ARENA TOUR 2012 A ~HOTEL Love songs~ information thread [II]

[INSPIREme]

Just back from Tokyo, we managed to catch the show in Nagoya on Saturday night, mine and my friend's first times seeing ayu live after being fans for 10 years! 11 rows from the front-right of the stage! ^_^

None of us really liked CDL11-12; we thought it was really manic and disjointed - loads of themes, a lot of concepts, none of it tied together properly, very messy - so we were a bit apprehensive about this being a continuation, but from the first song we could tell it was going to be a completely different experience.

The story is told properly this time; as you guys have said, ayu is portraying different people in different rooms of the "hotel", a sort-of "you never know what's going on behind closed doors" concept and it is so effective. It's all tied together with some great interlude videos and each section is introduced as occurring in a different room of the hotel, which we thought was really clever. It's definitely the deepest, most conceptual show ayu's ever performed.

As for the setlist, I was really disappointed that so much of it was made up of Party Queen tracks, having been a fan for such a long time and wanting to see some older songs performed, but all the show really did was highlight that PQ is an awesome album. Even the section with the next LOVE and Eyes, Smoke, Magic that others have described as dull was really entertaining.

Also, Timmy rocks. Seriously. He was awesome. So there.

Already planning a trip for CDL13-14. xD

[isthisLOL?]

Nah, I'm on an all-time Ayu-high, if we got another I Am..., LOVEppears or MY STORY - then I'd be pissed at Ayu for putting out mediocre albums.

[jang-kun]

Originally Posted by isthisLOL?

Nah, I'm on an all-time Ayu-high, if we got another I Am..., LOVEppears or MY STORY - then I'd be pissed at Ayu for putting out mediocre albums.

blasphemy! I am... IS THE BIBLE OF JPOP HOW COULD YOU!

[isthisLOL?]

Originally Posted by jang-kun

blasphemy! I am... IS THE BIBLE OF JPOP HOW COULD YOU!

I'm not sure if you're serious.

[TeamAyu2004]

^ you mean her BEST era's?
I would love those albums so much.

Bring back the BEST ayu era's!

[isthisLOL?]

Her most overrated eras. The eras in which she musically was at times even replacable(most of the second half on I Am... could have been released by anyone, even at that time) and generic.
Her lyrics were rather good then, though, especially on LOVEppears, though some of them are too angst-y for me personally, I like her later, more subtle lyrics.

[ayu_ready?]

cannot agree on this. these 'eras' made her a legend, I don't think it was for nothing. and her new 'eras' just seem to make her worse & worse, with the level of ridiculous-ness raising all the time, sorry

[isthisLOL?]

Those eras most certainly did make her a legend. But not as much for musical reasons as for cultural reasons.
And do you seriously disagree that the second half of I Am... was generic ballads galore? Which isn't saying they are bad but...more than just a tad generic. (Also, more ridiculousness than DT01, which was in the I am... era? Impossible...that tour was the definition of tacky. Back then she was almost as tacky as Kana Nishino is now and that says a lot.)

[ayu_ready?]

I cannot agree with you

[isthisLOL?]

You cannot agree with the ballads on I am.. being generic?
That's the one fact in everything I've said xD Of course she still has the generic ballad problem from time to time(meaning of love, beloved...) but never in the sheer amounts of I am...thanks god those ballads weren't bad, so them being generic doesn't matter that much.

[ayu_ready?]

Originally Posted by isthisLOL?

You cannot agree with the ballads on I am.. being generic?
That's the one fact in everything I've said xD Of course she still has the generic ballad problem from time to time(meaning of love, beloved...) but never in the sheer amounts of I am...thanks god those ballads weren't bad, so them being generic doesn't matter that much.

it isn't a fact for me, still

[Keiichi_JPU]

Originally Posted by isthisLOL?

You cannot agree with the ballads on I am.. being generic?
That's the one fact in everything I've said xD Of course she still has the generic ballad problem from time to time(meaning of love, beloved...) but never in the sheer amounts of I am...thanks god those ballads weren't bad, so them being generic doesn't matter that much.

That's not a fact at all. An opinion can NEVER be a fact, go troll somewhere else!

[isthisLOL?]

^ CREA was not the one working on the arrangements, CREA only worked on the melodies. With the one exception being WONDERLAND afaik.

Originally Posted by Keiichi_JPU

That's not a fact at all. An opinion can NEVER be a fact, go troll somewhere else!

Are you kidding me or are you delusional enough to believe a song is born, no more words and Dearest aren't generic as hell? Which is a big part of the ballad-heavy second half I was talking about.
Holy ****, I didn't even call the album bad, just pointed out that some songs are very generic(that's not an opinion, that's not a judgement, that is a simple observation) and people jump my throath xD As a whole it's still less generic than other artist's entire careers(if I named people now there'd be a whole other shitstorm, but there are many, especially in the J-Pop world, that could be named), but that doesn't change that there are rather generic songs on it, amongst unique masterpieces surely, but they are there.

[TeamAyu2004]

Originally Posted by isthisLOL?

Are you kidding me or are you delusional enough to believe a song is born, no more words and Dearest aren't generic as hell? Which is a big part of the ballad-heavy second half I was talking about.
Holy ****, I didn't even call the album bad, just pointed out that some songs are very generic(that's not an opinion, that's not a judgement, that is a simple observation) and people jump my throath xD As a whole it's still less generic than other artist's entire careers(if I named people now there'd be a whole other shitstorm, but there are many, especially in the J-Pop world, that could be named), but that doesn't change that there are rather generic songs on it, amongst unique masterpieces surely, but they are there.

Um, saying something is generic is an opinion, not a fact.
You can see here by lots of people pointing out that they are not generic is what makes it an opinion.
I dont think people were jumping at you, they were just disagreeing with you.
I am is perfection. I dont think there is anything generic about it.
I think its her most creative and thoughtful creation that Ayumi has.
And I think rainbow gets bad flack because it came after I am, it was different from her other albums.

If anything I am is the most generic album she has. Ayumi broke the mold her mold to try and fit it into a more 'listenable' album across asia with all those english words.

[jewelbox]

Originally Posted by TeamAyu2004

Um, saying something is generic is an opinion, not a fact.

EXACTLY. And I HATE the word generic.. Seriously..
And the fact that Timmy has a musical background means NOTHING. There are great musicians who cant even read notes and have composed whole operas (like Vangelis). It's the talent that matters in music. Most rock musicians have no musical background whatsoever...
I don't care if someone had 20 years of experience on classical music and composing if the outcome is ridicilous and crappy.
Some people love Party Queen, thats fine, but calling her older works generic is just ridicilous. What made you her fan if it's not her older songs (before NEXT LEVEL)?
I don't want to sound mean or anything but I'm just AMAZED.

Originally Posted by Coelacanth

lol @ people trying to bash her legendary early work so they can make her new albums look better. Is this really the first thing I have to see when I come back and lurk?

Party Queen sucks. The over-the-top arrangements can't even hide how truly boring all the melodies are in this album. The mixing is terrible on the rock tracks. The Timmy tracks are utter camp garbage. She sounds emotionally distant (perhaps even bored?) while laying down her vocals for most of the album.

Doesn't help that she's constantly coddled by her staff and people like Timmy and Leslie Kee - she readily accepts their sub-par work because she's friends with them and they tell her how fierce she is every single day. If she actually looked at the A SUMMER covers and okay'ed them, well.. she must be absolutely loony. You don't even need to have a keen eye for art to recognize how awful those covers are.

Her older work was more minimalist, mature, unpretentious. It was theatrical, yet subtly - not forced or over-the-top. She's regressing.

I deleted the part about gays, but everything else I wholeheartedly agree 100%.

[Pieces_of_SEVEN]

Originally Posted by TeamAyu2004

Um, saying something is generic is an opinion, not a fact.

This. Dearest is anything but generic.

[njanjayrp]

Originally Posted by isthisLOL?

Are you kidding me or are you delusional enough to believe a song is born, no more words and Dearest aren't generic as hell? Which is a big part of the ballad-heavy second half I was talking about.
Holy ****, I didn't even call the album bad, just pointed out that some songs are very generic(that's not an opinion, that's not a judgement, that is a simple observation) and people jump my throath xD As a whole it's still less generic than other artist's entire careers(if I named people now there'd be a whole other shitstorm, but there are many, especially in the J-Pop world, that could be named), but that doesn't change that there are rather generic songs on it, amongst unique masterpieces surely, but they are there.

So people are delusional for not seeing things the way you do? People do have different standard for generic music and even though you might know more things about actual music that doesn't make everyone else dumb or whatever.

While I enjoyed Party Queen a lot, Coelacanth has said quite a few things I'll agree with:

Party Queen sucks. The over-the-top arrangements can't even hide how truly boring all the melodies are in this album. The mixing is terrible on the rock tracks. Songs like NaNaNa and Shake It embarrassingly pander to effeminate, hedonistic gays who listen to Britney Spears / Lady Gaga and refer to things as "fierce." The Timmy tracks are utter camp garbage. She sounds emotionally distant (perhaps even bored?) while laying down her vocals for most of the album.

Doesn't help that she's constantly coddled by her staff and people like Timmy and Leslie Kee - she readily accepts their sub-par work because she's friends with them and they tell her how fierce she is every single day. If she actually looked at the A SUMMER covers and okay'ed them, well.. she must be absolutely loony. You don't even need to have a keen eye for art to recognize how awful those covers are.

Her older work was more minimalist, mature, unpretentious. It was theatrical, yet subtly - not forced or over-the-top. She's regressing.

Like it or not, the bold parts are pretty much TRUE.

[ExodusUK]

Originally Posted by isthisLOL?

You cannot agree with the ballads on I am.. being generic?
That's the one fact in everything I've said xD Of course she still has the generic ballad problem from time to time(meaning of love, beloved...) but never in the sheer amounts of I am...thanks god those ballads weren't bad, so them being generic doesn't matter that much.

are you serious though, saying those ballads are generics is just opinion. And IMO the ballads on I Am... have nothing in common with the likes of meaning of love and beloved...

[njanjayrp]

Originally Posted by isthisLOL?

You cannot agree with the ballads on I am.. being generic?
That's the one fact in everything I've said xD Of course she still has the generic ballad problem from time to time(meaning of love, beloved...) but never in the sheer amounts of I am...thanks god those ballads weren't bad, so them being generic doesn't matter that much.

Generic? No...plz. As much as I love meaning of Love and beloved those are in fact very generic sounding ballads and the I am... ones are all really unique and could hardly be classified as generic.

I am was a milestone of a sort. Along with RAINBOW it has the most unique sound that she has imo produced so far.

[jbrat2219]

I don't dislike any of ayu's past eras except for MY STORY. But I think her music has matured a lot since then. I definitely prefer the ayu (m)u onward.