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September 27, 2024
 

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Suzannah Tartan
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 26, 2005
Sub Pop's second coming
In the late '80s and early '90s, Seattle and its music scene became the center of the pop culture universe. Sub Pop, the small label founded by sometime journalist Bruce Pavitt and nurtured with his partner Jonathan Poneman was its primary documenter.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 22, 2004
Bang a gong for . . .
The '60s Live! Award: Tie between Art Garfunkel and David Crosby, both of whom were busted for marijuana possession.
CULTURE / Music
Dec 12, 2004
The Stars
In the spectrum of Japanese psychedelia, The Stars occupy a poppy middle ground: They are neither as noisy (nor mystical) as Acid Mothers' Temple or Ghost, nor do they opt for the atmospheric faux folksiness of Maher Shala Has Baz or The Tennis Coats. Instead, the tunes of singer-songwriter You Ishihara,...
CULTURE / Music
Nov 7, 2004
Brooks cuts through a lot of red tape
Andrew Brooks has the confident aplomb of a producer and musician with two highly lauded records. His first album, a house-inflected dance record titled "You, Me & Us," brought him jobs remixing songs of Outkast and Scissor Sisters. His second album, released on Soundslike, the label of influential producer...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 29, 2004
Boys be ambitious
Journalists approach Shutoku Mukai warily. As the leading personality of cult group Number Girl, Mukai cultivated an aura of negative charisma. Onstage, he was all contorted painful energy, round geeky glasses slipping down his nose as he spat out lyrics and drew harsh, ranting chords from his guitar....
CULTURE / Music
Sep 29, 2004
The little indie labels that could
In the old days, a band might self-release a record or two. Their hope, however, was to catch the ear of some major-label A&R director and land a coveted contract with Sony, Toshiba EMI or one of Japan's other music behemoths.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 11, 2004
UA: Fluid beauty
...
CULTURE / Music
Jul 21, 2004
Strange bedfellows
Strange segues: Yes, festivals give audiences an opportunity to sample everything from classic hits to upcoming trends. And yes, an eccentric juxtaposition of bands can reveal unexpected musical relationships or introduce you to new music. But somethings just don't belong together like this downright...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 11, 2004
Yasuaki Shimizu
While most ambient music evokes a place or an ambience figuratively, (Brian Eno's "Music for Airports" was, after all, not composed for a departure lounge), Yasuaki Shimizu's latest musical challenge was to create music that worked on both a literal and metaphoric level. His current release, "Seventh...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 20, 2004
Graham Fitkin's "Kaplan," Max Richter's "Blue Notebooks"
The border between popular and new classical music has long been blurred. Glass, Stockhausen and Reich lurk in the background of much electronica and avant-rock, while many contemporary composers owe a debt to ambient or even punk. The upcoming performances of Graham Fitkin and Max Richter offer an opportunity...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 13, 2004
Catching up with an indie-rock legend
In their first incarnation, Mission of Burma existed a mere four years, from 1979 to 1983. They were barely known outside of their hometown, Boston. They never sold more than a few thousand records.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 30, 2004
The Michael Nyman Band
Though Michael Nyman has worked with a variety of film directors, most notably Peter Greenaway and Jane Campion, his film scores are instantly recognizable. The horns sound regally, the strings pulsate and his band swings so wildly that the music threatens to fly apart. As a music critic in the 1960s,...
CULTURE / Music
May 16, 2004
Animal Collective: "Sung Tongs"
CULTURE / Music
Apr 18, 2004
Rovo with Buffalo Daughter and Goma
With nary a Jerry Garcia reference in sight, neither Rovo nor Buffalo Daughter fit the jam band stereotype. Yet both tend toward complex, improvised songs that revel in their own sprawl. They may not be jam bands, but they certainly jam.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 14, 2004
VIPs made to feel at home in the Hyatt's floating world
The Park Hyatt Tokyo is, as Coppola has described it, a quiet floating island 39 floors above the cacophony and chaos of Shinjuku. Occupying the top 14 floors of the 52-story Shinjuku Park Tower, the hotel exudes an aura of calm and comfort that has induced many CEOs and celebrities -- including Coppola...
CULTURE / Music
Apr 4, 2004
DJ Spooky vs. Twilight Circus Dub Sound System : "Riddim Clash"
With Twilight Circus, hailed in reggae circles as the most happening of dubmasters, DJ Spooky has forged a record that is pure dub. It's full of wide open spaces, beats hang in the air, and echo effects almost shimmer as they dissipate.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 21, 2004
Jolly good show, Hidaka-san
At the entrance to the headquarters of concert-promoter Smash is an original poster for the Sex Pistols' "God Save the Queen" single. When the group did a reunion tour of Japan several years ago, Smash President Masa Hidaka had them autograph it.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 21, 2004
Various artists: "Beat of the Moment"
The title cut of the new Felicity sampler -- a jazzy drum 'n' bass joint effort by newish Japanese pop group Spangle call Lilli line and electronica outfit Spanova -- elicits a series of responses: familiarity (haven't I heard this before?), confusion (but where?), and finally amazement (oh my God, it's...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 14, 2004
Acid Mothers Gong
Daevid Allen's '60s psychedelic group Gong spent a good many of its albums relating the adventures of Pothead Pixies and Radio Gnomes on the peaceful Planet Gong. Makoto Kawabata channels music from outer space into his band, Acid Mothers Temple. Fuse the two together and you get Acid Mothers Gong, a...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 25, 2004
Dani Siciliano: "Likes"
Dani Siciliano's voice is such a classic jazz instrument that one expects her to break into an improvised scat at any moment. Yes, her voice is somewhat thinner and higher than that of Ella Fitzgerald or June Christy, but she shares the same stylish phrasing. Siciliano doesn't so much sing lyrics as...
China fires long-range missile into Pacific Ocean in rare test
Chinese military vehicles carrying DF-41 intercontinental ballistic missiles travel past Beijing's Tiananmen Square during a military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, on Oct. 1, 2019.
Russia has a secret war drones project in China, intel sources say
Russian President Vladimir Putin visits a drone production facility of the the Special Technology Center in St. Petersburg on Sept. 19.
As Onosato dominates the spotlight, former sumo stars exit the stage
Takakeisho during a one-day tournament at Kokugikan in Tokyo in February 2020
Japan MSDF warship sails through Taiwan Strait for first time
The Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer Sazanami arrives in Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean during a scheduled port visit in July. The Sazanami became the first Japanese warship to sail through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday.
Putin issues nuclear warning to the West over Ukraine striking Russia
Russia's President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting of the Security Council on the subject of nuclear deterrence in Moscow on Wednesday.
A first look inside the new Nintendo Museum
The Nintendo Museum opens to the public on Oct. 2, but unlike the company's all-ages games, the new attraction may be geared more toward older rather than younger gamers.
Japan MSDF warship sails through Taiwan Strait for first time
The Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer Sazanami arrives in Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean during a scheduled port visit in July. The Sazanami became the first Japanese warship to sail through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday.
Weather makes for an unpredictable artist at Nagano art festival
“A Whisper in the Eye of the Storm,” by Canadian artists Caitlind R. C. Brown and Wayne Garrett is an outdoor installation of around 14,000 recycled lenses of varied prescriptions.
China fires long-range missile into Pacific Ocean in rare test
Chinese military vehicles carrying DF-41 intercontinental ballistic missiles travel past Beijing's Tiananmen Square during a military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, on Oct. 1, 2019.
People of all ages and sizes scale new heights amid climbing boom in Japan
A climbing wall at a kindergarten in Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi Prefecture. The sport has been on the rise in Japan, mainly due to the popularity it gained from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, and new climbing walls are popping all over the place.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

A woman passes an "akichi" (vacant lot) in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo. The capital is littered with such small lots in part because of Japan's aging and shrinking population.
Dealing with rising land vacancies as Japan shrinks
By Alex K.T. Martin

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