[quote="Aplaca"]At this point it's pretty much a tie between the pillows and Mass of the Fermenting Dregs [don't hate me Mare].[/quote]

Oh that band is cool

Overall they probably are still my favorite. But as for [i]current[/i] favorite it's most certainly 銀杏BOYZ for me. The thing is they have two amazing albums and several amazing singles, whereas the pillows have around ten years' worth of gold.

[quote="Raid"][quote="Aplaca"]At this point it's pretty much a tie between the pillows and Mass of the Fermenting Dregs [don't hate me Mare].[/quote]

Oh that band is cool [/quote]

Jeremy introduced me to them and now I'm completely in love with Natsuko Miyamoto

So I'm realizing now that Dance with God is even more awesome than I previously thought. I love that opening, it gets stuck in your head easily. And that chorus, shit. I'm just glad they got another strong track to lead off the album. But I'm also realizing how worthless Johnny Strobo is. I mean, I like that "WHEE-OOO" effect at the end of the song, but it's essentially a faster-paced 1989. I don't understand why Sawao would put this song on the album, the two are way too similar. I mean, did they really have nothing left to put on the album? I guess I can give them the benefit of the doubt since they were in the studio a lot this year with all the re-recordings, this album, and then getting ready for the 20 anniversary bash. But I wonder if there's even any outtakes from these sessions that didn't make the album. It really seems like they didn't if Johnny Strobo and Fighting Pose saw official releases.

Yea, these are just musings I had on my hour train ride home from school while listening to the album earlier tonight.

@Aplaca: no worries dude, I said they're a good band, just don't go overboard like some people are doing on this album and you'll be fine.

@Goshin: 1989 and Strobo aren't THAT similar. I think you're being silly there.

I don't see any similarities

The intro and verses are just so similar, I know I'm not the only one who picked up on it. I mean, I still don't find myself skipping the track at all, but it's just too similar for me to discount and it leaves a kind of bad taste in my mouth. It just feels recycled. Like Fighting Pose did.

Oh dear god, Manabe used arpeggios. Somebody call the WAHmbulance!

A few things to address

[quote="TJWX5"]My girlfriend & friends from Japan were the ones who told me this. I had shown them the music I write and they told me the melodies have a [b][size=150]Japanese flavor[/size][/b] to them.


2. I have already wasted enough time going off-topic, and I have a life. If you want that information find it yourself, you guys are so stagnant that anything I would tell you guys would be dismissed. So why bother.[/quote]

Ban this guy already holy crap. At least Metal contributed as a form of entertainment.
Here, if you really want to back that first statement up (and I don't know if you want to take the time to though, because you apparently "have a life"), then you should get your guitar out, and record something for IM. Record a few different chord progressions, riffs, or melodic ideas that have a "Japanese" feel. And then record a few that have a more "American" feel. Please do that. That will put all the arguments to rest.
http://www.zshare.net Just use your computer's internal mic, it doesn't need to be fancy.

[b]I'm being completely serious here. Record audio samples of what you're talking about.
[/b]
So there's that. Then I secondly want to give sheer a high five.

Then lastly I'd like to say that the pillows are still my favorite band of all time. I can't see that changing in my near future. Sure, there are bands that I currently appreciate a lot more than the pillows, newer bands that putting out much more varied and interesting (not to mention high quality) material than the pillows. But they still have the top spot for blah blah blah blah you know the drill, IM's been over this fifty times before.

Sometimes I'm listening to PIED PIPER or OOParts and thinking "FUCK THE PILLOWS"...

But then I go back to 1990-2003 and I'm just like... "Oh yeah."

When there's some band that does to music what the pillows did back in the day... maybe then they will be dethroned from my favorite-band list. For now, all they're my all time favorites.

Right now, there's no way the pillows are the best music has to offer... not even close. Where as they used to do interesting/complex things with melodic/rhythmic playing... they now just have marginal guitar playing combined with heavy pop overtones... They still have it in them, but I don't know if they want to take the highroad again.

The fact that Wake Up!, Pied Piper, and OOParts have outsold some of the pillows best albums in mere days is kind of sad.

I think this pretty much sums it up:

[img]http://i35.tinypic.com/iopzs0.jpg[/img]

in before lock.

[quote="Tidusauron12"]The fact that Wake Up!, Pied Piper, and OOParts have outsold some of the pillows best albums in mere days is kind of sad. [/quote]

Avex advertises the band way better than King ever did.

Everyone, shut the fuck up and read my take on [b]OOPARTS[/b]:

[u][b]1. Dance with God[/b][/u]
It's a nice song to start the album with and is very reminiscent of GOOD DREAMS (the album) overall in sound. Oh look! Shin stands out instead of just keeping a beat. At first, I thought the chorus after the first two verses came in too soon (probably would've preferred a mini solo) but the irritation is getting less noticable now. The solo is simple but effective.
I would love to hear this song live. GOD BLESS YOU YEAH

[b][u]2. YOUR ORDER[/u][/b]
I'll admit, this song didn't grab me at the first listen until after I saw the PV. I like the intro's message but Sawao should learn how to write/talk in english if he wants to add it to his singing. AND I actually like all the "ah ah ah ah's" in the chorus and find everything catchy especially Manabe's harmonics which should've been used more. This song has energy unlike the next one.

[b][u]3. Melody[/u][/b]
I was very dissapointed how this song turned out. (Something Like A WTF Moment)
It's almost as if Sawao is reading off a lyrics sheet and the rest of them are paying too much attention to what they have to strike/play. There's too much emphasis on vocals but the music flows well together (love the chorus). The slow tempo doesn't bother me as much anymore but unlike their live performance this song lacks enthusiasm. I don't know what happened in the studio but they ruined a once favorite song.

[u][b]4. Lemon Drops[/b][/u]
I don't understand all the attention this song is getting. Sure, it's explosive compared to the rest of the album but all the engrish is almost overwhelming. It probably would've been better in japanese with small snippets of english phrases. I don't know that's just me. Overall, this song is good...like...Xavier good. I like Xavier.

[u][b]5. FOXES[/b][/u]
This song is getting bad rep.. and I don't know why. Sure, I was put off with how the drumming was sequenced from left to right speaker. It was loopy and awkward but I don't notice it now. The music IS repetitive but it fits the apathetic lyrics and the sarcastic chorus which I think is hilarious. Sawao pulls off the nirvana sound well whether you like it or not. Some more sax effects would've made it better for me.

[u][b]6. Beyond the Moon[/b][/u]
Wow, the intro here puts me in such a mood. To me, it sounds like Beautiful Morning With You and Ice Pick mashed together with their current sound. I have no problem with the midsection and would've love some more lead like the one Manabe plays at the start of 4:41.
THAT'S A ROCK BALLAD.

[u][b]7. Johnny Strobo[/b][/u]
I like the sound their developing and it's more prominent here "I think" that the verses sounds like something out of one of Beck's songs. Agreed, this song was too short and ends when it's getting interesting.

[u][b]8. Ameagari ni mita Maboroshi (Hybrid Rainbow After The Rain)[/b][/u]
It is what the title suggests with more appregios. It probably has my favorite solo on the album.
Everything has already been said so moving on..

9. [u][b]LIFE SIZE LIFE (The bag is small, and I don't enter)[/b][/u]
That intro was such a tease..
This is a fun song...
But I would've been "happier" if they split this song in two and make one similar to the scar whispers thus having 11 TRACKS.

[u][b]10. Primer Beat[/b][/u]
[size=50]HOLY FUCKING FUCKITY FUCK.[/size]
Surprise of 2009. It felt like Turn Back.
I really hope this song is the equivalent of Good Night.

This album isn't really as bad as people are saying it is.

Despite it's length, I really enjoy it.

1 Dance with god- Really good. The distorted guitar part reminded me of early My Bloody Valentine stuff.
2 Your Order- Alright. To me it's like a Pied Piper, pop single fill track that they've been pushing out lately.
3 Melody- Stop giving this song crap! It's pretty good. To me, it seems out of place though.
4 Lemon Drops- good, but I don't know why people would say it's really the best among the rest. Sawao, stop singing in japanese please! This song is a fast plastic flower.
5 Foxes- There are too many tracks here in English. Never the less, I like this song. It's quirky, and that's not bad, but, again, the English : (.
6 Beyond the moon- Great song. There's something in it that reminds me of the Chewinggum Weekend. The engrish yelling toward the end was bearable.
7Johnny Strobo- Pretty good. Short.
8 Ameagari- Nice single.
9 Life size life- Teasing in the beginning. English kills it for me. But I like the sound of it, the solo was pretty good too.
10 Primer Beat- Best damn song in a long time.

Despite their hectic touring schedule, they were able to put together something pretty good in my book. I could tell that they were really trying hard to satisfy two different kinds of sounds: their old 90s glory days and the new sound that they've been trying push lately.