[TJ] 2007.09.26 - Variety (CD) [Album]

[kuro_neko]

iunno exactly. there is just something about the overall song, it isn't one particular piece, just the entire presentation, it just feels very raw and honest, which harks back to some of the things you can hear in her days from her demos and MM-era. I think the overall combination of her vocals with the band just suits her well well. Other songs on the album, even ones where she is making a 'warbley" voice as you put it, such as sake to geko, just don't click in quite the same way.

[so_cold]

I guess even with OSCA the song wasn't written to play to Ringo's strengths because it was a Petrolz B-side. What she adds with her voice is definitely a big part of its appeal, her tricks and gasps, the way she sings "1, 2, 1" and the warble on "asu kara mou yodooshi de doushite ~~irareyou ka~~"... In fairness to the rest of the band I've got the volume up on it from the intro, it's outgrown its attraction just as a clever video to me.

About this album's instant allure, it's funny the entire Variety era, B-sides except Kaban no Nakami was a turnoff (to use Jihad's word, it was "cheesy") until Sanmon Gossip was announced and it seems thankfully this isn't where SR is any more. I didn't even want to buy Variety based on what I'd heard from YouTube. But recently I could give it a listen and see if there was anything to enjoy. I still don't like Tsukigime-hime because of the cheesy organ and voices... I may go back to hating the rest of the album, I don't know...!

EDIT: Sake to Geko. Her voice sounds as if she's deliberately singing out each syllable. My Japanese is not good enough to know whether she sounds "drunk" or not tho. The chorus, definitely the piano sounds like someone struggling to keep on their feet.

[kuro_neko]

a lot of Jihen's best songs as penned by other members weren't ever destined for Ringo. Such as Tegami by Izawa. Osca wasn't written for Ringo but the song still allows her to play it to her advantage. A lot of the other works on the album Ringo is stuck trying to box herself into the image of someone else's creation or imagination. You can tell she had to limit herself somewhat in some of the songs, show some restraint. OSCA, however, remains balls out. Killer Tune too, I think. The chorus suits her voice, IMO, but I know a lot of people thought it was horrible when it came out cuz it sounds like she was struggling to hit the notes. I don't agree with that necessarily, as see has sung it live enough times without issue to prove it was more effect than struggle.

[mizer_unmei]

I think in OSCA her voice gets grating at times. I can only listen to it when I'm in a certain mood.
Just because she's doing all of these vocal doesn't mean that it fits her well -- it's a cool experiment sure, but I couldn't stand a whole album of songs like it. I would give OSCA as the one example on the album of an odd pairing where another Jihen member gave her the music and she didn't know exactly what to do with it. Kinda opposite of the opinion that the whole album of Variety was Ringo being stiffled artistically -- which I just think is preposterous, especially when she specfically says she prefers the band setting.

[Tokyo Jihad]

wgaf about this shitty album? (fluffie excepted, of course)

SG is coming and should be better! (if that drama song is any indication)
(...or alot worse)

[kuro_neko]

ringo's voice on OSCA makes the track. it wouldn't be half as interesting if it was toned down. Have you heard the Petrolz version? snoooooze. she didn't write the music for OSCA. She wrote the lyrics and vocals for some of the other songs, so what I am implying is that her strength as a singer does not seem to lie in writing vocals to someone else's music. it would seem that for consistencies sake she would half to someone match the two together and I think a lot of the musical styles on Variety aren't something ringo would lean towards right away. she wrote most of Kyouiku and Adult, and then we get Variety and if Ringo doesn't write one type of music, it would be cartoony, and that is the entire vibe I get from Variety. I mean, listening to all of her previous combined efforts, has anything even remotely sounded or felt like Variety? I don't think so...even MM and SS have a refined quality to them. Variety just feels like a Looney Tunes episode on crack (and not in a good way).

the album is going to divide people constantly because it is a total mess of all sorts of things, just thrown in a blender and put on pulse. it kind of has the same attitude as a lot of people who take shit, throw it against the wall, and see what sticks. what works for you will be different than what works for me. But I like Ringo's voice being grating and cracking, I like OSCA, Karisome Otome, Onaji Yoru, Fukou Jiman, Mellow, any of the harder music where her vocals are just raw. So I don't think we will agree.

[mizer_unmei]

Originally Posted by kuro_neko

ringo's voice on OSCA makes the track. it wouldn't be half as interesting if it was toned down. Have you heard the Petrolz version? snoooooze. she didn't write the music for OSCA. She wrote the lyrics and vocals for some of the other songs, so what I am implying is that her strength as a singer does not seem to lie in writing vocals to someone else's music. it would seem that for consistencies sake she would half to someone match the two together and I think a lot of the musical styles on Variety aren't something ringo would lean towards right away. she wrote most of Kyouiku and Adult, and then we get Variety and if Ringo doesn't write one type of music, it would be cartoony, and that is the entire vibe I get from Variety. I mean, listening to all of her previous combined efforts, has anything even remotely sounded or felt like Variety? I don't think so...even MM and SS have a refined quality to them. Variety just feels like a Looney Tunes episode on crack (and not in a good way).

the album is going to divide people constantly because it is a total mess of all sorts of things, just thrown in a blender and put on pulse. it kind of has the same attitude as a lot of people who take shit, throw it against the wall, and see what sticks. what works for you will be different than what works for me. But I like Ringo's voice being grating and cracking, I like OSCA, Karisome Otome, Onaji Yoru, Fukou Jiman, Mellow, any of the harder music where her vocals are just raw. So I don't think we will agree.

Save for Kuronekodo and OSCA (in-part SSAW, but it's not overpowering like those other two) I can't find any cartoon-qualities to any of the songs. Is it the different bass line and the electric organ that make you think that way? Because to me those are legitimate instruments which are used in other music I enjoy.

And I like her grating voice too -- Karisome Otome and Onaji Yoru are perfect examples of it working to show a sense of desperation or whatnot. (it's the part in Gamble that REALLY gives me goosebumps) But OSCA is just a constant aural intrusion. Add in the strange transition in the tempo and conglomeration of instruments, while I still like it, I don't see how this is the standout track.

I'm not sure why I'm being this persistent in replying. I understand people have different opinions, but having SUCH a negative reaction to the whole album (on a Ringo board too) doesn't make any sense to me. I'm trying to hear what other people are hearing wrong about it (And having OSCA as the one people actually enjoy), but I just can't. It's typical rock with influences from funk and the 70s and all of those electric organ goodies that come with it. That's ALL I hear from the majority of the album. And most of it is just the traditional Tokyo Jihen sound. (I'm not even sure how Fukushuu and Metro are any different from any of their other songs.) Pure 70s not a genre used much by Ringo, and that's why I brought that subject up -- are people just NOT fans of that type of music? Is that what is "cartoony" to others?

I constantly see speculation discounting Ringo from the production of the album. I'm not sure if it's because of that there was prejudice from the start or if it's in justification of not liking the album in the first place. I don't get this either -- because she did have to approve of the album first. So even if she didn't produce the album, it's not something she was against and was indeed something she wanted as part of her discography.

[kuro_neko]

no one has ever stated Ringo was ever "against" this album. She obviously worked hard on it. She wrote the vocals for most of it and spent almost two years afterwards touring with its material, on Spa and Treatment and then carrying over into other random lives, which is more than she did for Kyouiku or Adult.

The entire album is cartoony from start to finish. Being playful, silly, larger than life, colorful, etc. The album artwork reflects them, the title reflects this, heck, this era even got things like manga adaptations for tour goods. from start to finish it is a bit like a comic in some ways.

[Osiris12345]

Personally, I find Shiina Ringo at her best when she's growling, screaming, belting it out, or just going crazy with her vocals. Remember when she turned a decent pop ballad, Koko De Kiss Shite, into a powerhouse that knocked you on your ass in Dynamite Out? I sure do. That performance blew me away and that's the Ringo I love. Things like the scream at the beginning of Identity, how she growls "down here" during I'm Gonna Knock On Your Door, how she screeches at the beginning of Tsumi to Batsu, and even how she pronounces "nook" as "nuke" in Papaya Mango all make her stand out to me.

OSCA is one of my favorite vocals from her just because the way she hits some of those notes is so grating. But rock ain't supposed to be pretty. Listen to Janis Joplin and tell me that sounds like Mariah Carey. OSCA showcases crazy Ringo and I love it.

[kuro_neko]

^ wooooord

I just found out that my boyfriend's good friend, she did our charts (as in, she is really into astrology and wrote us like a 20 page report and compatibility report), was best friends with Janis Joplin up until her death. Apparently she was quite the druggie back in the day, haha.

anyways, back on topic, I totally second what you said. That is what I mean that she seems a bit confined/boxed in by the other musician's compositions. When has Ringo ever sang songs composed by other artist's in her career? Up until Variety, she really hadn't too much, not unless it was a cover or a track here or there on a Jihen album.

I love Ringo's growl as well, that is why I love OSCA. I also love her shrill rawness when she hits the high notes, which is why I like Killer Tune and Karisome Otome. It can be nice to listen to songs like Ramp or Metro, but that isn't why I like Ringo