Very, very, very few artists use absolutely NO pitch correction these days from what I hear, as studio recordings for albums/singles go. There are some who will still go for complete takes, but most people just stitch the best takes together and then run a quick autotune pass to pull the notes that are a few cents off onto near-perfect pitch.

Re: Future, I really feel like it could go either way - a really well-nailed falsetto with some reverb and whatever could be the effect just as well, since it's not a really obvious pitch correction going on, at least to my ears. I doubt we'll ever get a definitive answer on that, though.

[quote="Marekenshin"]I was fortunate enough to recently get a chance to listen to some bootleg audio of one of the concerts on DVD to compare...[/quote]

I was under the impression that it was [b]extremely[/b] difficult to get bootlegs of any shows in Japan; hence why we basically only have the "Live Beat" recordings from 1997 and 1999, plus a few other random smatterings. How was this possible?

[quote="dimsim3478"]Anybody know if The Pillows indulge in the practice of overdubbing live recordings, specifically those featured on their live DVDs/Blu-rays? Please help me to kill the illusion of perfection surrounding this band.[/quote]
The Bubbletown's Happy Zoo DVD is dubbed. Some TV performances have been dubbed. More recent DVDs have used Melodyne (or similar). But not everything has been altered. If you compare the leaked audio from Lostman Go To America with the DVD I don't think you'll find any alterations (if memory serves).

The Future single absolutely has pitch correction, as have recent albums. OOPARTS and Trial for sure. Shit, I gotta listen to Trial now.

[quote="rockman240"]The Bubbletown's Happy Zoo DVD is dubbed.[/quote]
Oh yeaaaaaaah, I did notice that their playing in the video was sometimes out-of-sync with the audio.
[quote="rockman240"]Some TV performances have been dubbed.[/quote]
Yeah, like those ones where only the three Pillows onstage but somehow, bass is still coming out of the speakers.

[quote="Son Goshin"][quote="Marekenshin"]I was fortunate enough to recently get a chance to listen to some bootleg audio of one of the concerts on DVD to compare...[/quote]

I was under the impression that it was [b]extremely[/b] difficult to get bootlegs of any shows in Japan; hence why we basically only have the "Live Beat" recordings from 1997 and 1999, plus a few other random smatterings. How was this possible?[/quote]

I'm not trying to brag or be a dick by mentioning it, it's just relevant to the discussion...but I am sworn to secrecy.

Re: Bubbletown - video production being off from the live audio does not necessarily mean that the audio was recorded after-the-fact, but I haven't watched that one in a while. In general, I find a few moments in almost any live DVD where the video is a little bit off from the sound on at least a couple shots, from 916 to the Scarecrow bonus DVD...I don't know why they would overdub for one of their performances but none of the other ones, you know?

Edit: btw, I think the reason Sawao's vocal tone is often off even now that he's gotten much better at singing is because he writes outside of his ideal range but doesn't go into punk grunge mode to make up for it. That vid Cloudy linked in the pillows vid thread gets some really great tone going once he starts really belting instead of trying to "sing" the notes that are too high.

[quote="dimsim3478"][quote="rockman240"]The Bubbletown's Happy Zoo DVD is dubbed.[/quote]
Oh yeaaaaaaah, I did notice that their playing in the video was sometimes out-of-sync with the audio.
[quote="rockman240"]Some TV performances have been dubbed.[/quote]
Yeah, like those ones where only the three Pillows onstage but somehow, bass is still coming out of the speakers.[/quote]
I think those ones are generally just the instrumental of the released version with Sawao singing live over it. So they could do multiple takes if need be.

[quote="Marekenshin"]Re: Bubbletown - video production being off from the live audio does not necessarily mean that the audio was recorded after-the-fact, but I haven't watched that one in a while. In general, I find a few moments in almost any live DVD where the video is a little bit off from the sound on at least a couple shots, from 916 to the Scarecrow bonus DVD...I don't know why they would overdub for one of their performances but none of the other ones, you know?

Edit: btw, I think the reason Sawao's vocal tone is often off even now that he's gotten much better at singing is because he writes outside of his ideal range but doesn't go into punk grunge mode to make up for it. That vid Cloudy linked in the pillows vid thread gets some really great tone going once he starts really belting instead of trying to "sing" the notes that are too high.[/quote]

I'm not sure if I've seen 916, but I think it depends on the performance. One method that bands will use is filming multiple shows and then picking the best performance of each song. But I think LGTA for example was just an awesome performance in general (no need for alteration, though the record company would probably want to put pitch correction on the vocals anyway today).

Sometimes Sawao just has bad voice days and he just kinda pushes through them (what else can you do). I guarantee the awkward delivery is not his first choice.

Interesting point about filming multiple shows and using audio from more than one show...I hadn't considered that possibility before, but it seems as though bands who pride themselves in their live performance might be inclined to just do the best full show and accept what few mistakes they have. I can't imagine the pillows have so much trouble with performing a solid set that they need to do that, but who knows how their consistency was back in the day, I guess. :O

Yo, quick Predators question: does anyone know what song the band is playing on the [i]Monster in your head[/i] DVD when they switch places?

thc pillows hybrid strainbow 420

anybody else notice how the band has been revisiting [i]thank you, my twilight[/i] lately? i mean "babylon" was a setlist staple for a while, and i think i've seen "biscuit hammer" pop up from time to time over the years, but "robotman" ([i]moondust tour[/i]), "come on ghost" and "winona" ([i]stroll and roll tour[/i]), and "ritalin 202" just recently? awesome!

also seeing "xavier" and "walkin on the spiral" together on the setlist from the show with unison square garden was heartwarming. hope we get some more stuff turning up from the 2002-2009 albums that havent really been played since the album tours. "boat house", "beyond the moon", "my girl", "gazelle city", "flag star", "last holiday"...the list is endless...

so i've always wondered who the "beautiful lip" girl is...any more info on her? is she referred to on any songs other than "sad fad love" and sawao's "beautiful lip"?

[quote="dimsim3478"]so i've always wondered who the "beautiful lip" girl is...any more info on her? is she referred to on any songs other than "sad fad love" and sawao's "beautiful lip"?[/quote]
I usually assume that the lyrics aren't based on any actual person or event, but it's public knowledge that Sawao dated actress Yuuka for a pretty long time (like, 5 years). Apparently, Yuuka wanted to get married but Sawao didn't, stating "musicians don't get married" or something like that. They broke up and Yuuka married someone else last year. I guess she can be a possibility for the subject of these type of songs. Pretty sure he and Yoko are an on/off couple as well.

I was going to joke about Yoko having big lips, lol.

[quote="Mafu"]Apparently, Yuuka wanted to get married but Sawao didn't, stating "musicians don't get married" or something like that.[/quote]
Wow...uhh...then I guess Manabe's not a real "musician" then, is he?

Thanks a ton for the info. Love that Pillows gossip!

The other day I caught up with a friend to drink Yamanaka Sours in Shibuya. On the way there, I stopped off in Shinjuku to check out a cool pillows window display that is currently going on.

This is the display for NOOK IN THE BRAIN on the 7th floor of the Tower Shinjuku store:

[img]http://i.imgur.com/V96XULj.jpg[/img]

As you go up the escalator to the 8th floor, there is a super cool window display right as the escalator ends.

[img]http://i.imgur.com/WdRJInx.jpg[/img]

This display includes the mask used for the cover of Ousama ni nare, the Busterkun from the cover of Rock and Sympathy, one of the Sawao Cyclones, and some pictures. Since they're behind glass, it's not so easy to get such clear pictures of them. I apologize for the glare.

Closeups of Busterkun:

[img]http://i.imgur.com/9IiaGzK.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i.imgur.com/GjhH1Ah.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i.imgur.com/ai1R3tU.jpg[/img]

That bitchin' Be Your King mask:
[img]http://i.imgur.com/SKD6sk0.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i.imgur.com/AnUL5nI.jpg[/img]

Sawao's guitar:
[img]http://i.imgur.com/tZCj6fg.jpg[/img]

I also took a quick video of the display:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KI2FuAhn-CA

And after Shinjuku, I went to the Tower Records Cafe in Shibuya.

[img]http://i.imgur.com/Lm2Y1Qe.jpg[/img]

This is Sawao's signature drink "Yamanaka Sour". Sadly, the promotion only lasted less than one week (in Shibuya).
Despite the drink being called "sour", it's actually a spritzer. The ingredients are just white wine and seltzer water with ice. I'm gonna try to make my own soon.
Behind the drink is a free "magazine" that you can currently get from Tower.

When you buy a Yamanaka Sour, you get a cool little badge with Sawao's self-portrait on it.

[img]http://i.imgur.com/LZg9oKU.jpg[/img]