2011-2012 Jihen Releases & Tour Discussion

[Scribble R]

Sometimes I prefer the Kyouiku version of Genjitsu wo Warau and Omatsuri Sawagi. And Sounan is better, of course. And I like how the Kyouiku version of Ekimae sounds a bit like a video game. From Ghouls and Ghosts or some shit like that. Oh, why couldn't they have produced the album properly...:-/

[deadgrandma]

Maybe it was on purpose, they made heaps of mistakes so that they got educated by them

[gekokujyo]

Calling Kimura Kaela anything BUT Jpop is crazy! She -is- Jpop, even if some people are uncomfortable with the idea that Jpop can actually be good music.

[Glathannus]

deadgrandma,
you're onto something, there.

"Education" was a learning experience of how not to record an album.

[ecogazoo]

It's all Jpop, and there is no Jpop.
I would put dance-pop at the head of the list.

[Carlx]

Originally Posted by TurtleFu

The arrangement of the song is just as important as the melody or lyrics. It's not an afterthought. When a song reaches a true synthesis of lyrics, composition, and arrangement, you have a solid song.

I agree. It's not that the arrangement is some kind of clothing that goes above the actual composition, I think it's composition itself. Arrangement is often as important as the melody and can determine the overall atmosphere of the song to me.

[karateexplosion]

I thought this was settled by the music industry years ago; everything Japanese is J-Pop, regardless of genre. Go download a Japanese album off of iTunes and tell me that's not true (I actually have no idea if this still applies, been a long time since I downloaded anything legally).

On composition vs. arrangement: You have to figure though, composition for the majority of music comes down to only three things, melody, chord structure and rhythm. Literally every other aspect of the song is determined in the arrangement, and that, I think, is what really makes-or-breaks it. It's a big reason why I'm not a fan of Carnation. Sure, it has a decent melody, but the arrangement is shit, or at least boring as all hell.

All a good composition comes down to is a good idea. It takes a good arrangement as well to make the song great - also why I would say Kameda is probably just as responsible than Shiina, if not more, for the greatness of Muzai Moratorium.

[deadgrandma]

SG says "Alternative" on the first press sticker :-p

[Maou]

Originally Posted by TurtleFu

You brought up something i feel like I need to point out. In my conversations with Maou particularly in the past, we talked about the whole reason that KZK seems to be favored is because the arrangements are so inventive, and that somehow means, since the material can be re-arrranged and not be memorable, the material is somehow lesser.

I don't remember any of this.

I remember discussing KSK being overrated and loved because of its arrangement, but I don't remember saying anything about the bolded part. I recall saying the fancy arrangement of KSK didn't make the songs better than MM/SS while you spouted some nonsense about KSK having different structures from the songs on MM/SS. I also remember saying several times over the years that the EM arrangements are better than the KSK arrangements. That doesn't make the other "not memorable" or "lesser" either.

I'm going to stick to my assessment that KSK is overrated because of its arrangement. The melodies and song structures are no different/better than MM/SS and I really could live without stuff like Ukigumo's "Derp de derp" in Torikoshi Kurou. Or maybe a vacuum cleaner at the beginning of Tadashii Machi instead of feedbacking guitars really would have made the song better.

[deadgrandma]

KSK is favored subliminally cause it won't/hasn't dated as quickly as the others cept SG which can't date/isn't favoured cause it's already made to sound oldies (which is totally my bag baby).

Well that's my bullshit theory anyway.

Lots of people are put off by the SJDAJGKJGKJKGJADJGJ production of SS too. I've heard many newer fans who got in from KSK say MM is too pop.

I'm gonna leave TJ albums out of this cause they're not relevant to what I'm trying to say, though I cannot articulate what I mean properly.