Tag - rock

 
 

ROCK

Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Jun 8, 2017
Tilt toward domestic acts risks watering down uniqueness of Japan's big music fests
Japan's 2017 summer music festival landscape has mostly settled into place. The Fuji Rock Festival, after an upbeat 20th anniversary last year, kicked up excitement thanks to a top-heavy bill headlined by Gorillaz, Aphex Twin and Bjork, along with the promise of more left-field fare down in the smaller...
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Jun 2, 2017
Cubans rock to once-censored Beatles at Havana tribute concert feting 'Sgt. Pepper's' 50th anniversary
Communist-run Cuba, which once frowned upon the Beatles as a decadent Western influence, on Thursday held an open-air covers concert in a Havana park to celebrating 50 years since the release of the band's landmark album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 26, 2017
What's in a name? Just ask Cairophenomenons
When a band changes its name, it sometimes signifies a switch in artistic direction. For indie band Cairophenomenons — previously known as Cairo — the decision was far more practical, even if the new moniker is a bit of a mouthful.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 26, 2017
Review: WagakkiBand at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium
The only way WagakkiBand could be more Japanese is if Scarlett Johansson was playing the part of the singer.
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Feb 26, 2017
Music venue Three tries to up its numbers
Tokyo's independent live music scene has always been somewhat dysfunctional.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 15, 2017
Paellas aim to redefine the sound of 'now'
Fitting into the sound of the moment while still standing apart from it can be a tricky thing to do. Paellas guitarist Satoshi Anan says he wanted the feeling of "now" to come out on his band's newest album, "Pressure."
CULTURE
Dec 30, 2016
The top entertainment stories of 2016
The Japan Times newsroom selected these culture stories as the most important of 2016.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 4, 2016
Just say Yes to a new generation of prog rockers
Few rock bands from the 1960s are still going strong today, and fewer still have been as musically adventurous as prog rockers Yes. Formed in London in 1968, the outfit has survived numerous lineup changes, but the death last year of bassist Chris Squire left an especially large hole in the group after...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 27, 2016
Alabama Shakes take a risk that pays off in 'Sound & Color'
With their blended appearance and a sound steeped in soul yet born of the millennial rock scene, Alabama Shakes could symbolize a post-racial dream that, as the recent U.S. election shows, remains a work in progress.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Nov 27, 2016
A reading list for Japan's music scene
Sometime in the spring of 2014, a friend of mine who works for a small publishing company asked if I would write a book about the Japanese music scene for him.
CULTURE / Music
Nov 20, 2016
Ogre You Asshole flirts with tension on latest album
The members of Ogre You Asshole are bracing for something. At least, that's what the title of their seventh album, "Handoru o Hanasu Mae Ni" ("Before Letting Go of the Handle") suggests. (The album's official English title is the less tense "Everythingsomethingnothing.")
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 7, 2016
Hard Rock betting Japan will OK casinos, plans 'major investment'
Hard Rock Cafe International Inc. is prepared to make a "major investment" in Japan as lawmakers propose to renew the debate on legalizing casinos in the country.
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Oct 30, 2016
Mama's Tattoo event pushes women to write new narratives
Deep in Tokyo's indie music hub of Shimokitazawa, the twin venues of Three and Basement Bar often play host to some of the most diverse and offbeat expressions of Japan's underground music culture.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 17, 2016
Dylan surpassed Whitman as the American poet
Bob Dylan has surpassed Walt Whitman as the defining American artist, celebrating the capacity for self-invention as the highest form of freedom.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 9, 2016
Crypt City turns into the alt-rock supergroup we didn't see coming
Despite what his mammoth bass guitar sound may suggest, rock band Crypt City bassist Kentaro Nakao is comically self-deprecating at times.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 14, 2016
Dinosaur Jr. to bring Tokyo a glimpse of life in 'ear-bleeding country'
Lou Barlow is looking forward to his trip back to Japan. It's the cuisine, more than anything that has him anticipating his return to the country, but it's not what you might think.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 5, 2016
Bombon fuses equal rights themes and a surf rock sound
A bit of Southern California cool hits Tokyo this week when Bombon — an all-female surf rock outfit comprised of guitarist Angela Ramos, bassist Paloma Banuelos and drummer Jerico Campbell — arrives in Japan for its first overseas tour.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 2, 2016
From Tokyo to Fuji Rock to Ulaanbaatar, every crowd is different for Roth Bart Baron
When the power cut out during Roth Bart Baron's debut Fuji Rock performance last month, its members knew exactly how to improvise.

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