[TJ] 2011.06.29 - Dai-hakken (CD) [Album]

[TurtleFu]

I don't think Adult was a fresh start, and I don't think Dai-Hakken is one either.

[ecogazoo]

Seems a lot like Sports II to me. I really wish Ringo would get back in the driver's seat. Give Uki/Izawa/Kameda 1 song per CD, max.

Sports & Dai-hakken sound too muddy. I prefer the sonic universe of Variety to these last two.

There may be a good album among the last 3, but I'm not motivated to pick and choose. I'm beginning to think I don't really like this band very much.

[kuro_neko]

where does adult even fit into this turtlefu?

it's pretty simple. Adult, Variety, and Sports, all three had themes which dictated their respective era's music and live shows. The theme was a very large part of the work and whether or not the actual music was tied organically into the theme or was produced to fit in line with the work (Himitsu?), it is hard to say.

Kyouiku was given a theme that had very little to do with the album artwork and the subsequent music. There is a meaning behind it, but you can't listen to that album and say gee, they really went for Educational style music, durrrrr. Variety SOUNDS like a variety show. Adult SOUNDS like a smoky jazz club.

Kyouiku was their debut, so obviously a fresh start of a new bushy tailed band.

Discovery has a theme that has, IMO, very little to do with the music. Other than the cover, the artwork inside the book actually looks much closer to Adult's artwork than any other album. The music itself falls over the place, from rnb that could be featured on adult, screechy vocals that belong on variety, and some upbeat and electronic production worthy of Sports. On a whole the album doesn't carve out it's own niche amongst their catalogue, much the same way Kyouiku never did (because it created the whole theme sequence).

that is why I think its a fresh start for them. NOT BECAUSE IT SOUNDS NEW, but precisely because it sounds old. It sounds cumulative, a mix of all the sounds thus far in their career, bound together under the guise of a loose theme, much like Kyouiku.

I am more interested in seeing what their next effort holds. Will they shackle themselves with a new theme and strive for a sonic representation of that? Or will they continue in this style and use the theme less strategically?

I personally hope they ditch the theme. I'd rather have them work on cohesive albums without the gimmick.

[SoulExperience]

Originally Posted by ecogazoo

Seems a lot like Sports II to me. I really wish Ringo would get back in the driver's seat. Give Uki/Izawa/Kameda 1 song per CD, max.

Sports & Dai-hakken sound too muddy. I prefer the sonic universe of Variety to these last two.

There may be a good album among the last 3, but I'm not motivated to pick and choose. I'm beginning to think I don't really like this band very much.

Boohoohoo.

That would defeat the entire purpose of a band.

[TurtleFu]

I don't think giving them one each, but definitely have Shiina write the MAJORITY of the songs on the album. But Dai-Hakken is the most Ringo-heavy album since Adult.

[Tokyo Jihad]

Originally Posted by SoulExperience

Boohoohoo.

That would defeat the entire purpose of a band.

I'd reckon to say that the vast majority of bands ever have that set up though, the one uniquely talented person writing almost all of the songs and the other band mates chipping in 1-3 max. This doesn't defeat the purpose since usually the idea is to put out the highest quality work and sell the most.

I think Izawa's songs were good on Dai Hakken, but I'd like to believe that if Shiina had taken some time away from writing and starring in commercials to write songs Dai Hakken would be an infinitely better album.

There's a very specific reason the band can't even seem to get close to Kyouiku/Adult quality songs.

EDIT:pssstt... what I'm saying is, I dont think Shiina (or Shiina/Kameda) are completely interested in putting out the highest quality product.

[TurtleFu]

I think the songs that Shiina has written on Sports and Dai-Hakken were definitely Kyouiku/Adult quality. It's the songs that she DOESN'T write, or the songs that she co-writes that aren't usually that great.

I'm trying to think of a band that gets large contributions from most of the members, and the only one I can think of is The Beatles. Radiohead, Oasis, Weaver, they all might as well be solo acts. [[I may be wrong on this, I'm not as well versed on many rock bands]]

[Tokyo Jihad]

The Beatles don't really count against what I'm saying. You have Lennon/McCartney doing the brunt of the work, with George Harrison getting 2-3 cuts an album (and the odd Ringo song on rare occasion.) Lennon/McCartney was the two headed beast that drove The Beatles.

No one fucking compare Izawa/Ukigumo to Lennon/McCartney or I swear...

(and yes, what I'm getting at is that to get to Kyouiku, Adult quality, Shiina needs to write all but 2-3 songs an album.)

[deadgrandma]

Originally Posted by Tokyo Jihad

The Beatles don't really count against what I'm saying. You have Lennon/McCartney doing the brunt of the work, with George Harrison getting 2-3 cuts an album (and the odd Ringo song on rare occasion.) Lennon/McCartney was the two headed beast that drove The Beatles.

No one fucking compare Izawa/Ukigumo to Lennon/McCartney or I swear...

(and yes, what I'm getting at is that to get to Kyouiku, Adult quality, Shiina needs to write all but 2-3 songs an album.)

Or solo it next. Or get susumu hirasawa

[W3iHong]

Or do it with A BARREL ROLL.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIkJvY96i8w