...with Alex and Rob.

This YouTube video player features the video episodes of the NFTOS Talk Show with Alex & Rob, plus three special features: "Semtazone Interview," "How to Open an Onigiri" and "Tokyo Shout Outs."

This is also a test to see if this blog will appear in my mixi.jp blog as it already does in asoboo.com.

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Talk Show, Alex Brooke, Rob a.k.a. El Gringo, YouTube, mixi, asoboo.com

Kickin' it "Fun Friday" style with Alex, and that means Kanj-of-the-Day, a book review of Body Language by Allan Pease, gestures, body language, a Korean word censored--can you guess what it was? Music by Tal Brott. Asahi Super Dry product placement (send us money), more impersonations by Alex, shoutouts to Okha a.k.a. Flying Koala, Charles Billard, Patrick Widdess and The Pink Cow in Shibuya (who we're borrowing the suit from). Also checkout our out-take video Tokyo Shout Outs.

Edited by Alex. Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Tal Brott, Alex Brooke, Headstand Radio, Charles Billard, Okha a.k.a. Flying Koala, The Pink Cow, Learn Japanese

An outtake from Talk Show #42. Upcoming events in Tokyo.

Edit by Alex. Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Alex Brooke, Rob a.k.a. El Gringo

Dr. Alex Brooke MD, PhD, etc, shows you the proper way to brush (as only an Englishman can). Posted by his sexy nurse in drag (don't tell him I'm a man) Rob, because he was to lazy to do it. No, actually, he's probably got something better to do right now, like fixing some tea, or editing the next Loop Line video (#6) or Yamanote Line video (#3) or Talk Show (#42) or something like that...

Tags: NFTOS, Alex Brooke, dental, hygiene, brush, teeth, dents, toothbrush, mouth, oral, care, dientes, dentes, Life in Japan, health, 歯, 日本

Subscribe to Alex's solo podcast, Prapatang Living, on iTunes

"Floating somewhere between allergy medicine and a few cups of Duvel beer, Rob and I embarked on our stream of consciousness out on the balcony. Cheap gloves, Kalashnikitty, clouds, Chopper Reid, Tokyo Cooney, shout outs to those down under and a visit from the afterlife by Terrence McKenna were just a few of the random things that floated into [and through] our heads." -Alex

A collaborative work of, um... Five Stars at least! -Rob

...shout outs galore! Hello TokyoCooney and MisterNES! (maybe see you tomorrow at the Croc)... Edited by Alex, can't you tell?

On YouTube

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Alex Brooke, Rob a.k.a. DJ El Gringo, �手, 五万両

A collage by captured on cellphone by Rob and set to music by Quest a.k.a. Hayden. Collage by Charles Billard captured by cell phone video camera with original audio--English, French and Japanese--set to music by Quest a.k.a. Hayden. For the first version uploaded sans music, click here.

Back in the summer I got a disk with 14 Quest tracks on it, from which I've drawn from quite liberally in recent Talk Shows. I'd like to upload some of them as .mp3s once I get a list of track names from Hayden.

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Charles, Billard, Rob, Quest, Hayden, collage, art, Uehommachi, Osaka, Japan, Yannic, Alex Brooke, Learn, Japanese, French, voices, 大阪

By fakepilot who has other stuff up on NFTOS already. I'll try to track it all down, but why don't you have a look around in the meantime. There should be something in the "reports" folder and something else in the "music video" folder. He does amazing flash design. Check him out.

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Fakepilot, more coming soon!

I found this video while doing a search for my college buddy Norville Parchment who has appeared under many guises on News From The Other Side. Cyber-stalking, I believe the act is called these days.

The credits read: "Marisa singing Ave Maria (accompaniment written by Norville Parchment, melody composed by Marisa) at the Supper Club."

I don't know much else about it at this point, except that it was uploaded by Phreddiva back in June of this year. Don't worry, I'm on it already!

Posted by Rob.

Tags: Marisa Lenhardt, Norville Parchment, chicks in corsets, opera, techno, techno-opera, technopera, Supper Club

Better late than never!

On YouTube.

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Kanji of the Day, lesson, heavy, music, Quest a.k.a. Hayden, Pulp Fiction, gimp, Skype, Spanish, Portuguese, Gearhead Art Studios, Flo-Union, Halloween party, maids, lucha libre, ��, 日本語, 神楽�, �京, 日本

"Rastamuffin" a.k.a. Michael Rasmussen didn't lie, did lie (sort of), "Vino" a.k.a. Alexandre Vinokourov who is currently suspended for doping wants to build a training center in Italy, "Chechu" Rubiera and Chris Horner join Johan Bruyneel in Great Nation Kazahkstan (sp?), Hans correctly predicts a Washington Redskins loss to the Dallas Cowboys (American football), Barry Bonds, Whaling, Green Peace, American Citizenship Test (try to beat Rob's 80% before listening to the podcast!), "Liberals." Will you get bored before Hans did? Listen and find out!

Posted by Rob.

Tags: Michael Rasmussen, Vino, Alexandre Vinokourov, doping, Chechu, Rubiera, Chris Horner, Johan Bruyneel, Kazahkstan, Borat, NFL, Barry Bonds, Whaling, Green Peace, American Citizenship, Liberals

Subscribe to Bicicleteiros on iTunes

Prams, Theremin, "proper instruments", cockney wankers having a go, fighting salarymen, Chavs, poetry, art, crap weather, the universe and everything were just a few topics Patrick Widdess and I talked about when I caught up with him last night on Skype. Unfortunately my computer died on me half way through and lost about 5 mins of Patrick talking about his latest radio show. But I have included links at the bottom so check them out.

I hope to be visiting Patrick in the UK when I fly over next month. I shall be sure to post the audio and visual results up here on this interconnected series of tubes. Posted by Alex.

P.S. Remind me to tell Alex he should interview Patrick about his WWOOFing adventures for LearnJapanesePod.com -Rob

Patrick's radio show: http://www.209radio.co.uk/shows/profile.php?show=headstand

This video is from the recent Mundo Popular 5 and it features Beakers Folklórico Japón performing a Japanese oldie. Below you'll find a detailed explanation about Hanko Kagurazaka's 1952 debut song 「�ん���ゃ������ (Konna Watashi Jya Nakattani). Check back in a few days after I've had a chance to sit down with Ryousuke, and I'll have the text edited.

「�ん���ゃ���������曲��。1952年 "神楽��ん�" ���歌手�debut song。

"Singer, Hanko Kagurazaka was "real" geisha in Kagurazaka, typical hana-machi (geisha town), center of Tokyo. Yaso Saijou (poet, lived in Kagurazaka) & Masao Koga (Biggest composer) found her talent of Hanko Kagurazaka as Singer.

At first, They wrote the song "KONNA WATASHI JYA NAKATTANI" for her debut at 1952, from Columbia Record. The song lyrics talking about painful, patience of geisha girl minds. Geisha girl fall in love with the man, one of her customers. but It is possible to meet only occasionally. Geisha girl love for man's sleeping face very well, and cry with hiding. (sob) Then she think about the day could meet with the man, and dreaming about the man, counting how many times she could meet with the man. She think "I am not like this" (like falling love with the man and cry with hiding).

Geisha Girl could not marry freely, The song sing about these geisha girls mind that they could not fall in love freely. And "Konna Watashi Jya Nakattani" use traditional carnival rhythm like samba, this rhythm called Ondo.

This 7-inch analogue records sometimes re-issued, in 60's & 70's. It were very well known one of "Geisha Songs" in Japan."

-Ryosuke Itoh

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Mundo Popular, Beakers Folklórico Japón, L'Institut Franco-Japonais, La Brasserie de l'Institut, Geisha songs, Ondo, Ichigaya, Kagurazaka, Hana-machi

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.

KTa☆brasil plays pandeiro, a Brazilian tambourine, at Samba-Nova, a monthly DJ event at Roots in Shibuya...

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, KTa☆brasil, Samba-Nova, Roots, Shibuya, Tokyo, pandeiro, tambourine, Brazil, percussion, DJ, event, live, Japan, パンデイロ, 音楽, 渋谷, �京, 日本

Running out of steam on a Thursday morning because I got up way too early, so I'm back on my futon...

(I posted this in a hurry, and as a result I'll need to listen to it again in order to give a better description of its full contents.)

A few mentions are in order though:

This podcast features a reading of Franz Kafka's "Poseidon" by Patrick Sheil, writer and frontman of Cambridge band Moth Conspiracy (www.mothconspiracy.net).

Closing music by Spoon via 4th of July on Lake Shore Drive (Chicago), a YouTube video from Mugtorte Please don't sue!

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Franz Kafka, Poseidon, Patrick Sheil, Moth Conspiracy, Spoon, headstand, El Gringo, SambaNova, Cream Latte, Roots, Pink Cow, Shibuya, learnjapanesepod.com, chat, forums, story, Japan, Cambridge, UK

Subscribe to Rob's Solo Podcasts on iTunes

Coming up this Saturday, the monthly SambaNova Brazilian dance party at Roots in Shibuya, and next weekend, it's the suave and civilized Cream Latte DJ event at The Pink Cow, also in Shibuya.

SambaNova will line up most of the usual suspects. I'll have more details, including the full roster, posted right here soon.

The following Saturday, 17 November, is Cream Latte, which is supported by Asoboo.com and sponsored by 180:productions:live, adds a member to its roster, Syril (MedVacances) who will be joining regulars Mateus Branco (a.k.a. Forensic DJ) and El Gringo (who recently appeared at The Pink Cow as La Gringa).

The visual designer will most likely be kila kila killa (Flo-Union).

Last time, Matt's guests recieved a free bottle of wine per table! What wonderful act of hospitality awaits his guests this time?

Come early and enjoy The Pink Cow's mouth watering buffet from 7:00 p.m. for a mere 2650円. Or, if you're just interested in drinks and the DJ event, come at 9:00 p.m. when there will be NO DOOR CHARGE.

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Cream Latte, The Pink Cow, Mateus Branco, Forensic DJ, 180:productions:live, El Gringo, Syril, MedVacances

This guy makes some pretty interesting and entertaining videos about Tokyo. This is his vlog #39, which was posted on the 5th, so it's hot off the press!



Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Tokyo, Cooney, YouTube, Pipo, Kyuta, vlog, Japan, sushi, life, living, blog, police

Posted by Rob.

Tags:

Bunka-No-Hi, today's national holiday. T-Shirt of the day, what's happening in Tokyo this weekend, podcast idea, Facebook story, haiku, a phone call from overseas...

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Panic Living, Tokyo, 文化�日, Bunka no hi, Machitobi festa, Kagurazaka, Mundo Popular, L'Institut Franco-Japonais, music, live, facebook, �京

Subscribe to Rob's Solo Podcasts on iTunes

What did we talk about? I don't remember. Sports or something?

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Alex Brooke, Rob a.ka. El Gringo, LearnJapanesePod, chat

This is our cycling season wrap-up show, and as usual we talk about much more than just cycling (and doping) news. Intro music by Stevie Wonder, not Lionel Richie as I erroneously stated.

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Jaksche, Basso, Riis, Indurain, Bettini, DiLuca, Cunego, Saiz, Merckx, Giro di Lombardia, World's, Discovery, Slipstream, Astana

Subscribe to Bicicleteiros on iTunes

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Mundo Popular, Syril, Beakers, Jardin du Luxembourg, Femme est Femme, Samba Nova, L'Institut Franco-Japonais, Halloween

Subscribe to Rob's Solo Podcasts on iTunes

MUNDO POPULAR 5 @ L'Institut Franco-Japonais
Sunday, 4 November 2007

18:00 OPEN

18:00-18:30 DJ Ryosuke, Narita
18:30-19:00 Beakers Folklorico Japon Live
19:00-19:30 DJ El Gringo
19:30-20:00 Jardin du Luxembourg Live
20:00-20:30 DJ Syril
20:30-21:00 Femme est Femme Live
21:00-21:30 DJ Narita
21:30-22:00 DJ El Gringo + Syril

Posted by Rob.

Tags: Mundo Popular, Beakers, Jardin du Luxembourg, Femme est Femme, DJ Cyril, MedVacances, Narita, NRT, SambaNova, El Gringo, Itoh, Taiyo Record, L'Institut Franco-Japonais, Ichigaya, Tokyo, Japan, live, music event

Here's a Jet Jaguar music video now available on Last.fm. We've posted another song by him before, News, which is our 7th ranked in all time downloads on NFTOS. You can find a 17.3mb QuickTime version on his website nonwrestler.com

Video details:  Directed by Glen Atkins, this video got 3rd place in the "Handle the Jandle" video competition in 2001. Glen also won the prize for best editing. The song appears on 'Jet Jaguar is Love'.

When we get around to it, there'll be a Jet Jag track in the next music from the other side program. Um, when we get around to it. In the meantime, go check out the tracks available for download over on nonwrestler.com and stop back here often! We've been trying to post something two or three times a week.

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Jet Jaguar, Glen Atkins, New Zealand, music video, Last.fm

Anyone reading this has probably completely forgotten we even mentioned this video by now. This is the first of what should be a series of Semtazone videos, starting with this interview conducted in French at Lush in Shibuya. The question posed (in my crap French) was this: "What were your first impressions of Japan?" The band were touring Japan for the first time (except for their translator, who had spent some time over here as a child). I'll post the band members' names soon, but you can probably figure them out, if you can understand their gestures and check out their MySpace page. For the links, please look at the previous Talk Show and Panic Living posts where we were refering to this gig. I'll get links up soon, I promise. Pardon my crap French. Filmed and edited by Alex. Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Semtazone, Japan, Rob a.k.a. El Gringo, Shibuya, Tokyo, Taiyo Record, Lush, Roots, band, interview, センタゾン, �京, 渋谷

Supported by Asoboo.com & Sponsored by 180:productions:live

A new feature to the Latte...

Introducing Jazz singer Tomoka Miwa!! Her debut performance at Cream Latte Groove Lounge

Cream Resident DJ's: Mateus Branco ( UK ) & El Gringo
( brazilian, chill out, french, latin & house )

Visual Designer: kila kila killa ( Flo Union )

Matt's guests will recieve a free bottle of wine per table!!

Come early for The Pink Cow's mouth watering buffet!
7:30�ら
2650円
DJ event only, from 9:00 p.m.
NO CHARGE

20:00 Saturday, Oct 20, to 01:00 Sunday, Oct 21.
Posted by Rob.

Mamma Said Knock You Out! Posted by Rob.



Tags: NFTOS, Alex Brooke, Rob, Kagurazaka, Tokyo, Japan, boxing, flyweight, WBC, cockroach, bully, WWF, kung-fu

Never? Posted by Rob

Tags:

Music by Quest a.k.a. Hayden. Posted by Rob.

Tags:

Recorded the day of the Semtazone gig (which was fantastic) and uploaded the morning after. Today Alex and I are going to record the talk show mentioned in this solo podcast. Stay tuned for a full report from the concert, interviews with band members and fans, and videos of most of the bands who performed. Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Japan, Rob a.k.a. El Gringo, Kagurazaka, Tokyo, Semtazone, The Pink Cow, Roots, Samba Nova, Kua Aina, Taiyo Record, Lush, Nakamura Satoko, Banda Okara Qubari, Baron, Beakers Folklorico Japan, Oink, Shigeki (from Drink 'em All)

Kind of a pre-meeting meeting. Before we either record a podcast on Skype later this morning, or Alex comes directly to Tokyo.

Links and stuff will follow, as per usual.

Posted by Rob.

TAGS: NFTOS, Alex Brooke (LearnJapanesePod.com), Japan, Rob a.k.a. El Gringo, Kagurazaka, Tokyo, Semtazone, The Pink Cow, Roots, Samba Nova, Kua Aina, Taiyo Record, Lush, Nakamura Satoko, Banda Okara Qubari, Baron, Beakers Folklorico Japan, Oink, Shigeki (from Drink 'em All)

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

Was up early today and went hiking in Tsukuba, Ibarki Prefecture, a place which a student told me about yesterday. I took an express train from Akihabara which took approximately 45 minutes and then took a local bus (after a 30 minute wait) which took another 40 minutes...

In other news, it looks like I've deleted the banner again! I always do that when I'm trying to change certain Libsyn settings. Alex! Help...

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Tsukuba, hiking, Japan, Akihabara, Ibaraki, Semptazone, live music, Tokyo, Lush, Shibuya, 440, 下北沢, 渋谷, æ?±äº¬, ã?¤ã??ã?°, 茨城県, 秋葉原, 筑波山

Part two of Alex, Makiko and Rob cycling around the JR Yamanote Line on 17 September 2007. We started at around 7:35 at Shin Okubo Station and finished up back there at 17:00. Listen to Alex's pre-ride motivational speech on our voice message box over on the right of this page. See it? Please leave your own message, if you'd like. Be nice! "The Girl Has Not Eaten" audio sample by Eric Seaholm.

Check out the first stage here:  http://media.libsyn.com/media/newsfromtheotherside/Yamanote_Line_1.m4v

Posted by Rob.



Tags: NFTOS, Alex Brooke, makikomo, Rob, JR Yamanote Line, Tokyo, Shinjuku Station, Japan, Yoyogi Station, cycling, radsport, le velo, ciclismo, Seaholm, trainspotting, å±±ã�®æ‰‹ç·š, 弓, 弓é�“, 代々木駅, 新宿駅, æ�±äº¬, 日本, 自転車, 電車

Subscribe to our Urban Cycling Adventures on iTunes

Charles, do you have an MP3 of this? Oops. I realized this isn't the music I put at the end of Panic Living #40 now... and that it was E.T. Transe Techno instead. Do you have mp3s of all this stuff available on your blog? If not, you should put a few up on last.fm or on the podsafe music network.



Posted by Rob.

Back from a grueling hike on Sado Island, I still have one day to recouperate before I have to go back to work, so let's panic living!

The show starts with T-shirt(s) of the day and closes with a haiku by me and a song by Charles Billard and human beatbox Takezo Aoki called E.T. Transe Techno performed live at Cafe Absinthe.

Watch the YouTube video in order to begin to fathom what Charles Billard's song is about--a song that I'm going to upload soon. I don't know much about it, but after listening to Charles' version twice and this one once, I can say it's kinda catchy. Is it the next Pokemon craze?



Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, ��り��り虫, Charles Billard, E.T. Transe Techno Osaka, Japan, Joetsu Shinkansen, Niigata, Hotel Nikko Niigata, Sado Island, mapple.net, Kinpokku San, Ryotsu, Rotary Restaurant Cafe, Taiwan Long Chuan Beer

View it! Details within. Posted by Rob.



Tags: NFTOS, DJ Wes, Hitomi Nova, Rob a.k.a. El Gringo, Chove Chuva, Higobashi, Osaka, Japan

At the French-Japanese Institute of Tokyo in Ichigaya Alex reads an old journal entry. Rob talks about his library card and some music he hasn't listened to yet. You get to hear music from Seaholm.com and a cacaphony of cicadas telling us summer is almost over...

Posted by Rob.



Tags: NFTOS, seaholm.com, Alex Brooke, Rob, El Gringo, Ichigaya, Tokyo, Japan, L'Institut Franco-Japonais, reviews, journal reading, coffee drinking, cicadas

Another national holiday, but this time I don't have anything planned.

Yet another 40 files counted down. More links coming soon! I'll do my best, but don't expect them to be exactly in the same order as on the podcast...

200. Talk Show #19: Trading Places for the holidays. 199. Jerry, Sae & Alex: "Jerry's Funk" a.k.a. Wine Red no Kokoro. 198. Talk Show #28: Tasmanian Pissing Cicadas. 197. Bicicleteiros #9: Operación Friburgo. 196. Jonny Heartbreaker: Song for My Girl. 195. Jonny Heartbreaker: Surfer Girl. 194. Bicicleteiros #8: Race to the Bottom. 193. Bicicleteiros #12: There is Hope. 192. Me and TripleB #2. 191. Fake Pilot vs his dad: Luke, I Am Your (Swedish) Father (Rob's edit). 190. Bicicleteiros #5: Paris-Roubaix. 189. . 188. . 187. . 186. . 185. . 184. . 183. . 182. . 181. . 180. . 179. . 178. . 177. . 176. . 175. . 174. . 173. . 172. . 171. . 170. . 169. . 168. . 167. . 166. . 165. . 164. . 163. . 162. . 161. . 160. .

Photo: "No Ghosts in their Shells" by Rob. Posted by Rob.

After a few weeks off, we're back to talk about our late summer adventures, and of course, commentary on the pro bicycle races. This time we roll in on Yves Montand's "Bicyclette," and get right down to business discussing Vuelta a España (a.k.a. the Tour of Spain) and the Tour of Missouri. Other topics included transgender issues in sport, reducing your carbon footprint and much much more! Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Yves Montand, Bicyclette, Tour of Missouri, Discovery, Vuelta a España, Chicago, Illinois, Shane Winn, Andy Sargent, Matt Murphy, Mitch Murphy, Al Stern, Charly Mottet, Andy Hampsten, Robert Millar, South Chicago Wheelmen, John Marino Open, RAAM, Northwest passage, carbon footprint, birth control, birding, rafting, transgender issues, Yamanote Line

Subscribe to Bicicleteiros on iTunes

The ALT Rap on the Juso Bridge over the Yodo River in Nakatsu, Osaka. And here's an up-to-the-minute discography...

Videos:
ALT Rap video
ALT Rap improv with live drums at Osaka jyo koen Station
(outtake from the Loop Line Series)

Song versions:
ALT Rap vocal track only
ALT Rap Alex Brooke version
ALT Re-Rap by Quest
ALT Rap remix by DJ Kung-fu Grip
Anarchy Larynx Tatoo by Jerry Gordon
ALT Rap Answers the Questions by Charles Billard
ALT Rap other classics improv with Jonny Heartbreaker and friends...

Credits:
Original lyrics by John Sanders and Rob (a.k.a. El Gringo).

The ALT Rap is available in 4 versions on MySpace as well as on YouTube, Revver, Google video and others. Now go tell your friends!! Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Alex Brooke, Rob a.k.a. el gringo, Japan, Osaka, Nakatsu, Juso bridge, ALT, JET Program, rap, music video, acapella, Yodogawa, Yodo River

Today we cycled around the JR Yamanote Line, and we made a video, of course. We started at around 7:35 at Shin Okubo Station and finished there 17:00.

Listen to Alex's pre-ride motivational speech on our voice message box over on the right of this page. See it? Please leave your own message, if you'd like.  Be nice!  And please subscribe to us on iTunes!  All our recent videos play on your iPod (unlike some of our earlier ones)... 

Yamanote Line #2 is now up:  http://media.libsyn.com/media/newsfromtheotherside/Yamanote_2.m4v

Posted by Rob.



Tags: NFTOS, Alex Brooke, makikomo, Rob, JR Yamanote Line, Tokyo, Shin-Okubo Station, Japan, Shinjuku Station, cycling, radsport, le velo, ciclismo, DJ Wes, 山�手線, 新大久�駅, 新宿駅, �京, 日本, 自転車, 電車

Subscribe to our Urban Cycling Adventures on iTunes

The saga continues. Alex and Rob catch dinner at Bar Uno in Sakuranomiya. Then, over the Ogawa (in view of Osaka Castle), past the "love hotels" and "fashion hotels," past moonwalking toddlers with their grandmas, on to Kyobashi, where they run into a fellow superhero, VodaRanger! Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, JR Loop Line, Osaka, Tenma, Sakuranomiya, Kyobashi, Bar Uno, love hotel, fashion hotel, VodaRanger!

Subscribe to our Urban Cycling Adventures on iTunes

Recorded while relaxing at home after a morning ride through the Tokyo Imperial Garden (or whatever it's called).

Photo of a colleague's T-shirt which I believe came from UNIQLO and we suspected to be nonsense. As it turns out, Rickard Jäverling is a Swedish inde folk artist with an album titled Two Times Five Lullaby. Apparently he's been getting scrobbled quite often these days on last.fm. Maybe my co-worker was pulling my leg. 'Cos I'm a blonde, yeah, yeah, yeah! Posted by Rob.

Patrick writes:

"Hi Folks my radio show on 209radio.co.uk will be broadcast on Wednesday 19th September from 10-12pm - the graveyard shift for uk listeners and the breakfast show for those in Japan. If you can't listen live it will be available to stream from the website. There will be lots of music and poetry and some stories specially recorded by Cambridge writer Patrick Sheil. The show still needs a logo and I'm looking for all kinds of music and poetry for future shows so please send me your recordings. If you're a poet in Cambridge I can record you. Thanks to everyone who's already sent contributions - keep them coming.

-Patrick"

Tags: NFTOS, Rob (a.k.a. El Gringo), Kagurazaka, Tokyo, Japan, cycling, events, music, audio blog, Mao Tsetung, Patrick Widdess, 209radio.co.uk, Jack Kerouac, poetry, haiku (more to come)

NOTICE: I've been having problems with certain .mp3 files not direct downloading correctly today. Maybe best to avoid them for the time being until I figure out what is going on. Other files seem to be OK. When checking .mp3 files, I noticed the URL switch to mediacloud.libsyn.com just before the download began. Then, instead of playing in a window, it downloaded to my desktop. Looks suspicous to me! If anyone does recognize what the problem is, please let me know!

WARNING: Not suitable for kids in America. Everywhere else, please ask your parents to watch it first! Actually part two of our last talk show, but we shot it as a separate program. Check out Dr Pepper's can artwork in Japan! Unfortunately, I missed getting a picture of the first plastic bottle I saw last year, when I came to scout out the land. (It was much more tastefully done) But, I did get a snapshot of this can.

There are some outtakes at the end of the podcast, although, the whole thing is actually a series of outtakes! Sculpture by Guido in Osaka. Music by Quest a.k.a. Hayden in Nebraska. The guy on the right is Alex Brooke and the guy on the left is yours truly. Edited by me in Tokyo. Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Gearhead Studio, Billy Blank, Billy's Boot Camp, Kenchansworld, ブートキャンプ�プ�入隊？, Dr Pepper art, Shonen Jump art contest, LearnJapanesePod.com, makikomo.com

Patrick reads "The Sound of One Leg Walking" while Jonny Heartbreaker strums on his guitar. Waiting for a photo from one of the lads. Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Patrick Widdess, Jonny Heartbreaker, a.k.a. Greg Morrissey, Alex Brooke, Rob, El Gringo, Osaka, Japan, poetry, accoustic guitar.

Tags: YouTube, veloboy, The Trenchparrots, Tokyo, Kagurazaka, Japan, BikeClubOsaka.com, hoodryde, Hakan Photography, Party Monster Vol. 2, QFWorld.tv, DJ Miki, DJ Mateus Branco, 180 Productions, Dr Anybody, Jade Media, Ms Rock Spirit, Rakkie, Kila Kila Killa, Danger Espresso, Mondaiji comedy act, Cream Latte, asoboo, KATG, pesos for pizza...

Posted by Rob.

What is a symphony to some is an earbleeding nightmare to others. Pachinko parlors and game centers I can certainly do without. This video was filmed in Higashi Umeda, Osaka, and edited (very little) by Alex. I think you'll find the .m4v file much clearer than the YouTube clip. Posted by Rob.

Edited by Rob (I take full responsibility).

Posted by Rob.

Tags: GearheadArtStudios, Kagurazaka, Tokyo, Japan, Alex Brooke, DJ Wes, zanshou, 残暑, 神楽�, �京, 日本

Alex and I just made a promo video featuring music by DJ Wes!!



Posted by Rob.

Tags: DJ Wes, Alex Brooke, LearnJapanesePod.com, makikomo soap, Tokyo, Kagurazaka, Japan

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

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

¿Dónde están mis pantalones?

Bicycle taxi in downtown Fengcheng

Add to My Profile | More Videos

Tags: China, Fengcheng, sinosplice.com

This is a clip of Ivan (also in our Tin's Hall video) philosophizing after a few shots of tequila and maybe an absinthe or two... The poster is hanging in Restaurante El Pancho in Shinsaibashi, Osaka. Posted by Rob.

Tags: Tequila, Mexico, Japan, Osaka, Ivan, absinthe, philosophy, sociology, sociología, global politics, Latin America

This is actually part B of number 19. Hans and I mentioned this YouTube video in episode 19.

My old racing buddy Dan Currell is back in the sport, this time as an amateur category 3 on the track. Check him out on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/currelld

The video was taken 7 July at the Sports Center Velodrome Chariot Race, Category 3. "Taylor Olson wins by a mile." Dan Currell second, Ted Schmid third.

Tags: Taylor Olson, Dan Currell, Ted Schmid, Velodrome, chariot race, sprint, Blaine, Minnesota, NSC, track racing, keirin

Posted by Rob.

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Cooking with the wannabe redneck, Hans, via the series of tubes, with not much cycling discussed this time, however, we did have Norwegian pop (music), micro-brewed beer, samba, pellet guns, hillbilly foreplay, and much, much more! I think Hans was on the verge of a Mel Gibson moment, but managed to keep himself under control. You have to take his environment into consideration...

Photo by Hans.

Posted by Rob.

Tags: Tour of Ireland, Chef Boyardee, The Raelian Movement, Terence McKenna, Jews in Japan, Brokeback Mountain

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Really sorry about the computer fan and floor fan noises!! Some of the topics mentioned included:

-Thom Jones, Cold Snap
-Andresito and his brother in Japan
-DJing at Cafe Absinthe on Friday
-Cocolo FM, Yaneka in London
-Nippon Premium, Kirin's new brew
-T-shirt messages
-Last.fm
-Bar Bonobo, Jingu 2 Chome
-Fireworks at Jingu at Tamagawa
-209radio.co.uk goes old school FM
-Closing haiku


Now that poet Patrick Widdess is back in England, we've got people on the ground in Cambridge! Here's an online radio program which will be broadcasting on the Marconi soon, called Transmission Failure(?) on 209radio.co.uk. He is requestion music, poetry and logo artwork for his show. Stay tuned for details!

Patrick has also tipped me off to Prairie Home Public Radio, as in a Garrisson Keillor and Lake Wobegon podcast!

Finally, on the homefront (that's Japan), Osaka's Jonny Heartbreaker is now available on Last.fm.

Small green frog taken in Chiba Prefecture by Rob. Posted by Rob.

Tags: (coming soon!)

Alex writes: "It's always good go through old files and see which ones are being downloaded and which aren't. While going through the files I decided to make the top 10 most popular downloads from this site."

Here they are in reverse order:

10) Lesson #5 Asking someone out

9) Lesson #15 Wait a moment Mr Postman

8) Lesson #16 Movie Japanese

7) Lesson #4 Counting

In this lesson we learned to count with Waka sensei.

6) Lesson #14 Mukatsuku

This was my favorite show and has been popular ever since we released it.

5) Fun Friday Kansai Dialect

Recently all the Fun Friday episodes have been more popular than the normal lessons.

4) ALT RAP by Rob (a.k.a. El Gringo)

This rap about life as an English teacher was written by Rob and fellow Osaka ALT John Sanders, and the music was produced by Alex Brooke. This video has continued to be quite popular all over the net.

3) Lesson #2 Basic questions

2) Lesson #1 How are you ?

But wait for it. Drum roll please, the single most popular download on Learn Japanese was...

1) Days of the week Video

You can listen to the latest Learn Japanese podcasts here.

[There was supposed to be a YouTube video here. Seems like there's either a YouTube bug or a Libsyn one, and I'm going to try and find out which it is. It's been happening with all new posts and edits since yesterday. All the code just disappears. I'll get to the bottom of this...]

Something someone at work turned me onto.

Posted by Rob.

Links and stuff coming soon! (as usual) Posted by Rob. Tags:

Posted by Rob.

Tags: Horse crash, Pamella Guimaraes, eyebrows, Tony Rominger, Bill Stapleton, Bob Stapleton, Alberto Contador, Michael Rasmussen, Marco Pantani, Claudio Chiapucci, Djamolidine Abdujaparov, Frank Vandenbroucke, Wally Pleasant, Kurt Cobain, Eddie Vedder, single speeds, Tour de France, Tour of Germany, Alan Partridge

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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.

Alex and Rob provide travel advice for Andres and his bro who are about to embark upon their first journey to the land of the rising sun... Links, photo, tags coming soon! Posted by Rob.

Links coming soon! T-Shirt (photo) worn by an Aussie (what was his name?) at the Japan vs Australia game which we watched at an Irish Pub in Jiyugaoka. Photo by Makiko. Posted by Rob.

Tags: , , , , , (coming soon!)

Rik Sanchez & Co. are Osaka originals. Follow the YouTube link to Rik's other videos. Proceed at your own risk! Violence and all manners of weirdness take place by the time you get to part 3! Posted by Rob.



Tags: Rik Sanchez, Osaka, Japanese, egg, horror, sci-fi

Alex's adventures continue in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, as we are joined by Miss Tasmania, who tells us of the strange and bizarre cicadas of some place she's probably just making up. Her boyfriend Masaki currently works 6 days a week making sushi in a French restaurant?? I'll have to listen to this podcast again to catch all the details. You should listen to it twice, and forward the link to all your friends and long lost relatives... http://media.libsyn.com/media/newsfromtheotherside/talk_show_28.mp3

Posted by Rob.

Tags: Mex Wax, Big Wave Surfing, cicadas, Tasmania

Are we out of the woods yet? Probably not. The doping dragon seems to be a multi-headed beast. Posted by Rob.

Tags: Tour de France, doping scandals, doping theories, men in black, cycling, cycling's darkest days

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In today's podcast I talk about a new tapas bar/restaurant in Kagurazaka (El Pulpo), an old one in Osaka (La Sevillana), the drinks at La Sevillana and the seafood served at El Pulpo, though I am no seafood expert in any language. The cicadas are warming up their engines--Japan loves its cicadas or "semi." Many a haiku has been writ [sic].

What else? The book I'm reading by Denis Johnson, "Jesus' Son," Lou Reed, bicycle racing (especially the Tour de France), keirin racing, Cerezo vs Verdy (tonight's match at Ajinomoto Stadium - check out the virtual cameras & mapping!), Dean and Urban Decay (NHM), Shonen Knife, Mt. Fuji, nature, vending machines on mountain tops, concrete-lined rivers, and just when I say I ain't got nuthin' to say, you're right, there's still a bit more!

Don't forget to vote at podcastalley.com, post comments below and record a voice mail on "MyChingo" over there on the top right side of your screen.

Corrections: It's "homologous" not "exogenous."

Links and stuff coming sooner or later, as usual. Posted by Rob.

Here's an update of our most downloaded files and a snapshot of the next 40 files on NFTOS, #s 120 to 160.

120. Charles Billard: ALT Rap Answers the Questions. 121. Panic Living #6: Earthquake!. 122. Panic Living #2: Business as Usual. 123. Picnic video. 124. Talk Show #15: Deepresso. 125. Bicicleteiros #3: 23 Minutes in Brussels with Hans & Rob. 126. Panic Living #7: National Rain Appreciation Day. 127. Panic Living #9: Our first TOP 100! (from #100-57). 128. Talk Show #13: Alex, Makiko, Patrick Widdess and Rob in Kagurazaka. 129. Rule No. 1: Don't Talk About Bike Club (that's BikeClubOsaka.com ) with Erik. 130. Talk Show #14: Summer [was] Almost Over with Alex & Rob. 131. Priceless Talk #1: Appalachian Adventure with Hans & Rob. 132. Anonymous: Indian Technician remix. 133. DJ Bobo (a.k.a. Renew Audio): Shark Attack! 134. Rob creates the Groove Harvest poster. 135. Panic Living #4: Ray Dunlap calls. 136. Alex & Rob: Talk Show #20. 137. David Roy as Pastor Ted. 138. Makiko's Nature video. 139. Jerry Gordon: Playing with the Arrow 3. 140. Alex, Jonny Heartbreaker and Patrick Widdess: 3 Men and a Couch. 141. The QuickFlickWorld Tokyo Crew: Nakameguro to the World Pt 1 recorded at Cafe Combine. 142. Makiko & Rob: What are you making? 143. Panic Living #21: Allergies. 144. Priceless Talk #11: ...and then there were four. 145. Charles Billard: Triple Decker. 146. Beb's Trash Talk (in Japanese). 147. Priceless Talk #9: Solo en el Suelo (until joined by Hans and Waka). 148. Bicicleteiros #1: Let's Roll!. 149. Prapatang Kitchen #4. 150. Panic Living #22: Breath of Life. 151. Me and TripleB #1. 152. News From The Tub with Rob (not available). 153. What is Nama? 154. Panic Living #18: "Nama." 155. Nama Artshow Info for 4/1. 156. Leftover Turkey (Thanksgiving in Shibuya) video. 157. Alex Brooke: Crap Hotel in Nagoya. 158. Scrambled Eggnog video. 159. Panic Living #17: Peace from the Other Side. 160. Panic Living #14: Latebreaking News! (...at that time). 161. Alex's DJ Sayonara @ Cafe Absinthe.

(more links coming soon!)

And here are links the previous 1-121 countdowns: 94-121, 81-93, 41-80, the TOP 40).

Photo: Found Alex online, lookin' all buff and tan. Posted by Rob.

I've been trying to find out why a certain podcast that I disabled or hid was still getting a lot of hits, and I came across our ranking on podcast alley--1604th so far for the month July! Well, one person had already voted, so with my vote that should make two. Please go vote at http://podcastalley.com/podcast_details.php?pod_id=17959# ...It's democratic or something. I promise not to bring this up again (unless it works). Photo: DJ El Gringo @ Cafe Absinthe back in the day. 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.

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出演者リスト
isabelle billard (mime) / nicolai maruhama (music) / mamiko sugaya (buyou dance) / yangjah (contemporary dance) jerry gordon (music & poetry) / loneseome hope (music) / kristy farkas (music) / ilbong (contemporary dance) / bun (music) / kalna (music) / miyamoto shoutarou (music) / wataru (music).

出演者�方々�スケジュール確����連絡を�り�����電話番�を�知ら�下 ��。

ã?¾ã?Ÿã€?出演希望ã?ªã?®ã?«ã€?リストã?«å??å‰?ã?Œã?ªã?„æ–¹ã?¯è‡³æ€¥ã€?ã?”連絡下ã?•ã?„。
090-9889-9523 / charlou@k.vodafone.ne.jp

Hello everybody!

Takedao Tunnel Event is coming soon! Sunday, AUGUST 5th, from 14:00 to 22:00 a ten minutes walf from Takedao Station, (3 Stations from Takarazuka), in an abandoned train tunnel along Mukogawa River in a very natural landscape. In order to do the email flyer (that you can print yourself to distribute), I would need the confirmation of participating members. (See list above)

Participating artists, please email me your telephone number. I will contact you soon about the schedule.

AND FOR THOSE WHO WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE BUT ARE NOT YET ON THE LIST, PLEASE CONTACT ME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE : 090-9889-9523 / charlou@k.vodafone.ne.jp

Posted by Rob.

Links coming later. It's naptime now. Posted by Rob.

While I was on vacation, Libsyn updated their service, so I couldn't edit any previous blogs with their links intact. Now it's working fine again. It was probably just a PC/mac thing, but it did get me to start backing up whatever I post on the blog on a clipboard as well. So that's why I ended up with some of the links on this post and the rest of the links, 94-121, elsewhere. What a pain in the ass! Thanks for fixing it, Libsyn.com!

81. Alex Brooke: Prapatang Grooves. 82. Charles Billard & Kurochi Sound System: The Voist. 83. Talk Show #4: The Summit. 84. Smouldering Door: Dancing Charcoal Pixies. 85. Anonymous: Indian Technician voice sample. 86. Linguistic massacre: Excusez-moi. 87. Alex and Greg Diss Grunge. 88. Panic Living #11 Tippy Top of 100. 89. Alex recites Orange Princess. 90. DJs Wes & Akio @ Cafe Barbes. 91. Prapatang Kitchen #1 with Alex. 92. Temakizushi Party at David Roy's. 93. Voice of Flying Koala. 94. Sayonara from Alex and Waka(yama). 95. Priceless Talk #8 with Andrew in Auckland. 96. Panic Living #13: Unlucky?. 97. Tsuchifumazu art show. 98. Limelight Circus LIVE @ L'Institut Franco-Japonais. 99. Hans with Horns on Cinco de Mayo. 100. Talk Show #17: Channeling The Departed Spirit of Alex. 101. ALT Rap (DJ Kung-fu Grip remix). 102. Neil & Brazil. 103. Panic Living #5: Don't Cry Over Spilt Coffee. 104. Birthday Greeting from Hans. 105. Charles Billard & Co.: G.I. Joe. 106. Talk Show #9: World Peace Squared. 107. Meet the I. 108. Jerry Gordon: La Stish. 109. Rob: Ichijiku Chant. 110. Bashiri do Cavaco: Smoke on the Water. 111. Cycling in Osaka. 112. Patrick in Tokyo 25-Nov-2006. 113. Alex: Prapatang Kitchen 2 video. 114. Jerry Gordon: ALT (Anarchy Larynx Tatoo). 115. Panic Living #12: Indian Summer. 116. Panic Living #6: Earthquake!. 117. Charles Billard: Pajammin' Party. 118. Hans Discusses Sweden vs Germany and Dragonflies. 119. Quest: That Ass Is Your Meal Ticket. 120. Panic Living #8: National Couch Appreciation Day. 121. Hans Birdwatching in Colorado.

(see the rest of the links: 94-121, 41-80, the TOP 40). Posted by Rob. .

Hey, we're back (Hans in Baltimore, Rob in Tokyo) with more Tour de France trash talk. Also in sporting news, The Beckham (I heard a staff member at Home Depot Stadium actually call him that) arrives in LA. Los gringos bail out of Copa America early, but Freddy Adu saves face in the under-20 World Cup taking place in Canadia [sic].

The YouTube video is Señor Coconut playing a cover of Kraftwerk's "Tour de France" at Sonar Sound, Tokyo back in 2006. Follow the related links in YouTube to other versions including the German version by Kraftwerk featuring vintage Tour footage, and this remix!

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No es lindo, pero éste podcast fue grabado casi todo en Español... It ain't pretty, but we recorded this mostly in "Spanish," with a bit of Portuguese, French, Italian and Japanese for seasoning. English was later added for consistency and clarity. And as you can see from the video clip I've added below, we're not the only ones slaughtering the Spanish language. Posted by Rob.

Oops! I don't know what went wrong with the file we tried to upload a couple of days ago. Let's hope it works this time. Bicicleteiros #14 was recorded on 7 July before we had any news of the Tour de France prologue (opening opening time trial) was available to us--no networks carry the Tour in Nebraska. Did I call the prologue or what? Cancellara was probably a no-brainer, but what about our Tour pics? Do you have a favorite? Please leave us a comment or a voice mail message on My Chingo on the upper right of your screen. If you live in a non-Tour de France screening area, watch VeloNews.tv. It has a lot of great videos that even work on my mac! More links and an image coming soon.

Posted by Rob.

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Man beats up vampire peacock, is it roid rage? Is it booze? Is it sport? Is alcohol boring you? Maybe you should try a date rape drug before your next workout!

Enough about beating your peacock and pro wrestling! How about some real sport? Jörg Jaksche (a.k.a. Bella) steps into the light, Vino talks, the Euro national road race championships, the imminent Tour de France and much, much more!

Posted by Rob.

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So Waka, how was Mexico? Pardon my poor Japanese. Posted by Rob.

Here are two cool keirin videos ( race 9 and race 11 ) and a link to a blog on Cyclingnews.com by Aussie track cyclist Ben Kersten explaining the action. He has been in Japan this year learning the techniques, rules and traditions that make up Japanese keirin racing, which is what you get when betting comes to the velodrome. You can also check out Benny's own website.

You can change the race number by just switching the final digits in the URL. I haven't tried any other dates, but there are 11 races for June 18, and I found a sweet crash in race 8! Please leave a comment, if you find any other race videos of interest...

Posted by Rob.

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This podcast opens with a "T-Shirt of the Day" and closes with a haiku. It contains shoutouts to the mixi communities of NFTOS, Cafe Velo & theiFfactor. Followed by DJ tales about El Gringo y Mateus Branco @ Bonobo, Mundo Popular 4 @ L'Institut Franco-Japonais and Cream Latte @ The Pink Cow. The next 81-120 podcasts on our libsyn stats are announced:

81. Alex Brooke: Prapatang Grooves. 82. Charles Billard & Kurochi Sound System: The Voist. 83. Talk Show #4: The Summit. 84. Smouldering Door: Dancing Charcoal Pixies. 85. Anonymous: Indian Technician voice sample. 86. Linguistic massacre: Excusez-moi. 87. Alex and Greg Diss Grunge. 88. Panic Living #11 Tippy Top of 100. 89. Alex recites Orange Princess. 90. DJs Wes & Akio @ Cafe Barbes. 91. Prapatang Kitchen #1 with Alex. 92. Temakizushi Party at David Roy's. 93. Voice of Flying Koala. 94. Sayonara from Alex and Waka(yama). 95. Priceless Talk #8 with Andrew in Auckland. 96. Panic Living #13: Unlucky?. 97. Tsuchifumazu art show. 98. Limelight Circus LIVE @ L'Institut Franco-Japonais. 99. Hans with Horns on Cinco de Mayo. 100. Talk Show #17: Channeling The Departed Spirit of Alex. 101. ALT Rap (DJ Kung-fu Grip remix). 102. Neil & Brazil. 103. Panic Living #5: Don't Cry Over Spilt Coffee. 104. Birthday Greeting from Hans. 105. Charles Billard & Co.: G.I. Joe. 106. Talk Show #9: World Peace Squared. 107. Meet the I. 108. Jerry Gordon: La Stish. 109. Rob: Ichijiku Chant. 110. Bashiri do Cavaco: Smoke on the Water. 111. Cycling in Osaka. 112. Patrick in Tokyo 25-Nov-2006. 113. Alex: Prapatang Kitchen 2 video. 114. Jerry Gordon: ALT (Anarchy Larynx Tatoo). 115. Panic Living #12: Indian Summer. 116. Panic Living #6: Earthquake!. 117. Charles Billard: Pajammin' Party. 118. Hans Discusses Sweden vs Germany and Dragonflies. 119. Quest: That Ass Is Your Meal Ticket. 120. Panic Living #8: National Couch Appreciation Day. 121. Hans Birdwatching in Colorado.

(see TOP 40, 41-80). Posted by Rob.

Alex, (Oaxaca) Waka and Rob continue spinning yarns--Tokyo adventures and North American travel plans. The paths of Quest (a.k.a. Hayden), DJ Kung-fu Grip (a.k.a. Halo Effect), Hans, Makiko, Rob and other NFTOS characters will all converge in Lincoln, Nebraska early next month. Stay tuned for all sorts of new stuff! Posted by Rob.

Alex and (Oaxaca) Waka give us an update from Mexico, where both are finding new strength through infermity. Don't drink the water, don't add ice cubes and think twice before eating fresh vegetables! Posted by Rob.

Here's an update from former Osaka resident and BikeClubOsaka crew member Liz Lambert:

As some of you know, I started writing a column in a Melbourne-based magazine. It is actually free street press, and heaps of u have asked how to get a hold of it, but since you are all interstate or overseas you will have to order it from

http://www.ldrmagazine.com.au/ and go under subscibe.

It is really cheap - $2.95 (around 300 yen) including postage and handling and it would be great if you do go ahead and order it. After all the DJ gigs, websites photography exhibitions, art exhbitions, fashion lines, bars, restaurants, festivals etc that I have supported you my lovely friends for over the years, it's my turn!!

Let me know what you think. I've not seen it yet, still waiting for a copy to come to me in northern Oz. xo

Thanks lovelies!!

Liz's blog is http://www.transitlounging.blogspot.com/ ...I had a graphic from her somewhere. Posted by Rob.

We generally try to steer clear of politics and religion here on NFTOS, however, Patrick Widdess recently crafted his own version of The Fall of Man which I dig immensely and decided to read. So, not only do we bring up the sacred here, but I'm sure some will find it tinged with sacrilege. Please find it in your hearts to forgive us in advance! Read by Rob, interrupted by Alex, Makiko and a third person? Photo from Patrick. Read the full text here.

Posted by Rob.

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*Lounge
**Chillout
***Downtempo
****Trip Hop
*****Latin

全部�るー

***CREAM LATTE***
エベント�。。。

６月２２日, 金曜日２１：４５- @渋谷�ThePinkCow.com
ゼヒ�����。

DJs
Mateus Branco
Miki
El Gringo
Vince from Paris

Visuals by David Roy.

Posted by Rob.

We're over our account quota again, so check out these other podcasts in the meantime... Alex and Waka in Oaxaca doing Learn Japanese #48 - "Rainy Season," Patrick back in Cambridge with his A Harmless Podcast - "Homecast 3," and Drew Moon in Kyoto with his latest Rendered SPACE - 04 (Electronica Pop Grooves Mix). All are available on iTunes.

steamy days again
wet bangs cling to my forehead
cool biz anyone?

Colorful coils by Makiko. Posted by Rob.

Hans and Rob talk about Frank Schleck's stage win at the Tour de Suisse, then wrap up the Dauphine Libere and foretell of more scandal to precede the Tour de France--now with it's own YouTube channel!

Today's blasts from the past are the 1996 Tour de France standings, a video of Djamolidine Abdujaparov's crash in 1991 and here's a 1986 Tour clip featuring the voice of Phil Ligget and the synth pop of John Tesh! The future is in the 80s...

Wheels by Makiko. Intro and outro by The Crystal Method used without permission--please don't sue!

Posted by Rob.

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Wow! I thought this was going to be a one-off. Patrick spotted this sequel first. Check out gorgeous.com.

Posted by Rob.

Here's Alex's latest report from Mexico. Listen to him culture shocking. We didn't have room for the file on NFTOS, so we posted it over on LearnJapanese. Click here to listen.

Waiting for a photo from Alex. In the meantime, a sombrero by Rob.

Subscribe to Alex's solo podcast, Prapatang Living, on iTunes

Today's episode contains two new features: 1) The T-Shirt of the Day, 2) Haiku of the Day. You will be able to find the haiku in LearnJapanese forums, in the haiku folder.

Today's ride was along the Chuo-Sobu Line east from Iidabashi Station to Akihabara, then clockwise along the Yamanote Line.

DJ El Gringo @ Bar Bonobo: map.

Posted by Rob.

Listen to Hans and Rob talk about bicycle racing and other outdoor adventures without mentioning the "D" word until very end of the podcast. And what is the "D" word? If you have to ask, you obviously haven't listened to the first 10 episodes!

First we talk about Philly, won by Argentina's J.J. Haedo (Team CSC). Now it's on to one of the final warm-ups for the Tour de France, the Criterium du Dauphine Libere. We discuss the Dauphine's history, this year's course profile and the second stage which was won by Christophe Moreau, one of our favorite riders.

Well, Hans is off bed in Baltimore, where it's almost 11:00 p.m. and he's had enough Circus Boys to call it an evening. (That's a kind of micro-brew, check out the link.) Here in Tokyo, where it's almost noon, it's partly cloudy-- a perfect afternoon for a ride!

Posted by Rob.

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[There was supposed to be a YouTube video here. Seems like there's either a YouTube bug or a Libsyn one, and I'm going to try and find out which it is. It's been happening with all new posts and edits since yesterday. All the code just disappears. I'll get to the bottom of this...]

That's DJ TripleBypass providing the sonic wallpaper. I believe the last track was Alex & Charles's collaborations? There are more videos from Patrick on YouTube. You can check out his writing at UKAuthors.com.

Posted by Rob.

Here is a quick video of Oaxaca for you loely people recorded on 10th June 2007 by me Alex.

Subscribe to Alex's solo podcast, Prapatang Living, on iTunes

Alex learns Spanish at breakfast in Mexico City. Would someone like to spellcheck Alex's writing? The photo is of his teacher, the ever-patient Andres (I think that's his name). Technichally, we're still over our storage quota, but I keep being able to squeeze another podcast in every other day.

Posted by Rob.

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Hans and Rob discuss the latest sordid tales to come out of the Pandora's box which is professional bicycle racing. Bjarne Riis's name is wiped from the Tour de France's holy record books. Jesus Manzano accuses Alejandro Valverde. Valverde denies the accusations. Frank Vandenbroucke attempts suicide. Vandenbroucke denies attempting suicide. The Belgian team QuickStep raids... I can't remember what all the headlines were, but we finally had to push stop, and start recording again. The account is still over the storage limit, and since people are still downloading this crap (believe it or not), we'll keep recording and uploading. Hans should be in Philidelphia today to watch the third race in the Commerce Bank Triple Crown (formerly the CoreStates-sponsored U.S. Pro Road Race Championship). Maybe we'll finally have something lovely and pure as a snow white dove to talk about! Photo: Grisette Blanche Belgian Ale.

Posted by Rob.

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Follow Alex's travels in Mexico from his Flickr account.

Posted by Rob.

Subscribe to Alex's solo podcast, Prapatang Living, on iTunes

I love this band! In this YouTube video I think they're in New Zealand, but they're talking about their upcoming trip to Japan. Good stuff. Check out all the other CCS videos too! I recommend Alala, Off the Hook, Alcohol and Paris Hilton... Speaking of Paris Hilton, here's a game link for ya! Posted by Rob.

After the interest spawned by our recent TOP 40 countdown, I've decided to list the next 40 or so, although I don't have the space on our account for an audio recap right now.

The biggest surges were DJ Wes talking about Osaka events way back in February 2006 (up 20 places!), Will Spin's JR Song (19 places) and Alex's and my Talk Show #6 - Baka Gaijin (16 places). I had to listen to #6 again to see what all the fuss was about--was it just the catchy title, or was it Alex's song "Tales from Prapatang" which we slipped in at the end?

Three new files have snuck into the TOP 40 since our 25 May countdown, my Panic Living #3, Alex, B-chan and I at Cafe Amanto and Alex's prophetic Mexican Fiesta.

So here go the next 40 files as of 6 June. 41. Alex's One Man Ramble from Nakatsu. 42. Alex: Prapatang Grooves. 43. Alex's room cleaning video: 24 Hours in Nakatsu. 44. Learn English. 45. Talk Show #8: The Governor of California. 46. Talk Show #2: World Cup. 47. Tin's Hall video. 48. Jonny Heartbreaker: Baby. 49. What's Your Favorite Word in Japanese?. 50. MFTOS #4. 51. Sayonara from Osaka. 52. J-League soccer: Kawasaki Frontale vs Cerezo Osaka. 53. Postcard from China #1. 54. Panic Living #9, or a countdown within the countdown: #56-#17 of 100 as of 26-Sept-2006. 55. Loop Line #3. 56. Deus Ex Machina: Domination. 57. About another podcast: Broken English. 58. "I've got the sea..." - Alex. 59. Postcard from Fiji. 60. Excuse me, Sir. 61. What Are You Making? #2 - with Makiko. 62. World Cup Reality Check. 63. Cafe Barbes. 64. Panorama. 65. Talk Show #5. 66. Haqq in Tokyo - Interview. 67. Prologue - Intro to NFTOS. 68. I Like Meat - Kansai-no-kai video. 69. Jikoshoukai - Makiko introduces herself in Nihongo. 70. Talk Show #9: World Peace Squared. 71. Alex Fakes It. 72. Dancing Charcoal Pixies - Smouldering Door. 73. Kurochi Sound System (feat. Charles Billard). 74. Talk Show #16 - Couch Therapy. 75. Postcard from Tokyo (by request only). 76. Mundo Popular 2 @ L'Institut - video. 77. DJ Wes & DJ Paccage chatting at Cafe Barbes. 78. Alex & Greg (a.k.a. Jonny Heartbreaker) take cheap shots at the Days of Grunge. 79. Panic Living #11 - Top 20 of our first 100 files as of 26-Sept-2006. 80. Indian Technician sample - anonymous. What's coming up next time? Stuff like #81. News From The Tub #2 with Alex...

Posted by Rob.

Alex left for Mexico today. His farewell blurb, Prapatang Living #2 has been delayed due to us being over quota (we've only ever been paying $10 per month). Maybe we should stop being cheap and kick it up to $20? When Alex left us he was armed with a travel-sized guitar, a small digital camera, his cell phone (for photos and video) and his iRiver .mp3 recorder. I am really looking forward to his updates. And I'm green with envy.

Check out A Harmless Poet for "Widdess and Widdess," Patrick's latest podcast with his brother Will whose music we featured on Music From The Other Side #4.

Podcast description: "Back home chatting to musician and sibling Will about Malaysia, New Market, Big Brother, Walker's crisps, strip clubs and more. Plus some great tunes from Muxu, Will Widdess, Moth Conspiracy and Lemon Jelly. Check out the Mighty Boosh." -Patrick.

I think these two make a great podcast duo, and I'm sure Will can help with Patrick's transition back into the Cambridge scene.

WARNING: Reverse culture shock can be a bitch. Gentlemen, please keep doing podcasts like this one!

Finally, my brother Hans has more travel and nature photos up on his smugmug account.

Posted by Rob.

Alex fears for the future. Count how many times Alex ponders theological concepts in this 40-min. podcast. I predict he will find religion while in Mexico. I forget what else we talked about. I vaguely remember something about Van Gogh and lemmings. I'll have to put it on my iPod to listen to and post notes later. DJ Marlboro playing in the background throughout. Posted by Rob.

Talked to Patrick on Skype today (31 May). He was in a Burger King in the Kuala Lumpur airport waiting for a flight back to the UK. He was kind enough to share some travel info and even a haiku!

He chats to himself
His words flash up in the dark
Half a world away

You can check out his writing at UKAuthors.com. Godspeed Patrick, et bon voyage! Posted by Rob.

The scandals continue in our once beautiful but always beloved sport of bicycle racing. Former doper Gilberto Simoni wins a stage in the Giro d'Italia with a little help from a teammate. The latest dominoes to fall: Multiple Tour de France Green Jersey and stage winner Erik Zabel ("I only tried EPO once.") and CSC team director and former Tour de France winner Bjarne Riis! Who's next?! Only time will tell.

In Oklahoma, 300 kids got their bikes stolen before a youth ride. OK, whoever it was, give them back now!!

I think I'm going to go out on an easy ride up to the local Brazilian market in Kita Otsuka for a few kilos of beans (grão de bico, feijão preto, etc), some guava paste and maybe a new Brazilian CD. We'll see what other goodies they have in stock for me!

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, The War on Mold, bicycle, velo, radsport, bicicleta, cycling, velonews, Giro d'Italia, Bjarne Riis, Erik Zabel, Hans, O Irmão da Xuxa, h-monster, Rob, El Gringo

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Alex teaches us how to pronounce a big word today. Listen to the full podcast for the meaning! We mentioned Foom-Foom's blog post about Cafe Absinthe, which, despite it's seemingly depreciative tone, highlighted many of the reasons why it's a great restaurant & bar! Nice photos too!

Why complain about Absinthe though, when you're two doors down from Masago, a great shochu bar, just around the corner from Mahina, a rum bar, a five minute walk from Covent Garden, another five from Cafe Barbes, which is just around the corner from Soul Kitchen. The latter 3 establishments I've walked out of into blinding daylight after all night sessions, while my first night at Mahina turned into a chaotic trip that somehow ended in Taisho-ku, where nothing was open anymore.

And then I saw on his blog what he keeps in his fridge... Happoushu! Let the evidence speak for itself. (follow the link and have a look at the fridge photo down near the bottom of the page). Happoushu, which we discussed in Priceless Talk #11, is the cheapest malt beverage money can buy in this country. That stuff does not even qualify as cheap beer. So, I guess a "yuppy" is a person who drinks real beer?

Anyway, enough of that. I've got Mundo Popular 4 coming up on 17 June, at L'Institut Franco-Japonais, with live bands and DJs (that's a poster for it that I'm pointing to in the photo).

p.s. I'll be DJing at Bar Bonobo tonight, spinning my usual blend of Brazilian, Latin and African music. Joining me will be guest DJ Mateus Branco (a.k.a. Matty)

p.p.s. BEB and Alex have a new song which you can hear on her blog now, and which we'll have here for you to download via NFTOS soon. Posted by Rob.

Last Sunday I span my hard drives @ Absinthe for Jonny Heart Breaker and other friends. It was a little quiet that night but it was good to play my favorite tunes, hang with friends and get the odd free beer. This was my low key sayonara party in town. Thanks for coming out guys, you know who you are.

Sorry for the crappy video but it was taken on my phone. Yoroshiku. Posted by Alex.

This is a video Charles Billard made 19 years ago while still in Quebec! If you're interested in fighting Le Ninja Rouge yourself, watch it until the end when you will be called out! Download an entry form at Charlou2006.blogspot.com ...he'll fight you! 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.

Dianne Orrett will appear on "BBC Japananorama vs Shaberanaito!" on NHK TV this Monday night. Check out the link for details. Diane is famous for her Japanese and English rakugo performances and for being a one-of-kind kids' entertainer. She serves children afternoon tea at outdoor festivals and she can make anything out of balloons--she once made me a pair of headphones at one of my gigs. Besides showing up regularly at my Osaka DJ events, Diane is always genuinely warm and friendly. Osaka would've been a different place for me, if she had never been there! The newspaper clipping is a file she sent me. I can't read the fine print, and as you can probably see, it is some kind of promotional piece on Kansai International Airport (KIX).

Posted by Rob.

Tags:  NFTOS, Dianne Orrett, Japanorama, Shaberanaito, rakugo, Osaka, Japan

Alex and Rob countdown the top 40 NFTOS audio and video podcasts and attempt to explain why some are more popular than others. Lots of shoutouts. This recording is LONG-- 42:28. Sorry about the whirring fan throughout the podcast. My computer overheats now that it is summer. Direct links to all the tracks mentioned coming when I get around to it, in order of lowest ranked to highest...

1. ALT Rap music video. 2. ALT Rap Osaka-jyo Stylee improv with live drums. 3. Makiko Soap Monster - Alex. 4. Talk Show #1. 5. Loop Line #1. 6. Nakatsu Music Project - Charles & Alex. 7. How to Pick Up Girls. 8. Nabe Party video. 9. Discobeans video. 10. Shinbashi Station - Quest. 11. ALT Rap Vocal track - Rob. 12. Alex Wins the Tour de France. 13. Panic Living #1 with Rob. 14. ALT Re-Rap - Quest. 15. Talk Show #3. 16. Nebra-ska - Quest. 17. Take Anything You Want - Alex's megamix! 18. An evening at Cafe Absinthe. 19. I Like Meat (the .mp3 file, not the movie). 20. Alex's Sunset Ramble from Miyajima. 21. Music Program: MFTOS #2. 22. Talk Show #7: Home is Where the Heart Is. 23. Loop Line #2. 24. Music Program: MFTOS #3. 25. Music Program: MFTOS #1. 26. Original ALT Rap recording - Alex & Rob (Lyrics by John Sanders & Rob). 27. All the Little Things - Quest. 28. Icitte les Oeufs - Charles Billard. 29. Loop Line #4. 30. Wroclaw Panache - Smouldering Door. 31. News - Jet Jaguar. 32. Wanna Tell You - Alex. 33. A misleading title: Learn English! 34. Makiko & Rob Watching People In the Park. 35. Irripressible Urges of Spring - Trenchparrots. 36. DJ Wes Kansai Info. 37. Talk Show #6: Baka Gaijin. 38. Alex's One Man Ramble from Nakatsu. 39. 24 Hours in Nakatsu (Alex's room clean-up video). 40. JR Song - Will Spin; Talk Show #12 (with MC Suspek).

The flyer is from Charles Billard in Osaka. 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.

Some of the links mentioned in this podcast were for QuickFlickWorld which is being held at Loop-line Cafe in Sendagaya this time, instead of Superdeluxe as before. It's pretty easy to get there from JR Sendagay Stn., Soubu/Chuo Lines. Also mentioned was Charie Nishino's Swingdance Journal. His band The Pimpwalkers has a new music video watchable on YouTube. More notes and links will be posted soon. Posted by Rob.

Here it is, Prapatang living, my answer to Rob's Panic Living. A creative urge took me tonight and I had to surrendar to it and record something. This is a reading from my new blog about the various thoughts knocking around the insides of my skull as my life in Osaka comes to an end and new adventures in Mexico hide in the bushes to ready ambush me.

The music is the apt "days to come" by Bonobo.

Enjoy.

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Hans and Rob talk about the current cycling soap opera (Landis vs LeMond). If you're a decent person, don't listen!

Posted by Rob.

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(ENGLISH TRANSLATION COMING IN A DAY OR TWO--BUSY!!)

6月17日（日）Mundo Popular 4 (& Taiyo Record 2nd Anniversary)

MUNDO POPULAR 4 〜大洋レコード2周年記念パーティー〜

[ワールドミュージックã?®æŒ?ã?¤ãƒ?ピュラリティをより多ã??ã?®çš†æ§˜ã?«ã€‚
�京日�学院�ブラスリー���異国情緒溢れる空間を国境を自由�飛� 越��音楽�満����。]

2007年06月17日（日）18時〜22時
�京日�学院ラ・ブラスリー
当日：1,500円（ドリンク別）��売：1,300円
（＊�売券 販売：大洋レコード）

Live Performance :
Tamanco Buco (Coco, ブラジル北�部音楽)
Banda OkaraQubari (Tropical Latin Punk)
Beakers (Folklorico Japon)

Slide&Talk Show:
栗本斉 Hitoshi Kurimoto (~旅�リズム~, Argentina and all Latin America)

DJs :
Samba-Nova Crew (every 2nd Saturday at Shibuya Roots)
KTa★brasil (excite公�ケイタブラジルblog / TOKYO FM digital "RITMO")
Rob Holbrook (el gringo)

Shop :
Ponto (Brasilian college T-shirts)
中�米マガジン

Officially sayonara'd last month, Patrick is back in Osaka for a last hurrah. 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!

Ivan Basso joins Jan Ullrich in Operacion Puerto infamany as he admits to "attempted doping." Hans and Rob review the latest cycling goss from the English-language cycling press. Hans was on his way out the door to go to work, and I'd just gotten home, so we didn't have time to cross reference the news with L'Equipe, La Gazzetta or Marca yet. Tentative Giro d'Italia rosters have been announced. No podemos esperar hasta il GIRO!

Posted by Rob.

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I know these people. If you've been around NFTOS for awhile, you probably know some of them too. The credits are in the film. I'll explain this one better later. Posted by Rob.

Last week Rob and myself were interviewed at FM Cocolo, one of the major radio stations in the Osaka area. The DJs were Yui and Chiyako who are also known as Yaneka, a band we featured on this podcast previously.

Our friends Makikomo and Jonny Heartbreaker sat in on the proceedings. You can hear their interviews on FM Cocolo in the Osaka area on Thursday 10th and 17th from 2am to 4am.

Posted by Alex.

Today I jammed in the street with the members of Le Jardin de Luxembourg (a.k.a. Luxembourg Koen), a 5 piece accordian group. We played outside of Mirrianbis, a store in Minami Semba in Osaka. The highlight for me was playing with the musical saw. It was a great day, Jonny Heartbreaker turned up and we gorged ourselves on beer and Kebabs served by the great Guido. Makikomo and El Gringo were there to sing and film the proceedings.  Thanks to everyone for a fantastic day spent with friends, drinking, singing and generally making fools of ourselves in the streets of Osaka. This video is a snippet of more to come. Photo by Kaori? Posted by Alex.

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.

Tomorrow! @ The Pink Cow
Map: http://thepinkcow.com
4.29 Sun 21:00 - late

Live Music:
Beakers (folklorico japon)
Jet Jaguar (laptop set)
Jonny Heartbreaker (accoustic guitar)

DJs:
Yoshihiro Narita (samba nova)
Meagan
el gringo
+super secret guest dj!!

Video:
Charles-Eric Billard
Joseph Baldwin

Artwork:
Abdul Qadim Haqq
Charles-Eric Billard
Craig Schultz
Eric Seaholm
Guido Saldana
Joseph Baldwin
Kanae Terachi
Makiko Mizutani
Michi:D
Motoko Nakao
Okha Ryu
Patrick Widdess
Raymond Dunlap
Rik Sanchez
Rob Holbrook
Sridhar Ramasami
Yuko Onishi

Join the News From The Other Side artists and performers for our Nama Art Show closing party at The Pink Cow in Shibuya on Sunday, 29 April 2007. There is NO CHARGE, but please take advantage of the 'Cow's scrumptuous menu items (such as the bean burrito pictured here) and refreshing beverages. And buy some art, if you can afford it! The party starts at 9:00 p.m. (or a little before). Posted by Rob.

In professional cycling, Davide Rebellin wins the Belgian "Spring Classic," the Flèche Wallonne. More doping in sporting news. In cycling, blood bags in Spain allegedly belonging Ivan Basso are in the news--again. Austrian Winter Olympians are banned for life. Hans and I discuss these sordid events while we view some of his new smugmug photos of moths, dragonflies and scary hairy caterpillars... I think everyone should spend more time observing nature!

Posted by Rob.

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Date: 29 April 2007 (a Sunday night before a national holiday).
Place: The Pink Cow in Shibuya ( http://www.thepinkcow.com )
What? Live music, DJs, great food, etc.
Charge: No charge, so eat up & drink up!

Performers List:
DJ Narita
Beakers (folk pop band)
DJ Meagan
Jet Jaguar (laptop set)
Charles Billard (video)
Johnny Heartbreaker (accoustic guitar & inspired vocals)
DJ El Gringo*

(*maybe)

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.

This wednesday we'll be rocking out at ( s p a c e ) in a new venue. Come out for a boogie & get your fix till the weekend! See you there...

Event: ( s p a c e )
Venue: FLOWER
DJs... Rob a.k.a. "el gringo," Adam, Meagan.
When: 18 April 2007
Map: http://www.roppongi-flower.jp/map/
Time: 7pm-11:30pm
Charge: 0 yen

Photo of Tokyo Panic Living Studios taken last night in Kagurazaka (or somewhere thereabouts). And no, I'm not on a diet, but that was in the fridge and just needed to be cleaned up! Will edit & add links later. Ben, I might edit part of what we recorded today and put it up tomorrow. And of course I meant Learn Japanese. Gomen ne! Gotta run!!

p.s. I realized a bit too late that not only did I have my Wednesday and Thursday schedules switched around, but that I hadn't paid my cell phone bill either. That meant I didn't send my usual e-mail invites out. Sorry if anyone was sitting around with nothing to and was just waiting for an excuse to go out!

Posted by Rob.

Hans and I speak our very own brand of Portuguese for about a minute. Then we switch back to the English channel and talk about the Tour of Georgia and the Paris-Roubaix bicycle races. We weren't there this year, but every year, whether we see it on TV, follow it online, or read about it the next day in the papers, it's as if we were there. Then the brothers take a walk down (our rather hazy) memory lane and try to piece together the history of American cycling on the European continent, particularly the 7-Eleven-sponsored team which later became Lance Armstrong's Motorola team. This was before he switched to the French Cofidis team and before he was diagnosed with cancer. Armstrong later joined the US Postal team which was a descendant of Coach Eddie Borysewicz's Subaru-Montgomery team. That team is now sponsored by Discovery Communications.

Collage by Rob. Posted by Rob.

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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

We haven't done that many videos yet this year, but we've come up with a new formula which seems to be quite popular, and that is the music program, "Music From the Other Side," which features mostly tunes by our friends.

What do I do when I wake up in the middle of the night and I can't get back to sleep? I get curious about our libsyn stats and try to figure out what people are downloading and why?! A complete nerdquest, I know, but I've also noticed that dragging stuff up every once in awhile helps regenerate interest in older files that, for whatever reason (usually timing in relation to other files), have been overlooked.

Here are our top 2007 files as of April 14th, which I will rank in ascending order as I get around to it, with the exception of the top 3 podcasts, which are all unsurprisingly music programs (this also helps out the files that are lagging behind). We don't really have any big numbers yet this year. With this year's files only, we are averaging 67 downloads per podcast (26 podcatchers, 41 web downloads). Yesterday we had 107 total impressions, last week we had 307 and last month we had 3,624. We're at a total of 30,369 since starting NFTOS, which is nothing compared with what our senpai site Learn Japanese has been getting.

1. MFTOS #2 with 228 unique impressions. 2. MFTOS #3 with 194. 3. MFTOS #4 with 152. 4. Kicking the Dane's Head. 5. Crap Hotel in Nagoya - Alex Brooke. 6. I Saw the Moon Again from my Hospital Room. 7. Me & TripleB #2. 8. Panic Living #18. 9. Prapatang Kitchen #4. 10. Panic Living #19. 11. On The Couch with Alex, Johnny Heartbreaker & Patrick in Nakatsu. 12. Triple Decker - Charles Billard. 13. Bicicleteiros #1. 14. Panic #17. 15. Crap! with Alex. 16. Talk Show #20. 17. Talk Show #21. 18. Panic Living #16. 19. Jonny Heartbreaker on the Couch in Kagurazaka (12-Feb-07). 20. Panic Living #21 - enhanced podcast. 21. Bicicleteiros #3. 22. Nama Art Show Info (31-Jan-07). 23. Panic Living #20. 24. What is Nama? (7-Mar-07). 25. Nama Art Show Info (22-Mar-07). 26. Gonbe & Sláinte! with the Flying Koala, Hyun-Ju & Jonny Heartbreaker. 27. Humble Pie - Alex in Nagoya. 28. Rattlesnake Baby - Hans stuck in traffic. 29. Panic Living #22 enhanced podcast. 30. Priceless Talk #12 with Hans, Brian & Rob. 31. Bicicleteiros #4 with Hans & Rob. 32. Panic Living #23: To Have and Have Not. 33. Priceless Talk #13 with Hans & Rob. 34. Wine Red no Kokoro a.k.a. "Jerry's Funk" - Jerry, Sae & Alex. (re-uploaded)

Posted by Rob.

Stay tuned for a new track from Chris Perren who performed last night! We also had tunes from DJ Ryousuke Itoh of Taiyo Record, videos by Charles-Eric Billard and more visuals by Hadi a.k.a. "The Pleasure Pimp." Do you mixi? For now, this is the only photo album I have up: mixi. Can't read Japanese? Well, first you learn Japanese, then you go join mixi and you can see the rest of the photos! Or, you can learn Japanese while trying to figure out mixi. Mixi is quite user friendly--ten times more logical than MySpace! Gomen ne! Posted by Rob.

Hans and I catch up on current world events. And stuff happening out our windows. And other unmentionable stuff. Be WARNED, we talk a lot of nonsense that may be offensive to ordinary and decent folk.

The owl photo was taken by Hans while he was in Delaware over the weekend. If you wanna see more of his nature and travel photos, check out his smugmug galleries. He's got some great photos posted already!

Posted by Rob.

I'll be DJ'ing at Bar Bonobo in Jingu-mae tonight. And I'll be joining David Roy for Flo-Union at the Pink Cow in Shibuya tomorrow night. Check out the events folder for previous links to maps and stuff until I get those up here. Stand by for the rest of the links and whatnot. Posted by Rob.

Okha says:
"road trip from San diego, California to Arizona for 3days, March 9th to 11th, 2007, with charles. we passed pine forest, grand canyon, colorado river, sand dune..."

I recommend watching it while listening to the Jerry-Sae-Alex version of "Wine Red no Kokoro" a.k.a. "Jerry's Funk." Step one: Open another page and download the track titled "Jerry's Funk." Two: Play Okha's road trip video with the volume off. What do you get? Something that reminded me of a Mazzy Star music video, only with Japanese vocals and traditional instruments. Get it? Hmm...

Posted by Rob.

More Nama Art Show photos coming soon at groups.msn.com/RecentlyOkha. Posted by Rob.

Hans and Rob talk about the latest doping revelations in the sport of professional cycling... and much much more! Not for the easily offended or easily bored. Intro & Outro music by Quest: That Ass Is Your Meal Ticket. Links: Jan Ullrich official site...

Posted by Rob.

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Well, the opening party is over, but the post-disaster clean-up has yet to begin. DJ Pops (a.k.a. Shunsuke Kado) kicked things off right on time (maybe even a few minutes early) with a crunchy electro-turned-house-turned lounge set, while some artists were still setting up their works. Kira Kira Killa (a.ka. David Roy) splashed and daubbed an apocalyptic glow in the dark mural with the help of the Flying Koala (a.k.a. Okha Ryu). Billard & Brooke played some experimentalage and then introduced the Harmless Bard, Patrick Widdess. Then the technical difficulties began. Kim La Roc was forced to play her sassy latin-funk-hip hop blend with one CDJ player and one DiskMan... (To be continued / Time to make some more coffee / Three zombies snoring...) Photo Charles in The Pink Cow. Posted by Rob the morning after.

GMap gave us a listing on their news and announcements (front) page! If I understood my brief conversation with Steve last Friday (or was it Saturday?), they're developing Tokyo area maps you can access from your cell phone. Nama Art Show.

Posted by Rob.

The cherry trees are blooming. I'm still wearning a mask to combat the pollen & pollution. I'm DJ'ing at Bar Bonobo in Jingu-mae tonight with Jet Jaguar and Meagan. Please click on the images of this enhanced podcast for more links. I probably won't get around to posting them here later with only FOUR DAYS till the NAMA ART SHOW!! See you around. Posted by Rob.

Hans is back home from Costa Rica and in Baltimore, Brian is at home in Bayuquan and I'm in Kagurazaka. Posted by Rob.

Greetings from sunny Kagurazaka, Tokyo! It was kind of windy in the park, so if you can't hear something, or have any other questions, please comment below or e-mail me at robholbrook@mac.com . Here's a bunch of info for the performers of our 1 April opening party. Stuart, sorry, your name slipped my mind while we were recording. Posted by Rob.

This week's show direct download: MFTOS4. We're back and featuring music from the following artists.

1. "Some guy" - Tal Brott
2. "Sharp Elbows And Vulnerable Cars" - Halo Effect vs Mr 1986
3. "Smile face" - Will Widdess
4. "Lost World" - Kantha
5. "The others" - Sienna
6. "Boogawooga" - Alex Brooke

Thank yous:

A big thanks to all the artists who contributed to this week's show.

Credits:

This podcast was produced by Rob and Alex at the Kagurazaka Hill Top studios in Tokyo on Thursday, 15th March 2007.

NEWS

The RSS feed has changed to:

http://newsfromtheotherside.libsyn.com/rss/musicprogram

This is an enhanced podcast, so you will need iTunes or Quicktime to view it. Artist graphics and links are included in the file date for you to click on and explore. Enjoy !

-Alex Previous Shows:

#3:
http://media.libsyn.com/media/newsfromtheotherside/mftos03.mp3

#2:
http://media.libsyn.com/media/newsfromtheotherside/mftos02.mp3

#1:
http://media.libsyn.com/media/newsfromtheotherside/nftosmusic01.mp3

Subscribe to MUSIC FROM THE OTHER SIDE on iTunes

Down in Osaka, Bike Club 2.0 will be up soon. It's amazing how far you can go when you have a clear vision combined with a solid plan and action! Lots of ACTION!

Here in Tokyo, Alex and I just finished recording "Music From The Other Side #4," which he will take with him to Chiba to edit over the weekend. Such is the life of the travelling Business English teacher. Our flyer is finished for the NAMA art show, and the homepage is still under construction, but it is up. Check it out! NAMA Artists and performers, please send your bios and a photo to mail@alexbrooke.com .

Finally, we've got two VJs who've agreed to work with us on the opening party night at the The Pink Cow. One is Hadi who has worked with the Expansion, QuickFlickWorld and Flo-Union events. The other is Richard Boase. Check him out at http://www.richardboase.com .

Posted by Rob.

Hey everyone, I recorded Panic Living #22 today, but there's not enough room on our account to upload it right now, so I just wanted to wish everyone a happy WHITE DAY! Really, there is such a thing here in Japan.

DJ El Gringo and possible special guest will be performing tonight at Bar Bonobo tonight (which is actually Wednesday, 14 March 2007, here in Tokyo at the moment). Click here for directions, a map and other details.

Shout outs to Ed Ovett who has a music podcast called Ed's Mixed Bag and to Steve Moore in Canada who has requested airplay on our music show! Alex and I should be recording a show tomorrow, so we'll check out your songs and choose one for the next show. Also, if we were supposed to play someone's song already, but haven't, please remind us! I had to put some of my files on an external hard drive--I'm sure those of you who know me well are surprised I know what such a thing is--so I might have to look for your .mp3 there. Finally, I got your latest song Peter. It's great, of course, and we'll include it in the next show or the one right after it.

Posted by Rob.

The homepage for the Nama art event is now up. Hoorah !

Check it out HERE !

If there any inaccuracies, or problems or anything you think needs updating email me at mail@alexbrooke.com

Thanks !

Posted by Alex.

It is a rare time when the great minds of Osaka come to the casting couch of the Nakatsu Palace studios. But they came. Erm... Anyway, enjoy. Posted by Alex.

p.s. This is that Dan Deacon feller Alex was talkin' about (This isn't his craziest stuff as it was for primetime American audiences). And here's a link to wwoofing which Patrick was referring to. I'm sure you can all find Pandora.com. -Rob

In a blog post awhile back, I recorded part of a funny conversation with Mattias Linberg and friends at a tachinomiya in Jingu-mae, near Bar Bonobo. This is part one of five of a flash media / advertising presentation he did one of the times he was in Tokyo. Check out Fakepilot.com for cool and edgy flash production campaigns for some well-known clients. Posted by Rob.

It's early Saturday morning here in Tokyo. Just 21 days till the Nama art show begins on Sunday, 1 April 2007! Here are some links off the top of my head of some of the artist participating in the event:

1. Joseph Balwin (Chicago)
2. Abdul Qadim Haqq (Detroit)
3. Raymond Dunlap (Osaka, Japan)
4. Eric Seaholm (Tokyo)
4. Sridhar Ramasami (Zhangye, China)
6. Okha Ryu (Seoul)

I'll post a few more artists' links in a day or two. Meanwhile, Alex is still working hard on the homepage for the show, and Craig and I should have the flyer out in a couple days. Photo by Charles Billard. -Rob

"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.

Nama is the title of our next artshow. So what is "NAMA" about? Well, it's NOT a new idea, and it's NOT the next big thing. It's a springboard for new ideas which will lead to that next big thing! To that challenge you thought you'd put yourself up to this year, but hadn't gotten around to yet.

To some it may seem like we're re-inventing the wheel. Repeating the same words that have already been said a million billion trillion times except they're in a different order--remixed.

To some it may be called recycling, reusing, recreating or just plain and simple--RECREATION--which it is! To others it may just look like spring cleaning--which [for me] it is somewhat. Out with the old, in with the new--again!

There have been people throughout history who question whether or not there can be "anything new under the sun." There were those in the time of the Industrial Revolution who predicted the next major invention would be the last. And there are those who say our next stupid war...

[But I'm not here to argue about that.]

Just like scientists, artists can't let those kinds of prophecies keep us from our craft, from our dreams, from our visions and everything we do which makes us come alive!

So, "NAMA" is just a starting point for where we're going next. And if you can't go there with us, you can still stay tuned for more News From The Other Side.

Posted by Rob.

Jan Ullrich and Jorg Jaksche retire. Will the UCI and ASO's meeting in Brussels save pro cycling? Hans and Rob talk cycling, Costa Rican howler monkies, David Beckham's wounded knee and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Photos by Hans except for the .m4a artwork stolen from Pablo Picasso. (Please don't sue!)

Posted by Rob.

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Flying Koala and friends devour LIVE OCTOPUS! Well, it had just been live moments before.

Posted by Rob.

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I'm trying to figure out GarageBand for the first time--I know, I'm a bit behind the learning curve. Song portions from "That Ass is Your Meal Ticket" by Quest. Tsutenkaku photo and the works on the .m4a file are by Rob, except for sketch of Rob by Sae. Links will follow. Posted by Rob.

Posted by Alex.

WOW! What else can I say but PUSH PLAY!

Discovered by Alex.

Posted by Rob.

This is the idea for the flyer that Craig Schultz is working on now. Nama artshow participants, please send him .jpegs of your artwork to the address I sent in the last e-mail, so they can be added to the collage! Posted by Rob.

Crap, I have hayfever and so do 20 million other people here in Japan. Damn !

Subscribe to Alex's solo podcast, Prapatang Living, on iTunes

So plug in your mic and try saying something to Nama Strange things will happen

in Tokyo and Osaka. Plus, a preview of some March events that look interesting. Phresh! @ La Fabrique in Shibuya. Drew Moon. DiscoBeans. More links and info coming soon! Posted by Rob.

My brothers and I all used to race bicycles when we were kids. That was a long, long time ago, but we still like to get out and ride from time to time. We always watch the races whenever we get a chance, which isn't very often for me now that I live in Japan. I depend on a variety of online sources to get my velo-fix: VeloNews, L'Equipe, La Gazzetta dello Sport, El Pais, etc, but Hans catches a lot of races on TV, if not in first person, and he tends keep me up to date whenever I miss something.

Here are links to some of the topics we mentioned:

1. The Tour of Langkawi.

2. Mississippi cigarette tax.

3. Tour of California rosters.

4. New Montreal to Boston race.

5. YouTube bike messenger videos.

6. Extreme unicycle videos.

6. Andrew Hood photos.

This podcast was actually recorded one week ago, so sorry it's a bit late getting uploaded. The Tour of California has since gotten underway with Levi Leipheimer taking the first stage and the yellow leader's jersey which he's held onto for the first few stages.

Artwork by Pablo Picasso. Please don't sue! See you next time!

Posted by Rob.

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Here I am stuck in my hotel room in Nagoya again. Instead of going insane I thought I would do a podcast instead. A few shoutouts, info and yada yada for you.

My email for submissions for the NAMA homepage is;

mail@alexbrooke.com

Yoroshiku !

Subscribe to Alex's solo podcast, Prapatang Living, on iTunes

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.

This week B chan helped me to do delcious things with aubergine or eggplants or nasubi or whatever you like to call them. Watch as I destroy B chan's mixer and stare at the camera with itchy hayfevered eyes.

Posted by Alex.

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My friend, former colleague and veteran of the Harlow punk rock band Urban Decay, Dean Tisbury belts out a rendition of this classic with his new Osaka bandmates "No Half Measures." I forget the name of this bar in Mino-o, Osaka. I'll add the name when it comes back to me. 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.

Happy Valentine's Day from Tokyo Japan! They've got the same holidays over here, but they're just a little different... Example? Just listen to the podcast. I also talk a little about my top 5 favorite other podcast shows, and give updates on the NewsFromTheOtherSide group art show nama which will be held at The Pink Cow in Shibuya during the month of April. Blue cow art by Rob. Posted by Rob.

Jonny Heartbreaker, Makiko and I recap the Osaka resident's 3-day weekend in Tokyo (thanks to "National Foundation Day") which included attending a concert by Osaka band Argyle and three other bands. Posted by Rob.

Okha was here with her friend Hyun-ju! Now their off in Osaka, and Jonny Heartbreaker is our current house guest. This is a recording of the first night he was in town. I recorded a few hours worth of us goofing around on Friday night, most of which will probably never be heard by the masses. Thank me. Cheers! Posted by Rob.

Directions to Bar Bonobo for tonight's DJ El Gringo event. More links and stuff coming soon. Posted by Rob.

Playlist:

1. Asuka - Yaneka

2. Haru no 2 Beat - Beakers

3. B Level Motion - Bo-Peep

4. Takao (Kaohsiung) - Nensa

5. Manitonous - Seaholm

6. Next Door - Drew Moon

If you are just interested in our music show, check out the Music From The Other Side weblog, and you can also subscribe to the music show directly through iTunes.

This show was recorded by Rob in Tokyo and Alex in Osaka. Edited by Alex. Secretarial work by Rob.

Subscribe to MUSIC FROM THE OTHER SIDE on iTunes

Alex and Rob talk about the film Moro no Brasil, Rita Ribeiro's new album "TecnoMacumba," the previous night's QuickFlickWorld at Superdeluxe, where Rob watched films by, and met, the likes of visual artists Daniel Rosen, Richard Boase and Chris Payne. Upcoming events mentioned included JetJaguar & AquaBoogie LIVE @ Soup, and Nama, the NFTOS art show coming up in April at The Pink Cow. Links coming soon. Posted by Rob.

We've booked The Pink Cow for April. Listen to the podcast for details. More will follow! Links coming soon!

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Nama, art show, announcement, The Pink Cow, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, event, 渋谷, �京

The other day I hung out at B Chan's lair and she showed me some seriously delicious snacks perfect for any posh cocktail party. You basically need a slice of apple with some blue cheese and some jam on top. We used stilton ( although I said it was gorgonzola ) and some cabernet sauvignon jam. They'll get scoffed first at any party. In the background you can here Moro no Brazil an amazing documentary tracing Brazilian music to its roots. This was a night worthy of the Prapatang Kitchen. 

Posted by Alex.

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soon...

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.

I'll be DJ'ing from around 8:30 or 9:00 p.m. till the last train (if I leave right at midnight, there's plenty of time to catch it, including the 10-15 minute walk to the station). There's no cover charge, so DRINK UP! If you get hungry, the neighborhood is full of little food joints...

Address: Bar Bonobo, 2-23-4 Jingu-mae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

Directions: Walk south from JR Sendagaya Station past the gymnasium, Subway Sandwiches and MOS Burger. At Hatomori Jinjya, turn left and walk east (in the direction of Gaien Nishi Street). Bonobo is on a right-hand corner, in front of a Daily Yamazaki, a little before you get to Gaien Nishi Street.

Harajuku Station is also not far away, but i don't know the way from there. Call when you get to the station, if you choose that route! Here's an easy map to Bonobo / Costa Rica / Cusco and more details on this page, or you can try out the yahoo map. .

8時30分�らBONOBO�DJ������下���� �所：�京都渋谷区神宮�2-23-4.

Posted by Rob.

Just noticed DJ Sachiko's January schedule on mixi, and it looks like she has gigs coming up this month at Panorama in Shinmachi, Grand Cafe in Amerika-mura and at Sound Channel in Saiwaicho (all Osaka locations).

Another Panorama regular, DJ Handa has a new mix up on his downloads page, and it looks like he's still doing his Jack events, latest flyer is for an event at Sound Channel.

Also found a few posts by DJ Masevo on BikeClubOsaka.com. Check him out. I don't know why I'd never heard of him before, he seems to be quite popular already on his MySpace, huge actually!

Some of the coolest new music I've heard lately is by a Catalan band called La Troba Kung-fu, which is available here in Tokyo at Taiyo Record.

Finally, while listening to Pandora.com recently, I heard a remix of and old Tom Ze song "Defect2: Curiosidade" which you can find on Luaka Bop's Juke Box if you hit the remixes button. His new album Estudando O Pagode (studying Pagode) is in the Luaka Bop new releases section. Posted by Rob.

Lunch in Jiyugaoka during a marathon break (over 5 hours!) from work. Gotta love spilt shifts (no you don't!). It's been a year of NFTOS. Who woulda thunk... Posted by Rob.

The Program:

1. "Japan" - The National Pool

2. "I Saw the Moon Again from My Hospital Room" - Jerry Gordon

3. "Wine no Kokoro (orig. by Tama Kikoji)" - Sae (a.k.a. Amanadama)

Interlude (the part where Rob reads part of one of Jerry's poems and where Alex and Rob try to sound like they know about stuff)

4. "Chinese Children (orig. by Devendra Banhart)" - Jonny Heartbreaker

5. "Anytime! (accoustic ver.)" - Beb & Alex

6. "Brighter Day" - Halo Effect (feat. Peter Morris a.k.a. DJ Kung-fu Grip)

wrap-up

-fin-

p.s. sorry about the buzzing at the end during the wrap-up. we'll do better next time, promise!

p.p.s. listen to the first show:
mftos no.1

photo from jerry gordon

audio edited by alex

Music Only Weblog
http://nftosmusic.blogspot.com

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Until now we've remained relatively controversy-free, so let's get this year off to a sociopolitically charged start! What do we know about global politics? Well, not much, nevertheless, we mounted our soapboxes and assumed holier-than-thou lotus positions like morons becoming eclectic. Nevermind us, check out these cool links we mentioned: Toki Doki, Fake Pilot, Tokyo Plastic, and--STOP THE PRESS! It seems they got the wrong Saddam! Artwork by makikomo. And it's off to Taiyo Record to wish them a happy new year. Posted by Rob.

Me and DJ TripleBypass recapping the New Year's festivities in Osaka (Cafe Absinthe, Cafe Barbes, Space Odyssey 2007 at NoScrub, Oasis Lounge...). Here's a link to one of the musicians he mentioned which I found on his myspace page: Isabelle Antena. Pardon the flaky internet connection. Matty got cut off a few times... Have a listen to our first Skype chat session we recorded. Posted by Rob.

A farewell party for a Swede leads to revelations and worldwide reconciliation, at least between Americans, English, Japanese and Norwegians, as we rediscover the roots of football, or soccer as it is known in the States. Oh, and Louis Vuitton means something in Scandinavian perhaps, or does it? Well, check out fakepilot.com and learn the mysteries of Swedish flash editing. Posted by Rob.

As in the folks from Cafe Discobeans in Taisho, Osaka, the band Pig & Machine, etc, etc. They are a regular Osaka institution. In case you've forgotten about it already, here's a Discobeans video by Alex from early last year.

Posted by Rob.

Rob and Alex reminisce about 2006 and think ahead to 2007, before swapping places for the holidays.

Just found out I have Friday off yesterday evening, so I'm packing my bags and taking the bullet train to Osaka this morning (the 28th here)! Got a special invite from the organizer of Space Odyssey 2007 himself, DJ TripleBypass, so how can I resist packing a few records? Who knows where I might show up during the next week. A bagful of records will mean a few free drinks and maybe even some food along the way! Posted by Rob.

Here's a travel gem from Flying Koala. I think the commentary and the incidental sounds are the best part! Posted by Rob.

A great cold eggnog recipe takes a strange turn. Filmed by Makiko and Rob.

Posted by Rob.

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wrap it up with care
as form of life
which was representing
a threat
shake it shake it
that as mankind
the indian waited
at the barrier

the sound system is
great to be let into
the GREEN ZONE
he simulated like consciously
shared servility which
would geologist his rich mention?!

we just groove
identify him as a primitive life
from the interior oyster diver
jungle survival holy communion
at the barrier

survivor instructor pellants
sprayed at him but i work
on chores based on
the brilliant facets
of his eyes
the tiny scales

it's a pair of scissors
pieces of his skin
were not detected
the weave of then
used in concierto
with a comb separate
furry cells did not
become unravelled

i feel like i'm back
in his million-in-one man
penetrated the out
having to make correct
green uninfested work
as a TV camera man.

Posted by Rob.

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Holiday greeting from NFTOS regular Charles Billard.

http://www.charlou2006.blogspot.com

Posted by Rob.

A holiday greeting from friend and Osaka resident Rik of Chorizo Smells.

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.

I'm not a big fan of the commercialism, the obnoxious last-minute once-a-year shoppers or the in-your-face proselytizing rampant this time of year.

In Japan, I'd be completely oblivious to it all, if it weren't for the ubiquitous Christmas music (even at temples and shrines) and the occasional crucifed Santa Claus, but this photo by Alex warms the heart.

Posted by Rob.

Tags:  NFTOS, homeless, ホームレス, クリスマス

Who's the host with the most?

Edited by Makiko. Posted by Rob.

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"...E este ano nao vai ser igual a aquele que paso, O! Que paso."  -Os Novos Baianos.  Posted by Rob.

It's that time of the year again! I have a feeling I'll be posting quite a few friends' New Year's Party flyers this year, starting with this one from DJ D-Mac in Washington D.C. Posted by Rob.

Here's a link to my brother Rolf's artwork, which I believe mostly dates back to his college days. I wish he'd do some new stuff! Right now he's more into building LEGO models. Have a look!

http://pic5.piczo.com/rolfholbrook/?g=26633837&cr=5

and

http://pic5.piczo.com/rolfholbrook/?g=6114877&cr=5

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.

Is this the same John Sanders who lived in Osaka with his lovely wife Dana, and who co-wrote the infamous ALT Rap?! 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.

The process of creating abstract art. Posted by Rob.

How about an artshow in April, with an opening party on, say, the 21st? Okha and I have been mulling over the idea of having a show in Tokyo for quite sometime now, and the only way to make it happen is to say "It's going to happen!"

Over in Nebraska, Peter Morris and Ed Mejia are cooking up something FRESH, an art magazine or a small design book or something. Since I don't want to get too scattered, I've decided to concentrate on one theme this spring, so we're kind of bandwagoning the title of their project. I'd like to call our show fresh too, only in Japanese.

The "kanji," or Chinese character, for the word is pronounced "nama" in Japanese, and that's what our show is going to be called. This character can be used in a variety of ways, creating multiple meanings, so we'll be able to expand on the English definitions of "freshness."

This is only the beginning yet really. If you're interested in this show, please join the NFTOS forum at groups.msn.com/newsfromtheotherside. Posted by Rob.

I caught Matt Duffy a.k.a. DJ TripleByPass Skyping during his lunch break and we had a chat about events in Osaka and the laws of the land. It sounded like his mic was cutting out a bit. I hope the audio is not too bad! I'll try to get the links he mentioned up soon! Posted by Rob.

Six new songs via the land of the rising sun (when you're lucky enough to be able to see through the smog!).

1. That Ass Is Your Meal Ticket - Hayden a.k.a. Quest

2. No Title - Wes

3. I'm Fine, I'm Kenta - Charles

4. No Title - Alex

5. Everything We Know - Tal Brott

6. Fraise en Fez - Renew Audio a.k.a. DJ Bobo vs Rob a.k.a. El Gringo (cue up Noisivelvet's Phrase in Phase and watch with the audio off--you'll find it very similar!)

Got anything you think we should hear? Send your .mp3 to either Alex or to Rob with a grapic to go along with it.

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

This podcast was recorded in Tokyo by Alex and Rob, then edited in Kagawa (or wherever Alex was at the moment). Photo of Tokyo Tower by Alex. Posted by Rob.

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Tonight! Tuesday, 12 December 2006. See the flyer to the right for links and details. I'm a last minute add-on as DJ and I'll be filling the after 10:00 p.m. till last train slot. Don't know what I'll spin yet. Christmas tunes? Probably not, but I assure you, the mood will be festive yet UNPREDICTIBLE! Posted by Rob a.k.a. DJ El Gringo.

the universal culture is kind of like a football hooligan bored of my dreams adrift i'm just trying to keep my sanity when suddenly in the middle of the mall's christmas display four days after thanksgiving turned you into a born again AMERICAN gigolo-in-uniform feigning the most refined in my bagfull of shrunken heads

-Rob

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the universal culture
is kind of like a football
--all round
anyone who opposes it
is a terrorist-hooligan
bored of my dreams, adrift
i'm just a modern day
switchboard operator
trying to keep my sanity
when suddenly
in the middle of it all
you find sanity
on santa's velvet lap
in the mall's christmas display
four days after you swore
you would never again
make a wish
thanksgiving turned you into
a born again AMERICAN
500 experiences shine, flash!
holy gigolo-in-uniform feigning
the most refined & angelic behavior
till each face i got in my
bagfull of shrunken heads
jungles seven seas.

Posted by Rob.

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Words and reading by Rob. Inspired by the cut-up methods of Tristan Tzara, Brion Gysin, William S. Burroughs and Jeff Noon's viral writing process. Photo of Makiko and Timo.

This podcast is actually a continuation of last Monday's Skype Conference Call between Alex, Makiko and Rob. In OSAKA, it's the LAST DAY of Charles Billard's exhibit at Gallery Flou! Unfortunately, we find ourselves in the grey and drizzly Tokyo today. Monsieur Billard's show brings together a series of collages, some of which were exhibited in France in a show called "Roots of Origin." More recent works deal with the idea of loss, symbolized by empty white spaces covering cryptic messages. The CLOSING event on December 9th is an attempt to push further the idea of collage, through the pairing of artists working in disciplines that seldom connect: Buyou dance and sanshin, African drum and abstract sound art, contemporary dance and classical Indian sitar... These are a few examples of what you can experience at the event. And don't forget to bring your own instrument, as there will be a collective jam session where everyone is welcome to join. Most of the text from this article was pilferred from Kansai Scene. Photo of Tokyo Tower by Alex who is back in the Tokyo area for a few days. Posted by Rob.

Today in Tokyo, I recommend the monthly SambaNova DJ event at Roots in Shibuya. The graphic is a photo of the new Taiyo Record first anniversary wear now available at DJ Ryousuke Itoh's music store in Kagurazaka. Links coming soon (most have been posted before, just look in the events folder). Posted by Rob.

Spice up your evening! Tonight from 9:00 p.m. till last train (near Sendagaya Station on the Soub Line or Harajuku on the Yamanote Line). There's a map on this page, same place as Gallery Cuzco. Come on out, you hear? Posted by Rob.

Lots of stuff. The gig is on! I'll be DJ'ing tonight at Bonobo in Sendagaya, plus several other events coming up in the next few days for which I'll be typing in details soon! Posted by Rob.

David Roy discusses a recent animation project he was a team member of, as well as product placement in Japanese anime. I'll be putting up more details of the next QuickFlickWorld soon. The theme this time is "Unpredictbale!" Here's a mixi link for now. Posted by Rob.

DJ Bobo mixes samples and beats to visual trickery by Noisivelvet. This video instantly reminded me of a book I read by Jeff Noon called Cobralingus and a word sequencing tool (which I couldn't find when I looked for it just now--hmm) recently reinterpreted by Stig Legrand. Posted by Rob.

I wrote a letter to the editors of VeloNews.com, a cycling journal, around 1 November 2006, then forgot about it:

Waiting for an iPOG?
"Dear VeloNews,
When can we start listening to Patrick O'Grady's rants on our iPods? I think the people are ready to listen!
-Rob, Tokyo, Japan"
Editor: "Awwww, we'd have done it a long time ago, but he really does foam at the mouth when he rants and it ruins the microphones. - Editor"

You can find the letter if you scroll down near the bottom of this page or click here for Patrick O'Grady's Foaming Rant column. Posted by Rob.
p.s. It looks like they do have a cycling news audiocast for you race fans out there (i.e. Hans). -r

Alex and Rob (with a bit of Makiko) address our inner Adam Sandlers and talk about all sorts of stuff, like upcoming projects, contests, etc. Photo of Makiko quilting. Continued on #19 (if you can bear another half hour of us!) Posted by Rob.

Okay, we've had this video up on NFTOS since 22 February of this year, and it's sitting at #5 among our non-Alex or Rob contributions. Now you can subscribe to him directly on YouTube. "This piece shows my frustration towards Japanese commercial goods. The quantity just doesn't seem to be there..." -C.-E. Billard

Here's a video Makiko edited from some footage we shot in the park last week. See part 1: Picnic near Imperial Palace. Sorry, neither are very hi-tech. Posted by Rob.

40 contributions to NFTOS from people other than Alex or myself. 1. Quest: Shinbashi Station. 2. Quest: ALT Re-Rap. 3. Charles Billard & Alex Brooke: Nakatsu Music Project* (okay, so Alex is on this one). 4. Danyk, Ivan: Tin's Hall video (yes, the first half was by Alex). 5. Charles: Icitte les Oeufs video. 6. Quest: Nebra-ska. 7. Charles: Postcard from China #1. 8. Quest: All The Little Things. 9. The Trenchparrots: Irrepressible Urges of Spring ("Who are these guys really?" It has been asked). 10. The Smouldering Door (Charles Billard and Jerry Gordon): Wroclaw Panache. 11. Will Spin: JR (Japan Rail) Song. 12. DJ Kung-fu Grip: ALT Rap (DJ Kung-fu Grip Mix). 13. Charles: Postcard from China #2. 14. Okha: Message from the Flying Koala. 15. Bashiri do Cavaco: Cavaquinho debut!. 16. The Trenchparrots: My Ex-Girlfriend Walks In. 17. Anonymous Indian technician voice sample (Why does the original sample have more downloads than the remix?). 18. The Trenchparrots: Nuthin' to Say. 19. Jonny Heartbreaker: Baby* (this one contains a bit of Alex, just as the first recording had Rob on backing vocals) . 20. Hans: Birthday Greeting. 21. The Trenchparrots: Footprints. 22. Jerry Gordon: Playing with the Arrow 2. 23. Jet Jaguar: News. 24. Deus Ex Machina: Domination (remix). 25. Noisivelvet: Sharkattack!. 26. Hans: Germany vs Sweden and Dragonflies!. 27. Hans with horns: Cinco de Mayo. 28. Hans: In Search of Ptarmigan. 29. Charles: ALT Rap Answers the Questions. 30. Anonymous: Indian Tech Remix. 31. Smouldering Door/Takezo Tabo Aoki: G.I. Joe. 32. Jerry Gordon: Playing with the Arrow 3. 33. Smouldering Door / Plink Plonk Congress: Dancing Charcoal Pixies. 34. Jerry Gordon: ALT Anarchy Larynx Tatoo mix. 35. BEB: Trash Talk (in Japanese). 36. Kurochi Sound Art: The Voist (with Charles). 37. Charles Billard: Pajammin' Party* (this was posted in "events" along with upcoming info for Charles' next event "Inter-play"). 38. David Roy as Pastor Ted* (filmed & edited by Rob). 39. Jerry Gordon: La Stish. 40. Makikomo: Nature. Lots of new stuff we'll be releasing soon including new recordings by Charles, Quest & Jonny Heartbreaker! Photo by Alex. Posted by Rob.