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Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / J-POPSICLE
Aug 31, 2003
Buffalo Daughter's deeper grooves
By Steve McClure
It's usually not a good idea to go into the recording studio without having some idea of what you're going to record. Most artists have a demo or a written score to work from; some even have full-fledged arrangements down on paper before they start recording.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / JAZZNICITY
Aug 31, 2003
Jazz and more under one roof
By Michael Pronko
The exaggerated rumors of jazz's demise can be put to rest. The second annual festival Tokyo Jazz 2003 showed that jazz is not ready to be relegated to the museum of past musical styles quite yet. An amazing (for jazz anyway) 40,000 fans headed to Ajinomoto Stadium in western Tokyo for two days of music...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Aug 27, 2003
Joao Gilberto
By Philip Brasor
Experts agree that two pop music genres were invented by individuals: bluegrass by the American mandolinist Bill Monroe in 1938, and bossa nova by Brazilian Antonio Carlos Jobim in the mid-'50s. Jobim wrote "Desafinado," and while, in 1957, this was bossa nova's first big hit, the single itself was sung...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Aug 27, 2003
Richard Bona: "Munia (The Tale)"
By Michael Pronko
One of the encouragements jazz players often shout to each other during intense solos is "Tell the story!" On Cameroonian Richard Bona's third release, "Munia (The Tale)," he does just that by weaving lovely epic tales in melody and rhythm that combine West African music with New York jazz.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Aug 27, 2003
Broadcast: "Ha Ha Sound"
By Jeff Hammond
Rarely does a gem shine out from the dull ground of contemporary electronica, but when one does it should be treasured. Such is "Ha Ha Sound," Broadcast's second album.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Aug 27, 2003
The Dismemberment Plan: "The People's History of the Dismemberment Plan"
By Jason Jenkins
For frenetic indie foursome The Dismemberment Plan, breaking up has certainly been hard to do. Despite announcing their own dismemberment in January, the farewell tour has stretched into September, with their final show in Japan set for Saturday at Shibuya Nest before a farewell gig in Washington, D.C....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / PLAY BUTTON
Aug 24, 2003
The incredible remixing man
By Suzannah Tartan
A good remix uncovers an element of the song that was already there so the listener perceives it in a whole new way. A bad remix often ends up as a vehicle for someone else's ego, with the original becoming so contorted and manipulated that it is unrecognizable in the final product.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Aug 20, 2003
Joe Lovano Notet: "On This Day"
By Michael Pronko
As leader, improviser and arranger, Joe Lovano brings together bop, post-bop and free jazz into a three-dimensional form that swings hard. Whether his tenor sax sandpapers a hard bop line or squeals like a bird on speed, he leans on the past while looking to the future. After hearing his most recent...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Aug 20, 2003
Fat Cat Records Compilation: "Branches and Routes"
By Suzannah Tartan
The high profile of Sigur Ros and Mum (playing in Tokyo next month) make the Fat Cat label look like a haven for atmospheric Icelandic bands. But the label has made its name not so much for a sound, but for intriguing sounds. That, more than anything, is why its new compilation, "Branches and Routes,"...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Aug 20, 2003
Pretty Girls Make Graves: "The New Romance,"
By Philip Brasor
'I heard a record and it opened my eyes," goes the pivotal line in "Speakers Push the Air," the opening song on "Good Health," last year's debut album by the Seattle quintet Pretty Girls Make Graves. The record's passionate immediacy opened a lot of people's eyes to the possibility that punk still had...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Aug 20, 2003
Joe Gibbs Production
By Tom Bojko
Soul Jazz Records has issued a couple dozen outstanding compilations of unusual music ranging from New York punk-funk and Philadelphia soul-jazz to Yoruba music and Haitian voodoo drumming. Particularly great are their releases of both vintage and modern Jamaican music, of which "Joe Gibbs Productions"...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
Aug 13, 2003
Gonna Vamp
By Simon Bartz
A "vamp" is a woman who seduces or beguiles by using feminine charms, according to my dictionary. It's also the name of a new magazine that promotes underground Japanese bands, preferably if the band members are equipped with guitars, boobs and cute pouts rather than guitars, biceps and bad chat-up lines....
Nearly half of workers in Japan engage in ‘quiet quitting’
"Quiet quitting" is most common among the younger generation, with 46.7% of respondents to a survey in their 20s identifying with the practice, reflecting a less-motivated workforce more focused on work-life balance.
Israel protests after Kyoto inn seeks war crime declaration from tourist
A street in Kyoto in March 2023. An Israeli tourist was asked to sign a document stating that he had not committed war crimes when he checked in at a Kyoto guesthouse in April, prompting a response from Israel's ambassador.
U.S. and Ukraine sign resources deal after fraught negotiations
The United States and Ukraine signed a minerals deal on Wednesday, offering a measure of assurance to officials in Kyiv.
Puzzling decisions and opaque rankings are all part of sumo's charm
Chiyoshoma (right) battles Churanoumi during the New Year Basho in Tokyo in January. The Mongolian's drop down the sumo rankings ahead of the May tournament was one of the biggest surprises of the latest banzuke.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami
A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
CDP submits bill proposal on separate surnames, but challenges remain
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan lawmakers speak to reporters in parliament on Wednesday after submitting a bill in the Lower House to allow married couples to retain different surnames.
Puzzling decisions and opaque rankings are all part of sumo's charm
Chiyoshoma (right) battles Churanoumi during the New Year Basho in Tokyo in January. The Mongolian's drop down the sumo rankings ahead of the May tournament was one of the biggest surprises of the latest banzuke.
North Korea's Kim sets sights on nuclear-armed navy
An unidentified weapons system is fired from the deck of North Korea's latest destroyer, the Choe Hyon, during two days of tests on Monday and Tuesday in this undated photo released Wednesday.
Single, or not? Japanese dating app launches relationship verification system
Tapple, one of Japan's most popular dating apps, has launched the nation's first feature to verify a user's single status via their My Number card.
Counting the reasons why there are so few American cars in Japan
Tesla's store in Tokyo's Shibuya district. While sales of American cars in Japan appear to be shrinking, Tesla's presence in the country is growing.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami
By Alex K.T. Martin

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