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Queen of Japanese Hip Hop is back with another concert DVD (second in my entire collection) and she continues to wow me with her amazing talent of being able to sing really challenging songs and dancing at the same time. Be stunned by her graceful and effortless dancing in LIVE STYLE 2011! For the unboxing and review, click here!!
Amuro Namie’s collaboration compilation album - Checkmate! CD+DVD version comes in the form of her classic packaging method; the digipak. Visit http://wordshutter.blogspot.com/2011/09/amuro-namie-checkmate.html for more photos of this aesthetically stunning album and what I have to say about the photographs!
By chance, I saw Namie Amuro’s Past < Future Tour 2010 DVD on sale at MJ at AMKHub and it costs $29.90~ Without even thinking, I grabbed the last copy off the shelf and paid for it, making this my first Namie Amuro concert DVD!
I bet HMV sells this for a higher price so I’m lucky today!! :)
Pictures~~
The gorgeous, gorgeous slipcase of the tour DVD; totally ruined by the stupid PG sticker which I’m too lazy to remove for this photo. Why can’t the Singapore censor board be more discreet!! Anyway, this DVD features songs from her latest album (which was released long ago~), along with some other songs I heard/haven’t heard of before. I’m not a collector of Namie, I just buy the ones I feel I like.
The title is purple and shiny!
The back of the slipcase.
The really really long tracklist which she diligently sang the entire song out! I feel that this concert is very different from the ones I watch from Koda Kumi and ayu because Namie’s concert is simpler, focusing on just vocals and dancing.
And when you remove the slipcase from the digipak packaging, another gorgeous R&B Queen! Actually, I feel her face on the right looks a bit like a slimmer version of BoA.
The back of the digipak, showing off some screen captures of the concert. As I had mentioned previously, Namie’s concert focus on mainly vocals and dancing so she did away with a fanciful stage, elaborate costumes and stage magic.
From my judgment, I think her stage is around half the size of ayu’s typical stage and there is no runway (sad). I watched clips of Namie’s Best Fiction tour and saw a runway and hoped that it will be in this concert but I was disappointed. I want to watch her strut the runway!!
And, the stage is pretty simple; just a flight of stairs in the middle with hardly any trap doors for stage magic. I’m honestly a little disappointed but her vocals!!
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH~~~
I have never imagined that her songs can actually be SUNG on STAGE! Minimal manipulation! Plus all the dancing~ No wonder she’s the R&B Queen in Japan’s music industry! It sounds different from the album but it’s definitely for the better! So, half the time, I’m looking at my laptop screen and just listening to her sing. Since there is no show to watch, just dancing, her singing is enough for me.
When you open the digipak, you see this slip of paper and the DVD. It’s not even a booklet~ It’s just a sheet of paper folded in half with lots of words inside. There are, of course, the translation sheets which I intentionally did not include in this photo because they are ugly. The DVD is simplistic too. Oh well~ 29.90 only~ What do you expect? :)
The logo of this tour; a crown. The design is cool though; half the crown is exquisite while the other half is just digital, a perfect symbol for the Past < Future concept. But!! What’s with everyone and crowns? Ayumi used it for her 10th anniversary logo, Koda Kumi also used it for hers and now Namie… All the top 3 Avex queens… A symbol?? A conspiracy??
Too much Dan Brown…
Overall, the DVD is entertaining in terms of the singing (singing something that’s so manipulated in the album LIVE without manipulation is really MAGICAL!!). The visuals itself is okay-okay. The packaging is okay on the outside but not really appealing on the inside.
At least I don’t regret getting this DVD~ :) I’ll just add it to my growing collection!!
Now~ Waiting for them to ship my…
ayumi hamasaki - Love songs (CD+DVD)
Urata Naoya feat. ayumi hamasaki - Dream ON (CD+DVD)
AAA - Heartful (CD+DVD)
Can’t wait!!
Well, somehow the lyrics really apply to me today… Just that I had to make some amendments…
過去を変え失格は無い
でも会いたい
どうしようも無い
会いたくて仕方無いの
I miss her doctor…ねぇ、ドクター
どうすればいい？
このとげば彼女以外取り去る事
出来ないみたい
助けて、Doctor!- Namie Amuro “Dr.” ~edited~
Well, basically, it means…
There’s no way to change the past
But I want to see her
There’s nothing I can do
I want to see her, but it’s no use
I miss her, doctor
Well doctor
What should I do?
Eliminating everything except for her
Seems impossible
Help me, doctor!
Well, sometimes, don’t you just want to go back to the past to change some things and make sure they never happened?
Oh well… Life goes on…
Today, I got my first Christmas present from someone really important! And it’s the best Christmas present for me because it’s exactly what I wanted (my hint was extremely big when I took it immediately off the shelf at HMV but…)
I GOT NAMIE’s NEW ALBUM Y’ALL! Happiness~
2 years after her “PLAY” album, Namie Amuro released “Past < Future”, her seventh studio album and it’s packaged like the “BEST FICTION” compilation with those sleeves but with some differences (duh~) Really interesting concept, this album. “Past < Future” was released officially in Japan on December 16. It’s considered quite fast that it’s reached Singapore already.
How the cover looks like! I couldn’t wait to get home to open it so I opened it in the train~ :P Was really curious to know what’s inside.
Without the wrapper~ It comes in this Matt finish cardboard sleeve with the CD and DVD along with the lyrics booklet sandwiched in between.
Stupid PG sticker vandalized the back of the album AGAIN! When will the censorship board learn?! I didn’t want to remove the sticker for fear that I might ruin the original packaging so… it’s there to stay sadly.
When you open the cover, you see Namie’s face inside, tearing up her “BEST FICTION” promotional picture into half. She said that this album will represent a brand new Namie and that might be a symbolic representation to that. Hopefully she will become better and release albums more frequently. It’s pretty sickening to have to wait so long~ :P
And when you turn the picture of Namie over, you see lots of prints that looked almost like it can be a texture of any designer handbags. Inside, the lyric booklet is sandwiched between the two flaps.
The CD and DVD revealed~ Ta da!!
The lyric booklet is almost like those old flip book animation thingies~ You see Namie holding the picture and tearing it more and more as you progress through the booklet. Actually, if you flip the pages fast enough, you will see the animation but I didn’t do it because I want to keep the booklet intact. :) Really interesting concept no?
Now, for the track list which I believe I have not posted it here before…
1. FAST CAR
2. COPY THAT
3. LOVE GAME
4. Bad Habit
5. Steal my Night
6. FIRST TIMER feat. DOBERMAN INC
7. WILD
8. Dr.
9. Shut Up
10. MY LOVE
11. The Meaning of Us
12. Defend Love
I’m done listening to this album and I must say it’s pretty impressive! There was only 1 single released prior to this album, “Dr./WILD”, but it’s a really solid album. Some of my favorites would be “FAST CAR”, “Dr.” and “The Meaning of Us”. In fact, the reason why I want this album so badly is because “The Meaning of Us” is a ballad to die for! :P
Apparently, I saw on some forums, that this album is titled “Past < Future” because of the songs “Dr.” and “Defend Love”. If you watch the PV (hopefully on the DVD and not elsewhere… :P), you will understand why. The structures of this 2 songs are really unique and it takes awhile to get used to.
The rest of the songs are stylish and Namie-ish, if you get what I mean. Fans won’t be disappointed. I myself am not a huge Namie fan but I like her music. It’s something special in my whole playlist of songs and definitely worth it!
Thanks so much for this wonderful Christmas present!
I love it a lot~ :)
I will love anything that you give me… :)
While walking around during the weekends, I realized that I haven’t been to CD shops recently and I missed out on lots of new releases!
Or maybe they were only released recently and I didn’t realize…
BUT I WANT THEM !!!
~calms self down…~
Okay… First of all, before I start blogging, the question is:
Should I go back for Taekwondo training?
I’ve been asking this question for many many times but this morning, while brushing my teeth, I was thinking whether I should. I need reasons why I should too because my biggest concern is that I would be too tired after school and another simple fact that I’m just PLAIN LAZY~ :P
But again, I need the exercise and that little bit of training for the retarded NAPFA test. Oh well… How?
Now, the second question… Should I get these goodies? :P I have limited cash though and for the past few days, I’ve been picking them up, putting them back onto the shelf, picking them up again, and then reluctantly putting them back onto the shelf…
Because I have no money! Okay, I actually have but I’m quite unwilling to spend because I’m running low on cash.
Topping up my freaking ez-link card needs money, emergencies might need money, sometimes going out also need money…
But I haven’t been buying CDs for very long~
Besides my pre-order for ayumi hamasaki’s “You Were… / BALLAD”… But I have to wait for that to arrive!
Well, you tell me… Should I get any of the followings??
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2
By the way, all the pictures are taken from the web because I DON’T HAVE THESE YET! Yet, is the word… Otherwise I wouldn’t even have this post in the first place…
Okay… Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2~ I want this game badly because there’s Ayane from DOA inside! :P And it’s about ninjas! And it’s a pretty mindless, but FUN game! The only PS3 games that I have now are Resident Evil 5, Soul Calibur IV, LittleBigPlanet and Batman: Arkham Asylum and I want more!
But this game is EXPENSIVE! The cheapest I can find is S$60!
Rihanna : RATED R
Rihanna has a new studio album! I had no clue that it’s released so soon though~ I read that the reviews are quite good because it features the darker side of Rihanna (YES!). I want some dark songs in my collection~ Rihanna has strong vocals but the only memorable song to me that she’s done is “Disturbia” and “Unfaithful” only… That’s why I haven’t bought the CD.
Maybe I should skip the Unreal class to get the CD~ :P It’s very tempting! COMES WITH A GIANT POSTER TOO!
Britney Spears : THE SINGLES COLLECTION
Britney has another compilation CD~ It’s almost like ayumi’s A COMPLETE ~ALL SINGLES~ just that a smaller scale one. The one I’m aiming for is the CD+DVD version because I don’t have any of Britney’s music videos~
What makes this album less attractive is the fact that out of so many songs, the only song that I don’t have is her latest single “3”. It’s quite catchy but not as good as her older songs and furthermore, I’m buying the whole album JUST for that song~
It’s not my fault, Britney, that I bought your previous albums. But why punish me like this~
So if I don’t buy the CD+DVD version, then I would be wasting money on a WHOLE album JUST for 1 SONG!
LADY GAGA : THE FAME MONSTER
Apparently, when I saw this album, I thought it was a re-release. But when I checked the internet just now, it’s apparently a new album. Okay, I think I would call it a “mini-album” because there are only 8 songs on this album. Plus, it features “THE FAME”, which makes it technically a re-release album with an EP attached.
The theme, from what the internet said, is that this album portrays the dark side of “Fame”. YES! Another dark album! See the resemblance between Lady Gaga’s album and Rihanna’s album? Or is it a trend nowadays to take black/white pictures? Hmmm…
I believe it comes with a GIANT POSTER too!
Taylor Swift : FEARLESS PLATINUM EDITION
Okay. This is officially a re-release album, featuring some new songs by Taylor Swift. Considering that I did not get the regular “FEARLESS” album, this is considered quite good a deal~ But I already have her album in my iPod, ripped from Rini’s copy of the album but I do want a physical CD on my shelf. :P
What’s so special about this one? Hmmm… The new songs? The videos? I don’t know actually. All I know is that it comes with post cards which I will hardly use. No giant poster to accompany? Sad~ But if I have the extra cash, I would probably get this one too~ :P
This makes me think, “Good thing Japanese artists don’t come up with re-release albums. Otherwise I have no idea how many more CDs I will have to buy!”
Namie Amuro : Past < Future
Perhaps one of the nicest name in recent history for an album that I’ve seen. Namie Amuro is releasing a new album on December 17 (if I didn’t get the date wrong…)! Heard some of the songs on YouTube a few days back and there’s actually a ballad! Nice nice! Sounds promising~
I’m definitely getting this one! I love her cover art (with her tearing a picture of her BEST FICTION picture up) and the track list is not bad. Though it only features one of her single “WILD / Dr.” (that single is not fantastic also so… :D), I think her album tracks should be good.
And at least Vera will agree on my music taste for awhile. :)
Okay~ End of my wishlist~ Maybe I should create a wishlist on my sidebar. But I don’t want people to buy me stuff~ No no no~ I want to buy my CDs myself. That’s the joy of it! :)
Unless it’s for Christmas or my birthday, preferably my birthday.
Well, looks like I will be skipping class after all. :) Going to go “shopping” at Jurong Point. Well well, who knows I might just get one of the above later! :P
Will be coming back to school for my Japanese class… :) Test is coming soon… :|
