Rock stars can do things us regular folks can't. They can get good tables at crowded restaurants without a reservation. They can have promiscuous sex and take all sorts of exotic drugs and then be knighted by the Queen. And if they're Eikichi Yazawa, they can travel forward in time to visit their future self.
The video for Yazawa's latest single, "Kusari o Hikichi Girei (Tear Off a Chain)," is a variation on the Rip Van Winkle story, in which Yazawa, 53, meets his 83-year-old self in a dystopian locale that suggests something out of "Blade Runner."
Shot in sepulchral black and white, the video opens with the elderly Yazawa stumbling into what appears to be a clinic. He's told to take a shower, whereupon the shower attachment turns into a mike stand and -- hey, presto! -- Yazawa suddenly finds himself on stage, belting out "Kusari o Hikichi Girei," taking turns at the mike with his younger, 53-year-old self.