New Jihen album: Dai Hakken [2011.06.29]

[deadgrandma]

Well, im not gonna argue with my own eyes on this :-p

My first language isnt Japanese, and I see that the tracklist is the same backwards and forwards, hence symmetrical enough for me.

I may sound dismissive, but there would still have had to be a conscious decision that all song titles have the same amount of characters. This may be lazier than past efforts, but it still creates a symmetry to the eyes

[ChickShhh]

Originally Posted by TurtleFu

Does anybody else not see how huge of a deal it is that his album has no symmetry at all?

For 11 years Shiina has maintained symmetry on all of her albums (and even some of her singles!). This album has no symmetry whatsoever. I don't know, I feel like this is very, very significant.

MM has no symmetry.

It does not even matter now.
Shiina said she despises the term j-pop, but then she allows herself to sing Atarashii Bunmei Kaika, one of the jpopest things she's ever done in her life.

[deadgrandma]

Everything is all talk when in a music interview. How many times have I read Maynard James Keenan saying the new Tool album is well under way with no results or Billy Corgan saying that the new Smashing Pumpkins stuff is gonna be amazing...

Musicians just gotta talk em selves up so they can relate to the elitists who think they know the artist personally, then laugh in said elitists face when they contradict themselves. It's just the way it goes, didn't you know :-p

[W3iHong]

I thought she just disliked the term? Something about why must it be Jpop and not just pop... Her music automatically gets labelled Jpop even though it clearly doesn't fit the Jpop "specifications"(Is there such a thing?) like the melodies and rhythms.

I wouldn't call Kimaru Jpop because it clearly sounds nothing like it but just because Ringo does something unique and she is
Japanese, it gets called Jpop.

I think pop is a very loose genre for music. A lot of pop songs I heard just don't many similarities together. Trumpets, pianos, violin are in some pop music while others could have some electronic or metal influences. Plus,some of Ringo's melodies come from pretty old songs that are classical or jazz or something else different.

I hate classifying music into genres. Some songs just don't fit into the genres. Then we get a whole mix of songs that are totally different.


Symmetry... I haven't realized that in the albums or singles before.

(Random brambles) I was practicing my Japanese yesterday... And I thought what if I met Ringo in a drug store. I tried acting like I was speaking to her. I would keep saying, " Summimasen, mou ichido."(I don't know why when I speak different languages, I change my accent. Maybe because it's easier to speak that language in the same accent?) In the end, I had to say, "Sorry, my Japanese is very bad."

[TurtleFu]

@ChickShhh
Yes, MM had no symmetry, which I ALREADY said. MM was her first album, and it was released 12 years ago. Notice how I said "For 11 years..." It lacked many of the characteristics that define Shiina today.

Also, you completely misunderstood what she was saying. She dislikes the TERM and LABEL J-Pop, not the music itself. She doesn't think it is fair to label something J-Pop just because it is Japanese when it's real musical genre is different. It's just like how the bands that do Japan Nite at SXSW get annoyed because they don't want their music to be put in a little corner just because they are Japanese.

I mean, don't hate on Shiina for being a hypocrite when you can't even understand what she said in the first place.

[ChickShhh]

KNOCK ME OUT NOW
THE GROUND I'M ON IS FAILING
ONE MORE HIT AND I GO DOWN

ALL I EVER SEE IS PRETTY FLOWER POWER
BUT YOU KNOW I'M REALLY STARVING FOR THE OTHER SIDE
ALL I EVER HEAR IS CHATTER FLATTER HOUR
BUT YOU KNOW I'M REALLY HOPING FOR A BETTER LINE
ALL I EVER BREATHE IS KIND OF BROKEN DOWN
BUT YOU KNOW I REALLY WANT TO FIND A LITTLE TIME
ALL I EVER TASTE I WANT TO SPIT IT OUT
AND YOU KNOW I'M REALLY DYING FOR A LITTLE LIGHT

SOMETIMES IT FEELS
THE MORE YOU WANT AND WANT IT
YOU GET CAUGHT AND FORGET IT'S NEVER REAL
SOMETIMES I FIND
I THINK I'M LOSING MY MIND
I GET CAUGHT AND FORGET IT'S NEVER REAL
HELLO GOODBYE
SEE AND TOUCH, THINK AND KNOW
FEEL, FORGET, BREATHE NOW BECAUSE
SOMETHING HAS GONE WRONG HERE I SAID

MY FRIEND
THE SPACE I'M IN IS FADING
ONE MORE PUNCH WILL DO ME IN
DO IT FOR THE WIN
WHAT IS WRONG?
YOU'VE COME THIS FAR NOW TAKE IT
ONE MORE KICK AND I'LL BE DONE
KICK ME HAVE YOUR FUN
1234 I KNOW THE SCORE
5678 HEAR WHAT I SAY

ALL I EVER SAY I NEVER SAY IT LOUD
BUT IT'S LIKE I'M REALLY WAITING FOR A BIGGER FIGHT
ALL I EVER FEEL I WANT TO SPIT IT OUT
AND IT'S LIKE I'M REALLY DYING FOR LITTLE LIGHT


SOMETIMES IT FEELS
THE MORE YOU WANT AND WANT IT
YOU GET CAUGHT AND FORGET IT'S NEVER REAL
SOMETIMES I KNOW
I KNOW THE MILDS GET OLD
WE GET CAUGHT AND FORGET IT'S NEVER REAL
GOODBYE HELLO
SEE AND TOUCH, THINK AND KNOW
FEEL, FORGET, BREATHE NOW BECAUSE
SOMETHING HAS GONE WRONG HERE I SAID

NO DON'T DOUBT
THE GROUND I'M ON IS FAILING
ONE MORE HIT AND I GO DOWN
I GO DOWN
WHAT WAS RIGHT?
THIS PAST IS NOT WORTH SAVING
I DON'T WANT ANOTHER ROUND
NOTHING TO BE FOUND
WHAT IS WRONG?
THE PAST IS WHAT I'M CRAVING
BOTH MY FEET HAVE LEFT THE GROUND
NOWHERE TO BE FOUND

[Orenji]

Come on, Heisei Fuuzoku had no symmetry at all and it's a great album!

By the way, it amazes me how she even made Utaite Myouri's tracklists to be somehow symmetrical too:

亀パクトディスク
01. 灰色の瞳 (4 kanji)
02. more
03. 小さな木の実
04. i wanna be loved by you
05. 白い小鳩 (Shiroi = White)
06. love is blind
07. 木綿のハンカチーフ
08. yer blues (The Beatles)
09. 野薔薇 (3 kanji)
　
森パクトディスク
01. 君を愛す (4 kanji)
02. jazz a go go
03. 枯葉
04. i won't last a day without you
05. 黒いオルフェ (Kuroi = Black)
06. mr.wonderful
07. 玉葱のハッピーソング
08. starting over (John Lennon)
09. 子守唄 (3 kanji)

[Tokyo Jihad]

>implying HF is a great album

[baruga]

Originally Posted by Tokyo Jihad

>implying HF is a great album

>implying it isn't

[deadgrandma]

>implying people's opinion matters when it comes to HF