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July 16, 2024
 

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Jason Jenkins

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Jason Jenkins
Jason spent 13 years in Tokyo writing about cameras, parenting and the arts. In 2013 he left to travel, homeschooling his kids in Spain, Mexico and Southeast Asia before moving back to Japan in 2019.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 18, 2004
The Album Leaf: "In a Safe Place"
Jimmy LaValle's classical training helped define his old outfit, Tristeza, whose intricate post-rock pastorals could have been jarring or cluttered without a subtle, steady hand. As the Album Leaf, his present incarnation, the San Diego guitarist's strings recede into more barren terrain. Lush acoustic...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 4, 2004
Kenji Jammer: "Hula Hula Dance 4"
Japanese guitarist Kenji Jammer's eclectic dossier includes studio work with everyone from U2 to Bill Laswell to Simply Red. His "Hula Hula Dance" CD series, however, has focused on a reinterpretation of Hawaiian-style steel guitar, sauntering past the luau for the sleek sofas of club-lounge culture....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 27, 2004
Nothing like vintage tech
It's been said that the musical style now referred to as "electro" wriggled to life in the early '80s, when the heavy thump of funk collided with burgeoning synthesizer technology. Jittery, bass-heavy and bombastic, electro lurked on the half-courts and back-alley clubs of New York City, embraced mostly...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 20, 2004
De La Soul: "Live at Tramps, 1996," "De La Mix Tape"
Few hip-hop fans argue the relevance of golden-age innovators De La Soul, but two recent releases from the Rhino label may cause debate.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 6, 2004
RJD2: "Since We Last Spoke"
Any DJ worth his wax knows there's more to hip-hop than beats, bravado and samples extracted from R&B vinyl. On "Since We Last Spoke," the Def Jux label's star spinner, RJD2, strays further from the medium's usual rap/soul axis and delves into arena rock, circa 1984 (Van Halen reference intended)....
CULTURE / Music
May 16, 2004
The Beta Band: "Heroes to Zeros"
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 11, 2004
Sufjan Stevens: "Seven Swans"
In a recent interview, Sufjan Stevens confessed vocal inadequacies: his range is limited; his falsetto is strained; he lacks Patti Smith's attitude and Willie Nelson's cliches. However, narrative, he says, saves the music from these weaknesses.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 21, 2004
Junior Senior
Danish duo Junior Senior may be difficult to describe, but their message is unmistakably clear: Get on the freaking dance floor. Their debut, "D-D-Don't Don't Stop the Beat," was last year's best party album, brimming with tracks that read like cheerleading chants: "Move Your Feet," "C'Mon," "Dynamite,"...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 29, 2004
Lightning Bolt emerge from tightly knit scene
Avant-garde hardcore duo Lightning Bolt may be the heaviest thing ever to come out of Rhode Island. Technically precise, unwaveringly experimental and deafeningly loud, their shows are known for blowing the minds (and eardrums) of headbangers and jazzbos alike.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 15, 2004
Harper pushing himself to a higher plane
Ben Harper just had a great week. First, the singer/songwriter and master of the acoustic slide guitar spoke with Andre 3000 of hip-hop heroes OutKast about going into the studio together. A few days later, guitar legend Ry Cooder called about collaborating. Then blues great Taj Mahal called with a similar...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 1, 2004
Savath & Savalas: "Apropa't"
In the spring of 2002, Scott Herren -- known best for avant-garde hip-hop under the moniker Prefuse 73 -- decided to put his beats in storage and move to Spain. There he met Eva Puyuelo Muns, a singer/songwriter with tastes in traditional Latin music similar to his own. Together, they took Herren's side...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 25, 2004
Bob Log III
He may never show his face, but Bob Log III is by no means shy. With his head concealed by a motorcycle helmet hooked to a telephone receiver and his gut squeezed into a low-cut, blue spandex jumpsuit, Log looks more like Evel Knievel in a Dadaist porn flick than a one-man band belting out the Delta...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 21, 2003
Faye Wong: "It's My Style"
Fans of the Far East's most creative siren, Faye Wong, should know her latest album, "It's My Style," is worth the three-year wait. Due to a poetic reference to opium, the opener (and best track), "To Love," was banned in China. That means most mainlanders will miss hearing Wong trill through Middle-Eastern...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 7, 2003
Organic Groove
Fans of experimental electronic music will get an earful this coming Saturday at the latest all-night show thrown by the popular Organic Groove productions.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 5, 2003
Ima Robot: 'Ima Robot'
Ima RobotIma Robot
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Aug 27, 2003
The Dismemberment Plan: "The People's History of the Dismemberment Plan"
For frenetic indie foursome The Dismemberment Plan, breaking up has certainly been hard to do. Despite announcing their own dismemberment in January, the farewell tour has stretched into September, with their final show in Japan set for Saturday at Shibuya Nest before a farewell gig in Washington, D.C....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 20, 2003
Mutated beats for postmod grooving
Scott Herren is many things to many people. To some, he is Delarosa & Asora, the purveyor of jagged, techno dissonance. To others, he is Savath & Savalas, a mutating musical project that navigates electronica, postrock and Spanish folk with equal ease. At the moment, however, Herren's hip-hop...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 16, 2003
Fuji's hipper hop
Despite its immense popularity in Japan, hip-hop has until recently suffered from poor representation at summer music events. The Fuji Rock Festival seems keen to make up for lost time this year, augmenting the usual legion of club-oriented DJs with a veritable roll call of some of today's most innovative...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 15, 2003
Prepare to be spanked hard
Thirty minutes into the interview, Wammo has to go on stage. "We're about to start," he says from his cell phone. "But if you want, call me tomorrow night after 10. My parents should be in bed by then."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Jun 4, 2003
Allison Goldfrapp: "Black Cherry"
Allison Goldfrapp caught the attention of ambient techno-heads The Orbital after they saw one of her first performance-art pieces -- she sang while milking a cow. After contributing vocals to their album, "Snivilization" (1994), she collaborated the following year with dark-hop overlord Tricky on his...
Who needs AI when you have Hatsune Miku?
Over the first six months of 2024, a handful of songs using Vocaloid singer Hatsune Miku’s voice have enjoyed widespread attention, underlining a global interest in the character and the technology she represents.
Bloodied Trump survives assassination attempt at political rally
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is surrounded and evacuated by Secret Service agents at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. Trump was rushed off stage at the rally after shots rang out.
Shooter came within inches of killing Trump, but left few clues as to why
An aerial view shows the stage where Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump had been standing during an assassination attempt the day before, and the roof of a nearby building where a gunman was shot dead by law enforcement, in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Sunday.
Yen’s woes seem too big for even a BOJ hike this month to solve
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
After Trump shooting, U.S. presidential race might take a violent turn
United States Secret Service Counter Snipers stand guard on a rooftop during a campaign rally for U.S. President Donald Trump in Avoca, Pennsylvania, in 2020.
No AC this summer? No problem (for me).
Think air conditioning is a requirement for a Tokyo summer? Think again.
She’s paying ¥1 million to help behind the scenes at the Paris Olympics
Mai Tarumi, who previously volunteered at the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, has a travel budget of ¥1 million for her trip to volunteer at the Paris Games.

Podcast

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.
Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

Longform

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
By Tomoko Otake

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