thoughts on miss understood album

[ImpactBreaker]

Originally Posted by hiro

Well what i really resent is the way some of you people talk to us fans who don't like the album so far. As if there's something wrong with us. I could say the same for you people. I could say that you guys have bad taste in music BUT i won't. I could say stuff like "this album has diversity, to bad its a variety of bad songs" BUT i won't.

Well, on the opposite side, no one said the people who dislike the songs have bad taste in music, so....
I don't mind people stating that they didn't like it (it's an opinion) but sometimes it gives me a impression that certain people have already judged this album back in 2004. Saying the album is crap even before listening to all the full tracks, what kind of judgement is that? Can you write a criticism on a book if you just opened and read the "page 40" of it? There are albums that 1 song makes the whole thing worth it, there are songs that sometimes need a little time to grow on you, and well, in my case, there have been several songs that I found were rather mediocre and turned out to be my most favorite after listening to them with more attention.

[Damaximus]

The full version of the songs are a pleasant surprise. in the corner, which to me had little substance from the preview, turned out a bit better. Ladies Night is like a better sounding, warped, and improved, version of STEP you. The rest were just as well as I expected except for Beautiful Day.

Overall, I have to say this beats MY STORY, which is to say, thumbs up to it. How does it rank on my list?

1. Memorial Address
2. (miss)understood
3. DUTY
4. MY STORY
5. I am...
6. RAINBOW
7. LOVEappears
8. ASFXX

[js_surrealism]

Oh I might as well.

Firstly, sorry for coming across as being overbearing, you are all completely entitled to dislike the album, of course. What just annoys me, and that, of course, is my own annoyance and shouldn't warrant any kind of significant response from any of you unless you happen to be someone who knows me very well, IS the way labels like 'this is generic' and 'this is western sounding' are simply slapped on the songs without justifying what that 'generic-ness' is. This is something that has bugged me in all forms of internet music journalism, and today I see the best adjective used to describe music yet - 'sterile'. What?

To put it simply, I don't think music can be called anything, you are free to like or dislike it, but I think any attempt to justify it by giving it a label that one would use to describe say, a physical, tangible setting, can be a credible one, simply because the same piece of music can evoke different emotions in people, all of which are subjective. So while I think it is ok to assert that you like or dislike something, to make your discrediting of a song anything more than a matter your own like and dislike would be an unfair assertion when the very justification you use is unfounded..

Secondly, I don't think it's fair to say that just because something is 'western sounding', whatever that vague, unexplained concept might be, that the song is necessarily -bad-, I Really don't get this ethno-centricism some people are exhibiting in their taste in music. And my conjecture is, more often than not, and I may be generalising here so I apologise in advance if that's not the case, that these people are the very people who get upset when people dismiss or censure their like for Jpop.

Thirdly, I do think enjoying music has a whole lot to do with having fun. If you're having fun with a song, who cares whether if it's 'good' or 'bad', if those concepts can be so linearly be made distinct at all. No song is bad if you're having fun listening to it, which is why Hollaback Girl was such a hit even though the lyrics probably mean bananas (no pun intended), cos it is so unabashedly cheeky.

Finally, on a very nitpicky note which will probably get me flamed to hell (it's a dirty job but somebody's gotta do it) - just how little English do people want Ayu to use in her songs, particularly in STEP you? Give it a break, the only English words are 'step you', 'you and me', 'no' and '1,2,3,4' and I really don't think 'ichi ni san shi' would've worked here.

By the way, I happen to think Madonna, Gwen and Tommy all make excellent pop music, so shoot me.

That is all. Let us not stray from the topic, please direct all intellectual comments to my PM inbox.

To stay on topic, I shall say that I much preferred Ayu's lyrical style from her debut up to her Duty days; of all the singles on this new album, STEP you is probably my favourite, lyrically.

[Coelacanth]

Anybody notice that the album version of alterna has different "hey's" or is it just me?

[truehappiness]

I wonder if Ayu rerecorded the single songs for this album ~ :F

Are they all any different? Especially since B&D has an 'album version' PV.. xD

[Delirium-Zer0]

"alterna" is mixed a bit different (more effects on the "hey hey"s and it's not so... choppy & abrupt sounding. It's a bit smoother, i guess. Not so abrasive.)... that's the only track that's different to my ears though.

[JimmyKoria]

"THIS ALBUM IS GOING TO SUCK" but it doesnt. I just wish the singles had fit in better with the album songs. They seem to hodge podge. Miss Understood is really good and I assumed it'd be awful [probably, for the most part, because of the title]. I love this album *hugs it*

[Indie]

Originally Posted by Delirium-Zer0

"alterna" is mixed a bit different (more effects on the "hey hey"s and it's not so... choppy & abrupt sounding. It's a bit smoother, i guess. Not so abrasive.)... that's the only track that's different to my ears though.

yeah, it is different, somehow I enjoyed this "version" (which it really isn't, it's just little different arrangements) more than the one released on the fairyland single. I didn't know what it was but I guess it is smoother now that you mention it, I feel like I can actually replay this song now, before I could listen to it only once every day or so.

[Vinylfantasy]

I had very low hopes for this album but thankfully she redeemed herself with some good songs. I really like (miss)understood, rainy day, and criminal.

I'm not really sure if I like Ladies Night yet, same with In The Corner.

However, I still think Bold & Delicious and Beautiful Day are annoying...

[lotusoka]

Definitely better than My Story. I love Ladies Night, (miss)understood), and criminal.

[Indie]

Originally Posted by js_surrealism

What just annoys me, and that, of course, is my own annoyance and shouldn't warrant any kind of significant response from any of you unless you happen to be someone who knows me very well, IS the way labels like 'this is generic' and 'this is western sounding' are simply slapped on the songs without justifying what that 'generic-ness' is. This is something that has bugged me in all forms of internet music journalism, and today I see the best adjective used to describe music yet - 'sterile'. What?

To put it simply, I don't think music can be called anything, you are free to like or dislike it, but I think any attempt to justify it by giving it a label that one would use to describe say, a physical, tangible setting, can be a credible one, simply because the same piece of music can evoke different emotions in people, all of which are subjective. So while I think it is ok to assert that you like or dislike something, to make your discrediting of a song anything more than a matter your own like and dislike would be an unfair assertion when the very justification you use is unfounded..

Secondly, I don't think it's fair to say that just because something is 'western sounding', whatever that vague, unexplained concept might be, that the song is necessarily -bad-, I Really don't get this ethno-centricism some people are exhibiting in their taste in music. And my conjecture is, more often than not, and I may be generalising here so I apologise in advance if that's not the case, that these people are the very people who get upset when people dismiss or censure their like for Jpop.

I completely agree, I don't see why people are always complaining about jPop sounding westernized, I bet must of us here wouldn't even think about listening to a Japanese pop album unless the entire genre wasn't as "westernized" as it is.

[truehappiness]

May I repeat.. Beautiful Day is REALLY OMGG

<3

[PSYCHEDELICOdust]

Better than MY STORY.

<3 Glad I got it.

[Aisha_Angel]

This is a very DIFFERENT album from the past. Umm, if you like to hear Ayu experiment with new sounds and you hated the interuption of interludes (since there's only 2 of them this time around) you should go for it.
All of the single songs were/are still good to me. The other songs are as follows:

Ladies Night> an '80s pop song. It reminds me of something TommyFeb/Hev (which ever one does that pop stuff is) would do. The only bad thing about the song is that the music is so LOUD that you can't understand what Ayu is saying/singing. But still an 8/10.

(miss) understood> I LOVE THIS SONG! It's so AyuAngsty. It's a rock song that sounds a little bit like "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by Green Day but it's so COOL! >this song should have a PV< 100/10 (yes, 100/10)

In the Corner> I didn't know what to expect from this but I liked what I heard. It's very unique. The only thing that I can say to describe it is, Indian Music. 7/10

Criminal> The ultimate Ayu rock ballad. This song starts off as a ballad and then fools you with a burst of rock. This one, I think could have a PV too.
10/10

tasking/Are You Wake Up -interludes-> VERY GOOD! I love them both. Reminds me of the ~encore~ music from ArenaTour 2004-2005. 10/10

rainy day> very gorgeous. Just a beautiful ballad. You can hear confidence in her voice. But the PV...I need to decipher it's meaning a little more when I get the DVD. 9/10

Beautiful Day> I haven't listened to it yet but everyone seems not to like it. This means I probably will like it. lol

Overall, (miss)understood gets a 9/10 from me. The only thing I didn't like was the lack of newer songs. (and my feeling that Are You Wake Up? should've been a song). Though it's not a great as MY STORY was too me; (miss)understood stands out because it's SO DIFFERENT from the typical Ayu album. The next album, I betchu will be even better. With these songs, she experimented and they came out pretty well to me.

If you're looking for a NEW Ayu> go for (miss)understood. If not, stick with MY STORY.

[Rain_RuLez]

Blah.

Not worth it... It barely has any new songs... I was kind of disappointed with it =\

I loved the interludes, but the new songs were just... blah. The only one I liked was "rainy day."

It seems she's losing her originality...
MY STORY was awesome. I loved her new sound, and it looked like it was going to continue when she released STEP you and is this LOVE? but I guess not. =\





Oh, also I guess now is a good time to bring this up....

The song "is this LOVE?" the guitar in the beginning and at the chorus is extremely similar to this old Korean song by a group called "Roo'Ra" (some of you may know them b/c they were pretty famous in Japan and China/Taiwan, too). The song is called "Annyeong" (Hey), and the chorus of this song is very reminiscent in "is this LOVE?". I'll upload it if someone wants to hear.

[ph33r]

Ahh too many single songs >.<
But I'm not too fond on the faster songs, well...I'm not too fond on that genre of music rather - .-;;
I like the ballads though.
But I do prefer My Story over this album..

[ImpactBreaker]

sorry but Ladies Night is just AMAZING!!!

had to say it LOL

And I didn't even like the preview at all

[bpulse]

Originally Posted by ImpactBreaker

sorry but Ladies Night is just AMAZING!!!

had to say it LOL

And I didn't even like the preview at all

I KNOWWW!
I LOVE this song! In the beginning i was like: Fly High?O.o

[alternarist]

Ladies Night was AWESOME!!! i just love it!!!

i guess the album will not be as good as MY STORY... it sounds like a "salad" to me.. but Beautiful Day, In The Corner, rainy day are good!!

[Coelacanth]

Alright I must say, the album is already growing on me LOL..

'In The Corner' I really like for some reason, and before I thought it was pretty weird how it came after 'alterna', but now I think it's really cool. Both songs have this 'circus-like' feel to them. I think they compliment each other really well for some reason. o_O. haha i think we were all expecting it to be a rock song.

Ladies Night is pretty damn cool now. I'd really like to know what she's saying in the English part. It sounds like Ayu in that part, or is it not? It's cool how she's adding "C'mon" and "One more" in this song too. Can't wait to see this performed live.

'tasking' and 'Are You Wake Up?' have to be the most impressive interludes (without singing) she's ever had. and I think if she added vocals to 'tasking', it would be BRILLIANT!! tasuku rocks yo..

'Beautiful Day' is one of the more catchy songs I think. The chorus is so addictive. Really wish there was a guitar solo though for this song. I'm disappointed with the lack of [good] guitar solos on this album. And in the bridge of 'criminal'.. WTF is that distorted sounding instrument? Also, the piano melody in that song sounds awfully familiar..

I love 'Bold & Delicious' even more after everytime I see it live. It's just a great song, and I'm actually glad it opens the album.

'rainy day' is the most `bleh` album track for me.. Well, technically it's a single.. but whatever. not a good ending to the album either IMO.