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Old 2007.09.25, 07:27 PM   #91
Tsuchiya
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I will agree with you dudes that "Superstar" is quite reminiscent of the new Kameda track.
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Old 2007.09.25, 07:27 PM   #92
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And, Maou, I'm happy that you like "Metro"--it's a brilliant track.
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Old 2007.09.25, 07:32 PM   #93
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Not to spam the page, but let me just say that I'm not crazy about Kameda's bass tone on a lot of the tracks...too treble-y and roundwound-y. Would have been nice to hear a little upright or, yeah I'm saying it, fretless.
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Old 2007.09.25, 08:17 PM   #94
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......and 63 pages later
..........I haven't heard the album yet, but no way is it going to top Adult.......and if it does I'll.....no, it just can't. I'm srsly disappointed...only reason I listen to the Jihens is to get my Shiina fix (don't care about effing lyrics, can't understand japanese anyways)...*sigh* I might as well crawl up into my HoboHole and wait for the next album where she actually contributes something worthwhile.......

Last edited by RollOverHobo : 2007.09.25 at 08:18 PM. Reason: ....I missed a word -.-
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Old 2007.09.25, 08:37 PM   #95
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The English tracklist is on Kronekodow's Variety page, kuro_neko.

BTW, it's funny to see how that when Adult (Otona, as it was called back then) first came out, many people hated the style change and the new band members. People had nothing but vile things to say about the album. After Jihad's first positive review of the album, almost every reply was filled with anger about how much the album sucked. Now it is largely regarded as the best Tokyo Jihen album, and some people go as far to say it is the best Shiina Ringo album.

The exact same thing happened to Heisei Fuuzoku. People said it was pure shit when it first came out (hey, even Jihad said my critique of the album was harsher than his). Now, people love the album compared to initial reviews.

I can't wait to see what Variety is ranked in 4 months.
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Old 2007.09.25, 09:00 PM   #96
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It seems clear to me Ringo's judgement isn't nearly as good as her songwriting ability, I keep hoping their going to say the leaked version was a joke. This would be a fine B-side album for anyone else but in the context of ringo and the bands career, it's trash. There isn't anything special about any single song, perhaps make an exception if you want to count Kuronekodou, kingyou no hako, and killer tune, but each sounds like something else.

KZK was the most brilliant album I've ever laid my ears on and all other ringo's has been just a few steps behind it. It was all arranged so beautifully and full of originality and the most catchy vocal melodies. Theres some parts on this album that just sound like they were written by some depressed emo kid and it throws off the whole mood, the vocal melodies are nothing compared to ANYTHING else ringo has ever made, and nothing sounds new, either ripping off old ringo/jihen or sounded way more typical than is normal for the band.


For anyone else this would be a B- or a C+ but for an artist who has never ever let me down as much as I expect it (I was pretty certain Hesei was going to do it until I listened to it a second time) this has left a huge void in music to look forward to. I truly hope this was just a failed experiment and they'll come back strong, until then, I'm dissapointed.

Someone please recomend me something to fill this huge gap that will remain until TJ's 4th album is on its way. Something with vocal melodies and arrangement as beautiful as ANYTHING ringo has done before this.


PS I'm sure I'll grow into this album a little more, but I'm positive I'm never going to love it, at all.
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Old 2007.09.25, 09:04 PM   #97
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Originally Posted by Op2 View Post
The English tracklist is on Kronekodow's Variety page, kuro_neko.

BTW, it's funny to see how that when Adult (Otona, as it was called back then) first came out, many people hated the style change and the new band members. People had nothing but vile things to say about the album. After Jihad's first positive review of the album, almost every reply was filled with anger about how much the album sucked. Now it is largely regarded as the best Tokyo Jihen album, and some people go as far to say it is the best Shiina Ringo album.

The exact same thing happened to Heisei Fuuzoku. People said it was pure shit when it first came out (hey, even Jihad said my critique of the album was harsher than his). Now, people love the album compared to initial reviews.

I can't wait to see what Variety is ranked in 4 months.
true! but!
i did this with heisei but never anything else in ringo's career and I still think it was a lame excuse to put out 2 or 3 new songs without having enough material for a full album. It's this downward curve thats worrying me. 2 initial dissapointments in a row, and while the first has disolved a bit this one is going to be very hard to lift.
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Old 2007.09.25, 10:55 PM   #98
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Flipflopper!
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Old 2007.09.25, 11:18 PM   #99
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JR's review.

Good. Nice. Meh. Sucks. Note the lack of the "Excellent" and "Orgasmic" categories.
Ramp - Optimistic opening.

Mirrorball
- I guess I like this slightly more than the JCHI version, but it's still a bad song.

Goldfish (mostly good, partly sucks)- This should be the opening track. It's so inviting. I like the verses in this one, it's got a good rhythm to it. The chorus is a throwback to DO's Toumei Ningen, but it works here. I like the exuberant feel of this song. Only bad thing? The guitar solo. Terrible.

Private life
- I think this song has so much potential to be so excellent, I'm disappointed that it isn't. The verse has a nice melody, but the chorus is "meh".

OSCA (this means that it's 25% nice and 75% meh) - In comparison, I think this track is actually one of the better ones on this album. Since you all know I don't like OSCA, I guess that says so much about the other tracks on this album.

Kuronekodow - What is this. The arrangement is not working for this melody. I would rather it be a straight-forward, piano-based jazzy ballad. I think that would work much better.

Fuukushu
- On it's own, it's not too bad. But it doesn't belong on this album.

Botomin (meh & sucks at the same time)- Those guys shouldn't be singing. SR is the only one who sounds like she's actually singing. This song doesn't do anything for me. What's the kabuki reference all about anyway?

SSAW - The chorus is rather nice, but it sounds like one of those pop songs that stars sing on charity shows. The verse needs to be rewritten.

Princess mensuelle
- Whatever. I hate this.

Sake to Geko
- Nice. I like this. I love it when they switched to that lush piano part in 3/4. Such a lovely melody. Not crazy about the verse but I guess it still works in this context.

Killer Tune - Enjoyable song.

Metro - Not crazy about the 80s effects and references, but I have to say I really like the general feel of this song, and I love what happens in the chorus. I've been playing it in my head quite a bit these few days, so I guess this is the best song in Variety.

Save for a few tracks, I would say this is a largely unremarkable album. Maybe even terrible.

The Shiina Ringo (and possibly Tokyo Jihen) school of music (to me), is about pushing the boundaries of pop music, bending and fusing genres, giving the old a fresh new twist, and most important of all, originality. And because it's pop music, it's got to be catchy and listenable. What is it in Variety that adheres to this philosophy? If I thought Adult was somewhat "placating", then Variety is paying lip-service to fans who requested more songwriting involvement from the other band members. Variety doesn't even come close to Adult in terms of quality, it's got zero visceral impact compared to Kyouiku, and when it comes to being soul-stirring (something I've come to expect from SR songs) - absolutely NOT at all.

Frankly speaking, if Variety was released after Kyouiku, I would have stopped being a Tokyo Jihen fan immediately. But I guess SR gave me enough time to expect the worst (and the queerest) from Tokyo Jihen (and Ukigumo) so I was a lot more open-minded and lenient when listening to this album. None of the tracks on the album got me to a level of excitement like Kyouiku and Adult. But I've gotten past the disappointment stage. Unless SR goes back to songwriting, I will channel all my listening energies to other artists.
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Last edited by justriiingo : 2007.09.25 at 11:24 PM.
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Old 2007.09.25, 11:31 PM   #100
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Originally Posted by Tsuchiya View Post
Keep in mind that Jihad has the music taste of a suburban 14-year-old living in the year 1998.
I would rather believe a 14-year-old in 1998 than a 14 year old in 2007. Boybands > Rappers.

Seriously, pop music back then was so much more enjoyable and listenable, unlike the nonsense that's being overplayed and overhyped now. I don't even listen to anything remotely mainstream now, not because I'm an elitist bitch who thinks mainstream music is for idiots, because everything mainstream disappoints me so much, I truly believe they were made for idiots now. The 90s were a way better period for music than the 00s, and it seems that SR/Tokyo Jihen is following that unfortunate downward trajectory.

Seriously, if I make a "Do you like Variety?" poll now, I believe most of the responses will straight out "NO."
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