Go Back   Electric Mole Forums > Shiina Ringo & Tokyo Jihen > Product Reviews & Information
Register FAQ Members List Calendar Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Product Reviews & Information Discuss singles, albums, and DVDs.
Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old 2009.07.10, 08:03 AM   #651
merman
Senior Member
 
merman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Bratislava, Slovakia
Posts: 561
merman is an asset to this community
Default

yep, i find those two similar. Roudousha would fit into that trinity at least lyric-wise as well.
merman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2009.07.10, 10:09 AM   #652
letemp
Member
 
letemp's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 45
letemp is headed in the right direction
Default

Originally Posted by kuro_neko View Post
did you guys watch SONGS? watching the live version of Ryuukou was almost painful. Mummy-D isn't very camera friendly, nor can he dance, and Ringo herself seemed kind of awkward jumping around and doing those little steps.
i know... and the dancers. . . . blame it on the dancers!! cuz i think mummy-d is kinda cute there . . .
letemp is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2009.07.10, 10:13 AM   #653
Scribble R
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 2,392
Scribble R can barely hear you above the sound of how awesome they areScribble R can barely hear you above the sound of how awesome they are
Default

Originally Posted by letemp View Post
i know... and the dancers. . . . blame it on the dancers!! cuz i think mummy-d is kinda cute there . . .


I suppose what's interesting about EMF is that despite how small the place is, there are many diverse opinions.
Scribble R is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2009.07.10, 10:37 AM   #654
Maou
Senior Member
 
Maou's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Happy Valley
Posts: 3,226
Maou knows what you did last summerMaou knows what you did last summer
Default

Two things: Mummy-D is the fuckin' man and the first four tracks on the album (along with Yokyou) are full of win because they sound like Kyouiku-era songs with higher production/different arrangements.
__________________
I'd rather have a life of "oh wells" than a life of "what ifs"
Maou is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2009.07.10, 11:09 AM   #655
Cosmo!
Senior Member
 
Cosmo!'s Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Honolulu
Posts: 253
Cosmo! is an asset to this community
Default

Originally Posted by Scribble R View Post
There isn't? There's just something doll-like about her face.
collard greens generate intense interjections
__________________
seems like all I really was doing was waiting for you
Cosmo! is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2009.07.10, 11:11 AM   #656
Scribble R
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 2,392
Scribble R can barely hear you above the sound of how awesome they areScribble R can barely hear you above the sound of how awesome they are
Default

The rap in Vogue actually boosts/compliments the song, instead of being 'The Rap Part' that many 'Pop RnB' songs suffer from. I'm surprised that it's one of my favourite tracks.

He's more of an afterthought in Togatta, but it works.
Scribble R is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2009.07.10, 11:56 AM   #657
Beltshumeltz
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 46
Beltshumeltz is headed in the right direction
Thumbs up Beltshumeltz's review

My review: (ps - I don't speak Japanese)

I really, really love this album. I don't write well, I'm kinda drunk and I don't know how to describe music well. But in short: I am not disappointed at all!

I can actually stand all the songs in the first place. Most albums had at least one to three songs that I just had to delete or skip. This one, I ordered from Taiwan and converted to FLAC format for my MP3 player. I plan to keep all the songs in the folder.

In this album, she covers many styles: slow rock, faster rock, jazz, vocal... If you like Shiina Ringo for how she experiments with music, and especially if you appreciate the Jazzy aspects mostly used in her Tokyo Jihen albums, mixed with the instrumental style of Karuki Zamen Kuri no Hana, you will love this. I really feel like this is Tokyo Jihen meets KZK and even a bit of Heizei Fuuzoku's style, which in my mind would be *magical movie instrumental* style, whatever that means.

I received this album this morning and listened about 2-3 times, but here is a song by song commentary, short and innacurate due to current drunken state and having listened too little to this gem yet:

1 - Ryuukou (流行, fashion, vogue)
A rock/jazzy song, very appealing if you liked songs like Himitsu. You will be able to listen to this song forever, you will like it at first, but it's not a very deep and complicated song. Very good as a first album song since it appeals to a wider mass of people. It has a catchy refrain, some fun rap/lyrics from a man which add more style.

2- Rōdōsha (労働者, laborer)
Probably the most pop-rock song of the album, I see this playing on the radio to annoy people. It's pleasant and I will listen to it, but I probably wouldn't load that song on it's own.

3- Mittei Monogatari (密偵物語, the secret agent story)
WONDERFUL! The first 10 seconds (which reoccurs a few times) is so stupid and lovely, I rewind this song over and over to get that stupid beat into my head. It's a very jazzy song, with a really cool flute. If you liked the flute from Ishiki, I think you will adore this! It's different, faster, cooler... I'm drooling (or vomiting due to alcohol) over my keyboard! My current top 3 of this album!

4- O chiten kara (〇地点から, From point O)
A pretty boring and slow song. Maybe it will grow on my in time. Reminds me of Izonshou from Shouso Strip a LITTLE. Don't read too much into this since this is a slow song. Anyway, moving on....

5- Karisome Otome (カリソメ乙女, temporary virgin)
Okay, this song is seriously going to turn me gay or gayer at least. At some point a male, probably the drummer, goes... *.... ONE TIME!*... *TWO TIMES... yeah... (I'm cool and you're writing a review on a forum)!*... *THREEEEEEE TIMES!* (I get laid and you don't)... *UUUUUUHHHHHHHHHH BAM! BAM!*. I wanna have sex with him, right here, in front of everyone! He's so stupid-cool, it's hilarious, cool in an Elvis-haircut-on-a-Japanese-head-in-2009 style... or something cooler and funnier than my description. The other 90% is also really fun, very jazzy with some cool trumpet or other similar instruments. Again, like #3 this will appeal to people who liked Himitsu's style. And really cool men Nearly all vocals are Ringo though.

6- Tsugou no ii Karada (都合の好い身体, the convenient body)
A magical instrumental song with vocals. Magical movie soundtrack-like, a bit like Heizei Fuuzoku but which has aspects you could find in the soundtrack to the Wheel of Fortune or Dynasty (if that was an American TV show... it was called Dynasty in french...) The great thing about this song is that overall, I don't like it much (like Heizei Fuuzoku) but like most great songs, it has this 5-10 seconds (at 2 different spots) that I absolutely adore! This is a deep song with a shell you might dislike, but I think it can grow on you due to these deep parts or fun refrains here and there. The part from 1:39 to 1:46, yes, only 7 seconds, is probably among my favorite 7 second part of her whole discography, even moreso because I don't completely love the rest of the song! Maybe this won't sound contradictory to some...

7- Shun (旬, season)
A piano/vocal with light drum/violin orchestra accompaniment. It has a very lovely melody. The melody makes it a very easy listening. It also has some cool off-key piano parts that I like which add depth to it and which build to a climax of vocal/orchestral violin that I love.

8- Futari-bocchi Jikan (二人ぼっち時間, Time of just the two of us)
A very cute and lovely jazz song with the instrumental focus on brass instruments! The focus is on the brass orchestra and the vocals. Thanks to a LOT of listening to old-school Puerto Rican salsa/Mambo music from the 50s 70s, I'm quite open minded about those types of brass instruments used in such an old-school manner. If you aren't into that type of music, I do think that after 5-10 listenings, this song could grow on you.

9- Mayakashi Yasaotoko (マヤカシ優男, counterfeit gentleman)
I don't know what style this song fits in... I will give a description very few people will understand: this would have been a great battle song for the videogame Breath of Fire 3! It fits in with that videogame soundtrack style. Cool jazz with piano for a great Battle Theme, but with some lyrics on top here. It has some slower parts with a trumpet/sax solo (not sure which is which, sorry) which is great too. It has some great brass "responses" to her vocals (example: 2:41 to 2:52), it is as if the sax/whatever is responding to her lyrics which sounds really cool. This is a very, very deep song which you will like more and more as you listen to it multiple times I believe.

10- Togatta Teguchi (尖った手口, sharp practice)
Has some aspects of the early part of Byoushou public... Most will disagree, I think it has the same "feel" of hard rock-style. The refrain is upbeat. I don't even know how to describe Ringo in musical terms, like what style she belongs to... Anyway, this is her harder-rock type of song but using some effects on the guitars. I think. Anyway, it sounds really good, it has a cool melody, and a nice techno-ish part at 1:34 to 1:40 which leads you to better notice these techno-ish instruments in other parts of the song that you might have missed the first time around.

11- Irokoizata (色恋沙汰, love affair)
Re-read my description of #8, this song has the same style and appeal but mixed with some of the magical-movie-soundtrack aspects from Heisei Fuuzoku (see song #6 description). If you like old-school Puerto Rican salsa/mambo songs, on another beat, with Shiina singing, mixed with that magic I describe, you will like this. It has a very easy to appreciate melody, but you'll need to like the style above all.

12- Bonsai Hada (凡才肌, ordinary ability?)
First, I love the weird accordeon beginning, it reminds me of some level from Super Mario 1. Anyway.... the focus here is all on the vocals entirely. She seems to have improved her voice a lot! For such a song, she seems to control her voice a lot more than in her other vocal songs. It has a really nice melody (like most 90% vocal songs). The accordion is nice too and leads the melody. This song will appeal to you if you liked: Onaji Yoru and Odaijini and I think another song I forget. So take the enjoyment you got from the vocal melody of these songs, improve the voice control, add a bit of magic and you get this song.

13- Yokyou (余興, entertainment, parlor trick)
A rock song (guitar, bass, vocals, slighly catchy refrain) with a bit of a feel like Huey Lewis and the News, of course, better. I hope. The only great part about this song, is that for a rock song that will appeal to everyone, at least it has 2-3 different interesting parts instead of just 1 catchy refrain.

14- Marunouchi Sadistic (丸の内サディスティック, Marunouchi Sadistic)
This version starts with english lyrics. With the words "Playing cops and robbers..." It sounds odd if you aren't used to these English lyrics but it's done really well with a choir of backup singers. I think this is the style called "soul" but I'm clueless about terminology. Then it switches to a rap beat with the lyrics in JAPANESE. I think the mix of English/Japanese is done well here. I usually hate all her English/French songs (I speak both), but this one I like despite that. Maybe because I really love the original. So if you love Marunouchi Sadistic, I think this song is a good complement. I would definitely once in a while listen to either this version, the Muzai Moratorium version, the Meet the World Beat live soundtrack version, or the version from that old solo concert she did.

Overall, this is now among my top Shiina Ringo albums! It has some of the aspects from Heizei Fuuzoku and KZK some people will more-or-less like, with the complexity and jazz aspects of her 3 main Tokyo Jihen albums, while being rock enough to appeal to lovers of her early solo albums. I think this one could appeal to all her fans, and it has no really weak songs, certainly no bad ones at all.

Last edited by Beltshumeltz : 2009.07.10 at 12:21 PM.
Beltshumeltz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2009.07.10, 01:22 PM   #658
kuro_neko
Senior Member
 
kuro_neko's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: World's End
Posts: 2,991
kuro_neko puts considerable thought into their posts
Default

ummm wowwwwwww, I have no words to say to that comparison. Well, I will start by saying that I remain a bitchy cynic above and beyond anything. so when you read my posts don't think of me crying, think of me rolling my eyes a la Daria.

my point is that the expectations posted of Ringo here on this forum are unreleastic and sometimes a bit misogyonistic. Ringo is an artist, not an idol. firstly, her music is subject to unprecendentedly ridiculous standards. It would have to be the greatest thing ever released and have satisfied every fan and include every genre to making a passing cut here. Then people visually deconstruct Ringo, if not complaining that she looks old/greasy/tired/generally bad, then saying she doesn't "look like herself" (what the fuck do you guys know? do you live with her?), that she looks fake, that now she is shallow, she has collagen (if she does, good for her is what I say), that her PV's are insipid and vapid.

Well guess what, this is Ringo. She has complete creative control and she made the PV. And yeah, if you don't like that that sucks, but there is no way for anyone to win around around here. Not when your deconstructing Ringo like this and everyone has to play witness to it. Some of the comments I read her about photoshoots and videos and appearances make my stomach turn.

also, has any noticed there are quite a few prominent members who haven't posted reviews or impressions here because they don't want to get sucked into this? probably because they have positive things to say and its sad that they feel they can't post that here without tainting their name.
kuro_neko is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2009.07.10, 02:13 PM   #659
Scribble R
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 2,392
Scribble R can barely hear you above the sound of how awesome they areScribble R can barely hear you above the sound of how awesome they are
Default

It's strange to visually deconstruct Shiina Ringo when she's taking part in photoshoots and forcing 'flesh-coloured' things down our throats?

I think you're mostly arguing against strawmen. Because:

+ Credit's always given when credit's due. I haven't been here that long, but as far as I can see, it just seems that this forum is overwhelmingly negative because people don't hold back when it IS time to offer criticism. The response towards SG has been mainly positive. There have been looong posts of positive impressions that haven't been snubbed or torn to shreds

+ I've run out of bullet points again.

But I don't get what you're asking for, kuro neko. Are you asking for people to not comment on the various photoshoots, MVs, VISUAL STUFF unless they've got anything good to say?

The 'holding Ringo to high standards' thing is being Phased Out (I kid, I kid) -- Sanmon Gossip isn't a masterpiece, not the 'KSK killer' or whatever, but people clearly appreciate it.

This is the first time I've ever been tired out from posting on an internet message board! =O
Scribble R is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2009.07.10, 02:26 PM   #660
Cosmo!
Senior Member
 
Cosmo!'s Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Honolulu
Posts: 253
Cosmo! is an asset to this community
Default

can I be your Jane, neko?

0 Chiten Kara has really grown on me. it's so low-key and understated and fits perfectly between the busy Mittei and Otome. I love how sweet Ringo sounds, too. she can really use her voice in so many ways; it's a great talent. it's funny how I blew her off when I first heard her because she sounded so nasally and off-key, and now her voice is what draws me to practically every SR/TJ song.

Mayakashi Yasaotoko is still my personal favorite on the album. the lyrics are great and her delivery is even better. I've always thought of the saxophone as corny and something I should never have to hear outside of an elevator or Kenny G song, but it's actually integrated well in this song.

Irokoizata is very Keshou Naoshi to me, so I like it.

that vocal distortion on Togatta Teguchi is so Shouso Strip, so I love it.

I can imagine Yokyou on an Incidents Vol. I album, and Bonsai Hada is fuckin' badass because of the accordion alone, but Ringo sounds pretty sexy herself.

I have to give a big OH HELL NAW to the middle of the album, though. Shun is very boring as far as ballads go, and the two rompin' stompin' showtunes plodding around it are too cheesy for words. you've done much better, Ringo.

all in all, I like this album more with each listen. Muzai Moratorium and Adult are still my favorite albums, but this ain't no sloucher.
__________________
seems like all I really was doing was waiting for you
Cosmo! is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
[Maboroshi] 2009.03.25 - Maboroshi no Shi (CD) [Album] frecklegirl Product Reviews & Information 31 2013.02.11 01:01 PM
Japan Nite kamikaze Off-Topic (Music) 10 2011.03.24 01:12 AM
[SR] 2009.05.27 - Ariamaru Tomi (CD) [Single] frecklegirl Product Reviews & Information 305 2009.06.28 04:41 AM
(2009.06.24) Shiina Ringo - Sanmon Gossip [Album] zarya Main Forum 1420 2009.06.22 09:25 AM
Ego Wrappin and the Gossip of Jaxx lazer85 Off-Topic (Music) 4 2009.03.05 02:37 AM


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 06:44 AM.