Life is a g e m.

Was gonna revive my Life.... most underrated song ever thread, lol.

I think it's 'warm fuzziness' but not in a good way? Like I feel some sorta numbing pain swelling in my chest when I hear certain tracks.

That song is beautiful. The melody is so understated and powerful. Of course the accompanying performance is classic in its emotional imperfection.

Life is also amazing.

Both songs have kinda a sad feeling of relief to me. Like they're telling me a harsh truth about life, but that's it OK.

Btw, I'm always surprised how quickly untitled passes by. The song is almost 6 minutes but I never feel like "ah~~ how long is this?!", which I do feel with songs like Virgin road.

I have to say, I didn't care for untitled when it came out. Part of it just got lost in a sea of mid-tempo ballads, and part of it just didn't click with me. It wasn't really until after my father died that the I "got it." I remember watching her performance of it, and just crying.

I really think so much of her music is that way, at least to me. And to some extent, I even think that's why some people are so discontent with her music these days. She writes her lyrics and picks her music based on her head space at the time -- and it either resonates with you, or it doesn't.

Having been a long-time fan, I feel like I've almost grown up with Ayu. We've gone through phases together and apart. At times our feelings have been aligned, and at other times we were disconnected. But I can still listen to Scar and be transported back to being an angsty high schooler, and feeling that same pain in my heart. And then I can listen to Feel the Love and think, screw all the seriousness, I want to have fun and be happy!

Yes, I like Life too! It wasn't an instant track but it grew on me the more I listened to it and heard different parts of the song. It's another, what I call, comforting track.

I kinda just want to listen to Life and the A Song is Born -> Endless Sorrow run of songs from I Am together right now!

Also bit late on this one but I got round to watching the Wow War Tonight performance from A-Nation (2011?) yesterday. I really enjoyed the performance and it's a shame Ayu and Naoya didn't record a studio version.

That's a great thing to say! I love that there is ALWAYS at least one Ayu song that i can rely to at any time of the day, whether it's about waking up on a sunny day, being a sad/lonely/angry person, feeling ambitious, feeling joy, feeling like partying, or feeling melancholic.

One song i always feel sad listening to it is It was, what a sad sounding song. But the Island mix is great and it turns it into a cool summer song.

^

Ayu the persona may have been a product, of her own making or of Avex's, but her music has always been hers. In the US, there's such a focus of having a style, or a brand -- and if you deviate from that, you're not being authentic, or not being artistic enough. I think that lack of concern is part of what brought me to Ayu and J-Pop in the first place. There is no problem with having pop-rock songs, bubblegum pop songs, sappy ballads, and serious ballads all in one act. It feels like a much more "human" approach to music. I mean, are we really all only one thing ever? We change, we have different moods, and we go through phases in our lives.

I was literally just thinking how, alterna's video is showing the rise and fall of stardom and being a product and the clowns of the production companies.

Yet it was released at the same time as her most expensive, and the most expensive video ever in Japan to be made. Lol

I wonder if the reason she rarely sings fairyland is because at that time she was having trouble with her management? Just a thought.

^ I never really cared much about fairyland, but the music video was pretty cool to me. Was that song connected to whatever was happening at the time, or was it just an Ayu summer song?

It was the year after the avex scandal during INSPIRE. This place was wacky around then.

^ wait what? i have not heard anything like this before! do you guys wanna tell what was going on back then?

I'd like to know about that too

The gist of it is that during INSPIRE's release or a bit before, Max announced he was possibly going to leave avex along with a bunch of artists. However, in the end, the CEO at the time stepped down and Max became CEO.

^ If memory serves, it was slightly more dramatic than that.

Essentially Max was being forced out of Avex by the then president/CEO, because Max wanted the primary focus to be music but the others thought Avex should be more of a media company. So Ayu posted an open-letter or make some media statement that she, along with a number of Avex artists that she has spoken to (I think BoA, Koda Kumi, and some others?), intended to support Max wherever he landed. It was indirect, but the point of it was -- we will follow him and leave Avex.

The stocks dropped significantly the next day, and the president/CEO guy was essentially forced to resign, with Max then being invited back into Avex and taking over the helm.

this is so interesting to read about these things that has happened and you guys know all of this :yes thank you so much for this info

Wow I never heard about it

I remember some of this from reading online about it but being on here when that happened would've caused quite a stir, I am sure!!

I have to say it was a different time. There have always been people discontent with her decisions, but she was a little more "untouchable" at that time. Or maybe that's just fuzzy memory on my part. :)

Here are a few of the threads from around that time:
http://ahsforum.com/forum/showthread...&highlight=max

http://ahsforum.com/forum/showthread...&highlight=max

http://ahsforum.com/forum/showthread...&highlight=max

http://ahsforum.com/forum/showthread...&highlight=max

I remember logging in one day and we were flipping out and about two days after things had settled down and it was all over.

Though it was 12 years ago so I have a really fuzzy memory of what was going on at the time.

I don't remember that much about it, but I remember thinking "Wow Ayumi has that much influence!"

I'm always surprised she doesn't perform Fairyland more often. It is just such an Ayu song to me I'd figure it'd be a staple.

I think fairyland is probably one of the songs she feels she can't really perform nowadays.

You can tell what songs she tries to avoid. Specifically ever free recently.