Distortional Addict just might kill IM.

Maybe at least the absurd over-fellation of anything associated with Mukai can stop.

While Culen's a good guy most of the time, and can contribute valid information and interesting opinions/views/etc...

The main problem I have with him posting on Distortional Addict is that he feels the need to respond to every fucking post anyone makes. This is a message board, not an slsk chat room. It makes topics bloated and sort of a pain to rifle through. That stuff's ok for The Killing Field/Abstract Truth, but...I'd rather see a smaller number of decent/good posts than a large number of usually mediocre posts. Half of which are done by the same person.

So yeah. The advent of DA is nice. So is the appearance of Culen. I just wish he wouldn't post so much. That's not a cry of "murk loar", more like: "Hey. try to maintain a certain limit/quality level of your posts please."

[quote="Jomei"]Maybe at least the absurd over-fellation of anything associated with Mukai can stop.[/quote]

Come now, I'm not like that. I think Inuzini, Mono Dead and FU-SI-GI are kinda boring.

Maybe not, but that doesn't change the disturbing trend in Instant Music this year. There is about a 5:1 ratio of NG/Zazen praise to GNB/Goisute worship, which is totally the opposite of what the music merits. So many here extol Mukai's shit while generally neglecting arguably better musicians.

For example, the new GO!GO!7188 album wasn't their best, but it's at least as good as any Number Girl album, but hardly anyone discusses it. Another case, Binkan Shounen-tai put out a single that was fucking amazing, and we barely made it to the second page of discussion.

On the other hand, Mukai could videotape himself taking a shit and put it on DVD, and a good portion of IM would buy it, fap to it repeatedly, and then talk for 5 pages about the tonal qualities of his farts.

Not that he deserves no praise, but it's getting even more ridiculous than the blind devotion to IM's mother band. So, it's probably a good thing to make Distortional Addict.

[quote="Jomei"]Maybe not, but that doesn't change the disturbing trend in Instant Music this year. There is about a 5:1 ratio of NG/Zazen praise to GNB/Goisute worship, which is totally the opposite of what the music merits. So many here extol Mukai's shit while generally neglecting arguably better musicians.

For example, the new GO!GO!7188 album wasn't their best, but it's at least as good as any Number Girl album, but hardly anyone discusses it. Another case, Binkan Shounen-tai put out a single that was fucking amazing, and we barely made it to the second page of discussion.

On the other hand, Mukai could videotape himself taking a shit and put it on DVD, and a good portion of IM would buy it, fap to it repeatedly, and then talk for 5 pages about the tonal qualities of his farts.

Not that he deserves no praise, but it's getting even more ridiculous than the blind devotion to IM's mother band. So, it's probably a good thing to make Distortional Addict. [/quote]

I'm gonna agree a little here. But only sort of. I think a good deal of Number Girl and Zazen Boys tracks (Zazen Boys moreso) are really solid. Mukai's an intriguing guy with a very interesting approach to music. Zazen Boys is very unique, standing out from...pretty much any rock I've heard before. It doesn't hit all the time...most of it, for me, is a worthwhile listen definitely.

But yeah. I think there is a great deal of "over-fellation" of Number Girl. I think it's easy to look at the all of the vast recordings and lives and sessions, listen to a few, and call him a genius. I think that's wrong, though.

I think the majority of Sappukei and Num-Heavymetallic are really fantastic. School Girl Bye Bye is a fun listen, and Omoide in My Head is pure gold. School Girl Distortional Addict is...rougher...I haven't really enjoyed it so much. The recording style/quality kills it, mostly. There are some good lives, and some singles and rare tracks that I enjoyed...

...but Jomei's got a point. While I'm totally open to differing opinions, and like to remain open-minded, praising the vast majority of his work is...lame. Really.

It's far too tempting for some to latch onto an icon and love the hell out of him/her, just because they can. It feels good to have an idol like that. But you really have to step back sometimes, and fairly evaluate their work, and ask if you're bullshitting yourself.

I'm not going to say that mukai makes only AMAZING stuff, but I really like all of NGs stuff, and 90% of zazen boys. I also however LOVED binken shounen-tai if you recall.

I'm not doubting that Mukai has had some great moments. I'm a huge fan of Num Ami Dabutz and a few select other Number Girl tracks, and I find Zazen Boys to be pretty intense at times and well worth listening to now and then.

Coming back to my point, however, if you look at the works released by Mineta of Ging Nang Boyz and his various projects, you find, at worst, 90% win across the board. I know Mare and probably many others did love Binkan Shounen-tai, but, as I pointed out, a great new release like that gets way less attention than anything involving Mukai or other ex-NG members.

I also have both GNB cds on my itunes, and love them, btw. can you hook me up with some going steady?

GOING STEADY > GING NANG BOYZ.

But that's just me, and I like Bloodthirsty Butchers.

D:

then hook me up ^____^

"Better musicians?" Shinya's an amazing bassist, but otherwise, Number Girl and Zazen Boys win the musical talent contest. Don't get me wrong, I like Going Steady and Ging Nang Boys, way more than I ever expected I would. I don't like punk very much in general, so the fact that GS and GNB have gotten this far is a pretty big testament to their overall quality.

One reason why GS/GNB gets less attention is that there are only four albums between the two bands - in comparison to Number Girl releasing four studio albums, two live albums, various singles, two individual DVDs, eight additional discs of live performances, four more DVDs in Omoide 3, and a double collection of rare tracks. And Zazen Boys have released three studio albums, an EP, a full sountrack, an instrumental album, and six live albums. A major reason why Mukai's stuff is discussed more is because there's a whole, whole lot of it - most of which is very high quality. If Mineta and the boys were more prolific, we'd be talking about them much, much more, I suspect.

I'd like to make it clear that I don't mindlessly hero-worship ANYONE - to set the record straight, when I first started investigating non-pillows Japanese bands last fall, Number Girl was the LAST one I liked. I enjoyed Toumei Shoujo and Omoide In My Head; the rest took a LOT of listening time for me to get. Way longer than Zazen Boys, even. Like the best bands, Number Girl can be aggravatingly difficult to understand; it doesn't make sense, something seems off. But there's some element that draws you back to it and makes you keep listening. It took a while, but Number Girl somehow has become my favorite band, and with the exception of a few somewhat dull tracks, I simply can't find anything wrong with them. Zazen Boys isn't so perfect - despite two fantastic first albums, the weaker Himitsu Girl single and III hurt their overall quality. I don't beat on III as much as some, since several of my favorite Zazen songs are on it, but it definitely isn't as good as prior stuff.

[quote="Thinliine"]But there's some element that draws you back to it and makes you keep listening.[/quote]

Agreed 100%. Just check out the top artists on my last.fm: [url]http://www.last.fm/user/beehive/[/url]

Number Girl's sitting right at #2. Now I could easily name 5 musical artists/bands that I generally prefer over Number Girl. But Thinliine's right. Their sheer volume of material, coupled with that [i]something[/i] that beckons more listening...that's really what ups the playcount.

I stand by my statement that GNB are better musicians. They play shitty live at times, but that's part of their gimmick. I would also argue that Mineta is a far superior songwriter. Mukai could hardly write a melody to save his life, whereas Mineta and co. seem to shit catchy melodies. Oh, and Mukai's singing still sucks.

You say NG is "aggravatingly difficult to understand." To me, it's not hard to understand. It just isn't that fucking good. I'm listening to School Girl Distorional Addict right now. There's one great song and one good song. The rest are noisy and devoid of win.

Take GNB or GS albums. There may be fewer of them, but basically every fucking track is good. Honestly, point to a weak song.

In closing, Abiko could eat Mukai.

This has become a discussion of tastes. I personally find all of NGs songs good, and most great, but that's my taste. One thing though, how do you find them "just noisy" when you're listening to GNB?