Better than Hikki...

[Uemarasan]

Sorry for getting back to this so late. I was away on a trip.

Thank you, everyone, for contributing to the discussion It has been very interesting, and in my opinion, a lot more insightful than those simplistic Ayu versus Hikki, Better than Ayu, Koda is the bessssssssssssst threads.

I still think Exodus is a terrible album. Hikki's weakness with lyrics is at its worst, her voice does not have the same range as in her Japanese work, and composition-wise it has the same quality as a Eurobeat remix album.

My problem with Tokyo Jihen is that the group lacks the originality and innovation that Ringo Shiina was making during her solo career. Personally, I've already heard Tokyo Jihen's music before: with Pizzicato Five, for instance.

Originally Posted by Psychotic_X

T_T"" please don't tell me you're only reading "JUICY" and "SHAKE IT"

I find the majority of her lyrics unimpressive, especially if understood in the original Japanese.


I now find sales figures just one of the factors in determining the worth of an artist. X Japan was never huge in terms of single or album sales (except for Hide's side projects), and yet their musical legacy lives on years after. Plus sales figures are always arbitrary - compare the sales now and during the 70s with the sales in the mid-90s. Economic context is important.

Thankfully, I've learned from experience. Obsessing about sales is unhealthy.

Also, in my opinion, the idea that composing, writing the lyrics, and arranging songs to your liking makes you a better artist is UNTRUE if the music isn't good in the first place. For most of her career, Aretha Franklin has relied on other songwriters to make her music, and I don't think that makes her any less of an artist.

Lastly, and I think a lot of people would disagree with me, but I personally find that Ayu would not be the icon that she is without the presence of Hikki, and Hikki would not be the icon that she is without the presence of Ayu. Being "down-to-earth" is not better than being "up-in-the-stars-fantasy", those are very superficial, subjective differences. And I don't think charisma is as simplistic as having it or not; Ayu's charisma is a very different kind of charisma from Hikki's. For me, they are perfect counterpoints and foils for each other, and their legacy has only been enriched by each other's cultural differences.

Thank you again for an interesting discussion!