9ball sound more like emo than the Beat Crusaders, but hey. To me, they are kind of almost a Japanese version of the Ordinary Boys (I love the qualifiers in this sentence). I hear a bit of Ted Leo in them as well. Nothing too fancy, a three piece just playing rock […]
Hey, ho, let’s go j-punk rocking. These guys from Pet look the part of a punk band and play fast and hard guitar driven rock as well. This album kicks off with a fast, fun little song called “I wanna be your toy” that hearkens back to Iggy and the Stooges doing “I […]
The first j-rock album I will write about is the Beat Crusader’s P.O.A. ~ Pop on Arrival ~. The Beat Crusaders have a strong power punk feel, kind of an off-kilter American pop punk band like Blink 182, but with keyboards and more of a polished pop style. Somebody on Amazon.com threw […]
Tokyo is an expensive city. It is not a place to pick up new hobbies, as they will undoubtedly be expensive. Fortunately and unfortunately for me, during one of our forays into the Shinjuku streets last week we ended up at a record shop selling j-rock, j-pop, j-punk, j-hip hop and who knows […]
Our friends Brina an Darin hosted their usual summer party extravaganza today. Lots of food and fun. With beer and other drinks. They even had a “Burning Man”, whose flaming remains can be seen below.
Ok. Mission accomplished. Stay up past 8pm.
I lasted until 11pm thanks to the Red Bull. Now I am beginning to worry that I won’t be able to get to sleep.
I am back in Seattle. I have had an extra long Friday or perhaps two Fridays. I left Tokyo at 3.15pm on Friday and arrived in Seattle at 8am on Friday. I lost my Sunday last weekend, so one Sunday equals two Fridays.
I got some sleep on the plan, but […]
Today is my last day in Tokyo. I will be checking out of the hotel this morning and taking the “limousine bus” to Narita Airport. The bus was recommended for two reasons - see different parts of the city and not have to carry all my bags to the train station. […]
I visited the Shinjuku Gyoen this morning. I got there just before they opened, which meant I got to wonder around by myself for nearly an hour. I saw one other guy, a couple, a grounds-keeper and two security guards.
It was weird to be so alone. As I walked to […]
