[quote="I"]I'm rather disappointed in your review of Wake Up!x3 by the pillows. When the review for My Foot came out, I felt that it was a good review and agreed for the most part of the overall quality of the album. Ever since I bought WU3, it has been in my stereo for a long time now. I feel that they have really made a strong album this time around.

I think overall in regards to every member of the band, they have improved greatly from previous records, especially the drumming and the bass. WU3 has a great youthful vitality and presence that I can relate to, compared to Good Dreams (which was a bit too straight-forward rock) and My Foot. (which had solid tracks mixed with some really lifelessly made tracks, RNR Sinners FTL, plus an overall tiredness to the sound) Both records still get plays, but I often feel inclined to skip songs.

Of the songs not mentioned in the review:

Youngster is great fun; it feels like a reprise continuation of the title track. Propose then follows with great energy and very fun instrumentation. Boat House has a fantastically emotive chorus and solo, and Pleasure Song is also great with it's length, and anthemy chorus. Serious Plan is a hilariously cool bass/guitar interplay with a singsongy chorus of SERIOUS PLAN, as if Sawao is a mocking child with great lead WAH screeches and cymbal crashes; A cleverly made song. Skinny Blues is my least favorite from the album; it seems like something that would have been better suited on TYMT. (an album that I am not quite fond of, actually. I consider WU3 the best since Smile) The shred solo was fun the first couple times, but the whole "chase music" sound of Ritalin 202 comes rolling up my ass and I just feel really disappointed in it's cheesyness, even it's existence. To me, it is BORING! BORING! BORING! BORING! Private Kingdom could have been genius; it has a great structure of melody and musicality in the verses and the instrumentals, but I feel that the chorus is unfortunately somewhat boring and understated. I do love the song, I just wish I had more to love during the chorus. Finally, Sweet Baggy Days feels like a great love song with the past with the strumming patterns of the guitars during the verses and the lead guitar of the chorus. I do wish the chorus was more than repeating SWEET SWEET BAGGY DAYS, BAGGY DAYYYYYYYS, though I was jumping out of my seat with joy at the intense sped up finale, where suddenly the repetitive chorus became golden and actually made emotional sense.

Of the songs mentioned in your review, I mostly agree. However, it should be more than three, as I find calling a majority of content in a review "the rest" is very disrespectful and a totally rude sweeping generalization. Despite how you feel about it, there should be examples of how you feel that way. No excuse for "not enough review space", as the first two paragraphs were an utter waste of an introduction that could have spanned a line or two but were bloated into a setup tangent for the "they don't have it anymore" argument, when in this case, there are plenty of examples of the same pillows energy, solid playing and completeness that I expect from the pillows. I very much enjoy Wake Up! dodo, and I agree that Century Creepers is close to brilliant but hampered by a by-the-numbers solo. I do not agree that My Foot and Scarecrow are similar in any aspect, barring that they are great songs, and I especially love the mood of the solo, as it has a great sonic connection to what the band is playing.

Overall I am very satisfied with the album, with only one song I don't care for, and a few instances of songs that could have been written better. I too would like to see the pillows try to mix things up in the future, but I really enjoyed this album, as I think it's on the same level as Smile, and far and away the best record of their most recent sound stylings. IMO your review was far too harsh, and while it is a valid argument to think the pillows are losing steam/stuck in a rut/etc, I believe WU3 is a poor example for expressing that opinion.

Wake Up! Wake Up! Wake Up! 8.3/10

Thank you for your review.
[/quote]

email'd.

That review was lame and that guy has never listened to a pillows album before in his life obviously.

Probably eats out at the Old Country Buffet too much.

[color=white]Lol, bad puns pwn.[/color]

[quote="supertrampolineschoolkid"]That review was lame and that guy has never listened to a pillows album before in his life obviously.[/quote]

Be reasonable now.

The way he mocked the words that pillows fans use to describe the band made me feel like this was more of a reactionary piece against the pillows fan community, perhaps specifically against Mare, whom they all love, than an honest review.

Keep in mind that Keikaku is an indie forum, and people who pride themselves on being "indie" tend to distance themselves from bands and communities that become too popular. See: the buffet.

Wake Up is not the best pillows album by any stretch, but it's definitely not their worst, either, and to pretend that each new album they release is another, progressively larger nail in the band's coffin is just sensationalism at its silliest.

I didn't think they were going to do a review of the album since it's been out for a while now, but I guess I was wrong. I've never even heard of the guy who wrote it, either. It seems even more strange in light of the fact that nobody on Keikaku has discussed anything about the pillows for around two months or so.

I don't really disagree with their conclusion, but yeah, it does seem like a jab at the community and Mare in particular more than a straight-up review. As a final note, whether or not something is popular has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not I like it.

Actually, the guy was a big pillows fan for a while. He introduced me to the pillows room on slsk about 5 or 6 years ago.

[quote="Thinliine"] As a final note, whether or not something is popular has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not I like it.[/quote]

No one thinks it does. I post at Keikaku sometimes, too, and of course not everyone there is an indie snob. Perhaps just a vocal minority.

[quote="Marekenshin"]
Interestingly enough, he comments that they only sing about a few things...well duh, music only has so many things you can sing about[/quote]


lol

[quote="Thinliine"]As a final note, whether or not something is popular has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not I like it.[/quote]

We all like to think this, but I think it affects all of us in a subtle way, even if we don't realize it. Studies show that people are more likely to like something if they think their peers will like it. It is also common to see people expressing their individuality through the things they like or enjoy. Even if it's not so obvious, or direct, I think the influence of "popularity" is present in everyone.

my mistake, it was a different guy who reviewed it, but there was no jab at IM in that. Just at what the guy had experienced going to their concerts. He says so himself on the related thread on keikaku.


Anyway. You guys have fun.

[quote="Justin"]Daniel,

Thanks for writing in.

I'm not going to argue with you about the individual tracks I didn't like, (since we basically just don't agree on them at all) but since my complaint with them was mostly that they were so forgettable, I didn't feel the need to describe blow-by-blow where each one lost me. In particular, you mention Pillows energy, and this is something I thought was really lacking this time around. This is the complaint which I really try to keep coming back to with the review: how flat and passionless most of the stuff here is. Describing the tracks I don't like as indistinguishable and forgettable seemed like a good way to do that. If you really want me to give you some specific complaints:

PROPOSE: A bunch of stolen lyrics. Only the B melody is any good.
BOAT HOUSE: Lead guitar is reasonably fun but is drowned in lots of noise. I also hate everything about the chorus.
The Pleasure Song: The vocals here are actually pretty nice, but in general the guitar work is way too loud and busy. There isn't any punch to the hooks because the song cruises along at the same up-tempo pace the whole time.

Does that work? That last bit, again, is my big beef with the album: not enough punch. I'm sorry if I didn't get that point across.

-Justin
[/quote]

Well, I don't really agree here. Maybe it's a sound that I get that might not be ringing true with others, but I really enjoy this recent effort. Of course it's not the best, but it doesn't matter what history and personal opinion will do for it in the long run. The way I see it, if you make a habit of only looking for the things you don't like, you start to feel less inclined to enjoy things if they aren't [i]EXACTLY[/i] to your preconcieved notions of excellence. I think it's hard to keep that balance as a writer, and though I'm sad he doesn't like the album, there's really no problem because I'm still glad I own it. I guess I'm just not in the business of the more technical aspects of music, but I know when I really enjoy something. Even if I can recognize and understand points made against something, I still focus on what I love about it, and I try not to let the opinions of others encroach on my own. Of the pillows disc, I am happy to say that PML, LB, LF, Smile, WI, and WU3 are my favorites.

It's liek ur in skool, an u tell ur bff about the vidya gaem, and it turns out they don't liek the vidya gaem. It's ok, cuz u can still go home and play it. You feel a little sad they wont be ur P2, but it's ok; you still loev the vidya gaem! You can play the gaem, and not worry about opinions. If they don't liek it, then they're the ones missing out.

[quote="Cloudy_One"]
It's liek ur in skool, an u tell ur bff about the vidya gaem, and it turns out they don't liek the vidya gaem. It's ok, cuz u can still go home and play it. You feel a little sad they wont be ur P2, but it's ok; you still loev the vidya gaem! You can play the gaem, and not worry about opinions. If they don't liek it, then they're the ones missing out. [/quote]

Really good analigy to sum it up

what? Do you apply this to everything you do or just listening to the pillows?

It can get awkward if you apply it to masturbation.

I'm just saying.