1981 Snakeman Show MP3 49.00M
Sanora Ngueyn
Adam Bobrow (born February 14, 1981)[2] also known as Snakeman[3] and The Voice of Table Tennis[4] is an American sports commentator, YouTuber, actor, and table tennis player. He operates a YouTube channel dedicated to table tennis enthusiasts and fans, providing them with content to promote the sport.[5][6] Bobrow's YouTube channel features him challenging individuals to friendly matches, supporting young athletes, and traveling to different countries to interact and play with locals while serving as an ambassador for the sport.[3]
Bobrow was born in the United States, and grew up near Los Angeles.[3][4] He has lived in Taiwan since 2016.[5][3][4] He grew up playing table tennis with his father.[5][4] He learned to spin the ball and perform various trick shots including his signature shot and the source of his nickname, the snake.[5][3] By 15, he was on a local team and began winning tournaments throughout the United States.[5] He played in college at the University of Southern California, where he earned a BA in Theater.[4][2] After college he taught table tennis at SPiN while auditioning for acting roles.[4]
In 2014 Bobrow won a competition to become the "voice of table tennis", and has been the official commentator for the International Table Tennis Federation ever since.[3][5] He comments for the main matches in World Table Tennis, along with Fraser Riley.[7] He travels with the tour full time, and believes himself to be the only full-time table tennis commentator in the world.[4]
Bobrow's commentary is known for its excited style, his deep knowledge of the sport, and his emphasis on the positive aspects of the play.[4] He is also known for his flamboyant style of dress.[4] He has been criticized for focusing on the excitement of the game rather than on critical analysis.[4] However, Bobrow's style is credited with bringing the sport to new fans who otherwise would not watch table tennis.[5]
As an actor, he has had voice roles in TV shows and video games including Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 as Iceman, Scooby-Doo! Who's Watching Who?, and Samurai Warriors 3.[8] He also had a role in the table tennis movie Balls of Fury.
On November 25, 1978, the Japanese Yellow Magic Orchestra released their debut album. It would be the start of an extremely innovative and influential career, which primarily took place at the end of the 1970s, early 1980s.
Before the foundation of the band Yellow Magic Orchestra (also going by the abbreviation YMO) its members had already paid their dues in the Japanese music scene and experimented with synthesizers, rhythm machines, electronic drums and sequencers. Artists like Kraftwerk, Isao Tomita and Giorgio Moroder were role models, as much as traditional Japanese, Indian and Chinese music, as well as music used in new media like (video) games.
On November 25, 1978, Yellow Magic Orchestra released their first album, simply titled Yellow Magic Orchestra. It was one of the first examples of synth-pop, a genre that would rule the early 1980s. The album would have far-reaching consequences on the development of electro, hip-hop, techno, the use of electronics in music, particularly sequencers and samplers. By using the Roland MC-8 microprocessor sounds and tones could be manufactured that seemed impossible before.
ContinuationYellow Magic Orchestra sold 250,000 copies and it entered the US Billboard charts. The single Computer Game sold a staggering 400,000 copies in the US. Because of their success in the US, A&M signed the band and released the American version of the debut album on May 30, 1979.
On September 25, 1979, the second studio album, Solid State Survivor was released, my first Yellow Magic Orchestra album. Next to the innovative sound, the alienating music and at times kitschy songs, the album also possessed obvious new-wave influences, probably the reason this was my first album by the band.
The Solid State Survivor album was extremely successful, ultimately selling over 12 million copies worldwide. The album gained its popularity in part due to the song Behind The Mask, consisting of music the band had used before for a Japanese Seiko commercial. The song has been covered frequently, by artists like Greg Phillinganes, Eric Clapton, Orbital and The Human League. The biggest artist was Michael Jackson, who recorded it for his Thriller album. Because of legal issues the song was finally released on the posthumously released Michael album in 2010.
Lyrics to Ballet and Camouflage written by Yukihiro Takahashi & Peter Barakan, Music Plans by Ryuichi Sakamoto & Peter Barakan, Rap Phenomena and Mass by Haruomi Hosono & Peter Barakan, Cue by Yukihiro Takahashi & Haruomi Hosono & Peter Barakan.
On November 21, 1981, the band releasedTechnodelic, their most avant-garde and experimental album, which would have an enormous impact on the music of the future. The album is filled with samples and loops, which were made into songs using computer technology.
The samples were made using a LMD-649, developed by Toshiba. At the time, sampling was a new phenomenon. In England Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush experimented with the Fairlight CMI, with equally impressive results.
Lyrics to Pure Jam and Stairs written by Yukihiro Takahashi & Peter Barakan, Neue Tanz and Taiso by Yellow Magic Orchestra, Seoul Music by Ryuichi Sakamoto & Yukihiro Takahashi & Peter Barakan, Gradated Grey by Haruomi Hosono, Key by Haruomi Hosono & Yukihiro Takahashi & Peter Barakan.
Lyrics to Kimi Ni, Mune Kyun written by Takashi Matsumoto, Expected Way and Expecting Rivers by Yukihiro Takahashi, Focus by Haruomi Hosono & Peter Barakan, Ongaku and Kai-Koh by Ryuichi Sakamoto, Opened My Eyes by Yukihiro Takahashi & Peter Barakan, Lotus Love and Wild Ambitions by Haruomi Hosono.
On May 26, 1993, the eighth, and final, Yellow Magic Orchestra (or YMO) studio album was released. It was a somewhat more traditional album consisting of simpler songs all utilizing a drum computer, instead of a drum kit, for the very first time.
Lyrics to Be A Superman written by Ryuichi Sakamoto & Yukihiro Takahashi, Nanga Def? and Silence Of Time by Ryuichi Sakamoto, Floating Away by William Gibson, O.K. by Haruomi Hosono, Pocketful Of Rainbows by Fred Wise, Ben Weisman, translated by Reiko Yukawa.
After a 1993 tour the band disbanded again. In 2007 they reconvened and released the song Rydeen 79/07, which entered the Japanese digital charts at number 1. On July 7, 2007, Yellow Magic Orchestra performed live as part of the global Live Earth event.
In August 2007 the band released the single Rescue under the moniker HASYMO (HAS/YMO), one year later followed by the single The City of Light / Tokyo Town Pages. That same year HASYMO played two shows in Europe.
In 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 the band played at the World Happiness festival in Japan. In 2011 and 2012 the band played a number of shows outside of Japan, followed by another period of silence surrounding Yellow Magic Orchestra.
But the influence goes deeper. It can clearly be found in the synth-pop of the early 1980s. The Yellow Magic Orchestra sound can be traced back to bands like Ultravox, Gary Numan, Duran Duran, Depeche Mode, Orchestral Manouvres In The Dark, The Human League, Visage and Art of Noise.
Video/Spotify
This story contains an accompanying video. Click on the following link to see it: Video: In 1978 the influential Yellow Magic Orchestra make their debut. The A Pop Life playlist on Spotify has been updated as well.