AMIT Posted October 9 Posted October 9 5 minutes ago, Kyle-x said: ntm on miss theme of a-nation omg I was feeling the vision during the first half but then they got lazier than me for the rest of the song I fear 1
Graves Posted October 9 Author Posted October 9 Track #14 on RAINBOW HIGH SCORE: 10 x 2 (Kyle-x, AvadaKedavra) LOW SCORE: 3 x 1 (sanzo) HOST SCORE: 6.5 Is it already Christmas time? Close to you is the final ballad of RAINBOW and one of the more cute moments on the album. A sweet little love song accompanied by a festive instrumentation. Or am I just inferring the bells in that way? Miss RAINBOW was a Christmas-time release after all. She wanted to give the kids something for their stockings I fear. Ayu even revived it a few years ago for a Christmas themed performance, so there's nothing inadvertent here! Plenty to like about this track, festive or otherwise. Neat instrumentation choices too, like that flue breakdown during the instrumental parts, or the underlying synth line that comes in during the last two minutes. Can't help but feel she might have done a bit better if she was earlier in the tracklist, and people were feeling a bit less bored! Suilen: good for curing insomnia. Kyle-x: On my winter ayu playlist. I love the bridge where the music gets stripped back. Curaga: the way there is an "Inadvertently Xmas" compilation hiding in these albums Meloetta Carey: the flute and the church bells are very cutie and very honey; i could see myself randomly becoming obsessed with it AMIT: I feel like the chorus is quite unusual for a ballad, I like it. 12/16 2
Curaga Posted October 9 Posted October 9 1 minute ago, AMIT said: I was feeling the vision during the first half but then they got lazier than me for the rest of the song I fear Yes, exactly, it starts off really strong for me with that instrumental, but then it's just way too repetitive by the end 1
Kyle-x Posted October 9 Posted October 9 1 minute ago, AMIT said: I was feeling the vision during the first half but then they got lazier than me for the rest of the song I fear So you don't want to put on the outfit she wore during CDL05-06 and do an interpretive dance with me? 1
Invisibility Posted October 9 Posted October 9 Oh I guess it can go. But lower than Dolls? Hmm. I guess this means No more words' time is almost up, as I've always heard it as being sister songs with Close to you.
Suilen Posted October 9 Posted October 9 Perfect for playing at 4AM after the reveals are done but you're still reeling from the excitement 1
Kyle-x Posted October 9 Posted October 9 iirc the producer did an interview and said they intentionally made it an Xmas vibes songs and we thank them for it 1
Meloetta Carey Posted October 9 Posted October 9 Just now, AMIT said: I'm surprised the cover is still in not too much, she ended Bjork with that one
Kyle-x Posted October 9 Posted October 9 1 minute ago, Invisibility said: Oh I guess it can go. But lower than Dolls? Hmm. I guess this means No more words' time is almost up, as I've always heard it as being sister songs with Close to you. I agree, but maybe the clout Dolls has from being on A BALLADS gave her some brownie points
Curaga Posted October 9 Posted October 9 oop, I was about to defend Dolls, but then I double checked what score I gave it but I do like that one. I like most of the songs in this rate honestly, like maybe 85%. We stan a queen with a solid early discography!
AvadaKedavra Posted October 9 Posted October 9 Love the bells. They give this such a peaceful vibe. 2
AMIT Posted October 9 Posted October 9 4 minutes ago, Kyle-x said: So you don't want to put on the outfit she wore during CDL05-06 and do an interpretive dance with me? that would be a dream come true omg. our JFAD moment 1
Kyle-x Posted October 9 Posted October 9 I love the 1-2 punch of Voyage-Close to you. She really puts you in a lovely wistful trance there 1
Kyle-x Posted October 9 Posted October 9 1 minute ago, AMIT said: that would be a dream come true omg. our JFAD moment Ayu her dancer troupe better watch their backs because we're coming for their jobs
Graves Posted October 9 Author Posted October 9 30th Single Track #7 on Memorial address HIGH SCORE: 10 x 2 (UrMom, blueberries) LOW SCORE: 1.7 x 1 (Curaga) HOST SCORE: 8.5 A single being the lowest track from an album... ruthless. Poor forgiveness. Though it was another number one hit for Ayu back in Autumn 2003, it was actually her lowest-selling single of the decade up to that point, and even today it has pretty disappointing streaming counts too. Between that and the panning it has received in this rate, it's gotta be a rough life being one of Ayu's most forgotten singles. Let me say a few nice things in forgiveness' favour though. Though the verses can be a bit plodding to get through, I really do like the chorus here! There's a yearning quality to Ayu's wailing that just brings the emotion out. The strings start to swell underneath her too, and for a moment it really feels like forgiveness is giving us a great ascent into what should be a grand climax. And it kind of does. Eventually, I mean. Look, it's a really long song. Probably too long. I wish the verses could be made a tad more... melodically interesting. I do like the English parts at the very last chorus though, she really started to pepper those in a lot at this point of the career, eh? Do we like the video at least? It's definitely ambitious, using that much CGI back in 2003, but is it successful? I think for the most part it is. Sure, some of those visuals are a bit naff to look at today, but it does hold up for the most part. A campy, celestial fairy video that adds a nice bit of worldbuilding to the track. That's the great thing about Memorial address - the sheer amount of videos that give (almost) every song the chance to stake out an identity. Fairy queen. Suilen: some nice moments but doesn't grab me otherwise. Kyle-x: This is probably the only song in this entire bunch that has never really clicked for me, honestly. I like parts of the song but as an entire unit it doesn't work for me. She looks really pretty in the PV though, despite the dated CGI. The ayu-mi-x 7 acoustic version is maybe a little more redeeming. Curaga: These slow, dramatic, sweeping-back-and-forth songs like this and Heartplace bore tf out of me 9/9 1
Invisibility Posted October 9 Posted October 9 I actually never heard Close to you as winter-y at all, despite the bells obv. I mainly stayed with the cozy wedding reception feel of it
Kyle-x Posted October 9 Posted October 9 2 minutes ago, Suilen said: Dolls was too experimental for me. RAINBOW her Ray of Light confirmed? But her experience of motherhood wasn't the conventional one but one of mothering a generation of gays
Invisibility Posted October 9 Posted October 9 Just now, Graves said: Oh thank goodness, this trash. She was giving literal FAIRY / FRUIT / for the gays euphemisms in the cover and then the song is this cheesy slightly overdone strings ballad nn
AvadaKedavra Posted October 9 Posted October 9 I like forgiveness and that grand classical feeling but i feel like its a big overly long. It takes to much for the buildup Love the video cause i live for fairytale-esque stuff i wonder how expensive it was
Britneyfan09 Posted October 9 Posted October 9 forgiveness is nice when she does it live, but not really here for the studio version that much.
Kyle-x Posted October 9 Posted October 9 This was my lowest score of the rate with a 5.5. I've tried my best to love this song but it doesn't hit the way it should for me! Sometimes I let it play but often skip it. 3
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