Best songs for getting back into Ayu's music?
 

What are some good songs/PV to help me get back into Ayu...and write something about why that song/PV to make it interesting :P I miss being excited about the music she releases....genuinely. I stopped following her intensely after NEXT LEVEL. I prefer some suggestions from her newer works simply because I've only heard them once or twice at most.

BALLAD. The song is so damn gorgeous and the PV is beautiful (well, just the part where Ayu is sitting in her "heaven," those shots are gorgeous).

I gave up on Ayu till I heard BALLAD and became a super Stan for that song. Like omg.

There is always MOON too. Very melancholic ballad with a strangely soothing melody.

I just found her in January 2012 from the Rock n roll Circus tour, and during the summer, I heard "progress" for the first time. You should definitely listen to it, a powerful song with beautiful lyrics, good PV, and the live version in Power of Music is a-m-a-z-i-n-g. I had goosebumps. Even my sister who hates J-pop said she likes that song :)
here's the PV with eng subs from secsecae :D
http://secsecae.wordpress.com/2012/0...-subtitles-hd/

I think it depends what kinda stuff you like, from her and in general. Like if you like nostalgic, 90s-ish J-pop music Love songs album is the way to go. It personally took me by surprise by how fresh and well produced it sounded. It definitely gave me hope in ayu's music again. (But then came Party queen. But that's another story.)

You might like:
-BALLAD
-Virgin Road
-November
-Last Angel
-progress
-BRILLANTE
-Return Road
-Tell me why
-reminds me
-Song 4 U
-Missing
-Sweet Scar
-SAKURA

sweet scar, fairyland, blue bird, glitter/fated, beautiful fighters, and angel's song

frankly speaking even though her songs are still pretty top notch , the quality of her PVs have decreased significantly . It's like from Love songs onwards , the budget is not there anymore

but if you're talking about certain songs that you think might get you another stab in trying her music once more , here're a few picks from me

From Rock'n'Roll Circus :

- Microphone
- count down
- Don't look back
- montage ; it's only an interlude but man does it have a lot of bite or what
- BALLAD

From Love songs :

- Love song
- MOON
- crossroad
- sending mail
- Last angel
- November

From FIVE :

- progress
- BRILLANTE

From Party Queen :

- Return Road

From LOVE again :

- Song 4 U
- Wake Me Up
- Ivy

Honestly, you might listen to NEXT LEVEL again...some songs might...be alright lol

rollin
Sparkle

then lets see...

count down
Microphone
Dont Look Back

Love Song
Last Angel
November

Brillante

Tell Me Why

Wake me Up
snowy kiss


I would really hold off on listening to too much cause so much of it sounds the damn same...so maybe like, take the songs that everyone suggests first...lol

If you want to stay a fan avoid Party Queen altogether. Thx.

I would go with Brillante as it stands out in her discography with the chants and cinematic feel.

The PV is also one of her best - I love her Egyptian costume. When I first got Five, I couldn't get this song or PV out of my head and had to keep watching/listening to it.

mi|kshake~

Everyone's bashing on PQ in here but, speaking as a very very old fan, I LOVE it. And I wasn't nuts about Love songs or LOVE again at all, they're both very dull albums for me. It really depends on what about Ayu you like & don't like. I always liked raw, honest ayu so PQ is great for a fan like me. If you like sweet ballad ayu, then LOVE again will be for you. If you like old school J-pop, Love songs will be for you. The recommendations in here are going to be very divided, I think.

^ I echo the same thing . Party Queen to me ain't that horribly bad . I guess the covers played a rather big role in making people turned off by the album considerably

But once you looked past that , the album is actually quite enjoyable . It's just unfortunate the album title & the covers do not really gel well together :O

And to me , LOVE again is maybe her weakest sounding album to date . Except for Bye bye darling , the other album tracks doesn't if not couldn't stalk up against the mini album tracks

I think a big problem is that Ayu didn't make the point of the album clear enough (and that's thanks mostly to how the photos & design were executed). It's very, very poorly put together but when you actually read the lyrics and "get" the point of the album and why she made the creative decisions she did, omg it is SO GOOD. But the fact that you have to have it explained to you makes it less effective. =\

Don't Look Back
Snowy Kiss
Ivy
Bye Bye Darling
Reminds Me
Progress
Beloved
Brillante

Personally, 'reminds me' always hits me hard. The instrumental in the intro is heartbreaking and the lyrics are good imo. The desperation in the last 'lalala's also really hits home.
Snowy kiss is also a masterpiece imo. Though I'd avoid the PV :laugh

She had to explain it way before releasing the full album because her western fanbase is filled with spoiled *****es that kept complaining on twitter... ¬¬

That really doesn't deny the fact that I think every single song was tremendously unmemorable and boring. The only songs that stuck out to me were "call", "Return Road", and "Serenade in A minor."

I thought so too. love again has quite good songs and good vocal, but if you listen to them as a whole, it is quite boring. PQ was good to me, but just cz of the cover that people thought it was trashy, that's what I thought at first too!!
but I think she made LOVE again have those relaxing and dull songs is because she wants to start over with a new "ayu", all white and happy, welcoming her 15th anniversary. plus, she already stated that "I waved the past good-bye, and look forward to the future".

NL was great in hindsight lol. Very good to me, just different for ayu. I'll list things that aren't my favorites necessarily but things that I truly appreciate for different reasons (and yeah I guess some would be favs too)

Don't look back:...I really appreciate the arrangement here. I like the flavor to this song a lot honestly. Pv is subtle but nice for its concept

You were...: I find this to be a very powerful ballad composition and arrangement wise. The pv, she just looks really pretty

Sexy little things: great song. The beginning of the pv (with the plug) honestly pinpoints part of the concept and I quite liked it. The lyrics and song overall.

Like a doll: just a great and fun song arrangement and composition wise. I really think it's fantastic, and very well done. The feeling it can give is nice.

November: same as like a doll. I really like different details in the arrangements of both songs. And the composition is great. I really think it's very emotion-filled and pretty.

Do it again: same as like a doll and november. Very different for ayu but powerful in how it develops I think.

BRILLANTE and progress: both super powerful songs. BRILLANTE has a lovely arrangement too that I find can be chilling. The song overall can be really.

Party Queen: actually a fun song I think. I'd suggest watching the live performance from the HLS tour. It's great live. Plus the 'lonely queen' segment

Eyes, Smoke, Magic: it was different and I liked it. This is one where the lyrics actually help. Look them up. They're interesting and seem not to fit the song but do.

Song 4 u and Missing: I find these to both be solid songs

Snowy kiss: just really good, also powerful.