Harsh...

qwerty · #1 24th June 2006, 03:46 AM

Teresa Nieman of Stylus Magazine recently reviewed Koda Kumi's BEST ~second session~, and she gave it a C+. Man, this woman is harsh. I think the compilation deserves at least a B+. Refer to this review to see what I'm talking about:

http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articl.../koda-kumi.htm

I dunno. It is her opinion, after all. I just thought she was WAY too hard on Koda; she called her "oversexed." What do you guys think of this?

Glamorous_Sky · #2 24th June 2006, 04:06 AM

Well, I do think she was harsh on Koda, but I did agree that some of the songs just weren't that good, but I think it should've got at least a B. But most people call Koda oversexed, but they usually ignore the fact that Koda has a cute and sweet side, too.

elepop · #3 24th June 2006, 04:27 AM

It was harsh to say that she's oversexed.

But I have to agree that the first 3 singles were great and that the rest was mediocre (expect "WIND" for me, and maybe "Someday").

hopeorpain · #4 25th June 2006, 04:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by asongforXX

It was harsh to say that she's oversexed.

But I have to agree that the first 3 singles were great and that the rest was mediocre (expect "WIND" for me, and maybe "Someday").

I agree. Her image is up to her personality, but most of the songs were mediocre, to be placed in a "Best of" album.

truehappiness · #5 24th June 2006, 05:40 AM

Honestly, people can say what they want to say.

People hate Ayu before even listen to her music.. :/ Harsh really doesn't even begin to describe the things that people say about Ayu.

[People even say she's the Satanic demonlord of today...and alien.. etc..]

sora-kara · #6 24th June 2006, 06:15 AM

Not too harsh actually.

I agree completely that the first three singles were the best, and everyone's interested was peaked by the huge variations in music those three showed.

I also agree that Love Goes Like... and Imasugu Hoshii are great.
Actually....I thought everything that this person says when I sat down with my copy of BEST~second session

jeeze.....it's almost like I wrote this myself...o_O

LacusClyne · #7 24th June 2006, 06:18 AM

oversex.....
but i had to agrre that why was a Whole New World up there? kinda weird and unsuitable

that is kinda harsh....guess maybe that's why kuu's not happy with this image nowadays...

*Petit* · #8 24th June 2006, 12:02 PM

haha, the last comments were funny.

I agree with what she wrote mostly, and I don't think she was too harsh. Remember the poll we had here? Most people diden't really think her music had improved. IMO most of the tracks on second session was quite dull, like most of her material is to me. I don't remember in which page ayumi's MY STORY fot a B+, but if that album's a B+ Second session is no more than C+.

Keishi · #9 24th June 2006, 12:27 PM

:sigh:
I always ignored this kind of comment
Kuu is exist to give out her music to her fans & that is just her purpose as a celebrity & an idol. I don't give a damn about anything about her. I love her & her music, that is enough for me to be a supporters.

& I don't need any kind of reporters to influence me any kind of bad things about my favorite girl. & I don't care about it. It's not her who enjoys the music, the visual of Kuu.
It's me. & I decided to be a true-fan-who-likes-kuu-for-her-music-no-matter-what.

mishidabo · #10 25th June 2006, 02:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChrisKay

:sigh:
I always ignored this kind of comment
Kuu is exist to give out her music to her fans & that is just her purpose as a celebrity & an idol. I don't give a damn about anything about her. I love her & her music, that is enough for me to be a supporters.

& I don't need any kind of reporters to influence me any kind of bad things about my favorite girl. & I don't care about it. It's not her who enjoys the music, the visual of Kuu.
It's me. & I decided to be a true-fan-who-likes-kuu-for-her-music-no-matter-what.

ditto

but IMO i must say that they can say whatever the hell they want...
like ayu being a bad singer or some people call her the most fake woman in Jpop music.. so eh... its only important if YOU MAKE that kind of comments important to you...

there.

EDIT: the J-Pop Will Eat Itself articles are SOOOO bad and lame.... if i had a magazine with this article this will be the page i'll use to pick up my dogs crap, and just because you write an article does not make you the holder of the truth.. for me its crap

hallelujah_united · #11 24th June 2006, 01:41 PM

You can't please everybody with music really. There are bound to be some who like her releases, and some who don't. I've said it before, but when it comes to music, it's hard to label a "good" or "bad" on a particular song, just because our tastes are so varied.

And about the "oversexed" claim, it does seem to be the way avex are promoting her right now, but yes she definitely still has a cute and sweeter side that's obvious during interviews and chat shows. It's a shame how avex handles Kuu really, but whatever brings in the dough...

sxesven · #12 24th June 2006, 09:23 PM

J-Pop Will Eat Itself is a great column that's always right on the spot, imo. Stylus is an excellent website; their writers all are well-informed, dedicated to music and know a lot about music in general. Henville's statements about Koda Kumi are, in the end, still just her personal views, but I don't think she's very far off. It's difficult not to see this woman as 'oversexed', as she constantly draws attention to her sexuality in (most notably) her videos. Note that this is not a bad thing per sé (I personally don't mind it at all; Koda Kumi's videos are a pleasure to watch at least), and that it's not particularly mentioned as a negative thing. It's just an observation. No need to get worked up about it.

As for Koda Kumi's music, I'm not a big fan myself and don't think her music is all that outstanding. She has some excellent songs, but a lot of the rest is simply filler material made to fill the albums that can then be promoted on Koda Kumi's sex appeal. A lot of people really dig her music, and I respect that completely - it's also a matter of taste, I certainly do realise that. However, the number of people that purely buy some of her albums because she is hot shouldn't be underestimated, especially when it's considered that Koda Kumi isn't exactly the highlight of the J-pop scene, music-wise.

MsMiyabi · #13 25th June 2006, 03:39 AM

I also Read that persons comments about Namie Amuro. And I will Honestly say that their an a - -

JimmyKoria · #14 25th June 2006, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Akurei

I also Read that persons comments about Namie Amuro. And I will Honestly say that their an a - -

Could you explain further? I thought they pretty much gave props to her.

It seems like the person who wrote the articles isn't being completely one sided (they bright up a lot of good and bad points in artist).

Her pointing out the flaws in Jpop is the same as everyone else who constantly complains about western audiences and how fake they are.

Anyway, the article just made Koda fan out of me :]

Kikaru · #15 25th June 2006, 05:56 PM

I find it nice to really hear from someone who isn't a Koda fan. I personally think had the few songs in the middle didn't sound so rushed, it would have gotten a B. Still, it's nice to hear a review that isn't going "OMGTHIZALBUMROCKS!1111!".

Except for the oversex comment, I don't find this article harsh at all. I actually agree with a lot of what the person is saying. Throughout the twelve singles, "You" was a great song, Candy was nice...but after the later few was just mediocre. Wind and Someday was good, but that's about it.

Also, this article is intended for westerners, and obviously is from a western POV. on a side note, I found it ironic that we (fans of asian music) are getting worked up over their criticism of westerners of Jpop music while we seem to be able to bash Western music senselessly. If you're going to criticize Western music, expect the the same happen to Asian music too.

Mad_Cactuar · #16 25th June 2006, 03:44 AM

Well, it's their opinion after all (agreeable one too) but Stylus has also reviewed Ayu's album and it is extremely hard to find an A+ anywhere. Even my favourite Jewel album received a C. >.> Oversexed isn't such a bad thing either. At least people eats it up and buys her CDs.

truehappiness · #17 25th June 2006, 03:54 AM

The column is NOT, I repeat, NOT, written by the same person as the ones from before.. it changed from some Francis guy to the new reviewer.. =3

mishidabo · #18 25th June 2006, 04:12 AM

^^ so..? both sucks

ayu_fan929 · #19 25th June 2006, 04:13 AM

Meh. Article is based on a westerners POV and probably for Western audiences. What matters is Japanese POV. However, I do agree the middle singles were kind of boring. The beginning and the end were good. I would've given the album a B.

JimmyKoria · #20 25th June 2006, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ayu_fan929

Meh. Article is based on a westerners POV and probably for Western audiences. What matters is Japanese POV. However, I do agree the middle singles were kind of boring. The beginning and the end were good. I would've given the album a B.

The article is for westerners. If it was written from a Japanese point of view it would be utterly useless to a westerner because of tastes and lifestyle and whatever might influence your view on music in society.

I don't know, oversexed isn't so bad. I don't like Koda but I don't see why her selling sex is so bad. Plus if her music was bad, it wouldn't sell. Sex can only sell to an extent.