Looking at this press release announcing Shonen Knife’s new tour and album, I wonder if the band’s PR team was merely playing up to my own misguided expectations of how an announcement from such a hyper Japanese band should read. For instance, “the new Shonen Knife album Free Time,” due out in North America on Good Charamel Records come August 31, “is a product of Japan’s invincibility.” With an additional two bonus tracks not found on the Japanese version, “this is an exposition of the Rock. Free Time is hard and is also pop, and it is mellow and kitsch as well.” I mean, after bleaching my good judgment of an entire nation with dozens of YouTube videos from sadistic game shows and hundreds of hilariously mistranslated photos from Engrish.com, is Shonen Knife just continuing the tradition by yukking up the whole “happy robot breakfast kidney” stereotype of Japanese pop culture? Or scarier yet, is this actually how they contact the press about their new material? Did Sub Pop act as a glorified proofreader for the band in the late 80s? So many questions from one simple release! I guess they did the job right. “Very very active Shonen Knife!”
Free Time tracklisting:
01. Perfect Freedom
02. Rock ‘n’ Roll Cake
03. Economic Crisis
04. Do You Happen to Know
05. Capybara
06. An Old Stationary Shop
07. Monster Jellyfish
08. P.Y.O.
09. Love Song
10. Star
Oh and tourdates!
09.08.10 - Seattle, WA - Tractor Tavern
09.09.10 - Vancouver, B.C. - Biltmore Cabaret
09.10.10 - Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios
09.11.10 - Oakland, CA - Uptown Night Club
09.12.10 - San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill
09.13.10 - San Diego, CA - Casbah
09.14.10 - Los Angeles, CA - Spaceland
09.17.10 - Austin, TX - Red 7
09.18.10 - Dallas, TX - The Loft w/ Lovies
09.19.10 - Kansas City, MO - Record Bar *
09.20.10 - Northfield, MN - The Cave
09.21.10 - Chicago, IL - Schubas
09.22.10 - Kalamazoo, MI - The Strutt *
09.23.10 - Cincinnati, OH - Midpoint Music Festival
09.24.10 - Pittsburgh, PA - 31st St. Pub
09.25.10 - New York, NY - Asia Society Museum
09.26.10 - Washington, D.C. - Rock and Roll Hotel
09.28.10 - Brooklyn, NY - Knitting Factory
09.30.10 - Montreal, QC - Cabaret du Mile End
10.01.10 - Toronto, ON - Horseshoe Tavern
10.02.10 - Buffalo, NY - Mohawk Place
* Grass Widow
• Shonen Knife: http://www.myspace.com/shonenknife
• Good Charamel Records: http://www.goodcharamel.com
[Photo: napkinshoe]
