[quote="rockman240"][quote="NaotaFakuza"]I think I never gave [Horn Again] an honest try before.[/quote]
This goes for everyone who thinks Horn Again isn't a great album. You want to hate it because of the title and the album cover, and that's silly.[/quote]

*Opinion below*

Can't say that's the case for me...it's not Ooparts-tier mediocrity (granted I don't really count Ooparts as a studio album...I never really was a fan for any "lost tracks/unfinished/revisited material etc. albums by anyone. There's usually a reason they didn't make the cut), but it's definitely one of their weakest for me. Movement is the only track I'd purposefully seek out to listen to...a few are skippers for me, and a few are "Whatever". Just way too poppy, polished, and similar to me. It just runs together. But the title and album cover are pretty terrible too

Pretty sure Ooparts is just a title and not a literal attempt at describing the process behind the creation of the album, but I dunno lol.

Also, chgu. Yes. The tragedy of Eliot.

Edit: haven't tried looking for the album on iTunes or anything, but maybe the deal with King ties them to distributing only physical initially or something...

I thought that is was Ooparts because it was "Out of place artifacts" or something?

That is what the term "OOPArt" refers to, yes. But that doesn't give us any reason to assume that the album was a compilation of C-sides or something. Just that Sawao thought the meaning was cool for whatever reason.

Dude likes how certain words sound, often uses English with little concern for literal interpretation, lol.

[quote="chgu"]Lot of love for Limp Tomorrow, huh? I DO like that one, but Emerald City really does it for me with the solo and wall to wall energy. [/quote] I love Emerald City.

[quote="MyFoot"]*Opinion below*

Can't say that's the case for me...it's not Ooparts-tier mediocrity (granted I don't really count Ooparts as a studio album...I never really was a fan for any "lost tracks/unfinished/revisited material etc. albums by anyone. There's usually a reason they didn't make the cut), but it's definitely one of their weakest for me. Movement is the only track I'd purposefully seek out to listen to...a few are skippers for me, and a few are "Whatever". Just way too poppy, polished, and similar to me. It just runs together. But the title and album cover are pretty terrible too [/quote]Fair enough.

People have mentioned listening to a track one time and then deleting it, which is utterly ridiculous to me. A lot of my favorites didn't stick out to me at all at first. For example I didn't care for Strange Chameleon or The Third Eye for a good while.

Instant favorites are often instant music.

Them slow-burners that grow on you steadily are favorites for life, dawg.

[quote="Marekenshin"]Instant favorites are often instant music.

Them slow-burners that grow on you steadily are favorites for life, dawg.[/quote]
Yeah, if I didn't ever give songs a second or third chance after I first heard them, I don't think I'd know of very many songs I'd be able to call myself a fan of. Revisiting music I'm already familiar with is often a very different experience than going into it fresh, and usually a lot of things strike me that I didn't notice at first glance.

There were definitely a few songs on Stroll and Roll that impressed me on the first listen, though. Eliot chief among them

[b]I Riot[/b]

Those cowboy feels am I right? Or am I left?

Finally something that gives me some harmonies + fun guitar times. Seems like the verses are a little sparse at times - anyone else feel that vibe? Not 'Predators' sparse, but still somewhat sparse. Got the feeling like I wanted more vocals in there!

At first I thought this was going to be the 'silly song' on the album but I was pleasantly surprised, not to mention that the first three quarters of the solo sits in a relatively low to medium register before finishing on a high. Nice chance of pace at track 3 as well to be honest.

Can anyone verify if that's a police siren in the background of the song? It just goes up and down and up and down.

The PV for One Flew Under The Cuckoo's Nest really bothers me, aside from the fact that it's just a little boring to see them play music in front of some effects. The shots like the one at the 1:05 mark or the 1:32 mark. Am I misinterpreting something or just not getting the perspective right, or did they just flat-out not render the wall nearest to the camera beneath the 'roof' they're on?

The song itself really is growing on me, though. I am a little surprised, haha. Dang you, pillows.

As far as Horn Again goes as an album, it feels very weak to me, but like any pillows album, it has songs on it that I really enjoy, like Limp Tomorrow and Doggie Howl. It just has a lower ratio of 'sweet' to 'meh' for me than others. As far as Emerald City goes, I really want to like that song more, because when I do end up listening to it long enough to get through to the solo, I end up really into it, because that solo is badass and fits the energy of the song perfectly - it's got a lot of emotion to it. I just end up skipping to a different song if it comes up on shuffle. Not sure why.

I do believe that Ooparts as a title is not meant to imply anything, though I vaguely recall some hype around these parts in the hopes that it would. Your Order is another song where the solo is great, but the song itself just doesn't sit well with me, and Melody is very boring to me most times I hear it. Set aside Foxes and Big Life, Small Bag, too, though, and I really love what's left of that album, which, being over half, is a good ratio as far as latter-career or even late-middle career pillows releases go for me. I can always dig me some Ooparts.

I think everyone has a pillows song / album (or even half an album) that they can just listen to anytime and go "Damn, that was good, I'll never get sick of this."

That's actually pretty disappointing to my life lol, I always disregarded Ooparts on that account, that it was leftover material so to speak. If that was an honest studio album, it lowers it even more in my eyes.

Still loving Stroll and Roll though. I'll focus on the fact that they might be making a pleasant comeback

It's peculiar that the three songs they chose to have the music videos for are precisely the three songs I like the least.

I'd have liked a Stroll and Roll music video, but I just realized something: The title track (if the album had one) getting the music video is exceedingly rare. Moondust had a video... I think it's the only one?

[quote="Cloudy_One"]The title track (if the album had one) getting the music video is exceedingly rare. Moondust had a video... I think it's the only one?[/quote]
"Pied Piper", "Trial", and "Wake up! dodo" if you want to count that one.

Infrequent, though, I guess (relative to non-title track singles and such that have PVs).

Just translated Under the Cuckoo's Nest just now, did a speed-run through Eliot the other day (second verse is gahbage, but not sure how to translate it; will have to reach out to a Japanese friend to sort what's the deal thurr). Will try to continue hitting a song here and there throughout the week, but it's off to cats and wife hangout before sleeps.

Stroll and Roll, the title track, has cool lyrics for both choruses, might do that next since a few people are digging it (I think it's their best westaboogie-billy-rocka-woop song so far, personally).

[quote="dimsim3478"][quote="Cloudy_One"]The title track (if the album had one) getting the music video is exceedingly rare. Moondust had a video... I think it's the only one?[/quote]
"Pied Piper", "Trial", and "Wake up! dodo" if you want to count that one.[/quote]

Ahh, I like those videos too! I must have glazed over my thinking when I got to avex. So that goes to show they are clustered in the more recent era.