James Hadfield

Small mercies.

American, as far as I could tell.

Just had to tell a white guy holding a can of chuhai to stop pulling Nazi salutes and shouting “Heil Hitler” in the middle of the Shibuya scramble crossing. What the actual fuck.

Uuuurgh why do I keep watching Eiji Uchida films.

Ooh, mine too.

‘#Viral’: A Faustian tale about internet fame and anti-vax anxiety King Bai’s bold but muddled post-pandemic drama skewers how bad actors manipulate online discourse.

I was bracing myself for King Bai's "#Viral" (#拡散) to be a full-on anti-vax screed. The good news is that it isn't – though I'm still not sure what the director was actually going for. www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2026...

Black Seraphim, by Werner Durand & John Krausbauer 1 track album

This blew my head off when I first listened to it yesterday, and it's still sounding mighty fine this morning. Tony Conrad fans should definitely apply. movingfurniturerecords.bandcamp.com/album/black-...

R.I.P. Éliane Radigue, one of the most innovative and radical composers of our century- if you haven’t heard her music yet, prepare for something simultaneously delicate and oceanic. I don’t love the word “genius” but she deserves it.

Cover of "Correction" by Thomas Bernhard (Vintage Classics)

Thomas Bernhard, Correction. A book probably best read in one sustained burst or not at all. Bernhard's Pale Fire? I couldn't wait to get out of that bloody garret.

Cover of "Box Hill" by Adam Mars-Jones (Fitzcarraldo Editions)

Adam Mars-Jones, Box Hill. Some Ishiguro-grade misdirection in this dom-sub romance. Probably funnier if you've been to Surrey.

Catching a film at Bunkamura Le Cinéma after watching one at Theatre Image Forum feels like getting a free upgrade.

nagoyaka na kaze / 和やかな風 (quiet wind), by Wisdom Teeth 8 track album

...as did this. Nagoya, eh!
wisdomteethuk.bandcamp.com/album/nagoya...

Nana Butu, by Sissi Rada 12 track album

Catching up on some recent releases and this one tickled me...
ashinternational.bandcamp.com/album/nana-b...

Scott Walker - Darkness (Plague of Locusts) YouTube video by samuraiinCfede

Hat-tip to @msclairebiddles.bsky.social for her terrific Invisible Jukebox with Daniel Blumberg in the current issue of The Wire, and a special thanks for turning me on to this absolute belter. www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0Lm...

interview with Autechre | ele-king interview with Autechre来日したオウテカ──カラオケと日本、ハイパーポップとリイシュー作品、AI等々について話す

Ele-king's Tsutomu Noda interviewed Autechre while they were in town last week. It's in Japanese, but surprisingly readable with Google Translate. www.ele-king.net/interviews/0...

‘Yakushima’s Illusion’: Medical reality with a mystic twist Naomi Kawase’s spiritual musings aren’t as compelling as her depiction of lives hanging in the balance at a hospital transplant ward.

Naomi Kawase's latest is a weird mix of medical drama and new age spirituality that didn't quite work for me, though it has some very fine moments (and it's MUCH better than her previous collaboration with a French-speaking actress). www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2026...

Cover of 即興がつなぐ未来 (Sokkyō ga tsunagu mirai)

即興がつなぐ未来 (Sokkyō ga tsunagu mirai). Collection of essays, conversations and ephemera marking the 20th anniversary of The Otoasobi Project, an improvised music group featuring differently abled members. Lots to chew on r.e. improv practice, hierarchies, openness, play vs therapy, etc.

I’m surprised to see Kaede and Hero’s Island get so much love, too.

Autechre’s music continues to confound and amaze me, though it took me a long time to find a way in. I remember the first time I saw them live in 2001, only having heard Incunabula, and thinking it was utter bollocks.

Yup, she went in blind, lasted over an hour – standing, not sitting! – then bailed just before the end of the set. I think she would have left sooner if it hadn't been so hard to move around during the show.

I flipped the bird at one of their sound trucks while I was out running last week and they mistook it for a wave and thanked me.

Based on last night’s experience, I think my wife would agree with you on that.

I found that aspect of it pretty cool. It was just way too packed.

Turns out I was uncomfortable with the reality of spending around 60 minutes squeezed in like a commuter on a rush hour train while Autechre played. Sounded great, though.

Sign at Autechre’s Tokyo show: “Autechre will perform in darkness. For their set all lights in the venue will be off. Please plan on being in one place for the performance and do not move unnecessarily until it has finished when the lights will come back on again. Please do not shine any lights at the stage or around the room during the performance. In case of emergency lights will come on and staff will be there to assist you to leave the venue. If you need to leave for any reason during the show please use your mobile phone to light your way. If you are in need of assistance please turn on your phone's light and wave above your head. Security will come to you and help. Absolutely no recording or flash photography please. If you are uncomfortable with the idea of spending around 60 minutes in the dark while Autechre play please see venue staff before the performance starts. Thank you!”

“If you are uncomfortable with the idea of spending around 60 minutes in the dark while Autechre play please see venue staff before the performance starts.”

I wouldn’t force noise on anybody, but if you’ve only heard that side of Drumm’s work, you’re missing out. Lots (most?) of his music is more on the electroacoustic/drone spectrum, much of it extremely subtle and sometimes flat-out gorgeous. This is a good primer: vaagner.bandcamp.com/album/neithe...

The two versions of It’s No Game on Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) also come to mind.

I was thinking of when you get multiple versions of the same song on an album, like Man-Size and Man-Size Sextet on Rid of Me. Not sure I’d dig the latter so much without having the former.

I think a song can make more sense in the context of the album, but would be very interested to hear an example of the context actually making it good.

Best new/new for me in January:

Putney Swope (1969)
Point Blank (1967)
Train Dreams (2025)
100 Meters (2025)
Pacifiction (2022)
45 Years (2015)
La Ciénaga (2001)
The Killers (1946)