Today's Tom Sawyer-san

December 21, 2008 11:06 AM

Internet apotheosis. When 13 year-old Japanese girls rock Rush, complete with drumstick insanity, then we can all go home. We've done what we've set out to do. (SLYT)
posted by awenner (71 comments total)

The stick-twirls sell it.
posted by norabarnacl3 at 11:11 AM on December 21, 2008 [3 favorites]

HELL YEAH!
posted by furtive at 11:12 AM on December 21, 2008

Or this dude playing N*Sync
posted by empath at 11:12 AM on December 21, 2008 [3 favorites]

A modern-day warrior.
posted by gman at 11:14 AM on December 21, 2008

She has nothing on the drum solos by Tony Royster, Jr. (12-years old) and Jacob Armen (7-years old).
posted by ericb at 11:17 AM on December 21, 2008 [6 favorites]

complete with GM MIDI cheese goodness :-)

Ok... not bad, stick-flourishes notwithstanding. I'm sure there's a proud stage-mom just off-camera (which proud Dad is operating)

Can't wait to see what music she goes after once she rebels.
posted by Artful Codger at 11:17 AM on December 21, 2008

Rush on Rock Band Expert Drums
posted by empath at 11:18 AM on December 21, 2008 [1 favorite]

6 year old girl plays rock band song on real drums.
posted by empath at 11:21 AM on December 21, 2008

this was fantastic. Stick flourishes were completely unneeded but hella cool.
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 11:26 AM on December 21, 2008

She needs to start a Rush cover band with this girl
posted by stifford at 11:32 AM on December 21, 2008 [5 favorites]

... Nokia ®
posted by odinsdream at 11:34 AM on December 21, 2008

Not bad, but does she quotes Ayn Rand while twirling her sticks?
posted by racingjs at 11:34 AM on December 21, 2008 [2 favorites]

Nothing against the drummer--she's excellent--but I've never understood the love for this song or Peart as a drummer. Is this rather boring track really the best example of his ability? If so, I can only imagine Peart in the wings with his jaw on the ground when Hella opened for Rush a while back.
posted by Manhasset at 11:35 AM on December 21, 2008 [2 favorites]

OMG she is so adorable, and so talented and she's RAWKIN' OUT!!! awesome!
posted by supermedusa at 11:37 AM on December 21, 2008

ofcourse, to take your kid cover band to the next level, you need the right frontman...erhhh frontgirl that is.
posted by stifford at 11:38 AM on December 21, 2008 [3 favorites]

I WANT TO BE HER WHEN I GROW UP
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 11:40 AM on December 21, 2008 [8 favorites]

This is completely great. I am in love with the internet all over again.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 11:41 AM on December 21, 2008

Or this dude playing N*Sync

Holy shit. Not only is he awesome, he's also droolicious.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 11:48 AM on December 21, 2008

DNAB, oh my yes, he's is adorable!!!
posted by supermedusa at 11:51 AM on December 21, 2008

But no, the Internet must achieve one final objective! I think we all know what that is.

... OK now it's over. Congratulations everyone.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:53 AM on December 21, 2008 [7 favorites]

He's no Lance Bass.
posted by gman at 11:54 AM on December 21, 2008

Now practice your Aurechre and you can have dessert.
posted by kid ichorous at 11:57 AM on December 21, 2008 [3 favorites]

Needs more robots.
posted by Dr. Wu at 12:05 PM on December 21, 2008

Nothing against the drummer--she's excellent--but I've never understood the love for this song or Peart as a drummer.

It's a song that fits in that comfortable niche of math rock wherein it's not 4/4 time, but you can still bop your head to it.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 12:11 PM on December 21, 2008 [1 favorite]

Man. I'm going to go back to my own childhood and give up music preemptively.

Awesome kid, awesome video.
posted by fourcheesemac at 12:19 PM on December 21, 2008

I've never understood the love for this song or Peart as a drummer. Is this rather boring track really the best example of his ability?

Well, the kid in the YT clip possesses a certain amount of flair and style, which is remarkable. As for the song itself, it's not the most technical example of Rush or Peart (although in concert, the song is a lead-off to Peart's drum solo). However, it's based on the approach signature for Toronto's Pearson airport (YYZ), which is kind of neat, and YYZ was also released on "Moving Pictures", probably one of the most popular Rush albums of the 1980s, when the band was at the height of its popularity. YYZ might not be the best or most technical Rush song, but it's one of the most-loved.
posted by KokuRyu at 12:21 PM on December 21, 2008 [3 favorites]

I was wondering how you knew she was Japanese, but it turns out she had done something called the Avex Audition which is a big audition for Japanese record companies, apparently.
posted by delmoi at 12:36 PM on December 21, 2008

Outstanding. Maybe just a hint less of the twirling, but it's still damn awesome. I love that's she's playing to what is clearly a cheesy midi karaoke version of the song, too.
posted by penduluum at 12:40 PM on December 21, 2008

>... OK now it's over. Congratulations everyone.

That is so awesome.
posted by xbonesgt at 12:45 PM on December 21, 2008

Wow. Those stick twirls she's got going on are incredible.

I will really have to amp up my Rock Band drumming if I am going to even pretend to be that good. As it is now, I just get really drunk and lose one of my sticks drumming too crazily on Boston's "More Than a Feeling."
posted by aliceinreality at 1:02 PM on December 21, 2008

If smiles are contagious, hers could be used as a biological weapon. Everyone lay down your weapons and watch this girl play!
posted by Lukenlogs at 1:03 PM on December 21, 2008

I was wondering how you knew she was Japanese

I was wondering that, too, until I saw that her name is definitely Japanese: 川上紗良, or "Sara Kawakami".
posted by KokuRyu at 1:04 PM on December 21, 2008

Although she is extremely talented as a drummer, I'm more impressed by her skills as a performer. This was great and in time she'll get even better.

The (info) says it was practice for a talent competition. She's gonna be hard to beat.
posted by defenestration at 1:17 PM on December 21, 2008

THANK you so much for this.
posted by applemeat at 1:19 PM on December 21, 2008

Nice wording on the post. Thanks.
posted by StickyCarpet at 1:22 PM on December 21, 2008

she had me at the first stick twirl :)
posted by liza at 1:31 PM on December 21, 2008

I love that's she's playing to what is clearly a cheesy midi karaoke version of the song, too.

Well the vocals were spot-on, for sure.
posted by LordSludge at 1:33 PM on December 21, 2008 [1 favorite]

That is some awesome shit.
posted by danb at 1:50 PM on December 21, 2008

I don't know if I can quite channel that announcer from UFC, but here goes:

"It's over! It's aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalllllllll over!"

No, really, it is. GG internets, no-re.
posted by andreaazure at 1:55 PM on December 21, 2008

Thanks for posting this! She is awesome.
posted by flipyourwig at 1:58 PM on December 21, 2008

Over on Neatorama they posted a link to this girls website (in Japanese).
posted by Sailormom at 1:59 PM on December 21, 2008

Needs more robots.

One isn't enough?
posted by Xezlec at 2:07 PM on December 21, 2008 [1 favorite]

Wow, that was wonderful, even though I now feel even more inadequate than usual.

Thanks, I think.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 2:16 PM on December 21, 2008

i think she should spend less time twirling her sticks and more time making sure she's got the kick synced right - less time playing with rush and more time playing with the stones would help with that
posted by pyramid termite at 2:32 PM on December 21, 2008

Oh. My. God. This is made of so much win it wins the winternet.
posted by ooga_booga at 2:44 PM on December 21, 2008

" ... less time playing with rush and more time playing with the stones would help with that."

You can say that about a LOT of things, pyramid termite.
posted by Relay at 2:52 PM on December 21, 2008 [1 favorite]

less time playing with rush and more time playing with the stones would help with that

But Charlie Watts always looks bored out of his skull. I guess that's the after-effect of being a jazz drummer in a rock band.

"Ugh, here we go, bass, snare, bass, snare, tomtomtomtom, crash. Yawn."
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 3:17 PM on December 21, 2008 [1 favorite]

Shouldn't she at least be breaking a sweat? She looks like she could have easily played that 30% faster and still had some margin.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 3:18 PM on December 21, 2008

I regret the last 20 years.
posted by regicide is good for you at 3:22 PM on December 21, 2008 [1 favorite]

A+++ WOULD DRUGS AGAIN
posted by smackwich at 3:38 PM on December 21, 2008

Rush on Rock Band Expert Drums

Or better yet Rush trying (and failing) to do their own song on Rock Band backstage at the Colbert show.
posted by MikeMc at 3:45 PM on December 21, 2008

From the comments:

the most important thing is that she looks like she's having a shit load of fun.

Couldn't agree more.
posted by Wolfdog at 4:12 PM on December 21, 2008 [1 favorite]

Fuck yeah, vids of happy people rocking out and making faces showing they're enjoying it. That teen girl and the N'Sync dude were great. What a lovely way to wind down a Sunday!
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 4:25 PM on December 21, 2008 [1 favorite]

That was wild. Great to see someone do something well AND enjoy it.
posted by Elmore at 4:36 PM on December 21, 2008

You people are all drunk.
posted by rusty at 4:39 PM on December 21, 2008

Sugoi!
posted by bardic at 7:40 PM on December 21, 2008

You people are all drunk.

Fuck's your point?!
posted by Drainage! at 7:45 PM on December 21, 2008 [3 favorites]

1. Thank you for giving me hope in tomorrow's future and the children that will inherit it.
2. Freakin' asians, man! Is there anything that can't be done by some 12 year-old asian girl?
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 5:28 AM on December 22, 2008

What I loved about this video was the unalloyed, unadulterated joy with which she plays. She concentrates, she's serious, then she hears a riff that really gets her going and joy just beams from her face. It's so beautiful, they should have sent a poet. Which is why I'm sending Gerard Manley Hopkins, 'cos I think his description of the Windhover captures some of the ecstasy:

To Christ our Lord


I CAUGHT this morning morning’s minion, king-
dom of daylight’s dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon, in his riding
Of the rolling level underneath him steady air, and striding
High there, how he rung upon the rein of a wimpling wing
In his ecstasy! then off, off forth on swing,
As a skate’s heel sweeps smooth on a bow-bend: the hurl and gliding
Rebuffed the big wind. My heart in hiding
Stirred for a bird,—the achieve of; the mastery of the thing!
posted by Tarn at 6:20 AM on December 22, 2008 [1 favorite]

She has successfully reached the level of performance duplication achieved by a well-programmed robot.
posted by tehloki at 7:23 AM on December 22, 2008 [1 favorite]

Is there anything that can't be done by some 12 year-old asian girl?

Vacation?
posted by Pollomacho at 7:32 AM on December 22, 2008

Wow.

Leaving aside Tony Royster's timekeeping and stamina, he used such a range of dynamics too.

I tell you what, the next time Dave Lombardo leaves Slayer in a huff (which seems to happen fairly regularly) the other 3 could do worse than call him.
posted by bouncebounce at 8:42 AM on December 22, 2008

BTW -- Tony Royster, Jr. these days at 24-years old.
posted by ericb at 8:52 AM on December 22, 2008

girlfriend has skillz.
posted by rmd1023 at 9:03 AM on December 22, 2008

OK now do it with leeks.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 9:16 AM on December 22, 2008 [1 favorite]

Drainage!: Nothin'. Just pointing it out. Have one for me. :-)
posted by rusty at 9:23 AM on December 22, 2008

You know, if you want to encourage stuff like this, you really need to get involved in the Girls Rock Camp Alliance. There's a fantastic movie and book, and many camps throughout the country (and world). And if you have as awesome a 13-year-old daughter as I do, you might even be lucky enough to see her perform at a major venue like DC's 9:30 Club.
posted by MrMoonPie at 9:32 AM on December 22, 2008

When 13 year-old Japanese girls rock Rush

I was all into this before I realized it didn't say "mock Rush".
posted by telstar at 6:21 PM on December 22, 2008

Just goes to show how you can improve anything by editing out 92 minutes of Jack Black.
posted by drjimmy11 at 8:02 PM on December 22, 2008

Fuck yeah, vids of happy people rocking out and making faces showing they're enjoying it.

Oh yeah!
posted by ersatz at 4:42 PM on December 23, 2008

flagged for too awesome.
posted by facetious at 4:32 AM on January 21, 2009