[TJ] 2006.01.25 - Adult (CD) [Album]
 

大人(アダルト) (Adult)


01. 秘密 (Himitsu)
02. 喧嘩上等 (Kenka Joutou)
03. 化粧直し (Keshou Naoshi)
04. スーパースター (Superstar)
05. 修羅場 adult ver. (Shuraba adult ver.)
06. 雪国 (Yukiguni)
07. 歌舞伎 (Kabuki)
08. ブラックアウト (Blackout)
09. 黄昏泣き (Tasogare Naki)
10. 透明人間 (Toumei Ningen)
11. 手紙 (Tegami)
Total Playtime: 44:19

Pour Homme Availability: Amazon.co.jp, CD Japan, HMV Japan, YesAsia

Pour Femme Availability: Amazon.co.jp, CD Japan, HMV Japan, YesAsia

No one talks about this? XD
I think all songs are above average (except Track 5 for sure, it is a must-skip track) and it ends up to be a pretty good album.

However

Still, the songs cant compare with the Shiina' Classics

p.s. I'm into Tegami very much though
p.s.2 ukigumall :cool:

Well, I think its better than Kyoiku, even if it really isn't.
I think Kyoiku has better songs than Adult period. Not that Adult is garbage, but it doesn't exactly have Sounan, Gunjo, or Genjitsu.

Howevva!

Kyoiku was made to sound like a garbage disposal for some reason. So the songs just plain sound "better" on Adult.

Adults not without its goodness: Himitsu, Superstar, Tegami.....
I might even contest you that Shurabas good, tho i don't care THAT much and I liked the single version better anyway. Eh, even Tasogare Naki is good. And I still am of the belief that Ukigumowas NOT the (only) guitarist on Tegami.

Howevva' Adult drops the ball too. Blackout, Toumei Ningen. Blackout is Sounans less athletic little brother, and Toumei Ningen was the cool kid we knew in high school, then he had that "accident" towards the end of senior year and he was never quite the same afterwards was he? "Yukiguni" is not bad, its just kind of a weak "reach back" to KZK.

I never thought Adult was her worst album, but shes yet to really crack back into form. Maybe she needs a vacation? Her last one gave us KZK afterall. I don't think shes the "great the more often she works" kind, because the busier shes been, the less great the musics been.

EDIT: also, whats with the "(phase 2)" bs in the thread title? =P

I can't believe you skip through Shuraba adult ver.! It's definitely stronger than the single version, which imo is a watered down Shuraba to cater towards the more mainstream audiences since it's gonna be a j-drama theme.

When I first got the album I was inclined to make myself like it, but I just couldn't. There're a few good tracks, but if you make a compilation of SR/TJ phase 1 b-sides it'll definitely sound better than this album.

I respect everyone's opinions, but I just can't see how people aren't in love with this masterpiece. I admit, the first half dozen or so times I listened to Adult, I was somewhat disappointed. It didn't seem as strong as Kyoiku, and I kind of missed the louder, more energetic songs. However, as I continued to listen, the album really grew on me and I failed to see how Tokyo Jihen's first album even compared. Now while I'm a big fan of KZK, I find that this album is slightly more listenable. Anytime I drive anywhere, this album is playing. I've grown tired of it once or twice and thrown in a Muse cd for a couple of days, but soon after I put it away, I begin to miss it. Alright, that's enough of my love story. I just have to say that I find Tasogare Naki to be one of the best songs I've ever heard. And obviously, I'm a big fan of Adult. I need more TJ!!

Force myself to listen adult ver, and the conclusion is: My ear suffers and I nearly tear the disc apart.

Can't believe a song which is originally worth 9.5678224/10, can be redone to 0.45657/10

Let me share what I feel about this song:

Shiina - It's really a hard work for you isn't it? All you have to do is just adding the moaning sound (Ummmm, Arrrrrrr-ahaa) to the beginning+end of the song. And then just directly put your voice from single ver. to the adult ver. Done.

Kameda - I think your bass has joined the Ukigumall's crew in this particular song, especially the beginning

Hata - I'm trying to find the difference btw the 2 different versions. and YES. Where's the PASSION? Your drum' is forced to mix up with the new version in a very weird way

Izawa - I dont like the keyboard x 3

and Ukigumo - Your solo.. your solo.. try to imagine a big fat ass keeps non-stop farting because of the sweet potatoes. You will get what I mean. I like your acoustic FAR BETTER (*comparatively*) p.s. sorry for picking on the fat people

To concurr with ChichShh, Uki had two successful solos on Adult (the era), in my book, Himitsu and Shuraba (single.) Ironically, the start of each disc.

Here we go with my favourite album of SR/TJ and one of my favourite albums ever. It's catchy, yet complex, slow and profound, yet aggresive and crazy. It has an almost perfect balance between the instruments and the best of all: it has Ukigumo on it. Maybe he is not the best guitarist who has accompanied Ringo live, but sure he does a kick ass job on the studio. He is not the typical rock guitarist to freak out, he is more jazz and more refined, perfect for this album in my opinion, although I can miss some aggressiveness here and there. Anyway in my opinion he puts real emotion on the songs and I think his guitar play is a key for me to like this album so much.

Ok, this album is not a "singlelish" album, like Kyoiku or Shousho Strip. It's not single oriented, so in my opinion each song on this album depends on the other songs, so when you listen to the whole album you get something complet and heterogeneous. Its like the whole album being a song, if you prefer this way.
I think this album is diametrically opposite to Kyoiku, in the sense that the first TJ album is more rock oriented, and Adult is more..how to say it, more like to listen while driving pacefully in a car at night.:unsure:

The album begins with Himitsu. I fell in love when i listened to it and its my favourite SR/TJ song. Its just perfect, specially Izawa does a great job here.
The second song, Kenka Joutou fits here perfectly, the freak out song of the album. It really impressed me the first time I listened to it. A must for lives in my opinion.
Now we go with the slow arc of Keshou Naoshi and Superstar. The first is maybe the weakest song on the album, its just too normal and average though it adds some variety to the album with its bossa nova influence. The best part of the song is the "electronic" end. Superstar instead is a great mid-tempo song, specially the job Ukigumo does.

Shuraba (Adult ver.) is the song I would show someone to show what Adult is about. Its maybe the more single oriented song on the album, along with Himitsu. Just great. I also like the single version but i think it was necessary to change it to fit the album.

I don't like Yukiguni at all. An average slow song and as with Kenshou Naoshi I like more the last part.

Kabuki and Blackout are excellent songs and they recover the more fast Tokyo Jihen between all those ballad/mid-tempo songs. Great songs as I said, but not the best of the album though.

The three last songs are three of the best songs of the album, in my opinion. Tasogare Naki is slow but nice, a song to relax.
Toumei Ningen is one of my favourites, its also nice and has a kinda "childlish" feel on it. Excellent chorus :-)
And finally Tegami, which is THE ballad of the album. A typical ballad but I just love it.

Now i'll tell about the musicians. Adult i'ts not the best album for Shiina as a singer in my opinion. She does her job perfectly, of course, but i miss some variety.
Best album for Kameda (finally we can hear it well) and Hata in my opinion, the first adding an infinity of details which fit perfectly, and the same for Hata, who is a beast at the drums indeed, and I think he has a great style between jazz and rock along all the album.
I think i have said everything about Ukigumo on this album. And finally there is Izawa who does a great job with the piano and keyboards, standing out in some concret parts.

I think i have extended myself too much :o

One word summary of the album.

This isn't necessarily pointed at you SPHY, but this sorta residual sentiment has been lightly drizzled through the boards before.

How is Ukigumo's defiance of playing guitar effectively "refined"? Somehow superior to playing a regular old chord? I might not feel so against this idea if Uki was priven to be a more diverse guitarist, however he hasn't. Songs seem to be needed to be rearranged EXCLUSIVELY for Ukigumo. I don't know whose idea it is for Ukigumo's groan-worthy style to be constant in every song (rather than changing per the song like a certain former TJ guitarist) but whoever's idea it is needs to be fired (and I'm well aware it might be Shiina's call.)
One would think versatile guitars playing with and not against some of the songs would be more refined.

Same goes for the whole jazzy Adult songs "more refined" than Kyoiku songs. Only in terms of "how it sounds on the disc" is that true in my o.

SR is in love for Uki
and he is using her to control TJ O_O
so Hirama needs to go and save his woman from the evil Uki
XD

Wow we really do all have different tastes! I can't decide about which I like more, Kyouiku or Adult but I definately love adult. These are the ratings I gave the songs out of 5 stars:

Kyouiku

Ringo no Uta 5
Gunjo Biyori 5
Jusui Negai 5
Sounan 5
Crawl 3
Genjitsu ni Oite 4
Genjitsu wo waru 4
Service 4
Ekimae 4
Gomatsurisawagi 4
Bokoku Joucho 5
Yume no Ato 4
Lady is a tramp 4
Kao 3
Kokoro 3
Dynamite 5

Adult

Himitsu 5
Kenka joutou 5
Keshou Naoshi 4
Superstar 4
Shuraba 4
Yukiguni 4
Kabuki 5
Blackout 5
Tasogare Naki 4
Touimei Ningen 5
Tegami 4

Maou must be spinning in his grave.

Whaaat. Thats her best "jazzy" song :(

Who is maou? Also, how would you rate the songs on the albums?

If anyone still thinks Hirama is loud and in your face, listen to Kokoro. I'd admit Kokoro took me longer than usual to warm up to, but it's certainly, surely, definitely, unquestionably, undeniably, clearly one of TJ's best songs.

Please do give it another chance.

Maou's a poster here who classically speaks against Toumei Ningen, and really enjoys Yume no Ato, just pointed out that the former was rated higher than the latter (nd through in Bokoku for good measure.)

And I'll take you up on the rating offer. (out of 5)

Kyouiku

Ringo no Uta 3.5
Gunjo Biyori 4.2
Jusui Negai 3.6 (much better live)
Sounan 4.6
Crawl 2.5
Genjitsu ni Oite (null, I refuse to rate this since its more an intro to...)
Genjitsu wo waru 4.0
Service 2.7
Ekimae 3.8 (better live)
Gomatsurisawagi 3.2
Bokoku Joucho 3.3
Yume no Ato 4.1

Lady is a tramp 1.5
Kao 3.4
Kokoro 3.7
Dynamite 3.6

Adult

Himitsu 4.5
Kenka joutou 3.5
Keshou Naoshi 2.6
Superstar 4.3
Shuraba 4.0
Yukiguni 2.8
Kabuki 3.0
Blackout 2.9
Tasogare Naki 3.8
Touimei Ningen 1.5
Tegami 4.4

Get it up for love 3.6
Rakujitsu 2.3 (much better live)

EDIT: Just for good measure, im pretty sure the average score is higher on Adult than Kyoiku which has to do with me liking Adult more than Kyoiku. My point was that if you sub out Kyoiku for Dynamite Out performances of he same songs, the album would be far superior because in most cases the songs were good, just neutered in the studio.

Definately different tastes ^_^. I would have had decimals as well but the ratings I listed were from my Zune and it does not let you give half stars etc.

As for justringo, I listened to kokoro again and I like it but I dont think its a 4, I'd give it 3 and a half stars but I can't do for reasons mentioned above. Just because I gave it a 3 doesnt mean that I dont like it, there are alot of songs that I have rated 3s but I still like them. I just do not think they are as good in comparison to the other songs.

This is shocking. How can you not know the most infamous member of the Shiina Ringo forum community? [/ego]

Anyway. I find it odd how people claim that Ukigumo is more jazzy than a certain other guitarist. What exactly is jazz about Ukigumo? His style? Nope. His tone? Hell nah. His ability to improv in every TJ/SR song? Can't be since he plays so cookie cutter. I don't want to sound like I think Ukigumo is a horrible guitarist because he's not. I just don't think he fits this band at all.

I want to do the rating thing too, but mine are out of ten:

Kyouiku

Ringo no Uta 7.5
Gunjo Biyori 8
Jusui Negai 7.5
Sounan 9.5
Crawl 3
Genjitsu ni Oite~Genjitsu wo Warau 6
Service 3
Ekimae 9
Gomatsuri Sawagi 8
Bokoku Joucho 2.5
Yume no Ato 9.9

Lady is a tramp 6
Kao 4
Kokoro 8
Dynamite 6

Adult

Himitsu 7.5
Kenka Joutou 3
Keshou Naoshi 9
Superstar 9
Shuraba 7
Yukiguni 6
Kabuki 3
Blackout 6.5
Tasogare Naki 9
Toumei Ningen 0
Tegami 9

YES!

Aside from the new video clips, I think this is the most "What the fuck?!" thing she has ever done in her whole musical career.

But this is a thread about the cd, right? I mean I agree that Hirama is a better guitarist compared to Ukigumo. As far as the style of the albums, Adult is the more refined and mature album though. I'm not saying it's a result of Ukigumo's playing but rather that everything in the album has a more "lounge" type of feel and everyone is playing together rather than overpowering each other. I like both albums from the band, but if I'm looking to relax or do some serious thinking I'd go for Adult. When I want to listen to something more chaotic (nothing wrong with that) I go for Kyouiku.

So Adult is more refined just because it's more loungey/jazzy?
I beg to differ. Jazz ≠ being refined.

I'm not saying that lounge is more refined than other styles of jazz or that jazz is about being refined. I'm saying that the album has a smoother flow as well as a mature lounge-type sound. In Kyouiku a lot of the time it feels like the instruments are overpowering each other and somewhat fighting for the spotlight where as in Adult everyone seems to be on the same playing field working together.

Except for Ukigumo who sounds like he's ten miles behind the rest of the soundstage in some of the songs. Also, there's no upstaging going on in Sounan or Yume no Ato.

That would be the HZM factor ;)

EDIT: I actually always felt this way, an agree with Jer on this. It always felt like HZM was "look at me!" ing it up on the album.

I also do not like Ukigumo so much. From the minute I saw them perform with him I thought he did not quite fit. Hirama was more exciting to watch and Ukigumo does not really do anything entertaining.

Also, 0 for toumei ningen?!?! I could understand you do not like it but I do not see how it is a 0 for you.

Ringo no Uta 9
Gunjo Biyori 8.5
Jusui Negai 9
Sounan 9
Crawl 6
Genjitsu ni Oite + Genjitsu wo waru 9.5
Service 7
Ekimae 6
Gomatsurisawagi 7
Bokoku Joucho 7.5
Yume no Ato 9
Lady is a tramp 3
Kao 3
Kokoro 3
Dynamite 6

Adult

Himitsu 8
Kenka joutou 7
Keshou Naoshi 6.5
Superstar 4
Shuraba 8
Yukiguni 8
Kabuki 6
Blackout 8.5
Tasogare Naki 6
Touimei Ningen 7
Tegami 9


HOW can you give Toumei ningen a 0 man!!! the song was great! better than superstar!

I loved HZM on stage! The "HZM factor" is was great.

But as for "Jazz ≠ being refined", that doesnt mean that you can overlook the fact that Adult is more laid-back. I love both albums just as much but Kyouiku is definately louder and rock-ish than is Adult. I mean, maybe they intended for Adult to mean that they were trying to be more mature or refined. If you know anything behind the title then let me know but that is what I thought once I heard it. A progression from their 1st album.

Ringo no Uta 7
Gunjo Biyori 9.5
Jusui Negai 8.5
Sounan 9
Crawl 4
Genjitsu ni Oite + Genjitsu wo waru 7
Service 5
Ekimae 7.5
Gomatsurisawagi 7
Bokoku Joucho 6
Yume no Ato 8

Lady is a tramp 6
Kao 7
Kokoro 8.5
Dynamite 6

Adult

Himitsu 7
Kenka joutou 7.5
Keshou Naoshi 6
Superstar 8
Shuraba adult ver. Unclassified:eek: :o :o
Yukiguni 8
Kabuki 6
Blackout 8.5
Tasogare Naki 7
Touimei Ningen 6
Tegami 9

Shuraba single ver. 9
Koi wa Maboroshi 6
Rakujitsu 7

Why is everyone rating out of 10?!?! ^_^, jk, it doesnt matter. But anyway, whats with the Unclassified?

It's quite easy since I've heard the infinitely better Dynamite Out! version of the song. I can't stand the campy, country Adult version. Superstar, either version, is a masterpiece.

I dont regard it as Music.

...wow....speechless...

The dynamite out version did kick ass, i was gonna mention it b4 but didn't think it was relevent. tHE album version doesn't freaking deserve a 0 though

ChickShhh, So, why the hate for the album ver. Yet the love for the single you gave a 9? Im just tres curious. They're not much different. The album lacks the production and diff solos in it, but theyre mostly the same. I agree the single is the better ver, but exprain.

the new arrangement gets on my nerve thoroughly
Sometimes the chemical reaction just doesnt work on someone
You can see why Maou gives ZEROOOOOOO for the Toumei Ningen

For further explanation please go to #8

Couldn't have said it any better. I still think a zero is unwarranted, but I guess it depends on how you rate it. I try to be somewhat subjective with how I go about rating my songs so if I did not like something I would not give it a zero unless it was very badly composed. I feel you can dislike a song and still know that it is good or somewhat good. But I was just asking for your personal opinion anyway, its just zero its such an eye-popping number, especially for something that I like.

LOL @ claiming a song isn't music because you don't like it or like a different version of it more. I bet you'd love the Adult version if it was released as the single version.

Is it weird that I like "Crawl"? I used to drive down the highway blasting that song.

Now, to stay on topic, here's my personal rating of the Adult collection.

Himitsu - 8
Kenka joutou - 8.5
Keshou Naoshi - 5 (this gets a higher score when I'm in the mood for it)
Superstar - 7.5
Shuraba (Adult version) - 7.5
Yukiguni - 8
Kabuki - 5 (I love the transition from Yukiguni to Kabuki, so even if I don't think it's the best song, I appreciate its presence on the album)
Blackout - 8
Tasogare Naki - 9.5
Touimei Ningen - 8.5
Tegami - 9.5

Shuraba (single version) - 6
Koi wa Maboroshi - 5 (this is one of those songs that I would NEVER think of if I weren't reminded of it)
Rakujitsu - 7

And just cause I love these...
Mirror Ball - 9
C'mon Let's Go - 9
Shojo Robot - 7.5 (so much more exciting than Rie Tomosaka's rendition, in my opinion)

I consider this blasphemy. Blackout doesn't deserve such a high rating. If you can praise Shuraba single ver and rip the album version such that you don't even consider it music anymore ChickShhh, I don't see why you gave Blackout such a high rating (good thing you didn't rate it above Sounan though), especially considering the fact that they sound almost the same in so many ways.

From what I can hear, Hata is essentially playing the same rhythm in both Sounan and in Blackout. (Any drummers want to confirm/deny this?) The same goes for Kameda, a lot of this bass parts in Blackout are an exact copy of Sounan. His part in the Blackout chorus is pretty cool stuff though. However, Kameda does get his chance to really play something really amazing towards the end of Sounan - a counterpoint of SR's guitar solo mixed with Hata's rhythmic elements; pity the bad recording glosses over it. Uki's solo on Blackout could sound acceptable if not for his tone, which makes my ears hurt (please stop your silly trills and start doing more vibratos, please). The structure/impulse/rhythm/arrangement of Blackout is just so similar to Sounan, it's almost like SR is trying to write another Sounan.

If Sounan is the Prada bag of all TJ tracks, then Blackout is just its sad made-in-China grade B fake. (No offence to people living in China.)

Now, Blackout fans, I would like to hear your defence.

I have not really compared sounan and blackout but I just like both of them.
Also, in what singles were mirrorball and shojo robot released?! I never heard them.

mirrorball was performed on JCHI DVD, not released as a single (yet)
and Shoujo Robot was released by tomosaka rie, SR just composed it... and performed it on Zazen Xstasy and 6 VOLT ELEC TRIQue lives, but this is a old story

They included Mirrorball and Shoujo because of JCHI, they werent studio recordings for TJ.

EDIT: Howevva' i'm 70% sure there's a SS era Shiina demo of Shoujo Robot. Someones gotta unearth it.

muhuaha, what kind of defense do u expect? should i draw charts comparing chord progressions or key changes? I like Blackout because i like it, I didn't notice the similarities because i was too busy losing myself in all the shiina goodness.

so we have to search, but I think it won't be so different from zazen xtasy's one

But it'll be from a Shiina that wasnt so "refined, laid-back, and mature." :cool:

EDIT: score one for me, I think that one's worth a point! =P

It'll be sweet if you could do that. ;) Simply put, there is no defence. Sounan is the better song. Period. :cool:

Not arguing what's the better song, i like sounan a bit better myself. but that doesn't diminish the merits of Blackout.

Sounan is the better song but I LOVE blackout too.

did you realised that we finally are talking a long talk about SR on this forum O_O
I mean... we always went off topic, ALWAYS!!!!
things has change

Interesting. I had joined the old forum when it was dying so I never noticed.

It really only "was dying" for an abrupt week or two, then came this forum. DERAIL! Way to go Lena! >(



=P
Anyway, back on topic I guess. My mom likes Shuraba ault ver cuz its reminiscent of Steely Dan.i concur, but I like the single (and most Steely Dan songs) better. (not to say; I like the album ver plenty.)

Shoujo Robot was in JCHI too. I don't think that was mentioned. It rocked the bunsen burner.

And I don't know about you guys, but I feel that it is allowable to enjoy a song whether it has certain musical similarities to another song or not. Personally, I feel that Blackout is a more exciting song. It's not my favorite Tokyo Jihen song by any means, and for what it's worth, I really do like Kyoiku as a whole (aka, I'm not just throwing the album in the mud because I like Adult better).. but yeah. Blackout is a good song.

every thread didn't end without we started to talk about
how much kameda is gay, and is in love with hirai ken
or how hirama rules and uki sucks
or how SR and hirama had a relationship
or how SR is now in love for Uki
or how SR is pregnant of Neko
or how much we wanna the SR J-rock queen again
or how much we don't wanna the SR J-rock queen anymore
well those were SR talks, but you understand what I wanna say nee?!
weren't real SR talks o.o

BTW post 100 get /o/

It's not so much it "sounds like" but...I dunno, it was less than a year separating the two. Same band (even by name if you wanna be technical.)

It's not "similar" in the Oasis or Puffy sense where they borrow a riff or a melody. This is more "Lets do the same thing...but different" Lets rip ourselves off! I dont know, its just a strange conundrum.

Plus the song 4ails in the name dept anyway. You dont call a song "Blackout" and not do one of the two: "imply the lights are out and its time for looove" or "Lets rock so hard we'll blow the lights out." You just set the bar too high with that title, then the whole "its sounan" thing. yeah, it was just dealt bad.

LOL, that would be pretty funny to hear that kameda is gay at the end of every post ^_^. I did see the one about SR being pregnant with neko's baby, that was crazy.

isn't kameda married?
no?
I was always under the impression that he was.

He was married in Massachusetts >_>

=P

is that supposed to be a joke?

Who knows?

Yes guys. For geez >_>

And with this, Lena-chan you've managed to make us go off-topic. Lol.

Anyway on topic: how many of you bought the Homme version with the "perfume"?

I did. And if they didn't put in the DO Himitsu performance I would have felt cheated. :)

Since I'm a newer fan I got the femme one. What did the limited edition have that was so special? Since you said it had a performance it must have had a dvd, so what else was on it besides himitsu?

1. Yes just because I dont like it. So I can claim that. ;)
2. I'm afraid not, cos the guitar solo is eerie.

The Homme version has a dvd with only Himitsu on it, and a scratch and sniff sample of the JCHI perfume, which smells totally different from those in the bottles you get at JCHI. There is also a ballot slip for JCHI concert tickets, which is useful only to people living in Japan.

If you do win tickets from the ballot, the tickets that you get are specially designed so they look really nice. It has a crane illustration done in the traditional Japanese style. Unfortunately, my tickets were not like that. However, winning the ballot doesn't mean you get better seats than if you buy it from the ticket vendors, especially since there's such a high incidence of scalping in Japan (probably organised by the yakuza) that JCHI tickets were immediately sold out when they were first released to the public, and that a lot of people had to get tickets off Yahoo Auctions, and end up paying about twice the original price.

AHAHAHHAHAHHAA... omg. I love that phrase now!

Haha. I don't think you can find many similarities if you spare time from drowning in Ringomania. Even if you draw charts comparing chord progressions or key changes XD

Sounan 9.5
Blackout 9.5

Both of them work for me, emotionally & musically. Both are highlights of the albums.

Here comes Canto's rating time...

Kyoiku [Overall 5(songwriting-wise)-1(recording)=4/5]

Ringo no Uta 7 (Single ver 9.5)
Gunjo Biyori 4
Jusui Negai 9
Sounan 9.5
Crawl 7
Genjitsu ni Oite + Genjitsu wo waru 10
Service 7
Ekimae 8.5
Gomatsurisawagi 8
Bokoku Joucho 9 (For DO ver: 11)
Yume no Ato 9
Kao 8
Kokoro 9

Adult [Overall 3.5(songwriting-wise)+1(arrangements)=4.5/5]

Himitsu 9 (DO ver 7.5)
Kenka joutou 8
Keshou Naoshi 8
Superstar 6.5 (DO ver 6)
Shuraba adult ver. 7
Yukiguni 9
Kabuki 8
Blackout 9.5
Tasogare Naki 9
Touimei Ningen 10 (DO ver 8)
Tegami 7

Rakujitsu 7 (It has one of the best lyrics Ringo ever made. If not for lyrics, <6 I suppose.)

Seems I have the highest average score. The most addicted otaku?

I rated out of five, and this is what I ended up with:

Himitsu 5
Kenka joutou 5
Keshou Naoshi 4
Superstar 4
Shuraba 4
Yukiguni 4
Kabuki 5
Blackout 5
Tasogare Naki 4
Touimei Ningen 5
Tegami 4

I think that would average out higher than yours. But I don't necessarily think that is something to brag about ^_^

I can't believe you rated gunjou biyori so low!

C'mon I'm not bragging about this...just we have different feelings towards these English words. I simply regard drowning in somebody (rather than in some belief) something kinda unhealthy and futile. But I just can't help myself being lured by this lady & her buddies from the moment I open my eyes every morning.
What an embarrassing situation.

To me gunjou biyori is just another punky song that every band is able to make.
Not something exclusively from TJ.

I know what you mean, ever since I heard Ringo and the band I've just been in love with their music.

As for Gunjou Biyori, I kind of understand how you do not think it is great, but I doubt just any band can pull it off.

Adult album reviews
 

Some reviews of Adult. Thanks Canto!

This reviewer voted Adult as the best Jpop album of 2006.

Translation:
To me [the reviewer], this is without a doubt the best album in 2006. If the development of pop music in the following decades follows the course of guitar, bass, drums and keyboards, I think this album should be used as an education material. This is defnitely not a genre album; on the contrary, this album exemplifies the innovative use of the different instruments from different perspectives. If you try to play the songs with your friends, you will find that beyond the simplicity of the sound lies a complex and rigourous coordination between the different musical parts and it rightly shows off Shiina Ringo's deftness and depth in songwriting that bring her closer to a level of mastery.

And another one:

This reviewer voted Adult as the 2nd Jpop album of 2006.

Translation:
There are simply too many talking points in Adult. Too many people like Himitsu, SUPER STAR and Toumei Ningen from Phase 1 for various reasons, and a lot of fans hold the new keyboardist Izawa Ichiyou's technique in high regard; the contrast in styles makes this album even more interesting. Personally I like Shuraba, but don't agree with the "kawaii" treatment of Toumei Ningen in the album. [SUPER STAR is the rare song which Phase 1 & 2 comparisons don't affect my appreciation of the song.]* There is a strong sense of 對立性 [is he trying to say symmetry here?]*, even in the song titles and sequence (take a look if you don't believe me)... which is why I think that this album has a special place in any of Tokyo Jihen's or Shiina Ringo's work.

*don't really know if I got the meaning right.

Canto I hope you can help me out.

z0mg, you found out my secret identity as a chinese music reviewer!

:lol:

I thought Gunjo was by far and away the poppiest of all of Shiina's songs. Certainly a far cry from punky. I dont remember if it was RJ or if the yahoo group was still active when gunjo came to be, but someone their intro'd it as a song that sounds like it belongs during the credits of some anime. (However, i feel the mix that essentially throws HZM into the far background remedies this.)

EDIT: ...if you get stuck playing the guitar bits, you are probably the "last resort" of the group =Q

I wish I could play instruments so I could try that out :(

對立性 = contrariety?

That's what I thought it meant too, but how come there's contrast in the song titles and sequence?

Honestly Adult feels more like a Shiina album than a TJ album; compare Adult with Kyoiku and the difference is the lack of Hirama and HZM dominance in the overall sound. It would seem like SR simply kicked them out of the band and replaced them withone someone she can keep a tight leash on; I dont see Hirama giving up his big rock sound just to follow SR's musical direction (from adult to Heisei Fuuzoku), especially when they are playing live.

Now I'm not defending Ukigumo, but on the assumption that he did play Tegami (unless someone from TJ come out and said otherwise), I'd say he's got diversity in his reportoire than most of us give him credit for, but while SR got him on a leash, he's stuck playing jazz fill-ins instead of playing like the power-chord and vibrato galore that is Hirama...

If Shiina actually kicked Hirama out because he would call her out, potentially, then I would start spending all my time in the OT because if some of you think I have little nice to say about Shiina currently... :lol:
I know everybody thinks Uki can play "normal" and as I sid before whoever's choice it is for him to be playing that way needs to get fired.

Adult is a huge move in a different direction for SR.
1. HZM's prolific craziness is gone.
2. Ukigumo can't play rock like Hirama.
3. SR was rushing a out a new album when TJ changed members.

So Adult is really just a clever solution to her circumstances. There's no way she can do whatever she did in Kyoiku anymore no matter how much she wanted to. So Adult; slow, chill-out, mature, "refined", Adult. SR is still a genius at problem solving; it's really her band members that's restricting her creativity.

Uki can play normal... when forced by SR to do so. I'd like to think that Toumei Ningen is Uki at the height of his creativity (this sentence alone will mean different things to different people). I prefer Hirama's style, but Uki as a guitarist is more, urm, original.

Now we can only wait for 2008 to really see where SR is going with TJ.

In the meantime, let's enjoy some "motion graphics" from the HF dvd release.

Does SR really wanted another Kyoiku? She's been cutting back on the "J-Rock Queen" side of her career and Kyoiku is strictly a rock album.

Has Ukigumo done anything outside of SR and TJ? In another band or going solo? I dont want to be placing my judgment on him too soon. But yea he definitely cant rawk like Hirama; Can you picture Ukigumo acting like Hiramna in Dynamite out, having a roadie coming in and put a box/stool on stage just so he could pose with his foot on the box while playing "Ringo no uta" solo?

I vaguely remeber ages ago some members of the old forum mentioned that SR's really relying on HZM and Hirama to take an easy ride after all the efforts she put into KZK.

^ Ukigumo actually tried rawking out like Hirama at the Countdown live. The result was pretty much the same though: Uki looking like a goofy ass.

I'm also a firm believer that having a band doesn't hold back creativity. It's just a lame excuse for her to not put as much effort into the TJ releases.

Really? Then why did she write 10 out of 12 tracks on the album? And that also means that HZM and Hirama had more to contribute to TJ than Izawa (who reused his old song as the piano solo on JCHI Honnou) and Ukigumo (who reused the jazz a go go guitar riff in Kenka Joutou, though you can argue that it's SR herself that is reusing it here, since she sings it out as well), right?

On another note: One of the reviewers I translated before mentioned that Adult is not a "genre" album. In other words, Adult is a "pop" album. And that doesn't usually connote good things unless we're back in the 1990s when they actually had decent stuff playing in the top20s.

...Ok you got me :) , I don't wanna go looking for quotes in the old forum (I don't even know where the old forum is...). But using one's own materials doesn't really indicates one's contribution/influence to a band; surely SR doesn't and can't control every note of every instrutment in any given songs. When she writes a song, will she tell Hirama to do a legato run note-for-note in a solo (SR shredding...?)?
Its about how much decesion making power a band member have at the end of the day to decide what a song will sound like, and I'd say SR has less power in Kyoiku compared to Adult.
I know nothing about piano so I can't say much about HZM, but don't you feel there's a more Hirama's main-stream/hard rock sound than's Shiina's alternative/grunge rock sound in the Kyoiku-era TJ?

Ukigumo rawking?

Kasanagi, I don't know if you were at the old forum or not (poster -wise) so maybe you don't know that Hirama is more devoutly idolized than Shiina herself by the forum for the most part. :lol: So taking the "question Hirama" route is far bolder than my normal "question Shiina" route.

Now, if Shiina had less decision making power during Kyoiku (which by the sounds of it, I doubt) then it was inherently a good thing. See my most recent post in the Ringoran thread to get what I mean.

Now then, I'm not the truest Hirama fan about as I've really yet to hear through an entire album. But from what I've heard, hes just as experimental as Shiina. The main stram/hard rock sound you mention I've only ever heard from him in Dynamite Out, and I gotta say -- its pretty damned called for. Shiina clearly has let die her alternative grundge sound anyway. :(

Tokyo Jihen is Tokyo Jihen, not The Shiina Ringo Band. It's only right that SR steps back and let the other members contribute.
And in Adult we see Uki's wonderful contribution in Toumei Ningen. Truly wonderful.

Oh justriiingo you've done a brilliant job on understanding Chinese & expressing them in English. Some of the expressions you applied are what I can never think of as an English-as-second-language learner.

Some sentences can be fixed to sound more accurate, like:

如果有意拿樂譜來玩的朋友，
this means "if some of you can find the scorebook"

在在顯示出椎名林檎的能力和深度已讓她漸漸步入大師的行列
He didn't mention "in songwriting". He meant "Shiina Ringo's deftness and depth brings her closer to a level of mastery"

然而「SUPER STAR」又是一首不可多得的作品，
This sentence literally means "but Superstar is just another precious piece of work." He is simply giving a positive view towards this song. Can you think of an equivalence of the idiom 不可多得 in English?

The word 'contrast' is a good translation to 對立性 in my opinion.

Thanks for the corrections Canto! I struggled with 不可多得, I completely forgot what it meant. I got "rare" from an online translator...

I think it's nice that the two music critics think highly of Adult, which is a more accessible album compared to Kyoiku. But I still like Kyoiku more.

Adult is a more organic album, more contemplative. When songs from Adult come on, I stop whatever I'm thinking and let the song carry me elsewhere.

Kyoiku is more of a peppy series of wannabe hits, some scoring, some falling short. Not bad by any means, but I've got almost no emotional connection to it.

I think this description is suitable for both albums (well except the peppy thing, if I got what you meant with it). Referring to Adult as 'contemplative' is maybe too much, isn't it?

Well I think both album are really accessible, but for different reasons. It's not surprising that critics thinnk highly of it, at least it's a step further production-wise and a good album compared to the average stuff that pop music reviewers have to check. Though I'm not sure that a rock music magazine would praise Kyouiku.

I totally agree. I do not see why Ringo should be criticized for "letting" others contribute to the band. Even the idea that she has to "let" people do things is ridiculous.

I love Kenka Joutou (First Class Brawl). It's so suiting for the Adult theme.
It's about a fight where it doesn't matter who gets hurt the most; it's about who can look damn good while doing it.

I really like that song too. I like how it starts of slow and then just explodes in the intro.:P

The way the tracks play end-to-end was one of the best features of this album, in my opinion. Shiina only really does this on three of her albums if you count this as one

I love that too!! My favorite is the transition from Yukiguni to Kabuki. Genius :D

I'm still amazed of Izawa in Tasogare Naki. At work a heard it several times only with my right earphone. I never even heard before that there are two different solos at the end. And the right one's timing is SO perfect. I love it

That is the song I skip the most often while listening to Adult... Dunno quite why, I just don't find it as good as the rest.

can anyone tell me why track nine (... ningen) is so hated? I have never heard the 'other' version, and I love the album version. it's 'cute' but it's not like she has 10 songs that sounds like this. this is an incidental fun track. even if you dont like it, it's just an experiment gone wrong for you. giving it a 10 sounds like you dont want shiina to experiment :(

Track 9 should be Tasogare Naki?

If you are referring to Toumei Ningen, have fun with the DO version.

Tokyo Jihen PHASE ONE - Toumei Ningen

Well you said it yourself, it's an experiment gone WRONG. I myself don't see it as an experiment because SR experimentations don't sound like that. I know it when she experiments, don't ask me how, but I can hear it. SR is a perfectionist and never does anything wrong. At least not until now. I'm probably the #1 Toumei Ningen hater on this forum, so I'll tell you why I hate the song - the guitar.

(Ukigumo fans, say something in defence!)