Thelonius Monk + other things

1 minutes estimated reading time

Thelonius Monk

The soundtrack to my week was this three hour programme on the music of jazz musician Thelonius Monk. Thelonius Monk has 99 albums to his name, excluding compilations, many of which were live concert performances rather than studio recordings. He was known for his improvisation and was one of the found fathers of bebop.

KCRW put together a great tribute to Thelonius Monk that hits all of the high spots that I know of in his career, that was cut short at the age of 64 in 1982.

Sailor Moon + syphilis – two concepts I never thought I would utter in the same sentence

Only Japan could successfully leverage a much loved children’s TV and comic book character to try and reduce syphilis infections. It was interesting to hear that the creator of Sailor Moon was a pharmacist who saw the urgency and need. Quartz alludes to Shinjuku – the entertainment district being the epicentre. Japan like its neighbours has seen an increase in foreign sex tourism from other Asian markets.

This is solely down to a larger Chinese middle class who visit prostitutes for bonding business relationships (sharing knowledge of each others transgressions builds trust). There is also macho posturing to reinforce hierarchies and subjugate the sex workers. They also go for pleasure when they’re on holiday. Basically, they’re absolute scum.

Japanese hi-fi enthusiasts

Great short film by the Wall Street Journal about obsessive Japanese Hi-Fi buffs. I love the extremes that they go to in order to get the best sounds.

Uniqlo Danpan

A Uniqlo campaign is always something that I look forward to and Uniqlo Danpan is no exception

Volkswagen

Interesting effort to move the discussion on around the Volkswagen brand from Dieselgate. The reality is that Dieselgate will be with us for years as it rolls through court cases and is cited with regards the need for electric cars.