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Patrick Mccoy
For Patrick Mccoy's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Aug 30, 2014
The Makioka Sisters
Junichiro Tanizaki may be best known for novels featuring protagonists with odd obsessions, but his masterpiece, family epic "The Makioka Sisters," has been hailed by many as Japan's greatest modern novel.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Jul 19, 2014
House of the Sleeping Beauties and Other Stories
Yasunari Kawabata's novella "House of the Sleeping Beauties and Other Stories" is one of his finest works. It is primarily concerned with the connections between the youth and old age, sex, death, life and memory.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jun 21, 2014
Deep Kyoto Walks
"Deep Kyoto Walks" edited by Michael Lambe and Ted Taylor is the perfect guide for anyone who wants to get off Kyoto's beaten tourist track. With personalized views of what to see and do in Kyoto — by people who have lived there for extended periods of time — it essentially offers a curated guide to one of the most fascinating cities in the world. Essays by a host of Kyoto residents (16 authors in all, including renowned travel writer Pico Iyer), cover various fields such as poetry, pottery, butoh dance, tea ceremony, art, travel writing and food writing.
CULTURE / Music
Jul 20, 2007
Ryan Adams "Easy Tiger"
The latest offering from the prodigious Ryan Adams, "Easy Tiger," is a warning to slow down. Adams has been trying to kick a much publicized alcohol and drug habit, though the title just as easily refers to his output (he released three albums in 2005 alone).
CULTURE / Music
Apr 21, 2006
The Flaming Lips "At War With the Mystics"
Forget the supposed return to "rock" -- Wayne Coyne and his merry pranksters of indie-dom are as inscrutable as ever on "At War With the Mystics," the Oklahoma-based band's first album in four years. Although they've abandoned the concept-album approach that colored their previous releases, 1999's breakthrough album "The Soft Bulletin" and their biggest-seller "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots" (2002), the Lips still take on many of the Big Themes explored on those two albums.
CULTURE / Music
Mar 24, 2006
Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan "Ballad of the Broken Seas"
Isobel Campbell, formerly of the twee neofolk Glaswegian group Belle & Sebastian, has teamed up with Mark Lanegan, former lead singer of American grunge rockers Screaming Trees, for this unlikely collaboration. The appeal of the pairing lies in the contrast in vocal styles of the two singers -- Campbell has a light, airy purr, while Lanegan's deep, sonorous growl speaks of hardship and woe.
CULTURE / Music
Mar 3, 2006
Rhett Miller "The Believer"
Once again, Rhett Miller, lead singer-songwriter for The Old 97s, exorcises his pop demons on his new solo effort, "The Believer." A collection of mostly upbeat songs about the redemptive power of love, the album is much like his underrated 2002 debut, "The Instigator."
CULTURE / Music
Feb 10, 2006
Belle & Sebastian "The Life Pursuit"
Belle & Sebastian built a loyal following with their steady brand of intelligent and whimsical neo-folk. Their sound began to change, though, with their last Trevor Horn-produced release, "Dear Catastrophe Waitress." As the band made forays into new pop music structures, they also improved their sound production.
CULTURE / Music
Jan 13, 2006
The Strokes "First Impressions of Earth"
When The Strokes first emerged from the N.Y. underground scene in 2001 they were hailed as the saviors of rock 'n' roll. It's no surprise that they were unable to live up to such expectations. Who could? Their second release, "Room on Fire" (2002), was an album arrested in development, with the same sound that put them on the map -- the just-roused-from-sleep vocals and choppy dueling guitars that harken back to N.Y.'s punk glory days.
CULTURE / Music
Dec 2, 2005
Babyshambles : "Down In Albion"
Pete Doherty may be a rock 'n' roll cliche, but in among all that hard living he has managed to keep it together long enough to record two of the most vital rock albums produced in recent years, The Libertines' "Up The Bracket" and the self-titled follow-up.
CULTURE / Music
Oct 28, 2005
Ryan Adams and The Cardinals: "Jacksonville City Nights"
Ryan Adams has got to be the busiest man in show business -- nearly 12 albums in since his debut with Whiskeytown in 1996, here comes "Jacksonville City Nights," the second of three planned releases for 2005. Earlier this year he released his first album with The Cardinals, the excellent "Cold Roses," which returned to his roots in alt-country after a lengthy departure into conventional rock-n-roll and mope rock.

Longform

High-end tourism is becoming more about the kinds of experiences that Japan's lesser-known places can provide.
Can Japan lure the jet-set class off the beaten path?