21
LGT.RAIN
Silvio Berlusconi has failed in his attempt to topple the Italian government, leaving him weaker than ever and zapping the aura of invincibility that has surrounded him for two decades as he faces the possible loss of his Senate seat and a ban from ...
Hatsudai has a lot going for it. This quiet low-rise residential neighborhood just minutes west of Shinjuku boasts a friendly traditional shōtengai (shopping street) and a lively annual Awa Odori dance festival. Now add to that a really outstanding restaurant. Anis opened in early ...
International events undermine Japan's democracy. Shame on the International Olympic Committee for being a party to it.
In the glitzy and gossipy world of Japanese celebrity, hardly a week goes by without revelations being made about — or made by — Ichikawa Ebizo XI. For years, the charismatic young star of the kabuki world has never long been out of the ...
Reigning champion Kei Nishikori made quick work of Feliciano Lopez, walloping the Spaniard in a straight-sets victory Thursday to reach the quarterfinals of the Rakuten Japan Open. The world No. 13 Nishikori needed little over an hour to put away Lopez, 7-6 (7-4), 6-0 ...
“Exit” is Shugo Tokumaru’s first album since switching from a tiny indie label to the larger P-Vine Records, but the move hasn’t been accompanied by any compromise of the bedroom-music aesthetic that made his previous albums “L.S.T.” and “Night Piece” so beguiling. The melodies ...
Much like 2005′s “Cripple Crow,” Devendra Banhart’s latest album is probably best tackled in small doses. With 16 tracks spread over 70 minutes, it’s an unfocused affair that finds the shaggy troubadour moving ever further from the acoustic folk of his breakout record, “Rejoicing ...
From blues punk to Brechtian chanteuse, FM-friendly femme- rocker to feral screecher: Polly Jean Harvey has been many things during her career. All the same, “White Chalk” is a real curveball. On Harvey’s eighth album, she lays the rock persona to rest, exchanging her ...
Pop music’s not just for kids, you know. And while there’s plenty of it about for grownups, few artists offer such consistent and thrilling fare as Tokyo Jihen. On this, their third album since forming in 2003, the band offer 13 tracks dripping in ...
Talib Kweli’s reputation as the rapper’s rapper is based on his inventive rhyme schemes, but his underground credentials were established in cahoots with fellow MC Mos Def in Black Star and with DJ Hi-Tek on the classic “Reflection Eternal.” On his own, his skills ...
Japanese punk’s first generation produced some of the country’s most creative and enduring music. The Tokyo Rockers scene of 1979 gave us Friction, formed by bassist Reck and drummer Chico-hige, formerly of New York’s Contortions; the Kansai No Wave scene produced punk poet Phew, ...
Has any other pop superstar ever accomplished as much with indistinctness? Listening to the opening lines of Kanye West’s third album, it took me a moment to figure out if it was him rapping or one of his many high-profile guests. As an artist ...
Formed in 2004 by two women called Ai — one a classically trained violinist whose hobbies include cooking, flower-arrangement and “home crafts,” the other a “Star Wars” fanatic and lightning-speed MC — Japanese technopop duo Miami are releasing their debut mini-album after a year ...
Nicole Willis & the Soul Investigators’ latest album is as retro as it gets — the band feel as if they rose from the combined vaults of Motown, Stax and Philadelphia International. So people might cock an eyebrow upon learning they’re from Helsinki. Singer ...
Brooklyn-born Marcus Miller kicks off his latest album playing the sitar, lending “Blast” an Indian groove before adopting a hip-hop beat in the chorus. It’s an early indication of Miller’s diverse musical tastes: “Free” features the noted bass guitarist playing 14 different instruments. Miller, ...
The previous album by this motley crew of Brooklyn-resident immigrants was called “Gypsy Punks.” It’s a good description of the music, but the generic-sounding title may have also fooled people into thinking it was some kind of anthropological exercise. As such it would have ...
As comfortable playing traditional gig venues as they are art galleries, Tokyo girl duo Kiiiiiii have built their reputation on their live shows, in which vocalist U.T. and drummer Lakin’ dash through a technicolor car crash of songs and musical skits performed in the ...