Songs that felt like "a breath of fresh air" to you...?
 

I love all of Ayu songs, and most of them really grow on you at one point or another. But after the "newness" wears out of a song, which ones do you still feel like are truly great. What I'm trying to say is, when a new song is released, you've got the excitement going but once that "excitement" wears down a bit... which songs do you feel you can really look back on and say "wow, that is a great song?" I hope this isn't a confusing question because it really isn't supposed to be.

JEWEL : I really feel like JEWEL was such a great release. So simple but so perfect. Every time I listen to it I feel like it's my first time again.

Days : Relatively new, however this is definitely going to always be a favorite/classic of mine because it was exactly the type of winter song I was just waiting for Ayu to release. It's pure sugar snow. I couldn't have had hoped for a better winter song.

Those are just two that stick out to me. STEP you and is this LOVE? as well. I love most all of Ayu's releases at one point or another but try to narrow it down to the ones that still seem "fresh" mixed in with all the stuff she's been releasing. Kind of like "a nice change". I'm thinking Sparkle will be the next amazing "fresh" classic for me. Of course Rule is good too but I'm thinking once the "new" factor wears down then it will seem less "fresh" to me.

STEP you/is this LOVE? > JEWEL > Mirrorcle World > Days > Sparkle

It seems she is releasing a lot of "fresh" material again and I'm really excited for what's to come. It seems like where on the brink of a new era.

the I first listened to GUILTY album, I thought MY ALL stood out from all the more rockish tracks as a breath of fresh air. eventho that song is so cheesy & the song has lost some of it's appeal to me (probably because of it's status a big crying mess ending concerst lol), I still like it especially in the context of the album.

I agree about Days :yes

Well... for me, her cute songs stand out A LOT.

ANGEL'S SONG
HONEY
MY ALL

... I really love these songs! And you can NEVER find a similar song in that same era/album, so it's really 'fresh'!

And uh I found Ladies Night and In The Corner VERY 'refreshing' too... they just are not the songs I would expect Ayu to be singing... it's like wow, and Bold & Delicious is kind of like that too, but there's this Ayu attitude in that song that I can identify with.

Mirrorcle World was another FRESH OF BREATH AIR too! It's very unique, experimental and different... like wow, now when I listen to the xylophones... it's still very fresh and sends me shivering.

Life was also another fresh song... it was a LONG time since Ayu did this sort of laid-back pop/rock song... the last time was like YOU? Lol, I really felt that way.

And yes, the GREEN/Days single was another fresh one too... it's her best and most favorite single to me, so it's very special. I mean I'm sure no one expected GREEN to sound like how it did... yes it's oriental like part of Me/Will but it's really different too... something about it is so OMG!

And Days... my favorite song. This song is NOTHING like her past winter ballads that have always been very dark (maybe except Close to you)... and the arrangement was <3, I still shiver when I hear the bells/piano when she sings "Aitaku te..."

In fact, her most recent songs are the freshest to me. I don't think it's because they're a novelty, cos Rule and Sparkle weren't fresh to me, they were just a throwback to her old days, which I liked, but nope, not something 'fresh', for me at least.

Days = <3

for me it's Daybreak

Oh yes! Definitely Life! I think that was the "freshest" breath I needed in a long time.

Mmm... maybe independent, Voyage, Real me and ourselves back then, About You, Bold & Delicious, JEWEL and definetely GREEN!

Off the top of my head, without thining, "GREEN" certainly has that new feel. The melody, arrangement, and lyrics were all so new to me. They weren't so new that it felt like it wasn't Ayu's music. It was the perfect touch of new and Ayu, the perfect balance.

Bold & Delicious and In The Corner

JEWEL
GREEN
About You
STEP you
fairyland

i can never get tired of these songs :luv2

JEWEL
Life
GREEN
Days
Rule
Sparkle probably will be, too...to know for sure I have to wait to hear the full version. :P

Greatful days and BLUE BIRD definitely feels like a breath of fresh air to me.

hmm there are quite a lot...so the ones that are literally "a breath of fresh air" are

Rule and Sparkle after Green and Days.

Mirrorcle World after the guilty album.

Yeah, JEWEL is very nice. But besides that, I think "Wishing" is like the fresh air too.:)

Hmm i would have to say...

GREEN - bought both versions of the single, it spoke of a subject i know very well...

fairyland- it just stuck to me, idk how or why, but <3

ANGELS SONG - <3 lyrics, def a classic

HANABI ~Episode II~ - this song can be described only in one word: MAGIC

Mirrorcle World - IDK, it just.... spoke to me. plus i love belting the "yeah yeah yeah wows"

glitter - infectious lyrics and music, one of the songs that made me love Ayu

Marionette & (don't) Leave me alone - I never expected this type of thing from Ayu, and when i heard it, I was immediately sucked in

momentum - never tire of hearing it, it holds a stunning meaning, and it just kinda... haunts me

Ladies Night & is this LOVE? - once again, much personal meaning is held in this songs

HAPPY ENDING & About You - Both are amazing songs, with equally or even more amazing tour performances. HAPPY ENDING is one of the best songs ever made IMO

RAINBOW album - idk, just.... enchanting & AMAZING

and theres more but im gonna stop......

RULE!!!!!!!!

Can we go far back?

I say SURREAL. This song transcends time with a perfect melody and lyrics. I can never get tired of it once.

Also Ladies Night, Alterna, Moments, ourselves, Heartplace.

Yeah it's ok to go back but only really if you were an Ayu fan when that specific song/single was released. This isn't a "favorite" songs thread - I mean of course these songs that brought you a "fresh of breath air" might be a favorite but not all favorites can be considered a "breath of fresh air", lol. Kind of like how a square is a rectangle but a rectangle is not a square.

Basically the "breath of fresh air" should occur when Ayu is releasing a lot of material that just sounds "the same" in a way and then you're hit with something that truly stands out more so. You might have loved all the stuff she was releasing, but it's different when something different blows by.

I mentioned mine already but I'm gonna say that if I had to pick the "freshest breath of air" out of the ones I mentioned it would be JEWEL because it seemed so long since I really got a ballad I loved. JEWEL kind of made me love that song as much as I loved the music from the MY STORY era. It was just nice, simple, and beautiful after the experimental (miss)understood.

Okay, gotcha. lol

Out of recent recently I would say Ladies Night, Alterna, Born to be..., talkin' 2 myself, and GREEN.

Agree with you!!

I'd have to say GREEN.

I gotta say Rule. I don't know, I got a different feel from it compared to her other rock songs. It's got like a total "IN YOUR FACE HAH" vibe, more than talkin' 2 myself. When I first heard Days as well, it felt like, "whoa, this sounds so...jpopish." which is definitely a breath of fresh air coming from Ayu at that time, after hearing MW and GREEN. Haha.

Bold&Delicious is my favorite Ayu song of all time, like "a breash of fresh air" :D
Since Rule comes or leaks, Its another "breathe of fresh air" once again.

B&D is not alone anymore in my all time faves. :D

Others are Days, Greatful days, HEAVEN, glitter, and Beautiful Fighters

Moments, Startin', BLUE BIRD, Bold & Delicious, fated and Days are the ones for me^^

Because of you, moments, Will, JEWEL, GREEN, Days

Definitely STEP you, it was the song that dragged me into the world of Ayu. <3 After that, I would have to say alterna and fairyland.

I know kiss o' kill wasn't released, but a soon as I heard it I was astounded. It was so amazing it stood out from every other song from the Secret album for me.

As for the Guilty era, talking 2 myself, Marionette and MY ALL where all like a breath of fresh air, so to say. ^_^

So for me, its STEP you, fairyland, altera, kiss o' kill, talking 2 myself, Marionette and MY ALL. :love

Totally agree with you! :D

#1 = HEAVEN
then HANABI, Dearest, Voyage, Memorial address, M & SEASONS!!

GREEN, because it has been long since the release of HEAVEN where Will was a Oriental song....Sure Missed those Oriental Jpop by Ayu!

i think it happens with all her releases!!

but i have to remark:

-evolution
-RAINBOW
-INSPIRE
-part of Me
-Mirrorcle World
-GREEN


:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

From recently played it's HANABI ~episode II~, but there are a lot of songs like this. I'm Ayu fan is only 1 year, so everything sounds like a breath of fresh air. (^_^)

For me Daybreak "HAL's MIX 2002", Dearest, YOU and monochrome!

Daybreak
Green
About you
Step you

more recently, "GREEN" was a breath of fresh air. i loved the oriental arrangement to it. :)

but i also thought "STEP you" back in 2005 was really new and interesting. i also think most of "(miss)understood" was really new & unique. it remains a favorite album of mine.

Well, now i got ur point. Artists always run the risk to become repetitive. it's s easy to get stuck, BUT, FORTUNATELY, AYU DOESN'T DISAPPOINT US!!! :D (Well, at least me :yes ) the summer songs in summer was becoming a boring routine, but thankfully she brought and amazing song in winter instead (Green) which meant a new direction in her ballads. Now, with rule/sparkle she is again going in a new direction.

She already showed interest in rock/metal in talkin' 2 myself, but now, she went one step beyond and created a heavier song with Rule, which turned out to be an amazing song in terms of music and lyrics (i'm a heavy metal fan) plus, she is trying go forward giving herself a chance to experiment with her voice.

Other songs that i consider refreshing are M, connected, bold & delicious,Will, never ever and criminal.

Uhh, yeah, definitely GREEN for me xDD It's really different from the stuff Ayu's been releasing lately :P and also untitled ~for her~ xD It reminds me a lot of her older ballads, which was a nice change~

if you're talking about her most recent hits , I say GUILTY , Mirrorcle World , GREEN

I just like the music that're used for the songs that I mentioned especially GREEN , it's very cool that it's oriental influenced

SURREAL
Mirrorcle World
Naturally
still alone
kiss o' kill
until that Day

Mirrorcle World for me, ayu have a lot of rock songs but this one definitely a breath of fresh air for me. the more i listen to it, the more i like it.

It will be probably SPARKLE... but now it´s HANABI -episode II-

1)GREEN - very chinese traditional feel...maybe its the way the pv feels that made me thought that way..haha

2)Walking Proud - I find this ballad one of her best!the PV reminds me of so many things..

3)Teens(Acoustic Version) - i don't think a lot of you rem it...but i think this song is very different...but i get bored of it very easily

monochrome

End roll

Just 1st

Greatful days

Mirrorcle World

Oops, it seems mostly are summer releases. XD

Days.

And evolution, always evolution. XD

Perhaps Mirrorcle World.

YOU, TO BE, Key ~eternal tie ver.~. I tend to always mention these 3 songs together. XD

rule:D

Mirrorcle World (always be my number one song)
Days(always be my number one song after MW, so it's number two :D)
Sparkle (can't wait for the full version and the pv)
SURREAL (I found that the song is really best to hear but now I'm getting bored for that song)
All Ayu's rock music always in my mind.
For now, I love to hear Will (first heard from PCDL)

evolution. it is so refreshing and energetic!

Duty, Key ~eternal tie ver.~, STEP you, Bold & Delicious, both HANABIs, HEAVEN, GREEN, ever free, both versions of Endless sorrow, teens, Curtain call, Life, Ladies Night, In The Corner, criminal, alterna, RAINBOW, sotsugyou shashin, theme of a-nation '03, forgiveness, single version of Daybreak, Dolls, Sexy little things, Don't look back - they are always like a breath of fresh air to me.

oh yay! I love this thread! :heart :yes

Sexy little things -> most revolutionary ayu's song ever! the the bubble-gum-swing-electropop feel in it! AWESOME arrangement~ it's just too good to be true... :D

jah... while everybody love Days, it's just a "meh" song to me, yeah.. it's really wintery but not so good... ==' hate the vocal so much...

Rule and Microphone are the only Ayu's METAL songs! and it's waaayyyy better than any rock songs that ayu has done back in 2002-2008 (Heartplace is the most disgusting ayu's song ever! ==' i don't know why many people here love it... ==a)

well, those are all my opinions.. :D

oh god loooove this thread.

Everytime I hear Love~refrain~ specially the beginning I just sigh.
I love this song.

You Were... i really needed a song like that

O_o these aren't metal. They aren't even CLOSE to metal. Close to metal by numbers, maybe, but they aren't metal songs at all.

Hard/heavy rock =/= Metal :irked

I think Talkin' 2 Myself is closer to metal. It has some metal influences.
The vocal is so sweet! It's kind of cutesy but it fits the song - like a bittersweet cuteness. It's like "although the feelings I have for you are not reciprocated... I won't ask for much more... but please just let me keep on loving you as I do now" - I love the song so much~

I saw this thread and was like "ooh this one seems cool" and then I saw that I was the one who created it a while ago, lmfao.

I love "SCAR" and "Far away" but I don't listen to them often so I guess that's why each time I listen to them I get that "fresh" feeling.

"Bold & Delicious" is another fresh song for me because it's impossible for me not to have fun while listening to it and it's like no other Ayumi song.

And then there's "EnergizE". My first reaction to this song was "wtf is this" *skips to "Sparkle"* But eventually I came around to getting past the "put your hands up together" part and I started really liking it. It's fun and energetic like a lot of Ayumi's songs yet it's unusual and fun in it's own way.

Other "fresh" songs for me would be "Days", "Dolls", "fairyland" and "theme of a-nation '03".

"breath of fresh air" is a very specific phrase for me. but these maybe

RAINBOW
fairyland
theme of a-nation 03
+
BALLAD
Secret
Sunrise ~LOVE is ALL~
Sunset ~LOVE is ALL~
Will
In the Corner
Beautiful Day
walking proud
July 1st
Close to You
Daybreak
no more words
Poker Face

uhm Sparkle is the first song that comes in my mind.
Too catchy and a really breath of fresh air in Ayu's latest releases lol.
But I can say it for Sexy little things too.

But others are:

HOPE or PAIN
Life
rollin'
LOVE 'n' HATE
Greatful Days
Memorial Address
July 1st
kiss o' kill
Microphone
talkin' 2 myself
Because of You
AUDIENCE
fated

Don't Look Back, easily. XD

My faith in this era had wavered significantly when S/S and YW../Ballad were released. Such disappointments after the back to back awesomeness from the previous era that were Mirrorcle World, Green/Days, and Rule/Sparkle. :( Once SNSD and Namie's new stuff started coming out, I really believed that Ayu might be the only artist I like to come out with a disappointing release this year. Microphone and SLT restored my faith a little but DLB nearly had me weeping. I couldn't believe how relieved I was that my Ayu had actually took a risk again and made something, dare I say? Unique... and good.

i instantly think of sunrise because its one of few ayumi summer songs that i really enjoy! those are usually my least favorites.

the entire NEXT LEVEL album :P

definitely Mirrorcle World~

a breath of a fresh air... hmmm I gotta Sexy Little Things, imo that song is very very fresh and it's something new from Ayu. Life, Sparkle, fated, RAINBOW, Daybreak, In The Corner and Beautiful Day are fresh too imo. Because they are different, especially Life. When I first heard it I was impressed and the music is fresh, the others too. And also Bold & Delicious is definitely something very different and fresh from what Ayu have done.

I usually feel like that withe her summer song I love them :heart

glitter ^^,is my favorite the of world

the whole NEXT LEVEL album. :yes

Moments, days, GREEN.

Um.... Sparkle, before that Mirrorcle World.

blue bird.

Sexy Little Things
Last Links
July 1st
Life
Sparkle
Bold And Delicious

Yeah... Last Links I guess isn't really that new but whenever i listen to it I feel refreshed. There's something about that song... about all these songs that have such a different feel. Oh I forgot GREEN as well. Mirrorcle World too.

Last Links :yes It feels so different than any other Ayu song, I can't think of any that resembles it. I love it so much too :heart

For me...

1) Sparkle
2) Don't Look Back
3) alterna
4) GREEN
5) Sexy Little Things

Summer songs, like BLUE BIRD and Sunrise :)

I don't get how someone could say ALL her summer songs are "breath of fresh air" when after so many it's not really fresh anymore. What I meant by "breath of fresh air" is kind of like - something different and refreshing?

Well, you picked Days and that wasn't anything new or refreshing at all.

Hmm, I'd say alterna, Will, In the corner, until that Day..., Sparkle, rollin', GREEN, LOVE 'n' HATE, Mirrorcle World, Sunrise ~LOVE is ALL~, Microphone, Sexy little things, count down, Last Links, and Don't look back are all different sounds for her that felt like a breath of fresh air to me.

Sparkle. When I first heard it, it was so unlike Ayu but in a good way. I was so happy that she developed the song xD

OMG, yes it was! Lol.
It was the most wintery ballad in a long time. Together When... just wasn't wintery enough for me. I see what your saying though - to each there own I guess (but Days is the best thing ever).

YOU definitely

Well I haven't been following her forever, so I can only pick songs from albums which release I personally been through :laugh So for me:

Mirror
GUILTY was the first album I bought of her, right at the release and I had really anticipated it. I remember the moment so well.. putting it in the CD player and starting the album with mirror.. goosebumbs!! That was so awesome, I still love it. Of course I also love Mirrorcle World but mirror started it.

Sparkle
From the moment I heard it on the Honda commercial, I was in love with it. It's very electronic, something she hadn't done in a long time. Still love it!

LOVE 'n' HATE
I don't exceptionally like this song, but it's very different! Very refreshing. I like listening to it, but it's not a favorite.

Don't Look Back
Need I say more? It took GREEN's oriental flavor and brought it to a whole new level, I loved it.

Sexy Little Things
This song is so weird, and so, so , SO catchy! I can't stop listening to it!

Yeah definitely the preview of Sparkle in the CM really sent shock waves through my. I think it sent shock waves through the entire AHS community! I just wish NEXT LEVEL was more trancey like that song.

Bold & Delicious
GREEN (Acoustic Orchestra Version)
Daybreak
ourselves
BLUE BIRD
July 1st

Plenty of them that I'll have to come tell about when I most of them; my current breath of fresh air is Don't look back.

Sparkle, Sexy Little Things, Don't Look Back, Sunrise ~LOVE is ALL~

For me all songs of Next Level, Sexy Little Things, Don't look back, Last Links, Duty, Rainbow, Marionette, Mirrorcle World, Ladies Night ^^

It's like that every time I hear NEXT LEVEL. There are more too, but that one just gets me every time.

"blossom" and "MOON" both sound like they will be a breath of fresh air. :) I'd say "Don't look back" and "Microphone" were both like fresh air too~

July 1st is so chill and relaxing! Also, although it's still premature, blossom seems to have that "breath of fresh air" feeling. fairyland and Rainbow too.

The 15 second preview of "blossom", from the kiwi cm.

I can just imagine the song being very nice and refreshing.

These songs are always refreshing when I hear them:
SURREAL
Duty
Rainbow
Real me
Sexy Little Things
Sparkle

Most of her songs as of late sound similar. They all have that same 'Ayu rock' feel...

Songs that are really "fresh", "acoomplished" and "different" (within ayu's discography) to me for various of reasons:

A song for XX

Fly High

SURREAL

evolution
M
Endless Sorrow

voyage
FREE&EASY

ourselves

GAME
Moments

STEP you
will

Not yet
Jewel

mirror / mirrorcle world

GREEN

Sparkle

.. off the topo mahead

Ayu fandom on~
Every song sounds like a breath of fresh air.

Ayu fandom off~
Bold & Delicious. (I think this is ayu's most unique song) ~ When this song comes up on my random list, I freak out Every TIME! lol.

ok...

SURREAL at that time was something really new and fresh, something she never worked on before, it was an evolution

then...

Rainy Day
Sparkle
BALLAD

The album GUILTY and the song A Song for XX are fresh for me forever more. And as of recent a lot of R'n'RC are fresh air to me. Oh, and still alone.