I liked the intro.

Same here bro.... That intro so fucking misleading.

[quote="kininku buster"]That intro so fucking misleading. [/quote]

Ye Olde Powerchorde Muting!

I was intoxicated on DXM last night and I really don't remember much of anything other than dancing to this song at 3 in the morning using my cellphone as a mike.

Boring.

Pretty average, I'd say. Fits in with most of WU^3... nothing remarkable.

It feels like it's trying to build up to something big, and all you get is LADY BIRD GULL, LADY BIRD GULL, [b]LADY DAAAAAAAD GULLLLLLLLL[/b], [i]MY GULL.[/i]

In all fairness, there aren't many pillows songs that have the type of "build up" and "release" you're talking about.

90% of the pillows material goes like this:
verse, chorus, verse, chorus, solo, bridge, chorus

They're very formulaic. I don't really hold it against them, it's just how Sawao likes to make music.

Queue up any pillows track on your media player of choice. Skip to somewhere between the 3/4ths mark or the 4/5ths mark. Chances are, it's Manabe soloing.
Next song, same thing. Manabe's probably soloing at that point.

My point is that the general "structure" of pillows songs doesn't leave much for epic build-releases. Shiroi's last chorus, MAYBE, but then again, Sawao's just singing the chorus louder and with more energy.

I know what you're talking about, but I honestly don't see how they could have taken Ladybird Girl in that direction. If Sawao were willing to break down some of his own songwriting barriers, then yeah, they could do it...but it's always just too locked-in for much of that.
Anyone else agree?

[quote="GoldenRhino"]In all fairness, there aren't many pillows songs that have the type of "build up" and "release" you're talking about.

90% of the pillows material goes like this:
verse, chorus, verse, chorus, solo, bridge, chorus

They're very formulaic. I don't really hold it against them, it's just how Sawao likes to make music.

Queue up any pillows track on your media player of choice. Skip to somewhere between the 3/4ths mark or the 4/5ths mark. Chances are, it's Manabe soloing.
Next song, same thing. Manabe's probably soloing at that point.

My point is that the general "structure" of pillows songs doesn't leave much for epic build-releases. Shiroi's last chorus, MAYBE, but then again, Sawao's just singing the chorus louder and with more energy.

I know what you're talking about, but I honestly don't see how they could have taken Ladybird Girl in that direction. If Sawao were willing to break down some of his own songwriting barriers, then yeah, they could do it...but it's always just too locked-in for much of that.
Anyone else agree?[/quote]

Scarecrow had that kind of release.
What barriers are you talking about? Doing things in a certain order doesn't mean not being able to make a epic song.

Ok.

The part at 2:49, it only goes one time, then it goes for the finish line. [b][u]Why?[/u][/b] It's like when a kid looking out the window of a moving vehicle gets a great view suddenly, and the driver accelerates...before you know it, damn, it's trees again. That segment could have gone a second time. Not a repeating of the lyrics, MORE lyrics. The outro to that segment could have been much better too, something striking but simple for manabe to play. No words needed, everybody just extends for a bit... and on the guitar stop, instead of kicking back in on "this", the non playing could have went: is this love, this is loveBAMBAM! *chorus continues* On the final chorus repeat, I noticed Jun bringing a couple change-ups, but why not Shin? Throw some crashes and fills in, this is the end, show up on the radar. I can definitely hear a build up, each passing section brings another element in, then the solo, which isn't overreaching, so it feels like another incremental notch in the build up, and then 2:49 kicks in, and it's "a great calm sound... BRACE FOR EPIC!" Then only NINE seconds later, "It's time to go, the seg, ment runs, AWAY! IS THIS LOVE, THIS IS LOVE! CONTINUE THE DAMN SONG. COME BACK GOOD FEELING, I WON'T SEE YOU AGAIN!" Dammit. Instead of the "Ladybird girl" lyrics being the final awesome wrap-up, it feels like a consolation prize.

It didn't commit. It kept adding little parts, and more little parts, and then the parts are on top of each other, and then the solo which I like, and then the moment... GODDAMMIT I CAN'T DO IT ANYMORE LOOK AT THE TIME WE GOTTA GET IT UNDER FOUR MINUTES IS THIS LOVE THIS IS LOVE LET'S GO I DON'T HAVE ALL DAY LADY DAAAAAAAD GULL MY GULL BUM BUM BA DUM. PHEW, DID IT!



Sawao let me down, here.

4:20-4:50 > THIS

Utsu: by "barriers", I mean this - when you compare the pillows to many other Rock bands (usually farther away from the "pop" area), you tend to see that Sawao is very very rigid in the structure of the songs.
That means: No lengthy solos. No ambience. No slow tension gradually building up to a big, loud ending. It's just...verse, chorus, verse, chorus, solo, bridge chorus. Or something along those lines.

They're very unlike Bloodthirsty Butchers in that way. With BB, it's sometimes hard to tell where the verse ends and where the chorus begins.

When a new pillows single hits, you KNOW when Manabe's gonna start soloing even before you've heard the song.

Alright, maybe now I'll say that it IS sort of a detriment. It's to the point where, upon the release of a new single, we're going through a checklist:

[]verse
[]chorus
[]Manabe's solo
[]other lead lines

As I'm typing this, I'm particularly thinking of Weezer's "Only In Dreams". It's the only Weezer song I have on my computer, it's 8 minutes, and truly "epic". The verse is clean, slow, and romantic. The chorus is rough, dirty, and distorted. They're not afraid to let a little feedback leak through.
After the chorus at the 4:42 mark, everything gets really relaxed and peaceful. Then for a solid 2:30, it builds. It slooowly gets faster, the tension keeps rising, and there is a completely BEAUTIFUL explosion of guitars and drums. I know the word "epic" gets thrown around on the internet a lot now, but really. "Only In Dreams" is deserving of that word.
I mention the song because it's something the pillows would never write. They wouldn't have done it from PML to Runners High, and they sure as hell wouldn't write it now.

I think Sawao could really benefit right now with just trying to..."free" his songwriting and take some chances.
I'm not saying I don't like this new stuff, but...whatever. It's worth mentioning.

And for those who are interested in Only In Dreams...check it:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=QosMWFxm26s
Oh, and please don't skip to the ending to just hear the big blowout. This song is best heard all the way through. Let the tension build.
It's an AMV for Cowboy Bebop, and the first place I heard it.
Watch it even if you haven't seen the series. It's well done.

I agree with you saying that their songs are a bit too structured/formulated and whatever, but I still like the song.

Smile is one of the only pillows songs I can think of that really bucks the traditional structure, to some extent.

[quote="Thinliine"]Smile is one of the only pillows songs I can think of that really bucks the traditional structure, to some extent.[/quote]

let's see if that's true or not, as well.

[quote="Thinliine"]Smile is one of the only pillows songs I can think of that really bucks the traditional structure, to some extent.[/quote]

Reading your posts, I was thinking "Smile is pretty much the biggest exception I can think of."


Even Beautiful Picture isn't that structurally different, you've just two soloes and that outro with the bass.


Some of their best songs follow the same basic pattern: Fool on the Planet, One Life, Kim Deal, Our Halley's Comet, ROBOTMAN, Terminal Heaven's Rock, etc.