Composer Reacts to Fishmans - Long Season (REACTION & ANALYSIS)

[@nao__channel]

the fact that this is a 40 minute song which itself is part of a 2+ hour long live set recorded in such high quality and performed absolutely impeccably makes it so so impressive for me personally. in my opinion this entire live performance, especially this song/album is their magnum opus. also, if you're open to recommendations and are interested in listening to another pretty long song, check out X Japan - Art of Life , the 1993 Tokyo Dome live version is outstanding. there's quite a lot to dig into from a composition/songwriting perspective and for a song that was only ever played live twice, they absolutely smashed it.

[@EzioMonty117]

Oooo cool to see you cover this song, the live version no less. This concert as well as this track as it was the closer for the set was the final performance for the lead singer Shinji Sato before his untimely death four months after so as an unintentional swan song for the band and the lead singer, it could not be any better.

[@timob1681]

i'd say it was kind of an intentional swan song for the band - that concert was always going to be their final concert, even without sato's death, as kashiwabara intended to completely leave the music industry

[@ashleyfox5825]

@@timob1681 they were going to create music still afterwards, in the air was created after he left the band and before sato died

[@timob1681]

@@ashleyfox5825 do you mean Yurameki in the Air? Because that was not created after kashiwabara left, it was literally part of the final concert. I do acknowledge I was wrong about it being intentionally the final fishmans concert though, since sato did have ideas still and expressed interest in continuing, but it still was a bit of swan song for the original composition

[@ashleyfox5825]

@@timob1681 ah yea was totally wrong about that, but they did have plans to continue

[@AdoraVivos]

Hello Bryan! Again amazing review, I just love digging through this channel discovering gems that I might have missed when they were originally uploaded :D The bass on this whole album is A KILLER! Ohhhh my godddddddd I just love how it brings these dub/reggae ideas into the overall dream pop vibe, and Shinji's vocals are downright angelic, adding a smooth, dreamy layer. Also imho the Japanese language sounds really aesthetically pleasing, but perhaps thats just mine anime induced brainrot lmfao. This live concert is a testament to Fishmans incredible growth as a band. From their roots as a pop reggae/dub/ska-ish band to embracing more of dream pop and neopsychedelic influences, their evolution is truly amazing! Like one of the best band developments out there lol. I also love how different these songs are from their studio versions. Going chronologically through their discography, discovering 98.12.28 feels sooo good! Like rediscovering all their songs in a whole new light. I just cant give enough credit to Yuzuru Kashiwabara's bass. It is just unreal, damn! After Fishmans, he went on to create Polaris, and imho among all the other post-Fishmans projects, they're my top pick! It's like they've got this incredible ability to carry the Fishmans vibe forward while also crafting their own unique sound. Yuzuru's bass injects that groovy dub influence, and Yusuke Oya's guitar playing and tenor vocals are just amazing! It's not trying to be Fishmans, but witnessing their own musical journey unfold is really nice. They're carving out their own path, and the progress is impressive! Their 2002 record "Home" Its a must listen for any Fishmans fan who feels like branching post-Fishmans. Just listen to the track "光と影 " and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about lol

[@jaroslavknapek6533]

For me this is the greatest Japanese song ever created. Every time I hear it I have to wipe my tears because of beautiful feeling it makes me feel. Thank you for reacting to this!

[@timob1681]

this live version might be the actual best song of all-time, no joke

[@pwrple]

i love Goodbye by "toe" too, specially the live version.

[@konteros9850]

one of the best song ever

[@constructionbootgazer]

I found this band and this track in particular when looking up songs to test on some new stereo equipment I bought. Although it doesn’t sound super technical, there are many layers to this song and was quite the experience the first time around.

[@neromxxn2252]

YOOOOOO YOU REACTED TO LONG SEASON LIVE

[@CriticalReactions]

It was daunting, knowing how long it was, but as always I'm both glad I did it and excited that people appreciate the effort.

[@WallyZeus]

Respect for listening to the whole thing. Awesome

[@Agostoic]

I just discovered this band/album today and then you post this analysis, it seems the synchronisity's of the interwebs is working hella fine, lol

[@ygsr]

You mentioned you would enjoy a trimmed-down version of this. Here's the interesting part: before releasing Long Season, Fishmans actually released a much shorter version simply called Season.

[@CriticalReactions]

Interesting. I doubt I'll give it a spin having heard the longest version (I'm seeing the studio version is a bit shorter than this live too) but I'm glad there might be a version out there for me if I decided I want this sound again without the time commitment.

[@ygsr]

@@CriticalReactions I get you don't have unlimited time, and I didn't expect you to react to this song at all, so it was a nice surprise.

[@Jonathan-jc4ef]

Season sounds different to Long Season though

[@maxmiller1950]

I love Fishmans so much, I do prefer the studio version of this song/album. But it’s simply amazing nonetheless!

[@mightguy123456]

The studio version doesn’t have the meandering drum solo bit (shortened by like 8 minutes). This is the 10th time I’ve listened to this song today (ie. a large amount of my wakeful hours). How can something so repetitive remain so captivating? I guess that’s the genius behind ‘Long Seasons’. Not well received when it came out, but truly sublime. What does repetition do to the brain? It creates long term memories.

[@Matthphyl4561]

I don't know if you could put subtitles to some of your videos, I'm interested, although I didn't manage to miss many of the words I think you are a good content creator Greetings and success from Peru!

[@CriticalReactions]

I'm still trying to figure out the best way to make live srt files so I don't have to transcribe every video by hand. But YT should make auto subtitles and it doesn't do that for every video -- which is really weird. I've tried their support and found no help there.

[@federicoscalise]

rip sato 💙

[@DO-vk1ht]

I wa enjoying your facial expression in guitar solo. I agree with you.

[@shi-ro4903]

bro reacted to peak💀

[@daechestuneorganisationpeu8984]

If you enjoy bands with strong bass presence, you could try the Rallizes Dénudés, songs like "Enter the Mirror", "Night of the assassin", "Romance of Black Grief" or my personal favourite, "But I was different".

[@Skyzius]

real

[@Cyber.Z]

Esta es para mi gusto una de las mejores rolas jamás creadas en Japón. En simplemente espectacular, y esa ejecución en vivo fue simplemente magistral.

[@A-Sandstorm]

Woooowww this is a song I really wanted you to do but thought it wouldn’t happen because of the time commitment. I’d only listened to the studio version prior to this, but I’ve seen a lot of people rave about this performance and their live album as a whole. I want to say the original version is about 10 minutes shorter than this live edition. I might be wrong, but I think the guitar solo (which I loved) before the drum break wasn’t on the recording. Aside from that and a few other minor additions, I think the drum section in this is the biggest difference from the original. It’s way more interesting on the studio version in my opinion. For one, it’s dramatically shorter. The drums are also less in focus there. You could kind of hear it on this version, but there are these sound effects of stones splashing in water that make you feel like you’re in a cave. Those are really the most pronounced element on the studio version, and I love that sort of field recording flair. But yeah, the album instance is definitely still repetitive overall, but I think it’s for sure less drone-y

[@TheSummoner]

Have you listened to the studio version? It's 6 minutes shorter and yet much more varied in its composition.

[@CriticalReactions]

I haven't. It was on my to-do list but I never quite got around to it.

[@Benjammin62]

Fishmans is the greatest.

[@harrygao5748]

you have to got the studio version to get the beauty of this one. tunning of live is bit off, listening to studio first can replace the tunning, and ended up with a version with find tune and fine passion

[@jonathanhenderson9422]

There's a lot of cool tonal/timbral ideas in this, but I have no idea why they thought they had 40-minutes worth of those ideas. Even by the standards of minimalism, which tends to use a lot of short repetitive motifs, this was just too static and every change felt like a major relief given how much they'd run the preceding idea into the ground. This could work for me as background music, but it would probably drive me crazy for active listening. I feel like there's maybe 10-15 minute worth of ideas here that just got stretched out for 3-4x times that length.

[@inaijik]

maybe you’d like Season by them

[@toutdoitdisparaitre4099]

I feel the same. I like this song, but there is too many sung parts, and the guitar solo Is kinda out of subject. Intro and bridge have an interesting texture, more abstract and "ambient". Even the groove is pretty good. But I feel that the song should have finished after the instrumental bridge, and that the sung parts should have been at least two times shorter.

[@toutdoitdisparaitre4099]

abstract feel* All of that despite being a repetition and stabilty lover in music.

[@whoda8954]

hard disagree

[@chloe4587]

Not everyone has the mental fortitude and ability to sit through this - it's the music lover's equivalent of a long shower.

[@oldnewbicycle]

everyone calling it one note but it's influenced by post-minimalism

[@TomWGuitar]

I often feel that, while great, this song struggles with passages outstaying their welcome. Their song 'In the Air' from this same live show is, in my opinion, their crowning achievement, and one of the most brilliant pieces of music I have ever heard. 16 minutes, but not a second wasted, which is something I unfortunately cannot say for Long Season.

[@Heundeullim]

I agree. Shaking in the air is their masterpiece.

[@bksjdlfk-b-bdplsjdflakss5650]

あくびすな。

[@bit_aim]

別にええやん