[Utada Hikaru] Coming Back to the 23rd Thread♥

[Kaiouforever]

If we could get another "Hotel Lobby" I'd be very satisfied. =] And you're right about her having a lot of different styles, I think we'll see a nice variety on the album.

[jknza2664]

I love love love the Utada United performance of Devil Inside - it trumps the album version easily. I actually rather hate the album version - it's too minimalistic in its production. If I recall, Kremlin Dusk was also done well on that tour.

Thinking about it, I would actually love for Exodus to be re-recorded with better production value. The whole thing had gorgeous melodies and great songs overall but the production felt incredibly cheap.

[Andrenekoi]

English is one of the easiest languages in the world to learn and work with (Being mandarim the hardest one, and Brazillian Portuguese the second one)... Even if my english is a little rusty cause I don't write in this language a lot today, I can understand it rather easily...

Here in Brazil a lot of young people thinks that English sounds better than Portuguese and that songs in this language are better... and thinks that Japanese sounds weird and that Portuguese is a very ugly language... So... I don't think that the "English is hardest" or "Asian languages sounds better" are much more than opinions or thinking that languages you can't understand properly are better sounding (because... if you can't undertand the language you are listening, to you it you be only random sounds in a music, not words or anything like that... even if you know the translation, you will not unterstand what exactely are most of the sounds you are hearing)

And pop music is shallow... not only in the USA, but in any place in the world... pop music is made to sell a lot... if you make something very deep or very personal, people will not see themselves in the music, cause it will become too specific... but you still can find some good meaning in pop music (Ayumi and Hikki in Japan have some pretty lyrics... in EUA, some Madonna and Beyonce lyrics have interesting meanings too... etc)

Ayumi has A Song for XX, that is a beautiful song with good lyrics? She still has Audience, that is poppy, comercial and empty...

Come back to me sounds a lot like First Love era Hikki... when she became famous in Japan using something very common and generic in the EUA that nobody was using in Japan yet...

Anyway.. music is not only about the lyrics you know? If you can listen to something in a language you can't really understand entirelly, why can't you listen to something in English and just enjoy the sounds and rythm?

[jbrat2219]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

English is one of the easiest languages in the world to learn and work with (Being mandarim the hardest one, and Brazillian Portuguese the second one)... Even if my english is a little rusty cause I don't write in this language a lot today, I can understand it rather easily...

Here in Brazil a lot of young people thinks that English sounds better than Portuguese and that songs in this language are better... and thinks that Japanese sounds weird and that Portuguese is a very ugly language... So... I don't think that the "English is hardest" or "Asian languages sounds better" are much more than opinions or thinking that languages you can't understand properly are better sounding (because... if you can't undertand the language you are listening, to you it you be only random sounds in a music, not words or anything like that... even if you know the translation, you will not unterstand what exactely are most of the sounds you are hearing)

And pop music is shallow... not only in the USA, but in any place in the world... pop music is made to sell a lot... if you make something very deep or very personal, people will not see themselves in the music, cause it will become too specific... but you still can find some good meaning in pop music (Ayumi and Hikki in Japan have some pretty lyrics... in EUA, some Madonna and Beyonce lyrics have interesting meanings too... etc)

Ayumi has A Song for XX, that is a beautiful song with good lyrics? She still has Audience, that is poppy, comercial and empty...

Come back to me sounds a lot like First Love era Hikki... when she became famous in Japan using something very common and generic in the EUA that nobody was using in Japan yet...

Anyway.. music is not only about the lyrics you know? If you can listen to something in a language you can't really understand entirelly, why can't you listen to something in English and just enjoy the sounds and rythm?

I like the way Brazilian Portuguese sounds..... ;_;

And I guess that's a good way of putting it. The rhythm is nice I guess. But I think at that part where she goes rather high and such is where the song kind of loses it for me... =/

[rikku411]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

Anyway.. music is not only about the lyrics you know? If you can listen to something in a language you can't really understand entirelly, why can't you listen to something in English and just enjoy the sounds and rythm?

That's actually a good point! I listened to a lot of Hikki songs without reading the translation, until recently, but before I didn't know what the song was about. It just felt or sounded beautiful.

Hikki's a good lyricist, but if it were someone else singing an empty song, I wouldn't know, and I'd like it nonetheless (till maybe reading the lyrics and convincing myself I know better.)

But I guess maybe because I understand English I sometimes like to feel that I should listen to something with substance.

Empty nice-sounding songs have their place, too! Like you said, you can just enjoy the music.

(And what you said was well-written, are you sureee English isn't your first language? Haha, I kid.)

[jbrat2219]

Now when a song is mastered, what does that mean? Touched up?

[dreamcrushed]

Originally Posted by jbrat2219

Now when a song is mastered, what does that mean? Touched up?

I think I'm getting it mixed up with "mixing". Mixing is when all of the sounds are leveled (some more in the fore, some more in the back, some in between) to get the final song.

A definition, courtesy of thefreedictionary.com:

mix:
5a. To combine (two or more audio tracks or channels) to produce a composite audio recording.
b. To produce (a soundtrack or recording) in this manner.

I'm starting to think mixing and mastering fall pretty much under the same general set of duties. And example: HS (Mastered by Tom Coyne). Argh. I hope that helped.

[ayumisrael]

First! Happy birthday to hikki! one of my favorites
I hope she had a great birthday!!

Originally Posted by jknza2664

BACK TO HIKKI, SHALL WE? I think I like the verses of Come Back to Me but the chorus really isn't doing it. I think she'll need to take some risks to make a splash stateside. I have a feeling the rest of the album will be a little more interesting because surely Hikki wouldn't permit a whole album of Come Back to Me's under her name?

I feel the same towards the song, the verses are good, hikki's voice in the chorus bugs me a bit I think, not the composition.

Originally Posted by Lieke

You shouldn't waste too much energy on these discussions.. We're supposed to use this topic to share our love for Utada, right?

Here's a light subject: what is your favourite Utada performance ever?

I personally love acoustic music, but I also love intimate performances. So some of my favourites are the internet live, the unplugged concert, or the 20th birthday live. Unlike artists like Ayu who are so glamorous, she just performs in a way that makes her feel comfortable. I really like that (although I like Ayu too). But performances like on Bokura no ongaku are cool too.

I liked the unplugged perfromances I think my favorite from there is (also generally) FINAL DISTANCE. UU2006 wasn't entertaining so much, it was something between simple and glamarous, I liked most of the vocals performances of the songs but I listened to the MP3s more than watching it because it was a bit boring watching hikki going left to right in most of the tour. It wasn't an eye drawer, just ear (in most songs) I prefer if she would do more story-lined stuff and a bit more glam (since she doesn't dance and I don't want her to) but I guess it's not her thing.

Originally Posted by rikku411

I think we can trust Hikki to surprise us. I mean, none of her albums so far have the same sound throughout, so "Come Back To Me" might be a black sheep of sorts

Unfortunately, she permitted (and made) HEART STATION =\
There were 4 songs I could really like (and still listen to).

[jknza2664]

On the subject of Hikki lyrics, I actually really like those in the bridge sections of Passion and Making Love which seem intensely personal, sandwiched in songs that speak more generally or create an atmosphere. Or lyrics like in WINGS which are just about everyday sort of things I think she does very well. On the other hand, I think Ayu does the opposite - singing about larger themes of fate, fear, materialism, "the times", etc. - very well. They're kind of like lyrical counterbalances to me.

[rikku411]

Originally Posted by jknza2664

On the subject of Hikki lyrics, I actually really like those in the bridge sections of Passion and Making Love which seem intensely personal, sandwiched in songs that speak more generally or create an atmosphere. Or lyrics like in WINGS which are just about everyday sort of things I think she does very well. On the other hand, I think Ayu does the opposite - singing about larger themes of fate, fear, materialism, "the times", etc. - very well. They're kind of like lyrical counterbalances to me.

I think Hikki sings about fear and fate a lot actually, but it's more hidden.. like you said, more like an atmosphere. Hikki once called it a "theme."

I love them both, and they do seem like they balance each other.

[jknza2664]

I didn't mean to imply Hikki doesn't use these themes in her songs, but rather that she expresses them to better effect through anecdotal types of lyrics whereas Ayu can explicitly and generally talk about the broader themes, like a philosopher. Haha, I actually do regard Ayu's lyrics as philosophy sometimes. Even songs that exude poppy shallowness on the surface like everywhere nowhere have an interesting lyrical message, but that's neither here nor Hikki

[ayumisrael]

Originally Posted by jknza2664

I didn't mean to imply Hikki doesn't use these themes in her songs, but rather that she expresses them to better effect through anecdotal types of lyrics whereas Ayu can explicitly and generally talk about the broader themes, like a philosopher. Haha, I actually do regard Ayu's lyrics as philosophy sometimes. Even songs that exude poppy shallowness on the surface like everywhere nowhere have an interesting lyrical message, but that's neither here nor Hikki

Spread the ayu & hikki great lyrics love
They are awesome lyrcists.

[Yum!Fruit_Salad!]

Being lyrically repetitive doesn't make a song bad from the get go but it can annoy somebody and make them like it a little less. Just saying so you know, I was borrowing the lyrically repetitve thing from someone else, from TakaSama's descripition of CBTM.

I don't hate Stargate nor Timberland (I know that wasn't directed at anyone) but hearing somthing over and over again is tiring and makes one question their talent. I'll admit to some of their material being catchy but it gets old after so long to hear something copied and pasted, IMO.

[Yum!Fruit_Salad!]

Yes, keep on progressing Hikki. Get away from the blandness.
What's with the tags again?

[jbrat2219]

Originally Posted by Yum!Fruit_Salad!

Yes, keep on progressing Hikki. Get away from the blandness.
What's with the tags again?

Omg did the amount of tags grow in the last few minutes?

[[kokoro♥]]

Originally Posted by Yum!Fruit_Salad!

Yes, keep on progressing Hikki. Get away from the blandness.
What's with the tags again?

People in this thread being over-dramatic ._.;;

[Luv ~Venus~]

Obsessed people's thread? Oh the irony in that tag.

[greggerz189]

so who produced Come Back To Me?

[Luv ~Venus~]

Originally Posted by greggerz189

so who produced Come Back To Me?

Stargate

@Andrenekoi: I read from another forum that it wasn't about Hikki cheating on him but rather about someone else.

[Andrenekoi]

I finally read the Come Back to Me lyrics (can't get it all only listening xD Even with brazillian music)

I liked it... so... she cheated on he... what a ***** xD