The official thread for your thoughts for "Rock'n'Roll Circus" (Anything!)
 

This thread is for your thought for the album "Rock'n'Roll Circus", including covers, songs, PV.

Now, as March 22, 2010, one new song, which is Mircophone, is leaked. What do you think ?
Download link : http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=99532

I totally love how Rock it is. I want to know if THE introduction flows smoothly to this song, like Introduction to Fly high, and Startin' over to Duty.

Cover:
CD only
http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/pictures/l/...AVCD-38103.jpg

CD+DVD
http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/pictures/l/...AVCD-38102.jpg

The marketing strategy: Personally, the marketing this time is new because the album is going to be released two day after the tour starts. Which means, it can "push" more ayu fans to go to her first tour in this 2010 for watching and listening her new songs and performance. (I am sure there must have some crazy ayu die-hard fans who go to her first tour...)

The Cover idea: I think it is better than NEXT LEVEL, although I shouldn't compare them because both of them have different concepts (NEXT LEVEL tries to have a GAME-style, whereas RnRC is trying to have a Rock style). Only one thing I don't understand - what is that cute face doing with Rock n Roll?

The tracklist: unique and "ayu-ish", especially Lady Dynamite. Its title sounds like what ayu has done , e.g. my name's WOMEN, Ladies Night. However, Every Little Thing also has a song called Jump!, so I will see if ayu gets implies by elt.

PV: so far from the previews of the PV, I think they will be fun and largely reflects to ayu. I am surprised of the "bloody" sense of Don't Look Back (from Vivi diary).

I personally think this is an amazing album from what we have so far: awesome PVs+photobook from the DejiDeji pics we've gotten... The covers are beautiful, although the CD only version is slightly creepy... Microphone is fabulous and rockish and epic and fierce :heart

Overall an extremely promising album :love

Isn't this the point of the threads in the news section? xD

well, I think the cover try to present the "Circus" concept more than the "Rock 'n' Roll" one IMO...

and that's why she's doing that cute face~ and the tattoo.. o.O

I have no idea why that kind of discussion belongs to NEWS section. This section supposedly is talking about what related to ayu PV, Songs, etc.

It seems overlapped to me.

Sexy Little Thing/count down/ Lady Dynamite / LOW QUALITY LEAKED.
DOWNLOAD LINK:
http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=99587

Since they are LQ, but they sounds very interesting to me.
Sexy Little Things sounds like NEXT LEVEL style that a bit electro but not at all. Interesting. Ayu is trying something new again. Looking forward the PV + HQ song

Not going to comment Lady Dynamite based on LQ.

I thought count down is a intro, after listening it, it seems a full song! Ayu, you surprise me! It seems fit the tracklist which is after Microphone.

Pictures from the PV of Sexy Little Things!

Not going to say ayu recycle the outfit from Mircophone because she firmed Microphone and Sexy Little Things in London, but it seems fit Sexy Little Things as well.

Dont look back is out
http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=99639

Don't look back maybe for some people are weird, but i like it. I love how the Arabic sounds. Exotica <3

Mircophone PV is out
http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=99641

Now I understand why ayu has the same dress for SLT and Mircophone. It is because Mircophone is the second part of the series. They have connections.

Love it!!!!!!!!

(1) The finger moving is like selling iPod, iPhone for Apple LoL.
(2) OMG Batman Joker - wanted to recall Heath Ledger?
(3) Love the ending recall back Sexy Little Things PV, which is the ending of Mircophone PV is the beginning of Sexy Little Things PV, The ending of Sexy Little Things is the beginning of Mircophone PV. Awesome idea.

I think everything about this album is ridiculously amazing! It's already my favorite album.

I think this album is turning out to be very interesting. To be honest, I wasn't expecting anything much different but tracks like 'Don't look back' and "Sexy little things' have kinda caught me off guard :P

I also just saw the Microphone PV and while I don't find it to be anything special, from a creative point of view I absolutely love it :) Can't wait for the other PV's to show up.

Don't look back definitely reminds me of vogue which is really refreshing. I don't think I'll ever love Sexy little things because I think Ayu's been over-doing the chromaticism in her melodies, and I'm still waiting to hear a really clear version of Lady Dynamite to make a decision.

Incomplete REview...
 

:loveI keep listening to "Microphone" over and over so it MUST be awesome...in fact I'm listening to it for the 6th time today...and I saw the PV, which is something I have to get used to! "Sexy Little things" was leaked, eh? So once I hear a better quality version of the song, I'll be able to give my opinion it...from the PV preview (which makes me happy since Ayumi wears that red outfit from "Microphone" PV in it)...Ayu's voice sounds so darn cute!!

I really am surprised by what I've heard so far. I really had no hopes for this album, and she's blowing me away :D I want April 14th so bad, everything is so goood~~

My ranking of all the songs we've heard so far:
Microphone
Sexy little things
You were...
Don't look back
RED LINE
count down
Sunrise
BALLAD
Lady Dynamite
Sunset


Can't wait <3 hurry April get here alraedy <3

So far, I've been pleasantly surprised by what this album seems to be offering. :yes

My ranking for the songs thus far would be:
Microphone
BALLAD
Don't look back
count down
Lady Dynamite
You were...
Sexy little things
Sunrise
RED LINE
Sunset

Microphone and Don't look back are just so good! If you ask me, Sunrise should've somehow been on NEXT LEVEL, Sunset should've never existed, and Microphone / Don't look back should've been a single! :luv2

The Microphone PV is absolutely awesome too and I know the Sexy little things PV will be great too (even if I don't think I'll like the song!) Don't look back and Lady Dynamite's music videos look like they'll be awesome too. :D

Wow really? My gosh, it's probably my favorite Ayu song right now. That song is on FIRE! I kind of like that it's not overdone yet it's sultry, dark and sexy. And the way she says "don't look back" and then sings all low and soft, :luv2 It's a fantasy come true!

Oh my ranking I suppose....:

Don't Look Back
Microphone
You Were...
Sunrise
BALLAD
RED LINE
Sunset
[Lady Dynamite/Sexy Little Things/count down] I only heard these once as to not spoil them too much >_<; I've really been failing hard at resisting these songs so I'm not going to listen to them again until I get the album.

Microphone is great! Don't Look Back sounds great as well!!
The three others... they will need some time to grow on me...
from the previous singles I enjoy Sunrise with Sunset a bit less
You were... it's still just okay to me I like BALLAD a bit more and I like Red Line a lot!

I won't be watching the PVs until I get my album...

so far I think Next Level is a bit better but I can't fully judge yet...
I just find the singles from NL were better and the album tracks have catchier melodies
but I will see in due time with RnRC but so far it's turning out really well!

Well even though the full album has yet to be released, I think it has a fun theme/concept. I feel like we're getting the more traditional Ayu back :yes, yet we are also getting some new styles incorporated (ie. Sexy Little Things) - which is not uncommon for Ayu to do. NEXT LEVEL was a lot different, and while it was refreshing...it felt a little...I don't know un-Ayu? Either way, I'm looking forward to it (like I always do), and the album sounds promising from what I've heard. I think the only thing I don't really care for are the covers...which aren't awful, but definitely not as good as some of her other covers we've seen in the past.

I agree 100% :yes.

imo, the single she should have released isn't Microphone/Don't look back, it's Microphone/Sexy little things <3

Or a 3A with all three of them :D I know I'd KILL for an official Don't look back Instrumental, I can't be the only one <3

My ranking so far of the songs on the album:

Microphone
BALLAD
You were...
count down
Sexy little things
Don't look back
Sunrise ~LOVE is ALL~
RED LINE ~for TA~
Sunset ~LOVE is ALL~
Lady Dynamite

I'm sorry, I really loved the last two albums, but I think Rock 'n' Roll Circus so far is just on a whole other level than both of them.

Well I listened to Don't look back up until the 1 minute mark.
I got to say I love the music but her vocals sounds strained to me.

I love Microphone <3

dont look back.. :no
lady dynamite
count down
sexy little thing
No one i like except microphone. I can say RnRC is her worst album so far for me

^ ahaha "worst" well theres someone at least who isnt in love with the songs ^__~


---i like em all. but maybe thats cuz i already like or love every ayu song anywayz. im not dissapointed although i didnt have high hopes. now im surprised whichi is a better feeling that being satisfied ^___^ if that made any sense

Microphone is preferred. i must love ayu rock. count down is perfection as far as lyrics go. and its pretty nice to me. oh and SLT is so cool. ayu embraced the concept and lyrics she wanted to portray very well i think :D

EDIT: how could i forget. i love Don't Look Back. anything with arabic sound is cool to me and for that song it works so well

^I agree with all you said... :yes
Though Next Level was fun and also has a lot of my favourite tracks RnRC seems to have a more interesting concept... it seems like she's making it really special... regardless if the songs are spectacular...
I thing I'll get a different feeling listening to the album as a whole from start to finish... I find Ayu's albums are meant to be listened this way most of the time... she's good at creating a whole picture imo :)

Does anyone notice the last part of Mircophone PV? ayu has a thing like iPhone ..or iTouch.. but not exactly.. is it a new product from Apple called iAyu? :P I like that a lot.

^ It's some sort of touch screen thing, yeah. She was actually the one controlling the scenes (including where the "brother" knocks into Ayu). :yes Maybe somebody else knows exactly what it is?

Yeaaaaaa, that thing@.@ Ayu presents Apple new product - iAyu @.@
Btw, that skinny girl walking in tunnel and yelling is like a... donkey

I would buy... iAyu, xD

Anyway, posting more thoughts as more things come along, but so far from everything, here's a ranking of the songs so far:

Don't look back
Sexy little things
RED LINE ~for TA~
BALLAD
Sunrise ~LOVE is ALL~
Microphone
Lady Dynamite
You were...
Sunset ~LOVE is ALL~
count down

they're all really awesome though!

I think Sunrise & Sunset don't fit the Rock'n'Roll Circus theme at all :no

Well I think that is why she calls this album Rock n Roll Circus ?

If we think this album in two ideas as the follows.
Rock n Roll is obviously like Mircophone..
Circus implies having fun.. so Sunrise ~love is all~ kind of fit that implication.

However, at some way you are right, Sunrise and Sunset do not fit this album well.. BALLAD does not fit well too , tho.

I love the strained vocals that Ayu seems like she has in Don't look back. Totally reminds me of vogue, SURREAL, etc. from Duty.

I personally love her deep vocals that sounds a bit strained but something is off for me on Don't look back. It's probably just me and I haven't heard the full song yet. I only heard until the minute mark. trying not to spoil the album but obviously failing xD

I don't think they sound strained or as bad as her vocals on the Duty album, they sound kind of MY STORY-ish to me. But I just love the lack of vibrato.

I'm looking forward to it more then I was Next Level. I'm hoping it goes on par with My Story for me cos I loved that album, but haven't had an album I liked as much since then.

@ BanaCherry - I believe the magic has happens during the bridge after the second chorus...that section is gorgeous for me. Also the minor melody changes in the final chorus.

@ identity - Totally agree with the lack of vibrato comment. I personally love the vocals Ayu had during the Duty/I am.../RAINBOW era though.

I would love to buy iAyu :laugh

Anyway this is so much better than the last 3 albums for me so it's not so bad!
Microphone is so nice and the other songs are kinda good too :yes

So this might be a bit random, but there no song on the album called Rock 'n' Roll Circus, IDK it might me just me but I'm kinda used to her album titles being one of the songs on the album, other then LOVEppers (which does have a song that reference to it) and My Story, all her other album titles have been on of the song in the album. IDK it just kinda stuck out to me.

Other then that I can't wait to see the PV for SLT it seems to be connected to Microphone not sure how yet but... the beginning (with her smashing the guitar) was see in the SLT preview, and in the end the outfit she wore was also from the SLT PV. Maybe it will change the meaning of the Microphone PV, or make it clearer?

So many "thoughts" thread that claims to be official. But seriously, i have high hopes for this album. now i understand why its called a Circus.. ayu has songs with many different genres. :)

oh well I still don't like Microphone as a song, but I like the PV :)

it's freaky, but not the freakiest one. I didn't get the message also. I don't understand how it's connected with the lyrics and is it? :)
her dress was gorgeous, but wtf the hair & eyemake?? not good :no

well Don't look back has Indian feeling aaaand. I have mixed thoughts, I like it and I don't, like 50/50

other previews are LQ so I can't tell exactly but so far I haven't really liked any song

The PV for Microphone gives me the feeling like "I'm the only one holding myself back"
Because she always starts walking on the catwalk in the church,
And then she always rips the scene and starts over...
But then when the drag queen tried to stop her from stepping over the table,
She just said "F You biXXX, I'm leaving this hellhole." Or some such words! ahaha

I might sound like a crazy ayu stan when I say this but there is absolutely nothing I don't like about this album. It's just too perfect to me. It is as close to perfection as a human artist can get. But that's just my opinion. It may sound extreme but RnRC is already my favorite Ayu album lol.

Oh so desu ka?
Thank you for enlightening me. I seriously dont really get the pv. I can only say it's a little scary and dark but the concept of the iphone and the rewindig part are interesting. So am I right to think that when she finally stopped holding back... she became this brand new person at the end?

That album is going to be one of her best.
Even though it has weakest singles in her career.

All leaked songs are great and have that 'something'. Microphone is epic rock song, is full of power. Don't look back... I just say that I love Ayu for creating this song <333 Sexy little things is ****ing original, it'll sound gorgeously in full. Lady Dynamite gives me her old works' feeling, it really matches with PV taking place in the club. count down is the most mysterious for me, I can't wait to hear it in full.

Music video for Microphone is maybe not her best, but it deserves to be on top of each fan list. I love that it tells kinda weird story about these random people and Ayu isn't on the centre.
The biggest disappoint for now is Sexy little things PV preview for me. But it's only a preview and just wait and see to full video. I have some hopes since we know that it's connected with Microphone video.

Low Quality of "Last Links" and "meaning of Love" are leaked.

Last Links for me is a soft-rocks. Nice and refresh

meaning of Love - again, Ayu you surprise me! I thought this is an intro but it is not! The opening sounds like Secret ..

That may or may not be the actual reason for why it's called a circus but that does make more sense than everything else I've heard :)

What a fantastic song and PV, that SLT.. :D so nice

Sexy Little unique Things LOL... (aka slu t).. Seems Microphone and Sexy Little Things both PV together has deep meanings.

Don't Look Back PV is leaked. After watching it.. I was like WOW ayu you are creepy on one side. I didn't expect she did that on her face!!!!!

Discussion on PVs interpretation ?

^ AHS used to have these cool pv threads for interpretations for each and every pv. I loooved those.

Up till now all three promotional videos are quite good. I am really impressed. Still trying to process them :D

Ok, just saw the SLT PV. For both the song and the video, I have no idea what to think! Seriously, I can't even tell whether it is good or bad! lol

One thing I know for sure that I didn't like though was it seemed like the song ended way to abruptly.

New songs so far:

(full songs heard)

Microphone
Cool song, i really liked it, but when you are listening to it like 27381273812783812 times when it leaked, youre gonna hate it (XD)

Sexy Little Things
THIS IS ONE OF BEST SONGS EVER. My theory about every Ayu songs starts from "S" is true. Every "S" song is AWESOME TO DEATH. Amen.

Don't look back
Boring, kinda. Not bad, but meh. I only enjoys cute "Don't look back" she sayin xP

(previews)

Lady Dynamite
Found this one boring and not melodical. But when i saw PV cut i thought "not bad at all". We'll see when i watch PV (XD)

count down
Flat for me (from this preview) but i heard some nice guitar rifs, and im gonna love this.

meaning of LOVE and Last Links (cause from one preview xd)
meaning of LOVE sounds very pretty and Last Links sounds like (miss)understood. What does it means? IM GONNA TOTALLY LOVE LAST LINKS XD But the meaning of Love sounds pretty damn good, too

so, the only interlude is "montage" and "Jump!"??

Thank god! :D

Maybe it'll be the title of that mysterious TA only song that she's releasing after the album? Sorta like with RAINBOW :)

That makes lots of sense!! ^^

Yeah, I really don't like the PV for Lady Dynamite :(

Lady Dynamite PV had the potential to be amazing but... no. It did improve around the last minute but it's just "meh" to me. I really wanted to like it since I like the clubbing theme... The song on the other hand -> :blove. It reminds me a lot of a couple of The Gazette songs but that's not a bad thing :P

I like the song for Lady Dynamite just fine, but the PV was a little boring. There is no doubt in my mind now that all of her dancers (male) are gay. It did look like Ayu was having a bit of fun, and she does look hot with the chupa chupa. ;)
Don't look back is the most awesome song/PV from this album IMO. The PV was so unexpected. I love to see this side of Ayu. :heart
Microphone is great, and the PV was a bit random but I don't hate it.
Sexy little things, well I thought the PV was definitely interesting and artistic. I enjoyed the part where she plugs her eyeball lamp into the electrical outlet, you hear a scream and then blood starts running out. That is really awesome. haha Plus I love Ayu in that red and black outfit. :) The song is cool, sounds really cutesy and I don't know if she will be able to perform it live without helium. xD

As I said in the offical thread, it seems that Rock'nRoll Circus will be a hit or miss with me.
Like one half and dislike the other we have so far.
For example I asbolutely adore Don't look back, song and PV!
But I totally dislike Lady Dynamite.
It's somehow funny, but at the moment R'nR C tunrs out to have the worst and the best works of her,lol.
Something is already sure - it's definitely not one of her best albums for me.

Don't Look Back gave me chills, Lady D gave me gasms. This is all I need. :P

I can not express enough how much I LOVE LOVE LOVE both PVs. I'm surprised some don't like Lady D, it looks like sooooooooooooo much fun. I definitely love the song more now that I heard it in full because I wasn't too sure at first. But now, t'is perfect.

Or almost perfect because Don't Look Back is the very definition of PERFECTION! The song + PV might be my favorite from Ayu for a long time! It's even creepier than Ourselves! Oh and when you watch them back to back O_O; Chills all up and down your spine! It's serious business! Oh.... Ayu... This is why I love you above anyone else!

I actually agree with you for once lol. I'm still on the fence with both the song and the PV. The PV I don't get at all and the song I may have to get use to. I don't necessarily hate it, but when I put it up against songs (and PVs) like Microphone, DLB and Lady D... it just doesn't compare in my opinion. But I do like that she tried something different with it and I think it's cute. :)

Also, I was hoping that with the blood coming out of the outlet and the screams the PV would have more of a "horror" feel to it.

I really DO NOT LIKE the concept of Lady Dynamite. If ayu is trying to be a gay icon, and she should think not all gay men are going to dress leather and dance so femme.

That is full of prejudge of homosexual in Lady Dynamite for me. Sorry ayu and her dancers because you guys listen to that director and do this PV, that is so pissed me off.

I don't think they were trying to make Lady Dynamite prejudice, it's just that, nothing other than over-the-top gayness would work for the PV, hah. That's what made it so interesting and out there, because they all had the Hard Gay thing going on, lol. I mean, I believe the actual concept wasn't just homosexuals in a club, it was over-the-top homosexual clubbing, hah. I don't think any offense should be taken, honestly.

I sort of like the pv. I never found ayu's dancers hot...(atleast, not these ones anyways. I prefer the ones from her my story era), but this pv really makes them look hot. XD I think they really enjoyed themselves, and I highly believe that they're all gay. Especially after this video. haha

Take out ayu, Have the entire video consist of the guys dancing, replace they song lady dynamite with connected and you have a kickass music video. 8) I will definitely say that every 3 seconds, I kept forgetting this was an ayumi hamasaki video. I just stared at the guys the whole time. lol so hot~

EDIT:
Actually I change my mind with what I said earlier. instead of taking out ayu. just replace her with bi rain, top, or any other hot asian guy, and then go ahead and redub the video with connected. bam, you have soft porn right there. I definitely would have loved to see a kiss in the end or some kind of touching. that would have made it perfect.

kotora
Believe it or not, there are gays like that^^

And she already has a video with a "straight-like" gay, that would be GREEN

^this. Although kotora is saying that not all gay men are like that, it's a stereotype. But I agree that it made the pv. If you just had a bunch of average dressed guys dancing around a club, that would be boring. We already have the Fly High pv for that. >> besides. "Lady Dynamite" it totally fits. Drag Queen right there! lol

I think the pv is supposed to be ayu having a great ass time with her gay friends, and lady dynamite is her...*cough* *** hag name...

If Ayu were to make a documentary about homosexuals, then I'd agree with you. But it's a music video in a gay club where people are having fun and enjoying themselves. Don't take it so seriously.

the songs, all in all, are pretty good. i'm not crazy about sexy little thing... it's sort of all over the place for me... i do like the opening couple of seconds though, i wish it would have sounded more like that!

microphone has a great chorus. that's... mostly it for me.

don't really like the videos for both of these... way tooooo much going on, especially microphone, and not in a good way.

don't look back is interest... its definitely a departure from what she's used to doing, and the pv definitely makes me like it more.

watching lady dynamite right now, and i LOVE it. maybe i'm a simpleton, but fill a room with half naked menz and ayu as their f@g hag and i'm SOLD.

meaning of love and last links sound promising too.

all in all, really excited for this album!

I will paste here what I said in the other thread:
OK... so my review of everything!

Previews:
Last links: accoustic guitar (ACCOUSTIC GUITAR!!!! I waited for this) + violin = epic!
meaning of Love: verse sounds boring, the chorus sounds good! Hope there are not too much cheap HAL sounds there. Her voice is too hoarse for me as in You were... Not really pretty IMO + loud "breathing" problem.

Sexy little things: SONG = awesomeness!!!! Really original and quite experimental! LOVE the arrangements / PV= like the beginning so much! The rest is good too. Fun to watch and crazy!
Don't look back: SONG = quite good, nice arrangements. I was affraid it could be boring but it's not. / PV = fine. The twist is good. Nothing special but it's nice to have a "calm" PV.
Lady dynamite: SONG = very good. Love the "harmonica" sounds. Kind of raw and I like it!! / PV = BAD. BUT could have been worse. Nothings suprising as we know who directed it! The beginning is so looong ZZzzzzZZ. That proves Kazu really lacks creativity/idea.

Overall: this album is going to be freaking awesome! I haven't been excited and confident since (miss)understood. Imo the ayu I love (the creative one who takes some risks) is back with this album! Can't wait!


edit:
Microphone: SONG = really good. A bit different from her other rock inspired songs. The organ part could have been more used though / PV = really well executed/edited. Quite nice. Like the spotlight on all those random people.
countdown: sounds a bit like (m)u/It was/GUILTY. Yet the chorus is catchy.

Lady Dynamite is an awful PV. Honestly, that looked like the wackest ****ing club in the world. I mean, were there any females in the club? Lesbians, at least? Don't try to tell me females don't go to gay clubs. And wtf was up with the atrocious dancing? Embarrassing.

The song is excellent, though. It really reminds me of B'z.

Sexy little things is a pretty good PV. Ayu really set herself up to be compared with GaGa though, it's a shame. The song... is ridiculous... but it's SO GOOD. :D

I'm so happy with these songs.

I do not appreciate everything she releases. To be honest, I dislike some of classic songs and the newest. Whatever, I have 40 favorites songs.
About Rock 'n' Roll Circus I'm disappointed since the cover.
Microphone is a great rock song, the Pv is strange, but is original and funny in the end.
Sexy Little Things (PV) seems a copy of Gaga and the song is not great (for me).
Same thing with Lady Dynamite and the PV, cause i was expecting a very powerful hymn to women. is not great, is boring.
Sunrise and Sunset I never liked. And the preview of Meaning of Love and Last Links aren't bad or good.
Well, you can think that I'm so critic but is my opinion. xD I don't like Rock 'n' Roll circus til now and could be better.

I hate how ppl think sexy litle things is like a copy of gaga... Umm FYI peps she's done videos like SLT before like Alterna and ladies night!!!

Considering the outfits, that is a gay fetish club... So, it's natural that there are no women there...

sorry, but for me is visible SLT is similar with Gaga Pv's. Unhappily.
Alterna and Ladies Night is toootally different...

I'm just saying that ayu has experimented with the whole weird element thing that lady gaga has way before we even knew who lady gaga was... I'm really not even trying to start anything.

^^the scene where everyone was on the couch reminded me of bad romance


ok my pv opinions:

Sunrise: I love the whole atmosphere by the sunset ayu looks gorgeous only thing I hate is the female dancers.
Sunset: I hate the whole thing the only thing that I liked is that ayu looked cute.
You Were...: I love how beautiful it is ayu's dress was gorgeous.
Ballad: I hate it Shuya ruined it for me.
Sexy Little Things I LOVE it I love how cute and dark it is. ayu looks hot in that red dress.
Microphone: at first it was forced weird but I watched the pv so many times that I love it I just wished that ayu was shown more
Don't Look Back: just wow wow wow I loved it I love how dark it is.
Lady Dynamite: oh my god not my favorite but ayu with the lollipop saved it for me


bleh

Sexy Little Things : Probably my favorite new song right now. BEST CUTESY SONG xD
Don't Look Back : The PV is good, the song itself is just ok to me.
Microphone : I love the song so much.
Lady Dynamite : The song is ok, but the PV is weird and I saw Lady Gaga on it!

Microphone is my drug!!!
<333333333333 Its pv is awesome. :)

SLT- Fun cute song! PV is a little better than LD.
DLB- Awesome! ^_^ Such a cool sounding soung and its PV is the best so far. :)
LD- Catchy Song but such a bad PV. Not my forte.

This album is such pure win!!!

Hmmm... Guess I'll divide everything up, lol.

Singles and their PVs:


Covers:


Tracklist:


(Album) songs so far:


(Album) PVs:


:D

Probably you guys are correct and I didn't think about GREEN pv, however, I think Lady Dynamite is not a recommend PV for new ayu fans, especially those young ones.

I can clearly see some of ayu male dancers' penis shape hanging out when they dance. I just feel like.. ugh.. I am not against femme gay guys, but the PV is just.. not my type.

God, I don't even know where to begin. I'm dissapointed. The PV for Lady dynamite is bleh..the song is okay

Don't look back is okay, pv is ok
sexy little things and the pv are good....but

Microphone and its PV are AMAZING......Thank god for microhone...because the other songs are really lacking for me. Maybe they will grow on me.....

I didn't want to be disspointed.

MICROPHONE made this album

i absolutely LOVE microphone. 2nd to that is countdown and of course meaning of love. i absolutely hate SLT. its just blah. i love Energize after listening to that song. -__-
dont look back has yet to grow on me but i love the pv!!

o how can i forget LD, it was awesome!!!

Don't you guys think that sexy little things would have matched the next level album...it sounds video game-ish to me.

i saw it by accident. When I watched the PV first time, I saw something shining between one of the dancers legs, I was like WTF.

Yes sexy little thing is totally fitting NEXT LEVEL era .. I kinda like it :)

^ I saw the shapes especially on the Preview off-shot...

I HOPE they would not dress like that in ARENA TOUR 2010 ! D:

I LOVE SEXY LITTLE THINGS SO MUCH OMG, LOVE LOVE LOVE.

But the PV was boring.

Amen girl, aaaaaaaaaaaaamen :innocent

So now that everything is pretty much out, is everyone MORE EXCITED (yay :clapclap) or less excited (boo :eviltongu)?

I Love sexy little things so much! the pv..so so so boring...@_@( but love her style in there)

and my favorite still Lady dynamite!!

Microphone PV is great and the song blows me instantly!! :yes
Sexy little things is addictive, I love it the cute tones and fast paced singing. The PV is ok, back to her weird style like Microphone.
I love both PV and music for Don't look back. Though the PV doesn't really match the song musical style but it's elegant.
Lady Dynamite is somehow lacking, the chorus didn't really catch my attention and the PV is typical Shimoko works, Ayu acting sexy and fierce with men dancing around her...*coughSparklecough*...~_~ I only love the scene when she holds lollipop and on the changing locker.

I've not watched the other PVs, but here's my take on Microphone:

So I think the running themes for Microphone are "Appearance & Reality" and "The controller of your life is you".

So like, I think we have seen a lot of models and situations throughout the video, like the guy dancing out of the box, the sisters, the assassin, mad woman screaming into the megaphone, the janitor, the solider, the family... everything appears normal and stereotyped, but I think many of these situations were shown to have "shocks" or unexpected twists.

Like the janitor who turned out to be a dancer, or the solider who turned out to be a screaming woman... I think it's that message of "what appears to be is not the truth"... especially at the scene of the family where Ayu's "sister" is actually a dude... it highlights the message of "Appearance & Reality" even more.

Now, there are various transactions throughout the video, where a finger sorta swipes the screen in an iPhone manner; it appears there's a controller for many of the things happening, in particular the one scene where the finger controlled the drag brother to knock into Ayu and caused a fit; there's this "Who's this person controlling everything?" question in everyone's mind, which appears to be the Ayu walking down the catwalk, since she managed to crush and thrash all the various scenes, it seems like she's the one who's controlling everything, which explains the twists in the PV; she wants them to be like this.

This also brings up another point; where Ayu sort of tells us that she could be anyone in the scenes - a janitor, part of a happy family, an assassin, a clown, a mad woman, a good sister, a solider... anyone, but she chose to "thrash" all of that away in some way because she has decided who she wants to be - herself; that singer strutting her stuff down the runway... it feels like she's saying "This is who I've decided to be, and who I want to be."

In a way, she's controlling her life by choosing who she wants to be, no?

So, at the end we see everything moving backwards and it turns out the whole PV is like a video played on a player, and the one watching is the Ayu in Slt.

This reminds me of the theme/concept of Slt - girl power. We've seen so many shocks and twists in Microphone, but ultimately who's the one overseeing and watching everything? It's Ayu; a woman. I think this emphasizes the fact that women can control their lives as they want at this era, which explains the whole video player thing.

Another emphasis on the "women control their lives" was the scene with the family; where Ayu decided to stand up for herself and out of the table - we can see the rest of the family had that "omg wtf is she doing!?" face... I think it's a stereotype that girls can't do what they want; that girls can't control anything; it's like the Ayu in the table is saying "screw all of the stereotypes, I'm doing things my way, as I want it."

So yeah... I think the Microphone PV shows the concept of "Appearance & Reality" and "Controller of life is you" pretty well, and I understand the connection to Slt... I think it's like women control their lives, much like how Slt Ayu controls and watches everything that goes in Microphone.

One peeve I had was... the finger that swiped everything was odd. it wasn't the finger of Ayu in the runway, neither was it the finger of Ayu in Slt. it looks random, which doesn't provide any solid connection, which bothered me. lol I wished the finger would be like the one of Ayu in Slt so it would be cooler.

Just my 2 cents, and sorry if it's too long. it's been ages since I've watched an Ayu PV and had so much thoughts running through my mind

are you serious? did they really show their penises? wouldn't that be x rated or something? lol I'm perfectly fine with them dressing like that at the next tour. If they do i kind of want to go to the tour. >>;

I agree, SLT sounds like a video game song...perfect for NEXT LEVEL. It might've been cool if the pv had a video game theme. lol

OMG!, so far I really like this album..

don't look back has this "sound effect" (about 0:28) that seem so cheap and obsolete to me, everything else is ok, this could have been such a great and alternative song, but that "little" detail... mhh

sexy little things is cute, electronic and kinda unique, i really enjoyed the PV no matter the "gaga-or-not-gaga" thing, is a great song

microphone is good but for me it is not the best part of the album...

and finally lady dynamite, when I listened to the preview It didn't seem to have anything special, but the song grew on me, the PV is so darn GA-Y XD there's even a scene in men's bathroom where two boys are watching at each others pee-wees hahaha, that is so... not expected for an ayu PV

this is album is very different... but it has some old-ayu-style in it <3

I have really mixed feelings about this album so far. Like no other album.

The "Sunrise/Sunset" songs are basically non-existant to me so that shows how much I look forward to hearing them on the album.

"You were..." is as generic as I expected it to be but it's not terrible so I look forward to listening to it on the album's tracklist. I really like "BALLAD" though and can't wait to hear more of it.

After the singles I heard "Microphone" and I immediately lost hope in the album. I was afraid it would all turn out this generic and weakly produced. I couldn't even finish the video, it looked like an ad for the iPhone.

BUT then everything changed once "Don't look back" had leaked and I listened to it for the first time. From that moment I knew I would be buying this album A.S.A.P.

I recently watched the video for "Lady Dynamite" and I started getting mixed feelings again. The video is lack-luster and the song is just OK.

BUT then I watched the video for "Sexy Little Things" and I fell in love again. Wicked song and video.

But in the end I'm gonna buy the album because it's Ayumi and I love her. Also, I'm looking forward to being surprised like I was after I bought and listened to NEXT LEVEL. I can't wait :)

i decided to not download the PV...i will wait until i got my own copy...so the only PV that i download is Microphone, hopefully i'm strong enough to resist the tempation..amen...hahaha...

but i still download the song...
SLT - my fav song...usually i'm not really like cutesy song..but i don't know...i just like it...
LD - i don't know about this song...but maybe it will grow on me...

new PVs:

Microphone: LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! :luv2
SLT: i LOVE the beginning<3 evrythin else was weird.
dlb: slightly disturbing and emo. its like ourselves take2. the first few parts of her smiling was pretty. but after the A Best 2 -black- poster, her smiling was hella creepy >_<
LD: LOLLIPOP!! super wild & crazy. looks like it could be part of a gaga mv x] Ayu is a crazy clubber!!!!

conclusion: i have been disturbed by ayumi hamasaki :D

the PVs of this album is really interesting. I like sexy little thing, the song is fun and the PV is a huge leap from what ayu has done before. Very interesting.

Microphone is so-so, I need more ayu's scene rather than 2 girls jumping randomly and slow motioned. Lady dynamite is cool, with all the dancers, and i agree it's not a good start for a new ayu fans, but the weirdness is cool

New PV's are awesome except Lady Dynamite...

Like somebody said on other forum Lady Dynamite is like GREEN in gay club. I liked only the vere beginning (at the club entrance) and the very ending (when she leaves it). lol
Basically all Kazuyoshi PV's are the same. GREEN is his best PV so far. At least it has meaning in it.

Don't look back is simply fantastic. Everything about it. Everything.

Sexy little things is damn Great. It's funny, weird and cute. :P

Microphone PV is Awesome. Some moments in it are simply brilliant.

looks like this album has a lot of ballad
not ballad hater thought,it's just too much (ballad,you were...,sunset,& all the new music without PV looks like ballad from the preview)

but i'm glad that there's 4 new song with awesome PV

my opinion about the new song & PV:

microphone:
- i love this song, really dark & freaky,especially love the organ
- i love the randomness of this PV,& the way using to cut/dump/crash/burn paper as effect really cool,my favorite scene is when ayu got bumped,it's really funny

don't look back:
- the arrangement really awesome with arabian/indian style ones,the wek part of this song is the repetition of chorus & very short verse
- the PV really unexpected one,i thought it just a common ,but when ayu show the other side of her face really shocked me (finally i understand why there's scene with ayu smiling on this PV,it's fit with the condition)

sexy little thing:
- another my favorite song of this album(beside microphone),i don't really like ayu's cute song actually,but this one hit my attention.it has uncommon that show mixed of fierce,mysterious,& cuteness.
- same like microphone,i love randomness of this song's PV

lady dynamite:
- pretty catching song,however still better sparkle imo
- it's true that this song really gay-ish(i'm so glad that i born as someone like this),honestly i morely watch the guys than ayu on this song.ayu looks like bad girl on this PV,love it

well,actually i almost lost interest on ayu after the release of next level.but looks like this album makes me hyped up more to ayu.hopefully the full album didn't dissappoint me

I really really really hate lady dynamite...

it just seems so banal, and thoughtless.... i mean, what is the point? and why the trannies and gays?

i need the lyrics, but i'm not optimistic.

my personal opinion of course, but as a massive ayu fan, who likes nearly EVERYTHING she does, i can honestly say i'm very unimpressed with LD.

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^ I do agree with some of your points but perhaps you are overreacting a little at least. SLT and Microphone could have been better, but I still think they are at least improvements from many of her PVs the last couple of years. Don't Look Back I think is amazing actually - both the song and the PV. It's similar to Ourselves, but not the same. In Ourselves, it was other people destroying the images of her, in Don't Look Back she is destroying herself - quite a different meaning actually.

Lady Dynamite is pretty much rubbish though. I don't mind if she openly supports gays (imo that had been extremely apparent for years anyways) but its just a poorly done PV that goes way beyond stereotypical to the point that its annoying.

everythings is OK except LD... just when you think you'll get a perfect album.. theres one that destroy it all.. LD.. is a no no.. abig NO.. although shes look preety..

sorry AYU

Change my mind a bit, only one thing in LD is correct, gay guys sometimes go to washroom in clubs for more.

IMO, this director has to stop making PV and think whats wrong with his ideas.

Agree, totally :yes:yes:yes