Green PV Discussion

[fake_foxtail]

I think it is quiet obvious that the PV has some kinda meaning behind it.

But for me I can't find out the meaning very clearly.
I believe it's what's been said above which, yes, sounds kinda good idea for a PV

but I feel myself like I'd be out of something...
Like this would be a part of something huge that I have no idea what I sould have so I could understand it...

I've never felt like this while watching a j-pop PV...

but in the other hand that makes her and this song with it's PV more interesting and exotic what any other j-pop artist can't have. Which makes ayu more special and feel like she can still be interesting even though she's been doing same kinda things for years what shouldn't be so interesting anymore...

[Choyan]

I don't like the PV >.>;;

>< it's not very ...green LOL~ not the main point but eh~!
I don't like it D: it's bad imo ><

[*Petit*]

This may seem a little far fetched and random, but anyone noticed the birds in cages for this PV where she's restrained adn cannot get what she wants, while in MW the birds fly freely and in the end she's saved and walks away proudly as well..?

[pUrpLeSn0w]

the music's not bad i like it haha but the when i see this dancing with this another woman..
somehow it juz makes me fee like


kinda lesbian-y~ =/


why did they choose a woman instead of the guy..wouldn't it be better lol?

[AyUmIXx]

Originally Posted by *Petit*

This may seem a little far fetched and random, but anyone noticed the birds in cages for this PV where she's restrained adn cannot get what she wants, while in MW the birds fly freely and in the end she's saved and walks away proudly as well..?

hmm maybe on this GREEN song, it talks more about her love life? that she's an artist but she can't freely love someone? or, on this song, she wants to let ppl know that she's willing to show her true-self?

and for MW, she talks more about ppl who always want to dig out everything about her life where she doesn't have space to move.. so she wishes to be in piece? she wants ppl to give her space??

[freedreamer]

Originally Posted by bluegie

^It's not that we dun understand this idea. I've known what she's tryin to express after reading the first few pages or so. What I still dun understand is how she could ACT so bad.

Expressing idea doesn't equal to acting out nicely. She is a diva in that world and she has to express that. I accept. But the way she act is totally not expressing the idea. Rather, she's just exaggerating something without giving me that expression AT ALL.

i wasnt talking about her acting in the first place..coz its less impt than the significance of the video...
i mean...
its quite clear even with the 'poor' acting, that there are two sides of things happening in the MV...
and we all dont really understood why the director had those backstage scenes and birds...and so now, the most possible interpretation is out...

i just hope that those who deem it as nonsense could even consider those things before saying...

[Max_ZZZ]

thats true... so many big budgets pvs sent to nothing... honestly if this pv has messages then thats great, but when there are basically only three scenes with 3 differents actions going on i feel like im watching the same thing for so long '-___-
(ayu walking, ayu dancing, ayu daydreaming)
sigh but its ok, i like having something to watch the song with

[Uemarasan]

Originally Posted by ImpactBreaker

But the latest ayu lyrics have clearly been lacking in really *profound* poetry if that's what you mean...GREEEN sounded a slightly better, but after seeing the PV I actually think it became more special, because I noticed this time she didn't got stuck in the same kind of love she's often talking about in her lyrics. It's all about joining wings and following roads, or departures and all the same recycled stuff. I personally don't see that much of an improvement tbh. I don't mind her lyrics that much, but she can talk about something else for a change, or she can do like what I meant, talk about love, but talk about *different* kinds and ways of loving...not just "love is the half~half to join together by following a certain road" stuff. In the beginning, ayu seemed to touch people with her lyrics more, because she talked about insecurity and other things that many people could relate to.

And since you mention Hikki, I wonder why Hikki has been so popular lately in Japan. Maybe it's because she actually does what you just mentioned, and try different things that appeal to different audiences?

I'd still say that a lot of her recent stuff has that poetic quality: fated, talkin' 2 myself, Marionette, and untitled ~for her~. "You know that creation comes after destruction"? "And rip off the masks with our own hands"? "However many times the seasons may pass our days are fadeless"? Pretty poetic I think.

I guess for me I see the nuance in the lyrics of Ayu's songs. Even though as you say she talks about wings and roads and departures again and again, each song still strikes me as different and unique. It's not so much that she talks about wings, roads, and departures but the overall context in which she talks about them. For example, Heaven and untitled ~for her~ have the same subject matter (a departed loved one), but what she has to say about these two are very different in each case. When she talks about a road in fated, it is in the context of a life already fated, a road already laid down. She is debating with herself whether or not fate is actually real. When she talks about a road in winding road, it is in the context of the path she has chosen in life. Instead of talking about how our lives are helpless in the face of fate, in winding road she is speaking of life as something you must take responsibility for, a road you create for yourself.

For me I don't see Ayu as recycling themes and lyrics. Rather, I see it as her maturing as a lyricist, and so as she revisits themes and images that she has addressed in the past, it is with a different sensibility, a new perspective. Just compare the summer songs. Boys & Girls and glitter may sound the same, but they were written by two very different people, one obviously younger and unsure and the other more mature and certain.

Just one thing: I don't know why you mention wings, though. I don't think Ayu uses it as often.

And, yes, Hikki keeps it interesting by writing about a lot of things. But the problem with breadth is more often than not depth is sacrificed for its sake. I do not think Hikki is as deep a lyricist as Ayu is.

Originally Posted by emiko

Someone did not just compare Ayu to Sylvia Plath

I did. I can. And I dare.

Of course, songwriting and poetry are two very different arts. It would be ridiculous to apply the metaphor-heavy style of Sylvia Plath to writing songs. I'm just saying that Ayu and Sylvia Plath work in the same way and share similar qualities as artists. The lifelong obsession with certain themes. The constant reuse of certain images. How many times is Sylvia Plath going to mention bees and babies and smiles? Likewise, Ayu is going to mention scars and roads and views again and again.

[emi♡]

^I didn't mean anything by it hun, I just thought it was funny


I think you're right about Ayu's lyrics, however, I think, sometimes maybe a mature Ayu is perhaps boring for some?

In her old lyrics, it seems like she was always some how unsure or looking for something, but now she most definitely more sure. And we see that a lot on her interviews and her blog posts, mag stuff. Ayu has matured in a way that to me is very special because a lot of people don't really get to "see the light" as she sees it. Ayu is sort of a different person for me now...and sometimes I'm not sure if people are able to connect with her lyrics as much anymore because they are so static.

I think Ayu's lyrics are still beautiful...but...I can connect with them. Maybe some people don't like them? Or the new Ayu. A lot of people see her just recycling stuff, and she does, but it's always different and tweaked. The reason why she does, is because it's important to her.

I think Hikki is a very deep lyricist. She just has different tastes. Hikki is very well read, and extremely smart when it comes to people I think, the difference between her lyrics and perhaps Ayu's is that, as they've grown, they've matured in different ways. Ayu has sort of matured through herself, and she still see's things very much for herself. Hikki I think has a knowledge that is more secular and she doesn't show the deepness inside herself because...well I think that part of her is very private. They sort of talk about the same things in different ways, and their lyrics alone make them extremely different artists, add in the music styles and you have two people who have figured out life and themselves in very different ways.


You know as I think about your comparison to Sylvia Plath a bit more...before i thought it was just funny...although extreme...I think it's just another product of how well Ayu knows herself, and maybe doesn't know everything...but Ayu...is quite the interesting character. And not just for her career lol

[Kikaru]

^I'm too lazy to quote everything, but I totally agree with you.

Actually I wonder if that's the reason why she might be losing her younger audience. Her lyrics, at least for me, speaks of someone who does know where she is at her life and is fairly content. And at least in my personal experience the younger audience tends to lean more towards the unsure in life category.

Personally I connect better with her newer lyrics, but two years ago I was saying that Powdered Snow's lyrics basically described me. /OT tangent

[YuriChan]

I like it and I don't like it! It's missing something in the beginning... BUT!!! HOWEVER, it has a good climax and it ended well! It was defentaly better than Mirrorcle World! I'd give it... 9/10!

[ImpactBreaker]

Originally Posted by Uemarasan

I'd still say that a lot of her recent stuff has that poetic quality: fated, talkin' 2 myself, Marionette, and untitled ~for her~. "You know that creation comes after destruction"? "And rip off the masks with our own hands"? "However many times the seasons may pass our days are fadeless"? Pretty poetic I think.

I guess for me I see the nuance in the lyrics of Ayu's songs. Even though as you say she talks about wings and roads and departures again and again, each song still strikes me as different and unique. It's not so much that she talks about wings, roads, and departures but the overall context in which she talks about them. For example, Heaven and untitled ~for her~ have the same subject matter (a departed loved one), but what she has to say about these two are very different in each case. When she talks about a road in fated, it is in the context of a life already fated, a road already laid down. She is debating with herself whether or not fate is actually real. When she talks about a road in winding road, it is in the context of the path she has chosen in life. Instead of talking about how our lives are helpless in the face of fate, in winding road she is speaking of life as something you must take responsibility for, a road you create for yourself.

Well, I was probably a little bit harsh with her lyrics in my previous posts. I guess I complain most about the elements she uses rather how she really uses them. I have to agree with emiko and Kikaru, that in the past her lyrics would be more about her being confused/uncertain about her future and nowadays her lyrics show more of a woman who has become decided of what she wants or likes. I guess the later have more of an impact on me, not because I relate to then, but because I feel some of her "wonder abouts" were kinda interesting. I guess this thing made me feel like she became a little more superficial and less daring with her lyrics. I do notice that after her break up, she started to become a little bolder with lyrics again. But i guess I might be being biased here.

[*Petit*]

^
I totally agree with you, her recent lyrics have been more interesting in that way. Her lyrics are hardly ever boring or downright bad, but they've somtimes been a little too predictable and not something that will leave the listener pondering enough. Even reading translations of her debuting work can be quite heart aching and profond, but MY STORY not so much, even if I love manyof the songs there much more than the songs of ASFXX.

I think she was first dealing with issues on a personal level, where and how will my future become, will I make it, what do I have to give up and why does it have to cause ME so much pain.

Then she moved on to describing more profound problems in society, not so much on a personal level which was also very relatable and appealing, however, it's hardly as personal as her first work. "Like WE WISH everywhere nowhere, evolution "

Then she contined doing more braoder themes, but also personal lyrics. not personal in the same way as on ASFXX, but singing for the love of her close ones, like a lover or "someone she misses" or WOMEN in general. These lyrics IMO are much closer to what "every" artist writes about, the eternal themes that will never go out of fashion. (like honey, MY ALL, ladies night)

Now she's partially back to writing about more existential things again, which to me is more interesting.

[thinkingoutloud89]

Is Japan a only lyrical based land? I don´t buy german music just because I like the lyrics...and I dare to do that on american music...it does happen...but only in a very few cases

[AyUmIXx]

i love Ayu's recent lyrics, since GUILTY album, i can feel that Ayu has tried to really show her true self, her lyrics are mostly very honest about what she feels... i kinda think that Ayu has been trying to open up herself to all of us to understand more about her ... unlike long long before, where mostly all her lyrics were kind hard to understand, it's like she was keeping something just for herself and didn't want to let ppl know what exactly she was thinking..she was just still afraid to show ppl what was her true-self?

lots of twisted lyrics she did long ago.. but that was what made interest to her though... since she played around with the words and made ppl wonder what was she thinking exactly.. ..not that i said we really understand 100% what she means in the recent lyrics, but at least, we can easily understand like 80-90% of the lyrics?

[JimmyKoria]

I've been really lacking in Hamasaki updates and apparently I missed out on the wonder eight million comments on this thread XD

Originally Posted by darc_aqua

had elements of that vague "walking down the street and singing"

I'd say more like Evita mixed with bits of "Take a Bow/You'll See."

The title is kind of odd to me as well. To me if she was meaning the color green she could have easily slapped the word "blue" as the title. Blue can mean from a range of colors between blue and green, especially in Japanese (I don't think I've heard anyone say "the single is green" but "the signal is blue" loosely translated). To me it feels ambiguous.

I think it's a cute video and I so got that mirrocale or how ever it's spelled vibe from the start of the video. But I think it's a bit better than that. She's at least wearing clothing similar to something people actually wore, not blinding rhinestones and such. Plus unlike a lot of Hamasaki's other boring videos, this one at least spices things up in the end.

[freedreamer]

Whoa..suddenly this whole talk about lyrics in a PV discussion but...What u said, I feel, is very true as well. It's amazing in ten years how we all see her maturity and We as her fans grow with her...
I think that's one of the greatest satisfaction an artiste could ever get...

I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING U ALL SAID haha...very nicely put about her recent stuff....
I like them a lot too....

[AyUmIXx]

GREEN means FRESH? so she wants to be fresher?

[emi♡]

Originally Posted by Monkey_D_Ruffy16

Is Japan a only lyrical based land? I don´t buy german music just because I like the lyrics...and I dare to do that on american music...it does happen...but only in a very few cases

I dont think so...

i dont listen to kuu because of her lyrics...but then that could go either way...they just might lol

[ayu_ready?]

for me it all was like meh

I didn't get the feeling of it nor the plot

Ayu acting was just weirdo unnatural & scary

the PV just spoiled the song, imho

too much like MW, a PV which makes you feel as if it has been made by a left leg of nobody-knows-what-to-good-for-director
it makes us more & more convinced that Ayu's shedule is too tough to concentrate a great deal on PVs & such, but these things simply make the artist

I don't understand

no offense, but it simply sucks

I mean, music is okay, covers nice, why spoil this all anyway?

just a waste of time & money

that just freaked me out. I'm dissapointed

vague plot, but cool decor - this all leaves only cheap & blank impression


I know I may be wrong all the way


earlier Ayu had PVs with real meaning & somehow we didn't find it hard to discover

why don't you think that now she simply makes PVs for us, for fans?
and they can be without any hidden meaning at all

why everybody keeps thinking it has smth when it's 80% that it actually doesn't?

don't you think that this director simply can't make PVs?