Of the 480 or so pictures that have appeared on the WFMU homepage in the last six years or so, none has elicited more response than the two gentlemen with the slingshot thongs pictured at right. (You can see all the homepage pictures here.) Many have requested this picture's removal, others have simpply averted their eyes and several have speculated that it was a picture of two memberrs of the Japanese band Peelander Z (who provided an important public service by scaring the hell out of Andy Breckman at Maxwells).
Unfortunately, I never had any idea what this picture was about until last night, when I stumbled across the answer: [download video, 5 meg quicktime file]. What you will see on this video clip are Japanese comedians Koji Imada and Koji Higashino in a skit entitled the After School Electromagnetic Wave Club. It seems to be some kind of fake public service announcement addressing the Japanese scourge of subway frottage, also known by it's Italian name, Mano Morta (dead hand). But I defer to any native Japanese speakers out there to set me straight on the exact content of the skit.
Thanks to Nick the Bard and Boingboing for resolving the mystery.
These tasteful costumes put me in mind of THE YES MEN's prank in Tampere, Finland, featuring a golden jumpsuit with an inflatable phallus:
http://www.theyesmen.org/hijinks/tampere/index.shtml
Posted by: Henry Lowengard | April 05, 2006 at 07:10 PM
wow- that's brilliant...almost like a Costes performance. I don't want to know what they are yammering about- it would take away the weird abstract comedy of it.
Posted by: fatty jubbo | April 06, 2006 at 02:57 AM
All I can say is a) thank god for pixelated video b) imagine what the FCC fine for this would be!
Posted by: nh dave | April 06, 2006 at 09:11 PM
Just leaves the mystery of the surroundings the picture was taken in... It looks to me they just stept out of the cupboard.
Descent exposure if you ask me. They look magnetically uncomfortable being strapped by their essence, even forgetting you are not able to separate North and South at any time.
Posted by: poesboes | April 07, 2006 at 02:44 AM
This skit is about the "chikan" problem here in Japan where perverted men take advantage of the crowded train/subway situation and let their hands stray and or grope. There is a pretty big PR campaign on the trains these days to try and cut down this behaviour, from putting posters all over the place saying "chikan wa akan!" (chikan is not allowed!) to having "women only" cars on the trains. It seems what this skit is trying to do is offer a public service announcement about "chikan" while making a joke at the same time.
Granted, it is insane and largely incomprehensible. Meaning awesome, of course.
Posted by: scott in tokyo | April 12, 2006 at 02:03 AM
Where could I buy one of those?
Posted by: Joshua Moore | April 23, 2009 at 08:52 PM