Do we ACTUALLY know WHY Ayu does what she does??

[BlackSilence]

Um... Since I joined this forum back, um I noticed so much negative opinions on Ayu's releases. That I'm kinda getting an odd impression on her fans...I'm making this thread because i'm curious, and i hope everone can just be POLITE and don't start some crap up.

Seeing all the negativity, even tho we are all different and we have a right to have different oppinions and tastes and likes, kinda makes me sad. I'm pretty much sure that someone will tell me I'm just reading too much into things but maybe if we all would we could undertsand them better? and don't just judge the material based on the artists earlier works?

I see people on here saying they want this, or that, I even saw people literally directly tweeting to Ayu what they want and what she should stop doing because WE don't want it...Even I myself sometimes go "Ayu should release something rocky, I'm getting a little tired of the ballads"....But I never really felt like she's doing the wrong thing... I mean isn't being an artist especially someone who partly composes and writes lyrics, comes up with conceptions and all the creative stuff is all about what you felt creating it or what made you do this in THIS way.
Why before saying "we want this not that" fans think/ask what she felt about the music and the way she creates things? The people she’s working with (and why) to give new material and stuff like that?

I think there’s always a reason why artists chose that way instead of an other. And I'm sure it's not just the bussiness stuff and marketing. Maybe she simply feels she need this right now, maybe she feels comfortable with & in lots of trust for people she works with, maybe she's not in the mood for experimenting. I bet she's doing her best in whatever she tries to do. Some of fans need to be more tolerant towards her, let her live her human being and creative lives, after all, she's not a robot.
We all know that Ayu has gone through so much emotional things these couple of years especially this year. Maybe that's why she might be / was full of lyrical feelings which led her to chose sooooooo many ballads instead of cheerful up-beat songs.

On the other hand have you ever questioned yourself why you don't like it, and why there are so many things you don't like about her or her music now.
I mean If you don’t like it here will always be someone who will get into your place with “I like it”. If you don’t like it you always have an option to chose an other artist from thousands existing on this planet, maybe just take a break? If you don’t like it, maybe you changed and need new paths in music. Finally, maybe the artist had changed and you are no longer capable to understand them?And if you don’t understand them, it doesn’t mean they lost their talent, it just means they or maybe you grew into something new and at this point u have a choice - keep following their path or wish them good luck and moove on.

(the post might change slightly cuz I'm worried some people will be like "I didn't understand a thing" xD )

[Miidoriness]

Well... I'm a BIG fan of her so I like 3/4 of her songs. I love her truly and never question why she do what she do because I have a great respect for Ayu and her music. Therefore, I don't have any negativity about her music. I believe that a true artist is those who express their feelings and thoughts; I bet at the moment when she was writing that specific song, Ayu is being honest.

If I dislike a song from Ayu, I simply won't download it onto my iPod. I don't go around and bad mouth how horrible that song is (I have better thing to do). Those who always criticized and always expect more from Ayu... is impossible. Because first of all, you can't expect others to do things that you want.

Similar to Ayu's wedding news, some people had the most ridiculous theories and opinions about her getting married to her husband. Yes, it's true that they only know each other for a short amount of time. So what? Love happens when you least expect it. Why can't we just be happy for her?

I'm sorry if I offend anyone but that's my opinion.

I'll give you a gentle song
So that you can believe in eternity for ever
So please keep smiling
And let me hear you say, "I'm happy"
Once again

I'll give you a gentle song
So that you can believe in eternity for ever
So please don't ask me anymore
With such sad eyes, hiding your trembling voice
"Do you love me?"

[PoetGirl]

Only thing I can say to this subject is that I love the song even more when I hear her reason for doing it so.

My only reason when I dont like her song is when its too hard to listen, like Humming 7/4 for example. but thats like, one song in her discography.

[bondingo]

I think Ayu summed up the reasons herself. To quote her:

"Music is my life. If without music it's like...I die; I'm nothing!"

[LONJJONG]

Yes I agree with you.
Some people keep arguing about Ayu's recent release. They said something like it's very bad, or awful, or even calling them - crap. Producing a song is not an easy matter. Whatever Ayu had done, we should keep respect them... Liking/disliking is a common matter but at least please do cherish her works!

[Midori-chan]

Originally Posted by bondingo

I think Ayu summed up the reasons herself. To quote her:

"Music is my life. If without music it's like...I die; I'm nothing!"

Thank you! This is what I wanted to say!

People who keep going on and on about how terrible Ayu's new releases are, should keep in mind that Ayu does NOTHING without a reason (be it album titles or lyrics...there is always a bigger meaning behind them!!).
She also has the guts to try out new things!

Ayu really puts all her effort into what she loves to do - making music and performing on stage so that she can be close to us - her fans!

[emi♡]

The problem is not what Ayu does.

The problem is that people don't know how to communicate and don't know what's appropriate.

This is a forum. We discuss things here. And opinions top that list.

The problem is that people don't know how to express their opinions well enough that they don't offend other people, or that their tone is not seen as aggressive.

I don't think negativity is bad at all. Personally, I welcome it.

But it's not what you say, it's how you say it.

AHS is a wonderful practicing ground for how to deal with all sorts of people, cause let me tell you, once you're out in the real world, it'll be just like here...x1000.

[~angel*ayumi~]

This is a really fantastic thread. I am also sick of people´s critism to every new release Ayu does recently. Of course her music and the songs are different to what they were a couple of years ago, because she evolves, like every one of us do. We all change frequently, get new jobs, listen to new artists, change our clothing style, change our taste in food, get a new pet, play new online games, get new friends, get a new love. Some of things are big change, some of them are only small. So how can we fans take the right to "forbid" Ayu to change, to evolve, to grow. (I know forbid is a hard word, but I really have the feeling some ppl act like that)
I also don ´t like some of her newer songs, but I also don´t like some of her older ones. I am also a bit tiered of all the ballads, but it´s Ayu´s choice. I love Ayu because of her music, but I love her even more for her personality, I dunno, I just like the way she is, how she impresses her feelings, how she is so sweet to her fans, that´s the reason I will always like her, even if my taste in music may someday make me not liking her songs that much anymore.

[bondingo]

Originally Posted by emiko

cause let me tell you, once you're out in the real world, it'll be just like here...x1000.

Except it isn't and that's bad advice.

[emi♡]

I don't see how it's bad to tell people that they should learn how to better communicate with each other.

[Andrenekoi]

Well... I do believe Ayu latest release always reflect her mood at that period, and that this should be taken in consideration when u try to understand her... Taking the latest albums as reference:

Rock n Roll Circus was her first album directly dealing with some of her darker problems, like her hearing loss, her loss of relevance in the jpop scene, etc. It's just natural that the main focus of that release was the lyrics, and the music chosen to fit them, instead of fitting a higher album concept... Even If it's one of her worst releases to me, I can understand why it was done the way it was, why it's not a cohesive album (something important to me) and how it was important to her at that time.

Love songs was recorded on the time she was dating her now husband... It's an album about losing and finding love, it's so focused on that, the last song and central single is about marriage... No wonder it's a ballad heavy release.

FIVE was created because of all the disasters in Japan last year... It's more mainstream them all of her releases since God knows when, so it could reach more people outside her fanbase, and it's ballad heavy again because, let's face it, that wasn't the moment for upbeat festive stuff... not on the sense of how Ayu try to reach people with her music, or even on the sense of how she was feeling about it.

You don't really need to go into obscure interviews or hardcore discussions to get those stuff, they are all in the lyrics, on her visual material, concerts, etc. I always say this, and I think this is a good thread to say it again: Ayu is not releasing music for anyone over here, she doesn't know us, doesn't know what we like and this is the best thing she can do as an artist... Cuz in the moment her albums and concerts start being planned having in mind to please us, everything will become a reciclied version of her fanfavorites... So, let the girl do what she knows best... Surprise us, for the best or for the worst, releasing what she wants, not what we want.

[owlflight]

I like this thread too. Though sometimes knowing the reason why Ayu chose to write a particular song is exciting and helps me to understand her message, she is Ayu and I am me. I can't order her to do as I command because then her music wouldn't be special. It's fun guessing what could come next (more rock Ayu please ) but I want Ayu to put out music that she is happy with and proud of. I don't love everything she has released (I'm still trying to get into RAINBOW) but if I am going to criticize it, I will try to come up with an acceptable reason as to why I don't like something of hers. My personal taste in music influences what I may like or not like of her new releases and I am certain it will not always be what everyone else thinks. For example, BRILLANTE is nice and epic sounding but I don't have it on repeat. That is the beauty of a forum where people can discuss their opinions and I don't foresee me leaving AHS anytime soon.

[Midori-chan]

Originally Posted by emiko

I don't think negativity is bad at all. Personally, I welcome it.

I agree with you!

Constructive criticism is nothing bad. We all have different tastes when it comes to music, but the most important thing is how you express your opinion, because there are two ways:

1. Oh, I totally hate this song!1!!! -.-''

or

2. I don't like this song, because I think...(give the reasons why you don't like it and what you think would sound better!).

[Andrenekoi]

^or just "I don't like this song"... people don't really need a strong reason to dislike stuff.

[bondingo]

Originally Posted by Midori-chan

I agree with you!

Constructive criticism is nothing bad. We all have different tastes when it comes to music, but the most important thing is how you express your opinion, because there are two ways:

1. Oh, I totally hate this song!1!!! -.-''

or

2. I don't like this song, because I think...(give the reasons why you don't like it and what you think would sound better!).

Not saying you didn't say this was the case, but the same should apply to positive comments too then. Just saying "I LOVE THIS SONG SO MUCH IT'S HER BEST SINCE BRILLANTE" contributes just as little as "Wow, this new album is total **** and needs to diaf."

Originally Posted by emiko

I don't see how it's bad to tell people that they should learn how to better communicate with each other.

AHS is absolutely nothing like the real world though. Even the way people interact with each other on here is completely different. It's the internet, and people take it far more seriously than they should. I'm not saying people should just be *******s to each other on here, the opposite actually, but the internet and the real world are hardly the same and people need to learn to better distinguish the two.

[Andrenekoi]

^Internet is part of the real world... People that u find over here aren't pre-programed NPC's from some bizarre digital game, but real people, with toughts, desires and feelings. People like to act this or that way over here and create a online character? Good, everybody does it daily on the "real world" too... This "internet shouldn't be taken so seriously" ******** is what makes comments on websites and forums so unnecessarily agressive nowadays.

I totally agree with Emiko, being on AHS, a huge online forum with people from everywhere in the world discussing stuff all the time is a amazing experience of tolerance and verbally voicing your opinion...

[bondingo]

^ Ummm, complete misinterpretation of my comments. The obvious rhetorical question is a tad pretentious; of course we're all real people. What I'm saying is that even though you were saying it sarcastically, a lot of people on the internet actually do act as if they've created a persona for it. This doesn't really apply to places like Facebook, but for message boards, most definitely. Certainly not everyone is this way, but people online (specifically message board users, people on last.fm, etc.) act completely different from how they'd ever even dream of acting in front of other people, face to face, or in the "real world" as I would actually call it. In that aspect, I absolutely think that the internet and the real world are two separate things, but only for people who chose for it to be that way. Oftentimes that's the case though.

That's why I don't think people should take the internet seriously. If you do, you're bound to get offended by people who see no boundaries as far as expressing their opinion, as extreme as it may be. Hell, just go and look at the comments on the majority of popular Youtube videos and you'll see quite a few disgusting comments that probably 85% of the people writing them wouldn't say to anyone else in real life. I could go on, but I'd hope that you got the point by now.

v To avoid making another post about this and going more off-topic: it looks like we agree then. Guess we just have different ways of thinking about it. Whatever, not important

[Andrenekoi]

^I think u missed my point... People DO create characters online, but they do offline too... Still, if everyone thinks internet shouldn't be taken seriously, and that everything can be voiced and done online without any major consequence, things won't get much better.

Also, we meet *******s on our real lifes too, so, it's not like meeting some online isn't a good experience to take for life anyway... and... I think we are going too off topic xD We can discuss it on PM if u like. =)

[xLuna&1LOVE]

Uhm yeah.

There is a difference between disliking and claiming one opinion (in this case a dislike or a 'hate') is right. That's why there is so much fighting going on at AHS. It's nonsense that we have to tolerate the things Ayu does. She has chosen to express herself in things you barely can overlook it. It's also nonsense that we should tolerate a song because 'there is a special or deep meaning in it.'
It is just simple; if you don't like what you see or hear, then you just don't like that. There is nothing wrong in the way Ayu express herself, but there is also nothing wrong to see those expressions as something "wrong." Maybe that time could change the mind.

But hey, who am I to say that? Also I think this way sometimes. So do you.What now? Makes that us b*ches?

[Not~Yet]

Originally Posted by bondingo

Not saying you didn't say this was the case, but the same should apply to positive comments too then. Just saying "I LOVE THIS SONG SO MUCH IT'S HER BEST SINCE BRILLANTE" contributes just as little as "Wow, this new album is total **** and needs to diaf."

I would absolutely love to see more in-depth comments about her material written from a positive aspect. I think a lot of people (including myself) don't do that much anymore because the atmosphere here is, frankly, really negatve and taken over by people who don't even consider themselves as fans anymore.

Tbh though I feel on a fan forum the negativity-positivity share shouldn't be 50-50. I was really dissappointed when, not that long ago, there were 2 similar threads of something along the lines of "What you hate the most about Ayu" and "What you love about Ayu" and the former had like 20 pages of commets while the latter had less than 10. It's sad. I'd love it if there was a completely new forum for her and the still-fans would mass migrate there and it would also be a lot more newbie-friendly, and those sick up to death of her could safely come to all the other areas still here lol.

I just realized this is probably really off-topic huh... To put it more topic-fittingly I think the general reception to her stuff here comes across a lot more negative than what the reaction of her fanbase as a whole is because of the reasons I stated. Who knows, I could just be lying to myself but it honestly seems a lot of people who are long-time members even sometimes develop some kind of hate towards her after the general negativity here rubs off on them and because of the stupid fan-made juxtapositions between artists. Meh, I love me some Ayu anyway, and I don't ned her to be what suits my moods anymore because I've realized I respect her past, and therefore current, artistry enough to not dwell on the parts of it I don't care for.