Originally Posted by Scribble R
She said that doing it under time constraints meant that it allowed her not to think too much. I know this because of those quick fire Sanmon Gossip interviews (The one where she made the infamous 'I wish I had a penis' comment). Using that as justification for 'oh noes Ringo has gone downhill' is kind of silly, because apparently, it's a challenge she imposed on herself. SG wasn't even 'out of character' with the Ringo-and-friends element because as I said, she loves to get around. The 'let everyone else arrange the music' appears to be the experiment she wanted to carry out, not 'oh woe, I cannot make music by myself anymore!'
Cynics will take this as 'Oh, gawd, what a deluded fanboy,' but it's really just another way of looking at the situation. I'm sure she'll release another solo album all music: Ringo arrangement: Ringo/Bakeneko Killer someday, especially at the rate she's going. |
i don't think you're deluded and i agree with most of what you're saying. she does like to collaborate and i guess if it's a challenge she put on herself, that's fine. but from what kuroneko says, it wasn't as much a challenge as it was a thought to please the fans. and that's what i meant in the part of my post that you emboldened. i meant her mindset changed because before she seemed to be out only to please herself and if we were pleased, then great. but when you go actively trying to please people, in this case cutting the time you have to work for them, it's never going to be as good. that's all i'm saying. i don't doubt she can still crank out a great tune but you have to question her actions a bit when she's not really giving herself room to work. she may be spreading herself too thin because i think it's also been said that she's going straight into the TJ recording so i don't know how much time she's going to have to write those songs.
i am not going "'oh woe, [she] cannot make music by [herself] anymore!' ", far from it. i just wish she'd give herself the chance to write some badass songs before going to the collaborations. to (hopefully*) clarify my post about the "raison d'etre" for these songs being different, here are what i think the two thought processes were for her older writing and her recent writing.
older writing: "oh hey, i got this inspiration, let my try to turn it into a song"
newer writing: "i want to write a song with a rapper: *goes and does it*
now the difference is that the older writing had an inspiration that was the sole reason for the song. it was something that
had to come out of her. the newer writing seems to be with a goal to write a very specific song in mind, and while there had to be some inspiration for it, the fact that it was written
because she wanted to write in a certain style or utilize somebody else in the song, i think the quality of the actual song goes down. and in this case, some songs were actually probably rushed too because of the time constraint. so, in some ways, it will be forced.
now, maybe you knew exactly what i meant and you just didn't agree, but this is just my speculation on it. if anything, i'm being an even
bigger fanboy than you are, and i'm trying to delude myself into thinking that there are these excuses for her, when in reality, she probably really has had a sharp decline in songwriting talent. who knows? but this is the impression i get. when you make any piece of art simply because you want to try something, it can be good if you're good, but it's hard for it to be great if it wasn't a full inspiration or need to make it that caused it. and that's not to say that you can't enjoy it or have to enjoy it any less, i still like SG, it's just that it's not the same quality of melody-making and i don't think that can be argued, really. it's effect from person-to-person will be very different (even within the album, you said bonsai no hada was a throwaway and i thought it was probably the greatest thing there), and some might experience it as they experienced any other great music, but haven't and, as objectively as i possibly can, i don't think it is great, at least not by the standards she set before.
Originally Posted by kuro_neko
music depends on the artist and not on the band set up. I like my music to have a bit more oomph than just the typical 5 piece band, or a more intense focus on one or two instruments, so usually 5 is the number I stay away from (most traditional rock bands and pop rock bands usually stick to 5, it can be a bit boring). I like artists who throw in extra instruments, like harp, or take them away. its kind of like cooking, adding spice or focusing on a few select flavors, but if you stay the standard it comes out bland.
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i agree with you, man. i love music that's filled to the brim with different instruments. though i do sometimes prefer the raw 4-5 piece band, my main point was that i think the core was weak for SG and that's why the other sounds seem superfluous. the melodies in KZK were so tight that everything else she added just fell into place purposely. for me, in SG it seems like there's just too much going on and it's not because of the amount, but because the melody isn't strong enough to carry it all on its back. this is a feeling i had with
variety before, too, but i couldn't really place it. though i loved their sounds, it seemed like overload and i think it's for the same reason: the melodies just weren't strong enough. so, everything else seems like arbitrary niceties and quirky sounds that don't go anywhere. not that they can't be pleasing, but they can't make a song great. they can only make a sub-par song decent or good.