Album Rating: 2.5

By influence I don’t mean Stevie’s but RYM’s fwiw, and I think RYM (and kinda fantano) guides a swath of young people tastes that might be less massive than I figure but hey it might be more massive than you think…either way I just wanna make digs on an album I think is kinda lame

Album Rating: 2.5

Been a while tho. I don’t like this band at all somehow, songs from their other albums also don’t work for me

lamenting thisman's popularity over Stevie's on a particular site is legit and it's a lamentable state of things

it's silly whataboutism that does neither side of the equation any favours (this for a baseless comparison, stevie for framing his advocates as pearl clutching crusties)
there's a time and place to discuss rym and its termite-effect on the Poor Old Canon, but i don't see why that should preclude this kind of disingenuous examination of this alb on its own strengths/failings

Robert framing it as a cheap shot really undermines my point, big sad there sona

"there's a time and place to discuss rym and its termite-effect on the Poor Old Canon" this is a fine album and example to do that with, less cause of any intrinsic musical quality (although) and more impact, place in music history, etc. vs internet cult status

Album Rating: 4.5

Thought I was in a Kendrick Lamar thread for a sec

Album Rating: 4.0

"somehow outclassing SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE on the RYM charts..."

okay, I didn't read this before - and why is this relevant? I will play regardless, ahem...

despite being a fan of Stevie's album it seems like a legit win for the Fishboys, especially if we factor in the notion that its longevity awards a semblance of justification (i.e. not recent gen z core lacking the appropriate marination, the context of time is present - which can be a RYM 'issue'). I'm not sure this is a legitimate scenario to be lambasting the fartardo influence, or whatever. Long Season's clout was earned before any of this occurred

Not to mention Stevie gets enough props from many corners in the world outside internet nerd-dom, he doesn't NEED to 'win' this theoretical battle

I'm pretty certain Stevie is blissfully unaware

Album Rating: 4.5

>Long Season's clout was earned before any of this occurred



Sorta. I can see where Rob is coming from but there is no denying this is the wrong/an odd album to use as the basis of his argument. It reads like something out of kingsoby’s the money store review. And tbh even as a dg stan that’s kind of the only album that comes to mind where sona’s argument would have legitimate footing.

"this is a fine album and example to do that with, less cause of any intrinsic musical quality (although) and more impact, place in music history, etc. vs internet cult status"
Fishmans (less so this album specifically) are a more complicated case re. influence and legacy than is usually given credit, not bc Long Season and their other late material doesn't have an independent legacy thanks to online message boards and underground international e-hype (we're all on the same page here lol), but bc the band very much have an imprint within their domestic landscape (see their radio success amidst the heyday 90s shibuya kei scene) and a direct legacy per the wave of tributes they received post-Shinji Sato dying from other landmark artists and the whole Fishmans+ project (google the people who've played with this and the scale of events and you'll immediately see that this is far from a weird e-legacy)
They *are* an interesting case of how the internet can paint an alternative legacy out of nowhere, but it's very easy to overstate the extent to which they illustrate this out of ignorance of their role in the Japanese alternative landscape (which tbf also applies to the majority of people hyping them). Far better examples of the e-phenom would be Sweet Trip, Panchiko or even Konono No. 1, who would have had meagre prospects in their own scenes and no legacy at all if they hadn't ended up on the right mailing lists or blogs.
if we're looking for a Fantano-specific example of a Japanese album being blown up online out of nowhere, the obvious example is Shibusashirazu (maybe Haru Nemuri or Otoboke Beaver, but they both had conspicuous viral traction beforehand) — but I won't hear a word said against that alb, it stomps and fucks and he did us all a solid with it