2D or Not 2D

Lyrics and music by Susumu Hirasawa and Hikaru Kotobuki. According to Kotobuki, he had written a completed arrangement and vocal melodies for the song, but Hirasawa sang his vocals for the recording entirely different from what was prepared. A short time later, Kotobuki would return from a day out of the studio to find Hirasawa had altered the arrangement drastically as well. Hirasawa directed a PV for the song, blending the greenscreened members of P-Model with Amiga CG.

Lyrics

 * 1 The word for "echoing" used here can also be read as "tree spirit".

Versions
Opens with baroque-inspired, uptempo fugue synth lines, which are soon complimented by a techno backing beat. The song transitions into its verse, which contains a fast-paced, direct vocal melody and cacophonous industrial-techno sounds powering the backing rhythm. The verses are punctuated with a stripped down melody and a solo vocal line by Hirasawa. The song's chorus has a fast, choir-like group vocal part backed by a beefier version of the post-verse synth beat.
 * P-Model, 1992

Guitar, bass, and percussion parts are emphasized, and vocal parts are delivered more aggressively. The studio version PV is also included in this release.
 * Bitmap 1979-1992, 1992


 * Pause, 1993


 * Non-Locality Live Video, 1997

Trivia

 * The song's title is an obvious pun on "to be, or not to be", the famous opening lines of a soliloquy delivered by the character Prince Hamlet in the William Shakespeare play, Hamlet.
 * The pitched down "Ladies and gentlemen!" sample at the beginning of the PV is from "Seven Trumpets" (lyrics by Costas Ferris, narration by John Forst), song from the Aphrodite's Child album . This is the second time Hirasawa used that sample, following on its unmodified appearance on "Zebra Cassette".

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