Ayu: Anything Goes [XXIV]

[indigochild]

I've been sleeping on vogue for the longest time and I'm only now appreciating the beauty of this song.

[cosmicfirefly]

Originally Posted by indigochild

I've been sleeping on vogue for the longest time and I'm only now appreciating the beauty of this song.

vogue is such an amazing song, I find myself humming it or singing it at random sometimes lol I also like rearranging the Duty tracks on a playlist where I'll put the trilogy in order then SURREAL right after.

Edit: Just have to add that recently I've really gotten into listening to her instrumentals when I was never interested in them before. But with good quality headphones, I can pick up so much in the music I wasn't hearing in the regular versions. Right now I'm really loving the instrumentals of monochrome, SURREAL, WHATEVER version M, alterna, and Mirrorcle World. I wish there was one of Ladies Night, because that's one I'd love to hear just the music of.

[primavera♥]

Originally Posted by cosmicfirefly

vogue is such an amazing song, I find myself humming it or singing it at random sometimes lol I also like rearranging the Duty tracks on a playlist where I'll put the trilogy in order then SURREAL right after.

Edit: Just have to add that recently I've really gotten into listening to her instrumentals when I was never interested in them before. But with good quality headphones, I can pick up so much in the music I wasn't hearing in the regular versions. Right now I'm really loving the instrumentals of monochrome, SURREAL, WHATEVER version M, alterna, and Mirrorcle World. I wish there was one of Ladies Night, because that's one I'd love to hear just the music of.

Yesss!!! I have been doing this too lately, like just over the past couple months. It never interested me before. But I've been enjoying listening to the instrumental tracks and finding new nuances in the music.

WHATEVER is one I particularly like to just listen to.

[LOGMAN]

Originally Posted by cosmicfirefly

vogue is such an amazing song, I find myself humming it or singing it at random sometimes lol I also like rearranging the Duty tracks on a playlist where I'll put the trilogy in order then SURREAL right after.

The trilogy?

[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.

[Calico]

^ vogue -> Far away -> SEASONS

They were released a month apart from each other and had interconnecting covers and PVs.

[tokyoxjapanxfan]

walking proud is such a masterpiece

[voltron]

Originally Posted by tokyoxjapanxfan

walking proud is such a masterpiece

The arena tour performance of it with the tissue dancers, where she starts tearing up...so freaking fantastic!!

[summerain]

Originally Posted by tokyoxjapanxfan

walking proud is such a masterpiece

I really love her rendition at AT05

[tokyoxjapanxfan]

^ agreed!

A museum, arena 2003~2004, My story tour, and miss understood tour

This is my absolute favorite group of concerts she’s released.

They all seem so natural, not forced or anything. They just all work imo.

She looks so happy.

[voltron]

Even back in her first tour and CDL she had such presence, even if she wasn't fully confident. Those were her first real forays into big stage productions and I think they really perfectly balanced her natural presence with high production for the show.

[cosmicfirefly]

I wish they would finally release the My Story and Secret tours on blu-ray. They're so good and I really want to rewatch them in high quality.

[AyuWorld]

Originally Posted by cosmicfirefly

I wish they would finally release the My Story and Secret tours on blu-ray. They're so good and I really want to rewatch them in high quality.

yes yes and yes, Ive been waiting like ages now

I need that Game performance at My Story tour in HD, Ayu was so fragile looking like you a young beauty being chased by a bunch of hot dancers, love it and shes hot

[EndOfTheWorld]

I keeping wishing that old stuff will get rereleased in HD but it never happens. I NEED the Dome Tour on blu-ray. I was hopeful that avex would do some kind of rerelease of Ayu's albums or concerts for the 20th anniversary but nothing so far.

[mi|kshake]

I've never actually see the (miss)understood tour and it's my favourite album. Think I'd need to buy it on Blu-ray though.

[hud]

Originally Posted by mi|kshake

I've never actually see the (miss)understood tour and it's my favourite album. Think I'd need to buy it on Blu-ray though.

omg you definitely need to! it's an AMAZING concert.

Originally Posted by indigochild

I can't get over how A Song for xx and LOVEppears are so drastically different in sound yet they're only 10/11 months apart lol

this drastic change in her sound always amazes me. i wonder what made her change it so fast. i wonder if it's because she wanted something more "modern" since ASFXX sounded kinda dated.

we can listen to some elements from it on alternative mixes of WHATEVER and immature so I wonder if she wasn't satisfied and decided to switch her sound while recording LOVEppears.

[love in music]

Does anyone know where I can find an english translation of æternal?

Btw, listening to TROUBLE in flac, I'm loving the whole album more and more. I almost forgot what a difference listening to her music in high quality makes.
I actually really am liking "The way I am" now, when I originally found it a bit bland.

[Katsuyuki012]

^Translations are linked on the first page of the third TROUBLE thread.

[Aderianu]

Line stickers with ayu's dogs