Meet PERFUME, our official Japanese Electro-pop group!!

[_Dr. Shades]

Well, you gave it the ol' college try, so for that I must be grateful.

Thank you for at least giving it a chance. What can I say; for some reason I simply value your opinion too much.

[_Some Schmo]

Thank you for at least giving it a chance. What can I say; for some reason I simply value your opinion too much.

Crazy! Like they say, opinions are like assholes: everyone's got one.

But thanks. That's nice of you to say.

And I really meant it when I said I'm glad they give you pleasure, and I'm glad you've enlisted a few more fans around here. It reinforces the idea that there's something for everyone.

There's so much out there a person can find to distract themselves. You really have to be judicious about how you spend your entertainment budget (your time budget, not financial - your attention, I guess I'm getting at). Every decision represents an opportunity cost/risk against something better.

And let me tell you something: my time is far more valuable to me than money these days, and that disparity only increases with age. So, ya know... I find myself returning to the kinds of things that are tried and true for me.

[_Dr. Shades]

[_Dr. Shades]

This is a unique one: It was originally recorded back in 2003 or so as the group's first collaboration with the guy who would become their full-time producer as a sort of "let's see if this is a good fit" experiment. It lay forgotten in the dusty archives until it was rediscovered and resurrected in late 2019. They experimented again by soliciting ideas for a music video from the worldwide public--although I entered, my idea wasn't chosen, sadly. The winner was an 11 year-old Japanese boy; the banter you see during the end credits consists of him pitching his idea to the band & crew and him being on set for the first day of filming.

• Perfume - Challenger

[_Dr. Shades]

[_Dr. Shades]

Remember Kawayuka (real name "Yuka Kawashima"), whom we discussed before, the elusive original member of Perfume who voluntarily dropped out between six months and a year after their formation and who was replaced by Nocchi?

Well, two days ago--on A-chan's birthday and on the day of their Nagoya Dome concert--she got married. Interestingly, she still goes by the stage name "Kawayuka."

Here's her tweet regarding her marriage, along with two photos therefrom:

https://Twitter.com/kawayuka1105/status ... 8673901570

For trivia's sake, here's a video of her when she was 11 or 12, along with the other two (still-extant) members of the group, introducing themselves, followed by a clip of them performing in the "Japan Volume 7 Dance Delight" show / extravaganza / contest / whatever, also on Twitter:

https://Twitter.com/XMbHWFpbX/status/12 ... 53280?s=19

[_Dr. Shades]

[_Dr. Shades]

Perfume's most recent concert--which would have been the second to last of their dome tour, but which ended up being last thanks to Japan's powers-that-be cancelling the one scheduled for the next evening due to coronavirus concerns--is now on the Internet for your viewing pleasure. This concert tour was to commemorate the 20-year anniversary of their existence as a group. Man, their crew REALLY pulled out all the stops and spared NO expense to make this the grandest experience of all. Enjoy:

• Perfume 8th Tour, 2020 - "P Cubed" in the Tokyo Dome, 02-25-2020

[_Dr. Shades]

[_Dr. Shades]

Speaking of Perfume's technological acumen, here's a brief example.

Tonight marks the one-year anniversary of their final performance in the United States, the last evening of Southern California's "Coachella" music festival, to which Perfume was invited and at which they performed. Selling point: The special effects in this video weren't added in after-the-fact; they took place LIVE and in real time. The filters are impressive enough for being live, but the transitions between camera angles were rapid-fire CGI predictive 3-D angular shots. Don't believe me? See for yourself:

• Perfume - 「だいじょばない」 Live at Coachella 2019