[Kacku]

Originally Posted by ILoveGeniuses

I still havent heard most tracks in full as Ive had SO MUCH other more important stuff to buy and I can't find a download of it either.

http://jmp3up.info/?mp3=16738 Try some of these?

Originally Posted by NintendoHTF1242

I definitely agree with you in regards that this album has literally no tracks that are skippable. They're all listenable; even the more boring tracks are good. But I also do wish she made another underground club song or something...MiChi is really depriving us of this.

My thoughts exactly! I may not care for all the tracks as much, but they're still so well made that I'll gladly listen to them when the album rolls to that point (unless I'm REALLY in a hurry to hear a particular song). This seems to be a thing all her albums share; I don't skip a single track even on UP TO YOU, my least favorite MiChi album.

I'm also starting to hunger for another underground-style song. I originally got into MiChi thanks to her uplifting "therapy" songs, but I've come to like her grittier songs too: Shibuya de Punch is one of my overall favorites and recently I've discovered JUMP ON IT.

Originally Posted by NintendoHTF1242

Hmm can you elaborate a bit more? But I understand where you're coming from. UP TO YOU and THERAPY had a lot more songs that were catered to us believing in ourselves and reaching for our dreams--

You got my thought perfectly! (Though it was really badly worded, need to avoid trying to post too deep thoughts after a tiring day.) I actually went back and took a very close look at every album's tracklist and the lyrics of each song and made a VERY rough divide between 'me-songs' (where MiChi sings about her thoughts and feelings) and 'you-songs' (where the song has a message for the listener) on each album. Based on this, I think EYES WIDE OPEN was the album with easily the most me-songs; I think Lighten the Fxxk Up and YOUR Life are pretty much the only songs aimed right at the listener. THERAPY, I think, is on the other end of the spectrum, with more than half of the songs addressed to the listener and speaking of the themes you mentioned.

Originally Posted by NintendoHTF1242

--while this album seems like it was more of MiChi opening up her eyes to the world and telling us her true feelings.

Wow, now I kind of understand her album titles.
UP TO YOU = Self-explanatory. Life is what we make of it.
THERAPY = MiChi's therapeutic session that she wants to share with us.
EYES WIDE OPEN = MiChi opening her eyes to the world.

Of course, just my interpretations.

I stan for your interpretations!! I've actually been wondering about the third album's title and what meaning could be behind it; it wasn't nearly obvious as the previous ones. I couldn't come up with any kind of conclusion myself, but your idea makes SO much sense! In the intro track, she's had her eyes opened and is wondering about her place in the world and on the rest of the album, she's opening her eyes yet more, observing all these things in her life and telling of them to the listener.

Originally Posted by NintendoHTF1242

I hope you can get it soon! I waited two weeks for my copy to arrive and I was ecstatic to see it in my mailbox. Honestly, all the volumes of MadNesS have been great (although I do rank vol.1 near the bottom).

I hope so too! I've been listening to this album a lot from my iPod and computer and it would be really nice to be able to pop the actual CD into my silly old radio and blast it around the house. Besides, I'm dying to see the booklet: THERAPY's had some gorgeous pictures and judging by the cover, EWO should at least have some colorful pics to look at!

I agree about MadNesS vol. 1 not being among the very best: it's certainly a nice and quirky song, but it's so damn short and feels like it ends abruptly, I just can't get immersed into it like I can with vol. 3 and 4.

Btw, having flipped through the booklets of MiChi's first two albums again... I really wish someone with great Japanese skills would bless us with their knowledge and translate MiChi's notes in the booklet. I'd love to know what she's saying about Shibuya de Punch and the album overall!