#jdance

We can fly away~

HOLY SNAP I just saw this now! I’m so sorry that I’m getting to it now @ayu-michan ! I have it so that Tumblr notifies me but I guess they didn’t. :\

That aside, I hope you didn’t mind me making this public since we gotta support the fandom and the fans <3 That that aside--

(Pretend I edited the gif and it says “You find globe VERY ATTRACTIVE” 8D)

Welcome, friend...to The Wonderful World of globe *___*

Yeah, the @fyeahglobe was made because I wanted to see who knew about the band, as well as increase awareness about it! It was fun for a while, but I ultimately stopped updating it because I had my webcomic, Life errands and I think I was studying too at the time? Just became very busy! (Plus, when you’re trying to have feedback and have the community join in and contribute/have fun, but only one person in a blue moon answers back, it’s very...detrimental to my desire to keep talking to the void. ^^; ) 

I wish I could have kept posting, especially with the remode news and Marc Panther’s activities, Tetsuya Komuro’s increased activities this year (he went to Vietnam even!), the news that KEIKO had vocal surgery and only just recently started singing a little bit again, the 20th anniversary -- it’s a good time to be a globe fan! But sadly, the above v__v;; It makes me super happy to hear that you devoured a lot of stuff on there though, and I’m glad I fed your thirst for more globe for a while! <3 SUFFER WITH US WESTERN FANS HAHAHA SOBS

I think I’ll reblog this on the fanblog too, but yesss to twitter! I’ll follow you there too, and I hope everyone who loves or likes a little globe will consider following! ^^ If you ever want to dish about the band, feel free to message me again, haha. I want globe fandom friends too! <3

These days when I listen to Ami Suzuki I can’t help but sigh and think “WTF happened?!” Anyone who’s ever heard her name is likely familiar with the story of how she was vying for Namie’s Jpop crown in the late 90s only to be blackballed in the music industry a mere 2 years later thanks to her demanding stage mom. Unfortunately after her career was resurrected on Avex Trax in the mid 00s it would die out again another few years later. 

And instead of treating us to a proper career encompassing or, even better, an Avex era single collection we are instead left with a glorified iTunes playlist called Ami Selection which somehow received an actual physical release. We’re given 8 re-recorded hits from her Sony days, an interim indies single which helped get her signed to Avex, the two bigger hits from her comeback album AROUND THE WORLD, a song each from its commercial failure followups Conetta and Dolce, her two latest singles and an unreleased bonus track. That’s not to say that this compilation (or Ami’s shittastic career) is without a few gems. There’s still something to love within this mess of a release.

The good - I need your love Ami. I need it aaaaallllll niiiiiight loooong! “all night long” has always been my favorite Ami track as well as one of my top TK recordings ever (and we all know how many I have!) Above all the other rerecordings I feel this one was properly updated and done justice. THIS should have been the single release from this compilation! It’s a shame this musical sci fi epic wasn’t revived during her AROUND THE WORLD days as it would have fit her sound perfectly and you know, people actually payed attention then. 

I don’t think any Jpop fan in their right mind has ever considered Ami a vocalist or artist but if you were trying to make an argument for either “ねがいごと” would be the track to point to. When it was first released as a single to coincide with the release of AROUND THE WORLD I wrote it off as the typical Jpop ballad thrown into the electro mix for good measure. However when the song and pv began to eclipse the popularity of the album’s dance tracks I began to take notice and ultimately fell in love with the song. Both the song and pv had a true emotional depth never before seen in an Ami release. As you see images of dolls and mannequins being discarded as Ami croons her heart out you can’t help but feel bad how she got screwed by the music industry and abandoned by fans only a few years earlier. To this day it’s still one of my fav Jpop ballads.

The original “OUR DAYS” never stood out much for me but her now more mature vocals really suit this song. She can now carry these more emotional ballads and midtempos without the cheesy idol vocals of her heyday.

The bad - When I first heard that Ami was going to release a rerecorded version of “love the island” as a single to promote an upcoming best I lost…my… shit! To say I was disappointed in both would be a grave understatement. For me Ami is the biggest problem. Her vocals sound so uninspired. I understand the term “island” conjours up thoughts of relaxing on the beach but it lacks the I’m-desperate-to-make-it vibe of her debut hit. It just wasn’t nearly as fierce as I had hoped, not by a long shot.

As far as other rerecordings go I felt  “white key” and  “Don’t leave me behind” were kind of forgettable in comparison with the rest. I’ve never been a huge fan of either but considering this was a one disc compilation I feel their spots could have been better saved for some Avex material. She only recorded for Sony for 2 years, there’s no reason the songs from that era should take up the bulk of the collection. 

The tragic - Besides the digital single “Hopeful” Ami’s return to the charts came in the form of the delightfully tacky “Delightful”. The song capitalized on the electro sound that was gaining movement in the early/mid 00s. The chorus of “body shake it, body shake it now” as well as the budget version of Kylie’s “Love at First Sight” pv helped cement its tragic status. Fortunately the rest of AROUND THE WORLD was a little harder edged and not quite as trashy. 

I never cared for Ami’s cover of “BE TOGETHER” at least compared to the superior original by TM Network. It had such tacky background music and vocals and Ami’s vocals were so annoying. When she seemingly questions “SHAKE MY SOUL?” you can’t help but wonder if she got a surprise rectal exam in the middle of the recording session. Her current vocal style is much more suitable and now makes it the catchy but non grating audience singalong it was always meant to be.

Ultimately Ami Selection is anything but a must have. It’s certainly not a collection of her biggest hits but it does serve as a decent introduction to her. I’m sure that was Avex’s plan all along, to wash their hands of Ami but still hope to generate interest and sales of her more successful albums with them, AROUND THE WORLD and Supreme Show (which despite having no inclusions here is by far her best work under that label.)