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Ayumi Hamasaki: The Rate - Part I [Greatful days]


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Posted
1 minute ago, Graves said:

me cursing my parents for not giving birth to me in Japan in 1984 so I could've stanned through peak Ayu and the girls

 

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You & Me both 

 

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Posted

I'm tired of the Duty disrespect

 

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Posted
1 minute ago, Kyle-x said:

You & Me both 

 

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The monkey paw granting my wish but turning me into a straight B'z stan instead.

 

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Posted

not these two smashes back to back :ghostface:

Posted

I think when she performed this during CDL00-01 and CDL08-09 she was wearing leather, this song must bring the BDSM vibes for her

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Posted

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28th Single

Track #13 on RAINBOW

 

HIGH SCORE: 10 x 7 (Kyle-x, Invisibility, blueberries, Maresia, Fevesy, sanzo, AvadaKedavra)

LOW SCORE: 0 x 1 (Curaga)

HOST SCORE: 6

 

It's hard being a signature Ayu ballad in this rate, they're just dropping like flies these days.

 

Voyage, initially released as the final single from the RAINBOW album in September 2002, is one of Ayu's most enduring songs. In the same vain as SEASONS, it's a GP classic and stood the test of time where many of her other hit singles faded out. A big #1 hit for her back then and a beloved classic today. There's no arguing whether this is a signature song, it simply is.

 

I guess while we're on Voyage we should discuss that movie too. You see, Voyage doesn't have a traditional music video per say, but rather a clip show from Ayu's little acting venture at the time: Tsuki ni Shizumu. A short film released around the same time as the single, it has Ayu in a starring role. She plays a girl haunted by nightmares of a past life - a woman sentenced to be sacrificed by a cult in Japan of the past. Voyage kind of gives you the cliffs-notes version, but there is a full 40 minute video out there for any Ayu super fans. I... might watch it with my friends on some boring Saturday night sometime, but only if there's booze and I can force them to watch her other PVs afterwards.

 

Voyage is a classical sort of ballad. A music box intro is your first hint that she's pulling out all of the tropes for this one. Piano-lead, soaring choruses and a choir coming in at the very end? Oh, she wanted to make a ballad that would be paying her bills for years to come. And she succeeded! I like Voyage, but I always prefer her ballads when they're a little more subversive. A little less obvious, as it were. This song is great, no doubt, but I'd personally sooner listen to HANABI when we're talking RAINBOW ballads...

 

 

Suilen: out of her three songs that won the record of the year (the other two being Dearest and No way to say), it's my least favorite, though I respect the fact the Japanese GP was willing to eat up any weird **** she put out during her reign. It's not bad, but it's not hitting the spots for me, either.

Kyle-x: Girl the PV freaked me out the first time I watched it asjdsakl. This song is beautiful though and one of her best ballads. Deservedly one of her signature songs. Naturally, the classical version on A Classical eats but the "Acoustic Orchestra Version" is slightly better.

Invisibility: By this point in her career we were needing a full on orchestra moment from Ayu, and she delivered! Absolutely in love with the introspective search for fulfillment in this one.

Curaga: That music box at the very start makes me roll my eyes, but some of the instrumental parts are pretty. This melody is so corny to me, and this appears to be one of her most popular songs ever, so I have to sabotage xoxo.

AMIT: the chorus is so wholesome, reminds me of her debut album which is a great thing of course. the strings are beautiful.

 

 

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4/16

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Posted

Me every time y'all drag Curaga's scores, knowing that worse is coming.

 

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Posted
1 minute ago, Graves said:

LOW SCORE: 0 x 1 (Curaga)

 

Now girl...

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Posted

Forgetful queen! Her reaction was so cute :heart2:

 

 

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Posted

Not my favorite but I can respect it

 

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Posted

The way the remaining Duty tracks are all top 20 material :clap3:

 

RAINBOW potential getting WIPED though :monkey:

Posted
Just now, Invisibility said:

RAINBOW potential getting WIPED though :monkey:

We have to blame Curaga 

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Posted
4 minutes ago, Suilen said:

Not my favorite but I can respect it

 

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Thanking your lucky stars that Curaga took the bullet meant for your also low score :sistrens: Me too.

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Posted (edited)

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25th Single

Track #9 on I am...

 

11 x 1: @Meloetta Carey

 

HIGH SCORE: 10 x 4 (Kyle-x, UrMom, blueberries, AvadaKedavra)

LOW SCORE: 4 x 1 (sanzo)

HOST SCORE: 8.5

 

Though I have a lot of love for Daybreak, it's release strategy is a tad confounding to me. A post-album single is something of a rarity in a J-pop campaign, though Ayu had done a few before this, but to wait three whole months afterwards to launch the single? And then you're dropping the lead single to the next album just a month after that? A #2 peak for Daybreak is a damn good showing considering all of that, but perhaps Avex weren't so happy with that - this was Ayu's last post-album single for almost fifteen years. And also the last time Ayu would miss the #1 spot for a single for the rest of the decade, so I guess it worked?

 

Daybreak comes in two forms: the rock-ier album cut and the trance-ified HAL's Mix from the single and video release. I'm not too concerned with picking a favorite mix from these as I find them both quite good. The single mix is more cathartic and desolate, matching up rather wonderfully to the bleak-yet-hopeful video treatment. The album mix has a lot of value to me too. I always viewed I am... as a weird sort of rock opera of an album, and Daybreak serves great purpose as the final track to Act I. It climatically closes the curtain on the pop-rock phase of the record and ushers in the second half's ballad suite. The fact that it ends on a forty second sweeping instrumental break only confirms as much for me.

 

I believe Daybreak to be one of the songs Ayu wrote especially for the re-tooled version of I am, post 9/11. It has lyrics that call for people coming together despite their differences, reaching out to each other no matter how long the distances might be. Perhaps this symbolism is why she might have wanted it as a single, despite the shaky release strategy? I give her kudos for sticking with her guns if true, I am... is such a wonderful record and Daybreak is big part of why I like the sequencing so much.

 

 

Kyle-x: This is a song I've only come to really love in recent years. Something about the arrangement put me off for a while but it clicked one day. I've always LOVED the "HAL's Mix 2002" though and the lyrics are quite lovely. This was the last single with an iconic line-up of remixes. The goth mummy cosplay in the video was a serve.

Invisibility: A nice breather moment, although a bit of a puzzling single choice for this particular album. I've always appreciated how it's produced to sound like the instrumental is playing far away. It kind reminds me of New Year's, it has that closure vibe.

Curaga: Hmmm, this one kinda reminds me of NEVER EVER in the chorus, but it's not anywhere near as irritating. The instrumental here is way better and the melody feels more modern.

Meloetta Carey: I really love the structure of this one and the instrumentation just eats.

Bad Decisions: HALS Mix did it's damn thing or else this would've been a cute 5.5.

AMIT: I like the HΛL mix but I'm glad this version made it onto the album isntead since it fits so much better and it's the better version of the song imo.

 

 

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8/16

Edited by Graves
  • Like 3
Posted
1 minute ago, Graves said:

Thanking your lucky stars that Curaga took the bullet meant for your also low score :sistrens: Me too.

I'm not scared considering my score for a certain Love pears song

 

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Posted
7 minutes ago, Bad Decisions said:

Forgetful queen! Her reaction was so cute :heart2:

 

 

Fun fact - this is the first Ayu YouTube video I saw and it was this exact YouTube upload.

 

Crazy how it's still up all these years later :jonny:

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Posted
2 minutes ago, Graves said:

Curaga: Hmmm, this one kinda reminds me of NEVER EVER in the chorus, but it's not anywhere near as irritating. The instrumental here is way better and the melody feels more modern.

 

The foreshadowing of the NEVER EVER sabotage that will be incoming from Cuaraga oh neauxxxxx

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Posted

Not a big fan of this one but the HAL mix does bop. I am... remixed would slap as an album I guess.

 

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Posted

I'm okay with this being out here, I can't see it being above many of the other songs remaining.

Posted

 this performance really sold me on the song and it's been my fav Ayu song this year

 

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Posted

It's kinda crazy how this song got like 3 different Panasonic CMs. I think it had the most CMs of any of her songs at the time. I guess they needed the extra promo since she didn't really do many performances of it 

 

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Posted
7 minutes ago, Graves said:

Invisibility: I've always appreciated how it's produced to sound like the instrumental is playing far away.

Couldn't put it into words myself, but this :jonny: Like, this record has TEXTURE and LORE to it.

Posted

RECAP

 

  Hide contents

107. + - 5.079

106. Interlude - 5.294

105. For My Dear... - 5.529

104. taskinlude - 5.588

103. A Song is born - 5.629

102. WONDERLAND - 5.853

101. FRIEND - 5.859

100. Wishing - 5.888

99. Prologue - 5.912

98. Humming 7/4 - 6.134

97. Present - 6.197

96. FRIEND II - 6.332

95. starting over - 6.405

94. opening Run - 6.406

93. girlish - 6.435

92. taskinillusion - 6.441

91. Kaleidoscope - 6.547

90. from your letter - 6.582

89. Replace - 6.624

88. flower garden - 6.7

87. neverending dream - 6.718

86. everlasting dream - 6.741

85. Introduction - 6.75
84. teddy bear - 6.829
83. Close to you - 6.972
82. forgiveness - 7.014
81. As if... - 7.062
80. winding road - 7.106
79. SIGNAL - 7.115
78. P.S II - 7.194
77. Catcher In The Light - 7.24
76. UNITE! - 7.253
75. no more words - 7.271
74. Key ~eternal tie ver.~ - 7.282
73. theme of a-nation'03 - 7.312
72. YOU -7.318
71. everywhere nowhere - 7.371

70. Two of us - 7.384
69. independent - 7.435
68. POWDER SNOW - 7.456
67. Hana - 7.5
66. poker face - 7.503
65. HOPE or PAIN - 7.511
64. AUDIENCE - 7.529
63. Liar - 7.535
62. HAPPY ENDING - 7.549
61. Dolls - 7.589

60. 卒業写真 - 7.591
59. SEASONS - 7.735
58. SCAR - 7.8
57. Over - 7.821
56. Free & Easy - 7.841
55. still alone - 7.871
54. LOVE ~destiny~ - 7.882
53. HONEY - 7.888
52. Heartplace - 7.893
51. kanariya - 7.91


50. ANGEL'S SONG - 7.921
49. WE WISH - 7.947
48. ever free - 7.971
47. Trust - 7.976
46. HANABI ~episode II~ - 7.994
45. walking proud - 7.995
44. I am... - 8.065
43. End of the World - 8.071
42. Voyage - 8.076
41. Daybreak - 8.082

 

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