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


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Posted

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Track #3 on Memorial address

 

HIGH SCORE: 10 x 10 (Graves, Suilen, Kyle-x, Invisibility, UrMom, Curaga, blueberries, Maresia, AMIT, Fevesy)

LOW SCORE: 5.1 x 1 (Meloetta Carey)

HOST SCORE: 10

 

Perhaps the definition of a fan favorite? I was not at all surprised when this turned out to be the highest ranking Memorial address track. Near-universally adored by the fandom, to the point that it has more streams than most of the actual singles from the same mini. Ayu has not been shy about performing it either, making it one of the longest-lasting Memorial address tracks in her live shows. What is it about this little album track that has us all enamored so?

 

Let's start with the sound. Ayu has always been a bit of a rock chick, but moving towards Memorial address and MY STORY she was embracing that more than ever. Girl was pissed off! She had a lot of things to get off of her chest! Because of You weaves all of that raw energy and anger into a seamless track. Not a single syllable is wasted. There is sometimes a tendency for Ayu's rock-heavy tracks to come across a bit... clunky? Or repetitive even? Not here. The chorus is all at-once roaring with energy yet totally capable of being sung along with. The phrasing is just perfect and Ayu cuts through each chorus like a hot knife. It encompasses that early '00s pop/rock energy with an Ayu stamp atop it. Not whiny or bratty, but measured and fearsome.

 

Though not a single, Because of You did receive a music video for the DVD release of Memorial address. It's pretty darn cool. Allusions to prostitution abound as Ayu forms an all-female rock ensemble. The great thing about these Memorial address videos is the way they're directed to produce such striking visuals out of relatively simple set-ups. The leaking stairs? The rotating band platform? It all looks so damn good. And that's all without even mentioning the, erm, white fluids. 10/10. No notes.

 

 

Suilen: no wonder Kelly Clarkson only sings covers these days.

Kyle-x: I love how this song goes from intimate to explosive. Dare I say this is again… a contender for my 11 ajsdljsald. Like this song seriously goes off and the PV is everything too.

Invisibility: I circle back to this song whenever Ayu chases that pop-rock high post-2010. It's simply the masterpiece and the blueprint.

Curaga: Rrrrrreeaalllly good. idk, this one just did what it set out to do flawlessly and it sounds so good. It's a bit long, but the phrases don't get old by the end like with other long tracks.

AMIT: a dramatic rock banger, has always been one of my faves.

 

 

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1/9

:rip:

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Top Posters In This Topic

  • Kyle-x

    528

  • Graves

    452

  • Suilen

    341

  • Curaga

    227

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Posted

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HIGHEST SCORERS
1. blueberries - 10
2. UrMom - 9.889
3. Kyle-x - 9.444
4. Graves - 9.333
5. AvadaKedavra - 8.556


LOWEST SCORERS
1. Curaga - 5.8
2. Meloetta Carey - 5.831
3. Suilen - 6.944
4. Bad Decisions - 7.444
5. Fevesy - 7.778

 

 

Average

8.142


Adjusted average (no b-sides, no interludes)

8.245

 

 

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Posted
1 minute ago, Curaga said:

omg yes, I was living for the camp in that recent a-nation 2024 performance, specifically her dancers :dies: I wanted to watch it again the other day, but the links Britneyfan09 posted have been removed from YT :doc:

Avex being Avex and still removing YouTube uploads in 2024 :shakeno:

Posted

That was an 11 contender. Amy Lee, Sharon den Adel, Tarja etc. were SHOOK.

  • Like 4
Posted

The way I'm now streaming Science Fiction as I eliminate Ayu albums, something something poetic.

 

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  • Like 1
Posted

Angel's Song was done wrong. Say all you want about ********* being its superior version, at least it has a consistent mood.

  • Like 1
Posted
3 minutes ago, Curaga said:

omg yes, I was living for the camp in that recent a-nation 2024 performance, specifically her dancers :dies: I wanted to watch it again the other day, but the links Britneyfan09 posted have been removed from YT :doc:

Not this. Them wiping the only post-2005 footage we have of a fairyland performance* :sosad:

 

*she did only like... one verse and chorus of it, oh she HATES this song nnn

Posted

Memorial address you ate with those two top 10 placements despite being a mini album :clap3: 

  • Like 2
Posted
1 minute ago, Graves said:

*she did only like... one verse and chorus of it, oh she HATES this song nnn

She's just like me for real

 

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  • Haha 1
Posted

Very annoying we don't have a remix of this one though. :suburban:

Posted (edited)

This song has such a dark atmosphere. So sad :emofish: for the emo queens of the 2000s :gaycat4: I love how My Story is when her rock songs turned into metal songs
Yes pour your feelings ayu

That white glue-liquid in the video is very weird. Omg what is that :gaycat2: 
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Edited by AvadaKedavra
Posted
Just now, Suilen said:

She's just like me for real

 

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The way I will end up doxxing you in part two, oh...

 

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Posted
2 minutes ago, Graves said:

Not this. Them wiping the only post-2005 footage we have of a fairyland performance* :sosad:

 

*she did only like... one verse and chorus of it, oh she HATES this song nnn

fairyland was one of her first songs I became obsessed with :'(

  • Like 1
Posted
Just now, Graves said:

The way I will end up doxxing you in part two, oh...

 

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Get them!

 

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  • Like 1
Posted
Just now, AvadaKedavra said:

That white glue in the video is very weird. Omg what is that :gaycat2:someone here could explain to me?
XrchNMu.jpeg

She had a 'meeting' in Matsuura's office I fear.

 

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  • Haha 2
Posted

P!nk could never btw she ate with the mohawk in the PV :clap3: 

  • Like 1
Posted
Just now, Graves said:

She had a 'meeting' in Matsuura's office I fear.

 

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oh that's not—

:rip:

Posted

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5th Single
Track #12 on A Song for ××

 

HIGH SCORE: 10 x 11 (Suilen, Kyle-x, UrMom, Curaga, Meloetta Carey, blueberries, Maresia, AMIT, Katamari, AvadaKedavra, confide in me)

LOW SCORE: 6 x 2 (Graves, Fevesy)

HOST SCORE: 6

 

What is perhaps the most bombastic of the debut singles, Depend on you was also Ayumi's highest peaking single at the time. An impressive #6 peak on the singles chart was as good as it got for Ayu in 1998, though she would soon go on to shatter that record many times over. This one has a video where Ayu sells the hell out of a night in the desert while some stock scenery footage plays in between. Look, the budgets would get bigger come album two!

 

This also has one of her most fun commercial tie-ins, with it serving as the theme tune to the PlayStation RPG Thousand Arms. The team must've been little Hamasakisters like the rest of us, as this song's B-side, Two of us, was the ending theme to the game too. How fun!

 

I think it's pretty easy to see why this outperformed so much of the parent album. It's just a fun track, bursting at the seams with potential. Ayu rarely sounds more confident on that first album than she does here. Though it isn't my taste in Ayu, it makes sense that this was the last single she released before she truly blew up - this is absolutely the kind of record that tells you you're hearing a star on the rise. It reminds me of Madonna's Burning Up in that regard. Just less good.

 

 

Suilen: a classic, I should probably play the game (which Persona later ripped off) it was used in one day.

Kyle-x: A CLASSIQUE. Pretty much every form of this song goes tf off. If y'all haven't heard the DJ SHOG Radio edit that was released on the German edition of the single, you need to check it out whew. The 10th anniversary re-recording is so pretty as well.

Invisibility: Ugh the best single from the debut album. She was hungry and passionate about making it and it shows.

Curaga: 11 contender. The verses are amazing, and that chorus is unfuckingbelievable. This was stuck in my head for daaaaays. I think my only note for this song is that I would swap the 2nd and final choruses, using the more subdued instrumentation the 2nd time, then using that lightning-fast guitar scale part to give the final chorus an explosive comeback.

Meloetta Carey: saur fawking good, literally everything but the original version.

AMIT: still one of her best songs.

 

 

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2/17

  • Like 3
Posted

Classic! I feel like I usually re-visit the 10th anniversary edition more than the original.

  • Like 1
Posted

Top 10? For Depend on you?

 

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I could've conceded a top forty spot, but this is too much.

Posted
1 minute ago, Graves said:

HIGH SCORE: 10 x 11 (Suilen, Kyle-x, UrMom, Curaga, Meloetta Carey, blueberries, Maresia, AMIT, Katamari, AvadaKedavra, confide in me)

the PEOPLE's 11

  • Like 3
Posted

A 6 score for a #6 peak :clap3:

 

  • Haha 1
Posted

gorgeous song

the cyber trance remix is perf :giraffe:

Posted
2 minutes ago, Graves said:

Top 10? For Depend on you?

 

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I could've conceded a top forty spot, but this is too much.

That was Memorial Address

 

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