[quote="Raid"][quote="Tidusauron12"]I was listening to OOParts last night. I think the pillows should go down the route of "Primer Beat". [/quote]

HOLY SHIT YOU THINK?! [/quote]

Sarcasm isn't appreciated, asshole.

[quote="Tidusauron12"][quote="Raid"][quote="Tidusauron12"]I was listening to OOParts last night. I think the pillows should go down the route of "Primer Beat". [/quote]

HOLY SHIT YOU THINK?! [/quote]

Sarcasm isn't appreciated, asshole.[/quote]

No need to jump on him. The last 6+ pages have been filled with pretty much everyone fapping over Primer Beat.

I love Primer Beat, but I hate it because it's almost teasing us...given past trends, I really don't see them making a whole album like that. But yet now that we've heard it, all of us(myself included) will be waiting with baited breath for more songs like it.

[quote="Marekenshin"]Everybody knock it off now. Grey, TJwhatever, EVERYONE.[/quote]

Word. Did you miss this post, Raid, Tidus? Opinions about the album are fine. Insults are not. Come on, kids.

So, having had this album for a little while now, the only song I've really gone back to since the first day or two is Primer Beat. Anyone have any idea how it's being received over in Japan? As of right now, mine is the first negative review on Mixi out of 26 people.

This debate has me thinking about the future. Here's a legit question, please offer appropriate and mature feedback:

The three Avex albums and singles haven't exactly made the American fans jump up and down. In the IM world, you're ready to jump off the fan ship. Do you think a promotional strategy using their entire catalog can be used to generate sales on these newer releases, plus merch and DVDs etc.? Do you think this newer content is strong enough to sell at least 500 units (pulling this number out of nowhere), or do you feel as if the majority of this North American fanbase is ONLY interested in the material from the King Records days?

If you only had the newer releases to work with, how confident would you be to use it as a promotional tool AND sell it to a new market? Thanks guys!

I'm going to be honest here. If I had no fucking idea who the pillows were and a couple of days ago I saw the YOUR ORDER PV... or the New Animal PV... well, I wouldn't be impressed at all. Quite frankly, a majority of what most of us love about the pillows originated from those first 10-15 years (slightly different from person to person).

Since the pillows are Japanese, it's already going to be hard to market them in the US. The fact that their music has come down so far from the late 90s is going to make their new music really hard to promote here. Most of the US fans of the pillows are people who found the pillows through their FLCL-era music.

That's my opinion. You're going to get jaded answers from us hardcore fans, though.

[quote="Tidusauron12"][quote="Raid"][quote="Tidusauron12"]I was listening to OOParts last night. I think the pillows should go down the route of "Primer Beat". [/quote]

HOLY SHIT YOU THINK?! [/quote]

Sarcasm isn't appreciated, asshole.[/quote]

Geez, hostile much?

[quote="Jomei"]
Word. Did you miss this post, Raid, Tidus? Opinions about the album are fine. Insults are not. Come on, kids.
[/quote]

I never insulted him :\


>ladybirdgirl

I think Rock Stock and Once upon a time would be the perfect thing to promote, since it was basically made for newer fans, I think that would work with people over here.

I think the best things to promote the pillows would be if Rock Stock had the original tracks instead of self-covers and it was combined with Once Upon a Time. However, I think the best compilation is Fool on the Planet. Despite it being pretty old now, it's still the best compilation imo, and it's the album that initially got me into the pillows.

[quote="ladybirdgirl"]This debate has me thinking about the future. Here's a legit question, please offer appropriate and mature feedback:

The three Avex albums and singles haven't exactly made the American fans jump up and down. In the IM world, you're ready to jump off the fan ship. Do you think a promotional strategy using their entire catalog can be used to generate sales on these newer releases, plus merch and DVDs etc.? Do you think this newer content is strong enough to sell at least 500 units (pulling this number out of nowhere), or do you feel as if the majority of this North American fanbase is ONLY interested in the material from the King Records days?

If you only had the newer releases to work with, how confident would you be to use it as a promotional tool AND sell it to a new market? Thanks guys![/quote]

Well, I don't know how in depth your partenership with the pillows are going, so I'm not sure if my answer is even going to be plausible for what you guys are doing.


I think that the best course of action for a promotional strategy here in North America would be to use the whole catalog. Japanese music is honestly getting more and more recognized. I just saw a Visa commercial on buying music with their card. One of the genres they mentioned was "Japanese pop". Now, almost all fans of the pillows here know their FLCL stuff. I think it'd be a good idea to get a re-issue of records from PML through TYMT, or something at least inbetween there. Give those fans something they already know plus possible new goodies such as Strange Chamleon, Nowehere, or No Self Control. I do think though that the newer stuff might be strong enough to stimualte saes on its own at first, just because its a new release by the pillows. But we know that most of the work on Avex has been not as good unfortunately.

So, if you have access to the KIng Records back catalouge, I'd think that's the best pace to start. It doesn't need to follow a chronological order. remember, when the pillows first toured here, they were only 4 months off of releasing Good Dreams, yet they promoted Penalty Life for an arbitrary reasoning that since the album cover featured cartoons, it would appeal more to the fanbase. If you put Little Busters out here first in a new promotional venture, I think that'd be even more justifiable. But if you only have the Avex albums to work with, I dunno. Things could get dicey. I think there would be a demand for it initally, like I said just to hear new material by the pillows. But what if people say, "Hey, their older stuff is better. I'm not uying anymore of this crap"? It really sucks it ahsto turn out this way. I think I'm really leaning towards OOPARTS being worse than Pied Piper.

[quote="GoldenRhino"][quote="TJWX5"]Thats what the pillows need a crappy generic American band to promote them.[/quote]

Wow hey, you're a real cunt.
Currently least favorite IM-er, right here folks.[/quote]

Aww I thought you were my pillows jazz brother

[quote="ladybirdgirl"]This debate has me thinking about the future. Here's a legit question, please offer appropriate and mature feedback:

The three Avex albums and singles haven't exactly made the American fans jump up and down. In the IM world, you're ready to jump off the fan ship. Do you think a promotional strategy using their entire catalog can be used to generate sales on these newer releases, plus merch and DVDs etc.? Do you think this newer content is strong enough to sell at least 500 units (pulling this number out of nowhere), or do you feel as if the majority of this North American fanbase is ONLY interested in the material from the King Records days?

If you only had the newer releases to work with, how confident would you be to use it as a promotional tool AND sell it to a new market? Thanks guys![/quote]

From my experience Americans in general are still racist patriotic morons, no matter where, or how open minded they, or you think they are. None of the pillows albums will sell to regular Americans, only to us because we are weird to quote all the people I have mentioned, show, played music for them, giving them CDs. It just won't sink with them. Even musicians I know that realize and have told me they think the pillows have great skill don't want anything to do with it. Some of you must know what I mean, I get ridiculed all the time, people calling me a nip even.

I think this album does have more than enough strength to kick any American album's ass. But its a Japanese band that even Japanese people rarely know about, More than the majority of Americans won't buy into the pillows. Maybe just a few thousand at most with extreme marketing. And probably will get more idiotic otaku fans that will create more ROSS incidents.

Really This is good music, most Americans don't like good music. Personally if I was you I would just try to open for a pillows concert if they come back to tour in America, mention them as an influence (If they are an influence to you.) Any real promoting you could do would probably not be a good idea. You should focus on your own band and promote yourselves, since you guys are just starting out. Your music looks like it could be popular in America.

Just my two cents. I could be wrong its just from what I have seen... Really not a good idea.

But a question to you did you tell the pillows themselves you wanted to promote them? If so how did they react, cause Japanese people rarely ever bluntly say no, even if they want to.

My involvement in potential promotion is on a business level, not on a band level. Charm Face won't have much to do with it, minus the fact most of us work for the same company When I am free to talk about it in more detail I will, because I'll need all the help I can get! We would certainly need to build it together. Interesting position though, isn't it? Possibly having to promote albums that people in our own Pillows community are hating on? Sounds like rock and roll

[quote="ladybirdgirl"]My involvement in potential promotion is on a business level, not on a band level. Charm Face won't have much to do with it, minus the fact most of us work for the same company When I am free to talk about it in more detail I will, because I'll need all the help I can get! We would certainly need to build it together. Interesting position though, isn't it? Possibly having to promote albums that people in our own Pillows community are hating on? Sounds like rock and roll [/quote]

Only some hate it. I for one am loving this album. Actually all the things these guys have been saying has actually made me like the album even more. When I first heard it I thought a grade of 7/10, but after this discussion its about a 8/10 for me.

The pillows are an ever changing band, their motto has always been make good music that people will love. And they have always done that for me and alot of other fans, and to even the ones that now may hate their new direction but still love the music they made before.

I think the pillows have always released an album that they were satisfied with, that makes them happy and it makes me happy, and gives me Manabe-gasm's!

@Jomei From what I have seen most Japanese fans really like the album.

[quote]From my experience Americans in general are still racist patriotic morons, no matter where, or how open minded they, or you think they are. None of the pillows albums will sell to regular Americans, only to us because we are weird to quote all the people I have mentioned, show, played music for them, giving them CDs. It just won't sink with them. Even musicians I know that realize and have told me they think the pillows have great skill don't want anything to do with it. Some of you must know what I mean, I get ridiculed all the time, people calling me a nip even.

I think this album does have more than enough strength to kick any American album's ass. But its a Japanese band that even Japanese people rarely know about, More than the majority of Americans won't buy into the pillows. Maybe just a few thousand at most with extreme marketing. And probably will get more idiotic otaku fans that will create more ROSS incidents.

Really This is good music, most Americans don't like good music. Personally if I was you I would just try to open for a pillows concert if they come back to tour in America, mention them as an influence (If they are an influence to you.) Any real promoting you could do would probably not be a good idea. You should focus on your own band and promote yourselves, since you guys are just starting out. Your music looks like it could be popular in America.

Just my two cents. I could be wrong its just from what I have seen... Really not a good idea.

But a question to you did you tell the pillows themselves you wanted to promote them? If so how did they react, cause Japanese people rarely ever bluntly say no, even if they want to.[/quote]


Like I mentioned in my previous post, Japanese, and other music in foreign languages, is becoming more accepted. Albeit slowly. The Visa commercial is one example. Another, is hoenstly the Rock Band/Guitar Hero franchise. The games have seen artists from quite a few different countries, including X Japan. Now, there are a lot of stupid people in the US. And they do listen to a lot of bad music. But I don't think that doesn't mean the pillows shouldn't get promoted here. If music is good, it should be promoted.

I don't think anyone is expecting the pillows to get huge recognition here, but I totally think it's reasonable to think its popular for the pillows to become as popular as an indie band here. Lots of indie bands have solid fanbases and make some decent money, and I think the pillows can fall in that territory too. I just wouldn't give OOPARTS to a new fan at first. That's why I'd hope to see their older stuff get released here, or at least on American iTunes. I'm not totally hating on the new stuff though. It's just apparent it's not up to par with earlier stuff. I think this is what my post-TYMT list is looking like now:

MF>PL>GD>WUx3>PP>OOPARTS

That's why I'm glad My Foot got released here, it's without a doubt in my mind their best since 2002. It's like some kind of abberation compared to the other 5 albums of this era. Everything (for the most part) just clicked on that album. OOPARTS though, after a lot more listens, the only stand out songs for me are Dance With God, Ameagari, Primer Beat, and to a lesser extent, Melody.

[size=150]This album is great! Can't stop listening to it [/size]

Speaking of songs that remind you of others, is it just me or do you guys start waiting for the Over Amp guitar riff while listening to the start of Lemon Drops?

On another note, I'm enjoying it a bit more now, but I still think it's pretty eh. Not much that truly shines for me other than Primer Beat and Ameagari. And I have a soft spot for Life size life, go away. D:

And when my little brother heard Johnny Strobe/Strobo or whatever, he immediately said 1989. Left speaker guitar.