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

[frecklegirl]

Hmmm. You might need to uninstall it and re-install it completely. If you don't have any problems accessing the site itself, the problem's just with the software on your computer, that might do the trick.

[Cosmo!]

No Shiina Ringo or Tokyo Jihen album has taken as long as Variety has to grow on me. In fact, it still hasn't completely grown on me; a lot of these tracks just seem to melt and blend together. I loved Shouso, Utaite, Kalk and Adult immediately. Moratorium and Kyouiku each took a while, but I eventually came to love them. Heisei was obviously pretty easy, since there wasn't too much newness to digest.

But this one...I'm a little disappointed. Yeah, Ringo definitely needed a break and the guys deserved more of the spotlight (see: me trying to not end up on Jihad's "people who think Ringo can do no harm and are pretty damn clueless" list), but things just aren't clicking for me. I guess I'll just keep on playing it until it sinks in, but there's a lot of music out there waiting to be heard.

EDIT: Fukushuu, OSCA, Killer Tune & Sake to Geko are still creamworthy, though.

[digdad]

^ It's interesting to see your list there. My experience with the SR/TJ albums is almost exactly opposite. I took an immediate liking to MM and Kyouiku, and SS only took a couple listens. Utaite, KZK, Adult, and HF all took a while to grow on me, but now I listen to them more than the others. I'd actually put Variety somewhere in the middle in terms of how many plays it took to grow on me.

[Orenji]

Well, after almost 3 months from its release, I can say that Variety is the worst album by Tokyo Jihen (and by SR, of course...). I only *love* a few songs (Ramp, OSCA, Kronekodow and Killer Tune), and that is so sad (at least for me)... I hope their next work will be so much better...

[Cosmo!]

Originally Posted by digdad

^ It's interesting to see your list there. My experience with the SR/TJ albums is almost exactly opposite. I took an immediate liking to MM and Kyouiku, and SS only took a couple listens. Utaite, KZK, Adult, and HF all took a while to grow on me, but now I listen to them more than the others. I'd actually put Variety somewhere in the middle in terms of how many plays it took to grow on me.

Haha...I actually listen to Muzai and Kyouiku more than any of the other albums. Interesting how our likes and dislikes are kinda reversed, but our listening habits are similar.

Originally Posted by Orenji

hope their next work will be so much better...

Ringo might just have to amp up the BITCH and let them boys know what's what.

...I'm not sure what that means, either, but they can do better than this.

[HEDOfloe]

Originally Posted by Cosmo!

Ringo might just have to amp up the BITCH and let them boys know what's what.

...I'm not sure what that means, either, but they can do better than this.

I wonder if she was even there @_@. I wonder how this sort of thing ever even happened. How does she end up not composing one song? If she was disheartened by fan's letters, I guess she probably had a hissy fit and told the guys to go write music and she'll come in, listen to it, and write lyrics for it. If she made a point not to write anything, I get the feeling she probably wasn't even there while it was being written.

I remember someone told me that they had read an interview in which she said she thought she treated saito neko bad or something like that because she was harsh in how she wanted things done, so from this and other things I've heard about her, it's just her personality to be real serious about her work. So either she wasn't there when they wrote the music, or she was there and just let them do what they wanted since she made it a point not to write anything.

[Cosmo!]

I just get the impression that she's been feeling a little uninspired lately.

Adult was damn near perfect in terms of lyrics and composition (minus any Toumei Ningen version wars), and I imagine that must have been a little draining.

HF probably didn't cause that much stress, since a. there wasn't too much new material and b. even in the case of "rearranged" old songs, all of their basic melodies are there and Saito Neko is given most of that credit and even billed as an album artist.

Adult was hailed as being an improvement over Kyouiku in nearly every way (at least in most Japanese reviews that I've read or seen on TV), so maybe she's having a tough time finding a way to eclipse that.

Maybe she's hiding behind this whole "I'll let the guys take the stage for once!" thing just like she hid behind Tokyo Jihen after KZK left her feeling drained.

[HEDOfloe]

Originally Posted by Cosmo!

Maybe she's hiding behind this whole "I'll let the guys take the stage for once!" thing just like she hid behind Tokyo Jihen after KZK left her feeling drained.

I think that is a huge reason; she just needs a break. But, I'm not so sure you can say she was hiding behind the band after KZK because she wrote all if not most of Kyouiku and it was a great album so I don't think there is an excuse or any need for an excuse there.

I don't think she's exactly trying to come up with a way to remake an ADULT album because she recently mentioned that they were stuck on what to do next since they are just trying different things, so I doubt she is trying or wants to duplicate anything.

[Cosmo!]

Originally Posted by Hedofloe

I don't think she's exactly trying to come up with a way to remake an ADULT album because she recently mentioned that they were stuck on what to do next since they are just trying different things, so I doubt she is trying or wants to duplicate anything.

I don't ever want her to try to duplicate anything, but albums like SS and KZK and Adult had this way of weaving their songs together and building upon themes and flowing so easily without ever letting their songs blend into one another and sound too similar, which is a problem I have with Variety.

But, yeah, HBIC needs a break.

[HEDOfloe]

Originally Posted by Cosmo!

but albums like SS and KZK and Adult had this way of weaving their songs together and building upon themes and flowing so easily without ever letting their songs blend into one another and sound too similar, which is a problem I have with Variety.

Maybe this problem stems from the fact that the person who composed KZK and ADULT did not compose Variety?