MTV (again...)

I don't have much love for bland old MTV and their endless Franz Ferdinand rotations, but I'll shake anyone's hand if they'll give Halcali a gig.
They're part of a series of MTV Japan sponsored shows taking place at Tokyo's Shibuya-Ax in the run up to the Video Music Awards on the 27th of May.
Halcali's show is on the 23rd, where they'll be shuffled around with the likes of Hi-Timez and Soul Camp.
Presumably the organisers thought Halcali would slip in neatly with the rest of the bands on that night, and perhaps they will. Just going through the websites and listening to the other bands though, I was reminded just how far ahead, in terms of quality and originality, Halcali actually are. A predictable response from the writer of a Halcali blog perhaps, but take a listen yourself to the other Rip Slyme and (good Lord!) Heartsdales rip offs (that's Delicatessen and Ya-Kyim respectively) MTV are dragging out for the show. Although the appeal of these people (and Hi-Timez too, come to think of it) is lost on me, there's no doubt that this is the world that this newer grown-up Halcali belong to now, and there's no doubt this is exactly the audience that the label will want to pitch the band to. Even so, it's hard to imagine a fan of Hi-Timez greeting Otsukare Summer with anything more than a bemused look and a shake of the head.