Information for visitors to Sapporo Tsukisamu Arena

Some information about the Tsukisamu Arena in Sapporo, Japan where the 2008 IIHF World Championship Division I Group B games will be held.

Chances are your mobile phone won’t work in Japan because Japan uses a proprietory cell system. Even overseas 3G phones won’t work just by inserting Japanese SIM cards (though things may have changed recently, so check with your local carrier). Very inconvenient for visitors, I know.

Tsukisamu Arena has a capacity of about 3000 (this year’s AL games drew close to 2900).

Here are some pictures of the arena:

I recommend staying in the Susukino area of Sapporo, as that’s where the nightlife is, and it’s only 4 metro stops away from the Tsukisamu-Chuo station where the arena is situated (a 3 minute walk) on the Toho metro line.

All weekday Japan games are scheduled at 8pm, so I expect a good crowd for those games (not sure about preordering tickets). But I don’t expect much of a crowd for the other games, as Sapporo’s not a hockey town (there are some nice mountains nearby, so skiing and snowboarding are more popular) and Japanese people tend not to take many holidays.

For the Japan team preview, most of my Asia League summary is here already:
https://jhockey.wordpress.com/category/hockey/asia-league-ice-hockey/

If I have the time I’ll try to do a Team Japan preview once the roster’s announced.

Advertisement

似音：NIN & Luna Sea, Jeff Mills & A Hundred Birds

あと、Fugees & Enya 笑

iPod nano を無くして、80GBにClassic を買ってじゃんじゃんCD をリッピングし始めたから、自然と確認できた事…

ずっと思ってたんだけど、何故か似てる曲たち。

ルナシーの91年のセルフタイトルのデビューアルバムの1曲THE SLAIN

↑92年だからか、かなり画質悪いけど、92年にもうデジタル動画を撮ってた人がいたって事か？アナログから落としたら、ノイズは入るだろうけどもっと良い画質のはずだし…

Nine Inch Nails のThe Downward Spiral(94年)からのヒットソングｗのHurt

イントロが似てません？まあ、ああいうシンプルなメロディーだと、似ちゃう事もあるんだろうけど。初めてHurt を聞いた時からずっとそう思ってました。好きな曲調なんで両方とも好きです。

これはデトロイトテクノの巨匠Jeff Mills 先生のThe Bells の豪華オーケストラバージョン（ジャンルクロスオーバー好きとしては、大当たり）

そして大阪のDJ がリーダーの大所帯ビッグバンド・ハウスミュージックのA Hundred Birds のJaguar（Rolando のカバー）

たまにやる大編成のストリングス6人、ブラス4人、ドラム2人、パーカッション2人、キーボード、ギター、ベース、指揮者、コーラス3人、シンガー3人にDJの約25人の時の方が音が似てるんだよね。小編成も悪くないけど、やっぱり鳥百羽の醍醐味はポストモダンビッグバンドだね、オススメです。人数多すぎるからA&R に敬遠されて（メンバー全員と契約しなきゃいけないからコストが…）メジャーになれないのかな？

でも、これってJeff の原曲のThe Bells

のアッパー版がRolando のJaguar という印象が拭えない（彼もデトロイトだが…だから？）

４つ打ちにあのメロディーフレーズだから、似てるように聞こえるのかな。Birds のJaguar を初めて聞いた時（ライブだった）、てっきりThe Bells のカバーだと思ってた。

なんだかんだいって全部好きですよ♪

。。。

前はよく音楽聴いてたなー。Fugees がEnya に訴えられる前に友達の家のハウスパーリーでReady or Not を聞いた時に、真っ先に「Enyaだ」て思って、それから「あれ、違う」てなったくらいだからね。そしたら案の定、その数ヶ月後には詐称事になってた。そんなベタなサンプリングを許可取らずにやるからだよ。

Fugees – Ready or Not

Enya – Boadicea

サンプリングは大好きだよ、でも元ネタの有名な部分を大胆にサンプリングするのは大嫌い。だって、それって原曲が作り出した雰囲気にほぼタダ乗りしてるだけだから。逆に元ネタがなんだか分からない程短かったり、変えられてるサンプリグは立派に楽器の一つだね。この辺の区別を音楽業界が出来ないのも、サンプリング命のヒップホップとかが苦しんでる理由の一つかな（一サンプルの許可費は高くなくても、一曲で軽く１０曲以上のサンプル使ってたりするからね）。

Vice TV in North Korea

Yes, North Korea is a decrepit hermit kingdom, and there are countless travelogues all showing the same photos and stories because the only way to see North Korea is via their government’s regimented tours. This Vice TV documentary is no different, but the presenter Shane Smith makes things interesting in his gung ho ways (gonzo journalism) and these are moving pictures! (Often shot under duress, as the guards kept on telling them to stop filming and threatening them NK jail time. Now, there aren’t many other things that rank lower on normal people’s todo lists.)

Just getting into North Korea turned out to be an incredibly bizarre ordeal, as reported by Smith:

A BRIEF NOTE FROM SHANE SMITH ON THE BYZANTINE NORTH KOREAN VISA PROCESS

Getting into North Korea was one of the hardest and weirdest processes VBS has ever dealt with. After we went back and forth with their representatives for months, they finally said they were going to allow 16 journalists into the country to cover the Arirang Mass Games in Pyongyang. Then, ten days before we were supposed to go, they said, “No, nobody can come.” Then they said, “OK, OK, you can come. But only as tourists.” We had no idea what that was supposed to mean. They already knew we were journalists, and over there if you get caught being a journalist when you’re supposed to be a tourist you go to jail. We don’t like jail. And we’re willing to bet we’d hate jail in North Korea.

But we went for it. The first leg of the trip was a flight into northern China. At the airport the North Korean consulate took our passports and all of our money, then brought us to a restaurant. We were sitting there with our tour group, and suddenly all the other diners left and these women came out and started singing North Korean nationalist songs. We were thinking, “Look, we were just on a plane for 20 hours. We’re jet-lagged. Can we just go to bed?” but this guy with our group who was from the LA Times told us, “Everyone in here besides us is secret police. If you don’t act excited then you’re not going to get your visa.” So we got drunk and jumped up onstage and sang songs with the girls. The next day we got our visas. A lot of people we had gone with didn’t get theirs. That was our first hint at just what a freaky, freaky trip we were embarking on…

If this doesn’t whet your Nork appetite, nothing will   😀

All 14 episodes are online now. Thanks EWC for introducing this program.