I mean yes and no? I’ve listened to a bit more than what I alluded to, just didn’t feel like doing extensive research into remembering exact songs. But I am more familiar with their early output yes. I think listening to at least half a band’s output should give you a good idea of what grabs you. I literally like everything pre-Kyuutai with maybe Houyoku bringing up the rear. That’s already a lot of genres, styles, and moods to work with.
I want to separate genre from passion. I gravitate towards heavier styles, but anything sufficiently passionate grabs my attention. I listen to a lot of stuff outside of metal. I like songs I can hum right away, or one where the riff just starts in my head when I think of the title, or one that makes you feel. I don’t like every song either, but the ones I like I like because they transcend that linguistic barrier and make me feel something.
But that feeling disappeared for me after Karma. I’ve tried like I said and I couldn’t find anything that gave me the feeling which made me go explore MUCC in the first place. Good? Sure. Good enough to rekindle the flame? Nope. So I pass the question to you: what is out there by MUCC in the last ten years that fits the definition of what I poorly described? I looked and couldn’t find it.
For lynch. definitely, but not for MUCC. Each album and each song is really different.
Not liking something is completely fine, I just disagree on your statement that the issue is them putting out too much. It’s just not your cup of tea.
Oh, I don’t think I can answer that question for you because our tastes are way different. I’m not really purist/elitist/“this genre only”, that’s maybe why I can can enjoy all releases of MUCC, because it’s always really mixed. I also think Aku was rather weak, but definitely has its moments. Like I said, if you are into the heavier songs, Kowapiri is probably more fitting for you. Myakuhaku is definitely heavier in general, but you won’t enjoy CLASSIC or Himitsu then. TRENDY is pretty good as well, but more an hommage to 90s vk and has electro elements, so I don’t think you’d enjoy it either.
Like I said, I think it’s rather that you don’t enjoy them that much in general -which is fine- but not them putting out too many songs.
I kinda agree with both sides here in a way. Mucc isn’t releasing as strong albums as they used to. With this I mean they probably should release EPs instead of full length albums with cherry picked songs. Aku has some really strong songs too but it has some filler material too. With the two songs Justice and Ameriya you have a foundation for banger EP. EP with size of Trendy or smaller could be amazing but the band would really have to sit down and really cherry pick the good stuff. Kowapiri is a really solid album but one can argue that one or two songs could be left out which ones depends on the listener.
Also I feel like that the current MUCC is here longer than the MUCC everyone adored let’s say until the release of (album of your choice) so I don’t think anything new can be said and any further discourse is absolutely pointless. We won’t suddenly change the direction MUCC is heading since nobody could for many years.
I wouldn‘t even know which songs should be cherry picked because it‘s a matter of taste. That‘s what ir‘s about.
While my favorites are Kuchiki no tou and Houyoku and Indo enjoy certain songs from before but not even overall albums I also do enjoy the releases after Kuchiki no tou but definitely went to forget about everything except for few songs with Shion already. However Karma got me back as a full album despite the electronics (I‘m not much into electronics in general but this album hit a spot, which is about what? yeah, taste again).
To me Trendy was just getting back closest to Houyoku even though it‘s definitely not the same and it‘s more about hoe I feel about it that‘s why it might perceived differently by others.
Since then there‘s been no full release convincing me (except for the GONER/WORLD single, and here I am back with them while most people just bragged about the next crappy release and I was here and felt back to the beginning of my Mucc days) but single songs were great though.
I don‘t get all the complaining because why do people always invest time into that (not just about Mucc that goes for many other bands, too)? Taste is nothing that is debatable because there‘s nothing right or wrong about taste. Enjoy the songs you like and stay away from the rest is the most chill way anyway.
Esit
I forgot to mention Kowareta piano because I enjoy that album except for one song, too.
And totally love Living dead.
I think it’s both and possibly some other things too. I’ve noticed a trend from artists across every genre where my perception of the quality of the product decreases as the pace of releases increases. I think an extreme example of this is Buckethead with his 327 albums - it’s hard to make a case for quality control when he was releasing an album every day at one point in time. There’s an argument to be made that slowing down the pace can allow for some inspiration to hit, but there is a limit to that too. Ultimately time is only one factor of the equation and if I don’t like the end result, then more time in the oven won’t change a thing.
I know humans aren’t an infinite font of creativity and perhaps genre hopping is one way to keep the creative juices flowing…I’m just looking for something after 2009 that gives me the same feeling from before and I am not finding it. And everyone’s responses to Aku really do make me feel like I chose the worst album to try.
I’m mostly looking for something that will make me want to play it for someone else. Genre really doesn’t matter. You’d be surprised at some of the stuff I give away in trade offs or play on turntable…
Subjectivity is what makes music beautiful. Discussing why you like what you like and why you don’t like what you don’t is a great way to connect yourself to new music. This forum would die if every response to every post was one of twelve variations of “this is good”. Complaints and negativity may be annoying, but groupthink isn’t a better alternative. A balance is needed.
Your perception which is individual.
Aside from the point that none of us knows what exactly the band had in mind where there were aiming at. Maybe it‘s exactly what you (and others too but not everyone otherwise stuff wouldn‘t be sold that much) perceive as decreasing quality.
How about just talking instead of complaining. And also acceptance that‘s been it with the band. Not just talking about you and Mucc here but in general especially with seeing complaints over the years with literally every release being crap. Why not just stopping then because seemingly there won‘t be a way back to what it‘s been in the past and anything new seems to be good for these people?
Exchanging thoughts is totally fine but something different than complaining.
If I start moderating how people express themselves, that’s a very slippery slope to a place I don’t want to entertain going. There are times when I need to step in and redirect conversation when it doesn’t go anywhere fruitful, but to me that’s different than telling people they can’t express negative thoughts or feelings. It just has to be done in a mature and constructive fashion and to me, dispensing of all negativity in discourse is just a backhanded way of implementing group think. And ultimately I believe the beauty in music and the strength of this community lie in the opinions we share as well as the ones we don’t.
And of course my perception is individual, but that is what I am seeing and feeling with this band for the last twelve years. I also don’t think I’m the only one who feels this way to some degree. I am open to hearing song suggestions which could potentially change my mind, knowing full well it might not. Drop some links yo.
Did I say anything about the team should moderate things being said? Because no I didn‘t. I didn‘t refer to the team at all.
But with you bringing up the topic of constructive things being said I just drop this, do about it what you like (I wouldn‘t have brought that up without you mentioning it).
Stuff like „song XYZ is the only good one the rest of the release is pure crap and everyone saying something different doesn‘t know anything about music“ is very constructive. Yeah that was sarcastic. And stuff like this gets said over and over again on this forum which makes me wonder how serious I can take what you said about things habe to be said in a constructive and mature way.
Last comment on this: You quoted an admin leaving a negative take about how tired you are of negative takes and how you desire people to act, so I did the math and explained why that behavior is present and why I haven’t done anything about it, even though I’m one of the few people here who can. You didn’t have to explicitly refer to me for me to infer that. Members will not learn how to wield constructive negativity if they are not given ample space to do so and possibly overcompensate in the process. MH used to be so much more toxic than JRO - we’re making great progress in this regard and it’s been a little under two years. Negativity will always exist and I think it’s best if each instance is handled case-by-case, because if you abstract it enough it will always seem like “everyone” is “always” negative; but people have different, complex, even contradictory feelings about different topics all the time! That’s what makes discussion so fun. We get to the bottom of why we like what we do and maybe learn a bit about ourselves in the process.
I‘m sorry, I didn‘t know you put your opinion as a team member. i thought I was talking to you as the individual person like all the members that aren‘t part of the team. If it hadn‘t been you putting these words out but someone else who isn‘t on the team I‘d have said the same so the whole moderating aspect seems pretty pointless to me in this discussion.
I keep my thoughts on the toxic part to me because that would lead to nothing at all.
Just in general, if I’m talking about moderation then I’m talking about the team. I don’t take big actions without consulting them either before or after. We tend to be on the same page about things as a result.
But I originally quoted you when moderating wasn‘t a topic at all. So I really don‘t get why you bring it up at some point when it‘s just been about personal taste.
hey @Zeus (& anyone else) if you’re not completely 100% burnt out on mucc yet would you be down to try a track or two off Miya’s mix of 惡? - assuming you haven’t already
not saying it’d bring the album up to the level of 葬ラ謳 or anything, but i’m curious if i’m the only one who finds a night & day difference in his & the original mix, a good example imho being 海月
i think it’s more amateurish but affords more space to the guitars’ low end & lets the instruments sit more naturally without as tight compression
or there’s also the original master of アメリア from the live dist CD which i just can’t understand why they let go of - here the dynamic range is so much wider, the EQs get to be different on different parts, and the transitions really slap in instead of smoothly rolling over
anyway just typing this out not bc i’m trying to talk anyone into loving an album i think is at best passable/alright - but more bc i’m really curious what actually goes into bands “sounding vkei” or not, or if anyone’s got any thoughts on what it is about mucc’s post-20xx output that gives it the passionless impression they get
personally if i had to say my fav 3 albums of theirs it’d be
1, 葬ラ謳
2, シャングリラ
3, 鵬翼
bc i am a strange person with strange opinions - so i recognize i might not exactly be aligned w/ everyone else lolol
I’m a bit sleep deprived now so I’ll have to return to this when I have energy.
Aight I’m back and I listened to both mixes of three of the tracks: 惡 -JUSTICE-, アメリア, and 海月. I also find a night and day difference between the original mix and Miya’s mix, and I much prefer Miya’s mix. I didn’t realize how much the treble was emphasized on the original mix! There’s no bite or crunch on the guitars and less attack and variety on the drums; even if they are hitting all the same notes they feel so constrained in the original mix, like a talented dancer two-stepping in the corner because the club is too packed to do anything else. I feel like all the members of the band sans Tatsuro are being de-emphasized in favor of the synth and piano work on the original mix. On Miya’s mix, everyone feels a bit more equal and the guitars and bass really come alive. They feel like a hard rock band again, which is honestly something that I haven’t felt since Kyuutai.
Congratulations @rsm_rain, you understood the assignment.
So now I understand that what I’m really disliking is the production choices that they’ve been making. I feel like whoever they have at the helm really likes treble at the expense of the low end and the mid range, and it wasn’t really obvious to me until I got Miya’s mix. Someone please tell me he was in charge of mixing this album.
oh amazing! ty for checking it out - i’m honestly really happy to hear someone, esp w/ your experience, validate my less-than-usual mixing preferences~
uncompressed, room-tone drums are my favourite sound, and i’ve always wondered why i seem so in the minority since 2005ish for preferring them… as least you & Miya seem to agree w/ me there lolol
