Tag - franz-ferdinand

 
 

FRANZ FERDINAND

Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 7, 2013
Franz Ferdinand gets it right on latest album
When I speak to Paul Thomson, drummer with Scottish art-poppers Franz Ferdinand, it is just over 36 hours since James Blake's second album, "Overgrown," was announced as the surprise winner of this year's Mercury Prize, the award for the best record to come out of the U.K. and Ireland in the past year. It seemed like an apt moment to assess the well-being of the Glasgow four-piece: Nine years previously, Franz Ferdinand itself had walked away with the accolade for its self-titled debut, a record that reinvigorated the British guitar music scene with charismatic, intelligent and downright brilliant tunes, making good on the band's promise to create "music for girls to dance to."
CULTURE / Music
Nov 5, 2013
Hostess exists rather happily on the edge
With international repertoire's share of the music market down to about 15 percent, it has never been harder to break foreign acts in Japan. And given the shrinking market for non-Japanese music, it seems quixotic to set up a company specializing in bringing foreign repertoire into the country — especially if the company in question is run by a non-Japanese.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 29, 2013
McCartney, One Direction and Atoms for Peace head to Japan in November
He's been knighted, named the richest rock star in the world, has an Oscar, has done a guest spot on "The Simpsons," has played to the largest stadium audience in history and has been imprisoned right here in Japan. That's right, rock god Sir Paul McCartney returns to Japan after an 11-year hiatus in support of his latest album, "New." Japan has always loved The Beatles, so it has been no surprise to see tickets for each of the six stops on the Japan leg of his "Out There" tour sell quickly — even at ¥12,500. McCartney will be showering Japanese fans in rock history starting at Osaka Dome on Nov. 11 and 12, moving on to Fukuoka Dome on Nov. 15, and finishing up the tour with three shows at Tokyo Dome on Nov. 18, 19 and 21 (7 p.m. start; ¥12,500-¥16,500).
EDITORIALS
Dec 23, 2011
Conflict over child allowance
As the central government's work to compile the fiscal 2012 budget goes into full swing, conflicts between the central and local governments are deepening over the use and distribution of funds. One such conflict is over funding of the monthly child allowance. Children younger than 3 each will be entitled to ¥15,000 a month and children at primary and middle schools, in principle, each will be entitled to ¥10,000 a month.

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores