[Namie Amuro] The 77th Official Thread「FEEL」

[Heavenly]

I'm the only one here who mishears "heaven" in the song HEAVEN ?
To me, she sings "hey bun!" -__-'

[Gustavopc]

^ She sings anything but "Heaven" there Ilike to pretend she's singing Hair Pun

I also agree Neonlight Lipstick sounds like from PLAY era, its chorus is very similar to H&S

[Heavenly]

Originally Posted by Gustavopc

^ She sings anything but "Heaven" there Ilike to pretend she's singing Hair Pun

I also agree Neonlight Lipstick sounds like from PLAY era, its chorus is very similar to H&S

It's kind of weird though... in studio she has plenty of time to pronounce words properly, and she comes up with enormous mistake like Hey Bun, or Supplies....
Is it THAT hard to pronounce for a Japanese ? O_o

[Gustavopc]

Maybe it aint, I think she just doesnt think it's worth it sdgaf

[terra]

Well Japanese English pronunciation is not as good maybe because they had their own pronunciation for English based on their language. They didn't have 'V' so they compensate it with 'B' because it sounds similar. 'Heaven' is written in Kana as 'Hebun' and pronounced 'Hey-bun', and most Japanese pronounce it like that so it's no surprise when Namie sing it like that.

[Chiharo]

Originally Posted by Zeke.

Generic electro > Crappy Hip-Hop

At what point was Namie's Hip-Hop music crap?

(What follows is not directed to you, Zeke. It's just a general rant.)

To me, what she's doing now is more of crappy electro than generic electro. But I guess that's just how things work. Especially for Namie. She just goes with what's currently popular and that's all there is to it, really (In all honesty, it's more like avex necessitates her to go for what sells the most currently; then again this is just a feeling I strongly have about her "new direction she wants to go in", but I might be wrong. I'm not claiming anything, but people don't even seem to countenance something like this). It's just natural flow of things and it was expected, so I won't really be too sad about it. It was bound to happen, and I could foresee it ever since the kind of music I disliked started to become popular. So there was not much room for surprise, which is why I'm so nonchalant about all of this (even if we consider the fact that Namie is, or rather, used to be my most favorite artists and that up to this point I loved everything she's done).

I get this. People don't like it when other people complain. But that's how life is. As we all know, we will all have different opinions (which is actually a great thing in itself, and I'm not going to talk about the philosophy behind it, since I'm pretty sure all of you already get the gist of what I'm talking about here), and there will be people who are discontented about things that mean a lot to them (if they didn't care, there wouldn't be the displeasure in the first place). And above all, I think that, no matter how annoying you might perceive a complainer of something you find likable to be, a complainer (who is also a huge fan of the same "thing", do keep in mind) should be allowed to express and share their disappointments with other fans, without them being told things like "Electro music is so much better, deal with it." or "It's Namie's own decision and I'm so happy for her, while you are such a horrible fan for not liking how independent she is and respecting "her" choices".

The thing is, I really would respect her decision for going for whatever the hell she wants to go (even if, yes, she is going for the most obvious, popular and unoriginal way one could go), if I really knew it was on her own incentive. She is avex's product, her music, that is. And even if she was doing this because she wanted to, why should I care? If I don't like what's she's doing, can I not share this displeasure with other fans because most, if not all of them love what she is doing? Why should I feel left out? But that's not the point. Why do I have to care about Namie as a person? I like her music, her products. Why does that require me liking all of her products or decisions just because I somehow should care about her as a person? In all honesty, I respect her just the same as I respect all human beings on this planet, but I don't really care personally about her. I care about her music. Call this incredibly selfish, but it's at least honest.

But what's the point of writing all this when I know everyone is going to be rolling their eyes at it? Maybe the few of us, who are displeased with how things currently are, just want to be understood by the fellow fans. I mean, there is nothing one could do about this but accept it and move on (it's not the end of the world, really), so why do we complainers make things so difficult by annoying those who are pleased and enjoying what's currently going on? As a huge fan of Amuro, and as a person who has listened and loved her music for years up until now, am I not allowed to feel so strongly about this? Am I alone in this? I strongly, somehow, suspect that I am. And I'm also searingly aware that it's better to not post this kind of a post because I know that I'm going to be looked at as a lunatic of some sort. But I suppose that there's something incredibly human about just wanting to be heard and show what's going on inside someone's head after keeping it in for the fear of being ostracized, and, I'll presume, considered a lunatic.

But this is just a forum, you might think. Why would anyone be afraid of saying what's on their mind on a *******ed forum? As I'm sure you are all aware, there are people of many sorts. But now I'm afraid I'd just delve into a completely unrelated topic with this, so I'll stop myself here.

What I'm trying to say is, that I somehow still intuit that there are Namie fans here who are as disappointed with her new direction as much as I am, but don't want to say anything. Because saying things like that in a community that prevalently shares completely opposite opinions is, without fail, going to cause conflicts, therefore leaving the person who shares the discontent feeling even more alone. But we'll feel alone anyway, whether we share it or not.

Okay. I'll stop here as I see that this post is really going to be completely unrelated to the thread if I continue.

If I'd summarize what I'm actually trying to say with all this is:

"I'm a person who is afraid of conflicts (of any kind, at any place) and therefore don't want to share certain negative opinions even though I'd really want to (I'm looking to be understood), because I know that whatever I say will be attacked or completely misunderstood. Inevitably."

But then again, am I being completely unfair to the artist because I'm the one who is actually attacking them and their decisions? Why shouldn't people be able to attack my opinions, then? Even though the artist doesn't actually hear me complain or attack them, even though I'm really not attacking them. I'm just displeased. I don't know. I really don't.

You see where this is all going, and I know that this kind of post is incredibly unfit to post in this kind of thread. I deeply apologize.

Okay. Posting this is probably the worst idea for now, but to hell with it. It's not like it's going to kill anyone who reads it, if they wish to do so.

I thank anyone who tries to read this and make any sense of it. I have no idea what I wanted to convey with it, and I apologize if overally this all doesn't make sense and makes you want to hit your head on the wall. And I apologize if it was offensive to anyone. To offend - that's really, really not what I want. I just want to be heard, that's all.

Now I'm really done with this incredibly self indulgent rant.

[AyuHamasaki01]

The ESPRIQUE CM is beautiful, she is gorgeous. I love the last shot. And the song sounds really awesome too. I do hope it's some sort of hidden track on the album as some suggested earlier.

[pimenta]

Originally Posted by Heavenly

I'm the only one here who mishears "heaven" in the song HEAVEN ?
To me, she sings "hey bun!" -__-'

I listen hea-boo

Originally Posted by Heavenly

It's kind of weird though... in studio she has plenty of time to pronounce words properly, and she comes up with enormous mistake like Hey Bun, or Supplies....
Is it THAT hard to pronounce for a Japanese ? O_o

I don't know, maybe she doesn't realize her pronounce is bad when she records the songs because no native English speaker directly told her that
I mean, she recorded a song with TCL and they didn't seem to mind that her pronounce is bad, otherwise they wouldn't have released it like that...
I think it's probably really hard for Japanese native speakers to correctly pronounce English words, specially because sometimes they pronounce the same way they would write those words in katakata...

But then again, her pronounce is still better than some other Japanese artists, and they don't seem to mind when they record songs with English parts that no one can tell what the heck they are saying (like Kuu sometimes)

[ILoveGeniuses]

@AyuHamasaki01 me too.

Btw every time i try to go on Namie's facebook page this morning after a few seconds a thing on fb comes up saying i cant view the page right now. been doing this all morning. Anyone else having this trouble?

[marty]

Originally Posted by Zeke.

Generic electro > Crappy Hip-Hop

Emh... can we, like, have neither? For me they're at the same level, lol. I'm not happier to listen to a generic electro song than a crappy hip-hop one, I already have too many songs to catch up to!XD

@Chiharo: I'm feeling you so much. About everything. Before Uncontrolled, I used to think Namie Amuro was not even a real person from how she couldn't miss a song for me. Everything she threw on the market was so perfect, I was like "this is not normal, this woman is God"XD And now, it's like her usual spark is buried under an ocean of mainstream stuff, lol. But, as you say, it was predictable it'd finish this way, and at least a lot of people are happier with this direction!

[pommy48]

I don't even care about 'heaven'...I care about her pronouncing 'reason' as 'raisin'!

@Chiharo: I love to blame Avex for everything, but in all fairness, they're just the company that distributes Namie's music. Her label is the one that produce her music.

[Benikari47]

@Chiharo: I totally respect your opinion, it's nearly impossible to like everything a artist puts out and people need to understand that.
This is a place to discuss, not just praise her to god (i'm a bad example at the moment, obviously lol). People should be free to express their opinions however the hell they want without being trash talked or feeling disconnected from other fans. I'm of course sad you feel disappointed with the direction she's going, but personally i'm happy to see a lot more people "stanning" for this era than Uncontrolled! Electropop is a tricky genre at the moment as well, it's been mainstream for what.. 5-6 years now? So there's not that many ideas left, a lot of songs are beginning to sound extremely generic.

I'm sure she'll change direction again with a couple of albums, Namie's always been very diverse in my eyes, which is why i respect her so much and why she never gets boring to me. So hopefully she'll appeal to you again soon!

[terra]

"Hey-bun" "Raisin" "Rearry" are all better than "Watermelon, Watermelon, Watermelon like I do~"

[Heavenly]

Originally Posted by terra

"Hey-bun" "Raisin" "Rearry" are all better than "Watermelon, Watermelon, Watermelon like I do~"

This one was legendary ! lol

[Lady~Deviance]

Originally Posted by Chiharo

Now I'm really done with this incredibly self indulgent rant.

Namie always was and probably always will be a musician whose music reflects current trends. She has stated several times that's what she enjoys releasing. If that's her and her team's prerogative then so be it. I don't see a problem with it.

I think you're a bit naive to assume that "I'm the only person brave enough to express my disdain for this album and her current direction and everyone else is afraid to". That is such a narrow minded state of thought.

As long as I've been on this forum, there has always been individuals who expressed their displeasure in something Namie has released or done. Nothing new under the sun.
There were a multitude of people (myself included) who were very displeased with her "Uncontrolled" era music and met opposition from others but no ill feelings remained and we've moved on. The same goes for every other album that she has released. So what makes this album any different?

I personally love the direction she's currently going in and it wasn't until she started experimenting with electronic music (sans 'Uncontrolled') that I became a fan. I absolutely despised her foray into hip-hop/r&b because I felt that she didn't measure up to her peers who released music in the same genres. (Kreva, Zeebra, AI, Crystal Kay, Heartsdales, Bennie K, Soulhead, Double, M-flo, AK-69, etc.)

I don't mean to come across as a mean-spirited attacker, I'm coming from a friendly place when I tell you this. You've always been kind to me and others on this forum so I don't mind you expressing your opinions. Don't ever feel as though you can't share your thoughts with us.

[Chiharo]

Originally Posted by marty

@Chiharo: I'm feeling you so much. About everything. Before Uncontrolled, I used to think Namie Amuro was not even a real person from how she couldn't miss a song for me. Everything she threw on the market was so perfect, I was like "this is not normal, this woman is God"XD And now, it's like her usual spark is buried under an ocean of mainstream stuff, lol. But, as you say, it was predictable it'd finish this way, and at least a lot of people are happier with this direction!

I'm so glad to know I'm not alone in this. I especially agree with the bolded part.

Originally Posted by pommy48

@Chiharo: I love to blame Avex for everything, but in all fairness, they're just the company that distributes Namie's music. Her label is the one that produce her music.

My post intention wasn't really to blame avex (even though I do admit it was all disjointed (the post) and might not make sense). By mentioning avex, what I did mean was her label, I suppose. I just thought that her label was avex (but I'm lacking in knowledge here so I guess it was just a bit of a misunderstanding).

Originally Posted by Benikari47

@Chiharo: I totally respect your opinion, it's nearly impossible to like everything a artist puts out and people need to understand that.
This is a place to discuss, not just praise her to god (i'm a bad example at the moment, obviously lol). People should be free to express their opinions however the hell they want without being trash talked or feeling disconnected from other fans. I'm of course sad you feel disappointed with the direction she's going, but personally i'm happy to see a lot more people "stanning" for this era than Uncontrolled! Electropop is a tricky genre at the moment as well, it's been mainstream for what.. 5-6 years now? So there's not that many ideas left, a lot of songs are beginning to sound extremely generic.

I'm sure she'll change direction again with a couple of albums, Namie's always been very diverse in my eyes, which is why i respect her so much and why she never gets boring to me. So hopefully she'll appeal to you again soon!

Thank you for this post. This kind of kindness from fans is what makes me feel less displeasure over the artist's new choices. These kind of posts calm me and make me hopeful.

Originally Posted by Lady~Deviance

Namie always was and probably always will be a musician whose music reflects current trends. She has stated several times that's what she enjoys releasing. If that's her and her team's prerogative then so be it. I don't see a problem with it.

This is especially true. It's just that I kind of realized that too late (the part about her music reflecting current trends). And really, I understand what you mean and you are right - so be it. Whether it's her or her team's decision, we can only accept it as it is.

Originally Posted by Lady~Deviance

I think you're a bit naive to assume that "I'm the only person brave enough to express my disdain for this album and her current direction and everyone else is afraid to". That is such a narrow minded state of thought.

As long as I've been on this forum, there has always been individuals who expressed their displeasure in something Namie has released or done. Nothing new under the sun.
There were a multitude of people (myself included) who were very displeased with her "Uncontrolled" era music and met opposition from others but no ill feelings remained and we've moved on. The same goes for every other album that she has released. So what makes this album any different?

This is what I've been fearing. The misunderstanding. But it happens. I know that there are people who presumably don't like this direction, too, and that some of them will express their opinions. But the whole point of my post (or at least the main point) was that there are people, like me, who are afraid to express their opinions, and often just stand back and never say anything. That's all I wanted to say. I can assure you that this line of thought: "I'm the only person brave enough to express my disdain for this album and her current direction and everyone else is afraid to" - is something that didn't cross my mind even once. I'd be profoundly disgusted with myself if I ever thought like that, and I just can't wrap my head around a thought process like that (seriously, what's the point in that?).

Originally Posted by Lady~Deviance

I don't mean to come across as a mean-spirited attacker, I'm coming from a friendly place when I tell you this. You've always been kind to me and others on this forum so I don't mind you expressing your opinions. Don't ever feel as though you can't share your thoughts with us.

The only part that got wrongly to me was one about presuming that I thought I was "the only brave person to say I dislike this and that, and other people are afraid" - I'll say it again, that kind of arrogance, in anyone, disgusts me (the thought process, not the fact that you said that about me). But I appreciate your input, and I thank you for letting me know that I can express my opinions here freely. I'm actually quite shocked that someone on this forum actually remembers me, but oh well.

And I admit, that whole post was somehow strange. I suppose all I wanted to say was "I'm here, too, and I don't like this direction. But I've been fearing saying anything because I was afraid of conflicts that would ensue".

I was expecting real bad comments, but I see that you guys are pretty understanding people.

[marty]

Originally Posted by Chiharo

I was expecting real bad comments, but I see that you guys are pretty understanding people.

Until you're respectful, you can say pretty much anything, and whoever insults or gets at you for doing so is an idiot. That's the point of the forum: we can be friends, but first we're a bunch of people whom like the same thing and we're here to discuss it. That's why I can't understand people who say "I'm just very honest and straightforward", cause you can be so with your long-time friends. Here you have to be polite, because that's the only way all of us, different as we are, can discuss. Otherwise, let's just shut down everything.

[BlackSilence]

lol AHS in general is like pretty tolerantic place when it comes to the dissliking something... Now GACKT fandom however...they will attac you like a pack of hungry wolves... it was scary. lol
I guess becasue people keep complaining, dissliking and saying that out loud here i kinda became more free to do so too, i just sometimes forget what fandom i am in while doing that xD

With Namie tho it's kind fo a different story, i became a fan accidentally, because one genre that i hate is is dance/techno/electro stuff. But Namie keeps growing on me even tho Tempest was what got me listening to more of her songs. But i istened to that CM for a few times, and i still don't get what's so awesome about that lipstick song lol tho I LOVE THE VISUALS in the CM.

[jean-baptiste]

This is random but Checkmate is ****ing awesome to work out to. I'm gonna see if Uncontrolled has the same effect.

[everlastingRAINBOW]

New Esprique cm and song on Facebook...