[TJ] 2010.02.24 - Sports (CD) [Album]

[D.K.Liu]

Originally Posted by justriiingo
Isn't that a bit too low of a bar to judge SR's works?
Seriously.

Precisely... it is a really low standard compared to what I expect from SR and TJ, which is why I wasn't comfortable with the you implying that TJ has failed to meet even that. The output from SR and TJ that I'd like to hear is way beyond just 'professional'. Call the recent SR and TJ uninspired, uninteresting, dull, boring etc. or... clarify what what you mean by a 'professionally sounding' album.

I wasn't terribly excited by 3min and Kachi-ikusa, and I really hope that the rest of the album are better than what I've heard so far. I sure don't want to pay 3000 yen for it if it doesn't get better than those two songs.

[kuro_neko]

Originally Posted by D.K.Liu

I wasn't terribly excited by 3min and Kachi-ikusa, and I really hope that the rest of the album are better than what I've heard so far. I sure don't want to pay 3000 yen for it if it doesn't get better than those two songs.

if you wanna feel hopeful about this album just go read what people are saying about it on last.fm

this forum has a reputation for being incessantly negative and it can really poo poo the excitement for a new album. I've heard from several people that the best stuff on the album blows kachiikusa and even 3min out of the water so there was a lot of good stuff to look forward too.

[obama917]

SWITCH magazine published TJ interviews, this time one by one with each member, along with good photos as you see above. Summarizing the whole interviews is way too much for me. Instead I just pick up some episodes I find of interest to me:

- As a songwriter, Ringo comes up with words and music at the same moment. That causes her difficulty in writing lyrics for songs composed by other members, and in fact she dislikes it. What makes things even worse is her tendency to believe that everything has one single right answer, and that applies particularly when it comes to lyrics and music. So she always struggles a lot to find the only one 'right' lyrics for a song not composed by herself. When writing for Sports, she repeatedly suffered from nightmares. One of them was that in a very dark forest she was with Izawa and Uki, but in the next moment she found them very far from her. Another was that in the same dark forest, she was trying hard to find a small ball they threw to somewhere. She woke up sweaty and felt so scared she couldn't stop crying. In one evening, she tried to change such a depressing mood by writing lyrics at a Denny's restaurant. But it didn't work, and listening to Love Theme from The Godfather played there, she felt tears coming from her eyes.

- Ringo expresses her disappointment with the current music scene in Japan, saying that the music industry is treating fans lightly and pursuing money. On the other hand, there are talented musicians who don't trust major record labels and choose to stay with indie labels. She thinks it is sad because she wants them to make more impact on the music scene. She says Uki and Izawa used to be such a type of musicians. Until a few years ago, she would get into the quarrel with them and end up shouting, 'if you think Jpop is shit, why don't talented musicians like you try to change it!'

- When Ringo went to a gig of Appa for the first time, there was an audience of only two people, incuding Ringo herself.

- Ringo worked on Sports as a response to fans who thought of Ariamaru Tomi as what she should continue, as well as to those who say she should stop TJ and return to solo (I think it is on 2-channel). She wanted to create a TJ album they wouldn't complain about. Asked why she has to care so much about negative responses from fans, she says it is not that many people were so negative, and no one knows how many they actually were. She had much criticism for MM and SS too, and she is aware of haters who always complain about anything they are offered. Nevertheless, she says, if she hears anything negative about her music, she cannot help understanding what it means. She just wants to listen to both of positive and negative feedback.

- Hata had much criticism on internet forums too (again, probably 2-channel) when he played with Ringo for the first time (Sugoroku ecstacy, I think). At one point in the heat of hatred, he made an anonymous post to a forum to say 'Hata is crap', displaying his expert knowledge. The haters were overwhelmed, responding like 'oh, your criticism is too much,' and calmed down.

- Both of Ikiru and Kimaru were written when Izawa and Uki were in their early 20s. Izawa wrote Ikiru at 21 or 22 when he was playing for a band while hopping part-time jobs, and provisionally called the song 'freeter'. He gave Ringo a demo of the song just after he joined TJ. But the lyrics he wrote was so introspective and immature that he hesitated to show it to her, so he removed the lyrics from the demo. Years later at a very late stage of Sports recording, he and Ringo talked over the phone, both sensing that something might be missing. At that point Ikiru had not been chosen for the album. Once he reminded her of the song, she said, 'yes that's it.' He was surprised when he knew Ringo's lyrics and his original turned out unexpectedly similar in terms of the core thought. Ringo says she thinks Ikiru will work well as an opening track, sounding as if, as smoke clears, the five members appear on stage under spotlight.

[kuro_neko]

wow! thank you for that obama!! I like your style of summarizing points you find interesting. I agree its too overwhelming to do a full translation or even bullet points of an article, so the easiest thing to do is just read through it yourself and post little tidbits that you thought were the most interesting.

I love the idea of Ringo at Denny's at like 2AM eating pancakes while trying to write lyrics with the group of cute waitresses huddled in the corner afraid to go to her table and Ringo incessantly ringing the button to call them over, XDD.

I think its cool that Ikiru was Izawa and Kimaru was Uki for two reasons. I haven't heard Kimaru yet, but I've heard a lot of positive feedback for it (so that would make it the first almost entirely positively received Uki track) and the fact that each was written by two different members before they knew each other years and years ago reveals that any similarities they might share are probably due to their being produced for that effect to open and close the album.

Also, Ringo screaming at Uki and Izawa to change jpop is kinda amazing. She pretty much did as much during her debut and I like her trying to mentor artists in her footsteps but man Ringo, your not 60 yet, you can continue to change the scene if you choose.

I watched Tametebako video again last night and man, I am dying for an entire album like that. It is like a weird mix of KZK era electro rock fused with her more contemporary style of writing as seen in glimpses on HF and SG. Vocally though, I don't think she has a precedent. I wish the Japanese fans would get off their asses and tell her that they want an album of THAT.

on the whole though we really are lucky, to have a talented artist who listens to their fans. I mean you could chalk all of the recent output up to her trying to please fans (which isn't the case as she states her), but the fact that she at least reads what they have to say and takes it into consideration is very awesome. at the same time, however, an artist should never make a piece solely to please a set group of critics or a certain audience, they should create from the heart, so I personally feel Ringo would do best by simply ignoring everyone but herself (but take the criticism and use it to her advantage).

[ChickShhh]

Originally Posted by obama917

Ringo expresses her disappointment with the current music scene in Japan, saying that the music industry is treating fans lightly and pursuing money.

That's what she is doing right now.

[Tokyo Jihad]

Scribble R, finish your review young man!

Someone get new-Hedo in here as well!

[a_grumble_cake]

hey guysssss
I've been away for 3 weeks and I'm totally out of the loop here. I'm going to post my first impressions and then go back and see how it compares with the rest of you.

I actually don't have much to say. I wanted an album full of Gamans and I got a bunch of Senkou Shoujos but I can't say I'm surprised or upset. One thing I found myself thinking more than once while listening is "the chorus is weak". There are a few songs like (2)Denpa Tsuushin, (3)Season Sayonara and (10) Noriki that start off nice but then kind of fizzle when the chorus comes.

I liked:
3min
Ikiru (would have liked it more without the acapella)
Noriki (weak chorus but I like it)
Kimaru (kind of a forced Epic Last Song but I still like it)

it's ok:
Denpa Tsuushin (anime OP chorus but it's growing on me slowly)
Season Sayonara (nice but weak chorus again)
Kachiikusa (eh)
FOUL (gimmicky, like they're pretending to be a rock group for just one song)
Utten Kekkou (pointless)
Zettai Zetsumei (Zzzzzz)

hate:
FAIR (upholstery)
Sweet Spot (gag)

I REALLY can't stand Sweet spot. The first time I listened to the album I declared FAIR as my least favorite song and then came Sweet Spot, the new contender for my irrational and quite possibly unwarranted hatred for Papaya Mango.

Anyway, I only listened to it 3 times so my opinions might change.

[a_grumble_cake]

finished reading 3 weeks of posts! I agree with a lot of things people said, disagree with some.

Originally Posted by Scribble R

So, her celebrity buddies include Matsumoto Jun and now BOA. Explains a lot I kid, I kid

The pretty boy from Arashi? Is she really friends with him??

Originally Posted by lazer85

i would be surprised if there isnt a single famous musician who secretly keeps a really close eye on forums devoted to them. I'm pretty sure I would if I were famous mostly out of curiosity. But us English speakers make up a really small percentage of their fans and who knows if they even speak English well enough.

definitely possible- a certain popular mangaka popped up on a members only fan community of hers on livejournal. She doesn't speak English well but she still managed to get a livejournal account and figured out how to join communities. It was weird but cool.

[natsume]

Originally Posted by obama917

When writing for Sports, she repeatedly suffered from nightmares. One of them was that in a very dark forest she was with Izawa and Uki, but in the next moment she found them very far from her. Another was that in the same dark forest, she was trying hard to find a small ball they threw to somewhere. She woke up sweaty and felt so scared she couldn't stop crying. In one evening, she tried to change such a depressing mood by writing lyrics at a Denny's restaurant. But it didn't work, and listening to Love Theme from The Godfather played there, she felt tears coming from her eyes.

Wow. I am in love with her again.

[Entry№1]

I think Utada might visit fansites on occasion. For instance, she's referenced a fan cover of "Deep River" on YouTube as well as the blog that translates her Japanese blog messages. I think stars look into these things more often than a lot of people would believe, but choose not to discuss it because they don't want to break the fourth wall too much or let haterz know they're getting a mouthpiece on fan forums. I think we ought to just continue doing what we've always done, just giving our honest opinion and support. As frustrated as we get at times, it's only because we know how incredibly important her art is.
I mean, I'm sure Ringo knows how bad people want her to dive back into darker, heavier rock music. But that's not what she personally wants to do right now, and her new music is still really good even if it's not exactly what we want from her (I've only heard 4 songs from Sports). I'm so pre-occupied with my own songwriting right now that I just trust Ringo's talent and am along for the ride.

Originally Posted by obama917

In one evening, she tried to change such a depressing mood by writing lyrics at a Denny's restaurant. But it didn't work, and listening to Love Theme from The Godfather played there, she felt tears coming from her eyes.

This was perhaps my favorite part, but I loved reading the whole thing. The fact that she develops a song with lyrics as opposed to "melody first" is an interesting revelation for me, personally. Thanks so much for translating it! I hope Ringo isn't suffering too much lately, it seems like she's having a hard time right now.