After the show, stop by Lit on 6th street for the Kraftwerk After Party which will be put on by our friends at Tokyo Electric. They’re also hosting a party at the Luna Lounge on May 7th which is not to be missed.
Speaking of Tokyo, as a veteran gadget connoisseur I can tell you that the consumer electronics gadgets, especially the accessories that one can obtain in Tokyo’s legendary Akihabara district far outshine even the coolest gadgets here. There are simply more. More models, more colors, more goodness. To the techno phobic, this might seem like an overwhelmingly nightmarish situation, but if you’re like me, it’s as close as any heaven I can imagine. I haven’t been in months and I’m really starting to have fits of Muji withdrawals. There’s a new electronics brand called Plus Minus Zero that is produces absolutely, drop-dead gorgeous Dieter Rams-esque simple electronics products which I am drooling for. On the more mass-market side of things, there is a fantastic online store, Audio Cubes that sells some of the more tasty items not fit for typical American consumption. Here’s just a small sampling of some of the more interesting items that aren’t available in the US, but Audio Cubes will ship from Japan:
Sony’s MDR-EX71SL White Fontopia Earphones, Japan’s #1 iPod replacement
Sony’s Uber-cool MDR-D66SL Eggo Headphones
Panasonic’s Insane CQ-TX5500D Vacuum Tube Indash CD Reciever
Sony’s Innovative SMU-WR1 wireless optical mouse
And of course, some items specifically of interest to Robots everywhere...
May-Wa Denki Bitman
Cam-08 The Perpetual Humanoid
Speaking of Japan, Coworker Gen Kanai got a little notoriety today!
Found a good photography site, 28MM.
May 14-16th should be fun as Wired Magazine puts on their first ever NextFest. According to the ads, come to NextFest and see the future: robots, flying cars, private space planes, homes of the future, fuel cell cars, unmanned aerial vehicles, future warrior battle gear, holograms, laser sound beams, invisibility coats, and so much more from leading visionary companies and R&D labs worldwide.
More music news, on Wednesdays (other than the Wednesday of the Kraftwerk show) Club six is host to the lovely and Robot-friendly Toula is presenting a new night of Electro and Synth Rock,
Upcoming releases to get very excited about include Tamion 12 Inch and Goudron on Ersatz Audio (Thanks, Doyle!).
Ersatz van full of vinyl destined for distribution
I’ve also been listening to a pre-release version of the new Miss Kittin album called I Com due out on May 18th. While not Hacker-esque in any way, she’s developed a new style that’s sure to make you shake it. For those of you old enough to remember the experimental electronic masters, Einstürzende Neubauten, they’re now on tour and will be in San Francisco on May 7th at the Fillmore (so go to the show, then go to Tokyo Electric afterwards). The next week Bpitch Control owner-artist Ellen Allien returns to San Francisco to rip it up at Club Six; and if the last show at Mezzanine was any indication, the tiny basement at Club Six is going to be a sweaty, gyrating mass of electro bootyshake (good times).
Last but not least, you may be wondering, with all this amazing news, why have posts from Robot-control been so brief and infrequent? Well, I’ve been busy traveling between San Francisco and my soon to be new home base of Los Angeles, and I’ve taken the plunge and purchased a new loft! Yes, very soon I will officially be a somewhat-responsible adult with a crippling mortgage. Oh, but did I mention the loft is a redeveloped building from 1924 with design renovations done by award-winning architect Clive Wilkinson (who is bringing a little of his Chiat/Day-shipping container magic to my loft).
Oh, and of course, there’s the roof-top pool.
