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The Radio GEMPEG Show 3

It's 2027. Born in 2007, the main character K has no girlfriend and is part of a cultural minority with few friends. In a paperless age with no books, magazines and newspapers, K collects the old media of the 20th century. His little dream is to "make a book" with his friend 21LO! But it goes against the law to make books in the age when the distribution or even printing is impossible and severely restricted without an official government emblem...


EPISODE 42

2027 - The Radio GEMPEG Show

Radio GEMPEG Show 3

K “Ok. So who is your favorite star? I like Asimov, Mr. T, Stan Leedanny Elfmanm, David Byrne, ECD and of course N.S.O.W. Crew” 2 “Ah, K likes NEW SHIT ON THE WEB” K “NEW SHIT ON THE WEB is a major star, right? They’re popular. How nice. They live in a huge mansion, right? Deep in the mountains” 2 “I visited the front of their house last summer and took some photos” K “You have nothing to do. Well I understand though. My favorite techno artist is NOKK” 2 “The German one?” K “It’s the best” 2 “I like the track GONG CONG KONG” K “Yeah. Dying for the beat” 2 “Desperate to dance all night long” K “I have the GONG CONG KONG 12 inch” 2 “That’s nice, I want one” K “Ok, so what’s your favorite Zakuien music?” 2 “I don’t wanna talk about it. Because if I talk about it to you, then you'll steal them all from me” K “When did I do that?” 2 “I once talked a bit about PLkS, and you acted like you’ve known them for a long time! Can you stop things like that?" K “Hey, come on! Don’t tell me things like that!” 2 “Well I forgive you. Ok, so K2AZ is popular on the back side of the Zaku” K “Don’t know them. K2AZ” 2 “I’ll download it. On earth they are known as Ko Two An Zen. K2AZ refers to the initial letters” K “Ko Two An Zen! That’s the best. What is the sound like?” 2 “I4Type” K “Hmm. That’s weird. How many years ago?” 2 “About 35 years ago. They released the 35th anniversary edition the other day. A son of the member did a remix for it. There are some objections to it though” K “Give me a break on things like a son doing a remix? It’s not good for the historical revisionism” 2 “Ah. Right. Do you like 3Kn4?” K “The Zakuien’s diva. I saw her documentary film. I kinda like her” 2 “The back track of 3Kn4’s single “Beautiful Concert” is made by K2AZ” K “Wow! Really? I assumed it was by 238!” 2 “Which means is it same thing on “ViDEO199”?” K “That was imitated. Things around that sound similar. It was an age with that sound” 2 “It’s deep. I want to go to the Zaku and get more information about it” K “Let’s go there next time. We need money though” 2 “Let’s save money to go there some day. So, how about movies?” K “My favorite movie?” 2 “How about Kubrick?” K “Hmmm. He is hype” 2 “Why? Why?” K “Because after shooting Spartacus, he acted his part like for his fame. It seems he finally became one of the artistic directors, you know?” 2 “Well but that’s what all those great movie directors of the 20th century is all about. No?” K “ Yeah? But I don’t like “Eyes Wide Shut”……” K “Why? In the last part, what does the words “It’s old fashioned” mean?” 2 “Hmmm. That means, perhaps, like “it is a movie by the stage where there’s no internet yet. Does K like it?” 2 “Hmmm. You know the theory that Kubrick is still alive? I kinda believe it actually” K “Could he die right after the movie which was completed just before the 20th century is over?” K “Yeah. So you think Kubrick would die after entering 2001” 2 “There are sighting reports in the Zaku” 2 “That’s like disinformation!” K “There is another story in Brazil. There are actually sightings” 2 “Oh. Speaking about Brazil, Oscar Niemeyer. The age of 120!” K “Please don’t change the subject. There are quite many maniacs who search for Kubrick in Brazil” 2 “Yeah. My favorite directors are Romero, Lynch, Ridley Scott, Ishiro Honda. CHEE SHIMIZU, Richard Hamilton…… And Danshi Tatekawa, Luis Buñuel……” K “Hey! The last ones are not about movies!” 2 “Oh, right. Sorry” K “21LO likes gloomy ones” 2 “Gloomy? The Zaku is relatively a bright star. You will fall down without sunglasses” K “Here you go! The Zakuien with Kansai intonation! You’d be better off becoming a comedian for sure!” 2 “Yeah? I need to research watching The Bonchi videos then. The best one is Nakata Kausu Botan!” K “Oh, right. They may be the best one. I saw them on TV the other day and laughed my head off. The Zaku comedy is also one of the best. The one who crush a drum very thin!” 2 “Ah, LmNt! K “They are the best. Their name is also cool! I guess the gravity in the earth and the Zaku is different, isn’t it?” 2 “Yeah. That’s how the joke is competed. So that’s powerful” K “That’s really stunning. Haha! It gives me the laughs just remembering it……” 2 “ Hahaha. But you know, they are almost like doing same thing at the same time every single day after school. For about 20 years. It’s what is called a stereotypical joke” K “Stereotypical one. Yeah. So the master LmNt has been popular again on earth” 2 “It’s minor popular though” K “Well, you’re right. So he should be happy even it’s minor. He must be happy for the pure reaction in the earth” 2 “Oh yeah. Hey you know Telex?” K “Yeah. The famous track “DISCO MOSCOW”” 2 “Yeah. Have you watched LmNt doing jokes with that music?” K “Don’t know. How is it like?” 2 “The joke about scraping a taxi!!!” K “Hahaha!!! My stomach hurts!!! Why Telex?” 2 “Don’t know it at all! They have a Giorgio Moroder version too” K “Do they like it?” 2 “Maybe. I heard Ken Shimura likes Uriah Heep. So it’s possible” 2 “Right. Did you know Master Ken Shimura is the first one who scratched in the world? K “What was that? I’ve heard about it” 2 “It’s more like he twirls and inversely twirls a record by hands in his comedy show” K “Even before Grand Master Flash did it?” 2 “Yeah. I’m curious. The comedy world actually goes first.” K “It is questioned if it make us laugh quickly or not” 2 “Yeah. It evolves more and more. K “Hitoshi Matsumoto” 2 “Yeah. Hitoshi Matsumoto’s broadcasting room” K “Eric Idle” 2 “Ah, awesome” K “For design, Keita Ishiguro? Peter Saville?” 2 “I’m not interested in design” K “But you reacted to the cover work for Neuromancer by Yukimasa Okumura, didn’t you?” 2 “Did I? But I definitely go with Dick rather than Gibson” K “Dick is Doraemon” 2 What?” K “Well he’s like secret device, you know?” 2 “Sorry, don’t know what you mean at all. Ok ok. Let’s go on to the music!” K “Well ok. The electoric music by Karl Bartos is. Say it” 2 “BABY COME BACK! Cover music? Of course it’s unauthorized” K “Here you go!!”


Text and images: Kurando Furuya, Hitoshi Odajima, Tomoki Kurokawa
Translation: Mariko Takei

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