while we were in kaoshiung on sunday i managed to pick up the dvd release of viva tonal: the dance age. this is a documentary about the first records released in taiwan. when i saw this on tv here, it was mainly in taiwanese with chinese subtitles so i only caught a little of the meaning. but the dvd luckily has english, japanese and spanish subtitles. aside from learning about the development of this early music in taiwan, the film has great home movie footage of the old stars just hanging out as well as some footage from an old silent film. i can't reccomend this film enough to those interested in old records or in the development of asian music. it would be great if now they'd go do a documentary on the music of the 50s and 60s in taiwan.
the last couple of days have seen a bunch of birthday goodies arrive for me in the mail:
- the playmakers - tim walsh
- found - davy rothbart
- structuring time - michael betancourt
- a promise - xiu xiu
- chapel of the chimes - xiu xiu
- hot fuss - the killers
- ciao manhattan
all the books are wonderful. for some reason i was expecting the found book to be in colour, but i guess it feels more like a zine just being in black and white. the playmakers book is great. packed full of great information on lots of childhood favourites. i think now i have just about all of the main releases by xiu xiu. not bad considering i just got into them a few months ago. it's been over a decade since i last saw ciao manhattan. it's still a fascinating look at the silver sixties gone wrong. there's something in the film that reminds me of harold and maude as well, but i can't quite put my finger on it. maybe it's just an early 1970s vibe.
