Ayus music today sounds more "dated" than her entire discography

[ComatoseBunnySnatcher]

Originally Posted by Zeke.

I Am... sounds dated? For me LOVE again is seriously dated. Notice how I mentioned the more recent albums could be inserted AFTER LOVEppears, making that and a song for the most dated of her discog... RAINBOW is pretty dated too though if you wanna mention that. WE WISH, July 1st, and Real Me all have a specific aura that screams that time period.

I forget LOVE again exists, so I'll give you that.
And lol, for someone who has IMO as a signature, you really should look into reigning that hostility -its really unbecoming.

[emi♡]

Everything after LOVEppears and before Love Songs, is timeless, and it's one of the reasons why I loved it. I also heavily tie that idea in with how unique the songs are. I could never find anyone else that had that timeless quality to their songs, but also managed to keep the songs poppy or rockish, without sounding like generic anime anthems. That's part of why old Ayu = awesome.

Loveppears is like my favorite, but it's definitely reminiscent of that era. Even some m.o.v.e. songs remind me of it.

Love Songs to me is like, purposely dated. It's the only thing I like about the album, because it's the best thing that makes it conceptual to me, and it lets me not concentrate on...ugh everything else.


I think Party Queen and Love again have that old ayu timeless factor, but chunks of the tracks are very NOW. This last single is very NOW, although Merry go Round isn't as NOW lol It reminds me of some 90s tracks.

[truehappiness]

RAINBOW belongs to no time period.

[Delicious n Bold]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

RAINBOW belongs to no time period.

Dolls transcends time.

I agree that some new songs aren't as timeless. It's sad. I actually can't really form an opinion about it..

[emi♡]

idk I mean. I think I get what you're saying. I think it really fits in with the time it was released, even though it's really unique. Although, it's weird to say that, considering everyone then hated the shit out of it lol

But to me, it's a special album that really doesn't fit in anywhere. It's her only other conceptual album (to me) besides Love Songs. And I think that's why, it has a very specific mood, and sound, that isn't going to translate well all the time.


I also think that the only reason why it sounds to me like it fits with it's time period, is because, this is the sound I associate with that time. It's the only thing I listened to then and it defined that year, so, it's hard for me to see it, not fitting in. It's somewhat dated for me, in that respect.

[Zeke.]

MY STORY is perfect the way it is, and talk about bland - FIVE is like the definition of it and LOVE again is filled with more boring-ness than MY STORY. The thing that's great about MY STORY is that, even if some may feel it has slower or "boring" tracks, the tracks never suffer from trying to be something they are not. The epic tracks are epic, the nostalgic tracks are nostalgic, etc. what I'm trying to say is, I never feel the songs are being "forced", like they build up to a letdown. That doesn't happen and so it's not disappointing. The image they were trying to paint with each track is exactly what it was meant to be. However, tracks like Bye bye darling are a perfect example of songs that were meant to be on the same level as her more "fierce" and "attitude" tracks, but just didn't cut the cake. Petal as well. That tried to be dramatic but it sounded cheap by comparison.

And let's not talk about FIVE cause that atrocity is so un-Ayu. Any other artist could've released it, except for BRILLANTE, and I never would've bothered with it. I think the true test of whether you are a Stan or not is if you think of all your fav ayu songs and imagine another artist releasing it, would you still bother listening to them? I don't listen to material for the sake of it being an ayu release. If it doesn't sit well, it doesn't sit well.

[ComatoseBunnySnatcher]

Originally Posted by Zeke.

MY STORY is perfect the way it is, and talk about bland - FIVE is like the definition of it and LOVE again is filled with more boring-ness than MY STORY. The thing that's great about MY STORY is that, even if some may feel it has slower or "boring" tracks, the tracks never suffer from trying to be something they are not. The epic tracks are epic, the nostalgic tracks are nostalgic, etc. what I'm trying to say is, I never feel the songs are being "forced", like they build up to a letdown. That doesn't happen and so it's not disappointing. The image they were trying to paint with each track is exactly what it was meant to be. However, tracks like Bye bye darling are a perfect example of songs that were meant to be on the same level as her more "fierce" and "attitude" tracks, but just didn't cut the cake. Petal as well. That tried to be dramatic but it sounded cheap by comparison.

And let's not talk about FIVE cause that atrocity is so un-Ayu. Any other artist could've released it, except for BRILLANTE, and I never would've bothered with it. I think the true test of whether you are a Stan or not is if you think of all your fav ayu songs and imagine another artist releasing it, would you still bother listening to them? I don't listen to material for the sake of it being an ayu release. If it doesn't sit well, it doesn't sit well.

LOL aside from GAME and Inspire, MS is very bland and anyone could sing it.

[Livey~]

Originally Posted by ComatoseBunnySnatcher

LOL aside from GAME and Inspire, MS is very bland and anyone could sing it.

[mizuki-7]

Originally Posted by ComatoseBunnySnatcher

LOL aside from GAME and Inspire, MS is very bland and anyone could sing it.

I absolutely don't agree This album is so nostalgic but I understand when people say that this album can be boring because there are a lot of Mid tempo songs but songs like Walking Proud, Liar, About You, Winding road, Happy Ending and Hope or Pain are not generic (in her discography maybe) I can't pretend knowing all the japanese singers but among her peers she is the only one who tried these kind of styles

Lol, it is so not rockish. Why... has elements of R&B while being a pop ballad. It has guitars, but they don't define the song -iits based more on the strings used in it. It was really does have a rock based sound. They both are atmospheric, though. I think both songs attempt to deliver a nostalgic sense, but It was is superior in that sense.

ANother song is quite an R&B song but Why is a typical Pop rock song like Ayu has done 100 times in the past and even now ! I really don't understand where you hear R&B influence in this song ? ^^

[ComatoseBunnySnatcher]

Originally Posted by mizuki-7

I absolutely don't agree This album is so nostalgic but I understand when people say that this album can be boring because there are a lot of Mid tempo songs but songs like Walking Proud, Liar, About You, Winding road, Happy Ending and Hope or Pain are not generic (in her discography maybe) I can't pretend knowing all the japanese singers but among her peers she is the only one who tried these kind of styles



ANother song is quite an R&B song but Why is a typical Pop rock song like Ayu has done 100 times in the past and even now ! I really don't understand where you hear R&B influence in this song ? ^^

r&b influenced, try to read better.
and lol, Ayu made those songs but they're standard fare. All of you little godasaki stans try to say she's some groundbreaking artist but all of those songs are run of the mill, typical jpop and SAFE jpop at that.
Just accept that it'll never slay. Either way, I'm done.

[Zeke.]

Originally Posted by ComatoseBunnySnatcher

LOL aside from GAME and Inspire, MS is very bland and anyone could sing it.

INSPIRE is my least favorite song in the album. Lol, and talk about hostility in a post.

If ayus music is so generic and jpop safe, then why is it that I can't find any other jpop artists who quite fill her void or make their attempt at "generic safe jpop hits" even half as good as ayu does them? If I wanted someone who did some strange svante garde shut then I wouldn't listen to ayu. I'd listen to some flop of the charts like rurutia.

At the end of the day, she makes good JPOP. Or did. She is a JPOP artist, glorified.

[truehappiness]

It's hard to remember LOVE again since there was nothing that really defined it nor did anything from it (the album itself) ever get much attention.

We haven't gotten many lives or any PVs for the album tracks. The release kind of just happened.

[tbarnes10]

Idk if I'm understanding this right, but to me ASFXX - Secret are timeless. These were the first Japanese albums I ever listened to (and really the first time I completely fell in love with an artist) and when I was discovering Ayu's discography I had all these albums at the same time, and so I never really associate them with any specific time period. I mean I didn't really pay much attention to the order things came out i just enjoyed them for what they were. When I think about how old they really are it just surprises me because I feel like these songs should still be considered new and when I think of stuff from the US that came out at the same time it just doesn't seem possible.

Everything after secret, to me, I can fit into a specific time and can associate it with other things and it just seems to fit and that's where it stays. Everything before it is just a big blob that doesn't really feel old, but also doesn't really feel new, it just is.

It's not a great explanation but hopefully it makes sense. Also, for me, this doesn't make an album good or bad, it's just another aspect of the songs.

[marty]

First time I noticed something like that, it was with meaning of love from Rock 'n' Roll Circus. It wasn't a bad song, really, but I kept thinking "Woah, really it was Ayu recording this? Seriously?". It felt different. But then there was Love Songs and Party Queen, and even FIVE, because songs like "Why..." (a.k.a It Was 2 less epic in everything) and "beloved", as much they were safe and somewhat generic, were still Ayu-generic. There was Ayu-ity everywhere.
I only felt something was off again with some LOVEagain album tracks. They start good, but it feels like they didn't finish a job and it's an even more strident contrast since there are true masterpieces in that album too.
I don't know, with some stuff in LOVEagain I feel like they didn't even try properly, while with Feel the love and merry-go-roundit it feels to me Ayu is not so strict with herself anymore, as if she's more lenient with her work.

[ComatoseBunnySnatcher]

Originally Posted by marty

But then there was Love Songs and Party Queen, and even FIVE, because songs like "Why..." (a.k.a It Was 2 less epic in everything)

Sorry sis but what is this? Why... and It was... have nothing in common but ellipsis in the title. Mid-tempos, but one is pop-rock and the other veers to R&B.

[marty]

Originally Posted by ComatoseBunnySnatcher

Sorry sis but what is this? Why... and It was... have nothing in common but ellipsis in the title. Mid-tempos, but one is pop-rock and the other veers to R&B.

What, R&B Why...? Really?
Well, I really find them SO similar. And it's definetely not about the titles, lol. Mind you, I'm not an expert, like, at all. But I don't find Why... anywhere near R&B, I find it rockish. The same type of rockish It Was has, with the difference It Was was much better delivered. I think these two songs have the same kind of "flow" and atmosphere, if I make any sense.
What I know for sure is that when I listened the first time to Why... I immediately thought "Damn, It Was was such a better thing".

[ComatoseBunnySnatcher]

Originally Posted by marty

What, R&B Why...? Really?
Well, I really find them SO similar. And it's definetely not about the titles, lol. Mind you, I'm not an expert, like, at all. But I don't find Why... anywhere near R&B, I find it rockish. The same type of rockish It Was has, with the difference It Was was much better delivered. I think these two songs have the same kind of "flow" and atmosphere, if I make any sense.
What I know for sure is that when I listened the first time to Why... I immediately thought "Damn, It Was was such a better thing".

Lol, it is so not rockish. Why... has elements of R&B while being a pop ballad. It has guitars, but they don't define the song -iits based more on the strings used in it. It was really does have a rock based sound. They both are atmospheric, though. I think both songs attempt to deliver a nostalgic sense, but It was is superior in that sense.

[mizuki-7]

I think except her first 2 albums and some songs here and there her music is aging really well mainly because she didn't follow trends or almost never ! All songs that have followed the trends sound dated now (A song for xx (80's style), Loveppears (techno), Real me (r&b) for exemples ...). LOVEagain is pretty much an album filled with songs not released in the past like she said in an interview (for exemple gloria is from 2006 ) but the probleme is Yuta Nakano ... he is versatil but his arrangements for Ayu songs since several years are redundant ... Personnally I'm amazed by some of her older songs who still sound modern now ! She was ahead of her time it's quite a pity she has not succeeded to sustain this level but it's pretty common among all singers ^^

[channy]

Originally Posted by mizuki-7

LOVEagain is pretty much an album filled with songs not released in the past like she said in an interview (for exemple gloria is from 2006)

Where and when did Ayu say that? o.o

Also... "Gloria" composed in 2006? "petal" sounds more after (miss)understood to me, though.

Would appreciate it if you could provide me with a reliable source as I did not know this until now.

[truehappiness]

It was didn't even have ellipses. The songs are not similar at all.