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Codex 07

Yes, it was just last night that I uploaded episode 6 of the Codex, but here we are the following day with not one, but two new episodes, or rather a show in two parts featuring special guest graphic designer PMKFA (Micke Thorsby). We recorded over at Micke’s home as he prepared dinner for both of us — over a a lot of wine — and that would explain why Micke’s voice is often low (it sounded good when we tested over headphones). You can download part 2 here (both episodes really belong together), and I’ll eventually be posting some photos of the session, as well as the recipes of what we ate.

Below is the link to the episode, as well as the playlist, and you can also subscribe to the RSS feed so as not to miss any future episodes — it’s on the iTunes Store too.

Codex 07 (61.3MB)

1. Babe Rainbow – “UP by OFWGFTA”
2. Golden Birthday – “Exposed”
3. Marcus Price – “Surf (Hedmark Remix)”
4. Teen Daze – “Four More Years”
5. Small Black – “Despicable Dogs (Washed Out Remix)”
6. Star Slinger – “Elizabeth Fraser (Cocteau Twins Rework)”
7. Salem – “King Night”
8. How to Dress Well – “Decisions (Feat. Yuksel Arslan)”
9. Cam’ron – “Yo Momma On Ya (Feat. Snoop Dogg & Jim Jones)”
10. Paper Route Gangstaz – “Bama Gettin’ Money (Feat. Kristmas, Mali Boi & Big P.O.P.E.)

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Meta Music

Codex 06

This week’s episode of Codex (06) comes a bit early as I wanted to get a regular show in the can before heading to the home of PMKFA (graphic designer Micke Thorsby) tomorrow to record a special episode in which he’ll be the selector. This episode also includes the very first Codex Coda, which as I explained before, are short sets by people I’ve invited to contribute. This first one is by London-based art director/graphic designer Michael Bojkowski — keep an eye also on Michael’s Linefeed site, as that’s where he posts new episodes of his Antimix podcast.

You’ll find the link to download the show below, along with the complete playlist, and you can also subscribe to an RSS feed so as not to miss any future episode — the show is on the iTunes Store too.

Codex 06 (48.3MB)

1. Arling & Cameron – “Open”
2. Quincy Jones – “It’s My Party (Feat. Amy Winehouse)”
3. Brasstronaut – “Hearts Trompet”
4. Matt & Kim – “Cameras (Mike D Remix)”
5. Lykke Li – “Get Some (Mike D Remix)”
6. Stereolab – “Two Finger Symphony”
7. The Streets – “Going Through Hell (Diplo Remix)”
8. Yacht – “Psychic City (Classixx Remix)”
9. Wave Machines – “Keep the Lights On”

Codex Coda 01 by Michael Bojkowski

1. Lene Lovich – “I Think We’re Alone Now (Japanese Version)”
2. The Zombies – “Come on Time”
3. Cotton Candy – “Fantastic & Spectacular”

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Meta

Why I Don’t Tweet About Japan

I just posted something on SNOW Magazine about Momus‘ latest podcast, in which he talks about his new life in Osaka — he has recently relocated to the city. Momus used to do a lot of these talk-only podcasts, often recording them as he was walking around a city (Tokyo, New York, Berlin) describing the things he was experiencing. I really loved these “virtual tours,” and it even inspired me to do a few of my own.

Now in this new one — which he says “may” turn into a series, which I hope so — he mentions me, saying how he used to follow my blog back in the day, and he says how it’s interesting that when you look at pretty much all of the tweeting I do these days — which is admittedly a lot — that there is barely ever any mention of anything Japan-related. Now one thing that should be obvious is that I’ve moved all of my Japan-related art/design/culture content to SNOW Magazine, and the accompanying Twitter account, but there is something to what he says.

Momus states that it’s possible that after a foreigner has been here for long enough — I’ve been here for 10+ years — he starts losing interest in the things around him, and I can’t entirely disagree. I’m certainly no longer intrigued or surprised by the differences between Japan and other cultures. These have become routine for me. But I will admit that over the years my interests have evolved, and I’ve taken a bigger interest in things that lie outside of this country — you could probably count recent projects I’ve launched, like Codex and The Magaziner, as a reflection of this.

There was certainly a long period time where I was so obsessed and in love with all of the things I was seeing and experiencing in Japan that yes, it pretty much made up everything I was absorbing in terms of daily culture. But the past few years have seen me re-connecting with what’s happening in the rest of the world, and it has changed my perspective on things. Now, this is not to say that I don’t genuinely like what I cover on SNOW Magazine — I really do — but it’s also something I produce as a “project” now. As a whole, I’m just not as excited or intrigued by Japanese culture (meaning in art, design, culture, and more) as I used to be. Now whether this is due to me turning jaded or because of a general decline in what is being produced on the cultural landscape, that’s a topic for another post.

Does this mean I lose my Tokyo Boy crown?

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Events Meta

Reminder on the PauseTalk Hiatus

Just a reminder in case you’re wondering whether there’s a PauseTalk tomorrow night (Monday, December 6) — no, there isn’t. As I mentioned in my write-up following the previous edition, we’re taking a two-month break (December/January), and will be back February 7.

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Meta Music

Codex 05

It was Saturday night, around 2:00, which of course (I guess) was a perfect time to record a new episode of Codex (5). For this episode I decided to use a theme, and it’s a rather simple one: A selection of tacks taken from albums with titles that start with the letter “A” — I explain why on the show.

You’ll find the link to download below, as well as the playlist, and you can also subscribe to the RSS feed so as not to miss any episodes. Note that Codex is now also listed in the iTunes Store.

Codex 05 (42.5MB)

1. Flin Flon – “Ukraina”
2. France Galle – “Les yeux bleus”
3. Delicatessen Mixture – “Aguas de Agosto (Sunaga t’ Experience)”
4. Guided by Voices – “My Valuable Hunting Knife”
5. Matthew Sweet – “Time Capsule”
6. Sketch Show – “Wonderful to Me”
7. Taichi – “RPM”
8. Radiohead – “Pyramid Song”
9. Sufjan Stevens – “Dear Mr Supercomputer”
10. Melissa Auf des Maur – “Real a Lie”

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Where to Find Me

Every month or so, Warren Ellis puts out a post on his site in which he explains where you can find him on the web and elsewhere — sort of a monthly updated FAQ on what he’s up to — and I figure I should do one as well, since I’m sure that someone who has just arrived to my site for the first time might have trouble understanding what exactly I’m up to these days.

First off, this week saw the launch of my latest project, The Magaziner, a new site that will cover the growing push of magazine into the digital world — something I’ve been covering here for a couple of months now, but realized it made more sense to create a proper space for it. It is also accompanied by a Twitter account, which I’m now using for my magazine-related tweets, and has a Facebook fan page too.

Last month I also launched a new weekly music podcast I call Codex. It’s usually me playing a selection of 10 tracks, but I’ll have the occasional themed shows (like the next one), guest episodes (soon), and I’m also going to start adding what I call the Codex Coda, short guest mixes. You can download all previous episodes here and subscribe to an RSS feed — it’s in the iTunes Store too.

Radio OK FRED is the long-running music podcast series I do with Editions OK FRED‘s Yoshi Tsujimura and Audrey Fondecave, and although it’s been on yet another extended break (apologies for that), it still pops up every once in a while, and I’m hoping we’ll be able to make 1 or 2 new episodes this month.

Then there’s PauseTalk, my monthly creative talk event that takes place at Cafe Pause here in Ikebukuro. We’re on a bit of a break this month and the next (due to the holiday slowdown), and so the next edition will take place February 7. If you’ve never been there, it’s a very casual salon-like atmosphere, where a bunch of “creatives” basically get together and discuss topics that affect us, share projects, ask for advice, etc.

SNOW Magazine is the natural extension that was launched at the start of the year for all of the Tokyo/Japan-related art/design/culture coverage I used to do on this blog for many, many years. Although most of the content is provided by me, it does include the occasional guest columns and feature. SNOW also has a presence on Facebook and Twitter.

That means that this place, JeanSnow.net, is again a hub for all of my activities, so don’t come looking for Japan-related news, really. I’m on Twitter as well — where some say I actually tweet too much — and of course Facebook.

On the book side of things, while I’ll remind you that my previous contributions — Arcade Mania and Tokyolife — make for great holiday gifts, next up will be the release early next year of the fifth editions of The Rough Guides to Tokyo and Japan.

And although it doesn’t get updated as much as I’d like, my little gaming corner — simply called GAME — still features a host of games that I like a lot. I’ll try and get back to adding a few each month.

The PLAY series, where I would spin virtual discs at Cafe Pause every once in a while, is also on hiatus, and I think it has pretty much been taken over by Codex. I actually want to occasionally record some live Codex shows from the cafe.

You can also still catch my monthly design column for The Japan Times, “On Design,” which is published on the last Thursday of every month. It focuses on product design, and each one usually has me recommending five new items. I also contributed two items to the Japan Timesholiday gift guide piece, which was published today.

And even though I don’t really contribute anything in the written sense, I would say that I’m a “spiritual” contributor to Néojaponisme, David Marx‘s web journal that covers social and cultural aspects of Japan, which explains my editor-at-large title. Although the site has slowed down a bit this year in terms of new content, expect a bunch of great year-end reflections to appear later this month.

I’m also a proud member of Luis Mendo’s Goodfellas Network, and more specifically part of the GOOD Inc. Japan team. If you’re looking for a terrific group of people to work on a magazine-related project (print or digital), then please get in touch.

Last, but CERTAINLY not least, I continue my work as Executive Director of PechaKucha, where my role is mostly behind-the-scenes, but I also provide a public face through the PechaKucha Daily blog, and on Twitter. Local PKN organizers from around the world are the people I mostly deal with, but do feel free to get in touch if you have any questions regarding all things PechaKucha, whether it’s about holding a one-off PK event, starting a regular PKN series in your city, or anything else you may have on your mind. Since the organization is run as a non-profit, sponsorship enquiries and collaborations are also VERY welcome!

So there you have it, and if all of this wasn’t enough, do feel free to email me with any question you may have.

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Meta Music

Codex Now on iTunes Store

Just a note to say that Codex, my weekly music podcast, is now listed in the iTunes Store, which means that you can download episodes from there, as well as subscribe — here’s the magic link.

And speaking of the show, the playlist for the next episode is all done — it’s going to be a themed episode, first in a series — and you’ll also soon see the new December color combo for the cover.

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Magazines Meta Technology Web

The Magaziner

I gotta say I’m getting a kick out of this: In the past 24 hours I conceived of a site, a name, bought the domain, got it working, installed WordPress, imported posts from this site, found a theme that I modded to my liking, and have now launched my latest project, something I’m calling The Magaziner. What’s a magaziner you ask? Here’s my made-up answer:

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.

It all started last night when I was reading a comment on Facebook by Craig Mod, who suggested that all of the magazine-related coverage I’ve been doing over the past couple of months is getting lost within the rest of what I post here. I think he made a good point — and god knows I have a lot of respect and admiration for what he’s accomplished over the past year or so — and so I decided to launch a new site that would be exclusively for all of the magazine stuff. Expect the same kind of coverage you’ve been seeing here — commentary, news, new release announcements, reviews — that weighs heavily on the emerging digital side of the magazine publishing industry, something I’m quite passionate about (although I do still love my lovely print publications, thank you very much).

So this site returns to being a hub for news on me and all of my various projects, which on top of The Magaziner includes Codex, my new weekly music podcast, Radio OK Fred, SNOW Magazine, PauseTalk, and other fun stuff. Hope you’ll continue to follow what I’m up to here, and if you really enjoyed the magazine coverage, then please head on over to The Magaziner — and you can of course subscribe to an RSS feed. There’s a Twitter account too (@the_magaziner) that I’ll be using to post magazine-related news as well.

Oh, and one more thing about The Magaziner, please consider this a beta version of the site. As I said at the top of this post, it all came together rather fast, so over the coming weeks I’m sure I’ll be changing things here and there, fixing things I missed, and maybe coming up with new features or sections to add.