Reviewed by: Josh Love
Reviewed on: 2005-01-21

Posted 01/21/2005 - 09:54:14 AM by weaseloption:
	Top marks for covering some asian pop, but do you think it really needs to be approached from such a "comparitive culture" angle?
Posted 01/21/2005 - 12:31:08 PM by JoshLove:
	the way i look at it, the more people you can include in the discussion the better, and i think if i can give people some cultural reference points that we can all use as a foundation for understanding an artist that's new to us, that seems preferrable to me than being really alienating and saying "here's this girl 98% of you have never heard of, let me drop you in the middle of this whole unique pop universe you know nothing about (and admittedly I'm far from an expert in myself) and expect you to find your way out." i understand where you're coming from though b/c maybe that sounds like some hardcore eurocentrism, so you'll just have to trust me when i say that if i had written this review for a jpop online mag (where the readership would have known alot more about the subject going in), it would have been alot different than this one for stylus. of course, i probably wouldn't be writing the review for a jpop mag b/c i wouldn't feel comfortable enough in my knowledge in that setting, but in this context i just wanted to share a great album in a genre i'm just getting into with people who might otherwise never hear about it.
Posted 01/21/2005 - 11:37:04 PM by weaseloption:
	Fair call. I can't wait to read more!
Posted 02/24/2005 - 04:44:49 AM by tropigalia:
	it's too bad she has a voice like a dying cat--with a sinus infection.
Posted 06/23/2005 - 09:55:33 AM by anonymous:
	Her name is Hamasaki Ayumi. :-)
Posted 01/01/2006 - 07:36:07 AM by MC_Tatsujin:
	Oh yeah, I'm looking forward for more reviews of J-POP female artistes! Agreed, Ayumi is real good. I guess she specialises in the rock genre.