Koufukuron
 

So which version do you bastards prefer?

Album or single?

At first I really disliked the single version but as I gave it other chances I found myself liking it more and more.

Saying that though, the album version is the one of the first SR songs I heard and I love it so.

I plump for the album version but now I am going to listen to the single, isn't that a bit weird.....

The single always seems fresh to me, probably cause I've overplayed/hear the album version far more frequently.

The album version suffers from what I would call "Kyouiku-fication".

Is there a "neither" option?
Single Ver. is completely flat. There is no emotion in it and the arrangement takes no risks.
Album Ver. takes risks, but it ends up being noise for noise's sake.

Um...Sugoroku Ecstasy. All 1:30 of it (well all 1:30 of it that I've heard). It makes the other two sound boring.

But all three are worlds better than the Gekokujou Ecstasy version :D

this is honestly one of the worst threads I've ever read. The topic is fine, but these posts I am reading, my lord. wtfamireading.jpg It's like no one has actually listened to anything Pre-Adult in this thread. And I'm not surprised nu-emf has the more kawaii ^_^ version winning by a landslide.

That said, I chose Koufukuron album version because, even though it gets tiresome at times, in context it is great. It's MM-era Shiina Ringo summed up in a 2 minute song. Plus, it was a huge breath of fresh air at the end of Ringo Expo.

The single version is good too, there's many appropriate arguments in it's favor. None of which are featured in this thread.

I agree with Jihad that, in the context of the album, the album version is good. (duh, I guess.)
As a standalone though, I prefer the single. From what I understand of the lyrics, the meaning of the song is really very simple and sweet, and SR does a good job of conveying that through the arrangement of the single. It's a song about loving and accepting someone as they are, and that doesn't require shouting into a megaphone. By being not very complex, it allows her voice to carry the emotion, and I personally can totally feel it. I've cried many a good tear to the single version, while the album version is more exciting than emotional.

Seriously? Compared to the single version, Etsuraku-hen doesn't sound a thing like any other song on MM. <_<

I didn't say it summed up MM.

Well, never mind then, my mistake. I thought we were talking about music.

The international Ringo fanbase are a puzzle. They're obsessed with the newer stuff despite it being a thousand times less interesting. I'm actually glad people don't post about MM or SS much because a lot of people probably don't really get them.

Anyway, I'll vote album version. It distills a lot of UK punk / new wave influences into a short and sweet pop hit, and it's a tighter recording than any of any of the lives. MM is zipping along by that point. The single ver. is pleasant, but much more like a lot of other J-pop/rock.

DAMN THESE TOTALLY NON-KVLT NU FANS WHO DON'T GET OLDSKOOL RINGO!

^ wtf is that

I dunno, just always wanted to use kvlt on here :-p

Lets not be difficult.

I chose the single version because it is so kawaiiiii (◡‿◡✿) uguuuuu.

Seriously though, I like both versions, but I prefer the single version because it works with the meaning behind the song which is important to me for corny/sentimental/personal reasons.

Album version, I like the extra edge the megaphone gives the song. In comparison the single version sounds a little too "Kawaii" for my taste, even if this is more in line with the lyrics.

I changed my mind. Ringohan version is the best.

Well, you could say the Fuji Rock version instead if you want the full-length version. Same arrangement, but with less distorted guitars and epic rain.

Album version. Because it is totally badass and the only song closest to Ringo doing a screamo.

I prefer the single version for a lot of reasons. I love the opening guitar line, the softer verses, the song is slowed down more so you can really relish the melody, and I especially prefer her singing to be more clear and not so distorted. I used to hate the album version but it really grew on me after a while and it fits perfectly into the context of the album if you listen to it from start to finish, definitely more so than the single version would.

But yeah, the single version is just a very well-crafted pop song. It's one of my favorite early tracks of hers.

^this!
I personally can't stand the album version, though live versions of it can be fun in the right mood

100% single. I know it was all pop-ified and not the style Ringo wanted, but I just vastly prefer it. It was one of the first Ringo songs I ever heard and I'm just attached. In fact, I HATE the etsuraku-hen (album version) with a burning passion. I choose to never listen to it.

Question? Are there 3 versions of this song?

1st version: the one on the mini CD single, very sugary pop arrangement and clean vocals.

2nd version: the reissue that contains an extra track. Noisier, more rock-oriented arrangement and clean vocals.

3rd version: album version, the one with distorted vocals.

There's the PV version (found throughout the singles), and there's the -Etsuraku Hen- version (found in the album and briefly in the Electric Mole DVD). The fact that the single and the album have been re-packaged in various ways, doesn't change the fact that there's really only 2 distinct studio versions. There's probably 3+ masterings of the Single version, and 2 masterings of the Album version.

That was TODT-5144, released on 1998.05.27.
This was also the version of the song used in the PV.
*nods*

Are you talking about TOCT-22011, released on 1999.10.27 (same day as Honnou)?

There's 3 tracks on that single, and only 1 of them is a version of Koufukuron. The one version of Koufukuron that you get on the reissue, is the same recording as the mini-CD, but with different mixing/mastering decisions. It's not different enough from the mini-CD or the PV, to be called a remix or a different arrangement.

The reissue A-side is different in arrangement, only from the album.

Muzai Moratorium (1999.02.24) actually came before the Koufukuron reissue, but you're correct about this being another version of the song.

The album version grew on me after watching it performed live enough times. But if I don't have that visual aid to go along with the constant franticness, I prefer to listen to the single version.

I skip the album version when I can, heard it before I knew of the single ver., which I consider vastly superior and not such an earsore

I thought the album version was far too noisy when I first heard it. Then I heard the single version. And I thought it was far too poppy when I first heard it. Then I realized that it's just a good song with a catchy melody. And you can hear that melody with less stress in the original single. The transition from the album to the single version made me appreciate the melody, I think. I was humming the chorus for weeks. Although, I wonder if it would have been better if she released Suberidai instead as a debut single like she wanted.

This guy seems to have the Japanese music industry mostly figured out, though you'll have to forgive his frequent and severe off-topic-ness.

Of particular interest is this section:
This happens to be the truth with most of the Japanese artists I follow. When this isn't true for a particular artist, that's usually because none of their tracks on any of their releases have ever been handed down by God.

That's hilarious and so true, Glathannus! A lot of Ringo songs must have been handed down by God. Suberidai is far superior musically, in my opinion. But my thoughts go to whether or not it would have been well-received by the target audience. As a debut single, the featured A-side is supposed to introduce the artist and hook the listener as a fan. If I remember right, Ringo wasn't a huge hit until Koko de Kisu Shite. Sure, I like Suberidai more... but would it have been a proper A-side for an introduction to casual listeners? At least something better than Koufukuron.