When will it end?

[Op2]

Sorry to get everyone's hopes up (yeah... wow, hey?) but didn't Shiina say that she had fun working with other members (from Variety) and would continue to work like this. Also, Izawa said he liked using compositions from other members, and he hopes in the future that it will be continued like a “band”. They have plans for future releases as the Tokyo Jihen project.

Regarding the whole Heisei Fuuzoku album as a parallel to Utaite Myouri... Come on now. Do you really think she planned 5 years ago that she was going to be asked to be the musical director for Sakuran, and would therefore take a hiatus to release a self-cover album?

About the new direction, I am really anticipating the 3rd album. OSCA was a good song. Killer Tune was also a pretty standout single. Shiina Ringo will continue to evolve, change, and stretch out her musical directions.

Regarding Tokyo Jihen, we can all agree that the airplane will land at some point, but let’s enjoy the flight while it lasts, instead of waiting for it to end.

[kuro_neko]

Originally Posted by Op2

Sorry to get everyone's hopes up (yeah... wow, hey?) but didn't Shiina say that she had fun working with other members (from Variety) and would continue to work like this. Also, Izawa said he liked using compositions from other members, and he hopes in the future that it will be continued like a “band”. They have plans for future releases as the Tokyo Jihen project.

Regarding the whole Heisei Fuuzoku album as a parallel to Utaite Myouri... Come on now. Do you really think she planned 5 years ago that she was going to be asked to be the musical director for Sakuran, and would therefore take a hiatus to release a self-cover album?

About the new direction, I am really anticipating the 3rd album. OSCA was a good song. Killer Tune was also a pretty standout single. Shiina Ringo will continue to evolve, change, and stretch out her musical directions.

Regarding Tokyo Jihen, we can all agree that the airplane will land at some point, but let’s enjoy the flight while it lasts, instead of waiting for it to end.

totally agreed.

osca goes up in my book everytime I listen to it. And anyone who claims its a bad song, attempt to sing it at karaoke and then we will talk, XD.

then again a lot of people hated Karisome Otome DJV and that and OSCA happen to be very similar vocally-speaking (both of which I happen to love, the gruff and roughness)

Unfortunately a lot of the recent interviews haven't been translated so the only people who know that are people how have access to the source and can read Japanese. But Izawa did say that in several magazines and Uki, Izawa, and Ringo are almost always interviewed as a triple (since they did the first two singles primarily) and they have nothing to say but nice lovely things about each other.

and as much as people want to hate on Variety, I definitely see it as the start of a new era for Jihen, one where the band actually sounds like a product of its members rather than a product of Ringo with the influence of session musicians, not that Kyouiku and Adult weren't amazing...but I'm excited to see Uki and Izawa get some leg room and so far Ringo's new sole dedication to lyrics/vocals has impressed me. So bring it on, XD.

[katsu333]

With or without TJ, I don't think Shiina would retire (what at the end is the most important). It looks like music is all for her, and that's why she's always changing of styles, experimenting and redoing her old songs in different ways, to go beyond of her limits.

She has made a lot of changes along her career and I wouldn't be surprised if she disbanded TJ and started again with a heavy metal band, a gospel choir, an electro-pop experimental project or whatever she wants now. She doesn't look like she will stuck in a style, she wants to try everything...

So what I think is most important, in one way or in another way, we'll have our Ringo ration for a long time.

[golem09]

Originally Posted by kuro_neko

Seeing as TJ is going strong and is fairly popular, I can see them going for a while longer.

The members all seem very close and happy with one another more or less.

1. Wasn't Shiina pretty popular, when she ended her solo career?

2. I had that feeling in phase 1, too, so you can't count on that. Maybe Izawa and Uki see how god their stuff is, and so they decide to do solo work.

I more or less like the new TJ songs, and I am expecting a lot from variety after hearing them, but I am not that hyped up about TJ.

[justriiingo]

Originally Posted by kuro_neko

...and as much as people want to hate on Variety...

I don't know where you got that idea from but that's pure nonsense. All of us here are fans in one way or another and if it weren't for a slew of less than stellar work from SR and the Jihens lately, I (and a few others) can't help but feel disillusioned about what's going to come. Much as I try to like Adult, I had to concede that it's not really at the level I expect from SR/TJ at all. I'm really hoping that Variety will blow me away but there is really nothing to get me excited about since 0 songs are written by SR and more than half are written by Ukigumo, and I don't even like anything that Mr Floating Cloud has written so far! I'm keeping my expectations for Variety really low and I really want to hear something that will still keep me hanging around TJ/SR for a longer time.

[waxringo]

^exactly as above^
no one said anything bad about variety. we're all excited for it's debut...but, i'm just pointing out some similiarities in execution in her part.
They are pulling inspiration from each other, doing this that and the other...i only expect it to be stellar....similiar to her last solo album that ended up being a closure of one path. no one said anything about how she was going to exactly play things out, i'm just saying it looks like things are repeating the past. i'm an innocent, open-eyed fan.

[ShadyNook]

Tokyo Jihen is only just getting started to show their talent. Its not going to end with Variety or the album after that unless a really horrific accident happens.

they've only been together for a couple of years!

[frecklegirl]

Originally Posted by Seth

I can very well see TJ continuing for quite a while longer, but HF is already telling us that she's not going to be content with TJ alone - she seems a bit to eclectic and sporadic to be satisfied with her one band for all her creative outlets.

Really? HF, the project that was not her own idea, but which was asked of her by her friend? If we'll all recall properly, Ringo was ASKED to do the music for Sakuran by its director (already her friend), and pretty much did it because her friend asked her to. HF was released out of the sessions she had creating the music, but if she hadn't been asked, I don't think it ever would have happened.

So how exactly does that show us that Ringo, out of her own free will, explores side projects?

Like kuro_neko said, all the members seem happy with each other, and happy to continue. I think it would be highly unlikely if it actually ended with Variety--what in the world makes you think it would?? All of this seems to be based on your subjective personal feelings about the direction of the band's music, helped along by what the community here generally feels. That has absolutely no connection to what Ringo and the rest of Jihen ACTUALLY FEEL.

Regardless of whether or not we feel Variety is up to what we believe to be Jihen's standards, they are going to continue. There is absolutely no reason for them to stop.

[kuro_neko]

Originally Posted by golem09

1. Wasn't Shiina pretty popular, when she ended her solo career?

2. I had that feeling in phase 1, too, so you can't count on that. Maybe Izawa and Uki see how god their stuff is, and so they decide to do solo work.

I more or less like the new TJ songs, and I am expecting a lot from variety after hearing them, but I am not that hyped up about TJ.

me saying TJ is popular has nothing to do with Ringo at the end of her solo career, your reading too much into it. And if you want to talk specific, Ringo took a nose dive after SS. The world was expecting another album like that and then she delayed a proper release a few years with a covers album and an unexpected pregnancy and then came back with KSK and people were like wtf. TJ, on the other hand, seems to be featured in the light of the public's eye more and more with every release. You can look at sales figures and claim otherwise, but the fact remains they get huge displays in stores and exclusive promotions on channels like MTV. While I'm not claiming they are eclipsing Ringo, what I'm suggesting is that they are only continuing to climb the path to mainstream success and they will continue to do so. Ringo, while I don't feel is a good comparison at all, did the opposite. She came out with a bang then turned inside herself to produce more artistic work, and while still commercially successful, it turned some of her fan base away.

And the chemistry between P2 members and P1 members is completely different. HZM seemed kind of aloof and on his own most of the time while Hirata was obviously a team player (maybe too much so, sometimes he seemed like Kameda's little apprentice). The band in P2 seems more or less like what a band should to me, each people is a part of a great whole, but each manages to have their own star power and charisma, uniqueness when seperated from the group. And as of this album, the only member who we haven't seen write for the band has been Hata, who has contributed countless other aspects (a strong visual element to the band, notably during performances and in PVs)

edit: and before this brings up any Hirama stuff, let me just say I am commenting on him within the context of the band from my personal opinion, aka there is no point starting another HIRAMA IS SWEETER THAN YOU WILL EVER KNOW debate, XDXD.

[golem09]

My objections were just on the 3 album circle everyone was talking about. I saw similarities, but it seems my points were wrong^^