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Old 2012.01.18, 03:49 PM   #48
Tokyo Jihad
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Originally Posted by Maou View Post
Kameda deserves more props for Time Capsule. Yeah, he does these ballad songs all the time, but this time he left out the drums and bass. It helped create a better atmosphere and a slightly more unique sound than we're accustomed to hearing from him. Had a nice winter feel to it.
I thought Time Capsule was really nice. I can never fault a Kameda song (with the exception of Toumei Ningen of course) because his songs are consistently quality. Alot of the negative reactions seem to be "I'm a pop music fan, and this song is just a pop song." Yeah it doesn't try to be "crazy" or goofy, but what it is is a very well constructed and performed song.

@turtlefu: Whyy whyyy can we never see eye to eye? Q_Q
So lets talk about Honto no Tokoro. without breaking out the "you people" accusations, I don't think its about being contrary or anything like that, or even it sounding different (though that does help considering the rather homogenous nature of most TJ releases, including the two "good ones.") I think because they are doing different things with sound and space and emotion it makes a cool experience.

In truth, your problems with the track sound, in my mind, like something I might have at one time said about some other kinds of music. Yes Hata's voice isn't exactly Utada, but that's the point. It's like complaining Kurt Cobain didn't sing like Whitney Houston, or Jimmie Hendrix wasn't Mama Cass on vocals. There are different values in different people's voices. While I may not go to Hata's voice if I want to hear a very clear, smooth voice, or one with a lot of range, he does bring a throat full of rocks with a nice tone and really good control. (I think his voice is a million times better than Izawa's personally) He is very passionate on the track. He knows the limits of his voice and pushes powerfully towards them, and maybe peaking for some moments outside of his range. But that's fine, that's passion. Passion isn't just holding one note for a long time or singing very loud (though it can be.)

The song is assuredly not amateurish either. Having several variation or mutations, changing keys and tempos, progressive-rock-edly stitching together songs does not a good song make. Often the simpler or minimalist forms are the harder things to do well or remarkably. Personally, I think the song is knocked out of the park, eschewing a normal rhythm section for just a sparse piano accenting the drum and bass, and an even sparser guitar to create space for Hata's voice. It has such a nice crackly and smoky overall texture. I think it's really well done, but it just may not be your cup of tea.

But first, consider the following: maybe there are some really great songs that you will or wold really really like AND really dislike the first few times you hear it. I wouldn't consider Tokoro too challenging a song, but it is more difficult in comparison to maybe any other song in the TJ and SR catalog. (Maybe Umaru ranks near it.) It may take a few listens. For example, if you go to my Last.fm you'll see my most listened to band is Animal Collective. By a large margin. It isn't that I like the band that much better, but that it takes many more listens to really crack their albums. Their album Sung Tongs just confounded me for a while. It came to me highly recommended, but I was just confused every time. Yet each time I listened I found one new small little nugget that I liked and could latch on to. And I would return for that nugget and pick up another. Soon, I'd really love the whole album, even the 10 minute drone "Visiting Friends" would begin to blow my mind as I began to find some parts "catchy." Yet the very first time I listened to it, or attempted to, I was happy to skip it. I'm not saying to listen to every bad song til you like it, but usually you can tell when there's something going on that you haven't picked up on yet. You can look up some old posts of mine here that would scoff at such a notion, but sometimes its the song that makes the worst first impression that becomes the real jewel of the set.
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Last edited by Tokyo Jihad : 2012.01.18 at 03:53 PM.
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