author

 
 

Meta

Jeff Richards
For Jeff Richards's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
CULTURE / Music
Jun 5, 2009
Fermenting dregs of rock 'n' roll for the masses
"I just had a connection with the sound of the words," says singer and bass player Natsuko Miyamoto when she answers my question about the name of her band, Mass of the Fermenting Dregs. Before I can pursue the question further: about the words, about where and when she first put them together, about this "connection" to a lump of decomposing sludge, she adds, "A band name is not as important as the music." Touche.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 5, 2009
Green Day "21st Century Breakdown"
Green Day's latest album, 21st Century Breakdown, is an operatic three-act, three-chord suite centered on a young couple coming to grips with life in the crumbling George W. Bush era, and set amid a backdrop of modern greed, religion and change.
CULTURE / Music
Jul 25, 2008
Primal Scream "Beautiful Future"
Primal Scream get back to sweet pop basics on their ninth album, "Beautiful Future" — 13 mixed-up doses of drugs and love that camouflage throbbing rock 'n' roll under layers of sticky, saccharine disco beats.
CULTURE / Music
Jun 27, 2008
Jakob Dylan "Seeing Things"
It's tough to write about Jakob Dylan without referencing his father, Bob, and pundits are going to have an even tougher time now with the release of Jakob's acoustic solo album. While his previous albums with his band The Wallflowers always featured stellar writing, that was often buried under the three-chord pop-rock bombast of guitars and drums. In contrast, the guitar and voice approach of "Seeing Things" — produced by career-reshaper Rick Rubin — places lyrical content center stage.

Longform

Historically, kabuki was considered the entertainment of the merchant and peasant classes, a far cry from how it is regarded today.
For Japan's oldest kabuki theater, the show must go on