nostalgic Posted January 24 Posted January 24 8 minutes ago, Subomie said: Are we here for breaching the top fifty forty nine in the next 20-30 minutes? @Riverbank @Curaga @scenekiller @Meloetta Carey @gingguu @AMIT @willmcclure9 @Ewan Chaos @Suilen @bestfiction @Aria0327 @confide in me @nostalgic @Hey Dude @Reverie @Cruel Summer Perched & ready 1
Graves Posted January 24 Author Posted January 24 HIGHEST SCORE: 10 x 2 (Cruel Summer, confide in me) LOWEST SCORE: 4 x 1 (Aria0327) MY SCORE: 7.5 This one is neat. A song that makes a game of baseball into a metaphor for a romantic courtship. Though not an initial favourite of mine, Play Ball is definitely a grower. The choice to sprinkle in some harp strumming was an especially inspired one for a song like this. The use of instruments in general on Deep River is always impressive. They add flair and identity to each song, but can still give off a worldly and somehow cohesive feeling to the project as a whole. Back to Play Ball, though. This was a radio release in the lead-up to Deep River's launch. A little promo track, if you will! I don't think I would've gone with this for the promo, but I can see why they did. Japan does love baseball! Really, the most impressive part of this song is the lyrical content. The metaphor could come across a little trite or lame in the wrong hands, but Hikaru handles it with appropriate weight. She's been playing the long game until now, but there comes a time when you have to make that pitch. You gotta throw your heart out there even though it could whiff and land in the dirt. Miss Curaga loves some foreplay: "Pre-chorus is my favorite part — so pretty." 2
Graves Posted January 24 Author Posted January 24 HIGHEST SCORE: 10 x 3 (gingguu, AMIT, nostalgic) LOWEST SCORE: 6 x 3 (Subomie, Aria0327, Reverie) MY SCORE: 6 My turn at being rate villain It's an interesting trend, that as Hikaru's career proceeded to grow and develop in quality, the success - while still huge - began to diminish just a little bit. The singles weren't hitting those high year-end placements as strongly and Ultra Blue became her first album not to cross a million in sales. Being the lead single to the next album, Flavor of Life sought to put all of that back on track for Hikki - and it succeeded if the numbers are anything to go by. Another #1, their last on the physical charts, over 7.7 million combined digital sales, another ~600k in physicals... this is by all definitions: a mega hit. The ballad version of Flavor of Life came about because Hikaru received a request from producers of the drama series Hana Yori Dango 2 to make a theme for the upcoming season, specifically one that would recall First Love. Just like First Love, this is a sweet if slight song. One that's pleasant to listen to, but hardly life-changing. I'm sure I'm missing something by not having lived through the dominance of this song in Japan, but as a late arrival? It's thoroughly average affair. I give it an extra point for the slightly more exciting non-ballad version tho. Luckily, Flavor of Life made for a great tool in those late-'00s Jpop stan wars. It's stats just can't be undersold. The song didn't get a physical release until late February 2007, but it had already sold over 2 million ringtone downloads before then. And it still was an easy number one for Hikki anyway! The people weren't tired of it at all. It was a monster hit in Japan and is undoubtedly part of the reason that the Heart Station album did so well, but... Meh. It leaves me cold even still. Curaga has a preference: "Prefer the non-ballad version. Kinda boring, but not bad. Bridge on the non-ballad version is really cool." AMIT also slates the ballad: "rating the upbeat version here, ballad version is pointless when Prisoner of Love exists in the same album." 1
Curaga Posted January 24 Posted January 24 Ugh, I love Play Ball I only gave it a 9 because the chorus doesn’t send me like their other songs, but omg it’s so good still. @Aria0327 sneaking in some more villanous scores, I see 1
Curaga Posted January 24 Posted January 24 5 minutes ago, Subomie said: HIGHEST SCORE: 10 x 3 (gingguu, AMIT, nostalgic) LOWEST SCORE: 6 x 3 (Subomie, Aria0327, Reverie) MY SCORE: 6 My turn at being rate villain It's an interesting trend, that as Hikaru's career proceeded to grow and develop in quality, the success - while still huge - began to diminish just a little bit. The singles weren't hitting those high year-end placements as strongly and Ultra Blue became her first album not to cross a million in sales. Being the lead single to the next album, Flavor of Life sought to put all of that back on track for Hikki - and it succeeded if the numbers are anything to go by. Another #1, their last on the physical charts, over 7.7 million combined digital sales, another ~600k in physicals... this is by all definitions: a mega hit. The ballad version of Flavor of Life came about because Hikaru received a request from producers of the drama series Hana Yori Dango 2 to make a theme for the upcoming season, specifically one that would recall First Love. Just like First Love, this is a sweet if slight song. One that's pleasant to listen to, but hardly life-changing. I'm sure I'm missing something by not having lived through the dominance of this song in Japan, but as a late arrival? It's thoroughly average affair. I give it an extra point for the slightly more exciting non-ballad version tho. Luckily, Flavor of Life made for a great tool in those late-'00s Jpop stan wars. It's stats just can't be undersold. The song didn't get a physical release until late February 2007, but it had already sold over 2 million ringtone downloads before then. And it still was an easy number one for Hikki anyway! The people weren't tired of it at all. It was a monster hit in Japan and is undoubtedly part of the reason that the Heart Station album did so well, but... Meh. It leaves me cold even still. Curaga has a preference: "Prefer the non-ballad version. Kinda boring, but not bad. Bridge on the non-ballad version is really cool." AMIT also slates the ballad: "rating the upbeat version here, ballad version is pointless when Prisoner of Love exists in the same album." Wow, I didn’t know this was such a big hit It’s kinda boring ahsjkdkdjwiej I was a little generous with my 8 for the non-ballad version 1
Graves Posted January 24 Author Posted January 24 Just now, Curaga said: Wow, I didn’t know this was such a big hit It’s kinda boring ahsjkdkdjwiej I was a little generous with my 8 for the non-ballad version nnn where would I be without you to react and quote my posts? single-handedly keeping this rate running 1
Graves Posted January 24 Author Posted January 24 & yes, flavor of life isn't even a top 100 song for me, so seeing it buzzing around the top fifty was... troublesome.
Graves Posted January 24 Author Posted January 24 HIGHEST SCORE: 10 x 4 (Curaga, willmcclure9, bestfiction, nostalgic) LOWEST SCORE: 4.5 x 1 (Aria0327) MY SCORE: 8 Where some songs open strong and grow a little tiresome as their runtime goes on, Ōzora de Dakishimete is quite the opposite for me. In fact, I confess that I actually find that opening riff a tad annoying. But it's fine! The song wins me over sooner rather than later. Translating to "Embrace Me Under the Big Sky", the song is about dreaming of the chance to see a deceased loved one once more. It's a sweet song, actually. Sure, there's certainly a sadness inherent with subject matter like this but I think the instrumentation and lyricism give it a hopeful feel. It doesn't feel bleak in the same way that past songs about her mother do. It's a little sad, a little wistful, but also wiser and more aware. It's beautiful, honestly. So, with that said, it is kind of disappointing that such a track got no video. No real one anyway - just another one of those Suntory water commercial tie-ins. It kind of cheapens the package I feel, which is sad because this song deserved a really grand package! It was the lead single for crying out loud! July 2017, close to a year before the album proper launched. Even the dang single cover comes from the commercial too... Curaga is a bigger fan of the opening than I: "Starts playful, then gets emotional. Idk I just really love this one." bestfiction is no fan of this era at all, but can find some time for this song: "Hatsukoi is kinda mid outside of this song." 1
Curaga Posted January 24 Posted January 24 2 minutes ago, Subomie said: nnn where would I be without you to react and quote my posts? single-handedly keeping this rate running I gotchu 1
Graves Posted January 24 Author Posted January 24 I thought the girls were wanting some later reveals
Curaga Posted January 24 Posted January 24 5 minutes ago, Subomie said: Even the dang single cover comes from the commercial too... You’re kidding lollllll This is one of my fav single covers and I didn’t know it’s just a still from a commercial. Now I’m thinking the same could be true of one of my other favs since it has the same vibe to me… Ooh and it reminds me of another I love by Mandy Moore, When I Wasn’t Watching. 1
Graves Posted January 24 Author Posted January 24 The cretins who sabotaged this aren't even here to gloat. HIGHEST SCORE: 10 x 3 (Subomie, Riverbank, Hey Dude) LOWEST SCORE: 3 x 1 (Suilen) MY SCORE: 10 Undoubtedly one of the highest moments on Fantome for me is Tomodachi, a brassy tale of unfulfilled yearning. I adore the instrumentation on this one, with the way it starts all sparse and quiet and blooms into something noisy and funky. The horns are amazing, especially with how they come in bit by bit - first just as punctuation on the pre-chorus, but then with some real purpose once the chorus proper kicks in, and finally they take over from Hikki herself once she starts crooning out those "ohhh"s. The backing vocalists are courtesy of Obukuro Nariaki, an R&B singer who would collaborate with Hikaru again on his debut 2018 album (she executive produced it!). This is definitely one for the gays, and not in the pandering "burn it up like a parade" way. It speaks to a pretty universal experience of gay youth - unrequited love. Or not even, since you'd have to confess it for it to be unrequited. There's a deftness in this song that I find especially impressive. At first it could read as a rather general fear of rejection, but particular lines make it specifically gay-coded... Deciding that the character of the song can't confess because they wouldn't be able to live with it if their crush hated them for coming clean, or deciding to "take these embarrassing delusions and impossible dreams to my grave". Oof. Is that just the crush they refer to, or do they mean their sexuality in general? Hitting us in the sore spots there, sis. And also we know as much because Hikaru has outright said so in some tweets, hehe. Starting positive, Curaga is a fan! "Love the horns. This one’s fun." Now the negatives... AMIT, sis... "yeah it's fine, but a bit of a filler I fear, I don't skip it when I play the full album." You and that musty 4... And the worst insult of all? Courtesy of Ewan Chaos: "The chorus of this reminds me of a HAIM song but idk which..." Eek! 2 1
Cruel Summer Posted January 24 Posted January 24 Miss Oozora never really clicked with me in the way that I’d think it should make it this far, but it’s cute and light and breezy, despite a little sadness. It’s a nice listen. Definitely forgot that it was still in. Kind of forgot it existed at all. Very sad to see Play Ball go, though, that’s a classic! 2
nostalgic Posted January 24 Posted January 24 (edited) Flavor Of Life! The ballad version is slightly lower for me but I do love both. The piano is gorgeous and her vocals are so calming. Going in order on the album, you get to then hear the original version with that intoxicating synth/guitar outro and it all comes together I love Heart Station so much. Edited January 24 by nostalgic 3
Cruel Summer Posted January 24 Posted January 24 No, not Tomodachi! It’s my third least favorite song on Fantôme, but it’s till on Fantôme! 1
Graves Posted January 24 Author Posted January 24 I don't want to point any fingers but for the first half of voting Fantome was kind of dominating. Then... well, I won't spell it out for you, but...
Ewan Chaos Posted January 24 Posted January 24 And I still haven't figured out which HAIM song Tomodachi reminds me of! 1
Graves Posted January 24 Author Posted January 24 I believe it was the great philosopher Katy Perry who said that karma keeps receipts? 11 x 1 (AMIT) HIGHEST SCORE: 10 x 2 (bestfiction, confide in me) LOWEST SCORE: 4 x 1 (Curaga) MY SCORE: 9 God damn! That chorus melody is pretty brilliant, eh? While the first two singles from Distance had been made with the help of Jam and Lewis, Time Limit was all Darkchild. Well, not all... It was initially written by Hikki, alongside Takuro of the rock band Glay, and they later took it to Darkchild himself for remixing. And while I can take or leave his vocal contributions on the track, it was ultimately the right move. Catchiest chorus on the album, perhaps? Now this is a sound that could've gotten some play on US radio circa 2000. A stone cold jam. The fact that this was the back side of the double A-side release is crazy to me. This is leagues better than For You! Unfortunately I do think it is one of the more forgotten singles of their career. It was hard enough trying to find the single cover in any decent quality/size! Time Limit initially sounds like another sassy send-off in the same vain as Movin' on without you, just R&B-ified thanks to Darkchild. That said, on further inspection it's more of a tough love teaching moment from Hikki. They warn us that "you can't keep working hard without a time limit." Wisdom icon. I'll keep that in mind for the rate! Just gonna give the floor to AMIT for this one! Take it away, bae! "This song is basically nonstop melodic bliss for almost 5 minutes. one of her most catchy songs if not THEE most. it has a bit of a melancholic vibe as well that always gets me, I feel like it's underrated but I just love it so much." Testify. 3
Taste of Honey Posted January 24 Posted January 24 19 minutes ago, Subomie said: HIGHEST SCORE: 10 x 4 (Curaga, willmcclure9, bestfiction, nostalgic) LOWEST SCORE: 4.5 x 1 (Aria0327) MY SCORE: 8 Where some songs open strong and grow a little tiresome as their runtime goes on, Ōzora de Dakishimete is quite the opposite for me. In fact, I confess that I actually find that opening riff a tad annoying. But it's fine! The song wins me over sooner rather than later. Translating to "Embrace Me Under the Big Sky", the song is about dreaming of the chance to see a deceased loved one once more. It's a sweet song, actually. Sure, there's certainly a sadness inherent with subject matter like this but I think the instrumentation and lyricism give it a hopeful feel. It doesn't feel bleak in the same way that past songs about her mother do. It's a little sad, a little wistful, but also wiser and more aware. It's beautiful, honestly. So, with that said, it is kind of disappointing that such a track got no video. No real one anyway - just another one of those Suntory water commercial tie-ins. It kind of cheapens the package I feel, which is sad because this song deserved a really grand package! It was the lead single for crying out loud! July 2017, close to a year before the album proper launched. Even the dang single cover comes from the commercial too... Curaga is a bigger fan of the opening than I: "Starts playful, then gets emotional. Idk I just really love this one." bestfiction is no fan of this era at all, but can find some time for this song: "Hatsukoi is kinda mid outside of this song." I love the way the instrumental builds. Going from this very whimsical sound at the start then suddenly shifting into a more somber mood when the harmonies in the bridge hit. Kinda like watching storm clouds roll in on a sunny day. 3 1
Riverbank Posted January 24 Posted January 24 Tomodachi should belong in the top 20 at least but wbk y'all are tasteless 1
Taste of Honey Posted January 24 Posted January 24 9 minutes ago, Subomie said: I believe it was the great philosopher Katy Perry who said that karma keeps receipts? 11 x 1 (AMIT) HIGHEST SCORE: 10 x 2 (bestfiction, confide in me) LOWEST SCORE: 4 x 1 (Curaga) MY SCORE: 9 I like Time Limit, but something about the production has always bothered me. I feel like it's missing something, but I don't know what it is. 2
Graves Posted January 24 Author Posted January 24 Is it all for you? Give it all for you... YEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! HIGHEST SCORE: 10 x 5 (Subomie, scenekiller, gingguu, AMIT, confide in me) LOWEST SCORE: 4 x 1 (Curaga) girl... MY SCORE: 10 Coming out in early 2000, Utada's first single of the new milennium was also their second time working with famed Janet Jackson collaborators Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Unlike the earlier R&B work she'd done on First Love and Addicted To You, Wait & See is a genre bending mishmash... R&B, rock, dance... it's an onslaught of music right from the opening with that primal scream. Well, Hikki's take on a primal scream, perhaps hehe. Lyrically, this one is self-explanatory. Utada is a risk-taker, and will continue to be so. They make it clear that whatever slight pain comes with unfamiliar territory is only temporary and the growth you undergo in the process makes it worthwhile anyway. Sonically and lyrically, Wait & See is indicative of a more confident and assertive Utada than that of First Love. This makes a great first impression - I love it! So frantic and desperate! Dramatic in ways that First Love wasn't capable of! What a rush! Just like every other single from Distance, this was an instant #1 on Oricon. Over eight hundred thousand sold in one week, selling over one and a half million in total. Everything about this era was a commercial behemoth, and Wait & See holds up to this day. A 2015 poll of Japanese fans put it as the tenth most popular Utada song! ...Which is a bit of a far cry from where we've thrown it. Ah! And we can't forget that video. Early '00s spectacle in all of the right ways. Huge budget, low taste level. I mean that in a (mostly) good way. It's a cute video that sees Hikaru dancing in a warehouse with several clones of themself, as well as hopping on some futuristic hovercraft for a thrilling ride through Tokyo. Dated as all hell, but a treat nonetheless! Curaga tries to justify that janky ass score with some reason: "I can start to hear elements of what I like on the next album, but right from the get go with this song, the instrumentals on this album just don’t do it for me — something about the guitars. There’s so much going on that it sounds messy; every instrument is in the foreground." AMIT, on the other hand, gives a glowing review: "it's not easy to follow up such a huge album opener like Automatic, and it does not reach the former's highs but still this song does not disappoint! a great mood setter for one of her best albums. I think it had to grow on me at first, but I saw the light eventually and now its one of my top faves." And finally, Ewan Chaos hails Hikaru as an inspiration to flop girls everywhere: "This literally invented Rina." 1 3
Graves Posted January 24 Author Posted January 24 I should've rigged the rate, ugh. Not even top forty??
nostalgic Posted January 24 Posted January 24 12 minutes ago, Taste of Honey said: I love the way the instrumental builds. Going from this very whimsical sound at the start then suddenly shifting into a more somber mood when the harmonies in the bridge hit. Kinda like watching storm clouds roll in on a sunny day. Taste. That 20 seconds of "ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh"'s are heavenly! It's crazy how just a small snippet of a song can tie it all together and make it a 10. I would've given it a 8 if that wasn't there. 1
Ewan Chaos Posted January 24 Posted January 24 These recent Distance losses, oh HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL no!!!!!!!! I mean I should have given Wait & See a 10 instead of a 9 but clearly that wouldn't have helped much... 2
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