On Ambitions, and ONE OK ROCK
I canât help but notice the weird conflict among fans happening since äșșçĂć= and Deeper Deeper/Nothing Helps, and I say weird because the moment they had that interview with Fall Out Boy, I already began hearing people say some pretty mean stuff about selling out, or how theyâre going to suck once theyâre officially integrated with the North American scene.
Which I totally get can be a bittersweet feeling. Because you donât know how being official on an international platform will affect them as people or as musicians. You donât know if theyâre going to pick up bad habits from the American music industry. You donât know if theyâll ever be the same, or if theyâll forget where they came from. You would think you would be happier now that theyâre getting the attention you know they deserve, but worry about the sacrifices they might have to make to fit in. You worry about losing them.
But sometimes, that resistance to change can limit growth, and I feel like some of us can be a little too entitled with the direction our favourite bands and artists and stuff are heading. Unless itâs a certain way, at a level of your comfort and enjoyment, itâs not the right way. Deep down, thereâs that selfishness and overprotectiveness and fear of losing them thatâll be there. I sure as fuck can feel that way, so by no means am I pointing fingers.
I think we forget that theyâre just four regular guys outside of being ONE OK ROCK, and experimenting with new sounds is what comes with being a musician, an artist. And what I find funny is that there are people who claim theyâre becoming more American-sounding, when many of their Japanese inspirations such as ELLEGARDEN, drew influence from American bands like Sum 41 and Weezer. And I initially liked ELLEGARDEN because of their American sound. It all comes full circle, and thatâs always been the beauty of the arts: there isnât one definite algorithm to making it, the subjectivity and sheer malleability of it. Simply put, you do whatever you want with what you have, into how you want it, and hope that there are people who will like it.
What Iâm saying is, that even if what theyâre making now isnât the same as it was with Niche Syndrome or æźéżReference, I feel like itâs really important for them to have hits and misses with their audience, to make mistakes, to try new out things for them to grow as musicians. Because if they kept it the same since Keep It Real, and if Tomoya and Toru hadnât taken the spots theyâre in today, can you really say that the progress theyâve made to get this far was worth jack? You can sense the growth, literally hear the evolution of their sound throughout the years, and no matter what happens after the release of Ambitions, Iâm confident theyâll still keep going at it with making songs because thatâs what they enjoy.Â
Of course the feedback from fans is important, but they canât do this solely for us. They have to be happy with what theyâre doing, and it just doesnât sit right with me to listen to songs about fighting the night and being good to yourself, yet knowing that theyâre not doing the same thing for themselves because of heavy expectations. Iâm sure they do deal with the pressure of selling well and pleasing the higher-ups, itâs not fair to be adding to that stress because no matter how happy their posts on IG are, you never really know what they could be worrying about when the sun goes down. Like, it must affect you a little when someone says youâve changed in a âbadâ way when youâre having a good time. Idk man, I try not to take things at face value.
Theyâve only released 3 of 14 songs from this album, and Iâm digging I Was King and Taking Off personally. It seems way too early to say itâs a terrible album, and I can honestly admit that in my 9-ish years of liking them, I didnât enjoy every single song from their older stuff. Iâm about as excited as I am critical about whatâll come out of this, but the point of this post is just as long as theyâre happy with where their progress, Iâm happy. And I canât wait to meet them next year in Toronto to thank them for their hard work.
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