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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 / HIGH NOTES

Mar 20, 2002

Boards of Canada: 'Geogaddi'

Electronic music isn't known for its sentimentality. However, when critics wrote about Boards of Canada's 1998 release, "Music Has the Right to Children," the word "nostalgia" was kicked around more than once. The amalgam of Vangelis-like keyboards and loops of school kids at play unearthed subconscious...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES

Feb 27, 2002

Janet Klein: 'Paradise Wobble'

Janet Klein was born in the wrong era. With her warm, lilting voice, flapper dresses and ukulele, she seems more suitable for the Roaring '20s than the world today. On "Paradise Wobble," she gives us a taste of the bygone era she pines for. Together with her Parlor Boys, a group of enthusiastic archival...

CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES

Feb 20, 2002

Shibusa Shirazu Orchestra

For those lucky enough to catch a live performance of Japanese jazz-animals Shibusa Shirazu Orchestra, one look at the legion of raised microphones in the crowd is enough to reassure that recordings of the orchestra aren't in short supply. Fans seem to collect and trade bootlegs like comics or Star Wars...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES

Feb 13, 2002

Monoland: 'Cooning'

What the Berliner four-piece Monoland are doing with atmospheric rumbling and washes of distortion is not completely new to modern music. The confluence of dreamy vocals and sonic thunderclap recalls the short-lived shoegazer movement of the late '80s to mid-'90s. It was then that bands like Ride and...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES

Jan 23, 2002

Since breaking out on his own in 1995, Money Mark, the "fourth Beastie Boy," has evolved his organ/keyboard-based grooves from short, funky thumbnail-sketches and lo-fi pop to loose, jazzy soul-jams.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES

Jan 9, 2002

Le Tigre: 'Feminist Sweepstakes'

Mixing music and politics can yield uncertain results. In the hands of some artists, this volatile concoction can move the masses (John Lennon, Public Enemy, U2), while in the hands of others, it can come off as merely preachy and annoying (Consolidated, Disposable Heroes of HipHoprisy, U2). On "Feminist...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES

Dec 26, 2001

Tuesday Weld: 'At the House of Clerkenwell Kid'

For film buffs, the name Tuesday Weld evokes memories of the blonde bombshell who starred in 1960s and '70s films like "Sex Kittens Go to College," "Pretty Poison" and "I Walk the Line." Stephen Coates, aka (The real) Tuesday Weld, must have been a fan. His music encapsulates her work: sumptuous and...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES

Dec 12, 2001

The Silver Jews: 'Bright Flight'

David Berman's band suffers from an image problem. People are confused by the name, The Silver Jews (a reference to The Silver Apples and slang for Jewish people with blonde hair). Moreover, the music press seems convinced that they're a side project of influential indie-rockers, Pavement. True, Berman...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES

Dec 5, 2001

Five Deez: 'Koolmotor'

Anyone tired of hip-hop's "gangstafication" has had it rough at the record store this year. It seemed the age of slick jazz samples, mellow vibes and higher-mindedness had all but drowned in (or become inebriated on) the 40-ounce bottle of thug-rap.

CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES

Nov 14, 2001

Jim O'Rourke: 'Insignificance'

Jim O'Rourke has been around the block. A seminal postclassical composer, he can boast more than just the occasional side project. Indeed, if you add together the number of his solo albums and his collaborations and guest recordings with other bands, his output goes into the triple digits. He has placed...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES

Nov 7, 2001

Empire State: 'Eternal Combustion'

If necessity is the mother of invention, then boredom is its long-lost uncle. Having grown bored with the present state of indie music, the experimentalist, postrock three-piece Empire State found inspiration by building their own instruments. Dr. Seuss-like contraptions such as "whirling xylo-cans"...

CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES

Oct 24, 2001

Bill Callahan: 'Rain on Lens'

Bill Callahan isn't known for his bright, cheery outlook on life. Nor is he known for making slick, glossy overtures with his musical vehicle, Smog. With "Rain on Lens," his latest release, Callahan remains true to form, delivering the stripped-down, somber rock that made him one of the founders of the...

CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES

Oct 17, 2001

Money Mark: 'Change Is Coming'

Those familiar with Money Mark's funky, retro-keyboard dabbling might not initially notice the new direction hinted at in the title of his latest, third album. But rest assured, a second listen to "Change Is Coming" reveals subtle enhancements to his signature deep grooves and smooth vibes, making it...

CULTURE / Music

Oct 3, 2001

The rebirth of cool

It's 30 minutes until showtime and the dark, cramped nightclub is already way past the fire chief's recommended maximum capacity. College students elbow their way through the wall of bodies toward the front, while gentlemen with salted beards and sports coats settle near the back with scotch and sodas....

CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES

Sep 26, 2001

John Linnel & John Flansburgh: 'Mink Car'

Since their early albums "Lincoln" and "Flood," John Linnell and John Flansburgh, the self-appointed supercilious music nerds of They Might Be Giants, have displayed a remarkable talent for straddling the fence between disdain for and celebration of the pop tune. Usually sweet and upbeat on the surface,...

LIFE / Food & Drink

Aug 26, 2001

Sips of high-grade tranquillity

In parts of Asia, tea is more than a mere beverage: It is a social lubricant, a sacrament of complex rituals and a vital part of national identity. Throughout history, farmers and philosophers alike have treasured a steaming cup of cha. While there is some evidence of tea's health benefits, there is...

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

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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