Takkyu Ishino -- Stereo Nights

Hm...I wonder if J.J. Abrams had ever seen this video...

Anyways, the video is how I got to know about techno fun guy Takkyu Ishino's （石野卓球）"Stereo Nights". Naturally, it was something that came on at night since the entire zany nature of it would probably have it featured on one of those avant-garde video clip shows on MTV or Muchmusic (or MUCH as it now known) here in Canada.

Once again, Takkyu Ishino shows off his slightly Weird Al Yankovic type of humour through this cute parody of all things karaoke video....especially like that little dance thing with the wacky couple on the cruise ship near the end. Considering the somewhat grainy nature of the footage, I think the director got things right with the era of those mini-films accompanying the karaoke. And the whole thing just sparked me as something that the cast of one of my favourite comedy shows of all time, "SCTV" would have done. However, it's Ishino himself as our congenial taxi driver coursing through the streets of Tokyo or Yokohama.

This was Ishino's 2nd single outside of his unit, Denki Groove, which came out in 2001 and was also a track on his 4th album from the same year, "Karaoke Jack". "Stereo Nights" has this perky but gentle nature about it...it's not one of those songs that will make you hit and throb on the dance floor but it makes for a nice little respite between the hard thumpers. And at parts, you will know if your headphones are working optimally.

Jiyugaoka NIght Festival