Excuse me it is a shame, but I have heard Koisuru Universe today first.
And "whoa" this is a strong "must have" song

I'm really loving Futari, everything was mixed sooo well. The instruments are pure gold in this track . Its almost to the point that I got lost in the music and forgot Haruna was singing lol. And Tomomi was right about the fast paced bass riffs. Maybe she need to use a pick after all. Everything they said about the song in the interview are correct.
They really are showcasing their musical talent with these two songs (and previous songs like Take me out , Freedome fighters), its 11 years of hard work pouring in these songs.
@ Park23 yes, I've noticed that too.

If the songs release so far are any indication of the style theyre going for in the next album, its going to be amazing.

Take Me Out
Koisuru Universe
Futari
Freedom Fighters
HELLO

Just listening to these songs back to back is getting me excited for whatever they release next.

polysix wrote:If the songs release so far are any indication of the style theyre going for in the next album, its going to be amazing.

Take Me Out
Koisuru Universe
Futari
Freedom Fighters
HELLO

Just listening to these songs back to back is getting me excited for whatever they release next.

Don't speak so loud, 'I want you' is from Take me out single  

I think I need to listen Futari more times to get in love with it.

@polysix, I know , the next album will have a really good vibe

Agree: their current style trend is wicked groovy. Still can we also get some more Tomo-esque stuff like Sunday Drive, Love, and Pizza Party? I also like Rina's "I Want You" … That really sets them apart as a great band, so much variety in their work, such cool styles in performance… And what solidarity and dedication …  I gotta stop

joameba wrote:
Don't speak so loud, 'I want you' is from Take me out single  

Laughed out loud on this statement.  "I Want You" is the only Scandal song I can't listen to.  It doesn't even seem like a Scandal song to me, even compared to their most girly or poppy past songs ("Brand New Wave" and "Kill The Virgin" comes to mind).

The "Futari" is blocked where I am, but if what everyone is saying is true, I know I'm going to love this one.

etwee wrote:Agree: their current style trend is wicked groovy. Still can we also get some more Tomo-esque stuff like Sunday Drive, Love, and Pizza Party? I also like Rina's "I Want You" … That really sets them apart as a great band, so much variety in their work, such cool styles in performance… And what solidarity and dedication …  I gotta stop

Oh you know that stuff is coming :D 
Thats whats great about SCANDAL they can jump back and forth and can literally play anything. But one thing I miss the most is them singing together taking turns on vocals on a song. I would really want to hear where they could take that with their skill level now.

Don Dio wrote:

joameba wrote:
Don't speak so loud, 'I want you' is from Take me out single  

Laughed out loud on this statement.  "I Want You" is the only Scandal song I can't listen to.  It doesn't even seem like a Scandal song to me, even compared to their most girly or poppy past songs ("Brand New Wave" and "Kill The Virgin" comes to mind).

The "Futari" is blocked where I am, but if what everyone is saying is true, I know I'm going to love this one.

Lol, feel the same. Not a fan of" i want you", and i forgot it was even a song for a second. But a Scandal song is a Scandal song.

The youtube vid is blocked where i am too, i just used the Youpak link .
I also use this link, if you still haven't got to listen to it yet, you can use this
Right Here

Yeah the bsides on take me out weren’t exactly scandal.... dobondo bondo anyone?
However “I Want You” is channeling Rina’s electropop cravings (she likes Perfume, and Utada Hikaru has some electronic songs... I wonder if she like Namie Amuro as well?)

So yeah, while it doesn’t feel like a fully fleshed out song, I do like it.

I just wish this one would release already! :g

mio_akiyama wrote:Yeah the bsides on take me out weren’t exactly scandal.... dobondo bondo anyone?
However “I Want You” is channeling Rina’s electropop cravings (she likes Perfume, and Utada Hikaru has some electronic songs... I wonder if she like Namie Amuro as well?)

So yeah, while it doesn’t feel like a fully fleshed out song, I do like it.

I just wish this one would release already! :g

Sorry this is off topic-- at least the Dobondobondo stuff is not credited as Scandal, and I'm fine with that.  "I Want You" should have gone under the Almond Crush banner, or credited differently, maybe as Rina (even if all the girls played on it).  This wouldn't have been unusual for an established band to play on another's solo recording (Rod Stewart and The Faces are a prime example).

Back on topic: Finally  heard "Futari."  Good song, but  "Universe" is my favorite of the two at the moment.  I'll probably change my mind next week after I've listened to this a few more times.

Take Me Out and Koisuru Universe are among their best songs, if they're any indication their next album will be great. Amazing how they keep getting better and better!

Kinda late to the discussion but my only complaint about the MV is that now I'm really jealous of MAMI... but seriously, one of their best videos, great use of lighting and colors. Beautiful.

I like the song, but I think I won't watch the MV very often (will wait for live performances).
I'm not sure why they made the video that way. Is this really for PR reasons? I would understand if SCANDAL is a new band trying to make themself known. Some parts of the video are really... fan service. And I'm not talking about the kissing (well, how the kissing is shown is also fan service...).
One of my friends visiting me today asked me why this MV looks so "bitchy" compared to other SCANDAL MVs. Was a little bit shocked how he commented the video (it's not innocent, but bitchy?)

Like many here, I'm curious to hear about the video from the band, what the message they're trying to convey. The common theme in the MV seems to be "not caring and not resisting to your cravings": drinking milk not caring about spilling, putting everything you want in a disgusting hot dog, taking a shower with your clothes on, the kiss... that's how I'm interpreting it, because you shouldn't resist love   


...or maybe the director is just a pervert, who knows?

Keashaa wrote:I like the song, but I think I won't watch the MV very often (will wait for live performances).
I'm not sure why they made the video that way. Is this really for PR reasons? I would understand if SCANDAL is a new band trying to make themself known. Some parts of the video are really... fan service. And I'm not talking about the kissing (well, how the kissing is shown is also fan service...).
One of my friends visiting me today asked me why this MV looks so "bitchy" compared to other SCANDAL MVs. Was a little bit shocked how he commented the video (it's not innocent, but bitchy?)

Well, obviously if their not a new band, then it shouldn't be fan service, right? Some things may look one way, but its actually the other way. If they were truly fan service, they would be showing A LOT more skin.

     

This upcoming single release cements the fact that those in the fanbase who worried that the ladies were leaning toward poppier material put their fears away! Other than "I Want You" and "Hello", the songs they've put out have rocked HARD!!! "Take Me Out", "Freedom Fighters", "Koisuru Universe", and "Futari" show Scandal loves to rock and are expanding their sonic and melodic  vocabulary. The only thing I want to hear now is Rina giving us some double bass work in a song. Looking extremely forward to the digital single!

Keashaa wrote:One of my friends visiting me today asked me why this MV looks so "bitchy" compared to other SCANDAL MVs. Was a little bit shocked how he commented the video (it's not innocent, but bitchy?)

I don't think your friend understands what "bitchy " means. That's definitely not how you would describe the video.

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Like many have said before, they don't need to do any "fan service." Honestly, they have ZERO need to "appeal" to fans in that manner. They've been around for 11 years already. They're fully grown adults in their upper 20s and can do what they want. It'd be incorrect to assume that they did something that you don't like/approve of because a director supposedly told them to do it, or that's it's "fan service"--you can pretty much guarantee that they did it because they wanted to. They have their reasons and are not obligated to tell them to us, so if they do decide to talk about them, cool. If they don't, then that's also fine.

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Anyway, I found out where I can host videos without any country restrictions. Here's the radio rip of "Futari" again but with no country restrictions:

Qberto wrote:This upcoming single release cements the fact that those in the fanbase who worried that the ladies were leaning toward poppier material put their fears away! Other than "I Want You" and "Hello", the songs they've put out have rocked HARD!!! "Take Me Out", "Freedom Fighters", "Koisuru Universe", and "Futari" show Scandal loves to rock and are expanding their sonic and melodic  vocabulary. The only thing I want to hear now is Rina giving us some double bass work in a song. Looking extremely forward to the digital single!

I was thinking the same way, but Hello to me is a little more soft rock than I expected. and they did say in a interview they want their next album to be a rock album.

As for the double bass thing, she did used them a bit in Take Me Out , once in Freedom Fighters, and the beginning of Futari (you can actually hear them very clearly in Futari
). But I'm anticipating for her to use them fully in a song.

@TGE thanks for that, the video and your input 

I guess I'd have to agree with TGE. Even though entertainers are in the public sphere, I think they should have some privacy. It's not that I don't want to know (I think it's natural to be curious about the back story), but they may never provide more detail and just say the video should speak for itself. To me, the video imagery supports the lyrics, and I found the overall tone to be warm, loving, and tender. Others may disagree, and that's okay, since the video is meant for public consumption and polite discussion. If they provide more personal information I'd be supportive of that, too, but I don't need it.

saw this on twitter. Live version of Koisuru Universe incoming O_O
https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/919991888316207104/pu/vid/720x1280/V3e-L0TArLbYu2-a.mp4

I listened to "Futari" a couple  times last week while at work, and I just listened to again now at home.  Either my speakers at work are garbage, or this is a new radio rip copy than what we heard last week-- whatever the case my perception of the song is so much different tonight than when I first heard it.  Wow, this is good!  I could hear Tomomi's bass lines so much clearer, and I love what Mami is doing throughout the whole song, which I seemed to have missed before.  It's like one big solo for her, which is wonderful because she rarely takes more than a few bars to solo in most songs.  I'm always wanting more from her, and it seems to all be here.  Now I am really excited for the official release and whatever album the come out with next, especially if it's filled with songs like this and "Koisuru Universe."

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PS: If anyone knows of a good program to cut .ts videos with with little loss in quality, please kindly let me know.

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Don Dio wrote:Either my speakers at work are garbage, or this is a new radio rip copy than what we heard last week

It's the exact same rip.

@thoseguiltyeyes kill my curiosity please! <3

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x64uqt2

Are you going to translate?? :D :D :D :D


EDIT: For TS videos I use Freemake Video Converter
He cuts the video and convert in very good quality .mp4(and other types)
Unfortunally the free program put an Intro/end in your video :D
Well :D I cut the intro/end with Lightworks, and is all 720p beautiful 

OMG that Mami glances give me goosebumps   she looks so mature here!