Notes, links, coming soon!

Photo by Jonathan Perry.

Posted by Rob.

Tags:  NFTOS, Musgrave Ritual, song, free download, .m4a, music, 音楽, ã�†ã�Ÿ

An award-winning charity which supports dozens of local community groups, including the elderly, the homeless and people with mental health issues, is on the verge of closure due to a funding crisis.  http://209radio.co.uk/

The community radio station 209radio, which broadcasts on 105FM in the Cambridge area, will not see out the year, unless it can gain substantial financial support from the people of the city it serves.

209radio uses education, training and the power of radio to support many vulnerable communities. Programmes such as Homeless Truths, Making Mental Notes (mental health), Headliners (head injuries), Silver Lining (elderly and homebound) and Polish Waves are a prime example of how the charity embraces the Cambridge community.

The Homeless Truths team recently managed to raise over £600 off their own back to support the relaunch of their worldwide unique show - entirely produced and presented by homeless and vulnerably housed people.
Andrew Gardener CEO of Headway, the charity behind Headliners, explains the importance of the show:
"209radio provides a voice for a group of people with acquired brain injury to run their own radio show. I've seen the group grow in confidence, skills and be able to live independent lives once more. If we didn’t have 209radio it would be a tragic loss for a group of people who are already disadvantaged through no fault of their own."

The station has only recently announced big plans to offer more to the citizens of Cambridge in 2010, which include renaming the station to reposition itself more strongly within the Cambridge community, but it can now only survive if someone comes forward able to offer it a lifeline. Chairman of 209radio Clive Woodman is calling for support today or lose the station for good.

"We have reached a point now whereby we need stable regular financial support to help with our core costs and continue to provide this incredible and unique service to the residents and community groups of Cambridge. We are calling for anyone who can help financially to come forward now!"

We are also looking for the business community to step forward and take advantage of extremely competitive and low-cost advertising and sponsorship.

If you can help 209radio then they would be delighted to hear from you. Please contact Louise Hawes on hawes.louise@209radio.co.uk Tel: 01223 488413 / Mob: 07717 643940 or Jordan Chambers Tel: 01223 488418 / Mob: 07910 670970

Because of the title, I was expecting another of Quest's trademark chilled out tracks, but I like how this one is totally different from the others--short and sweet.

What does the title mean?
"The Sweet Science is a boxing reference. There is an old book called The Sweet Science of Bruising, and over time the term was shortened to the sweet science and is used among boxing fans." - Hayden a.k.a. Quest

Photo:  creativecommons.org, found by Hayden.

Posted by Rob.

Tags:  NFTOS, Quest, Hayden, creative commons, boxing, boxiana, bruising, sweet, science, music, download, free, .mp3, electronic, Lincoln, Nebraska, 音楽, エレクトロ, アメリカ, ãƒ�ブラスカ, ボックス

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Tune in for a 2-hour show later tonight, Japan time (I'm not going to try to do the math, you'll have to check the time zones for yourself).  If you miss it, subscribe to the podcast.

http://maltymedia.co.nz/radioshow_10nov09

They write:
Posted by Rob.

Tags:  NFTOS, Malty Media, Aquaboogie, Jet Jaguar, radio, music, program, NZ, New Zealand

Here's another track from Quest a.k.a. Hayden that I was withholding because I was planning on doing another Music From The Other Side show.  Well, I can hold it back no longer.  Here it is...

Posted by Rob.

Tags:  NFTOS, MFTOS, Quest, Hayden, Lincoln, Nebraska, music, instrumental, download, .mp3, electronic

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I've been reading some religious material lately--Angels and Demons by Dan Brown, in fact.  Pure literary crack cocaine.  Wait.  Is there an oxymoron in there somewhere?

Norvie (that's what some of his old friends call him) sent this track to me quite awhile ago, but it just felt right to me at this time. 

It is a cover song, so there's really nothing new about it, other than you've probably never heard it done by him before. 

Those of you who have heard the song before, will probably recognize the original author immediately.  If someone with existing rights to this song would like us to take it down, that's cool.  No one is making any money off of this, believe me.

Photo:  His current facebook profile pic, as of today.

Links 
You can also find Norville on myspace.com, on twitter.com and at Sucia music.

Posted by Rob.

Tags:  NFTOS, Norv, Norvie, Norville Parchment, song, music, cover, myspace, twitter

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Well, the summer is over, in the northern hemisphere at least.  Time to pack up and leave the planet. Here's another track from Jonathan Perry.

Posted by Rob.

Tags:  NFTOS, Musgrave Ritual, Jonathan Perry, music, song, download, free, Star Trek

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If you're a regular NFTOS listener / viewer / subscriber / reader / etc, then you've most likely read of Salads In Space, through NFTOS event postings. 

However, the music of Charles Billard, Jerry Gordon and Rick Tuazon, as Salads In Space, has not been uploaded for your listening pleasure here before.

This one is called Plink Plonk Muses.

Image:  Part of an art installation Charles created recently in Niigata (I believe).

Posted by Rob.

Tags:  NFTOS, Salads in Space, Charles Éric Billard, charlou, Jerry Gordon, softlogicmonkie, moontriangle, Voice Box, plink plonk, Rick Tuazon, experimental, music, homemade instruments, slitar

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Here is a brand new track by a Tokyo resident who is somewhat new on the scene.  He has a couple events coming up in September, including one in Shibuya on the 13th.  Stay tuned for details! 

You can check out more of his tunes at http://myspace.com/fullpropulsion.

Posted by Rob.

Tags:  NFTOS, Riu, Full Propulsion, psytrance, trance, techno, electronica, music, Tokyo, Chiba, Japan

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Taiyo Record are moving, but they will stay in the general Kagurazaka area. They are only moving a little way up the hill and will be one block away from Kagurazaka Street.

Tuesday, 1 September 2009, is the big day!

A message from Ryosuke Itoh:

日頃�大変�世話�����り��。
�る'�９年９月１日（�）�大洋レコード店鋪���神楽��
中�移転�る����り���。
（新宿区矢�町１６２番地 �京メトロ神楽�駅１番出�徒歩１
分）
��や���ら移転オープン�当日�振舞酒を用����������。
�忙��最中��縮��������気軽��立�寄り����れ�幸
���。

今後�も大洋レコードをよ����願�致���。

有�会社　大洋レコード
�締役　伊藤亮介

Posted by Rob.

Tags:  NFTOS, Taiyo Record, Itoh Ryosuke, Kagurazaka, Tokyo

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It's a rest day at the Tour de France.  Actually, it's a transfer day, meaning the riders and their teams have to travel--not exactly what I would prescribe as rest.

Can't think of a better opportunity though to post a new track from Quest a.k.a. Hayden!

Here's what he had to say about it:


Could Hayden-san be the next John Tesh?

Posted by Rob.

Tags:  NFTOS, MFTOS, music, .mp3, download, free, new, track, song, electronic, samples, electronica, Hayden, Lincoln, Nebraska

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Message from the song's creator:

The song is named after the surfing documentary from the 60s and translated into Spanish. I was watching it last summer and experimenting with latin flavors in Garageband. Subsequently, I was inspired by the lifestyle and quit my job to create an endless summer of my own with my boys. I hope it expresses the the emotion of summer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Endless_Summer


Random text by the editor:

Brazil has its samba, but what does America have to animate its team and fans alike at next year's World Cup?

It's called GRINGOTÓN!

That's right, you can file this new track by Quest (a.k.a. Hayden) under gringotón, the sound all the young people have been dancing to lately!  The title means 'summer without end' or 'endless summer'.

This summer promises to be long and hot, so make sure you have plenty of beverages on hand, and it would be nice if you were near a beach, right?

Well, wherever you are, you can enjoy America's new favorite sport--all you need is a round ball, a somewhat flat surface and some big speakers for your tunes (don't forget to add some Quest to your iPod before you leave the house).

Last night, the USA put on a good show against Brazil (didn't they?!), after having just barely advanced to the second round of the Confederations Cup on goal differential, only to surprise Spain in the semis:  http://www.fifa.com/confederationscup/index.html

The summer stretches out ahead of us, and only 246 days remain until the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa!

As always, stay tuned to NFTOS for football updates and more new music...

Image:  Endless by Quest.

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Endless Summer, infinity, surf, surfing logo, Quest, music, song, Latin, electronic, soccer, football, Lincoln, Nebraska

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Always one to rest on my laurels, watching the Trenchparrots climb the ReverbNation local charts for Lincoln, Nebraska, and their 'Pop' charts, has inspired me to see what can be done for The ALT Rap, which has been on the back burner for quite some time now.

Besides the 'Global' charts, The ALT Rap will also be eligible for 'Hip Hop' charts both 'Global' and 'Local' (Osaka, Japan).

TunePak: http://www.reverbnation.com/tunepak/1586473

Posted by Rob.

Tags:  NFTOS, Roberto El Gringo, John Sanders, Alex Brooke, Quest, DJ Kung-fu Grip, Charles Billard, Jerry Gordon, Anarchy Larynx Tattoo, Osaka-shi, Japan

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"The Irrepressible Urges of Spring" by The Trenchparrots is currently sitting at #14 on the ReverbNation local charts for Lincoln, Nebraska (yes, those are fake British accents they are using on most of their songs).  It climbed 56 places to #9,681 for pop, ranked globally, and moved up 222 places (!) to #145,076 global, across all genres.  

Play their TunePak and help them climb even higher!

Posted by Rob.

Tags:  NFTOS, The Trenchparrots, Pirate Stacey, Lloyd Stills, Norville Parchment, Roberto El Gringo, Footprints, Nuthin' to Say, My Ex-Girlfriend Walks In, Lincoln, Nebraska, '90s music, pop

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Here's a catchy tune by The Musgrave Ritual (a.k.a. Jonathan Perry, a former college suite mate of mine).  I recently discovered (rediscovered?) it via the facebook 'music' app, although I had probably already heard it on his myspace page sometime ago.  Obviously, I didn't get a chance to hear it well, or I would've asked him for it right away.

According to Jonathan, it is "...inspired by dozens of family camping trips to the Redwoods of Northern CA, where the weather is much different from coconut weather..." 

"And what exactly is a Musgrave Ritual?" you're probably asking right now.  Well, you need look no further than this Wikipedia page--The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual--for an explanation.

Jonathan has at least one myspace page, but the one where you can find this track has been gathering cobwebs due to robust bachelorhood (and quite possibly the advent of the facebook).  Besides his myspaces, he has a blog from which he regularly extols the virtues of Bachelorhood appropriately titled The Domesticated Bachelor. 

Posted by Rob.

Tags:  NFTOS, MFTOS, music, guitar, vocal, podcast, download, free, iTunes, Jonathan Perry, Domesticated Bachelor, Musgrave Ritual Band, The Musgrave Ritual (Wikipedia), Musgrave Ritual Band II, Bionic Monocle, Lincoln, Nebraska

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Patrick Widdess is back with an all new line-up.  "Two poets, Tim Clare and John Lyons are guesting with lots of music and poetry as usual," according to the man himself.

Tune in to Headstand Radio tonight from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. (BST) in Cambridge on 105 fm or on the Web at http://headstand.209radio.co.uk and enjoy the show!  Of course, if you are not in the UK, you'll need to add or subtract the appropriate number our hours.  Here in Tokyo, it will be on in the wee pre-breakfast hours of Thursday morning, 5:00 to 7:00 a.m.

Tim Clair  http://www.myspace.com/timclarepoet
John Lyons  http://johnlyons.org/
Patrick Widdess  http://www.patrickwiddess.co.uk

Posted by Rob.

p.s.  It took a few hours for the 'live' show to be archived.  If you couldn't find it, it's available as an archived file now.

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We haven't had any music for awhile, so I figured...

How about a dog with 3 legs but two tails?  Wait, that don't make no sense. 

How about a new twist to an old classic?  This was our first take, and I forgot a verse.  Oops.  We plan to do a multiple track recording of this, and actually recorded voice and instrument separately, but this particular recording was just done with iTalk (a mic for iPods).  John Marrese a.k.a. Momiji (I think that's the name he's going to go with for our collaborations) is on the violin.  Roberto El Gringo on vocals.

Posted by Rob.

Tags:  NFTOS, The Trenchparrots, music, song, download, cover, iTalk, iPod

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The latest Malty Media Show (Mistakes) is up and available for download.  Here's the playlist:

Nik Kershaw	Wouldn't It Be Good	1984
Neil Young	Computer Age	1981
Queen	In The Space Capsule (The Love Theme)	1981
Pierre Omaar	Sometimes	2005
William Shatner	Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds	1968
Bread	Make It With You	1970
David Byrne & Brian Eno	Mea Culpa	1981
Sugar Minott	Oh Mr DC	1979
Kraftwerk	Tongebirge	1973
	Australian Blue Stratos ad	1983
Thomas Fehlmann	Little Bighorn (Liegend)	2007
Tycoon To$h	Dolphin	2008
Valentina Hasan	Ken Lee	2008
Unagi Patrol	A Quick Drink	2001
Malty Media	Munch Bunch Thoroughly Plowed	2009
New Order	Every Little Counts	1986
Jean Michel Jarre	Equinoxe IV	1978
Montano	Sun 6 (Remix)	2009
Oval	Textuell	1996
A Guy Called Gerald	Voodoo Ray	1987
David Tua / Phil Leishman	“O For Awesome" moment on Wheel of Fortune	1980s?
Jet Jaguar	Unco Drummer	2005
	Department of Health Noise Warning	1996
Aquaboogie	Korton Call	2009
Malty Media	Hilbert Space	2009
Kelley Polar	Matter Into Energy	2005
OMD	Radiowaves	1983
Holger Czukay	Traum Mal Wieder	1984
Malty Media	Failblog.com Follies	2009
Group Five	A Go Go	2008

 
I also strongly suggest you check out (Japan) while you're at it.  They have collected some very obscure and unique tunes as well as sound samples from the streets and railways of Tokyo.

Photo:  'Mischief,' from the Japan show blog page.

Posted by Rob.

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I'm listening to the recent (Summer) radio show from Malty Media.  It was Summer there, and although the feeling may linger, it will be gone soon, if I recall from my fading memories of last year in Auckland.*

Here's the playlist:

Aquaboogie	Brown Lawn	2008
	Couple dancing at the Summer Palace, Beijing / Countryside ambience from Belgium	2006 / 2006
Sun Electric	In Vitro	1996
Aphex Twin	Ageispolis	1992
The High Llamas	Homespin Rerun (Cornelius Remix)	1998
Cocteau Twins	Feet Like Fins	1986
Miles Davis	Concierto De Aranjuez	1967
Aquaboogie / Group Five / Steve Satori / Janet H. / B. Dickinson	Aquaboogie rearrangement of Group Five's remix of Steve Satori's The Experiment based on a suggestion by Janet (feat Bruce Dickinson)	1998 / 2008 / 2009
Holden	10101	2007
Autechre	Silverside	1994
	Summer festival in Shimla, India	2008
Datsun Stereo	Rubini	2003
Unitone Hifi	Killer B	1996
The Cure	Harold & Joe	1990
Hu Vibrational	Transformation	2002
	Pontian Traditional Lyra Kemenche at the Protochori Summer Festivals 2008	2008
Malty Media / AC/DC / RHumphries @ FreeSound	Thunderous Truck	1990 / 2005 / 2009
Spiritualized	Shine A Light	1992
The Phoenix Foundation	St Kevin	2003
The Moody Blues	Nights In White Satin	1967
Aquaboogie	As yet untitled	2009
Jon Brion	Bookstore	2004
Koushik	Ride It Out	2005
Nightmares On Wax	A Night's Interlude	1996
Aquaboogie	As yet untitled	2009
Jet Jaguar	I've Got A Fist of Pure Emotion	2003

Their next show, (Mistakes) is coming up in a little less than 24 hours, at 21:00 their time zone, Tuesday evening, 17 March in Wellington.  There's even a link to a local time zone finder on their site, just in case you are globally-challenged.  Why, those clever Kiwis!

*(I've entirely missed both the Northern and Southern hemispheres' most recent Summers, and will completely lose my mind if I miss another one wherever it may be!)

Photo from their blog page.

Posted by Rob.

Tags:  NFTOS, Malty Media, Jet Jaguar, Aquaboogie, Angry Rabbit, internet radio, streaming, Kiwi, Wellington, New Zealand

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The latest Headstand is available to stream/download now from headstand.209radio.co.uk Featuring all this music and spoken word a lot of it made/recommended by members of this group. If you're interested in contributing to future shows please contact me.

-Patrick

Lion Rock - Fire Up The Shoe Saw
Beth Anderson - Ocean Motion Mildew Mind
Twink - Not enough Crayons for everyone
Geoff Coombe - Horace Odes book 3 verse 29
Nick Dominguez - Wish you were here
Keith Dersley - Rough Shoes
Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip and De La Sol - Thou Shalt Always Kill (Playdoe and DJ Fuck Remix)
The Watanabes - Love Princess*
Bo-Peep - Dancing, The People
Death From Above 1979 - blood on our hands (justice remix)
Massilia Sound System - Jovent*
George Szirtes - Water
The Fall - Frightened
Alex Iamb - Welcome to Facebook
The Kropotkins - Crazy Hannah
David Thomas and the Pedestrians - Enthusiastic
OOIOO - IOA
Peter Blegvad & Andy Partridge - Savannah
Komar and Melamid and Dave Soldier - The most wanted song
Komar and Melamid and Dave Soldier - The most unwanted song
Big City Orchestra - Have you seen me?
Travis Bowman - leave your tag
Dylan Harris - Armchair Fire Fighting (viii)
Thiaz Itch - Binjoum
Nile - Black Seeds of Vengeance
Ivor Cutler - The Shapely Balloon
The Thai Elephant Orchestra - Little Elephant Saddle
Steph Brown - And No Tea Was Made
Malty Media - Bracken Bed*

*(these three were artists/tracks recommended by NFTOS)

Photo of Patrick seen on a TV screen starring in one of our videos.

Posted by Rob.

Tags:  NFTOS, Patrick Widdess, headstand, radio, poetry, spoken word, music, Cambridge, England

How many bigs is that?  I'm streaming the latest 'Headstand' radio show with Patrick Widdess in Cambridge, England, as I type.

He kicks off the show with Dan Deacon's "Big Big Big Big Big!" which I love, but it might put some off, be warned, and never mind it.  The second track was one that I selected, and the song that almost played third was one of mine too, so I know it's going to be a GREAT SHOW!

Links, logo and more coming soon!

Posted by Rob.

A scorcher of a new mix from D.C.'s DJ D-Mac:

http://www.djdmac.com/downloads/Promophobia-vol-2/index.htm

Enjoy your weekend!

Posted by Rob.

Patrick Widdess is back with his monthly fm radio show from Cambridge, England, which features music, poetry and spoken word from all over the world. If you miss the live feed of the show, you can stream it for a month, until the next show is uploaded. The next headstand will be broadcast on Cambridge's 105 fm radio and at http://www.209radio.co.uk/shows/profile.php?show=headstand from 21:00 to 23:00 GMT, on Wednesday, 7 January. Tune in with us!

ENJOY!

Moth Conspiracy photo by Patrick.

Posted by Rob.

I've just finished listening to Patrick's Christmas edition of headstand, and as one who is not a fan of this season's music, I'd say he started off the show on the right foot by playing The Pogues' Fairy Tale of New York. 

Tune in for two hours of music and spoken word at:  headstand.209radio.co.uk

Posted by Rob.

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Patrick Widdess' latest headstand can now be heard at headstand.209radio.co.uk featuring top poets Jude Simpson, Luke Wright, Hugo Williams and J T Chameleon and all this:

The Avalanches - Frontier Psychiatrist
The Psychotic Reaction - Over-draft Blues
Bob Dylan - Subterranean Homesick Blues
Ivor Cutler - Life in a Scotch Sitting Room Vol. 2 Episode 2
Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip - Back From Hell
Syd Barrett - Baby Lemonade
Dan Jefferies and Tom Adams - Come Back
Martin Figura - I work in the Arts Now
J.A.L - Ice Climber
Salads in Space - Putting on The Moon Suits*
The Morning People - If Wishes were Horses
Half Man Half Biscuit - The Trumpton Riots
Hugo Williams - Words
Mr Scruff - Fish
Moth Conspiracy - Husband and Wife
Melt-Banana - Spathic!
Motorhead - The Ace of Spades
Norville - Clowns*
Sucia - I want my Records Back*
Cusp - Vinegar Pouch

*(Should sound familiar to regular members of the NFTOS audience)

Posted by Rob.

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Just like the flyer says, "Jerry Gordon plays small chords in a dark room," Friday, 31 October 2008 from 5:30 p.m. at Cypher Cafe in Morinomiya, Osaka.

Posted by Rob.

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Another little treat from Norville. When Andrew heard it, he blurted out, "(Norv) sounds like Tom Waits' and Leonard Cohen's love child."

Posted by Rob.

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It's high time we got this recording posted (over two and a half years later). It was recorded at Alex Brooke's old place in Nakatsu (see also Nakatsu Music Project, Nakatsu Music and Poetry, The ALT Rap, The Making of ALT Rap video, Tsuchifumazu art show, Nakatsu Nabe Party, etc).

If you heard The If Factor's Taste Test, this contains all 15 minutes contained in that recording, plus another half hour, all recorded the same night in one take. However, nearly 15 more minutes were edited out, for various reasons, mostly self-censorship.

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, The If Factore, Alex Brooke, Jonny Heartbreaker, The Conservatives, Rob, El Gringo, mixi, Learn Japanese Pod, music, Nakatsu, Osaka, Japan

Tune in to Headstand Radio with Patrick Widdess on Cambridge, England's 105 fm (http://headstand.209radio.co.uk) tomorrow, from 21:00 to 23:00 GMT.

This month's Headstand promises to be a real mixed bag (as usual) featuring live music in the studio from Clare Connolly (www.myspace.com/connollyclare) and another mini lecture from Nick Stibbs on the life and work of William Blake.

There'll also be an interview with Yako from Tokyo's legendary hardcore punk band Melt-Banana. (www.myspace.com/azap)

Posted by Rob.

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Join NFTOS regular Patrick Widdess for his monthly 2-hour FM radio show from Cambridge, England, which you can stream via headstand.209radio.co.uk.

This month's show features the usual mix of music and spoken word including poetry from local poets Dominic Mulvey, Richard Osmond and Glen Hutchinson, and a presentation on the life and work of Pablo Neruda by Nick Stibbs.

Posted by Rob.

Hi to everyone at News From The Other Side,

My radio show goes out this Wednesday live on 209radio.co.uk at 9pm local time. Featuring local poets and the magnificent Pixiphones playing live in the studio it promises to be a good 2 hours. If you don't catch it live you can listen again at headstand.209radio.co.uk. You can also subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, just search for "headstand 209 radio".

If you haven't aleady done so, join the facebook group at www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6061328090 and test your knowledge of the show with the headstand quiz http://apps.facebook.com/flixster/quiz?q=908190

Thanks

Patrick

[Alex got 50% on the quiz, Rob got 80%]

Posted by Rob.

Norville Parchment (Trenchparrots, Sucia, Don't Date Me, etc) has decided to follow in the footsteps of Radiohead and NIN, but he's taking it a step further and making much more of his back catalogue available for download. There are about seven albums worth of material here: http://norville.uber.com/music.

Posted by Rob

This just in from Ian Handsley:

"Please join us for a special KIX show on friskyRadio.com tonight at 11pm JST [2am New Zealand -rob].

It's been a year since I launched KIX on friskyRadio, and I have to say that it's been quite a year. It started out simply as way to connect Kansai DJs with a worldwide community of EDM lovers, but in the course of putting each show together something very cool happened. I saw each and every guest DJ raise their art to a higher level, so what we've ended up with is a community of local DJs who have played to huge international audiences, who have earned every amount of respect they received, and who now know a whole lot more about making Osaka dancefloors rock. Here are the guest DJs we've had so far:

Deadmau5
Bloisy
Shawn Basik
Dan Elliot
bRoTheRmAn
Dom Pang
B-Ko
DJ Nat

This special anniversary edition has a very old and close friend of mine - i-bec - as the guest. I-bec and I met in 2002 out the front of Namba Hatch before an Anthony Pappa gig, and then when he opened Freeza a few months later, we...er...well, did a bit of DJing there. Since then many people have come and gone and much has changed but our love for the tunage has remained, and we've been able to share our journey through electronic music and the dark art of mixing it for a dancefloor. I-bec's a bit of magician when it comes to that, as many will tell you, and his taste in music reveals an appreciation of complex beauty boxed up in trunks of funk. But strangely getting an hour-long mix out him has been an exercise in futility...until today (literally).

So here he comes, finally, for a KIX mix, and since it may be another 6 years before he gives me another mix, you shouldn't miss it."

KIX on friskyRadio.com

Thursday, May 8
7am San Francisco
2pm London
11pm Osaka
Friday, May 9
2am Auckland

1st Hour: Ian Handsley
2nd Hour: I-bec

I-Bec photo by James (BikeClubOsaka).

Posted by Rob.

What started out as a Latin label in Japan with a monthly event, now has a compilation CD and a radio program on UniqueRadio.jp.

Tune in at http://www.uniqueradio.jp and answer the short demographics questionnaire (in Japanese) by clicking in the appropriate boxes.

The show starts at 21:00 Japan Time tonight.

Posted by Rob.

Another music nerd gadget to experiment with, this one is still in its infancy, and you can help program it! Just join the News From The Other Side Group on last.fm. At the moment, we only have 4 people signed up including Alex, Patrick, Raevin_Roth (a member of LearnJapanesePod forums) and myself. So far, Patrick doesn't have any music scrobbled, so it's really more like 3 people's music listening habits playing. In listening so far, I've heard music ranging from 80s New Wave to Latin to Japanese Anime theme music, and from Jack Kerouac to Jack Johnson. My favorite played so far was "Debrah" by Beck. It's really a mixed bag, but it could always use more seasoning, so sign up to add a dash of your favorite spice!

Posted by Rob.

What started out as a Latin label in Japan with a monthly event, now has a compilation CD and a radio program! Apparently, this program is only available in Japan, but we'll see about that! More info coming soon, but for now please follow the link.

http://www.joqr.net/blog/uniquewhats/archives/2008/04/radio_samba_nov.html

Posted by Rob.

KIX on friskyraido.com, 2 hours w/ Shawn Basik (Oasis Lounge) and Ian Handsley

Friday, 11 April in Auckland. All other times, Thursday, 10 April.

200 Auckland
700 Vancouver
1000 Montreal
1100 Halifax
1400 London
2300 Osaka

http://www.friskyradio.com

http://www.myspace.com/osakakix

Photo of Shawn Basik, probably taken from his own cell phone, at 9:00 a.m., on the way home from Oasis Lounge back in the day.

Posted by Rob.

KIX on frisky w/ Dan Elliot (Oasis Lounge)

Thursday, March 13

0700 San Fran
1400 London
2300 Osaka
2700 Auckland

http://www.friskyradio.com

http://www.myspace.com/osakakix

Photo by James, BikeClubOsaka.com

Posted by Rob.

A little trip down pre-NFTOS memory lane, this track was uploaded to The Beb and Alex Show as "Deja vu Drive" back in December 2005, although I think it was recorded awhile before that. Here's the original blog post.

The track could've probably used a little more work as it was kind of a one-shot recording.

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Beb and Alex, Rob a.k.a. El Gringo, Deja vu Drive, We'll Be Back Again, Osaka, Japan, 2005

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Patrick Widdess, UK Authors' September 2005 writer of the month, is back with another headstand program on 209radio show featuring no less than 5 NFTOS artists! Count them: 1. Alex Brooke, 2. Hans a.k.a. MC Lunchbox, 3. Charles Billard (The Smouldering Door), 4. Jerry Gordon (The Smouldering Door) and 5. Quest a.k.a. Hayden.

-----------------

"Headstand, 209radio's poetry programme is having an event!

When:
Sunday Mar 02, 2008
at 7:30 PM

Where:
CB2 Cafe
Norfolk Street
Cambridge, England

A 209radio fundraiser featuring live music from Steph Brown, Richard McGuire, Toma and Moth Conspiracy and poetry from Patrick Widdess, Helen Mort, Nick Stibbs and Rychard Carrington."

------------------

Today I recorded a podcast with Andres in Mexico and another Bicicleteiros with Hans, which I'll be posting in another day or two. Also, I'll be recording another episode of Panic Living, just as soon as I can get around to it! Gotta get back to repacking. One week to go before the big move...

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, headstand, 209radio, Alex Brooke, Charles Billard, That Ass Is Your Meal Ticket

Hello? Who is this?

Introducing MC Lunchbox (a.k.a. Hans, the h-monster, O Irmão da Xuxa) vs Alex Brooke.

"That's my gaunlet I am throwing down at everyone out there who wants to do a remix." -Alex

Here's the original vocal track.

Photo by Alex (but I don't think it's a rattler). Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, rattlesnake, baby, MC Lunchbox, h-monster, O Irmão da Xuxa, Alex Brooke, Hans, drum n'bass, Hagerstown, Maryland, Chiba, Japan

This track was used in NFTOS Talk Show #38. There are several other Quest songs in the music folder. Maybe I'll put links to all of them and show you the total number of downloads each one has gotten so far. At the moment, That Ass Is Your Meal Ticket is his most popular track on NFTOS, in fifth place, with 1070 downloads.

I thought we were going to include this song in the next music program, but I decided to upload it now rather than wait, because we haven't uploaded any new music lately, and who knows when we'll get around to doing the next music program.

Hayden (that's what we like to call him) says: "Shout out to all seeing eye bitches! This is a band that did some of the music for the movie 'Everything is Illuminated' which takes place in the Ukraine. The lead singer of the band is in the cast." Download some mp3s at gogolbordello.com

Posted by Rob

Tags: NFTOS, Quest, electronic, electro, music, Lincoln, Nebraska, US, Hayden

Since MySpace has become availalbe in Japanese, there's been a considerable migration of friends and contacts coming over from mixi.jp. It's been a case of the usual suspects. Now it's twice as easy (or am I twice as busy?) keeping up with everyone's latest projects. Recent standouts include Handa and Sae (a.k.a. Amanadama)--both from Osaka--and Ryo Murakami from Tokyo.

These links should keep you busy for awhile!

Posted by Rob.

A pre-NFTOS podcast recording back when we was The If Factor (Alex, Jonny Heartbreaker and Rob), or Cafe Velo, or some such incarnation as yet undetermined... It demonstrates our creative process (or lack thereof) and you can hear our programming strategy being discussed, back before we had any program. But we did have a few recordings (Cafe Velo Promo, Sachiko Screams, etc)...

Oh, there's a lot more that could be said about this recording, but it can wait. And there's a photo someplace, on a backup hardrive somewhere which may feature these three chaps back when they were young and naive. Guys, a photo? Anyone out there got a photo of us three?

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, The If Factor, Cafe Velo, Alex Brooke, Jonny Heartbreaker, Osaka, Japan, Nakatsu, Mayutan, DJ Sachiko, Rob (a.k.a. El Gringo), 大阪, 日本, 中津, �ゆ�ん

Song by Alex Brooke. Self-Explanatory (sp?). Posted by Rob.

Tags: Alex Brooke, Japan, accoustic guitar, LearnJapanesepod.com

Jonny Heartbreaker, Rob, Makiko, Chunza (a.k.a. Okha, Flying Koala) and Hyun-ju enjoy an evening of song & drink. This is part one of a series of recordings done back when we recorded Slainte & Gonbe and several other gems.

The artwork is a live painting / collage done at the monthly Flo-Union event at The Pink Cow back in April, which coincided with the month-long Nama Artshow. It was done by Makiko and me while DJ Ryosuke Ito (Taiyo Record) spun tracks for our inspiration.

Further explications [sic] and links and whatnot coming soon. Posted by Rob.

Tags: Shochu Man, soju, salaryman, SCUBA, ORIGINALS!

Jonny Heartbreaker, Rob, Makiko, Chunza (a.k.a. Okha, Flying Koala) and Hyun-ju enjoy an evening of song & drink. This is part of a series of recordings done back when we recorded Slainte & Gonbe and several other gems. Is that me getting a little defensive about my terrible singing? The artwork is a live painting from the Nama Artshow done by Tomoko, Makiko, Okha, me and participants from the audience.

Posted by Rob.

Posted by Rob.

Decided to post this one now, rather than save it for the next music program, which I'm having a hard time completing. I've had it long enough. Peter has a lot more where this came from! This one's a cover. Who can call it?

Peter wrote:
hey, i've been working on new music for the new album and live show. and i thought i'd do a cover of a [band name] song for the live set. i've attached an mp3 of it for you to check out. i'm not going to put it on any album, so it's kind of an exclusive. i do have it on my myspace site, but you can't download it from there. i figured you could put in on a show if you wanted.

the song is "new dress." the original is from [band name]'s album [album name]. i don't know why i picked this song. it's not even in my top 20 fave [band name] songs. i was just walking around the other day and it popped up on the ipod and i liked it.

anyway, i hope you like it, and keep up the good work.

pm

Posted by Rob.

After DJing at Absinthe, I went home in a taxi with Jonny Hearthbreaker, who sang for his dinner. The title is "Song for my girl". Posted by Alex.

I just made this mash-up by combining the voice of Curt and some sounds by Mattias Lindberg (a.k.a. fakepilot).

The formula:
Swedish Star Wars video
+
Evil Flash site
=
the file below.

When I asked Mattias if maybe the moview needed subtitling, he replied "Yes, maybe it needs subtitles. It's funny, mostly because he doesn't get what is funny."

"Oh, look! There's Lucky Luke! Hrmmph.."

"My name is not Lucky Luke! It's Luke Skywalker."

I think that's part of the humor, and another part is the dead-serious tone. I wonder, are there other episodes? Could there be a sequel??

Posted by Rob.

Another classic from Jonny Heartbreaker. Pardon the chatty intro, it was the Irish whisky... or the Yebisu. Or maybe it was the wine! Please FFWD! Posted by Rob.

Greg, a.k.a. Jonny Heartbreaker, and Rob recap a Saturday in Tokyo. Jonny Heartbreaker sings "I Want More."

Also, check out this guy's short film's on asamustak.com. This one's my favorite: Love You Like Water. I'll try to upload it and a few of the others soon. They're really good!

Photo of Jonny Heartbreaker at Ayumi's "Mysterious Wine Party" held at Hoju in Shimbamba, near JR Shinagawa Station. Please pardon my laptop's fan whirring throughout the recording! (I lost my iRiver recently) Posted by Rob.

You're going to like this one! The band is Don't Date Me, with norville providing the jams and Russ Leslie on vocals. Anyone else get any credit for this track? The songwriters? Photo: norville does the "blue steel" pose. Posted by Rob.

今晩ã?¾ã?ŸFM cocolo 765ã?«æˆ»ã?£ã?¦ã??ã?¾ã?™ï¼?木曜日ã?®æœ?２時頃（2:25 〜 2:30?)放é€?ã?•ã‚Œã?¾ã?™ã€‚今回ã?¯ãƒ­ãƒ–ã?¨ã?¾ã??ã?“ã?§ã?™ã€‚
we're back on fm cocolo 765 tonight at 2 a.m.! (maybe around 2:25 or 2:30?) this time it's makiko and rob.

先週放��時�撮��ビデオ�： http://japanese.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=211533
watch a video of last week's radio show at: http://japanese.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=211533

�週�greg(a.k.a. jonnyhearbreaker)�alex brooke...
next week's show is greg (a.k.a. jonnyheartbreaker) and alex brooke...

ã‚‚ã?—録音ã?§ã??ã?Ÿã‚‰ã?Šé¡˜ã?„ã?—ã?¾ã?™ï¼?
please record it, if you can!

よã‚?ã?—ã??ï¼?
yoroshiku!

Alex and Rob were guests on Yui (first on left) and Chiyako's late night open mic on FM COCOLO 76.5 tonight (actually Thursday morning here in Osaka). Next Thursday, at around 2:00 a.m., tune in for Makiko and Rob, and the week after for Alex and Greg (a.k.a. Jonny Heartbreaker) for some of his brand new tunes!

Tonight we filmed and recorded the program. We'll try to get permission to upload both! Yui and Chiyaki are the musical duo Yaneka which opened our music show #3. They can also be found on MySpace at http://www.myspace.com/yaneka. Photo by Makiko.

Posted by Rob.

Join the Bar Costa Rica crew every weekend on 2Radio. Costa Rica is the standing bar you have to pass through on your way into Bonobo, which is the lounge in Jingu-mae, Tokyo, where I DJ some Wednesday nights. These guys are fun to hang out with and always play such good music themselves, that sometimes I have to put on an LP, leave the booth on auto pilot and join them out in front. Anyway, they play a variety of smooth tunes on their shoutcasts, and maybe you can even learn some Japanese by listening! Posted by Rob.

I've been playing around on my computer mixing and matching various audio files and strumming along with the mix. It's a little NAMA but here is what I call "Jerry's funk". It's a mix of "Wine red no kokoro" sung by Sae (a.k.a. Amanadama), Jerry Gordon on the shakuhachi and me on guitar. This is an audio sketch that I want to develop into something a little more polished...


posted by Alex

"hello rob and alex! if any of you guys have time to put this one online as soon as you can, i would appreciate. i want to make a link from my blog to nftos, to introduce my call for artists for a project, and this would be nice if the song was posted before the 12th of march. onegaishimasu!! (from Charles)

Why, certainly! Sorry we didn't give a bigger shout for your current event. Hope this will help! There are links to your blog in the .m4a file below. Posted by Rob.

Okay, we don't have any storage space available, but there are a couple of files already uploaded just waiting to be used. One is a sample of my brothers (guess which one) recorded while in a traffic jam. It took a bit of convincing, but he allowed me to send it to a few friends for remixing (Alex, Quest, DJ Kung-fu Grip and Norville). After quite a bit of smack talk from Alex, and a "we'll see what we can do with it" from Kung-fu Grip, a couple weeks have passed, and I'm dying to see what it sounds like set to music. So, I'm offering it up to the masses as is. Who wants it? Show us your music and mixing skills! Make sure you give credit to the H-Monster. Artwork is actually a negative photo of a t-shirt from The Church's 1988 World Tour. Please don't sue! Posted by Rob.

I'd just like to go on the record and say that not all hotels in Nagoya are crap. But this one sure took the biscuit. This is a little song that is about a terrible hotel experience I had. You can even read my hotel review here on Yahoo. It goes a little something like this... Song by Alex.

Intro: Indian Technician - Anonymous sample

1. That Ass Is Your Meal Ticket - Quest
2. ALT Rap remix - DJ Kung-fu Grip
3. Soap Monster - Alex Brooke
4. Baby - Jonny Heartbreaker
5. Nakatsu Music Project - Alex Brooke & Charles Billard
6. Tales from Prapatang - Alex Brooke
7. I Saw the Moon Again from My Hospital Room - Jerry Gordon
8. Wroclaw Panache - The Smouldering Door
9. Anytime - Beb & Alex
10. ALT Re-Rap - Quest

Interlude: Where there's smoke... Bashiri do Cavaco

11. JR Song - Will Spin
12. Shinbashi Station - Quest
13. News - Jet Jaguar
14. La Stish - Jerry Gordon
15. Nebra-ska - Quest
16. Take Anything You Want - Alex Brooke
17. Anarchy Larynx Tatoo - Jerry Gordon
18. Shark Attack! - Noisivelvet
19. Domination remix - Deus Ex Machina
20. Irrepressible Urges of Spring - The Trenchparrots

Outro: I've got the Sea - Alex in Kyushu

This was just a playlist I came up with off the top of my head, and it's about 5 minutes too long. I found that if you delete 2 of the 3 ALT songs and the interlude, or one of the longer tracks like Domination, the rest will fit. Of course, there are plenty more tracks you can choose from in the music folder.

With our second music program out now, I thought I'd just do a recap of our musical highlights of the past year, and serve it up with cover art courtesy of Peter Morris (a.k.a. DJ Kung-fu Grip, HaloEffect), etc., all which you can now download to make your very own CD!

Here's some larger sized artwork, front and inside (or back), if you really wanna get fancy!

Please post a comment, and let us know how it worked for you! By now, they're probably already selling this disk in the markets of Paraguay, assuring customers "La Garantia soy yo!" ("I am the guarantee!").

Posted by Rob.

Continuing to upload songs one at a time from our first music show on 12 December 2006, here's a little something from Charles vs Alex.

If you're mainly interested in the music podcasts on NFTOS, you can subscribe to music from the other side on iTunes and receive the music program only. You can find the music-only blog at http://www.nftosmusic.blogspot.com

Hope you are all enjoying your holidays! Posted by Rob.

Here are our top 20 songs and music videos as of 13 December. 1. : Alex & Rob: ALT Rap Video (lyrics by Rob H. & John Sanders). 2. Alex, Rob & Drummer: ALT Rap Improv with live drums! 3. Quest: Shinbashi Station. 4. Alex Brooke: Soapmonster. 5. Quest: ALT Re-Rap. 6. Alex & Charles: Nakatsu Music Project. 7. Alex Brooke: Clean-up video. 8. Charles Billard: Icitte les Oeufs video. 9. Quest: Nebra-ska. 10. Alex Brooke: Take Anything You Want. 11. Rob: ALT Rap vocal track (lyrics by Rob H. & John Sanders). 12. Alex & Rob: ALT Rap original recording (vocals by Rob H., lyrics by Rob H. & John Sanders). 13. Quest: All The Little Things. 14. Alex Brooke: I Wanna Tell You. 15. The Trenchparrots: Irrepressible Urges of Spring. 16. The Smouldering Door: Wroclaw Panache. 17. Will Spin: JR Song. 18. DJ Kung-fu Grip: ALT Rap Remix. 19. Bashiri do Cavaco: Cavaquinho Debut! 20. Limelight Circus: Live at L'Institut (video).

A dishonourable mention goes out to Alex's and Johnny Heartbreaker's talk show entitled Days of Grunge, a cowardly attack on Nirvana. If Kurt were still around, he'd kick both your asses! Also, I've started uploading the 6 songs from the the 12 December music program one at a time, starting with Quest's That Ass Is Your Meal Ticket! Keep sending us your songs and videos!! Posted by Rob.

Debuted on our first music program podcast. The artwork is something Johnny pulled off of Google Images. "I no make it," he says.

If you're mainly interested in the music podcasts on NFTOS, you can subscribe to music from the other side on iTunes and receive the music program only. You can find the music-only blog at http://www.nftosmusic.blogspot.com

Posted by Rob.

We now have over 40 music files available including music videos, live performances and a few samples which seem to be quite popular. Here are the bottom 20 as of 13 December. 21. Rob: Ichijiku Chant. 22. Alex: Orange Princess (An Ode to DJ Sachiko) 23. The Trenchparrots: My Ex-Girlfriend Walks In. 24. Anonymous: Indian Technician Sample (Hello, hello, hello?) 25. Jonny Heartbreaker: Baby. 26. Jet Jaguar: News. 27. The Trenchparrots: Nuthin' to Say. 28. Deus Ex Machina: Domination remix. 29. The Trenchparrots: Footprints. 30. Alex Brooke: Prapatang Grooves. 31. Jerry Gordon: Playing with the Arrow 2. 32. Noisivelvet: Shark Attack! 33. Smouldering Door & Takezo Tabo Aoki: G.I. Joe. 34. Charles Billard: ALT Rap Answers the Questions. 35. Anonymous: Indian Technician remix. 36. Smouldering Door / Plink Plonk Congress: Dancing Charcoal Pixies. 37. Jerry Gordon: Anarchy Larynx Tattoo mix. 38. Jerry Gordon: Playing with the Arrow 3. 39. Kurochi Sound Art: The Voist. 40. Smouldering Door: Pajammin' Party. An honourable mention goes out to the most recently uploaded music file for it's badass saxophone by Jerry Gordon: La Stish. Also, the 6 songs on the the 12 December music program will be posted one at a time, and will rapidly make their way up the charts you can be sure! Posted by Rob.

"Here is another mp3 from the Hemp Bark workout. This one is bigger and more stand alone than Goodbye Ghost Hat. This one is la Stish. Let's see if the satellites will allow it to fly to your ears. Test test test. Happy Thanksgiving, by the way. Thanks, Jerry." From Hemp Bark with John & Maki 17.11.06. More info coming soon. Posted by Rob.

It's been a while since I posted any music but here is my latest offering which is called Prapatang groves (Ted Haggard mix). I've been bust recently in the Nakatsu recording studios here producing some mixes for Beb, Sae and for myself. I hope to be posting some new toons up here soon. With the amount of music that has been posted up here I think we have a seperate music show in the making. Keep sending in your music pureezu !

Yet another ALT Rap remix by longtime Osaka resident Jerry Gordon. You don't have to look back too far to find his recent collaborations on projects such as The Smouldering Door with Charles Billard and others. The ALT Rap entertained and annoyed at expat parties and bars for nearly six years before finding a digital home on Alex Brooke's Learn Japanese podcast. Thanks for the remix Jerry! Vocals by Rob. Credit for the lyrics (fragmented as they now are) go to John Sanders and Rob, and for the recording of the vocal track to Alex. Collage by me. Posted by Rob.

Another song from Charles Billard in Osaka: "Here is the edited version of one of the recordings I did with Kurochi on the machine he made himself : The Voist." -Charles. Posted by Rob

Some more tunes have arrived from The Smouldering Door (Jerry Gordon & & Charles Billard) in their latest incarnation, PlinkPlonkCongress (with Zunko, Takezo "Tabo" Aoki, Daiki Murakami, Masao Hasegawa and Akiko Itoh).  Recorded live at Osaka Castle, this is the first of two songs we will be posting from their CD Mega Raga. 

By the time I arrived there in 1990, the members of Deus Ex Machina were already icons of alternativity on my college campus--a place where it wasn't hard to be different. Hence I chose the "No Heroes Mix" of their track 'Domination'. The band, which consisted of the two Jims and Peter Morris, was a bit too late to be "new wave" and not scary enough for me to call them "industrial," although the influence of both genres should be obvious. Peter's has worked with a lot of people on a variety of projects since then, some which you can see in the discography section of his project called HaloEffect. I particularly recommend "Fear of Flying" from the single "Burn it Down." We've also posted some of his stuff before on this site, such as a remix of the ALT rap and some artwork for an event at Chove Chove back in April of this year. We'll be trying to get permission from the powers that be to share more collaborations with you in the near future. 1992 photo of Jim Mac & Peter by Gerik Parmele. Big thanks to Peter and the DEM posse for letting us host this track. Posted by Rob. Enjoy!

Here is the latest musical offering from the multi talented gentlemen that go by the names of Charles Billard, Jerry Gordon and Takezo "Tabo" Aoki.

Thanks for the contribution guys! Posted by Alex.

Shhh! Jet Jaguar needs to be played loud and you need to pay attention or you might miss something in this subtly delicious tune from Mr. Understatement himself. After you've listened to this track, check out the award-winning video Now Serving which I hope he'll let us host soon. Posted by Rob.

Greg, a.k.a. Jonny Heartbreaker, and Alex, took a trip down memory lane to the angst ridden streets of '90s Seattle & Grunge.  We also did our own tongue in cheek tribute. Enjoy. Posted by Alex.

Tonight at the Nakatsu Recording Studios, Jonny Heartbreaker of The If Factor came in and did an acoustic rendition of his song "Baby". Jonny "Bad boy" Heartbreaker writes and sings all his music and has been one of the main exponents of The If Factor which started back in October 2005. Posted by Alex.
P.S. The If Factor's only live performance was during "Mind Mangle," 11 Dec 2006, at The Oasis Lounge in Sakurajima, Osaka. Fans are still waiting for an encore!

Waste no time! Although he calls it his official mix debut, DJ D-Mac has been making me mix tapes and CDs for almost 10 years now. We've gone to clubs and shows together in the D.C. area, we've and driven around running errands that just gave us excuses to get out of the house to listen to more music and to talk about it uninterrupted. He's got an extensive collection of 7" singles covering all genres of music, especially funk, soul and quirky unclassifiable rarities. This man is a primal hunter and collector. "Bouncing along from soul to disco to hip-hop to funky breaks and back again, this is a collection of long-time favorites, brand-new bangers and a few signature mash-ups." Enjoy! Posted by Rob

This is another song by Osaka resident poet, writer and musician Jerry Gordon. More links coming soon. Posted by Rob.

This is another song by Osaka resident Jerry Gordon. More links coming soon. Posted by Rob.

This was Bashiri's first time to hold a cavaquinho, or so he said. Moments before, he'd just made everyone think he was a pro at it. Once the iRiver was turned on, he got a little shy. Posted by Rob.

The competition is getting fierce! This ALT Rap version is by Charles Billard. You can hear all previous versions on MySpace or download the vocal track and make your own remix. Credit for the lyrics go to John Sanders and Rob, and for the recording of the vocal track to Alex. Posted by Rob.

Noisivelvet.com.

Posted by Rob.

Just when you thought you'd had way way more than enough, there's more! Here's DJ Kung-fu Grip (a.k.a. Dirty Martini, a.k.a. Peter Morris) with the DJ Kung-Fu Grip Mix! For other versions, incluging the vocals only track, look in NFTOS music... Peter says: "I spent 2 weeks writing this intricate instrumentation. All these alternating bass lines, drum loop changes, and synth riffs... And I just chucked it. I really like the original. And it's hard to improve on perfection. So, I just took a loop from the theme to the old TV show SWAT and dropped the vocals on top of it. It sounded so much better, and a hell of a lot more fun." -pm. Sign us, don't sue! Link to all versions of the ALT Rap on MySpace. Vocals by Rob. Credit for the lyrics go to John Sanders and Rob, and for the recording of the vocal track to Alex. Posted by Rob.

The other day I came across this bizzare English exercise workout video for women afraid of being mugged while on holiday in some scary foreign country that seems to be some kind of mishmash between the States and Australia. (Note the mugger's and the cop's accents) Anyway, I simply couldn't get that damn tune out of my head and neither will you with this mega remix. Listen again and again until you end up rocking back and forth on a chair obsessively chanting "take anything you want"
Posted by Alex.

Here's something new from Hayden a.k.a. Quest: "County of Lancaster. City of Lincoln. State of Nebra-ska. Reggae from a 100 watt white boy in the heartland. Aw shucks mama." -Quest

Here's some music for you by me Alex Brooke. I recorded this last year on my Mac connected to some other whistles and bells. Interestingly enough I posted this on the Podsafe music network and it got used on the podcast Des Grenouilles dans la Vallee in the video "Moto, boulot, Cupertino". It's done by a French guy working at Apple in California and the video shows his daily commute to work. Pretty cool stuff. Hope you enjoy it. You can check out more of my music HERE...

Here's a link to a new Halo Effect and Scott Adams collaboration called My Love. Halo Effect is the musical incarnation of Peter Morris who created an e-flyer for my Chove Chuva event back in April. If you like this song, you can check out his slightly darker side on haloeffect.us, or on his MySpace homepage, and if you want to dig even farther back, try the Deus Ex Machina archives. Posted by Rob.

By a friend of Charles Billard, who wishes to remain nameless. Posted by Rob.

This sample was just begging to be remixed. Sorry Mr Technician on the phone over in India, but you are now part of the wonders of the internet. This sample was recorded by a friend of Charles Billard's who has chosen to remain nameless. Charles wrote, "what do you think? Is it worth a special section-- Indian Technicians--on your site?" Nah, but we'll put this sample, and the subsequent remix in the "music" section of our podcasts. Stay tuned for the remix! Posted by Rob.

Damn that Will Spin! He's just too talented. Here's his new Japan Rail song using samples from JR announcements, including one from Tennoji Station (providing easy access to Tin's Hall). You can check out his DJ mixes on Bike Club Osaka (and kickass mixes by quite a few other Osaka DJs as well!). Thanks for the song Will! Photo provided by Will (suspicioulsy reminiscent of James Russell's photography style). This post by Alex and Rob.

Here's our third song from John Hayden, a.k.a. Quest, who currently lives . John, do you have any comments you'd like posted with this song, or artwork you'd like the people to see? Please mail them to me. And go enjoy a cup of coffee at The Mill for me would ya? Thanks! -Rob

This is our first song by Smouldering Door who are Jerry Gordon and Charles-Eric Billard. According to Charles, it's about "the bearable lightness of the the living daylight..." Those of you who know Jerry, are probably aware that the Year of the Dog is Jerry's 12-year anniversary since arriving in Japan. Jerry will be celebrating his 12 years (one full astrological cycle) with an outdoor party of urban poetry, improv and performance art (see From Dog to Dog). Also, Charles is organizing a tunnel party on 25 June. He says it's going to be big--at least 13 artists will participate. Charles, could you please send me a photo or a graphic for this post? Some more info about the tunnel party would be great too. -Rob

"Here's the Quest remix of the ALT Rap. I don't consider it an improvement. Just new packaging. Make sure to give the special thanks and acknowledgments required when you post it. And some art is attached. It's one of my crappy little speakers. Hope it sounds better on yours! Have a good one. -Johnny a.k.a. Quest" OK! Are those some Nabe Party samples I hear in there Johnny? Link to all versions of the ALT Rap on MySpace. Vocals by Rob. Credit for the lyrics go to John Sanders and Rob, and for the recording of the vocal track to Alex. Posted by Rob

This is the already infamous ALT rap. It was kicked off the JET Program's ALT forum, but has managed well over 5000 downloads for the video on this site and on Learn Japanese (and no telling how many downloads on other sites). Shout out to Bike Club Osaka for giving us encouragement and helping us generate interest in Osaka in the early going. There have been requests for the just the vocal track--um, are you sure?--so here's a link to that: ALT Rap vocals only. All versions are also on MySpace. Feel free to samlpe, mix, whatever. Just make sure that credit for the lyrics go to John Sanders and Rob Holbrook, and for the music to Alex Brooke. Dozo yoroshiku onegaishimasu! Posted by Rob.

Charles and I got together today to make some music. What is this music about? What is it for? Only you know the answer. Posted by Alex.

The Trenchparrots. This will be the last Trenchparrots song for awhile... Norv is playing the music and singing a song that I dictated the lyrics for between dozing off to sleep in the wee hours of the morning. It was taking him awhile to compose, so I was napping. I'd wake up and listen to a bit of music, mumble some lyrics and fall back to sleep. Quality work though, isn't it? A photo will be posted later. Posted by Rob.

The Trenchparrots. "Footprints" was our second "release" from 1994. Part of the lyrics by Lis. Photo by Norville Parchment. Posted by Rob.

This song was done in one take late one night in the spring of 1994. One reason it was done in one take is that it really did my voice in. Another reason was that we couldn't stop laughing after the first take. I think we might have tried two or three times in all, but the first version stuck. I'd be curious to hear Norv's version of the story. Suzanne dear, please sign us to your record label like you did for DNA and don't sue us! Posted by Rob.

This all but forgotten ditty should dust off some shelves in a few small collective memory closets. The spring of 1994 was a giddy time for some of us. Fake Brit accents were a sign of... I'm not quite sure what. The world may not have been ready for this, and it might never be! Re-introducing The Trenchparrots!! Norv and I had nothing better to do, so in one coffee-induced hyperactive all night recording session, we used his keyboard, a mac and a 4-track reel-reel recorder to produce this two-track masterpiece, and a couple others. I'll release more Trenchparrots songs, if we don't lose all our subscribers after this post! Osaka cherry blossom photo by Rob. Posted by Rob.

After an eternity of half sleep, the orange princess awakes and stares in quiet desperation at her records. Not only does she have to worrry about what to wear but also what to play tonight. Her records almost seem to compete for her attention to be played. "Take me, take me" says the 80s remixes, "no, forget him I'm going to rock the floor" says her house mixes. And all the while the growingly fatigued orange princess starts to lose another hair as all the records start to blur and become one incomprehensible mess in her mind. Zing and the throbing expectant masses await the orange princess in the small hours of the morning. Can she deliver ? Will the people be happy ? Of course ! It's the orange princess. Catch the Orange Princess (a.k.a. DJ SACHIKO) at ZING TONIGHT!!

Here are an "automatic drawing" and an mp3 by an old buddy of mine that I've known since 1990! John Hayden lives in Lincoln, Nebraska, and is a jack-of-all-media. Some of the samples on the mp3 track are from previous NFTOS podcasts, including News from the Tub, and Loop Line #3. He thinks we should check out Hippocamp Ruins @ fredoviola.com. Posted by Rob.

Makiko makes her own quilts, bagels, cloth buttons, pickles and the BEST HOMEMADE SOAP yet! And this is a song about it by Alex. Posted by Rob.

Here are the lyrics...Like a possessed demon, Makiko furiously kneeds bagel mix with her tireless hands. The clock rotates faster and faster as time and space warp and become meaningless, only the bagels matter, they will be created soon because the soap has to be finished. The bagels go into her massive oven and Makiko only has a few seconds to change into her industrial bio-chemical hazard suit and blow torch mask. She pulls hard on a heavy metal chain that lifts a vat of sulphuric acid up and over a larger vat filled with olive oil, rose petals, bats wings and the skull of a goat. Makiko chants the ancient words, "prapatang, prapatang..." and she slowly tilts the bubbling liquid into the steaming vat. The floor boards creak and and Rob trembles with fear from the observation station. Only a week ago he was teaching English to socially mal-adjusted business men. Now with a generous grant from the Emperor, he and Makiko have been charged with the creation of the highest quality soap and bagels for the land of the rising sun. Suddenly the chain breaks, melted goats skull, bat wings, a million liters of sulphuric acid ooze over the oven, half baked bagels, newspapers and dirty laundry. The ooze becomes self aware and burns through the wall and floors into the street. Flames engulf Waseda and the ground shakes under the weight of the mighty beast Makiko has created. Eventually the ooze cools and solidifies, the flames die down and Rob and Makiko carefully peer out of the window at the dead monster. Makiko gingerly climbs over the wreckage down to her creation. She dips a finger in as Rob gasps in terror. But all is well. Makiko speaks "this is the best soap I have made yet".