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Old 2009.08.06, 03:15 AM   #831
Scribble R
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See, I like Bonsai Hada (I shouldn't feel the need to state this, but if I don't I'll probably get jumped on) but to me, it sounds a bit like a stereotypical 'Classic Ringo' sound. It's like she sat down and thought "OK, let me write a song similar to my early career" and Bonsai Hada came about as a result. Same with Ariamaru Tomi, to an extent.

It even has the Ringo singing when she sings a long note then runs out of breath (That's probably what I miss most about Ringo's old voice, but still).

There's something about me that thinks -- and this is regardless of the quality of her recent music, or lack thereof -- that 'Classic Ringo' in the typical Bonsai Hada sense has become a bit boring.

IMO, I doubt that Bonsai Hada would be on a compilation album when you have Muzai Moratorium, Shouso Strip and Kyouiku to draw from for the 'classic Ringo vibe.' I'd expect it would only get in for the gimmicky accordion. Ryuukou, Roudousha, Togatta and maybe Shun would be more likely, because those and Hatsukoi Shoujo are the most distinctive songs to come out from her since Adult. IMO OF COURSE

(Man, I just realised that there's only around four songs I really really like since 2007...=( )

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Old 2009.08.06, 08:21 AM   #832
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Lately, the songs I've been going back to have been Roudousha, Mittei and Bonsai Hada.
I like Mayakashi's intro but after the part when she says, "I wonder why my feelings play supporting to your leading role", I just skip it.
Maybe I listened to it too much in the beginning, so it's boring to me now.
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Old 2009.08.06, 09:14 AM   #833
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I must be weird or something, but I'm enjoying the album as if it was released yesterday. I can see the 'Ringo classic' thing, tho. Bonsai Hada is like a minimalistic version of Onaji Yoru to me. The most innovative songs on the album are Roudousha, Shun -well, maybe this one not so much, but whatever- and Mayakashi (IMO, of course.)
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Old 2009.08.06, 11:23 AM   #834
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I very, very rarely listen to parts of an album. 99% of the time I'll start an album from the beginning, and commit to listening to the whole thing even if I think 1 or 2 songs are weaker than the rest. That is how the artist intended it to be listened to. Singles are different, of course. With that in mind, I'm still enjoying this album as a whole. I listened to it a lot in the first few days but I've been very careful since, listening maybe only two or three times a week and I think I'm enjoying it more because of that. I think it will suffer from being overplayed fairly quickly.

It has never blown me away, but I think it's a strong album. Songs I didn't like at first like Roudousha have grown on me (though I still zone out when listening to Futaribocch) and I like Tsugou no Ii Karada probably more than I should.. But for the most part I've stayed away from dissecting each song, comparing them with everything in the past and seeing them in a negative light as a consequence. Just taking the album as it is and listening to it casually which is something I wouldn't usually do with one of my favourite artists. Listening to the album today, I thought nothing more than "ahhh, this is nice" which might appear underwhelming, but... well, it's nice...
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Old 2009.08.06, 12:12 PM   #835
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Originally Posted by Inaudible-Whisper View Post
I very, very rarely listen to parts of an album. 99% of the time I'll start an album from the beginning, and commit to listening to the whole thing even if I think 1 or 2 songs are weaker than the rest. That is how the artist intended it to be listened to. Singles are different, of course. With that in mind, I'm still enjoying this album as a whole. I listened to it a lot in the first few days but I've been very careful since, listening maybe only two or three times a week and I think I'm enjoying it more because of that. I think it will suffer from being overplayed fairly quickly.

It has never blown me away, but I think it's a strong album. Songs I didn't like at first like Roudousha have grown on me (though I still zone out when listening to Futaribocch) and I like Tsugou no Ii Karada probably more than I should.. But for the most part I've stayed away from dissecting each song, comparing them with everything in the past and seeing them in a negative light as a consequence. Just taking the album as it is and listening to it casually which is something I wouldn't usually do with one of my favourite artists. Listening to the album today, I thought nothing more than "ahhh, this is nice" which might appear underwhelming, but... well, it's nice...
to me, that is a sign of a weak album, when I have to commit myself over to it in its entirety every time, every listen. I usually go through that phase to let it digest for the first few weeks, but eventually pick and choose what to listen to and when to skip, etc. SG is a nice background music/long play album.
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Old 2009.08.06, 12:15 PM   #836
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As I said though, I pretty much do that for every album. Sometimes I get bored and change albums half way through, but I never take songs away from their albums and I rarely skip tracks. The way I see it, it's more hassle to stop what I'm doing, actively seek out my media player and click 'next' than it is to just listen to the album as it was intended. Unless I really hate a song, but there isn't anything that ear offensive on SG I don't think.
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Old 2009.08.06, 12:32 PM   #837
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Originally Posted by kuro_neko View Post
to me, that is a sign of a weak album, when I have to commit myself over to it in its entirety every time, every listen. I usually go through that phase to let it digest for the first few weeks, but eventually pick and choose what to listen to and when to skip, etc. SG is a nice background music/long play album.
Even with KSK? I mean, I jump between Shuukyou, Yattsuke Shigoto and Souretsu, but all the other songs rely on listening to the whole album at once to get the full awesomeness. In my case, anyway.

Adult is the same (I'd say that was the best background SR/TJ album), but it's an average (IMO IMO) album if you DON'T listen to it the whole way through. Then it becomes better =)
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Old 2009.08.06, 12:51 PM   #838
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I very rarely listen to any album the entire length of the way through except for concept albums. I personally don't see that quality you described in Adult, but I do understand KZK. That album usually starts with me really wanting to listen to any given song and then just letting it run straight on from there. but even so, the tracks on that album are still divided in such a way they work as single as well as in context. I generally don't like listening to entire albums, only for a very few artists. It needs to be ecclectic and timed just right so I don't get bored.

I do, however, listen to entire albums as background music while reading/traveling/what have you. but a lot of the time I listen to music in the forefront of my mind and that is a more pick and choose philosophy.
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Old 2009.08.06, 10:10 PM   #839
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I'm an album guy. If an album doesn't flow well but has some good tracks then I will rarely find myself listening to the whole thing. I feel like if I'm going to spend money on a product then it should be consistent and enjoyable all the way through. I get annoyed at obvious filler tracks or ones that have less thought put into them because they bring down the overall quality of the work. Why not just release an EP of the good tracks?

Most pop albums geared around pushing singles are guilty of this. They'll have all the popular singles at the beginning or around the middle and then fill the rest with complete filler. I find Ringo to be a little of both. Something like Muzai Moratorium flows very well as a cohesive work with little to no filler but overall doesn't have as strong individual tracks as the best of Shouso Strip. I still find Muzai Moratorium to be superior as an album because of how well the tracks flow together and how there seems to be thought put into every single one of them. Shouso Strip may have some monsters but there are low points for me that Muzai Moratorium doesn't have.
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Old 2009.08.06, 11:30 PM   #840
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I get your logic but I don't think about it in those exact terms. for me, I respect artistry and I assume and even expect that an artist will follow their unique vision in a work. songs will open themselves to me gradually and I am not foolish enough to assume I will buy an album and digest the entire thing in one sitting. some artists are notorious for this, having tracks on albums I never appreciated and then boom, randomly one day your just sitting there and it suddenly opens up to you and its like seeing the sky for the first time, it all makes so much sense and you can finally grasp the beauty in it.

An example of what you might have said would be WAVE by YUKI for me. That album, to me, is 5/6 singles/a-sides, mixed with b-sides and filler tracks. some of the b-sides/filler grew on me, but it isn't up to the standard quality of her previous album work.

I get your gripe about SS but I disagree a bit. I don't think the filler on that album is bad (I know some people who think Tsuki ni Makeinu is the best song off SS). Then we have the infamous Yokushitsu and Izonshou. Really, there are only the 2 or 3 tracks on that album that aren't pretty much legendary Ringo tracks...which is saying a lot. The problem lies in the fact that that era and those singles are absolutely iconic for Ringo. MM and KZK are both absolutely tight albums though.

I get what your saying though. I've moved away from artists that produce albums like that, the only one I still occassionally venture to support is Shakira. Her last album didn't entirely feel that way, but it definitely underwhelmed me with how each song seemed to follow the verse chorus verse chorus bridge chorus chorus blueprint. kind of boring and cookie cutter.
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