alrick13 wrote:AKB members playing musical instruments live? or just part of the PV

AKB formed an 18 member band called "Baby Blossom" for their single "GIVE ME FIVE!" that was released last week. They've been secretly learning how to play instruments since August of last year. Prior to that, most of them had no previous experience playing.

My first thought was that the idea isn't terribly original. (Their front 4 instantly made me think of SCANDAL when I first saw them.) But it was something completely unexpected and different from what they usually do, not to mention a big effort on their part to actually learn how to play despite their crazy schedules.

I actually think this is good for SCANDAL in the long run. They have massive exposure, so it's going to get more people interested in playing instruments and will probably draw more attention to girl bands in general.

Seigaku wrote:A few vids on Youtube of them playing GIVE ME FIVE. Again, a bit too light for my liking. I feel dissatisfied about where Harukaze is though.

I'm not sure what you all mean by "too light," but I'd think most of you have only been exposed to a limited range of their songs, which isn't unusual.

I agree though that I feel Harukaze deserves to be higher, but it is a tough week with a lot of big names. I'm anxious to see how the weekly ranking will go and the actual numbers. I still feel SCANDAL's singles in general go under-appreciated on the charts.

UltimaRaiden wrote:

alrick13 wrote:AKB members playing musical instruments live? or just part of the PV

AKB formed an 18 member band called "Baby Blossom" for their single "GIVE ME FIVE!" that was released last week. They've been secretly learning how to play instruments since August of last year. Prior to that, most of them had no previous experience playing.

My first thought was that the idea isn't terribly original. (Their front 4 instantly made me think of SCANDAL when I first saw them.) But it was something completely unexpected and different from what they usually do, not to mention a big effort on their part to actually learn how to play despite their crazy schedules.

I actually think this is good for SCANDAL in the long run. They have massive exposure, so it's going to get more people interested in playing instruments and will probably draw more attention to girl bands in general.

Seigaku wrote:A few vids on Youtube of them playing GIVE ME FIVE. Again, a bit too light for my liking. I feel dissatisfied about where Harukaze is though.

I'm not sure what you all mean by "too light," but I'd think most of you have only been exposed to a limited range of their songs, which isn't unusual.

I agree though that I feel Harukaze deserves to be higher, but it is a tough week with a lot of big names. I'm anxious to see how the weekly ranking will go and the actual numbers. I still feel SCANDAL's singles in general go under-appreciated on the charts.

Oh no, I've been quite aware of how AKB48 does things. Just not lately, because I lost interest a little while ago. I'd explain the "too light" thing, but its hard to do so.. Anyways, now that you mention SCANDAL's exposure, that does lift my spirits up. I thought of AKB48's idea of instruments unoriginal like you said, their picture cover for GIVE ME FIVE made me think of SCANDAL, and it kinda made me feel uneasy as they got to that position because of said instruments. But at least they got to greater heights as they are willing to learn music through instruments instead of just relying on their dancing and vocals! Based on some of their videos though, they're still green it seems.

Now if only the mainstream artists in America could do such a thing eh? That's another topic though..
I'm behind SCANDAL all the way. Harukaze is a great single.

As a huge AKB fan ( which I think will come as no surprise to anyone here ) I just want to point out AKB have been about since 2005, long before Scandal were thought of, and they did not 'learn' to play instruments just for "Give me five".
All Japanese children have to learn an instrument at school and AKB are no different.
Yuko Oshima has been playing bass guitar for years, long before Tomomi started.

So they were brushing up rather than learning to play !
But I agree that because AKB are so well know it will encourage their fans to take up instruments which has to be a good thing.
Also I do not think AKB will ever be serious competion for Scandal in the J-Rock market as they are Japanese idols !

A band that has sold 12 million singles ( AKB48 ) does not need to 'keep up' with anyone !

tonymiller wrote:As a huge AKB fan ( which I think will come as no surprise to anyone here ) I just want to point out AKB have been about since 2005, long before Scandal were thought of, and they did not 'learn' to play instruments just for "Give me five".
All Japanese children have to learn an instrument at school and AKB are no different.
Yuko Oshima has been playing bass guitar for years, long before Tomomi started.

So they were brushing up rather than learning to play !

I have to disagree. Just because they learn to play "an" instrument doesn't mean they learned these particular instruments. Like I'm pretty sure Yukirin's never played drums before in her life. Also if you haven't done something in several years, I wouldn't call it brushing up, it'd probably be full out re-learning at that point.

after listening astersik and alones i must say they are really a beast in covering songs XD

tehy're just so good, they make alones a rock song the drums is so heavy

im really happy for them .toj.

UltimaRaiden wrote:

tonymiller wrote:As a huge AKB fan ( which I think will come as no surprise to anyone here ) I just want to point out AKB have been about since 2005, long before Scandal were thought of, and they did not 'learn' to play instruments just for "Give me five".
All Japanese children have to learn an instrument at school and AKB are no different.
Yuko Oshima has been playing bass guitar for years, long before Tomomi started.

So they were brushing up rather than learning to play !

I have to disagree. Just because they learn to play "an" instrument doesn't mean they learned these particular instruments. Like I'm pretty sure Yukirin's never played drums before in her life. Also if you haven't done something in several years, I wouldn't call it brushing up, it'd probably be full out re-learning at that point.

I won't really call it re-learning as well, skills that you've learnt before will always stay with you such that you just need a bit more practice to get it right again. for example, if you haven't driven a car in 10 years, you can probably drive safely out on the road without re-learning how to drive, you just need to do it more to get the feel again.

But i have to agree that not all of them learnt to play that particular instrument during their school days. what is the probability that they can ensure everyone has different musical backgrounds when they were planning this song? quite slim if you ask me. but i guess at the end of the story, AKB felt the need to depart from what they usually do, so give me five was the result

btw, how did this place transform from a HARUKAZE discussion thread to a GIVE ME FIVE thread?

metalleo wrote:I won't really call it re-learning as well, skills that you've learnt before will always stay with you such that you just need a bit more practice to get it right again. for example, if you haven't driven a car in 10 years, you can probably drive safely out on the road without re-learning how to drive, you just need to do it more to get the feel again.

Well I think it really depends on what and how long you were doing it for. I had to learn how to play the recorder in elementary school for about a year. That was well over 10 years ago. But if you ask me to do it now, I would have to re-learn everything from scratch. Now I probably haven't gone swimming in many years now, but I'm fairly confident I could still go out and just do it no problem. And I would not get into a car with someone who hasn't driven in 10 years. xD

metalleo wrote:
btw, how did this place transform from a HARUKAZE discussion thread to a GIVE ME FIVE thread?

Probably because they're charting against SCANDAL this week and someone just noticed them on the charts.

Keep on topic guys.The discussion is bout HARUKAZE alone,and this has gone way overboard.

ALONE's Have been The next SENSATION OF SCANDAL AFTER HARUKAZE.. THOUGH FOR ME HARUKAZE Is STill A SENSATION For ME..SO BOTH HARUKAZE AND ALONES ARE MY SCANDAL SENSATION RIGHT NOW.AND ALSO ASTERISK

HARUKAZE IS THE REAL DEAL .hail.

I just heard both B-sides. Amazing, simply amazing.

Alones. It's officially SCANDAL's most technical song ever. Mindboggling. But brilliant. Can you imagine it live?? Lots of stuff happening. I'll need to listen to that song a few times to catch everything.

Btw, someone SHOULD start a Give Me Five thread. I think it makes a good discussion. It's actually very commendable for AKB to start learning to play for real. Indirectly, considering the juggernaut that they are, it will be a good thing for ALL J all girl bands.

I just watched a video of the song on YT. It was all live and I have to say it was pretty good. They still didn't look comfortable with their instruments but that's no problem, they'll get better. I couldn't believe I just watched Takamina do a guitar solo..

I support efforts by ANYONE to learn to play. It's a good thing.

EDIT: On the 2nd listening of Asterisks, I finally got why Timo bought a Sublime Fuzz Pedal for her bass.

@macdyne73:
Tomo use the pedal for the fuzzy/distorted sounds of her bass while she rapping, right?And also for heavier sounds of her bass slap-play (thanks to the knob, she could easily return it to the clean state.)..Sounds like a bass synth to me though..lol
For alones, there goes Rina again!She marks herself as an upbeat drummer, and I love how she play with the beat, cool!Lots of fill-in she did..My Mami start a flanger-delay solo and end it with uprising note, flawless! And plus, she sang after the 1st reff-on the loop part-her voice so punk!

Am I the only one that found both B-Sides to be kinda weird? There was something about Haruna's voice that sounded off in ALONES. Like, her voice as on the edge of breaking and that she was straining herself a lot. Or, that's just an effect that was put on the song... <_<

For Asterisk, I liked it... Until they started rapping. I felt as though rap is not SCANDAL's area and that it sounded fairly weird.

Who knows, these songs might grow on me and I'll have a different opinion, but so far. This is the first time I haven't loved a song on a SCANDAL CD.

^I agree with you on Alones.
It might sound harsh, but I cannot stand Haruna's voice in that song... it's the worst at the beginning.

Asterisk... OMG I love it, I just don't like those effects they used in the raping part and that stereo left and right switch(I hope you know what I mean, can't explain it any better )

I agree about the rap on Asterisk but I like this recover even when, because I haven't loved the original song and the recover by SCANDAL made me liked this song.

After about ALONES, I think what Innoveda said is an effect put on the song, even though I don't like that. But it's true, it's like if Haruna has straining on her voice, but I guess the recording was done when Haruna's voice wasn't at its best level.

jigoku79 wrote:@macdyne73:
Tomo use the pedal for the fuzzy/distorted sounds of her bass while she rapping, right?And also for heavier sounds of her bass slap-play (thanks to the knob, she could easily return it to the clean state.)..Sounds like a bass synth to me though..lol
For alones, there goes Rina again!She marks herself as an upbeat drummer, and I love how she play with the beat, cool!Lots of fill-in she did..My Mami start a flanger-delay solo and end it with uprising note, flawless! And plus, she sang after the 1st reff-on the loop part-her voice so punk!

@jigoku79 Agree with you on all counts.

Yep, that's what I think I heard. During the rap sections, it sounds like it's both synth and fuzz together. It's great man! Cool slap action in Asterisks.

Alones is such a great song. Great melodies and arrangement. Mami sounded great, I wasn't expecting her to come in like that. Nice singing from her.

@everyone else

Yes, I understand why some of us might feel like the B-sides are "weird". But this is our SCANDAL and that is how they roll yo. Over the year or so that I've been following them, I have learned to Expect The Unexpected(TM). They're always pushing themselves to try new sounds. Better get used to that.

Re: Haru's voice. These songs were recorded when her voice wasn't in top condition so nothing could have been done. She didn't sound THAT bad anyway.

Also, a tip from me:- Haru's voice has changed. It may or may not return fully but right now if people are expecting her to sound like she did in 2010, prepare to be disappointed. It's an individual's right to manage expectations but you gotta to be realistic ya know? Judging from the performances on BOKUON, her singing is getting better so don't worry too much yeah?

macdyne73 wrote:She didn't sound THAT bad anyway.

That's what I wanted to say when I saw that post about HARU's voice in ALONES. But I had to wait for other inputs. I have to agree that HARU's voice is not the same in their recent release when compared to their past releases. But it's not THAT drastic as some have voiced out imo. I thoroughly enjoyed the song (ALONES) and actually really like it. Everything in it is good. HARU's voice is just a part of it and it's not even that worse. It's not the best but it's acceptable. It's not even that sudden of a change because if you may recall HARU's voice on their recordings has started to change since LOVE SURVIVE.

So I found this. The 'making of' of the HARUKAZE PV:

Harukaze stayed at 5th position on Oricon daily:
http://www.oricon.co.jp/rank/js/d/2012-02-25/

DUL7 wrote:

macdyne73 wrote:She didn't sound THAT bad anyway.

That's what I wanted to say when I saw that post about HARU's voice in ALONES. But I had to wait for other inputs. I have to agree that HARU's voice is not the same in their recent release when compared to their past releases. But it's not THAT drastic as some have voiced out imo. I thoroughly enjoyed the song (ALONES) and actually really like it. Everything in it is good. HARU's voice is just a part of it and it's not even that worse. It's not the best but it's acceptable. It's not even that sudden of a change because if you may recall HARU's voice on their recordings has started to change since LOVE SURVIVE.

Dude you took the words right out of my mouth .hail. I completely agree with you on Alones .Heck i actually braced myself for Haru's voice being bad or worse in the song but upon listening i was pleased that her voice was actually ok if not better than i expected .I mean we all knew that Haru's voice wasn't in top condition last year.Anyway I actually prefer SCANDAL's cover of this song than the original imo .whistle. .The fusion of Haru's ,Tomo's and Mami's voices in this song are just simply amazing. .toj. Needless to say SCANDAL did an amazing job with the song (Alones) imo . .uhuh.

i don't even like the original Asterisk, but the SCANDAL version made me like the song now. yay for SCANDAL!

i understand how everyone feels about haru's voice but come on! Let's just enjoy how they covered it. They really did a really great job in playing with their instruments we can hear mami's improveness same with the 3 of them and it's inevitable that we can hear haru's strained voice as she hasnt recovered when they're releasing a new song

hapihapi wrote:i understand how everyone feels about haru's voice but come on! Let's just enjoy how they covered it. They really did a really great job in playing with their instruments we can hear mami's improveness same with the 3 of them and it's inevitable that we can hear haru's strained voice as she hasnt recovered when they're releasing a new song

I agree

I can't imagine any other way they should sing Alones, as for Haru's voice since it's a cover song some of her natural approach and style in singing is compromise to reach certain parts.... overall outstanding job...

it seems for four days they did manage to break into the 20K sales
http://ameblo.jp/su2009/entry-11175992374.html

Down to 9th for February 26 .waaa. http://www.oricon.co.jp/rank/js/d/2012-02-26/more/2/
Tomorrow they will post the weekly rankings

With it being the opening for a Bleach theme, I rank it'll rank fairly high. Well, I hope it will.

finally decided to order it.

Luckily I get next month along with the album