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Your Guide to Design and Pop Culture in Tokyo

Codex 53

Codex 53

A new episode of the Codex (53) is up, a tribute to the Beastie Boys, a group I’ve had a great deal of love for throughout my life.

Radio OK Fred – Magazine Library (May 4, 2012)

Radio OK Fred - Magazine Library (May 4, 2012)

And here is our second live session of Radio OK Fred, recorded earlier tonight at the Magazine Library 10 exhibition in Daikanyama — download yesterday’s episode here. Our guest this time was Luis Mendo, who not only contributed designs and illustrations to the exhibition (flyers, website), but is also participating in the form of a few workshops, in collaboration with TOO MUCH magazine — the first one is tomorrow (Saturday, May 5, from 11:00) and involves the creation of City Reports. You’ll hear the interview we did with Luis later in the episode, and of course there’s music selections throughout. The last live episode of Radio OK Fred will happen next week, on Saturday, May 12 (from around 17:00).

Radio OK Fred 25 (71.4MB)

Radio OK Fred – Magazine Library (May 3, 2012)

Radio OK Fred - Magazine Library (May 3, 2012)

Yes, after what feels like a hiatus that has gone on forever (since 2010, actually), we were back tonight with a brand new episode of Radio OK Fred, recorded live at Hillside Terrace in Daikanyama, as part of the Magazine Library 10 exhibition. Our special guest was Antonin Gaultier (Digiki) who talked about his recently launched digital magazine De Rigueur, and who also contributed a few musical selections to the mix. It’s a longish episode (about 90 minutes), and you can download it from the link below (I may add the complete tracklist later). We will be back tomorrow night for another live recording (Friday, May 4, from around 17:00 to 19:00), and then again on Saturday, May 12. And yes, our RSS feed is still active, so subscribe to make sure to get the next few episodes.

Radio OK Fred 24 (75MB)

Radio OK Fred Returns, Live!

Magazine Library

As I teased the other day, after a hiatus of a couple of years, Radio OK Fred is back this week, live! The Magazine Library 10 exhibition runs May 3-13 at Hillside Terrace in Daikanyama, and me, Audrey, and Yoshi are reuniting for 2 live editions of Radio OK Fred this week, on Thursday and Friday evening (May 3 and 4). We will be starting around 17:00-30, and each show will go for 1-2 hours. It will be a mix of music selections and interviews with special guests, so if you’re around please drop by and come say hi, we’d love to chat with you! There are also plans to do an extra edition on Saturday, May 12, and I’m have more details later about the time.

Codex 52

Codex 52

A new episode of the Codex (52) is up, for your listening pleasure. As I mention on the show — which I also did in my post about the next PauseTalk — if you like the Codex, then you’ll probably dig our live sessions of Radio OK Fred, happening next week, on May 3 and 4 at Hillside Terrace in Daikanyama as part of the Magazine Library 10 exhibition.

Codex 51

Codex 51

As I promised earlier, here’s a new episode of the Codex (51). Just a bunch of great tunes to prop you up on this gray and rainy Tokyo weekend.

Who Doesn’t Love Posters?

PechaKucha Posters Tumblr

I know it’s been slow going these days here, and oh how I wish I could share with you some of the cool things we’re developing on the PechaKucha front, but that’ll have to wait for a bit. One fun little thing I did the other day was to put together a Tumblr blog to just share PechaKucha Night posters, as I thought it would be great to see them all together up on a wall like that. It only includes posters from 2012 (so for the past 2 and half months), and I’ll keep updating it with new ones I receive.

I know I haven’t put up the last PauseTalk participants list yet, but I’ll do that soon, and in the meantime, you can have a look at photos by Michael, up on Facebook.

I haven’t had time for much else, but I do hope to record a new episode of the Codex tonight, and over on Warren Ellis’ blog, you’ll find a few thoughts I shared with him on the topic of magazines.

Despite this gray and rainy weekend, it really does feel like warmer spring weather is just around the corner, which should mean my bike life will become active again — can’t wait.

Codex 50

Codex 50

Here we are, episode 50 of the Codex, and to mark the occasion I’ve decided to spotlight one band, and for anyone who has been listening regularly to the show, it should come as no suprise that it’s The Pixies. They remain my favorite band to this day, and so here’s a collection of 10 tracks that I love (but as I warn on the show, I wouldn’t necessarily call them my favorites, since there are just too many tracks that I love so much). Hope you enjoy it, whether you’re a fan of the band or not, and if you’ve been listening to the show for a while, thanks for sticking around.

This is the second of my personal projects that reaches the number 50 — last year PauseTalk had its 50th edition — and this year also marks my 10th anniversary of blogging. I can’t speak to the quality of everything I do, but dammit, I’m pretty proud of the fact that I’ve been consistent with all of these things.

Codex 49

Codex 49

A new episode of my Codex podcast is up (49), for your enjoyment. Yes, that means the next episode is the momentous no. 50, and I do know what I will do — you can possibly guess if you know a thing or two about my musical tastes.

Codex 48

Codex 48

After a month’s hiatus — due to my flu and then a nagging cough — here’s episode 48 of the Codex, for your listening pleasure.

TOKYO X CREATIVES

If you regularly check the participants list of PauseTalk events, then you’ve probably spotted the name Niko Lanzuisi quite a few times. A regular at the events, he’s a very talented filmmaker, and he’s been working on a few different video projects over the past year, and the latest is called TOKYO X CREATIVES. The idea is to create a series of shorts, with each focusing on one Tokyo creative — I’ll humbly add that I will be one of the initial six interviewees. Included in this post are the two first video teasers, and there are four more to come. Niko is actually trying to shop these around, to get some funding to continue doing them, so if you like what you see help spread the word (or if you’re a production company or publisher, get in touch with Niko).

The trailer above is for the interview with UAMOU creator Ayako Takagi, and the one below features chiptune artist OMODAKA performing at last month’s FAMIMODE event — you’ll find more details on each of the video’s Vimeo pages.

Codex 47

Codex 47

A new episode of the Codex is up (47), featuring another eclectic mix of tracks. Please enjoy.

 

Codex 46

Codex 46

Two episodes in two nights? Sometimes, that’s what happens. So following last night’s indie game music episode (45), I just recorded and released another episode of the Codex (46), this time with tracks that mostly revolve around two of my favorite artists, Mark Robinson and Fugazi.

Codex 45

Codex 45

There’s a new episode of the Codex up (45), and it’s an all-gaming episode, featuring music from a bunch of great indie games. The post on the Codex site includes links to all the games, as well as links to their soundtracks. And let me remind you that you can now follow the Codex on Twitter and on Facebook.

 

Codex 44

Codex 44

A new episode of the Codex is up (44), and again, unfortunately there’s a bit of static that pops up when I talk (even though I tested things before recording and it was fine). Losing patience with Nicecast, and I may have to find yet another solution.

Also, please note that Codex now has its own Facebook page, and is on Twitter (@codex_podcast), so two more ways to be updated when new episodes are released.

PauseTalk

PauseTalk is a regular series of events that take place at Cafe Pause on the first Monday of every month, with a start time of 20:00. The idea is to create a forum where Tokyo-based creatives can get together and discuss their own projects, as well as cultural currents of the city. The next edition happens June 4.

We hereby define a new term, that of the magaziner, described as a person who exerts an unhealthy amount of love for all things magazine. The Magaziner is a site that mostly focuses on the intersection between magazines and the digital frontier, and what it means for the medium. This does not preclude the inclusion of a healthy amount of print love.

Codex is a weekly music podcast hosted by Jean Snow, recorded in Tokyo. Playlists for all episodes are posted on the site, and you can subscribe to RSS feeds of posts and episodes.

Jean Snow is a contributor to Arcade Mania, your guide to the arcade gaming scene in Japan (Amazon US/Amazon Japan). He also provided assistance on Tokyolife: Art and Design, a guide to Tokyo's cultural output of the past few years, covering the works of over 80 influential creatives.
He will be contributing to the upcoming fifth editions of The Rough Guide to Tokyo and The Rough Guide to Japan, due for release in 2011.

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Jean Snow is Executive Director of the PechaKucha organization. He also helps run the PechaKucha Night in Tokyo -- please get in touch if you are interested in presenting at a future event. For a more intimate salon-like discussion group, join him at his monthly PauseTalk event.

A longtime resident of Tokyo, he lives and breathes design, pop culture, and gaming, sustained by an unhealthy addiction to magazines and frequent visits to his favorites cafes. He has reported on these obsessions for various online/offline publications, including the following: Time, Inside (Australian Design Review), Gizmodo, Gridskipper, Kotaku, 1UP, Tokyo Q, Superfuture, OK Fred, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, I.D. (International Design), Metropolis, Azure, MoCo Loco, Kateigaho International Edition, Wired's Game|Life, PingMag, CNNGo, Phaidon, and The Japan Times.

You can subscribe to an RSS feed of this site, and also follow him on Twitter and Facebook, or get in touch by email.

 

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The "Jean Snow" logo is written using the free Kirimomi Swash typeface. The "M31" logo is by Ian Lynam, and is part of a series of 31 unique designs. The site's design is based on the Grid Focus WordPress theme by Derek Punsalan.

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