Namie Amuro Play Tour 2007 Cover Scan

I saw Namie Amuro's Play Tour 2007 DVD for sale today, so I decided to make an impulse purchase. I had seen the Play concert on JPOPSUKI, but my ISP does a great job in preventing me from getting it. The concert was okay. I don't think there's much lasting value, since I don't see myself watching it more than two times. I would recommend you "sample" this concert before you buy it, since the concert wasn't spectacular.

I love the DVD cover:

The Namie Amuro Play Tour 2007 cover, scanned by me. I'm a newbie at scanning stuff, so hopefully it turned out correctly. It was originally scanned at 300dpi and Flickr shrunk it down to 692x1024 (which is not too bad of a resolution). I wasn't able to find a large scan of the cover anywhere, so this is my attempt to scan something.

Single: Namie Amuro 60s 70s 80s

Title: 60s 70s 80s
Artist: Namie Amuro
Released: March 12, 2008

Track List
01. NEW LOOK
02. ROCK STEADY
03. WHAT A FEELING
04. NEW LOOK (Instrumental)
05. ROCK STEADY (Instrumental)
06. WHAT A FEELING (Instrumental)

I was very excited to purchase Namie Amuro's new single 60s 70s 80s about two months ago. Having watched NEW LOOK, ROCK STEADY, and the making of videos, the hype subsided as I listened to both songs more than 20 times.

If you don't want to suffer the same fate as me, don't over listen to these songs. No matter how amazing they sound. All three songs, NEW LOOK, ROCK STEADY, and WHAT A FEELING, feature great vocals from Namie with addictive fast paced beats. It appears that Namie has improved her English skills, as her English pronunciation was great.

I really enjoy the chorus for NEW LOOK and ROCK STEADY. Every time Namie says, "how do I look baby tell me" or "let's go, tell me are you ready? ROCK STEADY 1...2..3...4... Are you ready? Ready, ready, ready ROCK STEADY BABY" I tend to lip sync to it. I'm pretty sure I creep out my office mate as he must think he's sharing a cubicle with a psycho. I'm not sure if he knows I'm wearing headphones in my other ear...

Anyone know why Namie says bungee jump in ROCK STEADY? I'm puzzled as to how that relates to anything in the song. It just seems so random.

Reviews From Other Critics

Amai Wana

Although I was nervous about Namie’s 32nd single when the project was first announced, 60s 70s 80s really blew me away.

Full Review

Beyond the Sea

60s 70s 80s definitely contains Namie Amuro’s best material to date

Full Review

do you love?

Fresh, funky, fun. Packs in everything you’d want in a single and more.

Full Review

Namie Amuro: The Making of the Vidal Sassoon CM "New Look"

I've been completely obsessed with Namie Amuro's Vidal Sassoon CM "New Look." Namie Amuro looks very cute and the commercial is really well choreographed. Vidal Sassoon is building up their competitive advantage by hiring such a "kawaii" person for advertisement.

Naturally, I would dig around for more videos. Luckily, there is a collection of "making of" videos around. I hope I don't get sick of "New Look" when it gets released, since I've watched the commercial like 20 times. There is also a "making of" video for her other CM "Rock Solid," but I don't think I can embed anymore videos, since it'll take forever for the page to load :(

The Making of the Vidal Sassoon CM "New Look"

Song Review: Namie Amuro - Violet Sauce (Spicy)

Title: Violet Sauce (Spicy)
Artist: Namie Amuro
Album: PLAY
Released: June 27, 2007

Review

The song begins with Namie saying, "You know what? Who is hot?" Unless your ears are trained to understand poorly pronounced English, you won't find out what her answer is. The closest real English word that I hear is "Galatians," which is a book in the Bible. I suppose books in the Bible can be hot, but what Namie is actually trying to say is "collaboration" (thanks to the romaji lyrics). Although you may have missed that word, there's always more time to play "guess the English word" when listening to Jpop.

I hadn't even listened to Violet Sauce from Namie's other single White Light / Violet Sauce much because it didn't sound very interesting at the time. Luckily, Namie really improves this song by adding the electric guitar. The song's hook is definitely Namie's incredibly hot sounding voice (or as some others have said, sensual) and addictive beats.

I'm quite surprised that the English Namie uses in this song sounds decent (excluding the beginning). I guess she's been practicing. It's interesting that the lyrics are pretty dirty, but it's diluted using euphemisms. Either that, or I'm pretty perverted and I've clearly analyzed the lyrics incorrectly.

Of course, regardless of hotness, the song can get somewhat repetitive after listening to it a few times. After a while, the chorus becomes mind numbing and you'll look for safety in the verses.

The verdict: a hot and addictive remix from the queen of hip hop. I highly recommend it.

Lyrics

Here are the romaji lyrics for you to sing along with:
You know what?
Who is hot?
Collaboration
(C'mon Ah Ah Yeah)

Dip in the sauce (hey, hey)
Dip in the sauce (hey, hey)
Dip in the sauce (hey, hey)
Dip it in the violet sauce

tanjun na Rule demo kuse n' naru
sonna asobi shinai?
(You wanna know how to play)
mazu 2(ni)mai no Cards
"Joker" ga "Ace of heart"
ima kara nageru Coin no aizu de Start

*1 Show me your everything
I'll give you what you need
I know the way to please you, you, you
ato sukoshi kurai
kiken de Hot na Spice
ajiwatte mitai nara

*2 Dip it in the sauce
himitsu no recipe
Dip it in the sauce
Taste it and feel it
Dip it in the sauce
sugu ni itamitsuki
Dip it in the violet sauce
Dip it in the sauce
himitsu no recipe
Dip it in the sauce
Taste it and feel it
Dip it in the sauce
hora konna fuu ni
Dip it in the violet sauce

nani ga shitai no ka wakannai nara
koko de Join da game
(Everyone ain't need a ticket)
atatakakute Sweet na Trap
hamaritai nara
Burn it up, Turn it up kossori mimimoto de

*1, *2 repeat

yureru Candle lights
mawaru Hard knock life
marude kawaribae no nai hibi nara
Oh baby Don't worry
You ready? Come wit' me

*2 repeat 2x

(Enjoy my PLAY LAND)
koko kara sono Mind Control
doko ni mo nai himitsu no Toys
hoshii n' nara Knock My Door
saa Hear me say Oh Oh Oh Oh
zensai kara Cool na Course
jikkuri ajiwaeba dou?
shiage wa kono Violet Sauce
saa Hear me say Oh Oh Oh Oh

Violet Sauce
Violet Sauce...

Source: http://www.corichan.com/lyrics/albums/namie-play.html#10

Metadata

Artist: Namie Amuro
Release year: 2007
Genre: Pop
Song speed: Fast
Dominant voice: Female
Dominant language: Japanese

Profile: Namie Amuro

Namie Amuro is one of my favourite female JPOP singers. When I was first introduced to JPOP, she was the third artist I heard. I really loved her hip-hop style and catchy songs. Even to this day, I am a die-hard Namie Amuro fan. The first music video I saw from her was Put 'Em Up, where Namie Amuro looks incredibly cute (I especially like her mechanic dance near her pimpin red car).

She has made tons of good music videos since then and they can be found throughout the web.

Images and wallpapers of Namie Amuro:






You can find more detailed information about Namie Amuro from the Namie Amuro Wikipedia article. I will simply state who I recommend Namie Amuro for and highlight some of my favourite songs. I believe that Namie Amuro's songs are getting better each time she releases new albums and singles. I'm not a big fan of her earlier work so I'm happy that her songs are always getting better.

I highly recommend Namie Amuro if you like:

• Hip-hop music. She is the "queen of hip-hop"
• Face-paced and catchy music
• Low pitched female voices. Namie Amuro's voice won't shatter your ear drums or break glass with high pitches. Her voice is low pitched when compared to some JPOP singers such as Ayumi Hamasaki and Aya Hirano

Song recommendations (click on the link if available for Japanese and romanji lyrics):



2003 Album - Style

• Put 'Em Up - a moderate paced hip-hop song. This is the first song I heard from her so I'm somewhat biased towards it.
• So Crazy - a moderate paced hip-hop song. The beginning of the song sounds really good and the song itself sounds very unique.
• Four Seasons - my absolute favourite song on this album. Namie displays her amazing voice by singing this slow song. Definitely check out this song if you hate hip-hop songs.

2005 Album - Queen of Hip Hop

• I Wanna Show You My Love - a catchy hip-hop song.
• My Darling - a catchy hip-hop song, which sounds a lot like a North American song because some random guy grunts and says "hey" and "yeah" every now and then.
• Ups & Downs - Namie does a duet with another male singer. The male singer, Nao'ymt, has an excellent voice and complements Namie's voice perfectly.
• ALL FOR YOU - my favourite song from the Queen of Hip Hop album. Namie's voice is amazing as she sings this slow song.
• No - a unique sounding song, which sounds like two songs in one. The song begins as a fast paced hip-hop song. At the 4:20 mark, the song changes to a slow song.

2007 Album - Play

• Hide & Seek - a really unique sounding song, which is quite catchy.
• CAN'T SLEEP, CAN'T EAT, I'M SICK - one of my favourite Namie Amuro songs. This song is fast paced and really addictive.
• Violet Sauce (Spicy) - another one of my favourite songs from Namie Amuro. I didn't think that a remix of her song Violet Sauce would sound so funky. This song is full of energy and really interesting to listen to.
• Baby Don't Cry - a slow song, where Namie displays her great voice.

2005 Single - White Light / Violet Sauce

• White Light - one of my favourite Namie Amuro songs. I listened to this song way too many times. This slow song is very relaxing and displays Namie's excellent voice. Although White light is a Christmas song, it sounds great all year round.
  

Note: Profile last updated December 27, 2007.