deeelite1988

When I was a kid my family didn't have cable TV, so there was a lot that I missed, or caught at a friend's house. I have a vivid memory of seeing Nirvana on MTV at my friend's house and him saying casually "Oh yeah, this is supposed to be the next big thing". I didn't get it, it sounded like rock music except that the main guy was singing in a weird accent. I thought "the thing" was "people singing in their own voice", which I was in favor of.

When I stayed at my grandparents' house they would go to bed early of course and I would desperately try to stay up to watch Yo MTV Raps on their huge old TV. Sometimes I made it and it felt like a triumph but I remember once either falling asleep and waking up during the program or just being in an extremely foggy mindset, and Deee-Lite "Groove is in the Heart" was playing for maybe the first time. I remember asking myself "am I awake or am I asleep?". The next morning I still didn't know if it was a dream or not.

At the time I thought I was missing a lot by not having cable but now I don't think so. Or maybe I was but whatever I might've missed was more than compensated by these two instances-- "people singing in their own voice" and "am I awake or is this a dream", which are with me to this day.

I'll link to "Groove is in the Heart" at the bottom of this post, it's still a tour de force. But this channel isn't about tours de force, it's about tours de joie tranquille. Today's vid is "deeelite1988", shot in 1988 and posted in 2009 by Hiroyuki Nakano. It's Lady Miss Kier and Supa DJ Dimitri dancing to their own music while Towa Tei holds the tape deck up to the camera. It's also a dream, but it's a daydream. It's the kind of daydream about a lovely day that you might dream up on a lovely day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQS_UckO2l0

video is 5 minutes long

What do I need to say about this? It's a beautiful day, people are dancing to their own music and dressing in their own clothes; children and haters alike are welcomed into the frame with grace. It's NOT a professionally made video and I know that if I was there I'd be like "this isn't going to look right". I don't think it's naïveté pushing this forward though, I think it's just "let's make a video!!!!!" summer excitement. God bless!!!!

Friend Of The Realm Greg Harvester was (and presumably still is) in the Deee-Lite fan club and sent me these two pics:

Yes I got jealous, and immediately went to eBay: I didn't get these but I really admire the fan who didn't just say "singer" but "vocals, producer, arranger, lyricist, choreographer, art director". Also I LOVE that both Lady Miss Kier and Supa DJ Dimitry must've asked "is that Glenn with one 'n' or two?". This is such a sweet picture for me to imagine, made all the sweeter by imagining that it's Glenn Danzig.

Also on eBay, also didn't buy, is this absolutely non-vintage shirt that claims to be signed yet is available in sizes S to 4XL.

To Henry (Rollins???)

And as promised, here's a link to Groove Is In The Heart (same director as the video posted above). This still blows my mind. The fisheye lens, the party people floating in space ungrounded, the sample from "Green Acres", Bootsy Collins, the color palette of orange and pink, the singer a harlequin standing on a UFO, the slide whistles, the breakdowns / switchups... you are 10 years old and you don't know if you're awake or asleep. [YouTube, 5min]

Peace everyone :)

If someone sent this to you because they want to get dressed up and walk around a city with you, or because they know you appreciate joy, you might also like other things I write about. This is Pleasant Realms, an email newsletter about mostly unstressful YouTube videos. Subscribe at the link above.

Oh yeah, and Greg Harvester has an email newsletter for his photography, it's lovely to see in the old inbox. Sign up for that here: [link] or check out this weird website I made for him, with links way at the bottom: [https://remoteoutposts.com/].