The Decemberist Concert and Globalization

今晩　友達と「The Decemberists」の コンサートに行きました。　とても楽しかった。

The reason I bring up The Decemberists is that their new album is entitled The Crane Wife. It is named so because this album was inspired by the Japanese folktale. Some of the members of the band studied the shamisen and learned to play it to understand Japanese music and the culture behind this tale. This was an interesting merger because The Decemberists have a sound that is far more reminiscent of Scottish folk music mixed with good old rock from Glasgow and a nice London sound--a bit more 90's than modern. Their title song was broken into 3 songs and has more of an air of kunstlieder meets volkslieder. Their instrumentation is interesting as they use anything from accordions, hurdy-gurdies, and foot organs to violins, mandolins, and double basses to more traditional drum sets, electric guitars, and electric bass. It was charming to hear the edition of Japanese instruments in their concert. It is wholly American in delivery but it was nice to see how Japanese culture has affected American culture. Who can deny the large effect Akira Kurosawa's music has on today's Hollywood movies. Or lesser known Japanese musicians such as Yukari Fresh on the techno scene. As much as the United States leads the world in shaping it to it's own cultural standards--in some strange sort of hegemonic stability--it is as important to look towards Japan's culture, the pop culture in particular--to the way entertainment and artistic expression is enjoyed and conducted today.

Midterms, Podcasts, and Insomnia, Oh My!

This week has been, for the lack of a better word, trying. I'm sure it's been exhausting for most--particularly the first years--and rest and solace is still only at the corner of our eyes. I will be denied further sleep because I must play host to a group of beautiful girls that have decided to pay me a visit. They're old high school friends. I love them all dearly, but I wish the timing was a little better. Hard to be a good host when you know your worst midterm is just upon the horizon.

So far, I haven't really slept. I think the sleep I get is from the moments I temporarily lose consciousness, be it five seconds or be it five minutes. It's unhealthy and I have completely lost track of time--it's really just all merging together. I firmly look forward to when I will be, once again, in the sweet, tender embrace of my star-crossed lover, Sleep.

Still, this lack of sleep has provided me great opportunities and experiences. On Tuesday night, I went out drinking with some friends that have all worked in radio--some of them work for NBC--and had a chance to grill them about what would make for a good broadcast. They told me that, due to being it being a podcast, FCC rules did not apply. They told me that though these are very general guidelines and seem rather obvious, they are important to any show:

1. Know what to say and how to say.

This doesn't seem like a person would have a problem with it, but people waste time on broadcasts with pauses such as "um" and "but" and long pauses of silence--in this class it would probably be "eeto" and "ano." It is better to read off a printed script than to waste the time of the listener.

2. Remember the audience can't see you or what is going around you.

Once again, this seems obvious but it can lead to a lot of problems. It leads into esoteric conversation that require visual cues. It also causes the problem of saying something along the lines of: "Oh my gosh, that was hilarious! Bob just did the funniest thing. You had to have seen it!" The audience does not care if they can't see it.

3. Be aware of your audience.

Certain programs are geared towards different groups. Being aware of the audience requires keeping in mind that tangential conversation can be useful but only if it is relevant to the topic at hand.

4. Time management.

This involves smooth segue between pieces of music or conversation, etc. This also relates back to not stalling for time. It is more difficult to maintain the attention of the audience when they do not have visuals to focus on.

_____________________________

They were nice enough to suggest different things, which are not necessary but nice:

1. Cultivate a personality.

Don't fake a personality, but, rather, accent your personality. Stress aspects of you that express your personality, particularly if it relates to the show. The importance of personality is in the fact that people can't see you and must judge you upon your voice, delivery, and broadcast personality. Faking a personality produces the effect of turning people away. It's not pleasant and it's insincere.

2. Interesting information.

It's always good to do research on the topic and introduce relevant information to the dialogue. This allows the audience to feel that it has come away with more information and makes the topic more applicable to a larger audience.

__________________________

I would like to thank my friends for their input and advice upon the topic of what makes for a good broadcast--I cannot take the credit for their work. So, once again, thank you!

Response to Tokyo Music Festival

とうきょうミュージックファスティバルで　Hifana とMighty CrownとPez とAun をききました。　　どんな音楽てすかな。　　テックノ　「Techno」　と　ロック　「Rock」　です。　　このライブはとても楽しかった。

Japanese and Music

Recently, I have had the pleasure of expanding my Japanese use to the realm of music. I usually go to St. Marks Place on Tuesdays and karaoke at Sing Sing. I didn't think I'd ever use my Japanese there, but the service is much faster when I speak to the employees in Japanese. My only problem with a lot of Japanese music is that it's technically sound, but it lacks soul. They will never mess up the rhythm and the beats are always matched, but there is an emptiness that seems find its source in something more mechanical than human. Not to say that all Japanese music is like that--the older stuff is amazing. Still, it feels like a person who learns from the Suzuki method: all ability and no soul.

Tonight was completely different. I went to visit a friend down in Harlem where I went to one of the few old remaining Jazz pubs from the Harlem Renaissance. June Bug was playing (he's a guy that works in the pit at the musical, The Color Purple) and he was awesome as always. But the opening act was this sweet little Japanese lady. When she walked in, we stared at each other like strange cats in the same room. It's not common to say Asian people at such a Jazz place and even more unlikely that they'd run into each other. The lady was a Japanese folk singer and though there was a language barrier with most of the patrons, they still loved what they heard. It was a very simple sound but amazingly deep. It was a modernized Japanese folk style, but there was something that went to a more primal core. I spoke to her in Japanese and she was amazed and asked me if I was Japanese, which I promptly corrected. Still, I had a lot of fun talking to this amazing lady while networking over some deals to make a new radio station to promote a second Harlem Renaissance.

That's the beauty of music, it transcends language and cultures. I'm just waiting for some of my favorite Japanese bands to come back to New York. It'd be awesome to see the Pillows in concert again. I wish Nicotine would make it out to the States.

Outtings

今晩　私はBelgian のビールを買いにLower East Side にいきました。　　すごっく高いけどすごっくおいしですよ。

とうきょうミュージックフェスティバルはおもしろかったです。　　好きな音楽はたくさんありました。

Tokyo Music Festival

I don't know if anyone reads this, but there's a Tokyo Music Festival (though there isn't really that many Japanese bands performing) at Central Park on Saturday, September 30th. Admission is free.

Japanese Drama

This is more in response to さとう先生 (sorry, I don't know the kanji for your name).

I watch an unhealthy amount of Japanese and Korean dramas. I think some dramas don't translate well due to cultural differences of the West and the East, but this affords a chance to compare cultures. 「電車男」と「いま、会いにゆきます」 are being remade into American movies, so it might be interesting to compare those against the upcoming American versions. Some of the more violent movies like Battle Royale (in production) and The Grudge and The Ring remakes are already quite different from their original Japanese versions. Whereas a Korean drama might do well in Japan and a Japanese drama do well in China, leaving Asia changes a lot of situations that are more distinct to Asian culture.

Personally, I wouldn't mind rewatching a lot of old Japanese dramas like Summer Snow and 「野ブタ。をプロデュース」 or even the newer movies like 「ハチミツとクローバー」 and Death Note.

Now I'm going to watch 電車男DX (another special episode of the drama).

Another trip through Japanese

This class is more like a refresher course than anything else. Due to a series of events, I was unable to continue with the Japanese program, but could not take the course off sequence, so here I am again. It's a great way to get back to the basics and make a firmer foundation for further development in Japanese.

The most interesting element to this course is the relative youth of the course and an almost unanimous interest in Japanese games and animation--not that I'm a stranger to them. When I first studied Japanese, I was dating a Japanese TA who would teach me random words and phrases so I could talk to her friends. Unfortunately, this informal education would teach me nothing useful in the academic sense, but I can at least understand enough of a television program or a video game that I don't have to wait for it to be translated--if it ever gets translated.

It also helps to talk to my grandparents. My grandparents grew up in a Korea that was under Japanese rule--a large root for Korean and Japanese tension over the years. The interesting thing is that, far from being bitter, they love Japanese culture. Most of the toys and cartoons I grew up watching in Korea and America came from my grandfather's business trips to Japan--I didn't even realize it was called "anime" or "japanimation" until I was well into high school. So any intial interest in the language comes from them. At least it provides an entertaining conversation where I speak to them in a confusing mixture of Korean, Japanese, and English.

There are still remains of Japanese rule in current Korean culture. It's fascinating to see when certain words are exactly the same in both languages and even the subtle differences in things like the tea ceremonies of both countries. In a way, studying Japanese is a way to fill in the missing gaps to my own Korean heritage.

Of course, these are all just justifications. I merely want to be able to read untranslated Japanese literature and watch Japanese dramas (such as 結婚できない男）.

Slow slip into senility and other alliterations

It's been frustrating that I could not remember my own login name. So I've had to create a brand new blog to make up for the other one.

I'll come up with something when I'm less frustrated by this whole process.