Graves Posted October 15 Author Posted October 15 1 minute ago, Curaga said: Yeeeeees, top 20, here we come Not you manifesting an appears elim...
Suilen Posted October 15 Posted October 15 (edited) Fine, let me listen to RAINBOW (the album) to be ready to write something for its eventual demise Edited October 15 by Suilen
Curaga Posted October 15 Posted October 15 3 minutes ago, Graves said: Not you manifesting an appears elim... Now, why would you rewrite history like that...
Graves Posted October 15 Author Posted October 15 @Suilen @Kyle-x @SA*KURA @Invisibility @UrMom @Curaga @Meloetta Carey @blueberries @Maresia @Bad Decisions @AMIT @Fevesy @sanzo @Katamari @AvadaKedavra @confide in me @Britneyfan09 今晩は。十分？
Suilen Posted October 15 Posted October 15 1 minute ago, Curaga said: Now, why would you rewrite history like that... 1
Graves Posted October 15 Author Posted October 15 10th Single「A」 Track #11 on LOVEppears HIGH SCORE: 10 x 6 (Kyle-x, Curaga, blueberries, Maresia, AMIT, confide in me) LOW SCORE: 6 x 1 (Katamari) HOST SCORE: 9.5 I don't think there are many songs in Ayumi's collection that are quite as propulsive as too late is. That delicious undulating synth and the more intense instrumentation frames this as sort of an evil twin for Fly high. Where that song soars to the skies with hope, too late is tunneling deeper and deeper down, insulated by hard guitar licks and crashing synths all around. The sparse instrumental break is an inspired choice too, leaving nothing but percussion for a twenty second interlude in the middle there. I have to give some respect, this album still finds ways to impress and surprise me. too late was another one of the A EP tracks, a song that happily takes a place on the tracklist of Ayu's best-selling single release to this day. I think a lot of hardcore fans have a lot of reverence for these multi-track singles but even just reading some of the capitalist tricks that avex were pulling to market this makes me roll my eyes. Multiple variants of differently-colored discs, including a solid gold edition released after all of the others had sold out? With NO actual tracklist changes to any of them? I... maybe we were all too harsh on Taylor Swift. Oh yeah, no music video here either. Just a scooter commercial. I dunno girls, I'm not sure how effective this particular ad was. Something about too late's energetic chorus blasting in the background as Ayu waits at a stop light is making me laugh. Suilen: the instrumental part slaps. Kyle-x: I love the distorted vocal effect on this one. The lyrics are soooo ayu. The "LaB LIFe Remix" is a weird, funky take on it worth listening to. Curaga: She's Fly high's slightly less cool younger sister... but she's still related 9/17 1
AMIT Posted October 15 Posted October 15 God, too late is SO good. The song teleports me somewhere else and the 1-2-3-4 punch with WHATEVER before and then appears and monochrome after. oh ACCLAIMppears the timeless masterpiece that you are. 3
Graves Posted October 15 Author Posted October 15 Track #2 on MY STORY HIGH SCORE: 10 x 6 (Kyle-x, UrMom, blueberries, Fevesy, AvadaKedavra, confide in me) LOW SCORE: 5.99 x 1 (Meloetta Carey) HOST SCORE: 7.5 No use in wasting time, About You kicks off in explosive function with hard-rocking guitars from the first second of runtime. There's an absence of Ayu's signature sweetness here which feels quite intentional. MY STORY is a less polished album and she has no problem embracing that lesser-seen side of herself for this purpose. About You is concerned with societal expectations, about the sides of ourselves that we hide from the public. It's about wanting to hear somebody speak to you not in acceptable platitudes, but in utter honesty and with complete truthfulness. A partner who cuts through the self-censoring nonsense that is demanded of them by the world. I think it was a great choice to lead the album with this track. It's not my personal favorite MY STORY cut - I wish that opening guitar riff was more present throughout the song - but it does a great job of introducing the record. A darker side to Ayu, an outlet for her to vent frustrations with life, record labels, and her role as the face of J-pop itself. A mission statement. About You received a video as part of the MY STORY DVD editions. It's neat but a little but underwhelming. The ingredients are there for a killer visual, but I feel it's undersold by the lack of movement (and bad fashion choices). I feel like they'd have been better to focus on the guy drawing tattoos rather than Ayu pooching in that brick hallway for three minutes. Ah well. About You was also used in a CM for Morinaga Bake treats. It's funny to me that even Ayu's most punk album was still being mined for commercial fodder. Nothing says "rebellion" quite like doing an ad for chocolate biscuits. The insane hypercapitalism of J-pop as an industry is so funny to me. Kyle-x: Supremely *****. She was turning a lewk in the PV. I love how propulsive the chorus is. The remix on ayu-mi-x 6 snaps. Invisibility: The chorus goes on a bit long but the main guitar melody is giving absolute classic. Could hear it in an anime opening tbh. Curaga: ok, Miss Punk! This is catchy! AMIT: decent but she has better of this type of hard-hitting rock tracks I fear. 4/17 3
Kyle-x Posted October 15 Posted October 15 Miss too late is a masterpiece but I'm okay with her placement
Kyle-x Posted October 15 Posted October 15 1 minute ago, Graves said: LOW SCORE: 5.99 x 1 (Meloetta Carey) Sis was taking it to the second decimal place sodkdkd 5
AMIT Posted October 15 Posted October 15 yay, this was the only track I gave less than a 9 to out of the remaining songs, I like it (especially the meaning/message) but not sad to see it leaving.
Suilen Posted October 15 Posted October 15 3 minutes ago, Graves said: There's an absence of Ayu's signature sweetness here which feels quite intentional. 1
Kyle-x Posted October 15 Posted October 15 Oh About You, something About You just gets better with age
Curaga Posted October 15 Posted October 15 I think I like About You more than GAME, but dang, they are both so good
Graves Posted October 15 Author Posted October 15 1 minute ago, Suilen said: You caping for MY STORY while also lowkey dragging it in the scores is an underrated theme of the rate. 1 1
Kyle-x Posted October 15 Posted October 15 About You's production feels a bit ahead of its time, like it sounds like a rock crossover hit from 07-09 in the US. She was predicting trends
Graves Posted October 15 Author Posted October 15 27 minutes ago, Curaga said: Now, why would you rewrite history like that... & how dare YOU use this gif...
Graves Posted October 15 Author Posted October 15 21st Single Track #7 on I am... HIGH SCORE: 10 x 4 (Kyle-x, UrMom, blueberries, sanzo) LOW SCORE: 0 x 1 (Curaga) HOST SCORE: 9.5 Not many tens, but girls... the amount of 9's and 9.5's, she's an undercover fave for sure. Fun fact: other than Curaga, nobody scored this song below a 7.5! We universally stan ha. It's got an unhinged vibe to it, NEVER EVER. The dreamy music box-esque verses sound like they belong to an entirely different song than the thundering chorus. And indeed, those soft and gentle moments get quickly crushed under the chorus's overwhelming guitars... like a prototype Free & Easy (only better, hihi). Her cadence on the chorus especially has something of a theatrical feel to it, I really like it. I've called I am... a rock opera before, and NEVER EVER definitely makes for a stage storming number. I don't need to keep pointing out how much she loves the drama in her music by this point, but she just does it so well! NEVER EVER was indeed a single, and a pretty interesting one too. Despite the single package being a little... worse than her normal standards - the video clip is literally only a minute long and was clearly shot on-location as they photographed the single cover - it still managed to peak at number one and went on to sell over 750,000 units in 2001. Some of these sales were definitely buoyed by the hype at the time, as it was released at perhaps the most important moment of her career... After spending three years rising to the top of the industry, Avex sought to throw Ayu's newfound power around a little bit and manufactured a chart battle between herself and Miss Utada, who was coming back with her much anticipated sophomore record. NEVER EVER was the single that lead directly into the hastily-made A BEST compilation album (despite not being featured on it). Ayu allegedly wasn't happy with the sudden release of either, feeling forced into a competition she didn't want to be a part of. I imagine the video being what it is is perhaps a result of everything being brought forward for the divas showdown. We know how the battle ended. Avex made a ton of money out of it and Ayu was left feeling burned once more by her record label, sowing the seeds of some later releases. Luckily, she doesn't seem to hold much of a grudge against this song and has performed it many times in the years since. Suilen: I didn't give it the proper attention before, but slay rockayu!!! Kyle-x: The production on this one is so weird in the best way. The "tears of aquarius mix" is a really cool slowed down loungey remix of it. Invisibility: So whimsical in the best way, I really feel like I fell into a cozy cave in the forest and I'm being invited for teatime by the elves and stuff in the verses. Curaga: Day 1 exit please lol. This chorus is so corny to me… it's giving, like, sea shanty??? AMIT: I love the electric guitar bridge, one of her best. 6/16 3
Suilen Posted October 15 Posted October 15 She invented pop rock with this one. 1 minute ago, Graves said: LOW SCORE: 0 x 1 (Curaga) I don't want to make fun of the hearing impairment but...
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