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Old 2009.07.06, 09:38 PM   #561
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Originally Posted by merman View Post
^
sorry, but somebody already did long ago (shortly after the tracklist was released I think?)
Trying not to be too much of an attention whore, it was me, here. Hahaha. But Kuro makes an interesting point about the usage of the shapes I didn't notice before. Hooray Teamwork!
I got my copy in the mail today, along with several other albums. I need it to sink in a little more before I write a review though. My basic first reaction is: lots of great sounds and chords, but surprisingly melodically weak. Not to say it isn't a great album, but I expected more melodic complexity from SR. It's still a strong and refreshing album though, and am very excited about where she'll go from here.
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Old 2009.07.06, 09:51 PM   #562
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i was watching the second set of performances in the SONGS show, and i saw that Mittei Monogatari had lyrics by someone beside her. what's all this about?

also, i can finally say that i think this album is the shizznicks. i love it. it's not as good as her other albums if you want to be technical, but to each individual, that's not really what matters, it's how you personally enjoy it and i find this one extremely enjoying. watching her performing some of these live and watching the music video made it easy for me to see why she went through with variety and this album.

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Old 2009.07.06, 10:50 PM   #563
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its japanese lyrics for the song. the english lyrics are attributed to Jack Brown so chances are Ringo discussed the song with him, what she wanted it to sound like, wrote Japanese lyrics and a rough sketch, and then he helped her devise the English counterparts. Up until this collab, her English music was usually with the help by some other guy, I think Robbie Clark if I'm not mistaken. Ringo has written entirely English songs on her own, but they usually have a translator credit or something, probably a friend or someone in the company who gives Ringo a hand with her English.

frecklegirl, if you look at the back of the cd you will see the Maru in track 4 and the Kuchi in Togatta Teguchi are both printed in light pink, same as the circle with sa for MarunoSa, the effect being it obscures them and makes them seem invisible. The actual character for kuchi is a bit smaller and thicker than the square here, which is almost larger than the regular square space within you write any given character, and the lines are also a lot thinner than the typical stroke for a Japanese character such as Kuchi. If you type in "shikaku" and hit space enough you will see a square pop up, although if you add it to your text you will see it comes up tiny、□. they probably used a different front specifically for these two symbols.
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Old 2009.07.06, 11:11 PM   #564
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ohh ok. i'm familiar with the whole translator deal, but on the wiki, it said that they lyrics were by him, so that's what threw me for a loop. thanks for the clear-up.
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Old 2009.07.06, 11:18 PM   #565
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the wiki is right. it says that on the official credits on the website and in the album liner notes. on the special site on the liner notes it mentions that Ringo employed a special english advisor for Mittei no Monogatari and since he was in effect more of a teacher she gave him lyric credits. I think more than anything Ringo was being modest and displaying humility. chances are they wrote it together or she wrote rough english sketch and he fleshed out.
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Old 2009.07.07, 12:06 AM   #566
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Thanks for mentioning the teguchi thing, kuro (and Entry No.1!); I've updated my site accordingly to more clearly show the symmetry going on there.

What's up with everyone mentioning the sa-in-a-circle thing for MaruSadi? As far as I can tell it only appears in the track listing on the back of the album, as a sort of abbreviation of the full song title. But why is everyone bringing it up like it's a big deal? I'm honestly confused. :/
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Old 2009.07.07, 03:08 AM   #567
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^
The "ooguchi" in the second line of Maru Chiten Kara and the "maaruku" in her last line in Togatta Teguchi also have the "kuchi" character and the circle symbol highlighted (in white)...
And I thought everyone sees the "MaruSa" thing as a nice touch, since that's the song's nickname and she titled it that on SG... like saying it's a present for the fans.

I haven't posted about how I feel about the album so far, so I guess it suffices to say I listen to it every day in its entirety at least once, and I got it a week ago... I can see the "lack of melodic complexity" point, but that was already hinted on with all that we've had before the album - somehow the album even exceeded my expectations and I was expecting it to be damn good in the first place, it feels like it's something new. Love it!

Last edited by merman : 2009.07.07 at 03:12 AM.
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Old 2009.07.07, 10:20 AM   #568
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Just (finally) signed up for an account but been lurking for awhile. Just wrote a review on my website nipponrock.net and thought I'd post it here too - Forgive the background info on Ringo that you all know about already, but because this was for my website too I wanted to give a bit of background for people who aren't so familiar with her.

All in all, I'm in agreement with some here that Shun is a bit of a hollow track, definitely forgettable to me. I think Mayakashi Yasaotoko, Bonsai Hada and Roudasha are my favs here. Anyway, here's my full review:

"Among Japanese artists who’ve never toured the west, Shiina Ringo is" one of the most talked about, and with good reason. When she debuted she was a groundbreaking example of how to be a strong woman in the Japanese entertainment business and she’s always straddled the line between mainstream pop stardom and indie experimentation. Her closest western counterpart may be Janelle Monae – who’s early into her career, but so far has a similar approach towards mixing genres and a similar level of artistic ambition.

Shiina Ringo’s last solo album of original material was 2003’s Karuki Zaamen Kuri no Hana, and while she’s been releasing some good albums with her band Tokyo Jihen, her new album Superficial Gossip has been highly anticipated and marks a return to form.

Those expecting a return to big guitars and noisy experimentation might be disappointed at first. Keyboards are far more prominent than guitars, and the album draws from jazz, pop, hip hop and R&B more than it does from rock music. Shiina Ringo has always blended genres though, and her real skill in writing great pop songs and giving them interesting arrangements – which she accomplishes here. There’s nothing like ‘Identity‘ or ‘Tsumiki Asobi‘ here, but most of the songs would be well at home among her earlier material.

I don’t love every song on Superficial Gossip, but at it’s best this is some of Shiina Ringo’s strongest material. After being disappointed with Tokyo Jihen’s last album, Variety, I wasn’t optimistic about this album, and I’m glad to be proven wrong. The sound is a blend of Shiina’s album Shouso Strip and Tokyo Jihen’s Adult. If you’re a fan of those two albums this one should appeal to you.

Particularly with Tokyo Jihen, Shiina Ringo has demonstrated an obsession with jazz music and it’s very pronounced on this album. The vibraphone and flute break in the middle of ‘Mittei Monogatari’ is great, and transitions back into the killer chorus before becoming too long. On the other hand, the too-smooth jazz of ‘Irokoizata’ lacks any punch, and the two big band numbers on this album, while fairly strong on their own, don’t fit in well with the rest of the album.

‘O Chiten Kara’ is one of the simplest songs on the album, but has a very interesting minimalist arrangement. It’s mostly a piano/drum machine song with the vocals loud and up-front. There are a lot of subtle drones and harmonies going on though, and the melody is strong and memorable. Initially I was disappointed with this one, but after repeat listens it has started to stand out as one of the best on the album.

‘Roudousha’ is pretty surprising to hear from Shiina Ringo. The rollicking piano accompanied by a Motown-style organ brings to mind the Jackson 5. This is simply a great celebratory pop song.

‘Togatta Teguchi’ is an electronic tune that incorporates a lot of the vocal distortion that was present on Karuki Zaamen Kuri no Hana and is one of the strongest tracks here.

‘Bonsai Hada’ is a solo accordion and vocal song and highlights Shiina’s dynamic vocals – She begins the song with a sensuous, breathy melody and slowly builds towards towards a dramatic, theatrical conclusion.

This album took me a few listens to grow into – on the surface it’s quite a bit different than the music that made me such a fan in the first place, but under the surface all the things that made Shiina Ringo’s earlier work great are present, and I’m glad that she’s not content to churn out the same thing she’s done before, but rather that she’s taking chances. Frankly, I didn’t have high hopes for this one, but it’s reminding me why I got so into Shiina Ringo in the first place and I can recommend it without hesitation."

Last edited by NipponRock : 2009.07.07 at 10:21 AM. Reason: fixed line spacing
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Old 2009.07.07, 10:33 AM   #569
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Great to read a review that's not "sounds like this song & that song that SR has done before", welcome to the forums!
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Old 2009.07.07, 11:40 AM   #570
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Another very interesting review. Thanks for posting. I agree that beneath the surface, there's definitely 'Ringo' in these tracks. I do still think she's being way 'too controlled' and not playing up to her eccentric/experimental side enough. It's exists in bits and pieces in SG, but several of the songs end when they're just getting interesting.

Also, there's something very pseudo-mature/diva about her and her music now (Hope that isn't something to do with the colagen =p) which is starting to annoy me.

I don't buy the 'she's not a child any more' crap.
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