[waterballoon]

all right... so this is one of my favorite eras of Ayu post-GUILTY. it's one of the few where everything was consistent - music, lyrics, visuals and tour.

I won't talk much about the songs, lyrics and tour but the visuals I just have to analyze cos they're too good.

okay before all that, I think the concept for Rock'n'Roll Circus is "my life after A BEST 2 (2007 basically)". firstly notice how this is the only album aside from MY STORY to not have a title track at all (RAINBOW existed in A BALLADS but the album came close to the idea of MY STORY and R'n'R C imo & for LOVE again I think it's tricky cos LOVE and again were both mini-albums, and then it kinda fused into one album, so...). MY STORY was an excellent masterpiece (her magnus opus for me), which was basically a musical autobiography.

Rock'n'Roll Circus continues on that idea, almost like a sequel if you would ask me. I think she takes her experiences and feelings from 2005 onward to make this album.

Everything that has happened: her affirmation for her passion and love in music (Microphone), a direct piece talking about her deafness (count down), the relationship she would like to have with her father (Sunset ~LOVE is ALL~; note that she wrote lyrics for a drama with an estranged father-daughter relationship and I believe it is possible and plausible that she had her personal input and wishes into the lyrics), her regret in life and her desire for escapism (Don't look back, supported greatly by the PV which I will delve into later), embracing her feminine side and growing into a woman (Lady Dynamite, Sexy little things), a real, in fact, final and mature thought on her relationship with Nagase (You were...) and her relationship and support she needed and had from her fans (RED LINE).

The events that have happened and her thoughts accompanying them since MY STORY creates R'n'R C. Yay!!

Okay now for the visual:

I want to touch on Microphone, Sexy little things & Don't look back. I really like Lady Dynamite too but that is because it's fun and funny and enjoyable.

Microphone/Sexy little things:
I agree a lot with the Channel Ai blog post on these 2 PVs.

I noticed a difference in opinion between the opening scene of Slt: 1 supports the theory that plugging in = rape, with a woman screaming and then blood flowing out, while another supports the theory that it's forcefully trying to fit in into a 'standard' image of women.

I'd agree with both, and because of the nature of the songs with its lyrics I think both go very well and kudos to the people who thought of them! A little tidbit, notice that the socket is a 3-pin London socket, while the plug is 2-pin.

Now with that it draws support to the rape theory (forceful entry) and also the fitting in theory (clearly the plug doesn't fit into the socket yet it still did).

We then hear applause - the show has started.

Which brings the theory on the blog about how it's about women being displayed as passive images - notice that the women mostly appear as singular, in high-fashion clothing in a room? I theorize that as sort of a runway show, where the women come in as an object to the "audience".

About the fox hunters, I also agree they represent the male gender. Note in one scene with the horses where they appear to be strict, yet when the horses' heads are covered in balloons they begin dancing away: to me, the horses are the "outside", or the "observer". men appear to be a certain form (paraphrase from Slt: how many times did you need to repeat the same hand movements to get them to be so natural?), yet when the "observer" is not looking, the men reveal their true form... playful = players? this juxtaposition of what men appear to be and who they really are also is supported from the lyrics of Lady Dynamite (paraphrasing... you are one of those who always nod yes, your glib and flat speech goes on and on...).

The scene where the large woman "breaks" in and peers in suggests that the whole setting of the PV could be in the mind of a woman, where she plays all these thoughts out, and that woman is the one who broke the wall, looking in because she needs help. note that she looks perplexed at the end, possibly because these thoughts about men haven't come up to her yet due to whatever reasons.

at the end when the Microphone Ayu smashes the guitar, and the guitar actually hits an "invisible" wall, heavily suggests the fact that this whole PV was a show, hence the cheering at the start and end, and an invisible wall.

with the theory that the room is a woman's mind, the guitar throwing can also represent thoughts wanting to escape from the mind but cannot do so due to walls.

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in Microphone, most of my observations were already noted in the Channel Ai blog but please note the resemblance between the older girl in the jumping scene and the transgender sibling in the family scene. similar hairstyle and build - it could be a throwback to childhood; notice how in childhood the siblings were very close and synchronized, and they looked exactly alike. yet in adulthood they were hostile, and the younger sibling (Ayu) had a drastic "makeover". it reinforces the idea of "change" in the first stanza of the lyrics.

Don't look back:
Possibly my favorite PV after Endless sorrow and Ladies Night!!!!

Okay note in the first scene we see a clock; time is of an important theme here (the clock is repeatedly shown in various scenes and shots), remember that.

Also note the difference between present Ayu and past Ayu. Past Ayu is noticeably younger, sporting a younger-looking haircut), while present Ayu looks decidedly more aged with the bun.

the background starring a A BEST 2 cover strongly suggests this was an era Ayu doesn't want to go back to. notice how her younger self appears to be "shielding" it with hand movements and is basically guarding the past. i feel that A BEST 2 could be a bad era for her (it was 2007; her last album to score #1 on Oricon streak, the year her best friend passed away, the year she broke off with Nagase, the year she went deaf in one ear permanently).

also notice various elements showing the passing of time: fruit vs rotting fruit, happy Ayu vs sad Ayu (in the past appearance).

during the bridge, I can infer that past Ayu has "passed away" in front of the A BEST 2 cover, implying maybe moving on, or that a part of her has passed away along with that era.

when we see the other side of present Ayu's face... okay it was a shocker but it also suggests her unwillingness to move on. one side (ugly) is bent on destruction (similar to the destroyed A BEST 2 cover), while the other side (beautiful) is what she WANTS US TO SEE (note that it is the only side we see for 3/4 of the PV). in spite of whatever trauma she may have experienced, the "ayumi hamasaki" image still must be maintained.

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so that is my "analysis" on this era. it was bloody good, although some things I don't understand, like why London as a location for example but it was the last time she displayed real artistic creativity in her videos... (MOON & Sweet Season came very close).

it's very similar to MY STORY, in that the lyrics are a lot more personal than other albums, but note a contrast that MY STORY maintained a similar rock feel throughout the album, R'n'R C threw a variety of music styles from start to finish.