ben frost tokyo weblog
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jan 2004
february 2004
march 2004
april 2004
may 2004
email: [email protected]
tokyo disneyland. the entrance line was so long it stretched into the carpark. there was a strange young boy standing and staring into nothing - it was as if he was having a revelation about everything and all things.
we went on what seemed to be the busiest day of the year. we waited nearly 2 hours to ride big thunder mountain - but it was kind of worth it in the end. it was a fun day though there are a few things that caught my attention that made me feel a bit sick.
firstly - you arent allowed to bring food or drink onto the site, which is understandable - so you are forced to consume their food.
the hot dog is a bun with a processed meat sausage covered in mustard and ketchup. i can't help but think it was invented to be the most inexpensive food item you could pass onto the public. the second type of food is popcorn. it was sold on every corner. its saltiness demands copius cups of cola - another ultra inexpensive drink - black water with sugar. all these things are sold at high prices because there is no option anyway. then of course there is the merchandise, but i won't go into that because i like toys and the mickey mouse spatula and tong set is ok in my books.
the more things we buy the more rubbish we generate - every bin says - PUSH WASTE PLEASE.
mickey mouse pushes waste.
i didnt buy any merchandise.
this time.
last night went to see rio arai at simoon with clare, johnny and kocky. so drunk. was so great. tim patterson was there. was funny.
rio arai was so-so but the act before - or was it after - was incredible. a dj, someone on keyboards or something similar and then this chick on drums. was really disjointed elctronic beats with the drums. across the top of the stage area was this cool light flashing thing.
we all kept falling up and down the stairs. poured noodles all over johhny afterwards. its starting to get cold.
my friend clare is staying with from australia at the moment. last night we saw all these bright lights in the city which i can only assume is some sort of ancient japanese ritual to test digital cameras.
so its christmas again. whatever. i want to punch everyone in the head and say 'merry xmas and happy new year'. that will teach them.
here's a photo of assorted japanese santas on motorbikes in shibuya. notice the beards on the outside of their helmets.
i had this idea for celebrity 3D zombie golf, with frank and di and maybe walter mattheau. if we could organise some clubs and get some beer we could make a day of it. i havent worked out the 3D bit yet, but it makes it sound more mysterious.
its 5 degrees outside tonite and its still autumn. the schoolgirls are still wearing their ultra short skirts, and the sea of drunken business men stumbling around keeps crashing against the shore.
it doesnt matter how well i speak japanese, most people especially behind the counter stare at me blankly unable to work out how my my mouth doesnt match my face. its gone a little past being a novelty to be eyeballed wherever i go and for commuters to sit anywhere except next to me on the train or bus.
latest articles from the city lights show - ugly faux are out in australia in the magazines lucky and large. also the melb times article.
click pic below to view them- -:
whacky stuff i have found recently -here :
vintage 50's and 60's stag flix and so on, jesus of the week, HQ fashion pix links archive, frank borsato folio,
rob manuel flash games, temple of black jesus, the thai elephant orchestra, grouphug confessionals
japanese ac/dc tribute band 'angus' play thunderstruck to their biggest audience yet - quicktime movie - check it out
my japanese is awful but im suprised sometimes what comes to me when im startled. deers in headlights do strange things.
the 1litre orange juice carton i'm drinking out of says this - tastefully on the side :
'ORANGE DRINK - this drink is being made by using the fresh fruit. drink in breakfast and the snack, please.'
ok.
my favourite sign is the one at my local supermarket on the front of all the cash registers - 'WE CAN NOT CHANGE'
i sincerely don't want any of you to.
i have my old zine masters back with me - so when i work out how to operate the local copiers, oprah eats dog biscuit, popkong and relative delight are gonna be in reprint. i wonder if i got them translated they would still be as stupid. hmm, maybe that's worth trying.
i'd love to make a new one and then use it as the platform to release the old three as a compendium - they havent seen the light of day since 2000. its great to read over stuff u did a long time ago. its like your reading someone else's stuff.
cameras - i stopped into akihabara today to see what i could find, but it seems the top shelf new machines are japan only as far as duty free goes. the duty free shops only seem to stock older models. the new panasonic lumix looks cool, but i want something with video. someone was raving about a new sanyo 5 megapixel model for only 35, 000, but i cant find such a thing.
citylights page citylightsproject . its good. they printed my abstract about fucking a girl in an alleyway. charming as always.
i spent two hours in immigration today filling out forms and standing in wrong queues and watching japanese exercise videos on their little televisions. i had to leave before i finished the application in the end. so i will have to start all over again tomorrow.
i think i might buy a digital camera tomorrow when i finish.
"If it's not transgressive, it's not underground. It has to be threatening the status quo by doing something surprising, not just imitating what's been done before." Nick Zedd.
kinschicho penthouse, blue cheese and squid. we drank beer at tatsumi and kayoko's with grant watching live videos of devo, magazine, foetus and joy division sitting on a heated floor. tatsumi lent me his dvd copy of richard kern's compiled 80's films. kern is one of my favourites from university days -also church of the subgenius, nick zedd/cinema of transgression, chris burden, diamanda galas, monty cantsin/neoism etc.
i actually met him in fortitude valley in 1996 and had a chat with him and got him to sign his then new book on new york soft porn loveliness.
grant was there tonite , he's off back to england for xmas new year. top guy, great ideas and great dj.
new article on my show last month in melbourne is apparantly out in lucky magazine. be interested to see it. large magazine also did an interview, which should be out next issue. the copy i gave them was funny - i wonder what they did with it - - - here it is -- ya
'Have u ever fucked a girl in an alley way - standing up, her back against the graffiti strewn bricks and corrugated iron, your eyes reading the stencils as you go through the motions?' asks Frost, 'you look up and think of Britney, you recall the edge of Jennifer's panty line, you hear the music from inside the club, you hope your nose will stop bleeding from all that you've snorted and you realise that you are the ugliest faux of all, as something so warm, can be so cold, running down the inside of your thigh.'
Frost is currently performing and deejaying in Tokyo under the monnicker of 'Untitled Bleeding Man' - a series of in situ and spoken word performances involving animal blood, TV soundtracks and coloured balloons'
i have since done the bleeding man performance - [project to give birth to robot puppies]
slideshow can be viewed here - 3.3meg - click download when u get into the site - PC only so i have been told - sorry .. .
it was such a blast ...
this is my first posting.
my name is ben. i live in tokyo. i am an artist.
i left melbourne australia in july 2003.
i wanted to make this site, to put my thoughts and pictures of the things that im doing around the place.
the title of this site is taken from the pinetop seven song of the same name which is one of my favourite bands - cool creepy country stuff.
i thought it was a good start.