From: Christopher Grass (bluesjumper_at_hotmail.com)
Date: 2003-07-06 10:59:31
My favorite Bird album is "Mind Travel". There are elements of her first
disc that I really love, though. The third album, Gokujo Hybrid, is good,
but it veers off in a different direction...perhaps due to the fact that Mr.
Osawa produced most of Mind Travel, while Bird did the majority of her third
disc.
Oh, and I agree with you (in a way) on not having Bird sing in English. I
spin her stuff in my sets, and people either don't notice that it's in
Japanese, or they come up and ask who the artist is. However, since I
English IS my native language, just once I would love to hear her sing a
song in English. Of course, she may not speak English at all. Look at it
like this: Nina Miranda sings in both Portuguese and English, since she is
fluent in both. I love it when she sings, period, no matter what the
language...but it is nice to be able to understand the vocals...it can give
even more meaning to a song (to me). Same thing goes for Bird...but I'd
love to find out if she is multi-lingual! I listened to Bird's version of
the Mondo Grosso tune "Life", and then I listened to the English language
version...and It's really tough to say which one I prefer. I mean REALLY
tough. Bird's voice is so perfect, but I love how the lyrics translate to
English: "Life, everchanging...nothing ever stays the same" has more meaning
for me because I can understand it! . Perhaps I should learn Japanese;
that would solve any issues I might have.
Speaking of Mondo Grosso...what is up with the new album? Talk about a
change in sound...Osawa sounds like he has been listening to tons of trance
and progressive house. I like the first few tracks, especially "Motormouth"
and the scat of "Waitin' For T", but the HIDEOUS cover of the Beastie Boys'
"Fight For Your Right (to Party)" almost ruined the album for me. It could
have been a b-side (as a kitschy novelty), but it was just a BAD decision to
put it right in the middle of the album. The following track, "Dancefloor
Combat", was a little better, but it really struck me as a blatant attempt
to cash in on the prog house/breaks sound. On the upside, the Towa Tei
track was pretty cool, and there are some Underworld-ish tracks on the disc
that actually sound pretty good...but overall I think this album is gonna
meet with some harsh criticism, especially following the amazing "MG4" and
its remixes. I'm all for artists going in a new direction, but I'm not too
fond of where Osawa is heading with his new sound. Anyone else agree?
Oh, and the J's Bee album "Five" is finally available stateside via
Dustygroove. If you liked the Sleepwalker album, and are into the Freeform
Arkestra...I HIGHLY recommend picking this up. No joke, it's that good.
Also, two disc to pick up if you haven't already: the new Rithma (on OM) and
the new Belladonna (Irma). Two spectacular releases...jazzy, soulful, and
surprisingly spiritual on several tracks.
>From: Wesley <wesleyc_at_cox.net>
>To: acid-jazz_at_ucsd.edu
>Subject: Re: [acid-jazz] Video :: bird - tour 2003 ~alcohol~ Vol. 1 !!!
>Date: Sat, 05 Jul 2003 18:49:36 -0700
>
>i hope bird doesn't sing in English. that's part of the beauty of it. no
>more than i'd want Veloso and Gilberto to drop Porteguese entirely for
>English, or Birkin and Keren Ann to drop French. it's the linguistic
>singularity of language (in this case Japanese) that makes bird that much
>more special. language not only aids to convey certain imagery, but it
>facilitates an altogether different approach to flow and phrasing.
>
>which is your favorite album? i'm still not sure. all three display
>utterly masterful songwriting and production, but all three are so
>different.
>
>you can feel free to use the search engine on the front page of Sound
>Lounge to search for more similar bird posts that i've likely not forwarded
>to this list.
>
>best,
>Wesley
>The Eclectic Sounds of Japan
>[Sound :: Lounge] http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SoundLounge
>
>
>Christopher Grass wrote:
>
>>Awesome...I am a Bird FREAK...I have all three of her albums, in addition
>>to the stuff she did with Mondo Grosso. I just wish she sang some tunes
>>in English, hehe.
>>
>>
>>>From: Wesley <wesleyc_at_cox.net>
>>>To: Sound Lounge <soundlounge_at_yahoogroups.com>
>>>CC: Acid Jazz ml - UCSD <acid-jazz_at_ucsd.edu>
>>>Subject: [acid-jazz] Video :: bird - tour 2003 ~alcohol~ Vol. 1 !!!
>>>Date: Sat, 05 Jul 2003 16:08:21 -0700
>>>
>>> Video :: bird - tour 2003 ~alcohol~ Vol. 1 !!!
>>>
>>>ahhhh! exciting!! Sony Japan's Morrich website has something really
>>>special up on bird--one of the premier names in the whole song based nu
>>>jazz+soul+electronic grooves style of artists along with Orange Pekoe,
>>>Mondo Grosso, Beady Belle, Koop.
>>>
>>>it's a really high quality video stream (probably at least 500K, maybe up
>>>to several megs; big enough for full screen); there's also a low quality
>>>version for those with modems. it's a very long video (16 minutes). it
>>>starts off with footage of bird with a couple friends in a living room
>>>sampling various kinds of Japanese liquor and giving their reviews. they
>>>end up liking most of them except two. in between this "alcohol review
>>>session" they also play some clips of bird's music videos: Souls, Beats,
>>>Sora no Hitomi...
>>>
>>>to watch the high quality version: go to bird's website (link below).
>>>there will be a pop-up window. scroll down that window and click on the
>>>logo graphic that says "Morrich" and it will start up the video in a new
>>>window for you.
>>>http://www.bird-watch.net
>>>
>>>to watch the low quality version:
>>>http://www.sonymusic.co.jp/Music/Info/bird/sj0520/alcohol_01.asx
>>>
>>>since this is the "Vol.1" footage, there may be more additions to this
>>>soon, especially as she commences her Summer Tour this month.
>>>
>>>Wesley
>>>The Eclectic Sounds of Japan
>>>[Sound :: Lounge] http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SoundLounge
>>
>
>
>
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