Ayu ~Anything Goes~ XV (AHS' Ayumi Hamasaki General Discussion Thread)

[mi|kshake]

Yeah for me HBYA is just kinda bleurgh for lack of a better word! It's a cringe worthy ballad in the vein of Christina's Beautiful which is the kind of song I dislike.

In other news I notice Miccie is releasing a mini-album and a song called End Roll is featured. Is it a cover? I hope so as I loved his live version of it!

[truehappiness]

How funny that a song about not knowing how beautiful you are generates so much ugliness.

[koumori]

I think it's just the song they're talking about disliking, not the message of it. Unless I missed something in the last page of posts.
Personally HBYA isn't a song I would seek out to listen to from Ayu, but I am proud she made it. It represents a lot about who she is a person and what she finds important to say in present day.

[truehappiness]

Oh, I get that, it's just a little funny to me that it generates what it does when people hear it.

Like "kyou mo ichinichi..." starts and then blood just boils. Then then "YOU DON'T KNOW YOU DON'T KNOW" kicks in and the song is just deleted at that point.

[rainbow_smile]

I was looking at the Heartplace lyrics and the translation from Divine Ayu says "Maybe I keep on fighting against freedom". But doesn't "kitto" mean "surely"?

Also, I found some other translation that says "Surely the fight for freedom will continue"

But then misa-chan's translation also says "Surely, this fight with freedom will continue on".

So now I'm curious. Which one is Ayu actually talking about: fight for freedom or against it?

[truehappiness]

They should probably add that masa takes some liberties with his translation, so it's not going to be 100%, but he is also a native Japanese speaker who has an interesting way of dealing with her lyrics.

Looking at the kana:

きっと自由との戦いは続いてくんだろう
Kitto jiyū to no tatakai wa tsudzuitekundarou

Literally, I think it means..

Surely (kitto)
alongside/with freedom (jiyu to no)
fight will (tatakai wa)
continue on (tsudzuitekundarou)

Judging from the context, to me, it seems like "freedom" is something that you look for but once you have it, it's a bit of a struggle despite having "complete freedom", so the fight continues on. I don't think it was intended to read as her fighting against freedom as in "not wanting independence" but the difficulties of dealing with it after you get it. I kinda hoped the beatfreak liner notes would elaborate more about this song but instead we just got some stories about her recording it.

Perhaps a magazine from that era talks more about Heartplace.

[ExodusUK]

Ayu would never fight against freedom. One of the main motifs of her lyrics is freedom/independence.

[Andrenekoi]

She herself once said freedom requires responsability... I think she means being on control and being free means you must make your life work totally by yourself, and this by itself is a struggle.

[truehappiness]

The song seems to progress like...

During the search for freedom we have hurt others
- - >
I've obtained the freedom I was looking for
- - >
I can do anything I want
- - >
But that freedom isn't what I hoped it was at all
- - >
So the fight/internal struggle continues on

Seems like thoughts to me that you would only ever think about in your "heartplace".

[MessiahofSilence]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

How funny that a song about not knowing how beautiful you are generates so much ugliness.

Way to be passive aggressive

[truehappiness]

Well, it's pretty direct. I don't think I'm being passive aggressive at all since it's pretty accurate, is it not? A song that (I know it's not the reason why) for the most part tells you that you are more beautiful than you give yourself credit for creating such negative emotions in people. I'm not trying to single anyone out or be unnecessarily aggressive, but it's just an observation after seeing so many people jump on that train.

[ExodusUK]

Ayu thinks we are all beautiful even when we bash her.

[truehappiness]

One of her best traits and worst traits simultaneously IMO.

Are they pointing fingers at me again?
Have they not forgiven me yet?
Are you crying as you see me like this?
Even if I look ridiculous
Even if they laugh at me
I won’t give up again, just for you

I adore your beauty so much it brings me sorrow

[jiarongisme]

Originally Posted by ExodusUK

Ayu thinks we are all beautiful even when we bash her.

I understand the dislike for the song, but I love it when it's live. The arrangement in the HOTEL Love songs AT was great. And it was really touching when I saw it live in a-nation Singapore too.

'I want you all, to proud of yourself.'

[mi|kshake]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

How funny that a song about not knowing how beautiful you are generates so much ugliness.

Haha - you have a point there!

[relmy]

I think HBYA would get less hate if the 'you don't know....' part weren't in English? There's definitely an overabundance of slightly cheesy one-too-many to be taken seriously 'you don't know how amazing you are! Here I am telling you!' songs in English. And the English part of HYBA is just a bit too cookie cutter in that sense. Combined with the cheesiness of the arrangement, it just becomes a little bit awkward. The sentiment is nice, but the packaging is frustrating. Without the English, I think the attitude would be more 'aaaaw, that's sweet', instead of 'oh god HBYA is really bad', or maybe even if the English part was something more unique people would be more accepting of the song? I think that's a shame too, because the lyrics to me are far more than just the 'you don't know how beautiful you are' fare, it's about being that way and still finding a way to encourage others too. Ayu can see this person, and is encouraged in turn too, and finding worth too.

It doesn't help that Ayu is being so sincere in the song too, you know she really really feels that way! It's nice, but adding a huge does of sentimentality to the above mix and it can just topple over into far far too sweet to handle. It is quite nice when you think about it, but that doesn't mean I can handle listening to the song without cringing a little.

[oaristos]

Originally Posted by ExodusUK

Ayu thinks we are all beautiful even when we bash her.

That's be best interpretation of the song that I've ever read

[MessiahofSilence]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

Well, it's pretty direct. I don't think I'm being passive aggressive at all since it's pretty accurate, is it not? A song that (I know it's not the reason why) for the most part tells you that you are more beautiful than you give yourself credit for creating such negative emotions in people. I'm not trying to single anyone out or be unnecessarily aggressive, but it's just an observation after seeing so many people jump on that train.

It's because it's a bad song, plain and simple. But what you're doing is generalizing that others hate it for X reason in order to make a snappy one liner. People just don't like the song, be it the melody or cheesy English, or the way her voice sounds, or for whatever other reason. THAT is not bandwagoning, it's just a shared sentiment.

[truehappiness]

My point is that people are NEGATIVE about a song that preaches POSITIVITY. It isn't that hard to understand. That is why the line came out.

You may not like that song but there is no reason to take offense at a jab at the truth, or rather the reality of a situation. It is what it is. Let it be. And IMO it isn't so cut and dry that hbya is so 'bad' even though it does amp the cheese levels to 99. Personally, I think the song is super charming but she definitely doesn't need another one. But songs like call or Letter? MORE PLEAAAASE. Her discog only really has room for one how beautiful you are with the English and the video and the refrain... since then we have had some SLIGHTLY similar all Japanese tracks though.

Thank you again for today
Your smile saved me

Thank you again for today
Just stay there as you are

[ExodusUK]

The Show Must Go on is amazing and doesn't deserve to be torn down by comparisons to Snowy Kiss.