[quote="GoldenRhino"]:( [/quote]
Sounds like you need a hug.

[quote="GoldenRhino"]Hell maybe the pillows [i]want[/i] to move in the direction of My Foot. Sigh...[/quote]

But My Foot was a great album.

Edit: And "My Foot" was one of their most thoughtful and complex songs yet...and that's going back the whole 15 years.

I might also like to note that feedback is a very insignificant part of any song. It's more like a little trick, like a divebomb or picksliding...and I don't really hear it very often or in significant amounts in the pillows' songs. The vocals can go either way; I like vocals trained and skilled, but not so much like a professional tenor. Freddie Mercury nailed the [b][i]perfect[/i][/b] rock vocals (despite not being trained and smoking excessively...but being VERY skilled). That's what I like - skill, but with a personality.

Of course, I'm sure a label isn't going to tell them not to make riffs, but you still have to consider that a lot of the pillows' work consists of simple power chord progressions.

On a final note, if the pillows finally make it big by changing their style to a more pop-friendly audience, then more power to them. We already have a brilliant catalogue by them, and I am grateful for what we have. They deserve a little fame and publicity, don't you think? It's very sad when a good artist has to go through their entire career not knowing true success that they have always dreamed of. Let's not be greedy. And I'd love for more people, even a pop audience, to get into the pillows. Maybe, just maybe, a lot of them will research and look back on past albums and say, "Hey, these guys were great from then until now."

[quote="sheerheartattack"]
1) But My Foot was a great album.

2) I might also like to note that feedback is a very insignificant part of any song.

3) You still have to consider that a lot of the pillows' work consists of simple power chord progressions.

4) On a final note, if the pillows finally make it big by changing their style to a more pop-friendly audience, then more power to them. We already have a brilliant catalogue by them, and I am grateful for what we have. They deserve a little fame and publicity, don't you think?[/quote]

1) Yes. It's by the pillows, so of course there's going to be a good listen. But what a lot of the people on IM are thinking is that it's nowhere near as imaginative and fun as their previous albums (Pre-Penalty Life, which I do admit was good). We're not saying "Oh, My Foot sucks!" (I guess some are), but rather "My Foot's good. But the pillows are capable of so much more."

2) Yes, it is rather unsignificant. I was saying that to show that a record label that's inundated with cheap, soulless popstars is likely to "clean up" a rock band. Sonically.

3) Have you noticed where most of the powerchords are? Most powerchords seem to be in their last two albums.

4) HELL NO. What the fuck are you saying? Sure the pillows would like to make money, sure they'd love to expand their fanbase. But as a fan, outright advocating that they should dumb-down their music in order to fulfill this is outright...well, it's just shitty. That's what the Black Eyed Peas did. Their music used to be somewhat intelligent and interesting. They weren't massively popular, so they whored out Fergie, and turned their music into completely MTV-marketable crap. Did it work out for them? Hell yeah, it did. But it's pretty much selling your soul to Satan (if he existed). If Sawao did that, he would be untrue to himself as a musician. Musicians should do what THEY want, they shouldn't try to feed their music to people in the most easily-digestable way.

I don't have a direct connection with Sawao's psyche, or his thoughts behind writing songs. But if some boring and bland pop shit by the pillows comes up on my playlist, right after Shiroi, Fool on the Planet, Sleepy Head, or Never Find...I'll be extremely disappointed and sadenned that my favorite band of all time has succumbed to greed and the workings of the pop music system.

Power chords: the pillows rarely use them. And when they do, they use them well. Anybody like Carnival? 90% of what Sawao plays are power chords. However, most songs, even in the new stuff, are the same as always: open and bar chords.

Don't you realize that making money at the expense of your music really isn't a big deal? If you don't like what they put out, you don't have to listen to it. We already have 15 years of [i]amazing[/i] music, several times that which we could ever wish for. Sawao is not the puppet of his fans' musical tastes. If he wants a different fanbase, he sure as hell deserves it. If he would rather be more popular, than to market his music to a smaller demographic audience, then who the hell are any of us to blame him for it? That is simply rude, elitist, selfish, and obnoxious.

[quote="sheerheartattack"]Don't you realize that making money at the expense of your music really isn't a big deal? If you don't like what they put out, you don't have to listen to it. We already have 15 years of [i]amazing[/i] music, several times that which we could ever wish for. Sawao is not the puppet of his fans' musical tastes. If he wants a different fanbase, he sure as hell deserves it. If he would rather be more popular, than to market his music to a smaller demographic audience, then who the hell are any of us to blame him for it? That is simply rude, elitist, selfish, and obnoxious.[/quote]

You say he's not a puppet of his fans' musical taste [which he is not]...but then you say it's alright and understandable if he's a puppet of his future fans' musical taste.

Let's go back to Please Mr. Lostman. the pillows write that album, listeners like it, buy it, and the pillows make money. Everyone's having a good time. the pillows can express themselves musically in the way they choose, the way that most true to them, and make money at the same time.

How the fuck do you get off saying that it's "rude, elitist, selfish, and obnoxious" to want an artist to remain TRUE TO HIS ART?

How can you [i]genuinely[/i] enjoy something when you know that the person who created it...didn't [i]genuinely[/i] want it to turn out that way?

There's a reason the term "sellout" is looked down upon. "Selling out" doesn't just refer to mass advertising and mass marketting. "Selling out" isn't just pillows lunchboxes and pillows stationary. Selling out also refers to artist who intentionally detrimentally alter what they put out, just to make a buck.

To exaggerate this situation...what if U2 made Sexyback (and the whole Futuresex/Lovesounds album), rather than Justin Timberlake? Would you say: "Oh, who cares if U2 wants to appeal to the pop/hip-hop audience?". No. U2 is not Sexyback. U2 is U2, and they should stay that way until something fundamentally changes in Bono's mind.

Most everyone would love more money, and love more people to like them. But if the cost of that is lying to yourself, and releasing a product that isn't "from that heart"...that is really too bad.

I'm not demanding that Sawao revert back to a previous music style. I'm not saying "Do more of what was on Little Busters". I just want Sawao to do what HE wants, whether or not that's what pop-loving fan X wants.

[quote="GoldenRhino"][quote="sheerheartattack"]Don't you realize that making money at the expense of your music really isn't a big deal? If you don't like what they put out, you don't have to listen to it. We already have 15 years of [i]amazing[/i] music, several times that which we could ever wish for. Sawao is not the puppet of his fans' musical tastes. If he wants a different fanbase, he sure as hell deserves it. If he would rather be more popular, than to market his music to a smaller demographic audience, then who the hell are any of us to blame him for it? That is simply rude, elitist, selfish, and obnoxious.[/quote]

You say he's not a puppet of his fans' musical taste [which he is not]...but then you say it's alright and understandable if he's a puppet of his future fans' musical taste.

Let's go back to Please Mr. Lostman. the pillows write that album, listeners like it, buy it, and the pillows make money. Everyone's having a good time. the pillows can express themselves musically in the way they choose, the way that most true to them, and make money at the same time.

How the fuck do you get off saying that it's "rude, elitist, selfish, and obnoxious" to want an artist to remain TRUE TO HIS ART?

How can you [i]genuinely[/i] enjoy something when you know that the person who created it...didn't [i]genuinely[/i] want it to turn out that way?

There's a reason the term "sellout" is looked down upon. "Selling out" doesn't just refer to mass advertising and mass marketting. "Selling out" isn't just pillows lunchboxes and pillows stationary. Selling out also refers to artist who intentionally detrimentally alter what they put out, just to make a buck.

To exaggerate this situation...what if U2 made Sexyback (and the whole Futuresex/Lovesounds album), rather than Justin Timberlake? Would you say: "Oh, who cares if U2 wants to appeal to the pop/hip-hop audience?". No. U2 is not Sexyback. U2 is U2, and they should stay that way until something fundamentally changes in Bono's mind.

Most everyone would love more money, and love more people to like them. But if the cost of that is lying to yourself, and releasing a product that isn't "from that heart"...that is really too bad.

I'm not demanding that Sawao revert back to a previous music style. I'm not saying "Do more of what was on Little Busters". I just want Sawao to sound exactly like X Japan[/quote]

when you see it, ect..

I lol'd.

GoldenRhino, agreed. 100%.

Sheerheartattack. I respect you, but I have to say I really disagree on this. I want Sawao to make what he wants, but if one consciously tries to make a song to appeal to a certain set of people, be it a wide or narrow range, they are not making music for themselves, which is what an artist really should do. Music written to try to achieve a certain style is pretty lifeless. If my music theory class with weeks of having to write Bach-styled choral harmonizations taught me anything, that's a big part of what I've learned. Music written to sound a certain way has no heart.

Exactly. Why do you think noise rock, math rock, speed techno, and glitch techno exist? Because it's what the artists want to do, and they feel good doing it.

Yeah, they would love to make a lot of money probably. Doesn't mean they have to start a shitty pop band to do it.

Actually..screw this debate. I think we should all focus our efforts into determining what the hell "Nonsect" means.

[quote="GoldenRhino"][quote="sheerheartattack"]Don't you realize that making money at the expense of your music really isn't a big deal? If you don't like what they put out, you don't have to listen to it. We already have 15 years of [i]amazing[/i] music, several times that which we could ever wish for. Sawao is not the puppet of his fans' musical tastes. If he wants a different fanbase, he sure as hell deserves it. If he would rather be more popular, than to market his music to a smaller demographic audience, then who the hell are any of us to blame him for it? That is simply rude, elitist, selfish, and obnoxious.[/quote]

You say he's not a puppet of his fans' musical taste [which he is not]...but then you say it's alright and understandable if he's a puppet of his future fans' musical taste.

Let's go back to Please Mr. Lostman. the pillows write that album, listeners like it, buy it, and the pillows make money. Everyone's having a good time. the pillows can express themselves musically in the way they choose, the way that most true to them, and make money at the same time.

How the fuck do you get off saying that it's "rude, elitist, selfish, and obnoxious" to want an artist to remain TRUE TO HIS ART?

How can you [i]genuinely[/i] enjoy something when you know that the person who created it...didn't [i]genuinely[/i] want it to turn out that way?

There's a reason the term "sellout" is looked down upon. "Selling out" doesn't just refer to mass advertising and mass marketting. "Selling out" isn't just pillows lunchboxes and pillows stationary. Selling out also refers to artist who intentionally detrimentally alter what they put out, just to make a buck.

To exaggerate this situation...what if U2 made Sexyback (and the whole Futuresex/Lovesounds album), rather than Justin Timberlake? Would you say: "Oh, who cares if U2 wants to appeal to the pop/hip-hop audience?". No. U2 is not Sexyback. U2 is U2, and they should stay that way until something fundamentally changes in Bono's mind.

Most everyone would love more money, and love more people to like them. But if the cost of that is lying to yourself, and releasing a product that isn't "from that heart"...that is really too bad.

I'm not demanding that Sawao revert back to a previous music style. I'm not saying "Do more of what was on Little Busters". I just want Sawao to do what HE wants, whether or not that's what pop-loving fan X wants.[/quote]

If he changes his music in order to be popular, he is not being a puppet - he is altering his music to reach a specific goal. It's not his responsibility to make music that his current fanbase would appreciate. If he makes his music because he's afraid of losing loyalty from his previous fanbase, that's called being a puppet.

Rock and roll is not merely an art; it is a state of mind and a way of life. Striving to be known to millions of fans is an intrinsic part of the rock and roll dream, and always has been.

If U2 decides to write music like "Sexyback," then more power to them. If that's what Bono wants to do - if that's the audience he wants, and the genre he wants to express himself in - he should do it. I never criticize bands for taking a new direction, whether I like it or not. Queen's album, "Hot Space," is regarded as a terrible aberration from their previous work. But you know what? Queen wanted to try a different kind of music, so they did. Every successive Led Zeppelin album was a complete change from the last. Nobody knew where the hell they were going to go. Let the artist do what the artist wants to do, for whatever reasons he has for doing it. That is something that I will always, always stand by.

On selling out: Selling out is an arbitrary term that a previous fanbase uses on a new audience in order to trivialize the value of their music. People who enjoy the music of the "sellout" never, ever call the artist a sellout. Who does? The people who belonged to the previous fanbase, who are unsatisfied with the artists' willful change. If they become successful, they are sellouts. If they don't become successful, they made a bad career decision. There really is no winning when it comes to changing, but if you, as the artist, want to do that, then like I said before, it is utterly rude, elitist, selfish, and obnoxious to do such.

[quote="GoldenRhino"]I think we should all focus our efforts into determining what the hell "Nonsect" means.[/quote]

Nonsect most likely means "nonsectarian" meaning a person who isn't affiliated with any specific religion.

[quote="Marekenshin"][quote="GoldenRhino"]I think we should all focus our efforts into determining what the hell "Nonsect" means.[/quote]

Nonsect most likely means "nonsectarian" meaning a person who isn't affiliated with any specific religion.[/quote]

Yes, but if most of us didn't know what that word suggested, what are the odds that Sawao did? And why are you still awake?

[quote="GoldenRhino"]No. U2 is not Sexyback. U2 is U2, and they should stay that way until something fundamentally changes in Bono's mind.
[/quote]

I wonder, hypothetical question: If Bono discovered a type of music that would guarantee increased funding to hunger in Africa, and he altered U2's musical course to meet that goal...would you protest that as well?

Assumptions:
1) You like U2.
2) You would not like the type of music they will play after the change.
3) The new audience likes music that you do not.

[quote="sheerheartattack"]I wonder, hypothetical question: If Bono discovered a type of music that would guarantee increased funding to hunger in Africa, and he altered U2's musical course to meet that goal...would you protest that as well?[/quote]

1) You fail at making completely loaded hypothetical questions.
2) This question doesn't work, because with Sawao, we're talking about straight up desire for wealth. This U2-spin deals with benefitting those who are in need, those whose health hangs in the balance.
3) Don't try to mind-game me, I can't be touched. I'm mothafuckin' GoldenRhino.