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Old 2011.07.08, 01:01 AM   #211
Phoenixmgs
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My first post here.

I'm been listening to Tokyo Jihen for about 3 years now and Dai-hakken is a pretty good album.

I guess I'll start with the bad. The song I least like is Katsute wa Otoko to Onna, it's slow and flat to me. Even then it's not horrible. I was also never big on Sora ga Natteiru and I'm still not, it's alright. I really do like Onna no Ko wa Daredemo but it's not a Tokyo Jihen song, it's a Shiina Ringo solo song. The album does feel like there isn't much cohesion, and the fact that 5 of the songs were singles, regardless of rearrangements, makes the album feel not so new and fresh. Dai-hakken does feel like a b-sides album but Tokyo Jihen b-sides are better than most bands' a-sides.

On to the good stuff. I like the rearrangements a lot; Tengoku e Youkoso For The Disc is really different and also very good (I do prefer For The Tube though) and the new Dopamint is great, although I do prefer the original a bit as I love the bass in that song.

Other songs of mention:

Atarashii Bunmei-kaika - I just love this song, it's nothing great musically, it's good pop and the solo is what takes it from a normal catchy pop song to a legitimately good song.

Kaitei ni Sukuu Otoko - I just really love the blues sound this song has.

Osorubeki Otona-tachi - Slow, but just awesome. The song never really gets to a fast pace but it does have those times when in kicks in unlike Katsute.

21-seiki Uchuu no Ko - Pretty fast and poppy, more of a rock song than Atarashii Bunmei-kaika.

Kaze ni Ayakatte Yuke - A great kind of WTF type song, it's short and doesn't overstay its welcome. A song with both "space invaders" and "fine masturbation" in it is, by default, a win.

I don't find myself going to listen to the other tracks but I don't skip them when they come on either, which is good. Denki no Nai Toshi is a good ballad, but unless I'm in the mood to listen a ballad, I don't feel that need to hear it over and over.
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Last edited by Phoenixmgs : 2011.07.08 at 01:04 AM.
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Old 2011.07.08, 05:34 AM   #212
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Originally Posted by kuro_neko View Post
I am more interested in seeing what their next effort holds. Will they shackle themselves with a new theme and strive for a sonic representation of that? Or will they continue in this style and use the theme less strategically?

I personally hope they ditch the theme. I'd rather have them work on cohesive albums without the gimmick.
I think even more importantly than that, their next album will have songs actually written for that album, and in that sense, Daihakken is definitely a "fresh start" -- with all or almost all of their old compositions out in the open, their next album will be...I don't know how to put it; maybe "newer," or more "inventive." Or maybe it will be another Sports. I don't know.

Originally Posted by Tokyo Jihad View Post
(and yes, what I'm getting at is that to get to Kyouiku, Adult quality, Shiina needs to write all but 2-3 songs an album.)
Of course. But I would like to see Izawa do more arrangements of Shiina compositions -- a la Himitsu -- in place of compositions.
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Old 2011.07.08, 01:08 PM   #213
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Oh god, I haven't written a post in here for AGES. My apologies. Here is my review:

First of all, what surprised me, was the name of this album, since it's not named after a category of TV programs. This feels odd. You may think of the Discovery Channel, but it doesn't really feel that right.

Well, let me go through it song by song...

1 - Tengoku e yôkoso (For The Disc)
I like this far better than the English version. The lyrics are more Shiina-like, seem to be more ambiguous, more... Japanese. In fact, the English lyrics to me seems more like an interpretation to what she's singing here. The sound seems more opener-like, which of course fits here.

2 - Zettaichi tai Sôtaichi
This reminded me a lot of Denpa Tsûshin from Sports. It's the 2nd track, it's electric, she sings fast and uses the same "I write Kanji but sing English"-wordplay (ok well this is her frequent style though) in it. It seems well-placed, since until this track, the placement of the songs seemed similar to Sports.

3 - Atarashii Bunmeikaika
Somehow, this also reminded me a lot of Sports. It feels as if it had actually been intended for the last album. The lyrics have a kind of "sporty" feeling to them ("Do it for the win" and stuff), and so has the video.

4 - Denki no nai Toshi
The song that feels the most misplaced on the whole album. I don't get how you can place it there. It is very difficult to place this kind of track right, though. At the end of the album, it would leave you pretty depressed... but between those two songs, it feels pretty odd.
I love this track although I usually don't like songs with this kind of "captain obvious"-interpretation you could write here.
The reason that it's so misplaced might be that it was the latest to be written...I don't think you usually write songs about 3 months prior to releases.

5 - Kaitei ni sukuu Otoko
After Denki no nai Toshi, that left me in some kind of depression with tears in my eyes, this felt pretty odd since it's this kind of "fun"-song. If you take a break between Denki no nai Toshi and this or listen to it without album context, it's pretty cool though.

6 - Kinjirareta Asobi
Reminds me of a lot of older songs. It's this kind of average cool Tokyo Jihen song you can find on all their albums I think. I love the instrumentation here but I think it's a kind of song that may sound better on CD than live.

7 - Dopamint! (BPM103)
Woah. This has the jazz club feel. I already loved the BPM119 version, but I think I may love this even more. It also is easier to sing along with this. Though the lyrics may fit the fast version better somehow.

8 - Osorubeki Otonatachi
This also reminds me of other songs. It even reminds me of other artists, although I can't even name them. Somehow it feels "old". When I heard it for the first time, it already felt like I had been listening to it a 100 times before already. Just that I hadn't.

9 - 21seiki Uchû no Ko
Another reminder. If you listen to this and to Senkô Shôjo, it really feels as if those just belong together. It also feels like a kind of theme-song. This could really be the opening for a TV Drama series or something.

10 - Katsute wa Otoko to Onna
This also has some kind of reminding and "old" feeling to it. I can't name on which album this actually should have been though.

11 - Sora ga natteiru

This one is pretty wow. I love it. I learned it by heart (accidentally, from listening to it about a 1000 times). I sing it to myself all the time. It's just great.

12 - Kaze ni Ayakatte yuke
Is it just me, or sounds the "Rock" at the beginning really more like "fuck"?
I still don't really know what to think about this song anyway.

13 - Onna no ko wa dare demo

This does not sound like Tokyo Jihen to me. It sounds like a Shiina Ringo single, similar to some other Shiina Ringo singles, but it's definitely not Tokyo Jihen to me. That's why I don't have a clue what it is doing on an album or a single by Tokyo Jihen. Honestly, I do not know.

14 - Tengoku e yôkoso (For The Tube)

See #1, too. This feels like the interpretation to it.

To sum this album up: It feels like a compilation, but not like an album. I'm used to albums (not only by Tokyo Jihen, but also by lots of other bands and solo artists) that have this "concept" feel to it, but this is not one of those. It feels a bit like they did actually pick the tracks from a lot of tracks they still had but never had released. The only song of which I think that it really is new is Denki no nai Toshi, which is obviously related to quake and tsunami in march, and even this only goes for the lyrics and not for the sound. I love most, if not all, songs on this album, but it just doesn't really feel like an album. If the older Tokyo Jihen albums were different TV stations, this must be somebody zapping through them.
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Old 2011.07.08, 01:58 PM   #214
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Originally Posted by Kasu View Post
If the older Tokyo Jihen albums were different TV stations, this must be somebody zapping through them.
I like that. It's like someone's trying to figure out / discover what's on.
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Old 2011.07.08, 02:22 PM   #215
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Anyone know who is walking with Shiina in the barren desert photograph in the booklet?
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Old 2011.07.08, 04:52 PM   #216
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Originally Posted by TurtleFu View Post
I don't think giving them one each, but definitely have Shiina write the MAJORITY of the songs on the album. But Dai-Hakken is the most Ringo-heavy album since Adult.
ROFL.

considering this entire forum has hated on Onna and Welcome to Heaven, I find this laughable. The only two songs Ringo contributes to the album are repeatedly trashed but your claiming her contribution are next to Kyouiku/Adult? I somehow doubt that...

Ringo is definitely placed on a pedestal. SG wasn't the return to form most of us were hoping, but it certainly was much more exciting than Daihakken.

Last edited by kuro_neko : 2011.07.08 at 05:49 PM.
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Old 2011.07.08, 05:45 PM   #217
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Originally Posted by brad-t View Post
(Why does nobody use the English titles, even though they're official?)
Just a note, I wasn't trying to call anyone out with this, just curious. Thanks for the answers.

I haven't been compelled to listen to this album again, but at least it got me in the mood for Ringo; I've been listening to KSK constantly.
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Old 2011.07.08, 06:18 PM   #218
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Can't say the album does a lot for me, but wow, 風に肖って行け is an absolutely killer track.
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Old 2011.07.08, 06:50 PM   #219
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Originally Posted by kuro_neko View Post
ROFL.

considering this entire forum has hated on Onna and Welcome to Heaven, I find this laughable. The only two songs Ringo contributes to the album are repeatedly trashed but your claiming her contribution are next to Kyouiku/Adult? I somehow doubt that...

Ringo is definitely placed on a pedestal. SG wasn't the return to form most of us were hoping, but it certainly was much more exciting than Daihakken.

I remember a lot more dopa-mint hate than Tengoku back in July last year XD

I think SG's anticipation was what did it for me. I hadn't had a solo Shiina album(excluded Heisei) within the lifespan of my fandom yet and many others had been without one for 6 yrs. I was ecstatic. We got 2 Jihen albums within nearly a year's time. I'm still actively arguing with people why I like FOUL.
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Old 2011.07.08, 06:53 PM   #220
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Originally Posted by Nebularus View Post
Can't say the album does a lot for me, but wow, 風に肖って行け is an absolutely killer track.
IT IS!

Its experimental and artistically progressive for them, or any rock band. 風に肖って行け is the antithesis to all the blah commerical pop that the band makes to appease EMI or to make extra yen on side for CMs. They sneak in real alt rock and it gets glossed over or misunderstood.

edit: Tengoku for the tube is another one. But a full album of these kinds of tunes might alienate their fans who prefer the happy toe-tapper tunes.

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