Ayu: Anything Goes [XXIV]

[mi|kshake]

I like listening to instrumentals too! It was Hikaru's Colours that got me interested in instrumentals. The only thing that bugged me in comparing Colours to Ayu's intrumentals is the backing vocals but I guess that can't be helped.

I've not listened to the Whatever instrumental so will have to do that.

I also love this piano instrumental of Surreal:

[Zeke.]

Originally Posted by mi|kshake

I also love this piano instrumental of Surreal:

Omg yes, I live for this piano version. It's so deliciously depressing and melancholic. I also love the FLY HIGH piano version from that album.

Originally Posted by tokyoxjapanxfan

is this LOVE? is amazing.

Seriously. Everything about this song is perfection. The composition, the arrangement, the quality of the production.

Also, I find this track to be a truly fascinating take on the concept of love. Usually the moment one realizes they are in love with someone is fueled with anticipation, hope, possibly a sliver of anxiety but in a "happy-go-lucky" sort of way.

However, is this LOVE? is really groundbreaking in that love is realized precisely at the time all hope is lost. Instead of being the start of a dream, it is the start of a nightmare. The world as you know it, the world that you perhaps took for granted but felt so comfortable with, begins crumbling around you, and you and your emotions descend into chaos. The music video reflects that remarkably well.

I just love that dichotomy between the emotion you normally associate "falling in love" with someone, and the horrid reality of this fear-filled situation. Nothing is as it seems, and nothing is as it should be.

The arrangement itself too is eerie, frightening, distressing, angry, and as I already mentioned, complete chaos - all of which accompany “love” but are rarely expressed or talked about, which is why it makes so much sense that Ayu is confused upon sensing all of this, questioning the definition of love. It’s completely unexpected that after hearing so much about “love,” that it’s literally the opposite of what you imagined your heart to feel upon discovering it. "This... this terrible, terrible feeling... is THIS love??"

It's brilliantly deep, and I feel I haven't quite been able to express just how marvelous this track and it's take on "love" really is. It deserves a proper thesis-style academic analysis paper, but I’ve kind of just vomited pieces of its genius here for sake of time.

It’s a perfect example of how a track can really embody and enhance the subject matter of its lyrics.