1 post tagged “yukino”

Since his attitude and likeness is plastered all over this blog, I'll continue to praise Mr. Dai Mase.  This time I have a rhetorical question, what exactly *is* Thursday? 

No one, it seems, simply likes Thursday.  They either hate it or they love it.  Most of those who hate it, can't get past the grating screaming/growling that is Daisuke's performance.  I sympathize to a certain extent, but on the other hand, I can't.  Because if Daisuke's all you're listening to, you're missing out.  I've noticed a horrible trend by people on both sides of the argument; paying FAR too much attention to the vocalist.  If he's bad, the whole song is bad.  If he's good, it's a good song.  This doesn't make sense for a lot of reasons, but the biggest one is that there aren't enough good vocalists out there to even begin to have such an absurd criteria.

So, back to Thursday.  If Daisuke's not the song, who is?  The answer is simple:  Yukino and Aie.  It's Aie's song, to be sure, and I give him all the accolades for the airtight, minimalistic composition.  However, if those two are gonna finally get somewhere in a band, they need the exact type of cooperation found in this song between bass and guitar.  The drums are simply a metronome for Yukino's chunky, rhythmic slap bass, and it's definitely him driving it.  However, not to be outdone, Aie is right behind him, doing both rhythm and melody as he often does, and that is really unparalleled by any other guitarist I've heard.  I love how there isn't a single inch of space between them (Aie and Yukino), when one's part stops, the other's is right there finishing his phrase.
Midway through they they break it down, and it's Aie doing the first group of slides.  His quick little solo cedes this to Yukino who swiftly mirrors what Aie had done just a few seconds ago.  The ending is almost like a war between bass and guitar, each seemingly going faster than the other in a race to finish the song.  It's a bit like the start, except more frenetic, more urgent.

This song is really a study in cooperation and competition.  Neither line could work without the other, but as both fight for rhythm and melody, it's easy to hear the competition as well.  To me it says something about what their working relationship has been.  Both were in the same band at the beginning of their careers, likely a highschool era band, but a band nevertheless.  Then, about three years later, Aie joins Yukino in Kein for three months.  And Yukino started out in Deadman when it formed, but obviously due to musical conflicts with Aie, left only one single in.  Yukino composed half of the four songs for that one single and Aie composed the rest of the music for Deadman for the remaining years they were together.
Now, here they are again, in the same band.  Only this time, it's very obviously Aie's project and he has the control from the start.

Thursday is not about Daisuke, and it's certainly not about Hibiki.  I can't even hear them over the call and response, cooperation and competition that is the Aie and Yukino show.  Maybe that's why I've listened to it over 60 times on my computer alone, even more in my car.  I can't get enough of it.  It's like a battle, and even though I know how it ends, it's over too quickly and I have to hear it again.  I keep thinking there's something I've missed.  A phrase that went by at the speed of light.  Lost in the wave of Aie's lightening-fast fretting (how anyone can play barre chords and still be that fast is beyond me) or Yukino's thunderous slapping.  How HE manages to get in part of a melody while only slapping is beyond me.  But he can only do it, because Aie's there to back him up with his own, strong, percussive playing.

In conclusion, I LOVE this song.  It's the second-most listened song on my Last FM for a damn good reason.