so avex.

Missing actually works well leading into winter. Actually, the time I felt my surroundings mirrored Missing's the most was during a sunny snowfall. But I think it was either in November or early spring - where spring was on the verge of taking over but one day the snow fell down hard while the sun shown around 4PM. It was a very unique and strange occurrence but the colors and everything totally mimicked the environment that Missing creates.

Missing is a distant song. It gives off the feeling of opposites as well, and a painful irony (which the lyrics seem to portray as well).

oh dear...

No close to you... the most christmassy song in the entire discography (ayu said so herself) and it's not on the playlist??? Wtf?

I would have nixed songs like teddy bear and over, imo they are too sad.
Instead i would have made a playlist with wintery songs, nothing that fuels winter depression, lol XD

ooh avex...

This is nice as a digital release. Her A SUMMER BEST did well on digital sales, so this is actually a good idea :)

i like it how they have this winter ballad compilation. if they have made it into a physical album i would have bought it! :P A WINTER BEST and A SUMMER BEST

I laughed way too hard at this.

where...is...M?????

All of those songs are on my A Winter Best playlist.. except Teddy Bear. That song. I don't know, i love it but I can't associate it to any season but i tend to imagine night time whenever I hear it.

And appears HAL mix is better with this playlist.

I get that "Close to you" is a very winter-y song, but I for one am really happy that the song is not on here because it's the only Ayu song that I downright dislike, it's just so boring and bland, doesn't deserve to be on a compilation IMO. I think "Over" feels quite winter-y with it's desolate piano tune so I don't mind it being there, but I would definitely replace "teddy bear" with "BALLAD"; while the first one is not too out of place, the latter is a much clearer choice for a winter ballad compilation.
But that's just my nitpicky-ty opinions, overall I quite like this idea even though it's not really too exciting for someone who has all of Ayu's albums already.

As much as I ADORE Christmas time, I used to really dislike Close to you as well. However, when you really get into the Christmas environment, Close to you grows on you. For me, I fell in love with it while walking on a still winter's night past a local church which was adorned with Christmas lights.

I love all of the the associations you make with songs. I feel that on a profound level. Like scenes in different seasons, different places, settings etc. I'm ot, but I really do like whenever you mention these things.

Thank you :D I'm glad that you appreciate that. I often think when I step outside "what song does this weather feel like? What song does the environment replicate? What song does the air taste and smell like?" When the environment of the music you are listening to mirrors your surroundings, that's when you can truly appreciate the beauty and hidden aura behind the product. That's when you can truly appreciate the subtleties, all the decisions, and all the work that went into painting that aura through sound. When the environment of the music you are listening to mirrors your surroundings, that's when you truly are able to experience what it's like to break the barrier; that's when the intangible world of music crosses over into the real world. Becoming one - living, and existing within, the music. That's when the imaginary becomes reality.

well...this is what a lot of fans have been begging and begging for ages here, a winter collection with songs that everybody already have.

there you go, buy it!

I'd buy it if its a Physical release with covers and booklet with glamorous pics

really?

its hilarious:yes

I do the same thing; glad I'm not the only one lol.

me too :D

I just listened to the song, and I do see what you're getting at but the whole feeling of Christmas and winter in the song doesn't save it in any way for me. My main problem with the song is the flatness of it all, and how Ayu sings it just sounds so... dispassionate and completely separated from the "Christmas spirit" that it seemingly wants to convey. It has potential to be a good Christmas song for me, but it falls way short and the positives are just too outweighed by the negatives.
But it's only one song, and I have a more or less positive opinion on all other Ayu songs released so far, so I can live with it. People who enjoy the song, can keep enjoying it and I'll just take my pick of all the other great Ayu songs I can listen to this Christmas (many of which appearing on this selection). :)

The A BALLADS version of M should be there.