:
20:00 - Japan time
12:00 - Stockholm time (noon)
11:00 - London time
09:00 - Brasil time
06:00 - New York time
We did the interview in my hotel room in Komaba, Meguro area.
Please don't ask me to name the exact address, but it was a
very very nice hotel and very central!
The radio show is hosted by Yoshinari Nakamatsu, a friend of
mine who is also a singer and songwriter. On his CD-single from
2008 I played a cavaquinho solo!!!
To hear me talk about my new album, how I was influenced by my
first Japan tour, and other things, visit:
» otonamazu.com
Click PLAY NOW, and a new window opens, where you just click
the Play button. You don't have to download anything!
If you can't listen on Wednesday, you'll be able to listen later, as all the programs are uploaded to the website after a few weeks. I'll remind you when it's up ;)
Yoshinari Nakamatsu website:
» available-lights.jp
» myspace.com/yoshinarinakamatsu
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sometimes words are not enough.
here's a woooooonderful live recording of Swedish trio ESBJÖRN SVENSSON TRIO. I feel sad when I think about the tragic death of the pianist Esbjörn in 2008. but his legacy to this world is eternal - his music.
because music is also a language.
E.S.T. - "ELEVATION OF LOVE":
when words are no longer valid, music can enter and express the inexpressible. because it's not limited by the same kind of definition, music is larger than words. and sometimes the feelings in our hearts, are larger than life.
i'm so happy to have found my red thread.
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i watched a wonderful movie this weekend - CINEMA PARADISO, an italian movie from 1989, in the director's cut.
somehow, i'd succeeded to miss it completely, didn't even know about it, but i guess i was in the wrong age when it was released (i was one of those sweet teenagers at the time).....
i'm very glad that i "stumbled across it". it's a marvellous movie, wonderful story, amazing music. it has a very profound message, at least to me..... even if things seem to go terribly wrong, it's always for the sake of something beautiful.
please watch it!!! here's the trailer, but please remember that the movie is 10 TIMES better than the trailer.
the movie has a wonderful end. maybe not happy, or maybe it is.... depending on your point of view ;)
it's one of those films that i love - where i feel that i'm a better person after watching it, than i was before.
it's a masterpiece.
life is a masterpiece! ne!?
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i've been more philosophic again, lately.... maybe there's some cosmic energy that's helped me rediscover the philosophy in the classic books about WINNIE-THE-POOH, written by A.A. MILNE:
sometimes,
if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge and lean over,
to watch the river slipping slowly away beneath you,
you will suddenly know everything there is to be known.
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i love that quote!! it seems very simple, and it is! i think we tend to miss the details when we try to get the whole picture.
in the pure beauty of this vision, i also came to think of another classic book for children, THE LITTLE PRINCE by ANTOINE DE SAINT-EXUPÉRY and the qoute:
it's only with the heart that one can see clearly.
what's essential is invisible to the eye.
please watch this wonderful scene from the movie:
why doesn't anyone write children's books like that any more?
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japanese singer TOKI ASAKO has recorded my song LET THE SUNLIGHT IN for her latest cd TOUCH which was released last week in japan. i'm very glad and honoured!!!
the photo above was taken today in a japanese CD shop, and if you look really well, you'll be able to see my C'EST LA VIE cd in the middle of the top shelf....
her album also includes a cover of Bill Evans' WALTZ FOR DEBBY. click below to listen (my song is nr 9).
» amazon.co.jp/...
scroll down to the track-listing and click any link after the song names to open the player.
in the album description, i think they call me a "genius".... =|
shashin arigatou gozaimashita! ureshii!
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last week i watched this japanese movie, A DAY ON THE PLANET (kyô no dekigoto), from 2004, directed by Isao Yukisada. with a minimalist approach it shows one day in the life, focusing on the house-warming party of a student, while the tv news in the background shows a criminal being caught in a gap between two buildings, and later a stranded whale on a nearby beach.
watch this movie if you get the chance, even if you're not so aquainted with japanese culture. it's funny and very human.
sorry the trailer has no subtitles...
» imdb.com/title/tt0400586/
the movie is said to take place in kyoto, even though nothing of the "traditional" kyoto is shown. i was on my way to kyoto last year but didn't have time. now i'm very glad for that, because it means that next time i can experience it calmly and thoroughly, maybe in the red-leaf autumn with a genuine guide?
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