Curaga Posted January 30 Posted January 30 Love the cover of this single. It also had the best B-side ever (if I can call it that), the full-length PLANITb remix of Simple and Clean 1 1
Suilen Posted January 30 Posted January 30 Well I definitely expected a higher placement Just now, AMIT said: @Suilen I remember you lashing me back then for not stanning this one, so I'm surprised you didn't give it a 10. The lashings were deserved and I gave it a 9 because while it's excellence it's only top 3 on the album for me
Graves Posted January 30 Author Posted January 30 11 x 1 (Aria0327) HIGHEST SCORE: 10 x 6 (Subomie, scenekiller, AMIT, bestfiction, Cruel Summer, confide in me) LOWEST SCORE: 5 x 1 (Reverie) Heifer. MY SCORE: 10 That sitar opening is seriously beautiful, god damn. The title track for Deep River is a special track. Pardon the pun, but I'd even say that it makes for one of the... deeper tracks of the record. Hehe. We all learn at some point that life is about the journey, and not the destination. The deep river in question is the path that we wade through along the way. Soft shallows at some stages, deep and churning rapids at others. But we walk it the same way. It's a path that we map for for ourselves through self-determination, a sentiment that Utada is still learning, and also encourages all of us to explore too. "You don't need to try to be accepted everywhere... We've all been given a sword of self-identity." I always misremember this one as being a single. Partially because it was given a (rather beautiful) music video, and partially because it's such an important centerpiece to the album, surrounded by the other singles as well. But no! Deep River remained just an album track. A stunning one, at that. I have to imagine that Hikki stans this too, why else would we get such a pretty video for it? An early favorite of theirs for me, and one that remains very special to me. Curaga talks smack: "This one’s pretty, but it doesn’t grip me like her other ballads." Yeah? How bout I grip you by the neck, beloved? Luckily, AMIT is here to serve taste as always: "This one used to be my fave Utada song for a good while and I still love it, also the first ballad of hers I actually liked. it's so unusual for a Jpop ballad, trading the fairly common (up until that point at least) grandiose piano arrangements for a more subdued, simple strings-led one compounded by her restrained but still very emotional and beautiful vocal performace. omg! I still get chills whenever I hear it." That's why... That's why... That's why I chose you... 1 2
AMIT Posted January 30 Posted January 30 1 minute ago, Suilen said: Well I definitely expected a higher placement The lashings were deserved and I gave it a 9 because while it's excellence it's only top 3 on the album for me I got rightfully lashed into stanning for the song, but you are out here now saying you expected ha higher when you didn't even give her a 10. Okay. 1
Cruel Summer Posted January 30 Posted January 30 NOOOO I thought for sure this was coming for top five 1
Ewan Chaos Posted January 30 Posted January 30 Okay with the results thus far... best part of Find Love btw is when she says "you won't get there by hurrying (Korean, Korean, Korean)" 1
AMIT Posted January 30 Posted January 30 1 minute ago, Subomie said: 11 x 1 (Aria0327) HIGHEST SCORE: 10 x 6 (Subomie, scenekiller, AMIT, bestfiction, Cruel Summer, confide in me) LOWEST SCORE: 5 x 1 (Reverie) Heifer. MY SCORE: 10 That sitar opening is seriously beautiful, god damn. The title track for Deep River is a special track. Pardon the pun, but I'd even say that it makes for one of the... deeper tracks of the record. Hehe. We all learn at some point that life is about the journey, and not the destination. The deep river in question is the path that we wade through along the way. Soft shallows at some stages, deep and churning rapids at others. But we walk it the same way. It's a path that we map for for ourselves through self-determination, a sentiment that Utada is still learning, and also encourages all of us to explore too. "You don't need to try to be accepted everywhere... We've all been given a sword of self-identity." I always misremember this one as being a single. Partially because it was given a (rather beautiful) music video, and partially because it's such an important centerpiece to the album, surrounded by the other singles as well. But no! Deep River remained just an album track. A stunning one, at that. I have to imagine that Hikki stans this too, why else would we get such a pretty video for it? An early favorite of theirs for me, and one that remains very special to me. Curaga talks smack: "This one’s pretty, but it doesn’t grip me like her other ballads." Yeah? How bout I grip you by the neck, beloved? Luckily, AMIT is here to serve taste as always: "This one used to be my fave Utada song for a good while and I still love it, also the first ballad of hers I actually liked. it's so unusual for a Jpop ballad, trading the fairly common (up until that point at least) grandiose piano arrangements for a more subdued, simple strings-led one compounded by her restrained but still very emotional and beautiful vocal performace. omg! I still get chills whenever I hear it." That's why... That's why... That's why I chose you... noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo 1
Cruel Summer Posted January 30 Posted January 30 Deep River is literally an all-time best kind of track, like it gets me every single time. My favorite on the album easily, in the top tier of all my favorites in her discography - it’s so beautiful from the very first note 2
Suilen Posted January 30 Posted January 30 Oh wow, Aria serving a bit of taste. 1 minute ago, AMIT said: I got rightfully lashed into stanning for the song, but you are out here now saying you expected ha higher when you didn't even give her a 10. Okay. Well I gave like one 10 per an album, can't hand them out like candies. But maybe I should've been more generous. 2
nostalgic Posted January 30 Posted January 30 Monarch of shampoo and car ads...the brands just can't get enough 1
Graves Posted January 30 Author Posted January 30 3 minutes ago, Cruel Summer said: NOOOO I thought for sure this was coming for top five You... might want to sit down for the next couple.
Cruel Summer Posted January 30 Posted January 30 This is the first of the very few tracks that I actually thought had a shot a pulling an upset victory over Somewhere Near Marseilles.
Cruel Summer Posted January 30 Posted January 30 1 minute ago, Subomie said: You... might want to sit down for the next couple. Let me call up the hearse because I’m going to die
AMIT Posted January 30 Posted January 30 4 minutes ago, Cruel Summer said: Deep River is literally an all-time best kind of track, like it gets me every single time. My favorite on the album easily, in the top tier of all my favorites in her discography - it’s so beautiful from the very first note SPEAK IT, sister!
Graves Posted January 30 Author Posted January 30 HIGHEST SCORE: 10 x 9 (Subomie, Curaga, scenekiller, Take Me Apart, gingguu, AMIT, bestfiction, Cruel Summer, confide in me) LOWEST SCORE: 4.5 x 1 (Reverie) MY SCORE: 10 The previous albums had already shown that Hikaru knew their way around a dance track or two, but just in case you had forgotten - Michi ushers in their return with a stark reminder: nobody can do such beautifully wistful dance-pop like Utada does. It's something of a sequel song, or an evolved form of the tracks the she departed with. Show Me Love, Goodbye Happiness... they all had to happen for us to arrive here with Michi. It's also one of the few songs on Fantome with any English lyrics, making it a bit of an outlier. I already believe Michi to be one of the finest Utada songs, a thorough rush of joy throughout it's three minute runtime, but I think the true beauty of Michi comes with the context. Six years. Hikaru Utada took a hiatus and it lasted for six years. Though one reading of the lyrics could be an overly literal one: a long journey made with support of a lover, it's perhaps more accurate to say that the journey was a personal one. Hikaru had to go on that hiatus to discover themself and reconnect with the person behind the music. Though they were lonely and unsure at times, they always knew they had support from friends, family, co-workers, and even the fans. Michi is defiance in the face of struggle and tragedy. Though the album that follows it can get very insular and dark in places, Michi works as an opener because it reminds us of the resilience of Utada. Michi saw release as a promo single a mere two weeks before the official launch of Fantome in September 2016. It was a big digital hit for them, nabbing a Platinum certification and a #5 peak on the Billboard Japan charts. Though no music video was produced, Michi was used as a commercial tie-in song for Suntory natural spring water. The commercial sees Hikaru hiking through the forest and getting caught in a rainstorm. It's got some nice visuals, so I kinda wish it WAS a music video and not... a clip for hawking some nasty water. Oh well. This would be the first of MANY commercials Hikki shot with Suntory. Fantome stan Curaga lives for it: "Looooove the backing vocals and the chorus. Their voice is flourishing on this track omg. It’s pretty repetitive and maybe sounds a little basic, but I love this song. Ugh, and the sparkling sound that comes in around 2:50!!! OK, you know what, I initially gave this a 9, but it’s a 10 for me." Fantome hater AMIT also lives for it: "a great opener, sticks out as nothing on the album sounds like it, but it's a great song on its own and a bit of a callback to her DEEP RIVER/ULTRA BLUE days, I have no choice but to stan." 1
Graves Posted January 30 Author Posted January 30 fff if y'all didn't already want Mx Reverie's head, I regret to inform you that the 4.5 she gave to Michi single-handedly knocked it down from a neat #10 position
Cruel Summer Posted January 30 Posted January 30 Not this, not my girl, not my lifeline through all of 2016-2018, the song that got my partner to like her, not my first go-to almost every time to this day 1
Curaga Posted January 30 Posted January 30 1 minute ago, Subomie said: fff if y'all didn't already want Mx Reverie's head, I regret to inform you that the 4.5 she gave to Michi single-handedly knocked it down from a neat #10 position bi tch is going DOWN as if I have any room to point fingers in this rate aopsiudpfjaskdlf 1
AMIT Posted January 30 Posted January 30 should have been the lead single I fear, soooo good! (I think I would appreciate Manatsu no Tooriame a teensy bit more if it had remained as an album track also, but it is what it is)
Cruel Summer Posted January 30 Posted January 30 I know she’s neither the first nor last person to do the whole “dancing through the pain” thing, but I really feel that Michi does that concept the best of anything I’ve ever heard. 1
Ewan Chaos Posted January 30 Posted January 30 Michi great song and probably my second fave on the album, but Ore No Kanojo deserves to be the highest from FadHole (or the Sheena song) so we WINNING! 2
Graves Posted January 30 Author Posted January 30 11 x 1 (confide in me) HIGHEST SCORE: 10 x 4 (Riverbank, willmcclure9, Ewan Chaos, bestfiction) LOWEST SCORE: 6.5 x 1 (Meloetta Carey) MY SCORE: 9.5 After wading through the dark and deep river, we finally step out into the sun for a quick, latin-infused guitar bop. Letters is a nice break in the tracklist as a short burst of energy in between some of the heavy moments. That said, this is still Deep River we're talking about! The lyrics can still be a little bit crushing despite all of the joyful instrumentation. In this case, Hikaru is waking up to farewell letters from a lover who keeps suddenly departing. But she doesn't want the words, she yearns for the things that can't be gotten from a letter. Small touches, the sound of their voice, even just finding their worn shirt on the bed. Little things. Letters was a single too, actually! A double A-side release with Sakura Drops. Letters is perhaps the more forgotten side of the release, which is a shame. Seems like every double A-side has the one track that becomes the big hit, and the other song that gets left by the wayside a bit. It's disappointing, since Letters is such a great track. It didn't even get a music video! Which is another let down. It's sort of funny, but certain aspects of the Deep River video (which wasn't even a single) would've been great for a Letter MV. That beach? Sounds a lot like the one they mention in the lyrics here! Imagine what might've been with a full, standalone single release. But I guess she still managed to get on the SCIENCE FICTION tracklist, so who really won in the end? It's close to perfection for Curaga, but only close: "So good, but not a 10 for me idk." 1
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