Gum Bleed just released a new EP, No War But Class War, on October 15. The evening also celebrated their fifth year anniversary as a band. Gum Bleed are, “the youngest and most revolutionary street punx in People’s Republic of China,” according to their website. The lead singer rocks a hardcore, deep-throated growl as he expounds on the problems of the working class and the socioeconomic excesses of a now globalized China. It’s hard to discern what he is singing on stage, but the lyrics are incendiary to say the least. I don’t usually see punk bands openly publicize such lyrical discontent to this extent. On the website they also post separate links to a host of both international (Myspace, iTunes, YouTube) and domestic (Douban, Youku, Renren) media sites – very savvy. Buy some of their badass t-shirts which are also on sale. Here is to another five years of fighting the system. Onward and upward with Gum Bleed!

The Shanghai World Financial Center (SWFC) is a marvel to behold. Rising above the equally impressive Jin Mao Tower, its graceful arches reach 101 stories, the second-tallest building in the world. The SWFC also ranks as number one for the highest occupied floor in the world, beating out the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, and sports the world’s tallest observation deck. The Observatory Bridge runs along the top of the trapezoidal opening near the apex of the SWFC and offers generous views of Shanghai on all sides. During my trip earlier this month, I picked a particularly clear day to visit. The light hitting the Pudong side was the best and offered uninhibited views of the vast urban sprawl that now characterizes the edges of Shanghai.

The Kill Club China Tour 2010 rolled through Beijing earlier this month and served up an exquisite night of chiptune dance music. Headlined by Sulumi, China’s preeminent electronic artist who also founded Shanshui Records, the tour knocked up six cities around China and featured an international cast of button punchers including USK and Covox. For those of you not in the know, chiptune musicians utilize synthesized sounds created by low-fi sound chips (usually 8-bit) from outdated computers or video game consoles. With special software loaded on cartridges, songs can even be composed live using handheld devices such as the Gameboy. The sound textures and melodies generated produce a unique tone that resonates deeply with anyone who was raised on early terminals such as Atari video game consoles or Commodore personal computers. I am a big fan and even attended the first Blip Festival in New York City back in 2006 which Sulumi also performed at in 2008. Check out the video below for live performances from Sulumi (China), Usk (Japan), and Covox (Sweden).

During the State of the Union Address on January 29, 2002 former United States President George W. Bush first employed the term “Axis of Evil” in order to link together three nations he accused of aiding terrorism and seeking to acquire weapons of mass destruction. The culprits, Iran, Iraq and North Korea, still bear that moniker in pop global culture and struggle to show a favorable side of their governments in international media. Rarely are chances given for these nations to present themselves in a better light on a world stage. The 2010 Shanghai World Expo is just such an opportunity and the three “Axis of Evil” pavilions are clearly planned to pitch an enticing and optimistic view of the countries in question. Luckily the largely domestic Chinese audience has a healthy appetite for spin and are greatly distracted by occasions to shop for exotic gifts at pavilion stores. Tens of millions of visitors now get an opportunity to see a new face of the “Axis of Evil” that was constructed on their own terms under the auspices of the Chinese government.

Guaili / 怪力 are definitely one of my favorite bands in Beijing. I am secretly obsessed with their lead singer Wen Jun who throws her angular, almost skeletal body around stage during performances all while chain smoking cigarettes and rocking out an incredibly powerful voice. This September they went on a 14-city “Hell Tour” around China in support of their first album, Flight of Delusion, which they released with Maybe Mars. I have listened to it a few times and even though it might not be as wild as their performances in dive bars around the city, there are definitely some gems. You can purchase the CD at the usual suspects around Beijing including D-22 and most music stores around Guloudong Dajie. Hopefully there will be a way to purchase it online soon.

After visiting the 2010 Shanghai World Expo last week, I decided that the night time is definitely the right time to visit. During the day the crowds were overbearing and most of the pavilions less than enchanting. However, when the sun goes down, the expo turns into a festival of lights. Some of the clear architectural winners in my book were the Spanish, Korean, Nepalese and Danish with the UK Pavilion taking the gold. Designed by Thomas Heatherwick, the six-story structure is stuck like a pincushion with 60,000 willowy rods that glow and quaver in the breeze. The rods extend from the interior where at the root of each a plant seed is seamlessly inserted. The UK Pavilion is supposed to reflect the British love for gardens and emphasize the need for green space in cities. You can read more about the concept on the UK Pavilion homepage.

I attended the Baby Dragon Skateboarding Competition finals in Hangzhou last weekend. Sponsored by the government and major international clothing brands, the national contest sought to raise awareness for the sport and develop better skills amongst China’s practitioners. Han Minjie, often considered the godfather of China’s skateboarding community, estimates that there are only 40,000 to 50,000 active skateboarders in China. Still, urban street culture is on the rise and considerably more rebellious youth are looking to skateboarding and the tight-knit circle of friends the sport engenders as a social outlet. Lots of pundits also tie the rise of skateboarding to hip hop which continues to be a burgeoning musical form in China. The biggest development for skateboarding in Beijing, however, was the opening of the Woodward skate park on the outskirts of Beijing this summer. Although its facilities are top notch, it still remains to be scene if it will work economically. Some skateboarding insiders in Beijing feel that the money would have been better spent building smaller skate parks closer to the city center. Be sure to check out KickerClub, Skatehere and Funboxx for more information on skateboarding in China. The skateboarders pictured above were Baby Dragon Skateboarding Competition finalists while the three below were female skateboarders participating in the open sessions that also take place during the contest.

This post must start with a disclaimer. I do not in any way believe in or support the acts performed in this video. I can only hope for greater understanding and congenial relations between China and Japan in the future. This act of flag burning was filmed purely for documentary reasons. The event occurred on the first night of the 2010 Zhenjiang MIDI Festival after a particular rousing performance by a death metal band. The kids are singing the Chinese national anthem while burning the Japanese flag. The first night of the festival also landed on October 1 which is China’s National Holiday. It goes without saying that tensions between China and Japan have peaked in the past week thanks to the standoff over sovereignty issues regarding the arrest of the captain of a Chinese fishing boat on disputed waters in the East China Sea by Japan’s coast guard. This friction and general hatred of the Japanese runs deep and dates back to the brutal and humiliating treatment suffered in China at the hands of the Japanese during World War II. Even though the Chinese captain in question has since been released, the incident ignited the embers amongst China’s increasingly nationalistic youth.