K-On! - Music discussion (OP/ED & OST, etc.)

[aohige]

Btw, the GO!GO!MANIAC and Listen!! BOTH just topped the charts in Oricon daily, snagging both the 1st and 2nd place CD single sales in the chart.

http://blog.livedoor.jp/dqnplus/archives/1468629.html

[FENR1Sdesu]

Originally Posted by aohige

Btw, the GO!GO!MANIAC and Listen!! BOTH just topped the charts in Oricon daily, snagging both the 1st and 2nd place CD single sales in the chart.

http://blog.livedoor.jp/dqnplus/archives/1468629.html

I sooo expected this after last year. Heck, all chara albums made it to the Oricon charts.

[Squawks]

The guitar solo in Listen!! is so 80's metal, that fucking picking part oh god yes.

[Vexx]

Aye... many of their tunes are some wonderous demonic juxtaposition of '80s metal rock with "Lauper/Bangles/Go-gos" lyrics and a splash of Joan Jett.

[Manwards]

I'm really enjoying "GO! GO! MANIAC". It's certainly chaotic, and not as catchy (or guitar-driven) as "Cagayake! GIRLS", but it's very energetic and lots of fun, which suits the show perfectly. It's also surprisingly complex, and unconventional for an anime opener. Great keyboard work throughout. Yui's vocals always continue a little longer than I expect. It'll make for amusing karaoke. The screechy guitar solo before the last chorus was a very pleasant surprise, as was the coda after it (if that's the right term). Great to see them innovating and doing something musically interesting, rather than just churn out a cookie-cutter J-pop song, even if it does alienate half the audience.

"Listen!!" plays it a lot more safe, but it's still a really catchy song, well-performed and very well-sung. Sounds like something that belongs in the charts, and not in a bad way. Yoko Hikasa's voice has a really enticing quality to it. And another masturbatory guitar solo near the end!

[Vexx]

Yoko Hikasa's voice really does appeal to me. She has timbre and then puts all these little chirps and dits in instead of just "hitting the note".

[Lord of Fire]

Originally Posted by aohige

Btw, the GO!GO!MANIAC and Listen!! BOTH just topped the charts in Oricon daily, snagging both the 1st and 2nd place CD single sales in the chart.

http://blog.livedoor.jp/dqnplus/archives/1468629.html

After the success of last year's songs (OP, ED and the HTT mini-album), this is not surprising.

I'm quite pleased myself that Japan likes the new OP a slight bit more than the ED. Guess they too appreciate the experimentation they've done with GGM. Good news, because that might set a new standard with anime songs as a whole.

[Proto]

Totally agreed, I cannot stop hearing the OP again and again. I would definitely appreciate anime studio's music composers to experiment with music a lot more like this instead of using the same old 2000's formula's.

[FENR1Sdesu]

Originally Posted by Manwards

Yui's vocals always continue a little longer than I expect. It'll make for amusing karaoke.

Oh God... don't even start... I made an UltraStar song for it, and I ended up singing like a retarded loli D:

[Kaioshin Sama]

Originally Posted by aohige

Btw, the GO!GO!MANIAC and Listen!! BOTH just topped the charts in Oricon daily, snagging both the 1st and 2nd place CD single sales in the chart.

http://blog.livedoor.jp/dqnplus/archives/1468629.html

This is like the least surprising thing to happen this week. Most surprising goes to tonight's Canadien win over the Capitals. Personally I like surprises so bleh.....

Originally Posted by Lord of Fire

After the success of last year's songs (OP, ED and the HTT mini-album), this is not surprising.

I'm quite pleased myself that Japan likes the new OP a slight bit more than the ED. Guess they too appreciate the experimentation they've done with GGM. Good news, because that might set a new standard with anime songs as a whole.

What experimentation? I can get the same effect by adjusting the speed at which my media player plays a video. Incorporating new instruments, making use of tempo changes, maybe working in some outside audio samples....those are the things I associate with experimental music. As far as I'm concerned GGM is just stock fluffy otaku fare and my god if something like GGM sets a standard for anime songs in the coming years then god help us all cause it's going to be setting the bar low enough to shuffle over.

And no....Japan Otaku appreciate that it's the new K-On single. Nothing more.

[Lord of Fire]

Originally Posted by Kaioshin Sama

This is like the least surprising thing to happen this week. Most surprising goes to tonight's Canadien win over the Capitals. Personally I like surprises so bleh.....



What experimentation? I can get the same effect by adjusting the speed at which my media player plays a video. Incorporating new instruments, making use of tempo changes, maybe working in some outside audio samples....those are the things I associate with experimental music. As far as I'm concerned GGM is just stock fluffy otaku fare and my god if something like GGM sets a standard for anime songs in the coming years then god help us all cause it's going to be setting the bar low enough to shuffle over.

With 'experimentation', I mean the the way the whole song is built compared to traditional anime OP and EDs. Heck, just compare the other K-ON! songs with GGM and notice how different they are. Most anime songs follow a fixed formula and are very straight-forward. GGM has an entirely different vibe to it than any of the other anime songs I've heard and I like a change of pace once in a while.

[Kaioshin Sama]

Originally Posted by Lord of Fire

With 'experimentation', I mean the the way the whole song is built compared to traditional anime OP and EDs. Heck, just compare the other K-ON! songs with GGM and notice how different they are. Most anime songs follow a fixed formula and are very straight-forward. GGM has an entirely different vibe to it than any of the other anime songs I've heard and I like a change of pace once in a while.

Well how many anime songs have you seen and in what context are you making the comparison to them? If we're talking just speeding up the tempo so it sounds slightly different then as I said that's a pretty simple trick. However experimental too me means really pushing the envelope. Like for me this is something I would classify as an experimental anime opening. A more recent example might be this.

I mean I'm not really getting much of a different vibe from GGM versus the average anime opener. The lyrics are pretty much the same ridiculous fluff we're used to hearing from K-On...the guitar riff is decent, but again like most of the songs sounds muffled and poorly mixed, the structure of the song is as basic anime opener as they come (opening hook->chorus 1->instrumental solo as the title comes up->verse 1->chorus 2->wind down solo), even the manner in which the lyrics are sung is pretty standard fare....it's just sped up a little in a way that most agree is probably done in post processing.

Like seriously go back and listen to Go Go Maniac and then play this and tell me they don't have the exact same structure albeit the latter with a slower tempo. After that here's another sample from a fairly popular show for comparison.

[Lord of Fire]

Originally Posted by Kaioshin Sama

Well how many anime songs have you seen and in what context are you making the comparison to them? If we're talking just speeding up the tempo so it sounds slightly different then as I said that's a pretty simple trick. However experimental too me means really pushing the envelope. Like for me this is something I would classify as an experimental anime opening. A more recent example might be this.

First song not only failed to entertain me, I don't see how it's 'ground-breaking', 'experimental' or 'envelope-pushing'. Thank heavens THAT never became a standard.

The second song is region-blocked.

I mean I'm not really getting much of a different vibe from GGM versus the average anime opener. The lyrics are pretty much the same ridiculous fluff we're used to hearing from K-On...the guitar riff is decent, but again like most of the songs sounds muffled and poorly mixed, the structure of the song is as basic anime opener as they come (opening hook->chorus 1->instrumental solo as the title comes up->verse 1->chorus 2->wind down solo), even the manner in which the lyrics are sung is pretty standard fare....it's just sped up a little in a way that most agree is probably done in post processing.

Like seriously go back and listen to Go Go Maniac and then play this and tell me they don't have the exact same structure albeit the latter with a slower tempo. After that here's another sample from a fairly popular show for comparison.

I was talking about the full version, not the TV version. Guess I should've said so from the start. The TV version isn't much different from other OPs, true, but the full version is another story as far as I can tell.

[onemadcow]

Been away too long, but couldn't pass up passing on the sales figures for the new OP/ED ^_^

Day 2 sales are out and Go!Go! Maniac is still at number 1 with Listen! at number 2.
GGM had an additional 23k in sales Wednesday while Listen! had 21.5k more. That makes 48.6k for GGM and 45.5k for Listen.

For reference, Lazy only had 35k in its first 2 days, and Cagayake had something less than that (we don't know the real figures since it was at #4 it's first two days).

There will be a big drop off tomorrow (all songs slump on Thurs. & Friday sales), but I think it is safe to say that the new OP/ED will outsell the old songs first week. Overall sales will still be hard to top and impossible to predict this early.

Still, impressive so far . . .

[Manwards]

Originally Posted by Kaioshin Sama

As far as I'm concerned GGM is just stock fluffy otaku fare and my god if something like GGM sets a standard for anime songs in the coming years then god help us all cause it's going to be setting the bar low enough to shuffle over.

Yeah, but... you don't seem to like anything, man.

I wouldn't say the two examples you gave are experimental in the least. They're not pop songs, sure, but that in itself isn't an experiment. A theme song needs to set the tone of the show. K-ON!! having a fast, fun pop/rock song is perfect because of the subject matter. It makes sense for Baccano! to have a jazzy theme for the same reasons. Cowboy Bebop did the same thing. I personally thought the other song you linked to was terrible, in a "dubbed by 4Kids" kind of way, but it's obviously a product of its time and an acquired taste. As for "GO! GO! MANIAC", it certainly isn't experimental in the avant-garde sense (and nor should it be), but if you listen to the full version, it goes beyond what most anime OPs settle for. Forgive me if my musical terms are wrong - I've only been playing the guitar for a month or so - but it has two separate bridges, a solid solo towards the end and a coda after the last chorus, in addition to the unexpected timing of the lyrics - in most songs, the "chance chance" part of the chorus would only have two repetitions, not four. The simple fact that many K-ON!! fans dismissed the song as noisy and nonsensical upon first listen surely suggests that it did something a little different.

It's a shame that you seem to dismiss the single's sales as being entirely the product of bleary-eyed, uncultured sheep who simply don't know any better. There's no doubt that brand loyalty accounts for some of the sales, but I for one have really been enjoying the song, and I don't doubt that others have too. The people on this forum who have been transcribing the lyrics and working out the guitar tablature probably feel the same way. It, like the show itself, may not be the most substantial or ground-breaking thing (and, again, nor should it be), but as I said in another thread, complexity can take a break every now and then while we all have a good giggle.

[Squawks]

Manwards, more like Browards.

[AmyElizzabeth]

I have been listening to the full version of GO GO MANIAC (It's what I do. When there's a song I hate, I listen to it over and over again until I like it) and now I think It's adorable. Haven't listened to Genius, though.
Now, Listen!! was pure epic. I love Yoko's voice. This girl needs her own full CD. NOW.
Our Magic epicly bored me. It sounds like late '50's, and possibly '60's. I absolutely love The Beatles to death, and I read on YouTube that Our Magic was way better than anything in the 50's/60's, and I died inside. I dislike that song that much. And listening to it over and over again isn't helping, either. So, I'm fairly certain I will dislike this song for awhile.

[Kaioshin Sama]

Originally Posted by Manwards

Yeah, but... you don't seem to like anything, man.

I wouldn't say the two examples you gave are experimental in the least. They're not pop songs, sure, but that in itself isn't an experiment. A theme song needs to set the tone of the show. K-ON!! having a fast, fun pop/rock song is perfect because of the subject matter. It makes sense for Baccano! to have a jazzy theme for the same reasons. Cowboy Bebop did the same thing. I personally thought the other song you linked to was terrible, in a "dubbed by 4Kids" kind of way, but it's obviously a product of its time and an acquired taste. As for "GO! GO! MANIAC", it certainly isn't experimental in the avant-garde sense (and nor should it be), but if you listen to the full version, it goes beyond what most anime OPs settle for. Forgive me if my musical terms are wrong - I've only been playing the guitar for a month or so - but it has two separate bridges, a solid solo towards the end and a coda after the last chorus, in addition to the unexpected timing of the lyrics - in most songs, the "chance chance" part of the chorus would only have two repetitions, not four. The simple fact that many K-ON!! fans dismissed the song as noisy and nonsensical upon first listen surely suggests that it did something a little different.

It's a shame that you seem to dismiss the single's sales as being entirely the product of bleary-eyed, uncultured sheep who simply don't know any better. There's no doubt that brand loyalty accounts for some of the sales, but I for one have really been enjoying the song, and I don't doubt that others have too. The people on this forum who have been transcribing the lyrics and working out the guitar tablature probably feel the same way. It, like the show itself, may not be the most substantial or ground-breaking thing (and, again, nor should it be), but as I said in another thread, complexity can take a break every now and then while we all have a good giggle.

Complexity takes a break pretty much all the time in anime these days. I say enough is enough and it's time for something defining that gets people really talking and dissecting a work again. I'm ready to ask for it in TV anime and raise my standards again after lowering them for a bit over the past couple of years.

Anyway terribly sorry you can't appreciate 80's brit rock. Personally I find it to be one of the most intriguing openers of all time for an anime. Then again I don't think anybody has much of an appreciation for nor cares enough to chart and examine the evolution of anime opening/ending theme songs like I have. I've listened to many themes from pretty much every decade that anime has been around and the current one has to be one of my least favourites (though there's at least one soundtrack and a few openers per year that will make my playlist), with the 80's containing by far my favourite "sound" of them all and where you can find the bulk of the openings, endings and soundtracks that I have added to my collection.

I'm still not buying hat GO GO Maniac is anything remotely special by the way so....I don't know maybe it's just a product of the current time and an acquired taste for people like me who want complexity and vocals that I find pleasant to listen too instead of grating.

[Vexx]

Cute girls who play their own instruments and rock are pretty much an automatic win (animated "K-On!" or real life "ZONE") in my book. But because its *fun*, not because I think it stretches any boundaries anywhere. Some of the real lifers are wonderful expressionist guitarists (Joan Jett, Lita Ford, etc). People who put a lot energy into their music even if it isn't technically astounding

I also have probably one of the more wide-ranging eclectic collection of music through time and space - and therefore a lot to compare recent attempts against.

K-On! music... it *sounds* like they're having a good time making it and enjoying themselves, it is a huge nod to 70s and 80s rock and pop-rock. That alone tends to separate it from a lot of other anime-inspired music. I also liked the Spice&Wolf tracks and its homage to medieval tonalities. Honey&Clover's use of japanese folk rock, anime pieces that invoke traditional japanese music, Paniponidash's catchy satirical bits.

But rarely would I call such stuff "innovative", "experimental", or "astounding"

[onemadcow]

GGM might win more people over if it was sung by a vocaloid ^_^

GUMI VERSION:
http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm10521389

You might need a NND account to see this ...