I need Ayu to inspire me again

[taskinillusion]

I just want to say I love this in-depth discussion you guys have been having and there have been so many points made that I absolutely agree with; points I had trouble finding and putting into words on my own. I do think nostalgia plays a big part in it, for me at least, but the reason I keep hoping Ayu's future releases will really do it for me, is because, I want to feel nostalgia for her new stuff later on down the line, you know?

[Mai82Go]

Originally Posted by ayu_ready?

it's not the feeling of nostalgia but rather the feeling of quality if you ask me. but everyone has a different standard for that. for me past Ayu = quality, and recent Ayu = lack of focus, messy feeling, cheap music, bad taste, no inspiration

For me it's not nostalgia either. I thought about it objectively and because I have been an Ayu fan for so long, I can surely say it's definitely not nostalgia. There are songs from early Ayu I do not like that much, but I can still see something special in them, even though I seldom listen to them. This special feeling - the spark, even if I don't love a song, is kind of gone....I hope it'll be back, I pray it'll be back, but right now it's gone. Everything seems so average atm.

[ccsharumun]

^I think the question of nostalgia bias is very legitimate in these discussions about the quality of Ayu's present work compared with that of the past. We are naturally drawn to the Ayu era that first captured us.

But I think it's also quite clear that many fans have noticed a "negative" change that has nothing to do with nostalgia. After all, some of us did not come in 10 years years ago when Ayu was at her prime. The (miss)understood/Secret era is my Ayu nostalgia, and it wasn't until Next Level that I bothered to even look at anything prior to that (save the classic M). I remember being shocked and amazed the first time I listened to Duty (album) and other tracks she produced over years before I first listened. And I noticed even then that there was Power, and Cohesiveness (between lyrics and music and image) in her earlier works that wasn't as present in (miss)understood or Secret, as much as I love those albums.

In my opinion, she rarely has the intensity/power of self that she once exhibited all over the place. But even that aside, I feel a larger problem, or at least what happened with PQ, was that lyrcis, music and image just didn't cooperate well. This.. in-cooperativeness is probably the largest problem I have had over the last several years.

For example, lyrics and music worked well for me with crossroad, but the video was painful. Or, I loved the words of Lady Dynamite, and the video was okay for me, but the music just didn't hit home at all. Party Queen has been the epitome of this clash and messiness for me.

To be clear, I am not arguing that all the work she does today is unappealing or altogether crap, or that she never does anything that shows the aforementioned qualities. But those instances are rarer, and while her music is great, is not as... generally effective, shall we say, as the stuff she once did.

[Andrenekoi]

Originally Posted by ccsharumun

^I think the question of nostalgia bias is very legitimate in these discussions about the quality of Ayu's present work compared with that of the past. We are naturally drawn to the Ayu era that first captured us.

But I think it's also quite clear that many fans have noticed a "negative" change that has nothing to do with nostalgia. After all, some of us did not come in 10 years years ago when Ayu was at her prime. The (miss)understood/Secret era is my Ayu nostalgia, and it wasn't until Next Level that I bothered to even look at anything prior to that (save the classic M). I remember being shocked and amazed the first time I listened to Duty (album) and other tracks she produced over years before I first listened. And I noticed even then that there was Power, and Cohesiveness (between lyrics and music and image) in her earlier works that wasn't as present in (miss)understood or Secret, as much as I love those albums.

In my opinion, she rarely has the intensity/power of self that she once exhibited all over the place. But even that aside, I feel a larger problem, or at least what happened with PQ, was that lyrcis, music and image just didn't cooperate well. This.. in-cooperativeness is probably the largest problem I have had over the last several years.

For example, lyrics and music worked well for me with crossroad, but the video was painful. Or, I loved the words of Lady Dynamite, and the video was okay for me, but the music just didn't hit home at all. Party Queen has been the epitome of this clash and messiness for me.

To be clear, I am not arguing that all the work she does today is unappealing or altogether crap, or that she never does anything that shows the aforementioned qualities. But those instances are rarer, and while her music is great, is not as... generally effective, shall we say, as the stuff she once did.

I find it funny, cuz to me this video has one of the stronger dialogue between pv, music and lyrics of her whole career o,o (not saying u r wrong or something, but it always amazes me how different the opinions on Ayu works can be)

[ccsharumun]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

I find it funny, cuz to me this video has one of the stronger dialogue between pv, music and lyrics of her whole career o,o (not saying u r wrong or something, but it always amazes me how different the opinions on Ayu works can be)

No, that's fair. There seems to be some diversity of opinion about which videos/songs/lyrics "work" these days, and which do not (for example, some people really loved NaNaNa and Shake It, while many others did not--in fact the whole reception of Party Queen exemplifies this). But that in and of itself is evidence, I think, because (insofar as I have noticed) most people seem to reflect on her older works and generally agree about what works and what does not (even if personal favorites differ). Regardless, even if we cannot agree about which works specifically are effective and which are not, people nonetheless seem to be essentially saying "this isn't working for me" whenever they criticize. Criticism of her older work, instead of saying "this isn't working for me" is more like a list of favorites ("I love this, but I love this other one MORE" kind of thing).

I'm not sure if I articulated that well enough but there it is. 8/

[koumori]

Originally Posted by relmy

I don't think it's nostalgia. I think the part about her youth is the whole issue.

I see it a bit like this, up until RAINBOW the songs are all about youth and Ayu discovering herself, when you read RAINBOW's lyrics alongside Loveppears, you really get the impression that everything has been "worked out", if that makes sense. It's a very conclusive album, a lot of the themes in the lyrics related back to imagery that appears on Loveppears or Duty, but with a more positive theme.

Memorial Address is kind of like a transition, the album deals with some of the same themes, but you also have new styles like Because of You, and stuff like Greatful Days. MY STORY was a totally new direction, with totally new themes, as was (miss)understood. I think nobody really had a problem with them because it was... well, new. This is my personal opinion anyway. I loved Secret, but after that it became a bit formulaic and I see that as the point when her lyrics started to become formulaic too.

I think this feeds into the whole "music to save herself" theme, rather than music for musics sake, because it's what she does and what she loves doing. I don't think she loved it in the Loveppears/Duty era, even if songs like Duty show a fear of losing it all, I think that now it just seems so... just normal, everyday, and nothing special. She releases so much, it's like she's just a machine churning out music. Rather than speaking out about it though, and being a victim of that, she's the one doing it... because that's how she does it.

Not too sure what point I'm trying to make :S

All of this. This is what I think.

[taskinillusion]

Originally Posted by ccsharumun

^I think the question of nostalgia bias is very legitimate in these discussions about the quality of Ayu's present work compared with that of the past. We are naturally drawn to the Ayu era that first captured us.

But I think it's also quite clear that many fans have noticed a "negative" change that has nothing to do with nostalgia. After all, some of us did not come in 10 years years ago when Ayu was at her prime. The (miss)understood/Secret era is my Ayu nostalgia, and it wasn't until Next Level that I bothered to even look at anything prior to that (save the classic M). I remember being shocked and amazed the first time I listened to Duty (album) and other tracks she produced over years before I first listened. And I noticed even then that there was Power, and Cohesiveness (between lyrics and music and image) in her earlier works that wasn't as present in (miss)understood or Secret, as much as I love those albums.

In my opinion, she rarely has the intensity/power of self that she once exhibited all over the place. But even that aside, I feel a larger problem, or at least what happened with PQ, was that lyrcis, music and image just didn't cooperate well. This.. in-cooperativeness is probably the largest problem I have had over the last several years.

For example, lyrics and music worked well for me with crossroad, but the video was painful. Or, I loved the words of Lady Dynamite, and the video was okay for me, but the music just didn't hit home at all. Party Queen has been the epitome of this clash and messiness for me.

To be clear, I am not arguing that all the work she does today is unappealing or altogether crap, or that she never does anything that shows the aforementioned qualities. But those instances are rarer, and while her music is great, is not as... generally effective, shall we say, as the stuff she once did.

Yes, yes! I definitely agree!

[Andrenekoi]

Originally Posted by ccsharumun

No, that's fair. There seems to be some diversity of opinion about which videos/songs/lyrics "work" these days, and which do not (for example, some people really loved NaNaNa and Shake It, while many others did not--in fact the whole reception of Party Queen exemplifies this). But that in and of itself is evidence, I think, because (insofar as I have noticed) most people seem to reflect on her older works and generally agree about what works and what does not (even if personal favorites differ). Regardless, even if we cannot agree about which works specifically are effective and which are not, people nonetheless seem to be essentially saying "this isn't working for me" whenever they criticize. Criticism of her older work, instead of saying "this isn't working for me" is more like a list of favorites ("I love this, but I love this other one MORE" kind of thing).

I'm not sure if I articulated that well enough but there it is. 8/

I believe it was well articulated^^

[Mintkisses]

Originally Posted by taskinillusion

I just want to say I love this in-depth discussion you guys have been having and there have been so many points made that I absolutely agree with; points I had trouble finding and putting into words on my own. I do think nostalgia plays a big part in it, for me at least, but the reason I keep hoping Ayu's future releases will really do it for me, is because, I want to feel nostalgia for her new stuff later on down the line, you know?

I'm the OP of the thread and I believe some people know what they're talking about more than me! haha but agree with this post. Thank you everyone for your advice and inputs. Also, I'm glad I made this thread and everyone is getting along. This subject could of gone sour but everyone is being very reasonable and understanding over other people's opinions.

[lovelycheetahblondie]

Originally Posted by PoetGirl

Reading such comments makes me think what the hell am I listening to lol, cause Love songs and Party Queen are one of her best. I realized fav part of Party Queen for me is her vocal. Its finally her real voice and sounds so good.

My fav album still remains Duty tho, but only cause of nostalgia. My fav album will always be the one I discovered her for lol. Love songs is just perfect from start to finish, cause of emotions, melodies and production.

If you don't like her recent albums then it might not be your taste and you should give up or try to give it a listen few years from now. I didnt experience that in Ayu fandom, but with other artists I follow I may not like their recent albums so I don't listen to them, but with next release they can make me interested again.

COMPLETELY AGREE!!

I'm just as inspired from Ayu as I used to be, I honestly see no difference in her other than her music change but her music changes quite often, I actually didn't like her 'Love Song's album at all, but yet I do like 'Party Queen'

I don't really think its a matter of getting over Ayu, I think its about just not liking the music she releases anymore. And that's happened to me, but I just sort of wait until she does come out with something else I can get into again.

She's still strong, she still makes very powerful lyrics, and she is still a great performer who gives it her all. If anything I think she looks much happier than she used too.

Personally I love the song 'Tell me Why' and 'You are so beautiful' on the album, very nice lyrics and the album is truly from her heart, something that Ayumi has always done, told a story on her albums through her heart, and that hasn't changed.