namie's FUTURE vs ayu's NEXT LEVEL

[SURREAL__RAINBOW]

Well we've seen a bit more of ayu's NEXT LEVEL than namie's FUTURE so far, but what do you think?

Who is going to be able to give more and make better music/works etc on the new stage of their musical careers? Who do you trust the most?


Right now, I'm putting my money on namie's FUTURE. Everything that she seems to be doing since PLAY is so fresh and new. I can't get tired of her ^^


your vote




NOTE: THIS IS NOT A PAST<FUTURE vs NEXT LEVEL ALBUM FIGHT. THIS POLL IS ONLY ABOUT THE NEW PART OF THEIR MUSICAL CAREERS.

[love in music]

Ayu. I don't like Namie's new sound. It's like "LOL OMG LET'S ADD A BUNCH OF WEIRD SOUNDS IN THIS SONG AND SCREW UP THE ARRANGEMENT TO TRY TO MAKE IT UNIQUE!"

[Tom Punks]

Originally Posted by identity

I don't like Namie's new sound. It's like "LOL OMG LET'S ADD A BUNCH OF WEIRD SOUNDS IN THIS SONG AND SCREW UP THE ARRANGEMENT TO TRY TO MAKE IT UNIQUE!"

I agree with this lolol.

I don't like the direction EITHER is heading in, but I find Ayu's much more disappointing than Namie's. But I'm sure that's all because I love Ayu a whole lot more.

[non3ko]

Namie's coming out with fresh, new, different stuff that actually makes me want to listen to more than once. (repeat) There was only one maybe two songs I didn't like. (The Meaning Of Us)

With Ayu's NEXT LEVEL, I was like... its "fresh" sounding for Ayu, but it was an okay album. I only really like, "Sparkle" "rollin'" "Load of the SHUGYO" and "Days". I haven't listened to her album as much as I have Namie's and I've had NEXT LEVEL for much longer.

With Namie I think she'll continue to give us great music. Everything from Play has been buy worthy and in my top favorites. WILD has been out for months now and I still like it. And the video for WILD pwned Janet's Feedback. The spacemen bursting out of the walls to get down was awesome! It made me want to jump on screen and join in on the space-dance-orgy.

We'll see what Ayu has to offer in the future, because her recent stuff this year just didn't do it for me. I mean her latest single... BALLAD was mediocre compared to her past winter releases. "You were..." saved this single IMO.

For me:
Ayu : PAST>FUTURE
Namie : PAST<FUTURE

^It disappoints me to say that seeing as Ayu is (slowly becoming was) one of my favorite artists.

[blackmage]

Originally Posted by non3ko

Namie's coming out with fresh, new, different stuff that actually makes me want to listen to more than once. (repeat) There was only one maybe two songs I didn't like. (The Meaning Of Us)

With Ayu's NEXT LEVEL, I was like... its "fresh" sounding for Ayu, but it was an okay album. I only really like, "Sparkle" "rollin'" "Load of the SHUGYO" and "Days". I haven't listened to her album as much as I have Namie's and I've had NEXT LEVEL for much longer.

With Namie I think she'll continue to give us great music. Everything from Play has been buy worthy and in my top favorites. WILD has been out for months now and I still like it. And the video for WILD pwned Janet's Feedback. The spacemen bursting out of the walls to get down was awesome! It made me want to jump on screen and join in on the space-dance-orgy.

We'll see what Ayu has to offer in the future, because her recent stuff this year just didn't do it for me. I mean her latest single... BALLAD was mediocre compared to her past winter releases. "You were..." saved this single IMO.

For me:
Ayu : PAST>FUTURE
Namie : PAST<FUTURE

^It disappoints me to say that seeing as Ayu is (slowly becoming was) one of my favorite artists.

I completely agree with your post. Namie like I've said in her thread has been releasing consistantly GOOD albums. They're all addictive and I listen to it OVER and OVER and I don't get sick of it. Not that I get sick of Ayumi's music, that's never happened.. NEXT LEVEL I really liked but I haven't listened to it nearly as much as Ayu's older albums, and with Namie's FUTURE I can see listening to this album a lot for months and months to come its completely entertaining and exactly what I've been needing musically.

Last week as I was listening to Ayu which I haven't listened to in quite some time, I noticed that too, Ayu is slowly becoming my favorite artist now. =\

[pommy48]

Namie

Like you said~ It's just so fresh and the songs are just addicting, even though I haven't listened to them a lot yet, I can just remember them

While I've listened to NEXT LEVEL a lot, but some songs...are just unmemorable~

[Polyrhythm]

While both albums were a step backwards for their artists, the step Namie took back from where she was before seems greater than the step backward Ayu took. I pick NEXT LEVEL

[ストロボ・EdGE]

I just noticed that both of these albums were of the same concept but since I don't really listen to Namie's music (only a couple of songs) and much less a whole album, I can't really say but NL wasn't that much of a next level (not saying it was a bad album or anything but more it wasn't groundbreaking).

[*Petit*]

Ayu. Much more substance than Namie, JMHO. Allthough I think her latest album is more interesting than NL

[do it again]

When you guys say "fresh", "unique", "exciting", original, i just say MESS. it's all been done before, but in SEPARATE songs instead of mashing everything together to just create something what really sounds like... a mess. i can't remember the melody to half the songs on PAST < FUTURE because it changes and it's just inconsistent. for instance, i love the last ~2 minutes of COPY THAT but it just seems stupid to throw it in there because it just ruins the flow of the entire song. it should've just ended and another song could've used a beat like that and it would have been an awesome hip-hop-esque track.

NEXT LEVEL and her most recent songs had really catchy melodies, strong arrangements and they were just much easier to listen to. Besides MY LOVE and The meaning of us, there are really no "easy listening" tracks because most of it sounds like a big jumble.

I'll say it again, if this is the future then PAST > FUTURE.

[love in music]

Originally Posted by cutieismylife

When you guys say "fresh", "unique", "exciting", original, i just say MESS. it's all been done before, but in SEPARATE songs instead of mashing everything together to just create something what really sounds like... a mess. i can't remember the melody to half the songs on PAST < FUTURE because it changes and it's just inconsistent. for instance, i love the last ~2 minutes of COPY THAT but it just seems stupid to throw it in there because it just ruins the flow of the entire song. it should've just ended and another song could've used a beat like that and it would have been an awesome hip-hop-esque track.

NEXT LEVEL and her most recent songs had really catchy melodies, strong arrangements and they were just much easier to listen to. Besides MY LOVE and The meaning of us, there are really no "easy listening" tracks because most of it sounds like a big jumble.

I'll say it again, if this is the future then PAST > FUTURE.

I agree with all of this.

Originally Posted by aloopy

but yeah, so much for taking things to the "next level".

I don't believe Ayu ever said anything about how the music on NEXT LEVEL was taking things to a higher level than anything she had previously released. It was more like moving to the next level/stage of her career, like she says in the "NEXT LEVEL" lyrics. It's not like she was saying PAST<FUTURE like Namie, where it's really obvious she thinks her new songs are going to be better than her older ones.

[aloopy]

Originally Posted by identity

I don't believe Ayu ever said anything about how the music on NEXT LEVEL was taking things to a higher level than anything she had previously released. It was more like moving to the next level/stage of her career, like she says in the "NEXT LEVEL" lyrics. It's not like she was saying PAST<FUTURE like Namie, where it's really obvious she thinks her new songs are going to be better than her older ones.

yeah, NEXT LEVEL did sound like she was moving things to the next stage of her career.
but I was talking about the singles released after. they sound like songs she could have released in 2003 or 2007. nothing wrong with that, but there's not much "moving things to the next stage" going on if the concept is the same like the past years.

so what I'm trying to say is that if she wanted to move things to the "next stage / level" of her career she should have continued to do so and not just for one album.
but that's how I see it lol

[aloopy]

NEXT LEVEL was an ok album, but 90% of the songs on it got old really fast. like after 5 plays fast.
and then she released S/S ~LiA~.. and it's a really safe single.. nothing new or fresh. same thing with You were.../BALLAD (even though I LOVE You were...). but yeah, so much for taking things to the "next level".

Past<Future is an amazing album imo, but I have to say that I like her hip-hop stuff more, because I simply prefer that genre.
but I love it that she's releasing music outside her "comfort zone" and that she's experimenting with new sounds and stuff. and that's why I voted for Namie

[JackieRos]

namie of course
She has more catchy songs

[Crystal_Ageha]

Lol, we all knew this was coming...


Okay, I actually think Amuro's album is very good (for me, it's her best, besides STYLE), as far as it has a lot of variety and is pretty balanced at the same time. And I really love FAST CAR. The Meaning Of Us, Bad Habit, COPY THAT and SHUT UP are also pretty good. However, some of the tracks are extremely blugh (like Steal my Night, Defend Love and WILD D: ), and I don't like how many of the songs are very repetitive (like LOVE GAME, or SHUT UP and COPY THAT, specifically, which is what ended up ruining them for me x_x'). I also don't like that she has officially gone off into another direction of music style, simply because her hip-hop doesn't sell and she wants her popularity back. :\ Also, it feels like this album will get old pretty quickly (which takes it down a point D: ). But despite everything - because even though I only really like one song, I can see why some people would like the others, and I respect the fact that this is still a much better album than a lot of them - I still give PAST<FUTURE 7.5/10.

Now, please believe, I am not being biased because she's one of my favourite artists, but NEXT LEVEL is actually definitely in my top five favourite Ayumi albums, at the least, and I think it's a great album. I feel this was such a good album because of, again, variety (from GREEN to Sparkle to Rule to Days--wow :O), but also because every song brings something special to the album. The only song I don't absolutely love is rollin', but I still like it. But, the amount of interludes really bothers me, so that automatically takes down the otherwise perfect score - which, it's perfect because not only do I love all the songs and they still haven't gotten old (for me, at least), but because I feel there's literally something for everyone. :\ I give it a 9/10.

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by Crystal_Ageha

I also don't like that she has officially gone off into another direction of music style, simply because her hip-hop doesn't sell and she wants her popularity back. :\

How do you know that's the reason? Namie's style has never remained stagnant in her career ever - she has always changed with every album either drastically or by gradually adding on to what she did in the previous album. Plus she was never completely Hip HOP to begin with, but the more accurate self-proclaimed term Hip POP. And while that style may not have sold astronomically when it was first released, Best Fiction sold over a million copies and Play and Queen of Hip Pop certainly were no slouches either. That style certainly was indeed, selling. If she really wanted to play it safe and cash in, she could have stuck with that style, but she chose to change again. Couldn't a lot of what you described be applied to Next Level as well? Why isn't it acceptable that they both want to have their music change and grow? I would hate it if Namie just kept releasing Style over and over again, just like I would hate it if Ayu had never moved past Loveappears.

[Crystal_Ageha]

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer

How do you know that's the reason? Namie's style has never remained stagnant in her career ever - she has always changed with every album either drastically or by gradually adding on to what she did in the previous album. Plus she was never completely Hip HOP to begin with, but the more accurate self-proclaimed term Hip POP. And while that style may not have sold astronomically when it was first released, Best Fiction sold over a million copies and Play and Queen of Hip Pop certainly were no slouches either. That style certainly was indeed, selling. If she really wanted to play it safe and cash in, she could have stuck with that style, but she chose to change again. Couldn't a lot of what you described be applied to Next Level as well? Why isn't it acceptable that they both want to have their music change and grow? I would hate it if Namie just kept releasing Style over and over again, just like I would hate it if Ayu had never moved past Loveappears.

But it's different for Ayumi, because she's always stuck to a very strict core genre, even if she experimented a lot. And that's how it usually should be (with a few exceptions, but Namie's case is definitely not one of them). You don't go from Japanese techno-pop to Western hip-hop (two completely~ different things) and then back again, at least not whenever you claim that the previous style is who you really are and you switch right when your new genre becomes popular. Ayumi has never claimed to be anything she's not; so even if she did switch genres, unless every time (like Namie) she switched to what was popular, I'd just say she was confused and was experimenting.
I'm sorry, because you're obviously a huge Namie fan, but to me she's a sellout, because, no, she wasn't originally hip-hop, and no, her hip-hop projects didn't do very well. And now she's doing electro/techno pop stuff, which is what's big now. So for that, I can't see her any other way. The most hip-hop or even R&B she had until after Hikaru Utada came out was a few ballades with R&B BEATS. Having an R&B or hip-hop beat doesn't make you that genre. (Think Kumi Koda--just because she almost always has a heavy beat, that certainly doesn't mean all her songs are hip-hop. She's fake hip-hop a lot of the time, and Namie has many songs just like that - it's much more mainstream pop than hip-hop.) Play did sell pretty well, but not the other two, especially for a "Queen." Hell, even Play should have sold more, between the promotion it had and for all the titles both she and her fans claim her to be.
And I love how in her most recent interview she tries to claim that she's not doing hip-hop anymore, simply because she can't get into it right now. She made a HUGE deal for almost ten years about how she was full blown Western hip-hop--the QUEEN of hip-hop (or hip-pop--whatever, it doesn't matter)--yet now...she just doesn't care at the moment..? Coincidentally, right whenever she realises that this "reinvention" of her style will sell better? I'm sorry, but it's just too much of a coincidence for me to blow off, considering she wasn't exactly original in her style at the start of her career, either, and so I can't respect her as an artist, for that and a few other reasons. In my mind, she's a complete joke (especially this new thing she has, with moving forward to her greater future - beyond the hip-hop stuff, I guess :\). She's been extremely lucky throughout her entire career, and she's had everything handed to her. I thought Ayumi had the luckiest break, but no, I've recently found out that, again, it's Namie.

[love in music]

Originally Posted by Crystal_Ageha

In my mind, she's a complete joke (especially this new thing she has, with moving forward to her greater future - beyond the hip-hop stuff, I guess :\). She's been extremely lucky throughout her entire career, and she's had everything handed to her. I thought Ayumi had the luckiest break, but no, I've recently found out that, again, it's Namie.

You did not just say that, lol. Honestly I have to agree a bit with this though, at one time I was starting to turn into a Namie stan and learned a lot of things about her and the more I learn the less I like her (seriously, only writing about 4-5 songs in your whole discography? your music better be FLAWLESS to get away with that, and it really isn't IMO)

[non3ko]

Originally Posted by identity

You did not just say that, lol. Honestly I have to agree a bit with this though, at one time I was starting to turn into a Namie stan and learned a lot of things about her and the more I learn the less I like her (seriously, only writing about 4-5 songs in your whole discography? your music better be FLAWLESS to get away with that, and it really isn't IMO)

Really? I had NO idea. That's. so. disappointing.

It makes me rethink--everything.

Even if some people do think she's a complete joke, her sales for this album did well debuting at #1 and selling more than NL.
So obviously not everyone has this opinion.

Anyway, I'd love to see something a bit different from Ayu. I look forward to 2010 and I hope she raises the bar on her next album.
No more overtly rock overtones or covers by Sweetbox though.

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by Crystal_Ageha

I'm sorry, because you're obviously a huge Namie fan, but to me she's a sellout, because, no, she wasn't originally hip-hop, and no, her hip-hop projects didn't do very well. And now she's doing electro/techno pop stuff, which is what's big now.

Then what would you call Ayumi when her first album was a hip hop/rap album and she went around proclaiming herself in interviews to be the worlds youngest female rapper, but then when that didn't sell she pretty much ignored that the album ever existed? Wouldn't that by your definition make her a sell out? And once again, she has never been Hip HOP, but Hip POP which are two different things. She went from being a pop artist, to a pop artist with R&B elements, to a pop artist with even more r&b thrown in to become Hip Pop. Like you said, she has always been a mainstream pop artist and she has never denied being a pop artist so I don't know why, but you seem to have the impression that she was like this hard core hip hop rapper that put down other pop artists or something and that can't be further from the truth. I don't know why to you, changing ones musical style over their career = sellout, but then for some reason, Namie is the only one that you don't like because that can certainly apply to many artists. And I definitely don't see either Ayumi or Namie as sellouts. First of all, by American standards, just about every single pop artist in Japan would get labeled as a sellout. ^_^ I also don't know why you seem to get so bent out of shape over this particular artist. Lately you and I have agreed on a lot of things, but this subject I don't think I can ever see your point of view on.

Also, about having something "handed to her" she had to work for it just like many artists. I mean she was going to a school afterall that was specifically for training singers, dancers, other entertainers - she didn't just suddenly get a record contract handed to her while at the arcade or something. She came from a poor, single parent family, just like Ayu did and she would walk to and from her lessons for hours everyday. I'm not saying that to make her seem better than anyone else, but more that it seems many of your statements meant to minimize her, are just based in a place of personal dislike for her.

As for the song writing thing (this is directed at everyone) - since when is it a prerequisite for pop stars to write their own stuff? In Japan, it is especially a rarity. People like Ayumi and Koda are definitely exceptions. It's part of Japan's idol culture. Did Nakamori Akina and Yamaguchi Momoe write their own stuff? Nope and yet they are considered some of the most revered female singers in Japanese music history. Plus, people can enjoy different artists for different reasons - I enjoy Ayu for her lyrics but with Namie I don't really care about the lyrics and more about just being entertained.