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November 21, 2024
 

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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
Feb 7, 2013
Dirty Beaches draws from Serbian film on new album
Alex Zhang Hungtai is constantly in motion. The Taiwanese-born artist, who performs under the name Dirty Beaches, has said in interviews the idea of "home" doesn't mean much to him. He's lived in Taipei, Honolulu, Shanghai and Montreal, and is an avid traveler on top of that. This feeling of always being...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 31, 2013
February: My Bloody Valentine returns
January featured a ton of great concerts across Japan, but February might be even better — hope your wallet isn't too thin this month.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 23, 2013
“Mr. Children 2005-2010 ”
My Japan Times colleague Ian Martin nailed the state of Japanese pop music when he wrote that it was "clinging on to the hoary old remains of the past." The Oricon Chart's top albums of 2012 list was dominated by "Best Of" compilations, with the top two spots going to a pair released by rock band Mr....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 23, 2013
Shortcake Collage Tape "Spirited Summer"
Creating music meant to purposely evoke the past can be tricky. Recreate the sounds of a specific decade too closely and the music becomes too nostalgic, pining for a time the artist never even knew existed. On the other hand, approach bygone times too cynically — as the Internet-born microgenre "vaporwave"...
CULTURE / Music
Dec 20, 2012
Tokyo Girls' Style to perform first solo gig at legendary Budokan, but first — homework
The members of Tokyo Girls' Style have a lot to juggle in the next couple of months. This Saturday, the five-member pop group will perform a solo show at Japan's storied Budokan arena — a huge milestone for any musical outfit here. About a month later, their third album "Yakusoku" ("Promise") will...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 23, 2012
Musician Shugo Tokumaru starts to adjust to the spotlight
Among the many billboards looming over Shibuya Station crossing, one of the busiest and most famous intersections in Tokyo, is one for Tower Records that features musician Shugo Tokumaru. The picture looks slightly awkward. The artist sits on a spiral staircase and clutches a guitar, positioned just...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 15, 2012
Various Artists "Fogpak #4"
Walk into the nearest record store and check out the prices — CDs for ¥2,000 on the low end, some creeping into the ¥3,000 range — it's a lot for 10 or 12 songs. Thankfully, a legal online alternative exists. SoundCloud and Bandcamp allow musicians to reach listeners directly and the prices are...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 25, 2012
Netlabels Ano(t)raks and Canata Records give the old DIY spirit a go with some new tools
Dai Ogasawara's fledgling online label Ano(t)raks has released music from six Japanese artists from the Kansai region since the summer. However, Ogasawara, who lives in Aomori Prefecture, has yet to meet any of them.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 11, 2012
Superfly "Force"
Superfly does one type of sound so well that there is no reason to try anything new. The project — primarily the stage name of singer Shiho Ochi, with some songwriting assists from Koichi Tabo — plays guitar-centric rock indebted to the music of the 1960s and '70s. It's a style that suits her well,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 11, 2012
Magical Mistakes goes all natural on new album, 'Everything Uncertain'
Shiga Prefecture-based musician Erik Luebs, who works under the moniker Magical Mistakes, wanted to record the majority of sounds on his new album, "Everything Uncertain," by himself. Save for a few vocal snippets and 808 bass drums, his newest full-length leans heavily on natural sounds from the world...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 28, 2012
Stage tribute to Jackson hits all the right notes
Like many people in the 1980s, Adrian Grant was a huge Michael Jackson fan. He was so fond of the "King of Pop" that he started a Jackson fan magazine titled "Off The Wall" in 1988. Grant says he wrote and designed the entire first issue by himself — in total, he published a scant 200 copies.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 23, 2012
Rihanna, Grimes and J-pop rule at this year's Summer Sonic
When the opening notes to the Rihanna hit "We Found Love" played over the QVC Marine Stadium sound system Sunday night, the packed-tight crowd erupted louder than it had at any point in the show. Glow sticks were thrust into the air harder and bottled waters launched into the sky as the climax of the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 16, 2012
Miu Sakamoto "I'm Yours!"
"I'm Yours!" is the third album to come out of the partnership between Japanese pop singer Miu Sakamoto and The Shanghai Restoration Project, an American outfit led by Dave Liang that merges traditional Chinese instruments with contemporary electronic music. They've been handling the production on Sakamoto's...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 26, 2012
Her Ghost Friend "Looking For Wonder"
Something tells me Her Ghost Friend doesn't believe in the concept of guilty pleasures. The duo of DJ Obake and singer Shinobu Ono create pop music with bouncy hooks that isn't too far removed from the songs currently topping the Oricon charts. Her Ghost Friend's brand of J-pop, though, is dotted with...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 19, 2012
√thumm "Mimoro"
Kansai-based trio √thumm's music doesn't just mix clashing styles together, but also touches on two cultural representations of Japan today. The group attracted attention around Kansai with two albums of maximalist techno-pop, futuristic numbers resembling the modern overload of Perfume, albeit without...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 5, 2012
The Beauty "Love in the Heart of the World Shout" / Faron Square "Willys Heartbeat"
At this time last year, Tokyo's Cuz Me Pain label was a collection of artists recording dark and dreamy dance tracks from their bedrooms, and that got them a smattering of overseas attention from various music blogs. In 2012, a lot has changed. Various projects under the imprint's umbrella have signed...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 7, 2012
tengal6 "City"
Please show sympathy to all those involved in tengal6. The six-person pop-rap group is "supported" by Tenga, a Japanese adult-toy company (first line of their online concept: "The future of masturbation is here!"). I can just imagine the members of tengal6 dreaming of pop stardom, of seeing their own...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 31, 2012
AKB48 'election' shows marketing brilliance
The biggest event of the year for AKB48, the 48-member pop group that's the most popular music act in Japan today, arrives next Wednesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 31, 2012
Kyary Pamyu Pamyu "Pamyu Pamyu Revolution"
It's fitting that the leadup to Kyary Pamyu Pamyu's debut album has focused heavily on her image. She's a fashion blogger and model now pursuing music, her clothes grabbing as much attention as her songs. Her savviest move was releasing three bonkers music videos over the past year featuring stuff like...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 24, 2012
Hideki Kaji "Blue Hearts"
"Prolific" doesn't even come close to describing Hideki Kaji's career. Since the mid-90s, the Tokyo artist has been putting out albums and singles of upbeat indie-pop music at a constant clip. None of his releases are amazing, but his entire discography is still consistent. He also hasn't achieved widespread...
Ishiba delays meeting with Trump, citing legal restrictions
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba waves upon arrival for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, in Callao, Peru, on Friday.
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Rising sex tourism exposes loopholes in Japan's anti-prostitution law
While financial misfortunes during the COVID-19 pandemic may have driven some women to work the streets, others simply want more money to spend — or want to pay off their debts — at host clubs.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

Podcast

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

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
By Kathryn Wortley

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