my cd should be here tomorrow!
:)

if that facebook thing is right. isn't it too early for a best 3?

The last was 6 years ago and A BEST 6 years before A best 2 so ?

Exactly.. grr.

i cant believe its been 6 years... I really see it happening, i really do.

it really will be a best 3.
the world really is ending.
10 days left
i hope this cd comes before then, though.

I'm really hoping for something BESIDES A BEST 3.

what im hoping for is a best three packaged with these minis and some all new stuff... lives, more music... cool stuff.

Is this sarcasm? :thud

Honestly, I think finally things are really starting to catch up with her and really negatively effect the sales.

There is of course the condition of her voice and all her relationship soap opera dramas. But I actually think more than anything, this time its that people are fed up with so many releases and Avex' strategies. A lot more people are seeing through Avex's strategies these days - a few new songs and cheap PVs are not worth the price of a mini album. Memorial Address was so amazing because all of the songs without exception were A+ master quality kind of material and you could see the effort put into the PVs.

These mini's should never have been mini's. They should have been singles. To succeed as mini albums, all the songs had better be amazing with great PVs as well and that is just not the case. Although I do think again is at least better than Love.

if they do this, they better make it blu-ray...
for the life of me I dont know why they didnt do that for the last one...

AYU TRANCE 5 NAOOOOOOOOOO

I think we would get A BEST 3 with a new song and a bonus disc with the mini-album: "LOVE again" with the songs from the mini-albums

i wonder how well A BEST 3 would sell.

I mean, ayu doesn't do any promotions. Even though Namie went to the crub to promote Uncontrolled, it still sold gagillions. Ayu needs to reinvent herself like namie.
Release A BEST 3 and DITCH THE WHOLE TEAM. All the dancers, composers (but not DAI, okay :) ), photographers, boyfriend , and bring back CREA (Ayu, get off your lazy ass and compose something! You did it before, you can do it again!)

In short: use A BEST 3 as the starting point to start something new.
Otherwise...
And if A BEST 3 bombs...

Golly, I hope A BEST 3 is FIVE + LOVE + again compiled together with no new songs at all.

lol

a summer best is still a best

I think so too! if they made them singles, it could have been better. but as 'mini-album' they aren't much worth the price, and they don't have any special things like bonuses coming with them or just something interesting that could you make you buy them:yes

To be honest I don't think there is anything wrong with the songs. The PVs are pretty bad though and she should work on her lyrics a bit as they are getting repetitive kind of the same as her PVs. I do agree that avex is halfassing everything though.

There is anything wrong with the songs! Why do people keep saying that?

"Again" was not good enough? please...

this is how it works here... if she farted in front of a microphone, recorded it, released it and sold a million copies the first day, then it would be much better than again.

I hope CREA doesn't compose again. She's just far too hit or miss, have her take some music theory lessons(since she admitted herself she knows nothing about it) and then maybe she can channel her creativity into good music. People only love the CREA stuff because they know it's Ayumi and it's from her peak(and because it's so old you can simply ignore all the crappy CREA tracks)

CREA tracks are the best Ayu has done.

Humming 7/4.

We all know butterfly is the best song Ayu has composed.

^i hate you troll.

LOL seriously though, again>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> LOVE

CREA was amazing! She needs to come back like now!
All of her tracks are gold, except butterfly... that needs to be squashed like the bug it is.... lol.

This song isn't bad. I don't see why everyone complains SO MUCH about it. Honestly, it is better than a lot of her mediocre crap and it's a crowd pleaser. There is nothing wrong with the composition of this song. :rolleyes

At first I didnt really care for it, but after watching it in concert... its was just amazing... the energy... I love it now. lol

I need to stop reading this thread now or I will end up being drunk again D':

CREA + DAI songs are the best she's done IMO.

I agree with you. I have no interest in best albums (or remix albums) as I already own all of her albums and have no desire to continue purchasing the same songs over and over again. Like you, I personally would rather see a full original album (with the songs she's released on the "mini albums" and new songs) rather than A BEST 3. However, I am excited about the Arena Tour 2012 DVD although it's release was inevitable and predictable anyways.

ayu is definitely trolling us.

Aww thanks Koumori~

Did anyone like the orchestral mix of 'Missing'? I had high expectations for it but it was a little awkward to listen to.

I like CREA tracks because they're good. And Humming is definitely better than You & Me :yes

Me too ^^
DAI + CREA is good also because DAI brought her his knowledge as composer and Ayu her ideas and her creativity :love

I always ask me why she stopped to compose for her singles (except will) after Forgiveness ? Do you think it's because this single was a flop at that time ?

i enjoyed it, but cant wait for the classical version!!
it can only get better.

It's been said it has to do with her hearing. Hard to compose a song when you can't hear properly.

I didn't like Missing Orchestra just like I know I won't like Days Classical. I like the composition of both songs but the arrangement is what makes them superb. Changing the arrangement on something so great rarely impresses me more than the original (unless it's an EDM remix).

Oh I didn't know that !

^ sadness really...
I want her to come back and make some killer music so bad!

The ratio of good CREA tracks to bad ones is way better than the ratio of her good songs by random people to her **** songs by random people.

That being said, she really doesn't know anything about composing, and personally, I think she's a little out of touch with music in general.


BUT, whatever. We had good songs on again. So. Everything with her is hit or miss, or the concept is so pretentious and deep that it can be liked for that regardless of the music.

Basically, it doesn't matter.

Don't know why everyone hates on this one. I loved it from first listen. Besides I love CREA's tracks because they are so... unperfect, if you guys know what I mean. It's not the standard thing you get from every composer.

You're no need to be a genius for composing something ... Even she has a weak knowledge do you think that all the singers who compose in this industry come from Brooklyn or others prestigious universities ?
Even if her Level of composer are weak her arrangers have been able to do something amazing with her compositions and I'm satisfied with that ^^

She doesn't. It's just a fact, it's not really, anything detrimental.

Personally, I love nearly all of her compositions....that made it to the studio version.


However, I do think it would help her. Just my opinion, but people who have been exposed to music in an educational setting, and who are musicians, tend to compose better melodies.

I have a feeling they have a stash of DAI songs...since songs like Return Road and Sweet scar suddenly came out again...hope more sees the light of day

I hate to agree, but I agree. I boast about her lyrics and how superior they are to other pop singers/writers but when it comes to musical knowledge I can't be as confident. Two of my favorites in Ayu's discography are 'Will' and 'Dearest' and while she is credited as a composer, I can't help but feel D.A.I. was responsible for most of it.

I think schooling would actually make it worse... when you are force feed a way of doing something it limits what you can do because thats the way you were taught...

if you learn to do it by yourself you can accomplish so much more. there are a ton of people out there that have created master pieces and had no 'official' education.

I believe she just doesn't like doing it... So, if other people compositions please her, she goes for them.

Sorry, but this is ********... There are some people who acomplish more when they learn by themselves, there are some people who acomplish more when they get formal education... Ayu is getting none (as she should be studying music by herself to actually learn it by herself).

Learning something by yourself doesn't mean "try and error" until something cool happens... It means learning the basic by informal ways and how to experiement with it, and Ayu never actually learned the basic. And the basic is exactly what she would get by going to a music school or something.

^ I dont agree.
Your limited when someone teaches HOW you are supposed to do something... Everything that was ever truly great in this world was by accident, not found in some classroom.

and actually learning something by yourself is trail and error.
and see how I can say something without cussing up a storm, try it sometime, you wont look so simple minded.

This isn't a ****, don't take it too hard. ;P

The bolded part shows u have little to no knowlegment of art or literature history... Pretty much anything that was considered a masterpiece on the creativity field was done by skilled people with a enormous background of studing and practicing, either formally or informally, their ability, polishing their skills and knowing what the hell they were doing. Even to accomplish something by try and error you need basic knowledgment to know if the final result is good or bad. And that's why there are so many "writers", "painters", "singers" or "artists" in general starving over there... Because most of the time they believe they are geniouses just because they don't know enough about the field they are trying to actually know how banal they work are. =)

^ most of the so called greats were informally trained. If you notice, I said 'official' education.
And actually while on the subject it doesnt really matter what kind of training you have because its not your schooling that defines what is good, but the people that actually buy it. It could be total crap and by all the educational standers not acceptable, but if people buy it and like it, it makes it good.

It really is all about popularity.

Maybe Ayu has learned some basics with DAI ? who knows ? when she said that she has no knowledges as composer was when she began to compose songs in 2001 nothing says she has not learned how compose a song after that ? It's just a supposition but regarding how she invests herself in her musics I don't think she does not learned at least a few things about composing

If there are proven methods, it is wise to study them. Randomly pressing keys on a piano until a nice sound comes out is definitely not the way to go about learning musical composition. Those who have good knowledge don't waste their time doing that. All the grimy work was taken care of by the musicians of the far past who have since passed their knowledge down to us :roflmao

this is true too... We really dont know how much she official knows either... She made all her statements about music back in 2000/1.

If you ask me her music only got better, so she differently picked up something here or there.

Nops... you said everything great was done "by accident"... What is far, far different from "done by skilled people who learned by themselves", also, it's not like a lot of them actually learned by themselves, most of them had an older artist as a mentor. Knowledgment and skill don't come from thin air.

You also need to know the basics to be able to produce the popular, it's not like producing a popular piece of work isn't an effort by itself... actually, it's the main pilar of composing and producing pop music. And you would be surprised to know how much pop top producers are actually classically trained.

Pretty much this.

yet again you are ignoring the rest of my statement, if you finish reading it it said ... not in some classroom. Nothing ever great came from the product of formal training, you take what you know from any source and make it your own. This dose not need to come from formal training.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelangelo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_da_Vinci
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_McCartney
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namie_amuro
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_whinehouse
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adele_(singer)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessie_J
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leona_Lewis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elton_John
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyndi_Lauper
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Warhol
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoshiki_(musician)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_van_Beethoven
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Schubert
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gackt
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Jackman
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Winslet
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Fiennes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britney_spears
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alicia_Keys

20 random poor nobodies what never archivied anything because they had formal training... =)

Anyway... Ayumi needed some training in order to be a top composer, either formal or informal, and she is receiving none... what means she would benefit from any of them.

:rolleyes
And Im sure they were all in the classroom when they made whatever they did was great, besides that if you read the wiki articles some of those people, if not most, went to get their training BECAUSE they were good at it and wanted to learn more.

Also just reading through some of the articles, the very ones you posted, most of these people are self taught...

I could probably do it with more of them, but I dont feel like it...
jsut proves to show most if not all the greats do great things being self taught, and not have quote un quote formal training.
also besides that, some of those people are hardly considered great, but thats a subjective thing and not the point.

Being good on something doesn't mean you enough knowledgment on it to produce good stuff. ;)

And really... why would u polish ur skills on something u have no talent to do, or dislike? It's not like those people would be technically equal good without going for formal education... Raw talent can make brilliant artists, but raw talent paired with technical knowlegment is just unstopable. All of the pop composers on the list are considered the very best at this, mostly because they know what they are doing.

Receiving formal education only means being programmed like a robot and doing stuff on one way only if u r completelly stupid to not use what u learned on ur own way. You must know the rules in order to break them.

2/4 songs on again approach great for me. On love, only 1/3 do. For the price of a mini album that really doesn't contain anymore tracks than a maxi single would IMO you should be shooting for greatness, not OKness.

My whole point of the post was that not knowing the rules makes it easier. Why learn the rules if you intend to break them?

Because some times the rules are there for a reason, and people are doing stuff on a certain way because the opposite was tried and it failed. Knowing the rules and why they are rules shows you what works and what doesn't on the whole structure, and from this, getting new solutions to the same old problem.

Why would you discover by yourself a lot of stuff people already discovered before? Why would you take 5 years of trial and error to learn something you could learn in 5 months by actually studing the subject? It's not just a waste of time, but a disrespect with people who needed to learn it the hard way because it wasn't known.

And also, the problem I pointed before... If u don't get educated on the subject you risk doing something already old, or cliche, or just plain bad and believe you are a genious because you just don't have repertoire to compare and contextualize what u just produced. This is surprisingly common, actually.

^ im not talking about all education... I said FORMAL... you can study by yourself all you want, but by going on FORMAL education you become limited because it becomes in grained into you, much like culture.

also your statement is a little counterproductive because you said it yourself to break the rules you must know them... All rules can be broken. just because it hasn't been successful yet, doesnt mean someone somewhere will not find the means to do it and what better why to break it then just not know of it.

Once you talk about not knowing the rules, you are talking about being undereducated... being it either formal or informal. You can produce one good piece by accident, but if you actually want to pay ur bills by doing it, one good piece is not enough.

And formal education only limits and becomes grained you if u r stupid enough to let it happen. Anyone who faces the formal education as a part of a educational process, and not the major end of it, will never really face this problem.

welcome to the average human being.
But we might as well stop, we're really not getting anywhere and we obvious wont agree on it.

The last one: It's not like the average human being will become like Elton John, Yoshiki or Mozart just by learning by themselves either...

Basically.
its quite sad...
sweet scar sounds good but it goes nowhere, like walking down the up escalator.
and ivy is ok but it reeks of filler.

^ i like ivy a lot more than sweet scar, but the PV to sweet scar makes me love the song so much... its just so simple and lovable.

lol wow.

"Education" is just a gateway. It's what you do with it that matters.

If you decide to keep spewing out the same **** they feed you, and you never push yourself to create something original to yourself, then that's your own problem, and yeah, you'll be average.

But those idiot averages would still have been less without that education, and so would those who aren't average.
Surprise surprise, we agree.

TeamAyu2004 you are embarrassing yourself here with the way you completely disregard formal education in art - in craft even, since every art is a craft. I believe you are not an idiot, so please don't behave like one. I know I've been rude to you in the past, but I'm seriously trying to be nice right now, I know you're better than this.

Yay! <3

But I feel more likely marrying you when we don't! :P

Surprised that nobody has gotten the album yet lol
I wonder if people are even gonna talk about it when they get it and such.

I think a couple people mentioned getting it, but it's definitely far less than usual. Maybe the amount of snow in some European countries delayed delivery for some - and a couple others have probably been turned off by the Maro thing.

Snow? I forgot about that
It's dryer than cracked skin here.
Canada Post just didn't feel like doing anything for 2-3 days. Those lazy ass wiggas. I want my cd!

i got mine two days ago. :yes

^^ i dont think mine as even shipped yet.. sadness.

We have 30-40cm of snow right now - and I'm in one of the areas that wasn't even hit very hard. Slovenia has nearly a meter in some areas I heard.

Roads are closed off, busses aren't driving, accidents all around...I don't even wanna know how it is in areas that got it worse right now.

The only song I am 'so-so' about on again is actually Wake me up.
I see it as the weakest link in terms of nearly everything.
However, I LOVE how the album becomes progressively darker, and Wake me up certainly emphasizes this with it's presence.
Happy go lucky, to contemplating one's own life in a rather haunting fashion.

I think Ivy is my favourite.
again actually sort of reminds me of the trilogy + ever free.
Wake me up = vogue
snowy kiss = Far away
Sweet scar = SEASONS
Ivy = ever free

Even though it's actually Wake me up~You & Me~Snowy kiss...

^ I think I like it my way better. :D

The PV storyline was the only true disappointment for me with this release. I think it was executed poorly.

I received the album 3 days ago!

My album came!
So much feet..

I'll have to order mine asa I get some money ;~~;

not ordering from YA anymore...I still haven't received my album a week after release. I need my stuff on release date. Hello FedEx shipping with CDJ!

I saw this:
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j...10240804_n.jpg

and thought of the whole ayumi and Maro 'scandal'
lol

My friend loves sweet scar :P

^
^:laugh

YES lol

I'm no Kuu fan, but this is so on the spot its not even funny.

popped a baby out of her vagina... I'm sorry, but to talk about it that way is disrespectful.

Besides I would have cried if a strong woman like Kuu would have stopped her job (and one she obviously really loves!) only because of a baby.

It's not an object lol a lot of people stop their career some years for raise their children =)

^I don't said it is an object. But there is no problem to raise children and don't stop working. We live in 2012 and not 1812.

In Japan it's still 1812 when it comes to that.

So many amazing singers just stopped their career entirely when they had a kid, or even just when they got married :( I'll never forgive HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR's Maki for becoming a housewive the day she got married and leaving her band entirely.

^yeah... it's really sad that Maki stopped her activities. Sadly it's really still 1812 in Japan regarding things like marriage and children...

Therefore I'm really happy und positive surprised that Kuu didn't stopped and was back without being ever really away.

Even if I agree with you become singer or actress is not a common work I can understand that they decide to stop their carrer a couple a month or years in order to enjoy their children ! It's not like "Mrs. everyone" who must go back to work because she needs money !

I love that picture because is true.
If someone says that they don't like what I wear I always say "did you buy it for me?"

^ LOL...
I love that everyone feels they have a right to everyone else's business.

We should be getting an announcement for the fourth release soon.
I wonder what it'll be...
I'm hoping new music as Ayu is on a roll at the moment (that's weird imagery if ever I saw it; A BAKERY?).