Your Relationship with Ayumi Hamasaki

[jbrat2219]

Originally Posted by Midori-chan

I'm just going to copy this from another thread: Today on twitter Ayu said there are many meanings behind the title "FIVE".

So far, there has been a concept behind EVER album and single Ayu released! Why should it be different for "FIVE"?!
Only because you can't see the concept right away doesn't mean it's not there!

Maybe the concept will come out after reading the lyrics to the songs...or watching the PVs...or maybe FIVE is short for something. I actually like to use my own fantasy, when it comes to such things.

I could name a possible concept for any Ayu album post-(miss)understood. The notion that she has absolutely no concept for her albums anymore is something I'll never understand. It's one thing if you don't find the concept incredibly deep or profound but to say there's none is ridiculous.

[Tom Punks]

Originally Posted by jbrat2219

I could name a possible concept for any Ayu album post-(miss)understood. The notion that she has absolutely no concept for her albums anymore is something I'll never understand. It's one thing if you don't find the concept incredibly deep or profound but to say there's none is ridiculous.

Her albums have concepts for sure, but tbh a lot of her singles seem pretty concept-less. That or the concept is "this is the 50th single!" and "this mini album has 5 songs on it!" Which, for me personally, might as well not be a concept at all, because it has nothing to do with the actual music.

Another good example is crossroad. A ballad A-side with covers where Ayu is wearing a cool outfit and looking nice with a white background. @_@ Kind of the same (but not nearly to the same extent) is MOON/blossom, with the songs being ballad-y or mid-tempo and the cover is just her wearing a dress and making a cute face with a pink/yellow/orange background.

Like, if you looked at her older singles like Endless sorrow or evolution, the concept is REALLY obvious and the covers, PVs, songs, and themes all match up really well. Whereas nowadays, it's like... a song which generally matches the PV, and then a totally random cover that doesn't really have anything to do with either of them. And then throw in the fact that most of her covers are just a picture of her in front of a solid color background...

Anyways, this is all just my opinion, of course. But I really don't think she puts as much effort into planning a cohesive release as she used to.

[jbrat2219]

Originally Posted by Tom Punks

Her albums have concepts for sure, but tbh a lot of her singles seem pretty concept-less. That or the concept is "this is the 50th single!" and "this mini album has 5 songs on it!" Which, for me personally, might as well not be a concept at all, because it has nothing to do with the actual music.

Another good example is crossroad. A ballad A-side with covers where Ayu is wearing a cool outfit and looking nice with a white background. @_@ Kind of the same (but not nearly to the same extent) is MOON/blossom, with the songs being ballad-y or mid-tempo and the cover is just her wearing a dress and making a cute face with a pink/yellow/orange background.

Like, if you looked at her older singles like Endless sorrow or evolution, the concept is REALLY obvious and the covers, PVs, songs, and themes all match up really well. Whereas nowadays, it's like... a song which generally matches the PV, and then a totally random cover that doesn't really have anything to do with either of them. And then throw in the fact that most of her covers are just a picture of her in front of a solid color background...

Anyways, this is all just my opinion, of course. But I really don't think she puts as much effort into planning a cohesive release as she used to.

I feel ya. I wasn't thrilled about how the 48/49/50th singles were released either. But in my opinion, that's trivial compared to the their musical contents. I've noticed that a lot of fans here are about the total package where as I'm only about the music. Do I praise her when her concepts work out excellently, yes. Do I criticize her when they don't, not really. I've never understood why it was all such a big deal to the point people would be disastrously disappointed in an entire single when the music is great.

For example, Sunrise/Sunset etc. There was a concept for that one but it wasn't executed as great as it could have been. The covers were the worst in her career but the PVs weren't that bad but the music is great (in my opinion of course) so I love the single.

And maybe you're right, maybe she isn't putting as much effort in planning cohesive single releases anymore. But the music (again in my opinion) has not suffered and her albums are flawless. Isn't that what it's really about?

[Coelacanth]

Originally Posted by jbrat2219

And maybe you're right, maybe she isn't putting as much effort in planning cohesive single releases anymore. But the music (again in my opinion) has not suffered and her albums are flawless. Isn't that what it's really about?

Well, I agree to an extent. I don't think she releases many truly "bad" songs. I really tried to just focus on the songs she releases individually and tried to ignore her PV's, covers, and overall lack of cohesiveness. That doesn't work, though. It's hard to ignore that there was a time in her career where seemingly everything worked and fit together.

So... maybe I should stop caring and if she releases an amazing PV like "Don't look back" once in a while, fine. The real question is, why can't she give every song she makes a PV for the same creative energy?