X Freaks Forum
The band => General chat => Topic started by: Astralmind on November 09, 2017, 12:42:42 AM
-
http://teamrock.com/feature/2017-11-08/the-10-best-x-japan-songs-as-chosen-by-yoshiki
Discuss.
-
Natural marketing move to pump the "new songs" when promoting the soon to be released album.
I really quite enjoyed his comments about Drain! It is hard to believe ghe song was released in '96. Never thought in the late 00's that Drain would be one of the songs that doesn't sound 'dated' a few decades later.
-
Actually I agree with most of his choices, except for Angel and Kiss the Sky, because I haven't properly heard them yet apart from the acoustic set, and that's kind of a different vibe than what the final album versions will be. I would have definitely put Weekend on that list, and Rose of Pain.
-
Natural marketing move to pump the "new songs" when promoting the soon to be released album.
This.
Also, Born To Be Free is his favourite song now? Really.
(http://i64.tinypic.com/34rvdea.png)
-
I like his choices here and I totally understand why he would include some of the newer songs. It makes you curious, because we haven't heard some of them and he says the Album Version of La Venus is going to be very heavy? What's that supposed to mean? ... See it works just fine. Now I want to hear those songs.... ;D
-
While a lot of these songs wouldn't appear on my favorite song list I'm not surprised he choose these songs and I believe that they are his favorite songs at the moment, otherwise he wouldn't write and record them. ;) Also curious about how 'heavy' La Venus will sound on the album and what Yoshikis definition of heavy is nowadays.
-
I agree with all the above comments, it is coherent that he enjoys his new stuff but doesn't it really highlight how much disconnect he's got with his past as an artist ? 3 out of 10 (ok 4 with Drain but ..really) are pre reunion, that's a bit weak :)
The shocker though is Born to be free = the best.. that was vomit inducing. He also insists on preferring a lot of the new songs because they are much easier to play.
Bright side, I really do like La Venus for some reasons
-
Can you blame him? He's not 20 anymore and with all of his back, neck and arm issues, sure thing he prefers the less heavy stuff to play After all, it's him who has to beat the drum for 3 hours, not you. :)
-
10 mins kiss the sky
-
There is no "new" album
-
This will give you a good idea of how "heavy" La Venus will be - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9d8QgJ0pHSI This was from a live back in the summer I believe.
I'm also on the same page as axlroseX - my hopes of a "new" album are kind of shot. At this point, it'll be getting to hear a studio version of La Venus and Kiss the Sky. I think it's a little brash for him to say "it's going to be another masterpiece". Another masterpiece as compared to what? Art of Life? I think that's for the public/fan base to decide. Does a painter go and say, "This one will be the masterpiece." Being hard on him here but only because I know he's thinking this song is going to justify the lack of actual "new" songs on this album.
My final strand of hope is for re-recordings of whatever old songs they put on the album as English.
Teemeah, how old isn't Yoshiki again? I can't remember from the last 8 times you reminded us.
-
I wouldn't blame it on his age or health issues. I think Yoshiki's DNA has always been that of a classical musician. In his 20s he went through some sort of mental puberty where he did metal, but he eventually went back to his thing. They haven't done actual metal since 1993. In Dahlia, the only legit metal parts were Hide's songs and his guitar work. The rest of it is symphonic rock.
I'm part of that hardcore group of fans who mostly enjoyed their early work, but I don't mind the later ballads either. Actually, I think they're the best ever made in the rock genre. I don't think the new album (if it ever comes out) will include a single metal or even remotely heavy track. Without Hide and Taiji, the dudes who could actually conceive and make a metal track work, I don't see Yoshiki working on one. He just doesn't have the skill for that - which is okay, he has the skill to do a lot of other awesome things with music.
Also, I don't even think Yoshiki himself decided what would go on that list. And I don't think he has a lot of free will to create as he pleases anymore. He wants to thrive in Amurrrika at all costs and he seems to have hired a very competent but very controlling PR/management/marketing team. I kind of get the feeling they're the ones who decide where he goes, what he does next, how often he posts on social media, how he should exploit the emotional liaison he has with his fans etc. He's probably briefed on what to say, he is their main marketing tool after all.
-
I don't think he relinquishes control to that degree, though. His personality is just not like that. He's not someone that can be controlled and told what to do and where to go. It's probably the other way around. His PR staff might be suffering a lot from his strong will, or they could be exploiting it / trying to make the best out of his mishaps and random decisions. Like how he was up and working right after the surgery, I doubt his PR team went to his bedside and told him, hey Yoshiki it would be awesome PR if you could get up and work 5 hours after surgery, what do you think? :D They were most probably like, uh the dude is at it again, let's see how we can market this move best. :)
-
Maybe, he sure doesn't seem all that docile, does he. But seriously, marketing/PR guys can be total dicks. I do exactly that in my current PR job, even if I don't manage anyone as notorious as Yoshiki. Still, when it all depends on a figure with a cult following, our job is to literally use them and make them do as many things as we can during their waking hours. Our pay depends on the profit they generate, the company depends on their success to keep its good name. Public figures are of no use if they're sick in bed.
I work with this Youtube influencer who has anxiety and some sort of chronic pain thing. If they have interviews and public appearances booked for her, there's no way they're gonna cancel them, whatever happens. It's on contract. She sometimes calls in saying she's in pain, exhausted, panicking or whatever. Boss just doesn't care. They literally send the hair and make up people to her place to get her out of bed and ready because interviews and business oportunities around minor celebs are hard to get. Also, Flashback Friday to when I had to hold a trashcan in front of her face so she could puke while she was getting her nails done before a TV appearance. Never saw anyone's eyes scream please let me go home as loud as those. Disclaimer: it's a sucky, inhumane job and I don't like it, but work is work.
TL;DR: hope it's not the case, but I can totally see PR/marketing people convincing Yoshiki to get out of bed and into one of his cool outfits an hour after surgery so they can keep creating content for his social media.
-
I just don't see him as the type who would let this happen. It's much more likely he is simply a workaholic and loves attention. That camera crew following him 24/7 is probably his own idea, too. He has been filmed almost non-stop since the beginnings of X. I just cannot see him as a victim of cruel PR people nudging the sh*t out of him. He probably screams from the top of his lungs at them and fires those who he is displeased with.
-
When I first became a fan (2011?), I definitely preferred the ballads, but over time I've gravitated towards X's earlier work. My favorite album at this point is Vanishing Vision -- nothing else matches it in raw power. As for the new songs... I hate to say it, but Yoshiki's english lyrics and Toshi's engrish pronunciation really turn me off. Yoshiki's lyrics aren't bad per se, but he can't seem to break out of cliches (writing in a second language is hard work). Some of it is downright cringeworthy. I would probably prefer a lot of the newer songs (La Venus, Kiss the Sky) if only they were written in Japanese.
Wow, that came out a lot more critical than intended.
I think it would be fun if we responded to Yoshiki's list with our own top ten! Without further ado, here's a rough estimate of mine:
1. Sadistic Desire
2. Kurenai
3. Art of Life
4. Crucify my love
5. X
6. Weekend
7. Endless Rain
8. Orgasm
9. Vanishing Love
10. I'll Kill You
-
When I first became a fan (2011?), I definitely preferred the ballads, but over time I've gravitated towards X's earlier work. My favorite album at this point is Vanishing Vision -- nothing else matches it in raw power. As for the new songs... I hate to say it, but Yoshiki's english lyrics and Toshi's engrish pronunciation really turn me off. Yoshiki's lyrics aren't bad per se, but he can't seem to break out of cliches (writing in a second language is hard work). Some of it is downright cringeworthy. I would probably prefer a lot of the newer songs (La Venus, Kiss the Sky) if only they were written in Japanese.
Wow, that came out a lot more critical than intended.
I think it would be fun if we responded to Yoshiki's list with our own top ten! Without further ado, here's a rough estimate of mine:
1. Sadistic Desire
2. Kurenai
3. Art of Life
4. Crucify my love
5. X
6. Weekend
7. Endless Rain
8. Orgasm
9. Vanishing Love
10. I'll Kill You
hate to break it to you but some of your favourite songs are also in English, fully or partially, and were sung by the some Toshi with the same cringeworthy Engrish proninciation :)
-
hate to break it to you but some of your favourite songs are also in English, fully or partially, and were sung by the some Toshi with the same cringeworthy Engrish proninciation :)
You're not wrong -- X has produced some very amazing songs with full or partial English lyrics (just not recently ;)). IMO, it makes a difference that Toshi's voice was much stronger when recording their older songs. His engrish grates on me less in the 90s-era songs than the current ones. What's your top ten?
-
Ehhh. The list is ok, but without a good point of reference to the ones that I've never listened to before, I can't really comment on it.
-
My list would be this and not in this order. Not sure which of all of them would be #1 but I do tend to lean towards the ballads but love the harder metal songs as well. This is difficult to put them in order of best and on down so I'm just putting them in a list and it is what it is. Hmm, but Scars is a huge favorite as well as Art Of Life. The violin solo at the beginning of Dahlia drives me wild. So beautiful.
La Venus
Without You
Art Of Life
Dahlia
Silent Jealousy
Jade
Rose of Pain
Rusty Nail
Scars
Sadistic Desire
-
Am I the onry one here who roves Toshi's Engrish? I don't undestand half of their English lines. And I don't understand Jap either. Doesn't matter, really. X's music gives me the feels anyway, they don't even need to fill in the gaps with understandable language. In other words, if your audience doesn't even need to understand your vocalist to get the feels, you're doing it damn right. On to my top 10 (now learn from me, Papa Yosh):
1. Kurenai - first X song I ever listened to. And it was the Last Live version on YT. The feels man, the feels.
2. Art of Life - undisputably a masterpiece. The English sucks and who cares. This one totally comes from outer space.
3. Alive - the English sucks even more. And I fucking love every part of it.
4. X - it's like taking a shitload of ecstasy, minus the nasty side effects.
5. Easy Fight Rambling - it's a weird one and I love weird
6. Standing Sex - have no idea what it is about to this day but it's about sex. what could go wrong.
7. Joker - also have no clue what it's about but well, Hide wrote this one, it could only be weird and awesome
8. Scars - that tempo is SEX
9. Rose of Pain - because that guitar bro
10. The Last Song - the Yoshiki-est song ever made, really. I always thought this was his most honest song, the one where you can get a glimpse of the kind of artist he is. And it's fucking beautiful.
-
and and Orgasm? the 15 minute live version with the awesome guitar parts and Heath kneeling like a sexy god? I usually watch it on the treadmill, it hypes me up like nothing else for workout LOL. :D
-
We need more than 10 choices. LOL!!! :P
-
Am I the onry one here who roves Toshi's Engrish?
Nope. ToshI's Engrish is rather cute in the early days & was somewhat understandable too (huge plus for me).
-
They're all cute when they speak English or sing it. Have you all heard this? Hehehehe!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Da7rmCccn24
-
Ooooh, yeah I remember the Rard Ruck Roman cover, how could I not? ;D
I don't mind the Engrish really, it took me years to realize Alive was entirely in English and I still don't get the lyrics but it's still one hell of an awesome piece. Toshi is fairly understandable, though, I think he knew what the words he was singing meant and how English grammar works. There's footage of Hide singing Ziggy Stardust and Light My Fire on YT and now that's funny Engrish!
-
They're all cute when they speak English or sing it. Have you all heard this? Hehehehe!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Da7rmCccn24
Byebye sollow :D awww. This was so cuuute :D
-
Hahaha, I am listening to that Light My Fire cover right now. While I wouldn't say I can or could sing it but I do a better job on keyboard than whomever is playing it in that video. LOL. Ray Manzarek was one of my favorite keyboard players, other than Leon Russell, of course. I imitated a lot of Ray's playing when I used to play and had a piano and also covered that whole song on flute. No singing, though. LOL
-
In Hide's defense, his voice is pretty good on that note. Looks like he actually had a great range. Guitar is pretty nice as well. But yeah, my two year old nephew does a better job at pronouncing words.
-
matsumoto, if you are referring to Hard Luck Woman, I LOVE their cover of it. Seriously! ;D
-
In Hide's defense, his voice is pretty good on that note. Looks like he actually had a great range. Guitar is pretty nice as well. But yeah, my two year old nephew does a better job at pronouncing words.
hey, I bet your Japanese pronunciation also sucks :P and mine too. :D Actually, for Japanese, English is insanely difficult, for the lack of their distinction between r and l, it sounds the exact same to them. Literally, they have to learn to pronounce each such word one by one. Considering this, Yoshiki does an amazing job in English.
And nobody, nobody can beat this Bulgarian woman, so considering this, Toshi and hide are pretty okay ;) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqVVv97pKGk
-
I was referring to Light My Fire. Yup, I actually like Rard Ruck Roman too, but mostly Toshi being the awesome vocalist that he is.
Holy cow, I can't even say a single word in Japanese and my Russian teacher laughts openly at my poor face when I try to speak it 8)
All my respect to those dudes, they do a great job at speaking in a language that's so different from their own.
-
I will learn Japanese though. it's on my language bucket list now that I discovered X Japan. First need to finish Korean and then heeerrre i coooommmmmee Japaaaaan 8)
-
10 best Yoshiki's melodies according to Toshl
Toshl announced his 10 favorite melodies written by Yoshiki at his concert in 2016.
1. Longing ～跡切れたmelody～
2. Crucify My Love
3. Silent Jealousy
4. 紅
5. Unfinished
6. Say Anything
7. Tears
8. 愛する人よ
9. Without You
10.Endless Rain
http://blueverse.at.webry.info/201611/article_4.html
-
I'm not surprised that Art of Life is not there. :) Poor Toshi, i BET he hates that song :D
-
What I really wonder is that if Toshl watched the prompter or not on stage when he performed "Art of Life". I can hardly memorize the lyrics, even the short songs. Toshl looks so great if he didn't watch the prompter at all singing the whole of "Art of Life" which is so long and written in English.
-
They practiced vocals for over a year, every single day. I bet he knew the lyrics back then by heart, syllable by syllable. don't forget, he also had to practice with an English teacher. I am pretty sure that the words had become engraved in his brain during the course of a full year only recording one song. :) And I'm pretty sure he hated that song fervently. Because this was the song that ultimately shook his own self-confidence and he started doubting himself as a singer.
-
Yes, I also believe that Toshl memorized the lyrics perfectly back then. But performance in front of audience is another thing. For example, singers who have a long career sometimes make mistakes when they sing the national anthem in a baseball stadium. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBr8Ikys3-U (This is very funny ㅋㅋ)
I mean the national anthem which is 1/100 length of AOL, written in native language, and which they'd sang thousands of times since they were kids. And Yoshiki said Toshl often mistakes lyrics.
* Sorry about the unrelated comment ㅜㅜ
-
People do make mistakes. It happens. Nobody is perfect (and people might also get nervous at such special occassions that ar enot their usual playground. A baseball stadium filled with people who don't necessarily like you as a musician can intimidate even the best of singers.)
X Japan didn't really perform Art of Life live that many times though, in its full length. And I think we will never see that song performed again in full length, because it would be too much for Yoshiki's health to drum and play the piano for a full 30 minutes without a single break. The other members get to have breaks in that song, Toshi also doesn't have to sing the full 30 minutes, because there are guitar solo breaks, piano break and also the verses read by the female voice, but Yoshiki performs all through the 30 minutes.
-
Toshi's list is definitely closer to my own one than Yoshiki's is. Doesn't surprise me it leans heavily towards the ballads, they play to his strengths, and he sings them so beautifully.
I think Yoshiki keeps his real ranking to himself, I just can't believe he really thinks BTBF is his best song
(actually, I can't believe anyone would... but I'm biased, since I strongly dislike it).
-
Yes, but Yoshiki's list is the best X Japan songs, and Toshi's list is the best melodies Yoshiki composed. They overlap, but Toshi actually has a song on his list that is not an X Japan song: 愛する人よ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=El2vTiY6SIk
-
People do make mistakes. It happens. Nobody is perfect (and people might also get nervous at such special occassions that ar enot their usual playground. A baseball stadium filled with people who don't necessarily like you as a musician can intimidate even the best of singers.)
Neither I nor Yoshiki is blaming Toshl's mistakes and forcing him to be perfect. Yoshiki talked about it in Yoshiki channel to encourage his kouhai who made a mistake in lyrics. And Toshl himself talked about it, too. Toshl's mistakes didn't happen at baseball stadiums. It used to happen at normal venues. Old fans say that a lot of good footage have been edited out from X Japan live albums and DVDs due to Toshl's mistakes. I wonder what Toshl's face would be like when he makes a mistake. I haven't noticed it yet. Maybe he will look very cute
-
I just can't believe he really thinks BTBF is his best song (actually, I can't believe anyone would... but I'm biased, since I strongly dislike it).
Thank you. If I had to choose one X Japan song to delete from history, it'd be that one. It could've been decent with a better arrangement but that chorus ruined any hope that song ever had, sounds like a bad mid 00's Bon Jovi outtake.
-
It could've been decent with a better arrangement but that chorus ruined any hope that song ever had, sounds like a bad mid 00's Bon Jovi outtake.
Yeah, the chorus feels so generic and ordinary in words and music. And that verse rocks well enough, but is created with the same template used already in IV and Jade.
So I hope the album tracks will be more exciting and less safely played (can't wait to hear Kiss the sky).
-
1) Art of Life
2) Orgasm 7" version
3) Kurenai (Rockin' F flexi)
4) Stab Me in the Back (Jealousy version)
5) Vanishing Love (Vanishing Vison)
6) Blue Blood
7) I'll Kill You (DaDa Record 7")
8)Jade (CD Single)
9) X (Orgasm 7")
10) Endless Rain (single)
-
1) Art of Life
2) Orgasm 7" version
3) Kurenai (Rockin' F flexi)
4) Stab Me in the Back (Jealousy version)
5) Vanishing Love (Vanishing Vison)
6) Blue Blood
7) I'll Kill You (DaDa Record 7")
8)Jade (CD Single)
9) X (Orgasm 7")
10) Endless Rain (single)
Great list!
I'd only switch I'll kill you for Sadistic desire and Jade for Dahlia.
And I find Born to be free to be almost as boring as Hero.