[Article] Time Out Tokyo's James Hadfield reviews Party Queen - Page 3 - Ayumi Hamasaki Sekai
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  #41  
Old 23rd March 2012, 01:39 AM
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I've never listened to K-Pop before. I tried chinese pop (Show Luo for example) but I guess I am addicted to J-Pop way too much.
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  #42  
Old 23rd March 2012, 01:49 AM
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Well, the message of Party Queen went right over that reviewers head. Completely missed the point. lol Can't say I'm impressed with the review either.
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  #43  
Old 23rd March 2012, 01:50 AM
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I have to agree call sounds like Michelle Branch's stuff, it reminds me of her 'everything' when I first listen to it
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  #44  
Old 23rd March 2012, 01:55 AM
relmy relmy is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SummonerXI View Post
Well, the message of Party Queen went right over that reviewers head. Completely missed the point. lol Can't say I'm impressed with the review either.
but if you hadn't read Ayu's twitter etc... would you really get the message?

I think his review perfectly shows the difference in perception of a non-fan, casual listener who has no idea what Ayu has said about the concept, and us fans who read her every word.

He isn't bashing or hating, he's really praising the opening tracks for their mixture of styles, impact and power. The reviewer just doesn't think the rest maintains the quality.

Did people miss HIS point completely?
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  #45  
Old 23rd March 2012, 01:57 AM
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I feel the exact opposite. I hate the first three tracks and love everything after it. Just because this guy doesn't like jazz and loves kpop doesn't mean the rest of the album is ******.
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  #46  
Old 23rd March 2012, 02:03 AM
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he likes what some fans seems to dislike.

I find odd he didn't review PQ along with lyrics though. The lyrics make perfect sense with the whole album concept. Maybe he still didn't like it lol but the vote would be slightly higher then.
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  #47  
Old 23rd March 2012, 02:21 AM
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So negative. But well, it's his opinion.
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  #48  
Old 23rd March 2012, 02:46 AM
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the guy's a k-pop fan...LOL

i agree that k-pop is really causing j-pop to diminish in the spotlight by a great amount...the rest nayyy...i love this album
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  #49  
Old 23rd March 2012, 02:48 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by relmy View Post
but if you hadn't read Ayu's twitter etc... would you really get the message?

I think his review perfectly shows the difference in perception of a non-fan, casual listener who has no idea what Ayu has said about the concept, and us fans who read her every word.

He isn't bashing or hating, he's really praising the opening tracks for their mixture of styles, impact and power. The reviewer just doesn't think the rest maintains the quality.

Did people miss HIS point completely?
I think a lot of fans would have gotten the message eventually without Ayu's tweets. The tweets only ended up confirming what a lot of people had in the back of their minds to begin with. Say the album came out and she mentioned it weeks afterward and people had already thought of the 'lonely queen' concept. That isn't the way it panned out, but I'm glad she mentioned it from the moment the covers came out.

I got that he liked the first three tracks of the album BUT I feel like if she had kept that sound up for the rest of the album, she would have lost her "Ayu-ness" completely.
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  #50  
Old 23rd March 2012, 03:08 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by relmy View Post
but if you hadn't read Ayu's twitter etc... would you really get the message?

I think his review perfectly shows the difference in perception of a non-fan, casual listener who has no idea what Ayu has said about the concept, and us fans who read her every word.

He isn't bashing or hating, he's really praising the opening tracks for their mixture of styles, impact and power. The reviewer just doesn't think the rest maintains the quality.

Did people miss HIS point completely?
I agree.

And I don't think his love for kpop came across here that much at all.

What's wrong with you people? He PRAISED the first electro tracks for being fundamentally different from kpop and for seemingly bringing something new and interesting to the Jpop scene.

He got lost at Call, which imo is incredibly understandable. As I've said from the beginning, it much more reminds me of the generic songs koda likes to sing. Not that it's a bad thing, I love me my kuukuu. But still.

The Rock section is going to be the main difference of opinion obviously. He didn't feel it was effective, and I appreciate his view being someone who is outside the Ayu fandom, as someone who isn't used to those types of songs from her.

I think it's noticeable here that he would have preferred a whole electro album.


Then he moves on to the jazz, and really, who wouldn't be blindsided by them? I was, and I've been a fan since forever :/

And if people don't agree that hbya is generic...god damn you have some bigger problems.


Yes the songs are beautiful, yes they have heartfelt lyrics. Yes, we love them. But that doesn't mean everyone has to look and appreciate those things when they listen to it. Some people are going to be in it for only the music or the casual listening, and some people aren't going to like it. Big deal.

In any case, maybe one of the biggest things that's hurt ayu in her career, is that she isn't about the casual listening anymore, and maybe that's not such a bad thing.
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Last edited by emi♡; 23rd March 2012 at 03:15 AM.
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  #51  
Old 23rd March 2012, 03:08 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by truehappiness View Post
Er... wasn't the point of the album to have the party be over as soon as it started?

IMO, the review isn't so much negative as it is wondering "Well, where's the party?" but there's always more to Ayu than that. I don't think she's ever going to make a full on "PARTY" of an album made up of mainly mindless clubby hits but who knows? Maybe she will in the future but judging from the last 15 albums... I don't think so.
Jumping back in to second this comment.
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  #52  
Old 23rd March 2012, 03:33 AM
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I think it's pretty strange for someone who doesn't speak Japanese to be reviewing a Japanese album. There's a whole dimension that isn't being explained her, that is usually touched on in many reviews about american albums. That dimension is the lyrics. He doesn't even know the first thing about them, because if he did he would know Party queen is definitely not the confident song he thinks it is... it's about a girl who has no confidence in herself so she has to drown her worries away all the time.

It's frustrating.
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  #53  
Old 23rd March 2012, 04:16 AM
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i guess when you are reviewing an album, you should not compare it with any musician or anything else..just the album...you should understand the lyrics and need to listen more than once on the album itself.
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  #54  
Old 23rd March 2012, 04:19 AM
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A: I don't believe this guy regularly listens to her music.

B: As far as the J-pop scene is concerned, well, when it becomes just about the money, they've got artists churning out song after song, the creativity gets diluted. Like a series that's been on too long.

C: I still believe that it's not practical to think that any artist is gonna have a solid unending streak of success. To say that the music industry is on its last legs simply because it's not always doing fantastic is foolish. It has its ups and downs, like many things do.

This review is a failure, with only a slight few points to make toward the album, but in the end he doesn't even make his own point that clear.
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  #55  
Old 23rd March 2012, 04:23 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by maikaru View Post
I think it's pretty strange for someone who doesn't speak Japanese to be reviewing a Japanese album. There's a whole dimension that isn't being explained her, that is usually touched on in many reviews about american albums. That dimension is the lyrics. He doesn't even know the first thing about them, because if he did he would know Party queen is definitely not the confident song he thinks it is... it's about a girl who has no confidence in herself so she has to drown her worries away all the time.

It's frustrating.
I really love this part of your comment;

"Party queen is definitely not the confident song he thinks it is... it's about a girl who has no confidence in herself so she has to drown her worries away all the time."

I just copy and paste this in my Facebook n credited you as "-Maikaru of AHS-"
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  #56  
Old 23rd March 2012, 05:16 AM
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This guy has no idea what K-pop is. Her album sounds nothing like K-Pop.
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  #57  
Old 23rd March 2012, 05:18 AM
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^^Finally, we can agree. lol
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  #58  
Old 23rd March 2012, 05:50 AM
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yeah, wish I hadn't even read it. what a waste of time.
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  #59  
Old 23rd March 2012, 05:53 AM
emi♡ emi♡ is offline
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Originally Posted by cosmicfirefly View Post
"escalating absurdity"? the songs sound anything but absurd to me, I don't even see how that's a good word to describe music, maybe the lyrics, and those aren't absurd either, maybe he should recheck his vocab.
probably cause of how cheesy the songs are
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  #60  
Old 23rd March 2012, 06:02 AM
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hate to say but... agreed
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