First off, sorry for the Day of Fail yesterday. Let's hope it's the last for awhile.
"Zettai Zetsumei" is the new album by RADWIMPS, a band that is quickly becoming my new favorite. They were founded in 2001, but only just began to gain ground on the charts around 2008. Their music is solid rock with odd touches here and there that make each song totally unique in both the discography and the rock world at large. Although I haven't listened to their music extensively, I've begun to get a sense for it and I already have a few favorite songs.
Knowing what little I do of RADWIMPS, I can't say whether "Zettai Zetsumei" is a good representation of their work. But I can say that I feel conflicted about it. On the one hand there are great songs peppered all through this album: "DADA," "Kimi to Hitsuji to Ao," "Gakugeikai," "Kyoushinshou," "G Koui," "DUGOUT." All of these are great songs that I'd replay a hundred times. But then there are the weird songs: "Daidarabocchi" and its dragging melody, "Ground Zero" opening with the laughter of small children, "Keitai Denwa" and it's rock-country fusion, and the fully unnecessary bonus track. These aren't bad songs either, but I can't really say that I enjoyed them. A good illustration of how odd the songs can get is in the vocal quality: Noda's voice sounds a lot like Fujiwara's (from Bump of Chicken) during ballads, which isn't so much bad as it is odd; and then in "G Koui" he turns around and sounds exactly like Eminem. And in the rest of the songs he sounds like Noda, his unique voice perfectly suited to the music. A lot of the songs start out really weird and get better, making for a disjointed experience through the entire album. As weird as RADWIMPS is as a band, I can see them making the album disjointed on purpose to keep it from getting boring. But I can't help but have the sneaking suspicion that they aren't intending for the album to be quite as weird and disjointed as it feels to me.
But even though it's disjointed, I do like it. Most of the music is good without question, and most of what's left if good once you see where they're going with it. And, just as important as these other two considerations, none of the songs are actually bad.
I listened in on today's UStream broadcast for GK, and I heard MellowB from JPop Suki mention that albums 3 and 4 ("RADWIMPS 3" and "RADWIMPS 4," incidentally) are the best in their discography. And although "Zettai Zetsumei" isn't ideal for me all the way through, I'm encouraged by how good the really good songs were and plan on listening to those albums as well. Although "Zettai Zetsumei" has introduced me to parts of RADWIMPS I'm not as sure about, I've come out more convinced than ever that I really am in love. (So wish me luck on albums 3 and 4!)
After the rush of intensity that RADWIMPS delivered with "DADA," I was ready and waiting to have my mind blown. I mean, just just look at this PV! Okay, you don't have you. You already know how I feel about it, after all. But seriously. I told Facebook that RADWIMPS might be my new favorite band. GLAY has been my favorite band for 10 years. THESE GUYS ARE A BIG DEAL.
And "Kyoushinshou" delivers. Kind of.
I wanted to have my brain freaking explode when I listened to this single, and it didn't. Instead, when I first listened to it, I was disappointed. The title song plods along, like it's just trying to get done already. "Jegemu" at least makes some interesting use of instrumentation by pulling in what sounds like glasses of water filled at different levels and hit with a spoon. But even it was chill and laid back, not full of the manic energy that's spilling out of "DADA" at flash flood speed.
But as I listened to the single more and more - and I haven't reached the point yet where I don't like listening to it - I realized that it's just as crazy, but in it's own way. Rather than beating you over the head with a guitar until your brain is pink-grey goo staining the floor, "Kyoushinshou" and "Jegemu" are about the quieter build-up of tension; if "DADA" is a bullet in the brain, "Kyoushinshou" is a heart attack, painfully catching up on you through years of self-abuse until you can't deny or escape it any longer. Although I'd still argue that "Kyoushinshou" isn't as well-constructed as "Jegemu," both are great additions to the discography.
I love me some PVs. And I hate me some others. Let's figure out which by having them fight for my affection! Who doesn't love a good old-fashioned battle to the death?
RADWIMPS - DADA From: "DADA" / Release: 1/12
Fun with kanji! As I first started to watch this video, I was afraid that it would turn into a copycat of Sakanaction's "Aruku Around" video (which, as good as that video is, a copycat would not be welcome), but I was happy to find that I was wrong! Although some aspects are similar, the entire video is different enough to be novel. The band plays the song while screwing around with various kanji that are in the lyrics. They hold them, throw them, kick them, put them into piles, kick the piles... Along with a greyscale color palette and a curiously non-cheezy use of a negative filter, the entire thing was a blast to watch. The song is also great - solid rock. Add the PV to the song, and you get a PV that actually made me interested in buying the single. (Sadly, I couldn't make embedding work for this video, but you can see it here.)
Jounan Nokaze － Bakuondan~BOMBERMAN~ From: "Bakuondan~BOMBERMAN~" / Release: 1/12
I want to like this PV. The style is set up like an animated manga, where the camera moves back and forth along animated manga cells, and the narration of the story is told through word bubbles. It's a great concept visually because it's different enough from everything else out there that it sets itself apart and is memorable, and it also keeps a lot of visual tension going so that you don't want to look away from the screen. The lyrics are mixed into the narration of the story strongly so that in your mind the music and PV reinforce one another, making both even more easy to remember. Honestly, if I was writing this review in Japanese, I think my only complaint would be that the animation at the end leaves something to be desired. But since I'm writing in English, I do have another complaint: you must have an understanding of Japanese to get everything out of this PV that you should. From a Japanese marketing standpoint, this is fine; from a worldwide marketing standpoint, this is stupid. Although I'm sure that no potential fans are being alienated from the band, it doesn't make it any easier for us to like them or the song, and actually makes us feel a little excluded. Otherwise, a great PV with good music.
NICO TOUCHES THE WALLS - Diver From: "Diver" / Release: 1/12
For every rule, there is an exception. For PVs, the rule is that if 95% or more of the time is spent on watching the artist perform, the PV sucks. The exception to that rule is this PV. This PV is gorgeous: the color palette is blacks and blues, and the band keeps up visual tension by projecting different flashes of imagery behind them and changing the camera angle regularly. I don't know if I have it in me to express how good this PV is to watch. You'll have to see if for yourself.
Yuzu - HeyWa From: "HeyWa" / Release: 1/19
This PV almost proves the "band playing the song" rule outlined above. However, a little more happens in this PV than just us watching Yuzu strum their guitars: we also get to take a look at various objects strewn about some kind of forest/desert/wasteland/wonderland, and watch a little girl wander through it, get hit in the head with an acorn, find a 3-1/2" floppy, and hand it to a robot. There's some implication that this is a world of peace where weapons aren't needed, but it's hard to tell from there whether technology is also not needed, or if it's humans that aren't needed. It's also not clear if the robot is as confused about the use of 3-1/2" floppies as the little girl must be, though I can only assume it is. Although there's nothing wrong with this PV, it's not particularly interesting either.
Galileo Galilei - Boku kara Kimi He From: "Boku kara Kimi He" / Release: 1/19
It's hard to know how scary Japanese people can be until they stare at you like you're a dirty foreigner who needs to just get the hell out of their country before they mob you like a bunch of expressionless zombies and crush you beneath the weight of their extreme racism. If you want to know what that experience might be like, take a look at this video. I'm sure that's not what Galileo Galilei was going for, but that's sure as hell what the wound up with. I honestly don't remember the music (other than a vague recollection that it was pretty okay) because I was so focused on how scary all those people were, and how much one of the band members looks like an ex-boyfriend of mine.
HIROKO - GIRLZ UP~stand up for yourself~ From: "GIRLZ UP~stand up for yourself~" / Release: 1/19
A negative portrayal of Americans?! I'm partly offended and partly intrigued! HIROKO is an office girl who has to deal with an immature, lazy, fat American boss, while apparently doing all his work for him. He chows on candy bars and donuts while she snacks on diet pills. Judging by the name of the song, you'd think this PV is all about how she single-handedly takes over the company and makes it twice as successful as it had been. Or at least how she hands him the most strongly-worded letter of resignation he's ever seen. Nope. She just keeps working for him, while executing some killer dance moves and sporting sweet sunglasses that I'm sure she borrowed from Lady Gaga. The visual elements of this PV are awesome - the color is sharp and pretty, the outfits are good, the dancing is flawless - but the plot elements leave much to be desired. I want HIROKO to kick her boss in the face or stage a coup, but instead she does the exact opposite of stand up for herself and continue to be a slave. Lame.
Lil'B - Daiksuki Da Yo
I'm probably endangering all your lives just by posting this video. You know how some people say that something is so sweet that it gave them cavities? Well this video is so sweet that it melted my entire head off. Seriously, don't even open this unless you want to personally experience what it would be like to open the Ark of the Covenant. Rundown: girl has a crush, so the magical beings (made entirely of sugar) that live in her pompom cell phone strap come out to make the boy fall in love with her. Complete with flowers, and hearts, and feathers, and badly animated Cupid arrows. And clones. Endless sugar fairy clones. You've been warned!
"Zettai Zetsumei" is the new album by RADWIMPS, a band that is quickly becoming my new favorite. They were founded in 2001, but only just began to gain ground on the charts around 2008. Their music is solid rock with odd touches here and there that make each song totally unique in both the discography and the rock world at large. Although I haven't listened to their music extensively, I've begun to get a sense for it and I already have a few favorite songs.
