[Namie Amuro] The 102nd Thread - WE ♥ NAMIE FOREVER -

[Ashen Twilight]

Originally Posted by thinkingoutloud89

^you mean the "namie amuro PAST < FUTURE Tour 2010" that spanned 85 dates across japan?

that was not nearly long enough. I misspoke and meant to say having more songs from this album being continued staples in concerts moving forward vs just WILD.

[thinkingoutloud89]

Yeah, but as I said - she changed up the way the tours were structured. I actualyl kinda liked that she dedicated tour towards albums and we at least have one performance of the whole thing instead of other artist that skip quite a lot of song cause they perform to much staples.

I think a tour should always be dedicated to the newest release and then sprinkle some staples into it.

I think FAST CAR and defend Love were performed after that tho.

[ShiraJemJem]

Even though I know she was retired but I wanna hear some of her news somehow.

[BlackSilence]

Look at all these hardcore fans here, while choosing fave albums, while i just cherry pick the stuff from the old ones I don't think i've really listened to anything in full before Uncontrolled lol She was just not really my thing i guess...the only songs i really listened from PF was Wild/DR lol I guess i'm more of a casual listener, although i like pretty much everything she released after....so I don't know..

[thinkingoutloud89]

I think that’s the way music should be consumed tbqh
Personally speaking, why I love everything from Uncontrolled onwards, I do think that it is the most uninspired she has been in 25 years.

[AJFmzk]

Personally I've been gravitating back toward her older stuff that featured more rock or rock/pop style or classic pop style, and even some of the dance tracks. Its not that I don't still enjoy her newer stuff, I do, but my tastes have shifted since I started listening to her way back in 2007 or 2008. I'm not sure what my most listened to album of hers is, but for the last few years I've mostly been listening to 1995-2003. I have have songs that I love from all different albums, but lately I've been jamming to the singles from Sweet 19 Blues, Concentration 20, Genius 2000 and Style, plus one or two tracks from Break the Rules. If I'm at work, I'll listen to albums from start to finish sometimes. I think my most watched dvds from her at this point are Genius Tour 2000 and So Crazy ft Best Singles.

[BlackSilence]

Originally Posted by AJFmzk

Personally I've been gravitating back toward her older stuff that featured more rock or rock/pop style or classic pop style, and even some of the dance tracks. Its not that I don't still enjoy her newer stuff, I do, but my tastes have shifted since I started listening to her way back in 2007 or 2008. I'm not sure what my most listened to album of hers is, but for the last few years I've mostly been listening to 1995-2003. I have have songs that I love from all different albums, but lately I've been jamming to the singles from Sweet 19 Blues, Concentration 20, Genius 2000 and Style, plus one or two tracks from Break the Rules. If I'm at work, I'll listen to albums from start to finish sometimes. I think my most watched dvds from her at this point are Genius Tour 2000 and So Crazy ft Best Singles.

But she kind of seamed like an r&b kinda gal back in the day, at least from the stuff i've heard? That's one of the reasons why i just couldn't get into her. She hardly seemed to have any pop rock tracks, i maybe only know like 2..but it could be that i just didn't hear enough. I have to say though the other day i listened to a few of her old songs, and you can easily tell the time they were released, i don't think some of her stuff aged very well lol But maybe it's just me.

......


I can agree that her music became very POP/EDM and that's mostly all she did, but for some reason it worked with her vocals better to my ears and i like dramatic arrangements with a lot going on, so maybe that's why i got more comfortable with her music. I think Damage and Neonlight Lipstick are some of the coolest songs from her newer stuff. I have to say Damage is probably my favourite Namie song.

[Ashen Twilight]

Originally Posted by BlackSilence

I can agree that her music became very POP/EDM and that's mostly all she did, but for some reason it worked with her vocals better to my ears and i like dramatic arrangements with a lot going on, so maybe that's why i got more comfortable with her music. I think Damage and Neonlight Lipstick are some of the coolest songs from her newer stuff. I have to say Damage is probably my favourite Namie song.

Oh yay someone else that likes Damage! I remember the original reception to that track was very lukewarm when it was released so I am glad to even see people still mention that song.

I think the whole TSUKI single was great honestly, but for me Neonlight Lipstick is third. Ballerina is much better imo. The MV was really cool though, and I do enjoy the song from time to time.

I would say there are a number of stand out tracks in Namie’s earlier work that still hold well today. From S19B, I mostly stick to the singles + PRIVATE. Concentration 20 is really a well rounded album. How to be a girl is a classic, and Me Love Peace!! may be one of my favorite Namie songs. I wish Dreaming I was dreaming was included on a studio album. break the rules and Genius 2000 are easy albums to forget about, you can mostly get away with just singles, but songs like CROSS OVER and Kiss-and-Ride are too good to pass up. I would add HimAWAri here but the new vocal version on LOVE ENHANCED is far superior.

I love both TK Namie, R&B/Hip Hop Namie, and EDM Namie so each era has been enjoyable for me. I just wish there were more to look forward to. Watching her final Kouhaku performance of Hero did me in earlier today.

[KarenPang]

I like Damage too so

What surprised me about the song is that for the PV it was never included in Finally which I find it really odd as it was included in the 3rd CD of the compilation

The PV should have also made the cut in the disc as I still regard it as 1 of my favourite PVs of Namie

Oh well :s

[thinkingoutloud89]

Originally Posted by Ashen Twilight

Oh yay someone else that likes Damage! I remember the original reception to that track was very lukewarm when it was released so I am glad to even see people still mention that song.

I think the whole TSUKI single was great honestly, but for me Neonlight Lipstick is third. Ballerina is much better imo. The MV was really cool though, and I do enjoy the song from time to time.

I would say there are a number of stand out tracks in Namie’s earlier work that still hold well today. From S19B, I mostly stick to the singles + PRIVATE. Concentration 20 is really a well rounded album. How to be a girl is a classic, and Me Love Peace!! may be one of my favorite Namie songs. I wish Dreaming I was dreaming was included on a studio album. break the rules and Genius 2000 are easy albums to forget about, you can mostly get away with just singles, but songs like CROSS OVER and Kiss-and-Ride are too good to pass up. I would add HimAWAri here but the new vocal version on LOVE ENHANCED is far superior.

I love both TK Namie, R&B/Hip Hop Namie, and EDM Namie so each era has been enjoyable for me. I just wish there were more to look forward to. Watching her final Kouhaku performance of Hero did me in earlier today.

GENIUS 2000 is a great album and so is break the rules, how dare you! ;P

NEXT TO YOU, STILL IN LOVE, LEAVING FOR LAS VEGAS, break the rules, LOOKING FOR YOU, never shoulda, Hinawari, I TO YOU

aside from that, my fav. pre- STYLE singles are I HAVE NEVER SEEN and How to be a girl, but srsly, I love them all

[visionfactory]

Originally Posted by Ashen Twilight

break the rules and Genius 2000 are easy albums to forget about, you can mostly get away with just singles, but songs like CROSS OVER and Kiss-and-Ride are too good to pass up. I would add HimAWAri here but the new vocal version on LOVE ENHANCED is far superior.

THINGS I COLLECTED (GENIUS 2000) is one of Namie's best ballads imo I easily cry every time I listen to it

[AJFmzk]

Originally Posted by BlackSilence

But she kind of seamed like an r&b kinda gal back in the day, at least from the stuff i've heard? That's one of the reasons why i just couldn't get into her. She hardly seemed to have any pop rock tracks, i maybe only know like 2..but it could be that i just didn't hear enough. I have to say though the other day i listened to a few of her old songs, and you can easily tell the time they were released, i don't think some of her stuff aged very well lol But maybe it's just me.

......


I can agree that her music became very POP/EDM and that's mostly all she did, but for some reason it worked with her vocals better to my ears and i like dramatic arrangements with a lot going on, so maybe that's why i got more comfortable with her music. I think Damage and Neonlight Lipstick are some of the coolest songs from her newer stuff. I have to say Damage is probably my favourite Namie song.

Sorry for the super long post, but...

It's true that Namie has cited Janet Jackson as her biggest influence, but she didn't really start moving to a more r&b style until around late 2002/early 2003 if I remember correctly. She took a break after TK stopped producing for her because she felt like she lost the inspiration for her sound and didn't know how to produce for herself. She got re-inspired after joining suite chic.

I like songs from all across Namie's albums, but as I said in my previous post, my taste has shifted away from her later (especially 2012+) sound and back to her older stuff from TK and Dallas Austin (I do also really love some of Nao'ymt's compositions for her), which were more guitar and drums driven rather than electronic beats and loops. Even her early 90's stuff with super monkeys was guitar/drum machine based and featured interesting guitar solos and arrangements, kind of like rock meets dance, and I really like that combination. But my favorite era from Namie's sound is S19B, C20 and G2000. I sometimes still enjoy her newer songs, but EDM/electronic is really not my thing and I really have to be in the mood to listen to it. I kind of like some of the return to natural instruments on _genic, but the compositions and arrangements aren't that interesting to me, TK just had this magic ability to compose stuff that really hooked you in and kept you listening. And then replay and listen again and again, and then sounded even better live.

I think her voice changed with her getting older and using new vocal technique. She wasn't singing as nasal, and less nasal = more pleasing sound. Plus, the keys that the songs were written in later may have been more suited to her natural voice, since it seems like TK liked to push his artist to sing high and out of their normal ability. If you watch Namie sing her old TK songs, she frequently has to scream to hit some of the notes and that's really not healthy (in an interview she said it destroyed her voice especially after PLAY and BEST FICTION tours and she said her voice has never been the same since then, and she ended up having to cut the band because she couldn't sing over them anymore).

I wouldn't say her songs didn't age well, that's a matter of personal taste and perhaps technical criticism on the mixing and drum machines available at the time, but the arrangements, compositions and riffs of those songs, in my opinion are solid and still hold up. Don't wanna cry is such a well composed track from so many different angles, I legit cannot get tired of listening to it. Himawari is a great song and I'm kind of sad it didn't;t get a PV at the time, but I have the fan space version of Break the Rules Tour and she sings it there. I like the song damage, but I don't really listen to the single/Finally version. I do however really like the live versions, especially from 12MD Tour.

[thinkingoutloud89]

So Crazy Tour is still the best for me

[AJFmzk]

Originally Posted by thinkingoutloud89

So Crazy Tour is still the best for me

^ it’s called best singles for a reason . But seriously, it’s a great show start to finish.

[thinkingoutloud89]

^u just seem to have a certain taste then (which is totally okay). Personally, I loved Neonlight Lipstick when it came out but nowerdays it got so annoying to my ears. Damage is cool , but always seemed to loud for me. She always had those kind of tracks tho. maybe you will like "It's all about you" or "My Darling" also "Concentration 20" maybe ot.

You are right that you can easily tell when her music was made but i disagree that it aged badly, it all aged pretty well to be quite honest because most if not all her songs were about quality.. Not every song has to be timeless in sound but could very well represent a certain era. Ypou also have to keep in mind that some of those songs are 25 years or older.

[visionfactory]

I... can't... listen to Neonlight Lipstick

[roddypii]

Damage is a great song. I love the video and the performances too.
I love TSUKI too. It's an amazing single. I love all the three songs. Neonlight Lipstick I love because of the lyrics lol

Her other singles after it, I just can't stand Just You & I. The rest, I love BRIGHTER DAY so much. Mint is probably my fave song of hers since past<FUTURE era. Red Carpet and Hero are good, and Dear Diary/Fighter... I'm there only for Dear Diary... but I do love Fighter's MV. :p

[thinkingoutloud89]

^that I personally don't agree lol It drags on way to long
Her best ballad is I HAVE NEVER SEEN

[Ashen Twilight]

Originally Posted by thinkingoutloud89

^that I personally don't agree lol It drags on way to long
Her best ballad is I HAVE NEVER SEEN

Agreed! THINGS I COLLECTED is ok, but it does drag on too long and the way Namie sings in that song does not do her any favors. I HAVE NEVER SEEN has an epic quality to it that not a lot of her ballads have. They all tend to be fairly simple. I WILL, Finally, and Dreaming I was dreaming all hold a warm
place in my heart too.

Also, GENIUS 2000 and break the rules aren’t BAD, but compared to her other full albums these two just fall a bit short for me.

How does everyone feel about STYLE and Queen of Hip-Pop? I feel like these two albums, particularly STYLE. I think QoHP has some of her worst tracks on it (I Love You, I Wanna Show You My Love, Ups & Downs, and My Darling), but also some of her strongest (ALARAM, No, Queen of Hip-Pop). Very much a mixed bag.

STYLE holds up very well for me honestly. I am still mad Did U didn’t make the final cut. One of my favorite songs in general!

[thinkingoutloud89]

^^ As a big Namie stand I love everything from front to back and there is no track that has not at least 250 spins in my library. But I would also say, as I stated, that her music after 2012 isn't as inspired and in that manner I would agree with you.

I'm not sure about the whole lost her way thing tho. if I remember correctly, during RtPoL promotions, her mother was killed. also GENIUS 2000 was her album after her maternity leave and the sales already indicated that her fame faded with break the rules crash landing That has mostly to do with avex pushing the album in a short time-frame (hence Himawari and think of me were recorded with her being very sick). "Put Em Up" was already produced for break the rules with a feature of one of the TLC girls, but was scrapped and pushed to Style. Her breaking away from TK and more into the DA sound was already her own drive.

In the Interview for LS2006 she said all her friends told her to just "retire" as she would not see a comeback from all that, but after SUITE CHIC she just tried the R&B sound she liked (and I personally feel like was already in her sound-DNA from S19B onwards). QoHP was a moderate success again and then PLAY hit with Baby Don't Cry and then it was topped by BEST FICTION - mostly due to extrem quality sound, already rising fame, excessive promotion, her being a fashion icon again and the fact that the sound she rooted for with SUITE CHIC/STYLE finally found ground in Japan - only seeing her breaking away from that after BF.

Namie is an extremely thought-out artist. She very rarely composed or wrote lyrics, yes, but she was always involved in her own image and was very peculiar about it, pushing for both quality and innovation. She proved to have a very keen eye/ear for that, always stayed true to herself and presented herself, even with her "scandal" from the best possible angle resulting in her becoming an icon of J-Pop.

One may not like a particular era of her music, and that is fully okay as it comes to taste - but you can find extremely well ade music throughout all of it when you look at it more objectively and in context of the music-market she catered to.

Even know, after 16 years, I'm still proud to say I'm a Namie fan and always will be.

Originally Posted by Ashen Twilight

Agreed! THINGS I COLLECTED is ok, but it does drag on too long and the way Namie sings in that song does not do her any favors. I HAVE NEVER SEEN has an epic quality to it that not a lot of her ballads have. They all tend to be fairly simple. I WILL, Finally, and Dreaming I was dreaming all hold a warm
place in my heart too.

Also, GENIUS 2000 and break the rules aren’t BAD, but compared to her other full albums these two just fall a bit short for me.

How does everyone feel about STYLE and Queen of Hip-Pop? I feel like these two albums, particularly STYLE. I think QoHP has some of her worst tracks on it (I Love You, I Wanna Show You My Love, Ups & Downs, and My Darling), but also some of her strongest (ALARAM, No, Queen of Hip-Pop). Very much a mixed bag.

STYLE holds up very well for me honestly. I am still mad Did U didn’t make the final cut. One of my favorite songs in general!

OMG I LOVE YOU and Ups & Downs are two of my fav songs from that era. I agree about the other two.
as for Style, it probably has the best singles for me and great bsides too. I also love all the albums tracks, but as a whole, it feels it lacks her own DNA - or rather it feels scrapped together and less like a full body of work.