Culture clash: Entertainers add weight to government protests
Judging from recent comments posted on Twitter and websites such as abe-no.net, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe doesn't appear to have endeared himself to a number of celebrities who hold plenty of sway over public opinion with regards to his moves to change the nation's ...
Southern All Stars "Budou" (Victor / Taishita) Southern All Stars don't need to try. Japan's music media and industry decided the rock quartet was historically important long ago. A 2003 poll by retailer HMV named them the most influential Japanese group ever, and plenty of ...
Kuwata's left jab has nothing on the politics of ad money
If this column is going to be about one thing in 2015, it will be politics in music. That doesn't mean politics in the limited sense of old men sleeping in a building in Nagatacho; rather it means politics in the sense of the underlying ...
Nous ne sommes pas Charlie: Voices that mock authority in Japan muzzled
Why is there no equivalent of Charlie Hebdo, "The Daily Show" or "Monty Python" in Japan?
Snark levels were on full blast for 'Kohaku'
The 2014 edition of NHK's venerated song contest, "Kohaku Uta Gassen," broadcast on Dec. 31, was remarkable for several reasons, though the performance that generated the most remarks was the one by the equally venerated pop-rock group Southern All Stars, their first on the ...
Kuwata says sorry for New Year's shows, denies political intent
Southern All Stars vocalist Keisuke Kuwata issues an apology for New Year's shows that were widely taken as a swipe at Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Southern All Stars take swipe at Abe
Shinzo Abe appeared to be in a good mood at Yokohama Arena on the night of Dec. 28. Dressed in a casual gray sweater and black trousers, the 60-year-old prime minister and his wife, Akie, were taking in a performance by the Southern All ...
Southern All Stars' latest hit delves into foreign relations
A chart-topping song by the Southern All Stars is stirring talk over its political content as Japan experiences heightened tensions with both China and South Korea over historical and territorial disputes. "Peace and Hi-lite" debuted at No. 1, selling 207,000 copies in its first week ...
Piña coladas on the beach? Your soundtrack has already been written
Writing a summer pop tune is easy. Just take an uptempo rhythm, add a catchy chorus, stir in some breezy lyrics and you have the soundtrack to a thousand summer romances and several lifetimes' worth of wistful reminiscences. Making a summer album, on the other ...
