![\"\"](\"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Live-From-Tokyo-Good-Charamel-Records2.jpg\" "\\"Live")
<\/a>"What makes this film so unique is how the visuals compliment the subject matter. The music becomes more visceral when scenes from Tokyo\u2019s fluorescent nightlife are flashing on the screen." (Good Charamel Records)<\/p><\/div>\n
By Sam Frank<\/a>, <\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/strong> an ALT who taught English in Hiraizumi-Cho, <\/strong><\/em> <\/strong>Iwate-ken<\/strong><\/a>,<\/strong> from 2002-04 and worked in Shirahama-cho, <\/strong>Wakayama-ken<\/strong><\/a> as a JET from 2004-06, for <\/strong><\/em>JQ magazine<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em> He currently manages the New York\u00a0division of <\/strong><\/em>UnRated magazine<\/em><\/strong><\/a> and works as a project manager\/Web producer at <\/strong><\/em> <\/strong>Arrow Root Media<\/strong><\/a><\/strong>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n When it comes to cultural diversity, Japan has always been a borrower. Their entire writing system, known as kanji, is made up of Chinese characters; the country\u2019s most popular sport is baseball, America\u2019s pastime; and South Korean television dramas get all the top ratings. Japan\u2019s music scene is no different. In Live from Tokyo<\/a>, American director Lewis Rapkin takes us on a kaleidoscopic journey through Tokyo\u2019s bustling underground music scene. Set within the backdrop of the modern Japanese megalopolis, the film explores Tokyo\u2019s eccentric music culture, and how a combination of global information, media-saturated urban areas, and cutting edge innovation has impacted it.<\/p>\n \u201cSince the 2000s, when the Internet became widely used, the number of people listening to underground music has been growing,\u201d explains Murata, lead singer of the band Kuruucrew, during one of the film\u2019s many fascinating interviews. There are many facets to Japan\u2019s underground music scene, and Rapkin captures them beautifully. Early on in the film we learn how MP3s and digital downloads have altered Japan\u2019s musical landscape. TokyoGigGuide.com<\/a>\u2019s Craig Eaton describes how you can now \u201cget albums online, whereas in the past you\u2019d have to wait until it came to your country or order it, and wait for it to come in the mail.\u201d With a simple click, you can now access Japanese underground artists such as Shugo Tokumaru, Sexy-Synthesizer, and Sajjanu.<\/p>\n When we\u2019re not learning about the underground scene through band interviews, Rapkin gives us an all-access pass to the bands as they perform on stage. Juxtaposed with time lapses of Shibuya\u2019s nightlife, first person views from train lines, and kaitenzushi<\/em> conveyor belts, we hear punk rock, J-pop, heavy metal, traditional Japanese music, and various synthesizer-based experiments.<\/p>\n