[TJ] 2010.07.28 - Tengoku e Youkoso/Dopamint! (Online) [Single]

[mae]

Agree with ChickShhh... anyway, this song was just made for the commercial, or am I wrong?

And I love the corage with which ROCKET expresses his own opinion, but this last line was maybe a bit offensive? anyway I'm glad to see no one seems to bee offended...

I'm (as usual) been very very away from the forum, and I don't write too much (with my bad English) but sometimes I come and read and have a really good time laughting, and I love it

Bye

(it's good to have different opinions, no need to fight!)

[ShadyNook]

Originally Posted by mae

this song was just made for the commercial, or am I wrong?

yeah, the title itself is an advertisement. a mint as addictive as a drug.

they should do a song for mentos and call it "Menthadone"

[lazer85]

This whole advertising thing was something I could stomach at first but when the promotion even reaches the title of the song it's just too much. And this image change was the last thread. I can put up with image being a big part of the artists career when the music is stellar but it's really not anymore and so every image change since Adult has been wearing on me. Like if your going to spend that much time transforming you look, put out some better music or spend some time with your kid. 10 good songs (though not THAT good in context) in the course of 3 albums is no excuse.

These songs are by no means bad, but I don't have interest in listening to someone who is a pop-star over an artist.


Finally enjoying Watashi to Houden though, a good 3 or 4 old gems I never heard before now. At this rate I'm going to have to finally de-myth KZK by finally paying attention to the lyrics (something I've held off on doing like keeping a stack of bills buried under the house in case times get really hard)....Am I at the very last drops of inspiration that I can draw from the artist who hit closer to home than anyone ever has?

[Scribble R]

We should be happy that SR isn't dead. And that she's still making music. And that she didn't just make MM then fizzle out.

Wow, I didn't know Watashi Samurai has a PV

[Maou]

Originally Posted by ROCKET

This board is flooded with nonsense statements, I agree with the one who suggested that. Every new releases gets pawned with critics here. I don't see the point why you continue to listen to her.

Welcome to the internet. Every board is like that. Ever been to a Smashing Pumpkins board? We're much more tame here. Can't really remember all that much criticism for Ariamaru Tomi, Sanmon Gossip, or Noudouteki Sanpunkan. You know, the good releases? There will always be some negative comments about every single song ever made, but the good stuff usually gets its due in the end.

Nice of you to add to the nonsense statements at the end as well. Sadly, I'm still the best at it.

The band nowadays seems a lot in harmony to me, and Ukigumo totally rocks, both as guitarist, backup singer and songwriter. On guitar, he has a different style from that of a common rock guitarist - which is more the way to Hirama.

Oh please. Phase 1 was more in harmony than almost any other band in existence. That's what made them so fun to watch. Not just any band can go out and blow the roof off of arenas with the MM/SS/KSK material like they did. Yayoshi was a common rock guitarist and he sucked during Shiina's original solo days. Phase 2 is in better harmony since Adult, but that should be expected. The album was almost finished by the time Uki got into the studio to record his parts. There were times during the Adult era where it sounded like Uki was playing a completely different song from everybody else.

Ukigumo is a horrid backup singer. Hirama was as well, but that still doesn't make Ukigumo a good one. Ukigumo "singing" the backing vocals sounds like Jerry Seinfeld shouting at someone. High-pitched and without any real feeling. If I raise my speaking voice up a little bit, I don't consider it singing and neither should Ukigumo.

I don't really need to comment on the quality of Ukigumo's guitar work. I think he's a good guitarist when not paired with Shiina Ringo (and when using a Telecaster instead of a toilet). They don't mesh well. Petrolz is better than Jihen.

Special note: Shiina-chan forced Hirama to sing with her because she thought Mikki had a sexy voice.

"Oh look at me, I'm throwing myself on the ground, Jack Black on school of Rock style, while I play a cliched guitar solo followed by heavy chords". His best work for me was on Genjitsu wo Warau, which incredibly sounds like something played by Ukigumo.

As opposed to "Oh look at me looking like a robot as I try to fit as many muted staccato wah notes into this bar as I can while playing in my own little world oblivious to what everybody else is doing." Hirama's best guitar song for Tokyo Jihen was Jusui Negai. There's a sweep in there that neither Hirama nor Ukigumo manage to play live.

As for Genjitsu... How nice that you mention that it sounds like something Uki played when he played something completely different during the Just Can't Help It tour. Something simpler that sounds terrible. It should also be noted that Hirama plays less variations of the riff live.

As a songwriter, he totally sucks. As my friend Rafakun says: "If you can touch it' is the song to leave the room and get a beer" on Dynamite Out (which is only so good because is crowded with Shiina Ringo songs amazingly performed).

As a songwriter, Hirama is hit or miss much like everybody else in the world. He's got some really good songs, some average songs, and some really bad songs. I have no idea what you've heard since the only songs you've named can be watched on Youtube.

Gee, it's kinda funny that Phase 2 can't perform any Shiina Ringo songs amazingly. They've given us terrible versions of Jusui Negai, Genjitsu wo Warau, Yume no Ato, Gibs, Sounan, and Ariamaru Tomi. They only song they did justice to was Omatsuri Sawagi. I know I'm in the minority on this one, but I also can't stand what they did with Souretsu. Special mention goes to how badly they botched HZM's Gunjou Biyori and Service. You're just adding to my argument of why Hirama is preferred to Uki: Mikki can play Shiina Ringo songs that Uki can't.

More versatile? Yeah, like that?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0gMiOEAowM

Or maybe Anata ga Hoshii, Sainara, Kao, Tensai Yo..., Ao, Nariwai, Akuma, Aru Romance, So Sweet, Subararashii Sekai, Haha no Motown or Rekishi? Or maybe you can just watch Electric Mole to see what Hirama is like outside of a pure rock show. I almost want to assume you've never seen it going by your "School of Rock" statement, but I won't.

Maybe I should play it your way and single out Mirrorball as the crap it is. I'll ignore gems like Kimaru, Season Sayonara, and Fair so I can pretend every Uki song sucks that bad.

And about Izawa, there is a simple example to show how much he rocks: Himitsu. Phase 1's version was just a cool, but common rock song. THAT's what I would call "nothing new" or "unoriginal idea". On the other hand, Adult's version, arranged by Izawa, it is just something out of this world. It totally twisted my mind when I first listened to it.

Glad to know a "common rock" songs don't impress, but common jazz songs blow your mind. I like both versions, but neither one does anything new or special in their respective genres.

But maybe you are "rock purists" (which is a concept stupid by nature) and hate jazzy-rock arrangements which are so characteristic to Jihen nowadays.

Did you know Phase 1 was praised because of their ability to fuse jazz and rock styles? Of course not. You weren't here back then and you weren't even a fan in those days. I can forgive that though. And even if I did consider Phase 2 to be more jazzy, it was only for one album.

Where's the jazz in Variety and Sports? Last time I checked, those were pop-rock albums. There's some motown here and there and some cabaret in Killer Tune. Don't remember jazz being common on those albums though. Sure there's more to the albums than just pop-rock, but there was also more to Kyouiku than straight rock.

Edit: Shiina Ringo is NOT going to release a new Shouso Strip! She has grown up, maybe you should too and get over it!

Or maybe you could try to understand that nobody is asking for Shouso Strip Pt. 2. People want something that is as good as SS and not an exact clone of SS.


tl;dr version
Hirama is god when teamed with Shiina, Uki is not. Phase 1 was good together, Phase 2 is OK. Blah blah, Maou should just keep a word document of his tired old rants and copy/pasta them.

[Ringo~Bingo]

How come the tired respone to people who liked the older stuff is that she's "not making SS Mk 2.0 or KZK 5 get over it"? nobody wants that for God's sake! we just want something that matters again! the fact that the new song is tied in to some kind of sweet/mint commercial says it all really? would you love your favourite local band to release a new single like "Coca Cola Crazy" or "Pepsi Max Madness" ? pardon the language but that's a fucking joke and the defenders of it should be ashamed! I stick by my comments that folk get so set in their ways that they will swallow any shit that get's shovelled at them! haters gonna hate I don't want KZK 15 I just want something that matters again!


@Jihad, yeah I'm to blame

@Yahiko, don't take anything I ever write as personal as it never is I fight the mindset not the man.

[Entry№1]

For whatever can be said about past conflicts and present tension, I can personally say I'm happy to at least see a little life in the forums again and DISCUSSION about the MUSIC.

Uki brings a unique flavor to whatever he does, as does Izawa. If you can credit them with anything, it's that they are unique. I prefer Uki to Izawa among the Phase 2 additions, but I prefer Phase 1 over them both. If you've ever checked out Hirama's music, it's some pretty weird/dark stuff, and HZM is a very vibrant, psychotic force on piano. Whereas Izawa and Uki bring a kind of stoic sophistication to what SR does, HZM and Hirama brought out her inner demon. A lot of people diss Hirama's songwriting, but I prefer "Kao" to most of what either Uki or Izawa has composed...

There was much more sexuality and brashness to Phase 1 than Phase 2, but I respect the new members very much for their contributions as well. I, as a wannabe pianist myself, prefer HZM's style because Izawa's style tends to come off sounding more novelty than HZM's explorations. HZM is just darker, and that's why I prefer Phase 1 to Phase 2. As far as group identity is concerned, TJ has more of an established niche/sound since Hirama and HZM left, but that's partially because we only got one album out of Phase 1. Had they more time, they would have created an album with as rich of an aesthetic as ADULT, but with a more surreal/aggressive edge (think more along the lines of soil & pimp sessions, "Service", or "Kenka Joutou", with synthesizers and unusual keyboard sounds).

@Lazer: Don't kid yourself, reading the lyrics to KSK is actually only the beginning of unraveling the mysteries of the album (as you'll see especially by reading the lyrics of "Okonomide"). SR's lyrics, if you've never read them before, are just as virtuoso and surreal as her music. The imagery and concepts presented in KSK's lyrics are brilliant.

The important thing to remember is that because you'll probably be reading a literal translation of her lyrics, don't concern yourself with the way the english words sound. I personally believe it's just as important, if not more so, that poetry/lyrics are aesthetically rich as phonetically, so instead of concerning yourself with how awkward some passages might be rendered in English, focus on other dimensions, like how sections of lyrics relate to one another conceptually (like in "Aisaika no Choushoku" where Ringo alternates between affectionate/mundane conversation and paranoia/accusation between the verses and chorus). I consider Ringo one of my favorite lyricists even though most of the lyrics I've read of hers have been very literal translations.

[Scribble R]

Solo Ringo > Any TJ phase. Including Sanmon Gossip.

[lazer85]

Originally Posted by Entry№1

@Lazer: Don't kid yourself, reading the lyrics to KSK is actually only the beginning of unraveling the mysteries of the album (as you'll see especially by reading the lyrics of "Okonomide"). SR's lyrics, if you've never read them before, are just as virtuoso and surreal as her music. The imagery and concepts presented in KSK's lyrics are brilliant.

The important thing to remember is that because you'll probably be reading a literal translation of her lyrics, don't concern yourself with the way the english words sound. I personally believe it's just as important, if not more so, that poetry/lyrics are aesthetically rich as phonetically, so instead of concerning yourself with how awkward some passages might be rendered in English, focus on other dimensions, like how sections of lyrics relate to one another conceptually (like in "Aisaika no Choushoku" where Ringo alternates between affectionate/mundane conversation and paranoia/accusation between the verses and chorus). I consider Ringo one of my favorite lyricists even though most of the lyrics I've read of hers have been very literal translations.

No, I will certainly not be looking at English translations, I haven't read an English novel in 4 years because I've been too busy with Japanese ones. That sounded like bragging haha. I just get the "you can't speak Japanese, right whitey?" a lot since I live in Japan.

Okonomide is actually one of the few Ringo songs that I sat down and read the lyrics because I was trying to figure out how to play it on guitar. As opposed to Ringo no Uta and Yattsuke Shigoto and the 2 or 3 others I've read which made a lot of sense to me, Okonomide made me see why all my Japanese friends think Ringo is a snob. I'm not sure if it's good or bad but it certainly didn't make sense to me or the 3 Japanese friends I asked. It's like so overly poetic that only people who are well versed in certain things can understand it and that is actually kind of snobby. Snobby isn't necessarily a bad thing though...

[ShadyNook]

Originally Posted by Scribble R

We should be happy that SR isn't dead. And that she's still making music. And that she didn't just make MM then fizzle out.

You know how it is for every actor/musician/artist. They're bashed by many when alive then adored when dead. Retrospective tribute videos and books are made turning the deceased into a cultural icon. If only corpses could facepalm. Human nature is effed up.