Music

Jan 26 2005 230 Comments

Pod-like pooch

From students to salary men, the iPod is the current gadget of choice. Those distinctive white ear buds are everywhere, and the queues in Ginza’s Apple Store are reminiscent of those once seen in Russian supermarkets. So with this in mind, who can blame Sega for trying to cadge a lift on the iPod express with its new robotic pet?

Ok, so the idog isn’t a music player (as such), and as the name suggests it’s a dog. But take a look at the picture. It’s white and it starts with a little i.

Like its far more advanced (and expensive) robotic cousin Aibo, the idog responds emotionally when touched. Well, different coloured lights come on dependent upon which sensors you stroke. But the main selling point is its musical ability. The idog contains 720 internal musical phrases, and has the ability to improvise tunes when you wave your hand over the phototransistor on its head. However what kind of tunes and how much ability we are talking here I don’t know. It can dance as well though, so that should make up for any musical deficiencies for at least 5 minutes I would have thought.

And whilst all this is not very iPod-like, little robotic rover has an audio jack for an external player. And I don’t need to tell you which is the player of choice…

Nov 22 2004 2 Comments

Mildly amusing English usage #5

Amongst most Japanese kids, foreign celebrities are arguably just as well known (if not more so) than their homegrown counterparts. As an example, just the merest hint of the word soccer invariably produces spontaneous and excited chants of “Beckham! Beckham!”

But all these foreign (and at times difficult to pronounce) names can get a little confusing. Or so it would seem after a class I had last week.

Practicing the riveting and overly used “What/Which _____ do you like?” I asked the class what sports they enjoyed. Thankfully one young student made the effort to answer, and he managed to blurt out that he’s a keen basketball fan. Deciding to abandon all caution and forge full steam ahead, I took the plunge and asked him which player he liked as a follow-up question.

Unfortunately this was the moment when the confusion arose and everything went pear shaped. Proud of his extensive basketball and NBA knowledge, the young fella excitedly told us that his favourite player is the one and only Michael Jackson!

Needless to say, after a brief pause to take in the magnitude of his mistake, we all guffawed loudly. Just long enough to make him cry and never want to study English ever again.

Ok, that last bit is not true, but his better-informed classmates found it hard to conceal their laughter. As it has to be said did their English teacher.

Michael “NBA” Jackson yesterday giving a big thumbs-up after wowing fans with yet another flamboyant slam-dunk.

Oct 11 2004 1 Comment

Pop promoter

Michael Jackson’s profile here took a heavy beating when the controversial Martin Bashir interview finally got a Japanese screening. And the recent allegations and impending court case have further tarnished his battered image. But that doesn’t mean to say that everyone has deserted the self-styled Peter Pan of pop.

In a recent test, some students at my school were asked to write about something they like. Most students listed various sports, films, or video games. One even managed the unbelievably banal answer of apples. Yet the same question also prompted one young Jackson fan to vent his dismay at his idol’s treatment, whilst at the same time trying to bolster the singer’s tarnished image.

Such devotion from a 13-year-old boy would surely bring a broad smile to Mr. Jackson’s somewhat ghoulish face.

Sep 23 2004 1 Comment

Karaoke king?

I must confess that karaoke is not my favourite way of spending an evening. And the few unfortunate souls who have found themselves sat alongside me in a karaoke booth can well understand my aversion to this popular pastime.

But perhaps help is at hand. Vodafone has released a mobile phone that allows you to download karaoke songs, and then project them on to a TV. Allowing woeful warblers like myself the chance to get a bit of private practice in before making another ill-advised public outing. And no need to worry about not having a microphone either, as the handset doubles up as a one.

Plus, when you are belting out your favourite number, you can always check the lyrics on the phone’s Japanese-English dictionary. Whilst simultaneously taking pictures of your performance with the device’s 1.3-mexapixel camera.

Sep 14 2004 5 Comments

Rockin’ roses

Pictured below is Let’s Corp. president Masumi Gotoh. But don’t be fooled for one minute into thinking that Gotoh-san is a keen botanist, as what he’s actually demonstrating is his company’s Ka-on. A device that turns the petals and leaves of flowers into audio speakers.

The name means flower sound, and the contraption consists of a donut-shaped magnet and coil that sits at the base of a vase and can be connected to a CD player, stereo, or TV. Then all you need to do is place some flowers in the vase, and the magnet and coil relay the sound vibrations up the stems and through the plant’s water tubes.

Ka-on vases and amplifiers come in various sizes and prices, the most expensive set retailing at 35,000 yen (175 pounds). Which it has to be said is a lot of money to have the sound of your favourite albums destroyed by playing them through a flower.

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