J-pop Recommendations

[Hayate Kurogane]

Originally Posted by Fencedude

I liked that song ;_;

Anyway, I know nothing about them other than that FMA song. I couldn't keep up interest in Star Driver, so I know nothing about this song or their other stuff that wasn't on the Shunkan Sentimental Single

It's a catchy enough song, and I don't have anything against it per se, but to me, it's also a song that... I guess the best way to put it is that there's nothing about it that really makes me want to listen to it. It's astonishingly mediocre. So, my thought/concern is that if that's a song that's worth appropriating or commissioning for something like Brotherhood, then how much less interesting must the remainder of their repertoire be?

[tenton]

Originally Posted by Hayate Kurogane

The less-prurient question, though, is that now that successful marketing has gotten my attention, and acknowledging that a lukewarm opinion of one song is an insufficient sample size for passing judgment, should I really care about their other music so far? (Which, admittedly, isn't a very long list.) Should I start to pay more attention? Should I buy one of their two actual released albums, or a DVD, or something? Or is there nothing to see here except, well, something to look at briefly, and I should move on?

I dunno; they've never really grabbed my attention. Well, sure the school uniform schtick, but musically, they've been pretty blah, IMO. Part of it I think is their musical skills; they're okay, but nothing to write home about. They're improving little by little, but they don't click with me. Probably comes down to the drummer and the bass player not really clicking with me (this is normal for me with rock bands, though). I like another Osaka all girls band (Oreskaband) much better, but they're not wearing school uniforms.

I'll have to give their FMA and Star Driver stuff another listen and re-evaluate how far they've come.

[alexd00]

Originally Posted by Hayate Kurogane

The less-prurient question, though, is that now that successful marketing has gotten my attention, and acknowledging that a lukewarm opinion of one song is an insufficient sample size for passing judgment, should I really care about their other music so far? (Which, admittedly, isn't a very long list.) Should I start to pay more attention? Should I buy one of their two actual released albums, or a DVD, or something? Or is there nothing to see here except, well, something to look at briefly, and I should move on?

I first heard of Scandal when I went to Sakuracon in 2008. They were one of the musical guests (though not the main guest I was interested in) and they played a couple concerts. I didn't really have any expectations when I went in, and I was pleasantly surprised. Granted, their music is rather simplistic, but it's entertaining enough for me. Plus, they put on a really energetic and fun show. I don't know which songs are anime tie-ins, so I'm not sure what kind of impressions their OPs & EDs give. They're basically girly rock-pop music, with maybe a little bit of punk thrown in.

I kind of kept tabs on them until their first album, "Best Scandal", came out. I ended up getting the LE w/ DVD (there was also an LE w/ Photobook) and I think it was a pretty solid purchase. It's not that long (~50 minutes), but it's got a lot of up-tempo songs that I enjoy. The DVD is pretty solid as well. It's got seven music videos, a mini-tour digest movie, and two PV 'making-of's. Last year, they released a 2nd album, "Temptation Box", which I also picked up, but I don't like it quite as much as the first album. The DVD is also not quite as entertaining, although it does have some amusing moments.

They also put out their first live DVD last year, "Scandal First Live ~Best Scandal 2009~". It's okay, but not great. The show itself is fine, but the production quality is lower than I'm used to. To be fair, it's also 2,000-4,000 yen cheaper than every other concert I bought last year. It might be kind of unfair to compare their club show with a Nana/ Yukarin/ Minorin extravaganza, but I can't help but notice. Definitely a lotta legs in the video though. They've got another live DVD coming out in March, I haven't decided if I'm going to get it or not. I much prefer BluRays these days, but it is pretty cheap (4,300 MSRP).

As far as getting a feel for whether you'll like them or not, I would definitely lean towards the first album rather than the second, but of course that's my personal preference. If you can track down a copy with the DVD, I think it's great for the added material. I never saw the photobook that came with the first CD, but I have the second one. It's not bad, but it didn't blow me away either. For individual songs, I would recommend "Shoujo S" (少女S), "Space Ranger" (スペースレンジャー), "DOLL", and "SAKURA Goodbye" (SAKURAグッバイ). There are clips at the Neowing page for their first album.