LOVE again thoughts?

[reixminako]

Originally Posted by Zeke.

Except LOVEppears was pretty much entirely electronic and the most electronic that LOVE again gets is Wake me up and the interludes... LOVE again and Love songs both have a lot of strings, lots of piano, tinted album cover shoots, give off a mellow essence, etc.

I after LOVE again on my iPod when playing by artist, LOVEppears starts in and I was listening to it yesterday and feeling pretty depressed thinking "I miss this Ayu..." Honestly that has to be the most absurd comparison I have ever heard in my life, lol. LOVEppears is was pure modern pop at the time, and extremely catchy. LOVE again on the other hand... it is anything but modern. LOVEppears sounds more modern today than LOVE again does and it's over 10 years old!

Sometimes you have to think a little deeper than the music, which is just one element of the whole. It's no fun to be small-minded . The subject matter lyric-wise is a lot closer to LOVEppears than Love songs. A few of the songs even sound like continuations of songs from LOVEppears. I most definitely prefer LOVEppears to LOVE again, but that doesn't mean they can't be similar in several ways. No absurdity detected.

[Zeke.]

Originally Posted by reixminako

Sometimes you have to think a little deeper than the music, which is just one element of the whole. It's no fun to be small-minded . The subject matter lyric-wise is a lot closer to LOVEppears than Love songs. A few of the songs even sound like continuations of songs from LOVEppears. I most definitely prefer LOVEppears to LOVE again, but that doesn't mean they can't be similar in several ways. No absurdity detected.

Well you can't honestly think that the only think Love songs and LOVE again have in common is the word "Love" in the title (No one would compare this album to Love songs if the word "love" weren't in the title.). Yes lyrics are part of the music, but that is just the fore-front. Whereas the music itself has many layers. Well, Love songs does but LOVE again certainly does not. I was listening to the album-only tracks today and they just sound so FLAT! So amatuer-ly produced, sounds like something from fruity loops. I listened to the whole LOVEppears album after that and was almost crying at how lush and detailed that sound was.

[js_surrealism]

Originally Posted by Zeke.

I was listening to the album-only tracks today and they just sound so FLAT! So amatuer-ly produced, sounds like something from fruity loops.

Wow we must be listening to very different albums. I can't understand how someone can hate on LOVE again because of its production but love Love songs when the latter has some of the cheapest, most dated sounding arrangements.

[Zeke.]

Originally Posted by js_surrealism

Wow we must be listening to very different albums. I can't understand how someone can hate on LOVE again because of its production but love Love songs when the latter has some of the cheapest, most dated sounding arrangements.

Love songs does have a more dated sound, I agree. But it was not as "flat" - there is a lot going on in those songs, despite the library they pulled the instruments from to use for arrangement. There really is not a lot going on in LOVE again.

[reixminako]

Originally Posted by Zeke.

Well you can't honestly think that the only think Love songs and LOVE again have in common is the word "Love" in the title (No one would compare this album to Love songs if the word "love" weren't in the title.). Yes lyrics are part of the music, but that is just the fore-front. Whereas the music itself has many layers. Well, Love songs does but LOVE again certainly does not. I was listening to the album-only tracks today and they just sound so FLAT! So amatuer-ly produced, sounds like something from fruity loops. I listened to the whole LOVEppears album after that and was almost crying at how lush and detailed that sound was.

You're completely focused on the sound, which is why I consider you to be small-minded in this case. My reasoning for finding similarities between LOVEppears and LOVE again is that the lyrics of several songs are quite similar. Love songs was lyrically linear while LOVEppears and LOVE again are not so homogeneous. I must say that in terms of similarities to Love songs this new album has a similar booklet, but I still find more similarities with LOVEppears. The lyrics are not just the forefront. I don't get how you think that lyrics do not have many layers like the music does. Seems to me that you hardly care about the lyrics, which is strange since ayu's biggest draw is the honesty and insight in her lyrics. If all you care about is the music, then listen to Melody and TO BE and tell me they're not similar in several ways.

[Zeke.]

Originally Posted by reixminako

You're completely focused on the sound, which is why I consider you to be small-minded in this case. My reasoning for finding similarities between LOVEppears and LOVE again is that the lyrics of several songs are quite similar. Love songs was lyrically linear while LOVEppears and LOVE again are not so homogeneous. I must say that in terms of similarities to Love songs this new album has a similar booklet, but I still find more similarities with LOVEppears. The lyrics are not just the forefront. I don't get how you think that lyrics do not have many layers like the music does. Seems to me that you hardly care about the lyrics, which is strange since ayu's biggest draw is the honesty and insight in her lyrics. If all you care about is the music, then listen to Melody and TO BE and tell me they're not similar in several ways.

I do not understand Japanese, so the main draw for me to listen to Ayu, as well as any other foreign artist, is the sound. If I'm in the car and want to listen to a song, I'm not going to recall specific lyrical translations and think "well I don't know exactly where she's saying it but in general I know she's speaking of in this song so I'll listen to it." I listen to the music, and treat her voice as an instrument. For example, take Sending mail... there is HEAVY emotion in that song. The way the music is composed and arranged during certain parts of the song, I knew the emotions she was trying to convey prior to reading the lyrics, and after reading the lyrics, it just increased my love for the song.

Ittai itsu made ittai doko made
Tsuyosa o mote tara

Anata no soba de tada anata no soba ni ite
Waratte irareru yurusareru nee
Sonna hi ga kuru no?

This part is full of hope. It's a depressing kind of hope, where you can feel she is in pain, but still holds onto the hope that one day, things will change.

Tsukiakari ga yasashiku tsutsumu
Konna yoru demo samishisa kakuse nai

Then this part, immediately after the chorus, is filled with hopelessness. The way the music is constructed makes you feel as if everything is lost. That no matter how hard she tries, she cannot "hide her loneliness".

So if a song is poorly constructed, and just a bore to listen to, but has amazing lyrics that I can not connect with WHILE listening to the song due to language barriers, why the Hell would I choose to listen to that song just because I know the lyrical translation is very good?

You are saying I am small minded because I am focused on the music, but sounds to me you are just as small minded focusing on the lyrics. Lyrics can enhance a track, but they certainly do not make one. Honestly, you are out of line calling me 'small-minded', as when I go about listening to Ayu's music, specifically her more intricate songs, I literally feel as if my mind is expanding while I try and pick apart the layers and focus on different instrumentations in the music each and every time I listen.

[reixminako]

Originally Posted by Zeke.

I do not understand Japanese, so the main draw for me to listen to Ayu, as well as any other foreign artist, is the sound. If I'm in the car and want to listen to a song, I'm not going to recall specific lyrical translations and think "well I don't know exactly where she's saying it but in general I know she's speaking of in this song so I'll listen to it." I listen to the music, and treat her voice as an instrument. For example, take Sending mail... there is HEAVY emotion in that song. The way the music is composed and arranged during certain parts of the song, I knew the emotions she was trying to convey prior to reading the lyrics, and after reading the lyrics, it just increased my love for the song.

Ittai itsu made ittai doko made
Tsuyosa o mote tara

Anata no soba de tada anata no soba ni ite
Waratte irareru yurusareru nee
Sonna hi ga kuru no?

This part is full of hope. It's a depressing kind of hope, where you can feel she is in pain, but still holds onto the hope that one day, things will change.

Tsukiakari ga yasashiku tsutsumu
Konna yoru demo samishisa kakuse nai

Then this part, immediately after the chorus, is filled with hopelessness. The way the music is constructed makes you feel as if everything is lost. That no matter how hard she tries, she cannot "hide her loneliness".

So if a song is poorly constructed, and just a bore to listen to, but has amazing lyrics that I can not connect with WHILE listening to the song due to language barriers, why the Hell would I choose to listen to that song just because I know the lyrical translation is very good?

You are saying I am small minded because I am focused on the music, but sounds to me you are just as small minded focusing on the lyrics. Lyrics can enhance a track, but they certainly do not make one. Honestly, you are out of line calling me 'small-minded', as when I go about listening to Ayu's music, specifically her more intricate songs, I literally feel as if my mind is expanding while I try and pick apart the layers and focus on different instrumentations in the music each and every time I listen.

I never said that I'm completely focused on the lyrics. That really would be small-minded of me. I just got the sense that you don't care about the lyrics, which I think are just as important as the music, not just the forefront as you yourself put it. I think it's great that you get so much enjoyment out of the music, but it seems to me that you're using your lack of understanding for Japanese to sort of dismiss the lyrics. But whatever. I'm trying not to judge you anymore as we obviously can't see eye-to-eye on this, lol.