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Old 2011.06.30, 07:40 PM   #101
fluffiethesock
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You weren't alone... haha
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Old 2011.06.30, 07:50 PM   #102
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I agree with Maou about the production--Izawa is often hard to hear, and Kameda's bass is often too bassy/boomy. Keep in mind that I love Kameda's playing, as always, but something is off with his tone. Maybe the album has more of a J-pop production, maybe it's that new Yamaha BB bass that he's using, which I always think sounds a bit dull (I love the old BB1200 basses from the late '70s...Paul McCartney used one on McCartney II and Tug of War).

This album is a lot more rock than their last two...lots of guitar distortion, and a lot of the songs are fairly straightforward structurally. Everyone hates on Variety, but at least each member's personality shone--they were having fun. To me, it sounded like they were playing the kind of music they want to play. (By the way, besides "Mirrorball" and "Fukushuu," I love Variety.) The band reigned it in an little for Sports, which I think struck a nice balance. I went back and listened to Sports yesterday, and it was a lot more experimental and fun than I remembered.

天国へようこそ For The Disc: This sounds like an opening track and little more. I don't have an opinion on it, really, and I don't know what the other version is that people are talking about. 6

絶対値対相対値: It's nice to have a distorted, rocking TJ song that I actually enjoy. I'm not much a heavy rock guy, so I generally prefer TJ when they're more funk/jazz/pop/proggy, but I can get behind this. Still, though, I don't like the bass sound in this song...way too boomy. 6.7

新しい文明開化: Solid Tokyo Jihen, but TOO BASSY! A bit like "Killer Tune," though slightly less impressive. And what's Izawa doing? I can hardly hear him. I hear the spacey synth sounds, but is he playing organ too? Maybe not. Nice solo from Uki, but I could use even more Uki guitar quirk on this track. By the way, is anybody else reminded is the same rhythm as "1, 2, 3, 4, I declare a thumb war" during the "1, 2, 3, 4" part? 8.1

電気のない都市: I always hate these lame ballads like "Superstar" and "Tegami," but somehow I actually enjoy this one! Maybe it's Izawa's nice piano playing, but I'm actually moved a little for once. I like Uki's guitar at 2:52, as well as Kameda's little lick that aligns with Shiina's melody. Normally I don't connect with this type of song, but something is clicking. Very nice slow piano ending as well. 7.8

海底に巣くう男: This song is very Variety, but I like it okay. I always welcome Izawa's Rhodes (one reason I like Variety so much). Way better than "Mirrorball" (both versions), and better than FOUL. I don't know, the slight bluesy-ness gives the album a bit more variety. I don't find the song grating, as some of you seem to. Again, though, boomy bass--WTF? 7.5

禁じられた遊び: See, the bass is NOT boomy on this song. Love the slap bass, LOVE Izawa's piano. 7.7

ドーパミント! BPM103: Jazzy without being showtunesy. It's sounds like a bit of a throwaway to me, but it's rather enjoyable...nice guitar and piano. 7.0

恐るべき大人達: YES. Charming, funky Uki, Rhodes piano...2 Rhodes solos! . Classic chorus. Shiina's vocals sound great...I like the reverb/delay. I suppose this song is the most Adult. Interesting that so many of you are pointing to this as a standout, because I thought many of you guys didn't like when TJ played in this style. 9.0

21世紀宇宙の子: This sounds like Senkou Soujo if they rewrote it an made it GOOD and sound like Tokyo Jihen rather than generic J-pop. I love the proggy organ in this one. 8.3

かつては男と女: Is that fretless bass? I've never seen Kameda play fretless, but it doesn't sound like upright to me. I'm a fretless bass player, so this distinction matters to me! Either way, why is the bass slightly distorted! I hate that! Seriously, Kameda, what is going on? Anyway, why this song is nothing particularly special, I enjoy it...though I would enjoy it a lot more if Kameda would figure out his tone. Some nice organ playing. 7.5

空が鳴っている: This song sounds pretty generic/vanilla to me, but I kind of like the chorus, Kameda's slidey bass, and the bell sound. It's a little confusing to me when TJ writes these kind of songs, though, because the band seems a bit above them. 6.3

風に肖って行け: This songs sounds very '90s, and I can't say I particularly enjoy it. I don't like Izawa's synth sounds much either. Who wrote this one? Uki? 5.8

女の子は誰でも: As others have said, this shouldn't be on an TJ album. I don't know why they had to be so faithful to the showtunes genre here. They could have started with this and the TJ-ified it to make it unique. At least add some more guitar! I mean, who is playing the brass and the harp? Not Tokyo Jihen! 5.0

天国へようこそ For The Tube: Sounds like it belongs on Heisei Fuzoku. Pretty weak and boring to me. 5.2

Overall, I enjoy the album, but nothing impressed me. The band members don't display their virtuosity as much as they do on the past three album. I'm not sure I'd place it above Sports or Variety yet. Nothing here passes "絶体絶命" or "Killer Tune." I need to listen more, and I need to listen to the other albums more to compare. Kyoiku is always at the bottom for me because I find the production unlistenable. Adult will probably always be at the top because it's so damn consistent. Still, I've enjoyed every new TJ album, and I can always listen to them way more times than most other new bands.

I haven't bought a physical copy yet, but does anybody know who produced it? The production on Sports has a lot more oomph. And who produced their other albums?
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Old 2011.06.30, 09:07 PM   #103
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Ringo must be given an award for using an excuse of poor english pronunciation for saying fuck on a public release.
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Old 2011.06.30, 10:53 PM   #104
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Hmmmmmmmm... just got caught up on the Twitter updates. And the latest Tweet, from Ringo, is a little...

So I never believed the rumors that Ringo and Hata were dating. But this REALLY gives me pause.

06.30.11, 12:00 p.m.
@Daihakken_bot: 【生椎名より】  おちこんだりもしたけれど、私はげんきです。刄田もげんきです。大発見は完成しています。みんな満足しています。わが東京事変は永久に不滅です。
@Daihakken_bot: [Live Shiina] I've even felt sad, but I'm fine. Hata is fine too. Dai-hakken is complete. Everyone is satisfied. We, Tokyo Jihen, are everlastingly immortal.
WHY ELSE WOULD SHE SAY "HATA IS FINE TOO" UNLESS THEY WERE DATING????????????????? Why mention him but no other member.........????
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Old 2011.06.30, 11:10 PM   #105
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She is just addressing the difficult times because of that Hata incident (jail) that caused some sadness (along with the earthquake). But the band realeased the album and feel united as ever.

By the way, lot of the phrases on that twitbot are from the interview that they realeased recently on the official site.

http://www.emimusic.jp/tokyojihen/special/?cat=9
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Old 2011.06.30, 11:48 PM   #106
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Originally Posted by frecklegirl View Post
おちこんだりもしたけれど、私はげんきです。
I've even felt sad, but I'm fine.
This is famous Itoi Shigesato's advertising slogan for "Kiki's Delivery Service" (1989).
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Old 2011.07.01, 12:47 AM   #107
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[out of 5]
5: ドーパミント! BPM103 (7), 女の子は誰でも (13)
4: 電気のない都市 (4), 禁じられた遊び (6), 空が鳴っている (11)
3: 天国へようこそ For The Disc (1) / For The Tube (14), 恐るべき大人達 (8)
2: 絶対値対相対値 (2), 21世紀宇宙の子 (9)
1: 新しい文明開化 (3), 海底に巣くう男 (5), かつては男と女 (10)
fuck: 風に肖って行け (12)*
*actually a 2

[also]
Sports > (debatable depending on mood) > Variety

I don't know, of the five studio albums this is probably going to fight for a distant second against Adult with Kyouiku a close fourth.
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Old 2011.07.01, 04:40 AM   #108
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Originally Posted by Tsuchiya View Post
Everyone hates on Variety, but at least each member's personality shone--they were having fun. To me, it sounded like they were playing the kind of music they want to play.
Agreed. Especially on Killer Tune, where I feel like each band member is being showcased simultaneously (the second half of the second verse is almost challenging to listen to for this reason).

At least Uki and Izawa got a fair share of solos on Daihakken -- Hata and Kameda were just completely underutilized.

--

I'm still at the point where I'm forming a new opinion of the album with every listen. The "Sports (Disc 2)" label obviously isn't a fair one, but there's a parallel between the two: where Sports fell back on mainstream pop, Daihakken is falling back on rather mainstream rock. I don't which befits the band more.

And I have to agree with Orenji...Shiina is not at her best vocally, in general. Were all of the non-single tracks been recorded within a week or so?
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Old 2011.07.01, 05:47 AM   #109
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I am thrilled at Kameda's playing in Dai Hakken. Little pisses me off more at this band than when Kameda pulls some shoe-horned bass solo into an already messy song. Sports and even more so in Dai Hakken, he has focused on playing well without trying to jump in the spot light. Less "individual" personality and more band personality is what benefits this band/music most and is why Variety sounds like such trash.

If anything though, I thought the album consistently featured the drums and bass. The RnB songs of course, even Bunmei-kaika.
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Old 2011.07.01, 06:50 AM   #110
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Originally Posted by Tokyo Jihad View Post
I am thrilled at Kameda's playing in Dai Hakken. Little pisses me off more at this band than when Kameda pulls some shoe-horned bass solo into an already messy song. Sports and even more so in Dai Hakken, he has focused on playing well without trying to jump in the spot light. Less "individual" personality and more band personality is what benefits this band/music most and is why Variety sounds like such trash.
Okay, that's fair enough. I'll modify my statement to say that as a matter of opinion, I like the individual-oriented variety of Variety.

Originally Posted by Tokyo Jihad View Post
If anything though, I thought the album consistently featured the drums and bass. The RnB songs of course, even Bunmei-kaika.
Definitely Otona-tachi, for sure. Kameda's bassline is hypnotizing. But the RnB tracks are some of the best on the album, partially for that reason.
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