I'm underwhelmed, but I wasn't expecting a lot either. I don't hate it. Some of the songs are catchy. Propose was a real letdown though.

Thus ends Joyeuse Opinion Time. Return to your lives.

WTF PROPOSE IS GREAT ON THE ALBUM DAMN IT. Shit, I thought you'd all dig it because of the way it sounds. I was ecstatic when it finished, still am after bout three, four plays. This reaction does not make any sense, whatsoever.

propose has really grown on me. It's sawao's voice, it's so good. all the instruments have a kind of balance to them too. This whole album grows better and better the more I listen to it.

[quote="Marekenshin"]Yamanaka's subtly mocking emofags wearing tight pants.[/quote]

XD Yeah, we all miss those sweet days when people just wore baggy pants.

the pillows easily looked their coolest back in 1998 or so. Man, Manabe sets the standard for awesome looks on the Shinjuku Liquid Room DVD.

Man, can't wait till tabs/lyrics of some of these songs starts popping up.

(Specifially, Century Creepers)

No, propose was bad. At least on the album, Grey just hit me up with the live version and I like it a lot more.

I still like this.

The thing is, PROPOSE in general is a pretty damn good song.

But it's difficult to switch over to this album version after you've been listening to the live for a while.

SUPERIOR QUALITIES OF THE LIVE VERSION:
-more distortion, everything sounds a bit grittier.
-more power in the vocals
-the solo fills up all the necessary gaps. It's raw, rough, and thick.
-as disco just said to me on AIM, it feels more "intimate".
-makes the album version seem like an awkward weakling child in comparison.

And this isn't one of those cases of "oh, I heard this version first so I can only like this one" for me, I heard the live version second and I still like it better.

the live version is WAY better yes, but this album version's not that bad.

The pillows hit that song just right that night.

[quote="GoldenRhino"]The thing is, PROPOSE in general is a pretty damn good song.

But it's difficult to switch over to this album version after you've been listening to the live for a while.

SUPERIOR QUALITIES OF THE LIVE VERSION:
-more distortion, everything sounds a bit grittier.
-more power in the vocals
-the solo fills up all the necessary gaps. It's raw, rough, and thick.
-as disco just said to me on AIM, it feels more "intimate".
-makes the album version seem like an awkward weakling child in comparison.[/quote]

I've still only heard the 30 second clip of the album version, but already I'm thinking I like the live version a lot better for pretty much all the reasons stated above. Even in that short clip I could tell the album version could use some more distortion. Hopefully by tomorrow I'll ahve the CD so I can compare the two versions better

Wake Up! Dodo: I've already said this. The song wouldn't be so bad if it didn't have that balls are touching lame excuse for a chorus.

Youngster (Kent Arrow): SAWAO WANTS TO HIT BIG IN AMERICA.

Propose: It was better live. Jomei was right about it needing harder distortion.

Scarecrow: Sawao fighting with his Alzheimer's to remember how to play One Life.

Boat House: The Fratellis is thanking Steve Jobs for really putting them out there with the iPod commercials. I guess Sawao really liked "Whistle for the Choir" off their debut album. . The others have pointed out to me that it's a "Patrica" and "Ano koro ni modotte" redux.

Pleasure Song: Standard issue throwaway pop rock song.

Serious Plan: Ass chorus. Ass distortion.

Skinny Blues: Intro was cool. Overall song was meh.

Private Kingdom: Reminds me of a baby back in the early 90's, swimming naked in a pool, trying to catch a dollar bill on a fishing rod.

Century Creepers: Intro sounds like every single emo band in existence. Also, "Rosy Head"?!?!

Sweet Baggy Days: This is what "Gazelle City" sounds like when Sawao is too drunk to remember how to play it.

The good thing about the album was that it wasn't sqweaky clean like last time. TAKE NOTE OF THIS SAWAO!!

I really can't express just how much I fucking hate the Skinny Blues solo. It's fucking ridiculous. FUCK. This whole album is like that, but particularly Skinny Blues. Disgusting. The only solo noteworthy in the least is Boat House's. Only really because he restrained his fucking retardation for those few moments, not because it's actually any good. Did I mention FUCK?

Oh, and Boat House sounds like Melodies of Life. Yeah, the Final Fantasy IX theme song. I'm only half joking, too.

MINNESOTA AFRO NO SHAMPOO.


That is all.

[b]Wake Up! dodo[/b] -- Less interesting when separated from the cool PV, but still a nice song (rather different and fresh compared to the album's other tracks). My favorite part is the chorus. A-

[b]YOUNGSTER (Kent Arrow)[/b] -- Not bad, but not really good either... reminds me of AIR RESISTOR from My Foot, but probably a little better. Kind of forgettable. B-

[b]PROPOSE[/b] -- Sounds similar to Nonfiction, which I liked quite a bit. I like it, but as most other people have said, it could use more distortion. B

[b]SCARECROW[/b] -- I like SCARECROW (even the synth violin) but it seems to get pretty repetitive near the end. B+

[b]BOAT HOUSE[/b] -- Sounds like some of their early songs, which is cool... adds a bit of variety to the album. I like the solo. Sounds a bit like Another Morning, or maybe Patricia. B+

[b]PLEASURE SONG[/b] -- Sort of boring... not bad, but not good either. B

[b]SERIOUS PLAN[/b] -- This is a cool song, but I do wish the chorus was less inane. "Guten morgen", "Buenos tardes", etc in the verses are kind of funny. I'd love to see a translation of the lyrics. B+

[b]Skinny Blues[/b] -- Seems to have a lot of energy to it. Reminds me of Terminal Heaven's Rock combined with Ritalin 202. B+

[b]PRIVATE KINGDOM[/b] -- This is one of my favorite songs on the album. Different from a lot of their other recent tracks. The random whistling is a nice touch. A-

[b]Century Creepers (Voice of the Proteus)[/b] -- Best track on the album, IMO. Verses and chorus are great. It does sound a lot like March of the God, but faster and a lot more interesting. A

[b]Sweet Baggy Days[/b] -- It's like Gazelle City, but bad. Very weak finish for the album. C-


Overall, I'd say Wake Up! is about the same quality as My Foot. It has a few more good songs, but lacks anything really amazing like My Foot or Sayonara Universe.