Patrick St. Michel - The Japan Times

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Patrick St. Michel

Patrick St. Michel is a Tokyo-based writer with a focus on Japanese music. He runs the blog Make Believe Melodies, which has focused on Japanese independent music since 2009. Besides The Japan Times, he also contributes to MTV 81 and The Atlantic.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Mar 18, 2014

Babymetal "Babymetal"

It's not surprising that Babymetal has gone viral. The trio, bringing the seemingly disparate worlds of idol pop and heavy metal together, is a visually striking project perfect for the "weird Japan" fans on the Internet.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Mar 11, 2014

NYC fans of Kyary Pamyu Pamyu share 'zest for life'

Two hours before the doors even opened, the line outside New York's Best Buy Theater snaked around several streets in the middle of Times Square. Fans lined up early for pop star Kyary Pamyu Pamyu's second-ever New York concert, the finale to her recent North American tour.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE

Mar 9, 2014

Clarify your role, prepare before a disaster strikes

When she first arrived in Japan from Ireland in 2008, Sarah Hickey was mostly concerned with adjusting to her new life in Fukushima Prefecture. The Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme placed her in Iwaki, which is itself a large city, but she found herself near the coast in less metropolitan...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Feb 18, 2014

AKB48 "Tsugi no Ashiato"

No Japanese music group has been more interesting these past two years than AKB48, but "interesting" doesn't always mean "good." Several of the 89-members-and-growing outfit's most notable moments have been ugly (the Minami Minegishi head-shaving scandal tops that list), but the idol group has also made...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Feb 18, 2014

Miii "Everything Happens To You"

After bubbling under the surface for the last couple of years, EDM looks like it will finally get the push it needs this year to become trendy in Japan. Standing for "electronic dance music" — vague advertiser-talk referring to a loud, often bass-heavy, type of dance music best suited for massive festivals...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Feb 11, 2014

Mitsume play the indie game, but are winning the mainstream

Mitsume subscribes to an easy-to-get-behind ethos regularly found in indie-rock communities: "Since our first album, we've been under nobody's control but our own," says lead vocalist Moto Kawabe. "We prefer to do whatever we can ourselves."

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Jan 21, 2014

Kobe's tofubeats moves from blogs to the big time

Like many kids growing up in the 1990s, Yusuke Kawai's initial brush with the World Wide Web happened in elementary school.

CULTURE / Music

Jan 21, 2014

Ventla, i-fls and the road out of the Web

Tokyo bedroom producer Ventla has one goal and one goal only.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Jan 14, 2014

Girls' Generation "Love & Peace"

K-pop's golden days in Japan are over. The time when Korean groups could top the Oricon charts and (more importantly) monopolize media coverage is now a memory, in part due to an oversaturation of new acts. K-pop remains a strong niche market, though, even if the hallyu hype has fizzled out. Some groups...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Jan 14, 2014

Metoronori "Veil"

Time will tell whether "Veil" sounds good come warmer months, but right now it's the perfect album for winter. Tokyo artist Metoronori's third full-length album appeared online in the middle of last week, when the wind blew especially cold. With the heat cranked up and the windows shut, "Veil" was a...

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE

Dec 22, 2013

Don't let the holidays leave you homesick this year

Homesickness is a particular concern for foreign residents in December, when the holiday season starts to conjure up images of family dinners and drinking parties with old friends. For new arrivals, it's further complicated by the simultaneous challenge of adjusting to a different culture.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Dec 17, 2013

The best Japanese albums of 2013: Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, 'Nanda Collection'

While boy bands such as Arashi and Exile continued transmogrifying midtempo pap into Oricon gold, the interesting twists and turns in J-pop over the past year came from idol pop. The scene, often associated with schoolgirl costumes and no-dating policies, produced some great music and exciting storylines....

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Dec 17, 2013

Some of the year's best music was free

Variety wasn't something the Oricon Charts delivered much over the course of 2013. With few exceptions, the biggest sellers were the same as they ever were — Johnny's boy bands such as Arashi, Kanjani 8 and Kis-My-FT2; AKB48 and their affiliated projects; and a variety of rock 'n' roll fossils. Not...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Dec 17, 2013

New Year's single, Christmas concert get Meyer into festive spirit

Jazz pianist and singer Emi Meyer has a lot of fond memories of the holiday season.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Nov 20, 2013

The Charles in Charlie Brown

The advertising surrounding "Ever and Never: The Art of Peanuts" focuses on the cutest character from the classic American comic strip. So much so, promotions for this exhibition at the Mori Arts Center Gallery has been dubbed the "Snoopy Exhibit," a title that also graces the Twitter and Facebook accounts...

CULTURE / Music

Nov 19, 2013

At the time of writing this review, Arashi's "Love" has been bought more than any other Japanese album this year. Barring a sudden full-length LP from AKB48 or a cash-in compilation from Mr. Children, the group's 12th CD should end 2013 in the same position. There have been a lot of nice developments...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Nov 19, 2013

Elen Never Sleeps "Rum"

Recent advancements in recording technology has made it easier than ever before for anyone with computer access to create and distribute their work from the comfort of home. Paradoxically, these advances also allow artists to hide themselves within their songs. There are countless effects and tools designed...

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE

Oct 27, 2013

When it comes to discipline in class, leave it to the locals

Aaron Joseph remembers the email Interac sent him regarding his school placement in Sakai, Osaka, in August 2012.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Oct 22, 2013

Biollante "Alone in this World"

Tokyo's Biollante has found a clever way of standing out among the ever-crowded field of Japanese bedroom music producers — get melancholic.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Oct 22, 2013

Perfume "Level3"

"Level3" is going to look amazing live. Perfume member Ayaka "A-Chan" Nishiwaki reportedly told producer Yasutaka Nakata that her trio wanted songs suited to the huge venues they'd perform it in. Nakata has obliged. Perfume's fourth studio album — the first with access to Universal Music's deep...

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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