Just popping in with my opinion of the album. It's alright, I suppose. I definitely like Tokyo Zombie - it's a grooving bluesy jam that rocks pretty well. Tokyo Bambi is good, too, and I like some aspects of most of the other songs. Most of them are inoffensive pop-pillows fare that I find enjoyable enough. To compare it to some recent efforts, I like it more than WU^3, but not nearly as much as My Foot.

I tend to mostly like the pillows' recent albums, even though I just can't enjoy them the way I enjoy the old stuff. This one seems like a fairly standard-issue release, and I wasn't expecting anything more, so I'm satisfied.

[quote="indivi"]Just popping in with my opinion of the album. It's alright, I suppose. I definitely like Tokyo Zombie - it's a grooving bluesy jam that rocks pretty well. Tokyo Bambi is good, too, and I like some aspects of most of the other songs. Most of them are inoffensive pop-pillows fare that I find enjoyable enough. To compare it to some recent efforts, I like it more than WU^3, but not nearly as much as My Foot.

I tend to mostly like the pillows' recent albums, even though I just can't enjoy them the way I enjoy the old stuff. This one seems like a fairly standard-issue release, and I wasn't expecting anything more, so I'm satisfied.[/quote]

I think PIED PIPER is about as good as Wake Up! Wake Up! Wake Up!

In my opinion, Wake Up! is pretty damn good. PIED PIPER is around the same level... I mean I love it, but Wake Up! gets pretty awesome at times as well. Scarecrow is one of my favorite songs since the Good Dreams album...

My Foot is a good album, though. I agree that it is a bit more intricate and awesome than both Wake Up! and PIED PIPER.

^ I agree for the most part. After listening to Pied Piper for over a month, I still have to say My Foot is the best post-TYMT album. When I compare the two albums, I see My Foot as being more cohesive, and I listened to My Foot way more than I did Pied Piper, meaning My Foot had a lot of staying power. I'd say all but three tracks are excellent, those being R&R, Air Resister, and Degeneration. Then on Pied Piper, there were more tracks I would kind of skip often. I will say it's better than WUx3, but everything really seemed to click on My Foot.

[quote="Son Goshin"]^ I agree for the most part. After listening to Pied Piper for over a month, I still have to say My Foot is the best post-TYMT album.[/quote]

To be honest, I think Good Dreams is better than My Foot. I've been listening to Good Dreams a lot for the past... two months or so. Good Dreams has no songs that I will want to skip... EVAR. I like every damn song on there. Bad Dreams is perhaps a weak link, but that's only because I think it's a bit too cheesy and fun for my tastes.

In order for post-TYMT albums, my list is as follows (in order of overall preference)

1) Penalty Life
2) Good Dreams
3) MY FOOT
4) PIED PIPER
5) Wake Up! Wake Up! Wake Up!

You see, every album is VERY close together on this list. I like the hell out of all of them, but seriously, this is the order of preference I give them. A month ago, PIED PIPER was first on the list, and now it has fallen to 4th. In a couple of more months, it might changes positions with Wake Up!

MY FOOT is a good fuckin' album. Like all Post-TYMT albums, it gets too much bull crap. More than MY FOOT however, GOOD DREAMS gets WAY too much shit from people. Being completely serious, I think GOOD DREAMS is one of the pillows' most mature and charming sounding albums (with songs like Orange Film Garden, and my favorite, Tenshi Mitai Ni!).

I'm not sure what people have up their asses when they listen to the newer stuff, but they really do take the fun out of it for those of us who haven't heard the albums yet. For me, MY FOOT and GOOD DREAMS are two good examples of this. When I first obtained MY FOOT, I was new to the pillows, and I loved it more than Happy Bivouac or Smile or any of that other old shit... until I came here and started reading what people thought of it. It like I got tainted somehow, and I suddenly appreciated the album alot less. I used to love Degeneration and Mighty Lovers and Rock'N'Roll Sinners until I started to see people ranking on them. "Might Lovers has a shitty chorus" LOL NO. People need to stop being so critical and just enjoy. Mighty Lover's chorus it awesome to me! It's in freakin' English and it's really moving! Same with Degeneration; it has a two bad-ass guitar solos and the melodies that Sawao are singing is just awesome. The problem was even more prominent with GOOD DREAMS. I never even touched the album the for months after I'd bought it because people said it was bland and sucked ass when really, it's much better than Wake Up! or PIED PIPER, IMO. It's chill just like Penalty Life but a bit more reserved and emotionally expressive. In no way is GOOD DREAMS bland and I think that anyone who feels that way and hasn't given it a fair chance should go back and try again.

[/rant]

Overall for me I went with lastability (how long I'd be able to repeatedly listen to the album without tracks getting annoying or stale) and also amount of tracks I'd want to skip.

1. PIED PIPER - 0 I enjoy all the tracks on this album.
2. Penalty Life - 1 Super Trampoline School Kid
3. Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! - 1 YOUNGSTER (Kent Arrow)
TIE 4. MY FOOT - 2 Rock'n'Roll Sinners, Degeneration
TIE 4. GOOD DREAMS - 2 XAVIER, Lo-Fi Boy (Fighter Girl)

I've also been puzzled by some of the songs, they're not really special or technically difficult per say but it's the simpler songs on PIED PIPER that really capture my attention and are my favorites (Purple Apple and POISON ROCK'N'ROLL).

[quote="Tidusauron12"]"Might Lovers has a shitty chorus" LOL NO. People need to stop being so critical and just enjoy.[/quote]

Valid: "It's too bad there was so much criticism of the post-TYMT albums. It made me hesitate to check out these truly great albums, like Good Dreams and My Foot!"

I could careless about the statement: "I like Mighty Lovers' chorus. You are wrong, stop being a meanie. It is in fact great, your musical preferences are incorrect."

Alright, so let's just say Mighty Lovers' chorus IS actually great.

Compare it to the chorus of Swanky Street, Kim Deal, Sono Mirai wa Ima, NAKED SHUFFLE, or The Third Eye. Those tracks don't stand out in my mind as "songs with killer choruses". But really, when you compare them to the melody of Mighty Lovers'...dude. You're free to think what you want, totally. Not knocking you for liking the chorus. But man. Compared to the rest of Mighty Lovers, it felt really really weak. To me.

Well for me, Mighty Lovers was a strong point for My Foot. Even the chorus, it's fun. Is it comparable to Swanky Street? No, of course not. But it's fun to sing, simple can be good. But I like the verses better anyways, so whatever.

As for Good Dreams, I don't really see how it's a more mature album. Granted it has good songs on it, but it doeesn't give off that vibe at all. It seems to me that they rushed that album. Now I don't hate any pillows' songs, but I like a lot less than I do others. Xavier, Lo-fi boy, Orange Film, and Bad Dreams are just that. I really have to say Good Dreams is the weakest of the 5:

1. My Foot
2. Pied Piper
3. Penalty Life
4. WUx3
5. Good Dreams

I used to have Penalty Life lower, but I've really started appreciating it for what it is. Real rocking tracks like Freebee, THR, and Moon Margaret. Pied Piper has those too. Good Dreams just doesn't balance out for me. Even the stand out tracks aren't THAT stand out when compared to the rest of their discography. My Foot just did a lot of stuff right; some catchy songs, good structure, and is more consistent than the other four post-TYMT albums.

Everything I say is my opinion, GR. I respect yours as well. Do I seriously have to acknowledge your opinion everytime discussion arises? Opinion is a thing that goes without saying, it exists naturally. I give you the comfort that I respect your opinions just as much as you do mine, my friend. If I criticize your opinion, well, that's just a part of discussion and/or debate. I promise I won't insult your opinion, though. I think you know me well enough to know that I don't like fighting. I just like talking about stuff. I like talking about the pillows and their music. I like sharing my opinions with people and discussing them.

[quote="GoldenRhino"][quote="Tidusauron12"]"Might Lovers has a shitty chorus" LOL NO. People need to stop being so critical and just enjoy.

[/quote]
I could careless about the statement: "I like Mighty Lovers' chorus. You are wrong, stop being a meanie. It is in fact great, your musical preferences are incorrect."[/quote]

Like that was what I was trying to say. I think you know I respect people's opinions just as much as you do, or any of the other useful members around here.

My point is, people always take a shit on perfectly good songs because the "chorus was bad". Not every song revolves around a strong chorus. The twin guitar theme in MY FOOT works out well in MM, and I think it's supposed to be a funner track anyways. And if you are really comparing Mighty Lovers' chorus to that of Swanky Street or Kim Deal, or even The Third Eye, well... oh please. Diversity in song type is a good thing on an album. There are things I like about Mighty Lovers that are not existent in The Third Eye. Listening to all of MY FOOT, Mighty Lovers, with its place in the tracklist, and by itself is solid. If a song isn't openly epic like Swanky Street or Our Halley's Comet, I see no reason why you should waste your time dissecting it verse to verse, chorus to solo.

Haven't seen it mentioned anywhere yet, PIED PIPER's up on the US iTunes store.

Last night I listened to Penalty Life all the way through and I realized something. Why did this album get a bad rep?
The majority of this album is complete win. So many layers of guitar all over the place and Jun really has some impeccable bass playing going on in a good deal of these songs. Dead Stock Paradise is a great opener, Lonesome Diamond is so heavy and Nirvana-like with it's chorus and has a great melody, Freebee Honey is made of win, Terminal Heaven's Rock is a song we can all love and agree on, Noboranai Taiyou is so beautiful and wonderful, Phantom Pain is catchy and has a great breakdown, I Know You is even catchier, Moon Marguerite is a beautiful sad song with a great melody, Super Trampoline School Kid is a decent instrumental and has some interesting guitar going on, Mole Town Prisoner is a great track and also super catchy, and Kizuato no Sasayaki - Dare mo inai Paradise is another incredibly beautiful moving piece and has great guitar work on Sawao and Manabe's part not to mention the awesome version of Boku wa Kakera at the end. So why did we dismiss this album? I'd think we could easily call this the best album since TYMT as well. /rant

[quote="The Little Buster"]Last night I listened to Penalty Life all the way through and I realized something. Why did this album get a bad rep?
The majority of this album is complete win. So many layers of guitar all over the place and Jun really has some impeccable bass playing going on in a good deal of these songs. Dead Stock Paradise is a great opener, Lonesome Diamond is so heavy and Nirvana-like with it's chorus and has a great melody, Freebee Honey is made of win, Terminal Heaven's Rock is a song we can all love and agree on, Noboranai Taiyou is so beautiful and wonderful, Phantom Pain is catchy and has a great breakdown, I Know You is even catchier, Moon Marguerite is a beautiful sad song with a great melody, Super Trampoline School Kid is a decent instrumental and has some interesting guitar going on, Mole Town Prisoner is a great track and also super catchy, and Kizuato no Sasayaki - Dare mo inai Paradise is another incredibly beautiful moving piece and has great guitar work on Sawao and Manabe's part not to mention the awesome version of Boku wa Kakera at the end. So why did we dismiss this album? I'd think we could easily call this the best album since TYMT as well. /rant[/quote]

[url]http://www.pirouzu.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3947[/url]

Penalty Life is so damn underrated it's not funny. I love the sound that the pillows have in Penalty Life and Good Dreams. To me, those two albums are really charming. Anyways, yeah... I don't think anything has topped Penalty Life... I even like Penalty Life more than Smile.

[quote="Tidusauron12"][quote="The Little Buster"]Last night I listened to Penalty Life all the way through and I realized something. Why did this album get a bad rep?
The majority of this album is complete win. So many layers of guitar all over the place and Jun really has some impeccable bass playing going on in a good deal of these songs. Dead Stock Paradise is a great opener, Lonesome Diamond is so heavy and Nirvana-like with it's chorus and has a great melody, Freebee Honey is made of win, Terminal Heaven's Rock is a song we can all love and agree on, Noboranai Taiyou is so beautiful and wonderful, Phantom Pain is catchy and has a great breakdown, I Know You is even catchier, Moon Marguerite is a beautiful sad song with a great melody, Super Trampoline School Kid is a decent instrumental and has some interesting guitar going on, Mole Town Prisoner is a great track and also super catchy, and Kizuato no Sasayaki - Dare mo inai Paradise is another incredibly beautiful moving piece and has great guitar work on Sawao and Manabe's part not to mention the awesome version of Boku wa Kakera at the end. So why did we dismiss this album? I'd think we could easily call this the best album since TYMT as well. /rant[/quote]

[url]http://www.pirouzu.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3947[/url]

Penalty Life is so damn underrated it's not funny. I love the sound that the pillows have in Penalty Life and Good Dreams. To me, those two albums are really charming. Anyways, yeah... I don't think anything has topped Penalty Life... I even like Penalty Life more than Smile.[/quote]

To be honest, I don't like PL so much. It doesn't have that "replay value" that TYMT or My Foot have had, the first few tracks are ok at most but after that it just becomes a chore listening to it, individually, the songs are good, but they don't have that "mix" factor I felt with My Foot or even Pied Piper. I think that if it wasn't for WUx3, PL would be my least favorite pillows CD

Well I can imagine it can be daunting. That is how it is for me with MY FOOT, my friend has played MY FOOT (the song) so much when we hang out that it's lost a lot of it's magic and luster for me; So combine with the fact I'm not a fan of Rock'N'Roll Sinners and kuuchuu Register and that album can be daunting for me to listen to all the way through. So I can relate to how you feel.

[quote="The Little Buster"]So why did [b]we[/b] dismiss this album?[/quote]

Who the fuck is we?

[quote="Tidusauron12"]Everything I say is my opinion, GR. I [b]respect[/b] yours as well.

I think you know I [b]respect[/b] people's opinions just as much as you do, or any of the other useful members around here. [/quote]

But you don't.

[quote="Tidusauron12"][b]I'm not sure what people have up their asses[/b] when they listen to the newer stuff, but they really do take the fun out of it for those of us who haven't heard the albums yet.[/quote]

"Respecting" an opinion is acknowledging the difference in opinion and (dictionary) having "due regard to the feelings" of the person in question. So how is it at all respectful for you to say "You don't like the pillows' newer music as much? Then you have your head up your ass!"

I'll go as far as "Really? You actually think chorus X is better than chorus Z? Wow, chorus X is so much more...________ than chorus Z. "

But insulting someone because they thought Wake Up! Wake Up! Wake Up! was weak is...not good. So be aware of that.