[Utada Hikaru] ☆ Utada Hikaru: The 46th Thread ☆

[Andrenekoi]

Originally Posted by sxesven

I think it's rather that both Deep River and ULTRA BLUE are so strong that every song had the potential of being a single in addition to their contributing to the overall album (no wonder so many singles were culled from them).

Heart Station, sorry, no. I'd punch Beautiful World in the face and laugh, too. And steal Kiss & Cry's lunch money. And use it to buy a gazillion rolls of toilet paper which I'd throw all over Heart Station's, the song's, house and all over the tree on its tidy and boring lawn.

You are just plain evil and deserves no cookies...

[Delicious n Bold]

wait wait
Somebody doesn't like Beautiful World? *gasp*
That's like Sakura Drops' more fun cousin.

Is everyone talkin' bout their fav hikki songs?
Here's mine (in no order):
- sakura drops
- take 5
- beautiful world
- on and on
- devil inside
- distance
- automatic
- colors
- fight the blues
- celebrate
- goodbye happiness
- heart station

[emi♡]

beautiful world was my happy song when I was 16 lol

Passion is my favorite song of all time...
then...take 5...then...WINGS...then is gets fuzzy.

[RikkuK]

bwahahahah utada fans are always the most colorful <3

[Mirrorcle Monster]

1. Passion
2. Stay Gold
3. Take 5
4. BLUE
5. Goodbye Happiness

Those are the epic ones, i have a really hard time trying to rank the rest, she has many too amazing songs. And the album ranking would be:

1. Deep River
Best single track: Sakura Drops
Best Album Track: Uso Mitai na I Love You

2. HEART STATION
Best single track: Stay Gold
Best album track: Take 5

3. ULTRA BLUE
Best single track: Passion
Best album track: Nichiyou no Asa

4. Distance
Best single track: Can You Keep a Secret?
Best album track: Distance

5. First Love
Best single track: time will tell
Best album track: Amai Wana

[inthezone]

Why do people say UB and DR sound like single collections? To me they work well as albums. And there is no filler on UB imo

[Benikari47]

Beautiful World is absolute pop perfection, how can anyone possibly hate it? it's my favorite Hikki song along with Heart Station
The album in general is just too flawless to handle, it's so underrated and always gets in the shadow of Ultra Blue and Deep River. Imo it's one of the best Jpop releases ever and her best album.

[sxesven]

[inthezone]

I love Beautiful World so much

[Zeke.]

Originally Posted by inthezone

Why do people say UB and DR sound like single collections? To me they work well as albums. And there is no filler on UB imo

I think that's what they meant - that all songs on those albums sound like they could be singles (no filler).

and Beautiful World is boring. Took forever to grow on me but I can handle it now. Nothing I crave to listen to though. Better than HEART STATION (the song) trash though.

[Andrenekoi]

Originally Posted by inthezone

Why do people say UB and DR sound like single collections? To me they work well as albums. And there is no filler on UB imo

Because the tracks don't really flow one into another, there's no core theme or sound on those albums and they fail as concepts...

The tracks are really good, on both albums, IMO Hikki stoped relesing bad songs back in 2001, but as a sole piece of work, as a package, those albums lack, even if they have only strong tracks. HS is her only album were you have a sound and an aesthetic flowing from begining to end... All the tracks are pretty strong IMO and would be good singles, but more than that, they comunicate with each other on the album context.

[Benikari47]

Originally Posted by sxesven

[sxesven]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

there's no core theme or sound on those albums and they fail as concepts...

Maybe this is what it seems like if you don't listen closely. I understand HS is the end all be all for some/many people here, and while I would agree it has a certain uniformity in sound, it is - in places! - dull and flat. I cannot, never could, understand the appeal of songs like Beautiful World and Heart Station. I despise both for their polished, unchallenging soullessness. I don't care you love it so much you want to have its babies, for me it's the worst material Hikki has recorded, and, as a fan, I was severely disappointed with Heart Station.

If you don't perceive core themes and sounds on Deep River and ULTRA BLUE that's all good and well, deny it all you want. For me, and for many others, they represent Hikki at her musical and artistic peak. You can observe a clear direction in Hikki's discography, from plain R&B through a more experimental take on it to R&B-infused dream pop, and if you wish to misdefine these gutsy and successful explorations as 'lacking x' then too bad for you, brah. Deep River and ULTRA BLUE are the journey, Heart Station the destination. For me, the treasure is all in the journey.

[Andrenekoi]

Originally Posted by sxesven

Maybe this is what it seems like if you don't listen closely. I understand HS is the end all be all for some/many people here, and while I would agree it has a certain uniformity in sound, it is - in places! - dull and flat. I cannot, never could, understand the appeal of songs like Beautiful World and Heart Station. I despise both for their polished, unchallenging soullessness. I don't care you love it so much you want to have its babies, for me it's the worst material Hikki has recorded, and, as a fan, I was severely disappointed with Heart Station.

If you don't perceive core themes and sounds on Deep River and ULTRA BLUE that's all good and well, deny it all you want. For me, and for many others, they represent Hikki at her musical and artistic peak. You can observe a clear direction in Hikki's discography, from plain R&B through a more experimental take on it to R&B-infused dream pop, and if you wish to misdefine these gutsy and successful explorations as 'lacking x' then too bad for you, brah. Deep River and ULTRA BLUE are the journey, Heart Station the destination. For me, the treasure is all in the journey.

I agree with everything I bolded... But does that mean Deep River, Exodus or Ultra Blue have themes as albums? No. Does it mean the songs are bad? No. Actually, some of my favorite Hikki (and pop music) tracks are from those albums. If by your parameters what makes a good album is a lot of strong tracks, I can understand you find those to be masterpieces, cuz they are filled with amazing tracks. By my parameters, a good album will have a theme, a direction, a flow and will propose an aesthetic. The only Hikki albums that reunites all of those are Heart Station and Exodus is close to this.

Also, I love how for the first time ever, Heart Station's Hikki seemed to learn that you don't have to scream on every track to make it emotional, and I love how her singing on songs like Beautiful World and Heart Station (and Stay Gold, Celebrate, Niji-ru Bus, etc.) are more subtle and more delicate than her usual.

[sxesven]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

I agree with everything I bolded... But does that mean Deep River, Exodus or Ultra Blue have themes as albums? No. Does it mean the songs are bad? No. Actually, some of my favorite Hikki (and pop music) tracks are from those albums. If by your parameters what makes a good album is a lot of strong tracks, I can understand you find those to be masterpieces, cuz they are filled with amazing tracks. By my parameters, a good album will have a theme, a direction, a flow and will propose an aesthetic. The only Hikki albums that reunites all of those are Heart Station and Exodus is close to this.

I think what we perceive as thematic (and sonic) unity is different - since I do feel, hear and see Deep River and ULTRA BLUE as consistent larger works in which all of the individual, excellent songs play their part. There's probably a lot we agree on, except for our opinion re: these albums - which in part is due to our different perception of what constitutes a theme, and consequently whether any or all of Hikki's albums exhibit one. Like I said, I see Heart Station as the conclusion of a journey, but I think the thrill of adventure was subsequently lost in it. For both Deep River and ULTRA BLUE, I'd say that - superficially - both maturing and adventure are important themes, reflected in both the sound and the subject matter at hand - which is not to say no other themes are explored. I could probably write a few thousand words, too, about how the sound and experiments therein both unify and define each album's identity, but alright, maybe another time.

We're getting somewhere. This is good. You're not bad, kid.

[Benikari47]

Everything she released from Deep River till Heart Station was flawless, and ya'll are gonna have to deal.



But no seriously, i think UB, DR and HS all has different aspects to them which makes Hikki's discography more diverse and interesting. I'm glad she decided to do such an relaxing and more "back to basics" record as Heart Station after two rather experimental albums. It was a step in the right direction imo. I can't wait to see what she'll bring to the table after her Hiatus.

[Andrenekoi]

Originally Posted by sxesven

I think what we perceive as thematic (and sonic) unity is different - since I do feel, hear and see Deep River and ULTRA BLUE as consistent larger works in which all of the individual, excellent songs play their part. There's probably a lot we agree on, except for our opinion re: these albums - which in part is due to our different perception of what constitutes a theme, and consequently whether any or all of Hikki's albums exhibit one. Like I said, I see Heart Station as the conclusion of a journey, but I think the thrill of adventure was subsequently lost in it. For both Deep River and ULTRA BLUE, I'd say that - superficially - both maturing and adventure are important themes, reflected in both the sound and the subject matter at hand - which is not to say no other themes are explored. I could probably write a few thousand words, too, about how the sound and experiments therein both unify and define each album's identity, but alright, maybe another time.

We're getting somewhere. This is good. You're not bad, kid.

I always felt like her discography is a journey... I remember the first time I listened First Love (the album, wich I really dislike) after started paying attention to this stuff, and how shocked I was to notice how "similar" it was to her later releases... It was less experiemental, it was less mature, It was very focused on the mainstream music from the end of the 90s/early 00s, but the "soul" over there was the same.

You seen to like transitional albums more, I tend to like the ones who embodies the end of the road. ^^ In the end of the day, when it's about pop MUSIC (composition, arragment, lyrics, etc) , I do believe nobody really tops Hikki... not in Japan, not everywhere else.

[sxesven]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

In the end of the day, when it's about pop MUSIC (composition, arragment, lyrics, etc) , I do believe nobody really tops Hikki... not in Japan, not everywhere else.

Hells yeahs. Case closed.

[CoriKaru]

I always find it silly and pretentious when people say because all of an Album's songs don't sound like one song sewn together seemlessly like a Remixed Marathon on Saturday Night Radio Suzuki Ami wig snatching style that it has no flow/theme/whatever and fails as an Album.

Nobody thinks like that. Like the songs on an Album? Good Album. Done.

Nobody wants an Album full of the same song. Diversity is key.

That's why you have a slow melodramatic song come in right after you just got done on the floor on your hands and knees to a club banger. It just works. You just get up, cry and get ready to get on them hands and knees again once the next hot track pops off.

[sxesven]

Originally Posted by CoriKaru

Nobody wants an Album full of the same song. Diversity is key.

For pop music this is probably more or less true, but for so much else it doesn't at all apply.

Plus, by coherence, unity etc. most people don't mean that the songs sound like they are 'sewn' together in a sort of megamix fashion but rather that they contribute to an overall mood, feeling, etc the album is trying to capture. Which is why many people, myself included, dislike greatest hits albums or single collections. Dragged out of context, many songs lose the additional power they received in the original (album) context. Sure, a good single can stand alone. But if that is all the song can do, and you throw a bunch of them together, you don't have a good album. Which is also why an album full of 10/10 songs need not be a 10/10 album. And why albums with weaker cuts can be.