Punk Rock Archives | Otaku No Culture

Terror Awaits When Nash The Slash Rises Again!

A stylish and thoughtful documentary, Nash The Slash Rises Again! examines the life, sound, and legacy of one of Canada’s most singular musical innovators, celebrating an artist who turned performance, technology, and mystery into something unforgettable.

Opens at Select Theatres March 13

Nash the Slash is an original. A living Phantom of the Theatre, unafraid to obscure himself, he’s often seen performing wrapped like a mummy, minus the Egyptian motifs, instead donning dark sunglasses and a stiff top hat. When we see him in Nash the Slash Rises Again!, he’s not just a silent film star, but a silver age minx. He exists in a space where noir sensibilities thrive. Nearly everyone knows the name, even if the sound itself feels ephemeral, electronic, and ahead of its time.

What’s presented in Tim Kowalski’s documentary brilliantly honours him like a living memorial. Rameses the Great would be jealous. When this musician doesn’t predate the theatrical shock of early Pink Floyd or Alice Cooper, but feels spiritually adjacent to them, evolving along a parallel creative wavelength. One suspects they’d have relished sharing a stage had the opportunity arisen.

With interests leaning heavily into the horror film genre, shock becomes part of the live experience for those fortunate enough to witness him perform. Not every show has him embodying The Invisible Man, but the theatricality remains central. His life and career are explored in thoughtful detail through Tim Kowalski’s documentary.

Continue reading “Terror Awaits When Nash The Slash Rises Again!”

With (S)KiDs, It’s Not Just But Still Rock and Roll to Me

The beauty with independent animated works is that they don’t have to play by the rules. For (S)KiDs, the creators must make sure the message is heard, not just blasted.

Available to stream on YouTube (free, see below)

The year (S)KiDs take place in may seem unusual, but it feels appropriate to show what teenage life was like back in the early 90s. In a nutshell, I can’t help but think this film is Smells Like Teen Spirit meets The Breakfast Club. This song released by Nirvana in 1991 is more than age-old to reflect upon what this film is about.

Here, this animated film looks at the life of Scotty (James Priestner), a self prescribed punk poet who finds life in a new town difficult. Although he finds a few friends, others soon label them skids, not typical outcasts. Although this derogatory term is not in vogue these days, to escape that label is tough. Molly (Michele Garceau), Billy (Will Letos), and Craig (Les Solis, who also directed this film) are fairly chill, but the fact they all have demons is more telling as the film progresses through their final year at St. Elmo’s High School.

Continue reading “With (S)KiDs, It’s Not Just But Still Rock and Roll to Me”

AmPm is Changin’ Stranger Things to a Dance Tune with DJ Shigge!

‘Gypsy Woman (She’s Homeless)’ gets reimagined by Japan’s AmPm and DJ Shigge!

AMPM's Stranger Things Album Cover Japan’s masked production unit AmPm made their debut with 2017 hit single ‘Best Part of Us’, building an audience all around the world.

AmPm has a new single titled ‘Stranger Things,’ and it has nothing to do with the Netflix show of the same name. Instead, this seventh single is a dance track that reimagines ‘Gypsy Woman (She’s Homeless)’, the timeless 1990s hit by Crystal Waters, which has more recently found new audiences around the world via the sampling scene. Ever since this masked production unit made their debut with the 2017 ‘Best Part of Us,’ audiences world-wide have been captivated by their sound, and there’s good news!

This track will also be included in their still to be named upcoming album and the theme will be about global travel. Links to where this song can be heard at Spotify and Apple Music. Full listings of where else it can be streamed at are listed here.

Continue reading “AmPm is Changin’ Stranger Things to a Dance Tune with DJ Shigge!”

BRATS Spiderweb and Shibuya News

BRATS latest music video, “Spiderweb” is now out and we got news of their next performance!

brats The talents who now make up BRATS this year is riding high. After the release of their music video, “Spiderweb” to the Internet on Sept 2, 2023, and the fandom has shown their love, this two-person group is confirmed to perform at Shibuya Spotify O-WEST next.

This event marks their second live show this year. It will take place Oct 8, and feature new arrangements of like “Forget me not,” “Ms. Downer,” and “Dodatte Yokatta.”

Rei said, “Up until now, our BRATS sound has been rooted in a traditional style of rock. For this new single, we wanted to go for a heavy digital approach to match the song’s message about life on the internet.”

Continue reading “BRATS Spiderweb and Shibuya News”

BRATS Online Jan 10th with Ambitious Girls Rock Volume One Livestream!

Brats | Discography | Discogs Japanese punk rock band, BRATS is ready to kick 2021 into high gear with with live albums and a free Ambitious Girls Rock Vol. 1 livestream on January 10! This show starts at 1:00pm (Japan time) and will include many female bands from Japan and South Korea to show no one’s gonna take it anymore, and show its still possible to have fun. These girls got it all!

This release features this group’s hottest sets since they released their second album Karma last September.

This set features the special event “Karma The LIVE” at Shibuya Tsutaya O-East, where the trio performed the new album’s full track list.

The follow-up record showcases their “Ambitious Girls” live set at Ikejiri Ohashi #Chord.

Before the big event, both albums are available worldwide to watch at https://avex.lnk.to/BRATS_PLAYLIST. The following are just exerpts.

BRATS – “Kimarigoto” Live at TSUTAYA O-EAST 2020.09.13

BRATS – “Doudatte Yokatta” Live at #Chord 2020.11.08

On January 10, BRATS will perform as part of the free “Ambitious Girls Rock – Vol, 1” online concert event. The four-band livestream stars female vocal rock bands from East Asian countries: BRATS (Japan), Velvet Sighs (Japan), Rolling Quartz (South Korea), and VINCIT (South Korea).

Watch live at https://www.youtube.com/c/ROLLINGQUARTZofficial.

BRATS will begin at appx 1:30pm, streaming their performance from Shibuya Tsutaya O-Crest.

Rolling Quartz – Blaze
https://youtu.be/Pg51wRHMRek

VINCIT – Strike Out
https://youtu.be/KK0cuakU0oM

Velvet Sighs – Pretending
https://youtu.be/GwQpESCJSJ4

Blizzard’s Overwatch Rides a Dark Horse!

Reading this comic makes me wish the Overwatch franchise expand to puzzle solving and RPG style territory over more shoot-em ups. This comic’s tie-in to the last seasonal video game content gives gamers that narration to understand what’s going on. For non-gamers, perhaps a prologue is needed.

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Dark Horse Comics
Available Now

Spoiler Alert

Blizzard’s hit video game Overwatch now has a much expected print version in a comic book! I’m sure the title of this series London Calling is intentional, as Tracer’s time as an agent seems over. The official summary says, “Five years after the ratification of the Petras Act, she now tends to small-scale crimes as a part-time hero. But when a punk-rock omnic named Iggy shows Tracer the dire living conditions that have been forced upon London’s omnics, Tracer becomes determined to help in any way possible—even if it puts her back in the crosshairs.”

It’s easy to find the cinematics and follow some parts of the story online. Keeping up when I’m not regularly playing the game is tough, especially when my interests are all over the place! I love the costumes from this universe and the Patlabor type landscape. The characters are just as cool too. Unfortunately, I suck at first-person shooters. My reflexes and shooting skills aren’t great and the nausea I get from fast frame rates from the FPS perspective gets to me after ten minutes.

Continue reading “Blizzard’s Overwatch Rides a Dark Horse!”