Superstar

[Tokyo Jihad]

Superstar is the best song she/they ever performed. Am I wrong?

Superstaaaaaaaaaa

I know the crowd has turned these days and will say, "yes, Jihad, you are, in fact, wrong." But if the Youtube Covers thread has taught me anything, it's that Superstar may very well be my fav song in the catalog and might be THE iconic alt-rock arena anthem.

Since Variety, I have only really listened to two Shiina songs (Ichijuku and Fukushuu -- yeah that right.) But it wasn't til I re-heard DO's Superstar that I said "Oh wow, this is a really good song". It's a single that got stuck on an album it didn't belong. If it were on the album it should have been on (Kyoiku; providing it didnt get hacked up like the rest of the album) and maybe if Kyoiku would have been released a year or two earlier (and maybe not even) I don't see why Superstar wouldn't have been a (monster) single.

Even when Superstar got "Varietized" (Shiseikatsu) it still didn't totally suck. Rock might not be "cool" anymore, but once upon a time, it was -- and almost every Shiina fan was of that opinion. And had Superstar arrived then, it woulda been mega.

[HEDOfloe]

Originally Posted by Tokyo Jihad

Even when Superstar got "Varietized" (Shiseikatsu) it still didn't totally suck. Rock might not be "cool" anymore, but once upon a time, it was -- and almost every Shiina fan was of that opinion. And had Superstar arrived then, it woulda been mega.

Superstar is an awesome song. It's not my favorite by them, but it's definitely top ranking in my book. And Rock is still "cool". The majority of what I listen to is rock. Or by my definitions anyway. I tagged Kyouiku as "Rock" and ADULT and Variety "pop/rock". Just because a lot of people like Variety doesn't mean everyone has forgotten or stopped liking what they did before. Kyouiku is the epitome of what my favorite kind of rock is. It's inventive, loud, in your face, and fun. One of things I hate about a lot of contemporary rock and groups like the smashing pumpkins and nirvana is that they are so down. I can't stand that. On kyouku, its all fun and even the slower songs like Yume no Ato are more ballad-esque. This is one of the things I love about Superstar. Its a power ballad (sorta) but its not like wallowing in self-pity kind of song. It's really emotional and packs a punch.

I still don't here Superstar in Shiseikatsu, though.

Every time I listen to Kyouiku I wonder what it would have been like if they had continued making that same style of music. I absolutely adore it, but I always decide that it has been better, for me, that they did many other things and made their whole catalog all the more enjoyable for me. Its a shame that some of us are more tied to a specific genre, but their whole catalog is an eargasm for me.

EDIT: I think Superstar was probably not a single because they only released one before ADULT and I think a more upbeat kind of song like Shuraba is a better single for attracting a larger mass than is a powerful song like Superstar.

As for the two versions of the song, I prefer the ADULT ver. I think they perfected it on ADULT, it sounds like it's in its early stages here. And, if they had done a studio recording of this for Kyouiku, that probably would have been better too since they would have had more time to perfect that version of it.

EDIT 2: As far as favorite songs go, this is definitely not my favorite (either version). It's always hard for me to pick a favorite, but I think Sounan from Kyouiku, Himitsu from ADULT and Killer Tune/OSCA from Variety are tops for me.

[Tokyo Jihad]

Shinjpg reminds me of Huey Louis in Back tothe Future telling Marty McFly that his band (performing a song Huey Louis recorded) is "too darn loud" =P

How is Shiina howling "Superstaaaaaaa" NOT the best way to end the song? I don't see how there's any way to end the song but that. Different generations I guess.

Kids these days....too loud, pshh.

Just for fun, lets play the "Paint-by-numbers Hedo reply" game:
[X] Explain that he looves everything
[ ] Doesn't understand why people say Kyoiku sounds like crap.
[X] Doesnt see the resemblance between [Superstar]and [Shiseikatsu]

Tsk, you're losing a step Hedo! You missed one! =P

[Tokyo Jihad]

I'm from the generation that IS alternative

In the DO version they just seem to be playing on their own, not following anything in particular.

Are you sure you're not talking about Variety?

[justriiingo]

Originally Posted by Tokyo Jihad

Superstar is the best song she/they ever performed. Am I wrong?

You are wrong. Superstar (and its derivatives!) is(are) the track(s) I always skip.
And hey, I'm supposed to be on your side.

Just for fun, derivatives of Superstar:
Private Life
Gibs
Kokode kiss shite.

Well, in math speak, if you integrate Superstar you'd probably get Gibs and Kokode.

SR can do more than raarrrrr her way through ballads. I'm sure her band members would probably fall asleep if asked to play these 4 songs consecutively. I know I would.

[Tokyo Jihad]

Originally Posted by justriiingo

You are wrong. Superstar (and its derivatives!) is(are) the track(s) I always skip.
And hey, I'm supposed to be on your side.

Yeah i know, i was waiting for you to come in and party-poop

Yeah i guess Gibs is in the Superstar league, I wouldn't say Koko de so much...tho it does somewhat harken to Gibs... eh, maybe.

Shiina could rarr through anything and it would be awesome because of the rarrring. I need to listen to Private Life, apparently. Gibs and Superstar back to back would make my pants combust.

[fluffiethesock]

Which one is Private Life again?


Romaji FTW!

[Kasanagi]

Originally Posted by Tokyo Jihad

Yeah i guess Gibs is in the Superstar league, I wouldn't say Koko de so much...tho it does somewhat harken to Gibs... eh, maybe.

QFT

Private life = Shisekatsu != Superstar. well...maybe one line of guitar.

cout"hello world!";

[Canto]

Foundamentally, the melody that Kameda gave sucks. That pretty much limited the song's potential, no matter how the arrangement goes.

For those who don't regard Kameda's composition in Superstar as lousy, check out any one of the millions of the Chinese or Japanese bubblegum pop songs and you will change your mind.

IMO Kameda is indeed not a good songwriter. Seriously. He doesn't know how to reach the sentimental part of souls with melodies.(Although I do like Toumei Ningen)

[ChickShhh]

Superstar was once my fav song in DO

now probably it's Sono-Onna-thing.