Talking Tunes: Lady Gaga No Longer Banned, Boris Postpone Beijing Gig
You heard it folks, the queen of "freaks" is no longer banned in China. I guess this means that her new Album ARTPOP will have a domestic legal release with perhaps a live performance in the near future. Gaga wrote on Twitter, "The Chinese Government approved ARTPOP to be released in China with all 15 songs! Next I hope I can come to perform!"
Gaga, along with Katy Perry, Beyonce, and Backstreet Boys, had songs banned by the Chinese government in 2011 after they were deemed too vulgar by the Chinese Ministry of Culture. I guess it's good that she is no longer a danger to "national cultural security," but her music is still a threat to my sanity.
In other news the Japanese experimental metal band Boris had to cancel their Beijing show citing political reasons beyond their control as the cause. There has been a sudden influx of Japanese groups planning on coming to the capital, including Acid Mothers Temple and Heino Keiji, so I hope this won't be a trend. Boris is currently one the most popular exports to come from the eastern capital of Tokyo. For a better part of the past decade they have been touring the globe with their slow psychedelic guitar riffs and their deafening stacks of Orange guitar amps.
Tonight, make sure to check Kiwi American transplants Unknown Mortal Orchestra at MAO Livehouse. Their most recent release "II," received positive reviews, sealing their place in the contemporary lo-fi dialect and showing that they are not a one trick pony. They will tear it up tonight with their warm and fuzzy psychedelia and leave you speechless with their mysterious appeal.
Other Beijing gigs worth your time and money:
- Secret Club, Nakoma, Lonely Leary, and Low Bow at XP.
- Dischord, The Diders, and The Flyx at School Bar
- The Randy Able Stable is at Temple Bar.
- A night of Flamenco at Yugong Yishan.