tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2042059814869113492.post1962930098632590083..comments2022-03-01T07:07:53.329-07:00Comments on AMIYUMIDAS - PUFFY AMIYUMI: Hiyori Hime Single ReviewWeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02394347494360697764noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2042059814869113492.post-61913286554181735532009-03-18T16:24:00.000-06:002009-03-18T16:24:00.000-06:00Generally speaking Asia celebrities work a lot har...Generally speaking Asia celebrities work a lot harder than their counter parts. Be it relentless self marketing or simply bringing in more direct money. It indeed has been great to see Ami and Yumi branching out... really since the beginning. Their breadth of work is impressive, if not maybe what we fans always want.<BR/><BR/>My opinion on singles is I think the music industry as a whole might shift that way... the web has enabled music to really be released alacarte. While I prefer albums, being reliant on singles is not bad thing it keeps the gears of the Puffy machine lubricated with cash. <BR/><BR/>I agree there probably is no point where they will go away unless Puffy wants that. They have been around this long in an industry that routinely chews up and spits out talent. <BR/><BR/>But the right things... I could not agree more. It is a shame that they have given up on the US market. It seems like when they made their push here was when they were starting to slide in Japan. About the time Spike was released... I suppose.<BR/><BR/>Anyways this latest release seems more like a stop gap album... lets hope the next real album will be great. FWIW Honeycreeper and Splurge are in my top 5... so their later material I think has been great.Weshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02394347494360697764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2042059814869113492.post-41269550587628242232009-03-18T15:29:00.000-06:002009-03-18T15:29:00.000-06:00They don't survive strictly by their music these d...They don't survive strictly by their music these days, though. It's been interesting watching them morph from raw but charismatic kids into legitimate and somewhat counterculture musicians and now into more general mainstream celebrities. I'm not completely happy about their latest direction but I guess they're doing whatever it takes to survive in the entertainment business. Their music sometimes seems like an afterthought these days, something they do to justify their existence in all the ads and other things they do to actually make money.<BR/><BR/>But you can see all the areas where their budget has been cut even over the past few years. Basically zero US promotion anymore, they seem to have totally given up on that. Smaller Japanese tours, and less frequent too. More entries into multi-band events and festivals - fewer of their own shows. Less frequent full-length original albums - a lot more recycled material. A heavier reliance on singles.<BR/><BR/>There's probably no point at which they wouldn't be profitable, it's just a question of constantly adjusting so their organization is the right size and they're doing the right things to make money.<BR/><BR/>I just wish the "right things" still included putting out more original music working with regular producers, and touring more outside of Japan.Jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11824929910429164650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2042059814869113492.post-56424840468115633972009-03-18T11:46:00.000-06:002009-03-18T11:46:00.000-06:00"It's not only been a long slide, it's been a shar..."It's not only been a long slide, it's been a sharp one."<BR/><BR/>Law of diminishing returns... not to mention an economy that has been in recession for a long, long time.<BR/><BR/>Ultimately music is a business, they are still with Sony because they ultimately make Sony money. But this slide certainly makes me wonder where that monetary Mendoza line is for them.Weshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02394347494360697764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2042059814869113492.post-24886389085052317672009-03-18T08:51:00.000-06:002009-03-18T08:51:00.000-06:00It's not only been a long slide, it's been a sharp...It's not only been a long slide, it's been a sharp one. According the the sales numbers Jeff posted a while ago, if you go back to Asia no Junshin and Kore ga Watashi no Ikirumichi, every PAIR of singles after that sold about half of what the preceding pair had - and this geometrical progression continued for about ten years! That's a spectacular dropoff. And the albums followed a similar curve.<BR/><BR/>I don't know enough about the realities of the Japanese music business to know what's going on, but I'm very thankful to SOMEONE for continuing to support Puffy while they became better and better at their art. (It pains me to be grateful to Sony, but if I must, so be it.)<BR/><BR/>And the fans... yes, buy those Puffy CDs and DVDs! That's the support Ami and Yumi really need and deserve.donhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00324206780406459624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2042059814869113492.post-2255112298966267672009-03-17T23:21:00.000-06:002009-03-17T23:21:00.000-06:00If you look at what their albums have sold, it has...If you look at what their albums have sold, it has been a long slide... I can not blame them or Sony for maybe making a move to a single with broad appeal... but this is not a homerun shot.<BR/><BR/>Anyone have any idea what the Japanese critics are saying?Weshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02394347494360697764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2042059814869113492.post-50003957737213200742009-03-17T23:15:00.000-06:002009-03-17T23:15:00.000-06:00I too have had multiple listening sessions for Hiy...I too have had multiple listening sessions for Hiyori Hime and it probably would be a great song... for someone else. Maybe Shiina Ringo, though I am not a big fan of her material. It really is missing quality guitar work... <BR/><BR/>Though I am not a big fan of the drumming either... it feels muted. To me there is one drummer for them and that is Takashi Furuta<BR/><BR/>Vocals, Ami and Yumi come off sounding a little to nasal-y... This can work for some singers (liz Phair for example...) But not them. Or it was mixed a little too high. <BR/><BR/>I would rate the single:<BR/>Music: C<BR/>Performance: C-<BR/>Production: D<BR/><BR/>I have not watched the DVD yet, but I liked Kuchibiru Motion quite a bit on the original album, I could see where some might not, but to me it seemed right. Now more rocking... well that is never bad?Weshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02394347494360697764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2042059814869113492.post-36606846900779342732009-03-16T18:37:00.000-06:002009-03-16T18:37:00.000-06:00Oh! This remix contest was for PRMX Turbo, and the...Oh! This remix contest was for PRMX Turbo, and the winner remix was "Love So Pure (djcomp & one string perc mix)"<BR/><BR/>But I can't see PUFFY put out raw files for people to remix them...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2042059814869113492.post-37943925204093573222009-03-16T13:17:00.000-06:002009-03-16T13:17:00.000-06:00I would love it if they'd put their raw files out ...I would love it if they'd put their raw files out there, though I don't know what that would look like. I'd take a stab at it if the files were in a format that could be read by one of the apps I have. But I think that would be a pretty advanced "contest". I don't remember the remix thing you mention, although if I were doing a contest like that for the general public, I probably wouldn't just dump the raw unmixed files out there but would instead take some snippets of the various tracks and put them out for rearranging. It would just be more user-friendly. I've never heard of a band really putting their raw files out, although maybe Radiohead or somebody like that has. (They're about the only band I could see doing it.)<BR/><BR/>I should make it clear that it's not like I listened to this song and immediately said "what a terrible mix!" It's subconscious at first; I just didn't much like the song and I was trying to figure out why. It sounds like a Shiina Ringo song, which should be a good thing. It's not particularly melodic but it's still catchy - it still runs through my head (no matter how hard I try to get it out). But I just didn't like it. And I eventually decided it must be the way the song *sounds*, as opposed to the song itself.<BR/><BR/>I saw that the live videos are up for now, although I didn't link to them purposely because a) they will be taken down soon (they've been up before, for short periods), and b) as long as the limited CD/DVD is still on sale, I want to encourage people to see the videos that way. I have no problem with people searching for the videos and finding them if somebody else puts them up on YouTube, I just don't want to actively encourage it in public. I'd rather encourage buying the DVD. (I know you did and are just waiting, but not everybody has.) Better quality anyway.<BR/><BR/>If they're still up when the limited CD/DVD is sold out, then I'll probably link to one or more of them (as I did with Kimi to O-tobai after ABOY was sold out, which I thought was pretty amazing live).Jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11824929910429164650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2042059814869113492.post-11263188419047301052009-03-16T12:54:00.000-06:002009-03-16T12:54:00.000-06:00Thanks for the review, Jeff. I still don't ha...Thanks for the review, Jeff. I still don't have my copy... although I ordered it in December, I've kept adding to the original order each time something new was announced (rather than make up a new order). EVENTUALLY I'll be glad I saved some shipping, but right now... Anyway, I can't comment on the single, but I've been anxious to hear others' views. (Btw, I should mention that that order now also includes Meiji Chelsea no Uta, which seemed to be out of print when someone here recommended it as containing "60 seconds of PUFFY sweetness in a commercial jingle". It's available again.)<BR/><BR/>Maybe Puffy should put their raw tracks out on the Web and have a contest to see who comes up with the best mix. Didn't they solicit fans for remixes at one point? One of the PRMX discs, I think... And they asked for input on <BR/>the Hit & Fun song selection. I'm starting to think Sony could use some help here. (Actually, most music mixed for iPods sounds bad to me these days, but I take it your criticism goes beyond that.)<BR/><BR/>Doki Doki... I knew it would be hard to extrapolate from the brief excerpt heard in the MOW ice cream commercials, but I wasn't expecting Freddy Cannon's Palisades Park. Cute, but I think I was hearing something with a little more bite.<BR/><BR/>What I'm really fired up about right now, though, is the live performances on those three bonus DVDs. I'd managed to see a couple of the earliest ones on YouTube, but they're all now -- however briefly -- public, and I'm completely knocked out. This IS a terrific band. (Has anyone besides Puffy so consistently fronted a twin guitar attack over the past decade?)<BR/><BR/>This is easily my favorite Circuit no Musume (out of several good ones), but everything is great here. As you say, Jet Keisatsu is always fun (the guitarists' circling dance is an unexpected highlight), although I think my favorite is still the one on the Fever*Fever DVD. Ami is just completely nuts on that version (let me rephrase that... she seems to be enjoying herself to an unusually large degree).<BR/><BR/>Didn't think another Asia no Junshin was really needed by now, but this is a very good one. I'd always thought, btw, that it was the changing hairstyles that made Ami and Yumi look so different from one appearance to the next, so I was surprised when they merely switched into their tour shirts for this song. Does Ami, in particular, suddenly look a lot more like a younger version of herself? Maybe I'm just seeing things...<BR/><BR/>Good luck with the store!donhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00324206780406459624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2042059814869113492.post-35813277316918018012009-03-15T09:56:00.000-06:002009-03-15T09:56:00.000-06:00I haven't received my copy yet, so I can't comment...I haven't received my copy yet, so I can't comment on the single...<BR/>But I've found the song really good<BR/><BR/>Almost all PUFFY songs sound much better and exciting live than in studio, especially the older songs<BR/><BR/>When I watched some live performances of theirs for the first time, for me the studio version of those songs seemed just dumb compared to the live ones XDAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com