Maybe the mastering?
The Koda Kumi Rate PART II: WE'RE DONE, for now
- Thread starter evilsin
- Start date
Oi-oi-oh!
18
Shake It Up
Average: 8,35
Highest score: 10x5 (@yuuurei, @Remorque, @Empty Shoebox, @Squashua, @RUNAWAY) 9,5x1 (@Cutlery)
Lowest score: 4x1 (@Eskiath, ouch) 6x1 (@soratami)
My score: 8,5
18
Shake It Up
Average: 8,35
Highest score: 10x5 (@yuuurei, @Remorque, @Empty Shoebox, @Squashua, @RUNAWAY) 9,5x1 (@Cutlery)
Lowest score: 4x1 (@Eskiath, ouch) 6x1 (@soratami)
My score: 8,5
No one is safe, singles included, run for your lives! Oh wait, we already did run for our lives, 'member? Produced by
Kim Hiroshi from AVANT GARDE (life from Kiseki single) and written by him and Kumi, the track is a groovy and catchy party number. When this was released I was all over this like a dog in heat, because the chorus would just not leave me in peace. Naturally, with time I cooled off and only gentle affection remained. I mean, right now I feel a little conflicted about Shake It Up. It's certainly a banger and Kumi delivers amazingly here, but the laid back snail pace and perhaps I can't believe I'm saying this one too many choruses bloat the thing a tad. At the same time I also think this is exactly what makes this good. In the end all I could do is award this with 8,5 points and move along. Lyrically as you might guess the song is about getting down on the dancefloor:
Going around in the swaying lights
Using all my body
I can't be stopped tonight
The same scene comes in and out of my mind
I sigh again
Suddenly tired, I look down on myself
This is it
Dance with your friends
and liven up the rhythm
Forget
the gloominess in your heart
Oi-Oi-Oh! Until the morning comes
Oi-Oi-Oh! Shake it up tonight
Oi-Oi-Oh! Don't tell anyone
Oi-Oi-Oh! Let's clap our hands
Oi-Oi-Oh! With the sound
Oi-Oi-Oh! You won't wake up from the dream
(c) @otenkiame
The artwork for this 12-in-12 was inspired by Brazil! Figures.
I'm so tired of taking out trash, @Eskiath (4)! "Meh, never got into this." Meh? Meh!? MEH‽ Get the fuck out of here. The aforementioned length of the track was to its detriment for some, right @lalaclairi_ (7)? "Nice poppy number but at nearly 5 minutes, it goes on too long for me." Right. Even with a higher score @Weslicious (9) couldn't help by notice, "I do love this, but it kind of goes on a minute or so too long." Would it have the same impact without the very first chorus? I wonder. @TABOO (7,5) still managed to bop even with this length
hehe, "The chorus goes off a bit, huh? Even the rhythm of the verses is fun to sing along with. The only error this song commits is that it goes on for a minute more than it needs to." Looks like there is such a thing as tew much of a good song, huh? Perhaps @otenkiame (8) was as conflicted as I was when he was scoring this? "Never clicked completely with me, but I feel like I should like it more. It's got a nice summery-dance vibe to it. The inclusion of the acoustic guitar was a nice touch." The arrangement is great actually, especially in the verses. Loving the guitar as well is @Cutlery, "Wow queen, serve me those Spanish acoustic guitar x dance aerobics class vibes! The verses are as lowkey as her music-and-intimacy lyrics may suggest, while the chorus is true sing-along goodness" This should have been #1 on all karaoke charts in Japan! Yes, those do exist. @vague (9) just keeps on swinging their JPop knowledge schlong right in front of our faces, "hm, this kinda sounds like something she would've released around the time feel my mind or secret came out, i think. it's super catchy, but just a touch too generic to get a 10 from me. that little guitar bit after each chorus reminds me a bit of hitomi's LOST emotion in DARKNESS that came out around the same time, but i think it's just the slightly spanish-y feel of that one specific bit, 'cause the songs really aren't very similar otherwise ddd." Ooh, never heard that hitomi song before. The guitars do sound a tiniest bit familiar.
Opening the highest scorers hall of fames is the @Squashua, who reminisces about out first date, "It's really hard to beat the sense of nostalgia that's summoned up by low-key latin-esque disco house like this, not to mention handclaps are a musical weakness of mine. I swear my school discos used to be filled with this sound (On a Night Like This & Waiting for Tonight spring to mind) and now I just want to forlornly bop next to a star-lit pool somewhere in the Mediterranean probably in close proximity to neon, potted palm trees and a tequila sunrise." Oh wow, thinking about it, both On A Night Like This and Waiting For Tonight have some really striking similarities to Shake It Up in a bigger sense, like they are spiritual sisters or something like that. Amazing. I'm not gonna say anything about those glowing reviews @yuuurei promised us for her most loved tracks. Nuh-uh, don't even ask me, no, I'm not saying anything about the glowing reviews, "A fun disco-y jam, I really like this! Oi-oi-oh~" Okay, werk. @Empty Shoebox keeps on tossing me bait I'm not biting on, "Bop. Bit repetitive but I don't care. Not every song has to be Wuthering Heights by Kate Bush." You're probably right. @Remorque and I have something in common - a incurable permanent state of earwormingitis, "A bop! The song's extremely catchy and she sounds flawless. That chorus was stuck in my head for days." I know, right! So freaking catchy! Shaking it up and now shaking it off is @RUNAWAY, who once again just loves Kumi, "I FUCKING LOVE THIS SONG OHMYGODDD. It used to be just there for me, but holy SHIT it’s become INCREDIBLE to me while listening to these songs again. The instrumental post-chorus just hits me so hard with that Spanish guitar that you never see coming. Holy fuck this should go top 10. It’s such a shame the video is such a non-event though. The single cover is a perfect match for the song’s sound and style and I really wish the video was in that vibe too." I have to agree that the video was a really weird choice for the song.
Opening the highest scorers hall of fames is the @Squashua, who reminisces about out first date, "It's really hard to beat the sense of nostalgia that's summoned up by low-key latin-esque disco house like this, not to mention handclaps are a musical weakness of mine. I swear my school discos used to be filled with this sound (On a Night Like This & Waiting for Tonight spring to mind) and now I just want to forlornly bop next to a star-lit pool somewhere in the Mediterranean probably in close proximity to neon, potted palm trees and a tequila sunrise." Oh wow, thinking about it, both On A Night Like This and Waiting For Tonight have some really striking similarities to Shake It Up in a bigger sense, like they are spiritual sisters or something like that. Amazing. I'm not gonna say anything about those glowing reviews @yuuurei promised us for her most loved tracks. Nuh-uh, don't even ask me, no, I'm not saying anything about the glowing reviews, "A fun disco-y jam, I really like this! Oi-oi-oh~" Okay, werk. @Empty Shoebox keeps on tossing me bait I'm not biting on, "Bop. Bit repetitive but I don't care. Not every song has to be Wuthering Heights by Kate Bush." You're probably right. @Remorque and I have something in common - a incurable permanent state of earwormingitis, "A bop! The song's extremely catchy and she sounds flawless. That chorus was stuck in my head for days." I know, right! So freaking catchy! Shaking it up and now shaking it off is @RUNAWAY, who once again just loves Kumi, "I FUCKING LOVE THIS SONG OHMYGODDD. It used to be just there for me, but holy SHIT it’s become INCREDIBLE to me while listening to these songs again. The instrumental post-chorus just hits me so hard with that Spanish guitar that you never see coming. Holy fuck this should go top 10. It’s such a shame the video is such a non-event though. The single cover is a perfect match for the song’s sound and style and I really wish the video was in that vibe too." I have to agree that the video was a really weird choice for the song.
Kumi doesn't perform this one as much as she probably should.
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she/her
D
Deleted member 7462
Excuse you?
she/her
Excuse you!
It still has 3 songs in!LEAVE SECOND SESSION ALONE!!!
4 because Get It On is an album single in our hearts ♥️
Y'all forced me to put it in Extras, so now you will deal.
I saw you were sick on Insta! I hope you get better soon! Don't overdo yourself.
Thanks, hun, I'm feeling a lot better now, so I guess we'll have some eliminations tomorrow.
You can look at Part III as an opportunity to find some hidden gems in her discography though.
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One nation
One love
One unity
One world
We're all together now
One love
One unity
One world
We're all together now
Are you ready?
17
Black Cherry
Average: 8,40
Highest score: 10x5 (@Osiris, @lalaclairi_, @RUNAWAY, @aaronhansome, @Eskiath) 9,5x2 (@EachSmallStep, @vague)
Lowest score: 5x1 (@Cutlery) 6x1 (@Weslicious)
My score: 8,5
A titular track leaves! Well, kind of. Produced by Daisuke"D.I"Imai and written by him and Kumi, Black Cherry was the second song that was released as an intro track first and turned into a full-fledged one later, with the first one to receive the treatment being Get It On kinda. Let's just say it how it is - most intros, interludes and outros in general are useless, because they are simply throwed in randomly to take up space. Yes, some artists go the extra mile and do meaningful or at least nicely segueing interludes, still sadly Kumi is not one of those. I do enjoy most of Kumi's subsidiary tracks, yet I don't think we would lose much were they never there in the first place. Although were they full tracks... that would have been nice. Nevertheless, the absurdity of some of them, Let's show tonight going into Interlude ~Bon Voyage~, I'm looking at you, guys, is sometimes astonishing. Anyway, at the time this was a bold move, the fans were rabid at the prospects of this happening yet again in the future. Even some peers looked into the possibilities of using the same technique, as did Ayu with her Mirror / Mirrorcle World combo. The sultry R'n'B number in front of us is, as most D.I productions for Kumi, slinky and polished. I do enjoy this quite a bit, especially the verses, still sometimes the chorus is just sort of out there, I wish it was beefed up a little. The outro is great in bringing some diversity, but it's not enough to boost the score. Lyrical content is once again a little contradicting, Hot Stuff teas, if you will:
Uh, boy
Do you have confidence, oh baby, that you can keep up with me?
Uh, girl
You can't turn back, so be prepared, okay?
There might be
a lot of things that will end someday
But from now on it's different, I won't let you regret it
Don't confuse me with those other guys over there, baby
(c) @otenkiame
Another week, another trash day, right, @Cutlery? "Zzz… such a boring and repetitive title track born from an intro which no one asked a full version of. It's also tacked at the end of the tracklist with little to no relation with Kingdom as an album, and should've stayed either unreleased or as a b-side. The melody change in the last 20 seconds is awful too" You actually summed up all the points that might contribute to this not being up to someone's street quite nicely. Except people were craving the full version like it was chocolate or something. @otenkiame (7.5) might be onto something, ""INTRODUCTION" blew me away back in the day, but I've always felt slightly underwhelmed by the full version. Perhaps because the beginning is cut out? Not too sure, honestly." Maybe you're right, the intro of the INTRODUCTION hehe made it quite impactful, while the full version just starts without any warning. Being a Kumi superfan @Weslicious definitely knows what's up, "A bit barren outside of the Black Cherry tour opening (Visually the best tour opener by anyone ever, not up for discussion, by the way). Away from the visual, it’s a tad bland." Okay, I give you that, but that fucking opening doe!!! I would think @TABOO (7) would give a higher score with this commentary, "The full imagining of INTRODUCTION is not disappointing in the slightest, but it does feel like a little bit of an afterthought for me personally. Perhaps this is due to its status as a bonus track. Those last thirty seconds though, woo, Kuu, GO AWFF!!" I always wonder whether it was extended or cut short in the first place, because I assume Get It On was simply cut, as it was released digitally a week before second session.
So where's all the cream, you say? Kochi, kochi. @Squashua (9) found himself a nice earworm, "All the heavy breathing is giving me flashbacks to another song but I can't put my finger on it... Lose My Breath maybe? Still, this is a certified slow jam and that "Work the Body, work your body" hook is going to be stuck in my head for the foreseeable." I would say it's certainly not bad to have this in your head all the time. At least when you know the song that is, as having some you can't remember is excruciatingly painful. It's been not the best couple of eliminations for @RUNAWAY, but he's bracing himself, I'm sure, "duh. This song is a fucking bop." Yup. @Eskiath agrees "Stone cold bop." Wish it was a bit warmer. @vague is a bit wrong here, "loved this when it was INTRODUCTION and love it even more as a full song. i do think those last 30 seconds kind of kill the vibe a lil bit, tho, dddd so that's why it's not a 10 from me" Nah, without the changed outro it would plonk along even less excitedly, hun, trust me. Unconventionally we can end today's write-up with @lalaclairi_, "Okay the performance from the beginning of the tour, with Kumi swimming up to the surface, is amazing. The bass on this one is also great." True, the openings of all the openings.
So where's all the cream, you say? Kochi, kochi. @Squashua (9) found himself a nice earworm, "All the heavy breathing is giving me flashbacks to another song but I can't put my finger on it... Lose My Breath maybe? Still, this is a certified slow jam and that "Work the Body, work your body" hook is going to be stuck in my head for the foreseeable." I would say it's certainly not bad to have this in your head all the time. At least when you know the song that is, as having some you can't remember is excruciatingly painful. It's been not the best couple of eliminations for @RUNAWAY, but he's bracing himself, I'm sure, "duh. This song is a fucking bop." Yup. @Eskiath agrees "Stone cold bop." Wish it was a bit warmer. @vague is a bit wrong here, "loved this when it was INTRODUCTION and love it even more as a full song. i do think those last 30 seconds kind of kill the vibe a lil bit, tho, dddd so that's why it's not a 10 from me" Nah, without the changed outro it would plonk along even less excitedly, hun, trust me. Unconventionally we can end today's write-up with @lalaclairi_, "Okay the performance from the beginning of the tour, with Kumi swimming up to the surface, is amazing. The bass on this one is also great." True, the openings of all the openings.
Well, since we talked about this live performance for Black Cherry Tour so extensively in the write-up, here it is.
Honestly iconque.
Queen of live.
Honestly iconque.
Queen of live.
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HOOO man black cherry goes off still.
Yes, never a truer word spoken!
It seems like pretty much every song that leaves now is a Kumi classic!
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