Babymetal aren’t the latest chapter in the ‘wacky Japan’ story
The British are mad, aren’t they? That Kate Bush with her crazy gyrating around a cello in the video for “Babushka,” that daft loon Robbie Williams with his funky skeleton costume, those kerrr-azy...
View ArticleFinding Japan’s hidden punk scenes in their natural environments
Finding music in Japan can be a nightmare, and the live-music scene in particular is notoriously difficult to penetrate. Tucked away in the basements and upper floors of anonymous buildings, often in...
View ArticleMusic curators deserve credit for keeping local scenes alive
The term “cultural curator” is one that tends to provoke reactions ranging from sneers to rage. It really is a horrible term in some ways, with problematic embedded associations. A curator is a person...
View ArticleMacmanaman step up to bat for the live show
“Instrumental post-rock” is probably the worst way to introduce a band, and by this point 90 percent of this article’s readers will have probably fled to the sports section. Many of the most celebrated...
View ArticleMarty Friedman takes a fiery break from J-pop on ‘Inferno’
“When you’re a ‘rock’ guy, there’s something that makes you want to be in the business, as a photographer, working at a label . . . I mean, you’re not going to be a fan of Cat Stevens and all of a...
View ArticleForget drugs, monotony is the real threat to Japan’s music industry
Japan has a drug problem. Everywhere you look — from the creepy, teen-host-club pop of Sexy Zone to the soft-rock balladry of Ikimono Gakari — children are being exposed to music that has been made...
View ArticleBlonde Redhead gets comfortable with past records
Formed in 1993 by Japanese singer Kazu Makino and Italian twins Simone and Amedeo Pace, and forged in the noisy underbelly of the New York alternative scene, Blonde Redhead has charted a path that has...
View ArticleNew music label helps classic video-game composers go solo
New music label helps classic video-game composers go solo The post New music label helps classic video-game composers go solo appeared first on The Japan Times.
View ArticleWithout a canon, Japanese pop won’t blast off
Exploring the world of Japanese music can be a baffling experience for those who don’t speak the language. Where do you start if you’re new to the scene? Entry points are fragmented at best, woefully...
View ArticleJust what is so wrong about Yoko Ono?
As Yoko Ono prepares to take the stage at Fuji Rock Festival on July 26, a BBC video of her performing the 1969 Plastic Ono Band track “Don’t Worry Kyoko” at this year’s Glastonbury festival has racked...
View ArticlePanicsmile opt for a back-to-basics approach on ‘Informed Consent’
For more than 20 years now, Panicsmile has been an unsung hero in Japanese rock. In fact along with “unsung” we can perhaps add “un-singing,” with group founder Hajime Yoshida’s particular atonal,...
View ArticleA deeper look at Hayao Miyazaki’s nature
'The Art of Princess Mononoke' — a deeper look at Hayao Miyazaki's nature The post A deeper look at Hayao Miyazaki’s nature appeared first on The Japan Times.
View ArticleChi-na aims to win fans over one step at a time
For many musicians, dreams of success take the form of a big break: perhaps a major label record contract, a lucrative tour deal or a barnstorming festival set. However, a quick fix isn’t the style of...
View ArticleThe hammer and scalpel are what’s needed to subvert idol-pop culture
One new act who has been creating a buzz in music-industry circles this year is quirky singer-songwriter Seiko Oomori. The music video for her song “Midnight Seijun Isei Koyu” (“Midnight’s Pure...
View ArticleStudio Ghibli inspires endless adaptations
As one of the most important and acclaimed animation studios in not only Japan but the world, it’s unsurprising that Studio Ghibli has also inspired a wealth of printed material. Helen McCarthy’s...
View ArticleLive houses need to rethink their product if they want to attract customers
In these times of declining music sales it has become a truism that the live arena is where bands and artists can make their money. Certainly that seems to have factored into the decision by U2 and...
View ArticleYou say proto-this, I say post-that, let’s call the whole thing ‘skronk’
A famous quote of mysterious provenance (most likely the American actor and singer Martin Mull) has it that, “Writing about music is like dancing about architecture,” and anyone who has ever tried to...
View ArticlePop artifice was never better with Aya Matsuura
When a pop singer who has long faded from the limelight suddenly starts appearing in your Twitter timeline in the form of glowing, nostalgic re-evaluations, they’re either gearing up for a comeback . ....
View ArticleRock, J-pop and dance: Albums we liked in 2014
The year-end album charts in Japan have a tendency to prop up the same acts year after year: Exile, anything that ends in a “48,” and almost every group from the Johnny & Associates stable of boy...
View ArticleWho was music being made for in 2014?
When looking back on the year in music, the big question music fans should be asking themselves is, “Who was music being made for in 2014?” Looking at the broader picture, we can find the answers writ...
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