True Left

I meant inside this topic I wouldn't be recommending post-Counterculture-era music. Elsewhere I post whatever suits the occasion.

Back here, I am ready to post more Counterculture-era music. I am just waiting for the discussion to continue so I can post along with it! Without an ongoing discussion, it is harder to decide what to post. More duets? More song dramas? Or should I just post whatever I myself am listening to in private at the moment of posting?

"what have you listened to at the moment?"

I just posted it above!

https://trueleft.createaforum.com/counterculture-era/recommended-music-to-listen-to/msg20169/#msg20169

But that was while writing that post. Now at the moment of writing this post, I am listening to:



See also:

https://trueleft.createaforum.com/human-evolution/facial-aryanism/msg17777/#msg17777

"I know you would listen to Minamino and Kudo"

I listen to Minamino's Sukeban-Deka-related songs only:

https://trueleft.createaforum.com/counterculture-era/the-archetype-of-the-warrior-how-films-help-empower-us-all/msg18991/#msg18991

whereas I listen to all of Kudo's early (2000 and before) solo work:



and am happy to recommend more here if you or others want me to.

See also:

https://trueleft.createaforum.com/human-evolution/facial-aryanism/msg17852/#msg17852

Minamino does not even come close to Kudo in terms of strictly musical significance. The ones to meaningfully compare to Kudo (the Purple Queen) are her predecessors Yamaguchi (the White Queen), Matsuda (the Red Queen) and Nakamori (the Black Queen) each of whom was at one time the top female singer:



But considering total significance in pop culture as a whole, Minamino easily catches up on account of Sukeban Deka II, which is the definitive epic of Counterculture-era Japan:

https://trueleft.createaforum.com/counterculture-era/the-archetype-of-the-warrior-how-films-help-empower-us-all/msg18991/#msg18991

compared to which Kudo's best drama:

https://trueleft.createaforum.com/counterculture-era/is-counterculture-still-alive/msg19002/#msg19002

is decidedly minor in impact.

Overall, both are deservedly among the greatest icons of that era.

"but would the quote mean you would listen to Nakayama and Asaka?"

I listen to Asaka's Sukeban-Deka-related songs only, though her own season (III) sucked (her best contribution to the franchise was in Minamino's movie - I just watch that and her own movie and pretend III never happened). In my opinion, she rode Minamino's coattails to fame.

Nakayama I proudly avoid like the plague.

"Speaking of J-pop, what artists would you recommend from the compilation mentioned here:"

I have already recommended them!

Yamaguchi was most certainly not specifically a singer. Her Akai series of dramas dominated the 70s:



The heroine archetype that she established would go on to be imitated for many years after her early retirement*. (Only Minamino (to her credit) ignored it and thus belatedly brought in the 80s archetype.) The way I would describe it is that it took Kudo and Minamino combined to dethrone Yamaguchi, the former displacing her musically and the latter dramatically. This in itself is a tribute to Yamaguchi's outsized impact in pop culture.

(* This was also Yamaguchi's wisest move, as it meant the world would never have to watch her decline.)

Here is my reply.

Those were sincere songs. I liked the third song, the last build of momentum. One thing I see in the music you like is that they were easy to follow along. You cannot get that with most of today's electronic music. Even Counterculture electronic music was that simple. This reminds me of a quote about northern and southern climates:

https://trueleft.createaforum.com/human-evolution/temperature-effects/msg20860/#msg20860

Quote

People in the north had to evolve not just the intelligence to build shelter, make warm clothes, and invent weapons for killing big game. They had to think ahead, and this is one of the most important human traits.

...

How much better would the world be with less thinking ahead?

From that logic, a good song requires less deadline-based rehearsals. Deadlines reflects an artist's skill but limits their imagination. I believe a true rehearsal should not have a due date to complete by, but rather be a lifestyle. That way the artist/performer can go by their own pace and will also feel more prepared when a gig comes. Not only that but it will feel less like work and more like a hobby (contrast with an artist/performer who rehearses just for one gig).

What do you guys think? This topic does not have to be between me and 90sRF. It could use other people too.

"back then it was a viable path for some musicians to be literal recording artists who concentrated primarily on recording:"

Could the same be said for performers to concentrate on performing?

"Some people like to try over and over until they get exactly the effect they want."

What about those who are required to get the effect by a due date? Because that was the point I was trying to make. Rather than practicing over and over until they get their effect by their own pace, some artists are challenged to get their effect by a certain deadline. If I am wrong, explain.

"This was the norm for thousands of years before recording existed!"

This gives me a thought. Individual with fewer talents contribute more to their talents than an individual with more talents do to their talents. One reason why Nakata's music (including his songs made for Perfume) sounds mediocre is because he does more than just music. Not to recommend anymore music from him, but in one of his 'golden rules' at 6:33 (note the low quality aesthetics) (Mute your audio if you need to.):



So in other words, he does not even contribute that much to music. You can tell from the art direction, the overly compressed production and even his clothes that his aesthetics are spiritless. Wagner on the other hand did not intend to create his total artwork by himself. Hitler did not intend to create his whole NS state by himself either, as he simply approved of the architecture, uniforms, art, propaganda, politics, etc.

"Case study:

...

steamrolled for eternity by:"

The first singer sounded more motherly while the second singer, Kwan, sounded more childlike. There is more emotion and innocence in Kwan's voice.

"Even more fun is when you commission a song from a composer, release it:

...

and then the composer himself(!) releases his own infinitely superior version to show the world how it was meant to sound:"

I would be happy to comment on the composition since I love compositions. The first version was a good simple start but it did need improvement. As for the second version, it sounded like it was grown out of the composer's imagination. Though I am a fan of energetic and danceable music, there is something about a good quality ballad that feels magical.

Something I learned about art. Simpler aesthetics are quicker to create. But when a relatively simple aesthetic takes the same amount of time to create as a relatively complex aesthetic, the former has more quality than the latter.