Beni and CHILDISH TONES remember life as an “Ex Fan Des Sixties”…

/ supremenothing

avandoned may be approaching an end to it’s illustrious career run, but by no means does this mean that Beni Usakura will be ceasing to work on terrific musical projects that are both sublime and meaningful. Once again the multi-media chanteuse has teamed-up with the amazing toy instrument garage band CHILDISH TONES to offer another great take on a classic pop tune!

This time the delightfully quirky combo is treating us to a haunting cover of a song written by the LEGENDARY master of subversive pop, the great Serge Gainsbourg himself, which was recorded by his long-running romantic and artistic muse, the fabulous and stunning Jane Birkin…

The song “Ex Fan Des Sixties” is wistful reflection of the loss of great musicians (and band break-ups) that are all beloved and fondly remembered. The song mentions such greats as the Beatles, The Animals, and passed-on legends like Jimi Hendrix, Elvis, and Janis Joplin. What’s also notable is that this modern recorded adds a few additional names to list, including Johnny Thunders, David Bowie, Ramones, and Lou Reed. I miss these artists as well, and this song glows like a lit candle in it’s reverence to their absence in the world.

And as for the MV: As always, it’s a magnificent example of how much you can do without spending a lot of money as long as you have your heart into the vision. (That’s CHILDISH TONES member KA-NO-KO L.K alongside Beni.) I love the sepia-tone and ghostly imagery (and Wednesday Addams!)  shot before what appears to be a church altar. It makes sense after all, for what are rock stars but modern-day religious icons?

Here’s the original version by Jane Birkin…

The song itself is available through a different label this time, a small indie called “Hello From The Gutter” who have been around for some time although mostly pretty obscure. (At least to me.) They recently released an anniversary compilation called “Silent Running” that’s really packed with top-notch music ranging from this very song itself, along with Boris, Texaco Leatherman, SAKA-SAMA, and LEARNERS to name just a few. I just received this compilation recently, and it’s FANTASTIC! Just a bunch of really great music, some familiar, some new to me, and I really recommend it. (Plus ex-avandoned member Kotao painted the cover art!!) 

But aside from the compilation CD I just mentioned, this song will also be released as a vinyl 7-inch in three different variants!

The primary version will be a 45 record featuring “Ex Fan Des Sixties”, and the b-side is going to be a cover of a song by the super-groovy 60’s group-sounds band The SPIDERS!

Here’s “なればいい (Nati Bati Yi)” by the Spiders for you…

The second version of the single is the same recording, with a limited variant cover, but this one I believe will only be sold through live shows and mail-order. And lastly, (If I understand things correctly) there will be a third version, but this time the b-side is another song entirely, a tune called “Lemon Tea” by the awesome garage band Erieza Royal and the Summary Lynch! (Lemon Tea is also included on that “Silent Running” CD I mentioned above.) This will be on pink vinyl with a silk-screened cover that hasn’t been revealed yet, and limited to 50 copies only through live shows and direct mail-order. Good hunting on that one! (By the way the way, the drummer for the Summary Lynch is the co-founder of TRASH-UP!! Records, is all this cross-pollination cool or what?!?!)

Here’s some links to help you buy these releases. Note: These are not affiliated links.

“SILENT RUNNING” Compilation    CD JAPAN   Amazon Japan 

With the CHILDISH TONES/Beni “Ex Fan Des Sixties” regular version 7-inch record, I only located it on Amazon JP so far.

As far as those other versions, they will be sold directly through Hello From The Gutter, and on their site they say they’ll ship overseas. (For this particular release, I can’t say.) The records are not listed just yet so maybe watch out for it. There’s also apparently going to be an ultra-limited bundle of everything, plus a bonus Beni mix-CD, if you really want to drop some cash! 

Anyway, to summarize: Beni Usakura! CHILDISH TONES! Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin! The Spiders! HELLO FROM THE GUTTER! Erieza Royal and the Summary Lynch! Vinyl! Variant Covers! Awesome music! Good stuff! Enjoy!!!!

2 thoughts on “Beni and CHILDISH TONES remember life as an “Ex Fan Des Sixties”…”

  1. There are lots of ways J-music fans can share information with each other. If posting a link to an all-Japanese tweet with no extra info and saying, “omg. big news” is a zero, then the article above is pretty much a 10. I love all the context and extra info. The subject matter is about as niche as it gets, so cheers for making it seem kind of approachable!

    • Thank you so much, Mr. Boans! This comment really made my day and I appreciate it greatly. I really want to demystify oddball niches and them draw new people in, so this feels like a small victory for me.

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