[Official Message] Winter single "Zutto... / Last minute / Walk" 2014.12.24 in stores II - Page 23 - Ayumi Hamasaki Sekai
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  #441  
Old 16th December 2014, 11:30 AM
spanishfan spanishfan is offline
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These three songs deserve music videos, if not, awesome performances at CDL.

Just waiting for the full song so I can love then in full *_*
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  #442  
Old 16th December 2014, 11:53 AM
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I love all the preview from the short version I heard. But Last minute is the best especially the rock part...
  #443  
Old 16th December 2014, 12:04 PM
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The previews are okay, the songs will probably grow on me later, but I don't really feel that much "winter" in them Last minute is good, but it's kinda like a less emotional version of Memorial address.
  #444  
Old 16th December 2014, 12:13 PM
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I wanted to say that this single isn't doing much for me unfortunately.
I think her voice sounds strange and everything seems very uninspired. Which is a shame.

Then I listened to the short version of last minute. When the rock part started playing I felt like this will be the best song of the single
  #445  
Old 16th December 2014, 12:13 PM
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The first minute of Last Minute makes me want to stab somebody.....but i love when the guitars come in......

Overall, I don't really like any of these songs, but that was obvious since the start for my tastes. Few Ayu ballads have captured me
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  #446  
Old 16th December 2014, 12:24 PM
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I expected songs with more melodys and better sound. Nothing like this 3 tracks
  #447  
Old 16th December 2014, 12:30 PM
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the mixing is so bad..

I love Zutto... it's serene, calm, very pretty. not as polished in terms of simple ballads like JEWEL, not as dramatic as BALLAD, then again it's only a preview on YouTube. the arrangement is really ethereal though, love it!

Last minute this is the one song in the single to satisfy this forum I think. only problem is the mixing with the main and backing vocals is so odd but I hope in CD-quality it will be improved. something about the lyrics is painful too .. like "Begging people, trusting people, leads you to destruction" or something along those lines. very interested for the translation, and a live performance.

Walk captured me in the first ten seconds then it became a really, really, really watered down version of Melody. I hope it builds up more in the parts we haven't gotten on YouTube, but it's my least favorite of the 3 for now.

Last minute > Zutto... > Walk

in general, the single gives a really strong RAINBOW vibe. I wonder if her next album is gonna go in that direction - dreamy, serene, ethereal
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  #448  
Old 16th December 2014, 01:00 PM
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Zutto... is like q mix of SAKURA and petal with a wintery topping, but still not feeling it...

Last minute does reminds me of Last Links, and I love when the songs explodes. Really like the way she's singing here.

Walk is beautiful, better than I was expecting. I hope she performs it live cause it seems like those songs that get even better when performed on stage

Overall, promising single, probably it'll be one the best singles in the year for me
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  #449  
Old 16th December 2014, 01:02 PM
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See the problem is with the fact that they are being categorized as "not great but not bad." That's practically everything she's released lately. ALWAYS "well it's subtle and an enjoyable song to play for unwinding" etc. I'm so sick of that. I have enough of those type of tracks. And honestly, I listen to those type of tracks very often. But, those type of songs used to be the odd ones out. Now, the power tracks have become the rare gems. Ballads do not have to be boring. Her strong suit for me bad always been her ability to create a ballad that sounded completely birthed - something that seemed as if it were just meant to be that way. Songs that had a clear rise and fall, give and take, and thorough building of the energy. Look at walking proud. The song is a ballad no doubt, but something about it makes me forget it is a ballad because it's so LUSH. Moments as well and No way to say. All of those songs. That's what she's missing.

So no, Ayu is not "back", because she hasn't been able to deliver this feeling or capture that sound since pre-Love songs. As much as I love Love songs, none of the tracks made an impression like that initially. So even those tracks lack that "powerful from the get-go feeling". She's always fucking dancing around the shore-line and never fully dives in. BITCH I WANT TO FUCKING SWIM IN THE OCEAN SO QUIT FUCKING AROUND WITH ME.

...

Last edited by Zeke.; 16th December 2014 at 01:16 PM.
  #450  
Old 16th December 2014, 01:43 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Zeke. View Post
See the problem is with the fact that they are being categorized as "not great but not bad." That's practically everything she's released lately. ALWAYS "well it's subtle and an enjoyable song to play for unwinding" etc. I'm so sick of that. I have enough of those type of tracks. And honestly, I listen to those type of tracks very often. But, those type of songs used to be the odd ones out. Now, the power tracks have become the rare gems. Ballads do not have to be boring. Her strong suit for me bad always been her ability to create a ballad that sounded completely birthed - something that seemed as if it were just meant to be that way. Songs that had a clear rise and fall, give and take, and thorough building of the energy. Look at walking proud. The song is a ballad no doubt, but something about it makes me forget it is a ballad because it's so LUSH. Moments as well and No way to say. All of those songs. That's what she's missing.

So no, Ayu is not "back", because she hasn't been able to deliver this feeling or capture that sound since pre-Love songs. As much as I love Love songs, none of the tracks made an impression like that initially. So even those tracks lack that "powerful from the get-go feeling". She's always fucking dancing around the shore-line and never fully dives in. BITCH I WANT TO FUCKING SWIM IN THE OCEAN SO QUIT FUCKING AROUND WITH ME.

...
Speak for yourself. Ayu is not back because she never left. Now sit your ass down.
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  #451  
Old 16th December 2014, 01:45 PM
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I'm pretty much with Zeke on this. Ayu's ballads for the last few years have been "acceptable" rather than "fantastic" and honestly I can't differentiate between them in my mind for the most part.

"Zutto" sounds like Pray part II to me and Pray is very... well, it's too deliberately "epic" and it sounded watered-down to me, and this is no exception. She's done too many of this sort of sad-slow-dance ballad, with an old-fashioned melody, and the same sort of arrangement as a gazillion other songs. "petal" improved on this style of song as much as possible by making it a bit more intense, but even that one didn't have enough oomph.

"Last minute" is the closest to an ayu song that really recreates her previous sound, but it's for two reasons - one of which is good, one is bad, and they're both really obvious... The good reason is that it has a VERY dynamic arrangement, which I miss terribly! It's very simple at first and then kicks up to a ton more instrumentation really quickly, which is something she used to do often. It's great for creating a bigger impact. The BAD thing is that AYU HAS USED THIS CHORD PROGRESSION LIKE SEVEN THOUSAND TIMES. It's a good one, but once you've heard A Song for XX, I am..., SEASONS, Life, et cetera, it does lose its impact after awhile. The mix does sound a bit flat though, which upsets me because it uses mostly real instruments rather than having a synth based arrangement. Overall though, it sounds like the type of song fans expected RAINBOW to have on it but it didn't, so it's probably my favorite of the three. I prefer dark songs anyway, I feel more "at home" with ayu when she does songs like this.

As for Walk...my issue with this song is a weird one - I feel like the melody of the chorus & verses should be switched. They're TOTALLY BACKWARDS! I like the melodies very much, but the chorus sounds more level (aside from that one high note), and the verse sounds way more catchy & memorable and also has that "hanging" final measure, you know how J-pop songs back in the day used to do that thing where the last line of the chorus would be just one measure longer than it would be in a western pop song? I always loved that, it added drama in this very cool subtle way, and it was very very uniquely Japanese to do it... but here, it's the verse that does that! GAAHH. It's backwards. This song is backwards. lol

Last edited by Delirium-Zer0; 16th December 2014 at 01:48 PM.
  #452  
Old 16th December 2014, 01:53 PM
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wow I really..

How is Zutto... anything like Pray? Pray was trying so hard to be "epic", yet it fell short a little imo. it's grandeur, but even something like winding road in the MY STORY album sounded grander at the end of the day. that's the weakest point of Ayu music these days... almost every song tries too hard to be something, and then it falls short.

But this single. Sure, Zutto... is an ambiance emulated numerous times. I think it's possibly closest to other songs like JEWEL, Will and Sweet Scar, where the song is very bare; you don't hear too much going on, and it's "simple" as a result. I don't think it's bad, and I actually think it's better than Sweet Scar at least, for now.
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  #453  
Old 16th December 2014, 01:54 PM
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I'm also going to echo the same sentiments. These songs are not bad whatsoever but they're not fantastic either. They're quite nice for what it is. I'm just hoping that for the next album, it's going to be more rock orientated rather than the EDM phase she was going through lol Even though these songs are nothing special, it feels/sounds like Ayu tracks which is okay with me.
  #454  
Old 16th December 2014, 02:01 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by waterballoon View Post
How is Zutto... anything like Pray? Pray was trying so hard to be "epic", yet it fell short a little imo. it's grandeur, but even something like winding road in the MY STORY album sounded grander at the end of the day. that's the weakest point of Ayu music these days... almost every song tries too hard to be something, and then it falls short.
Well... I think it's one of those things like, if you're more of a ballad person then you can probably hear what makes these two songs very very different - you can probably better hear qualities in each of them that are just too subtle to me. Like I can hear the differences, but to me they're definitely in the same category, they're the same "genre" of ballad. And... they both come across as kinda... phony? I guess? To me they're both obviously manufactured to have a certain sound that's very palatable, that only expresses emotion to a certain level in order to be more listenable (well, "hearable" really) than relatable. These songs do all seem to have the goal of being inoffensive background sound rather than an expression of a genuine feeling. The goal for these songs is to describe some feelings & thoughts without driving the audience away, where Ayu's strength, to me, lies far more in actually CONNECTING with her audience, which is something she seems more and more afraid to do as the years pass.

I do think the mixing is better in this one, this one does seem a bit more genuine, but this is still not quite getting "there" for me.
  #455  
Old 16th December 2014, 02:16 PM
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Originally Posted by Delirium-Zer0 View Post
Well... I think it's one of those things like, if you're more of a ballad person then you can probably hear what makes these two songs very very different - you can probably better hear qualities in each of them that are just too subtle to me. Like I can hear the differences, but to me they're definitely in the same category, they're the same "genre" of ballad. And... they both come across as kinda... phony? I guess? To me they're both obviously manufactured to have a certain sound that's very palatable, that only expresses emotion to a certain level in order to be more listenable (well, "hearable" really) than relatable. These songs do all seem to have the goal of being inoffensive background sound rather than an expression of a genuine feeling. The goal for these songs is to describe some feelings & thoughts without driving the audience away, where Ayu's strength, to me, lies far more in actually CONNECTING with her audience, which is something she seems more and more afraid to do as the years pass.

I do think the mixing is better in this one, this one does seem a bit more genuine, but this is still not quite getting "there" for me.
I definitely get you. Pray, Song 4 U, Tell All, progress... these are fine examples of manufactured songs imo. they are purposely composed, arranged and mix in a way that comes across "grandeur" and "epic", to bring across a forceful personality that makes us go "whoaaaaaaaaa"

she has done that in much better ways, in much better songs like I am..., Memorial address and even count down.

But back to the new single. I don't see how Zutto... is manufactured to have any kind of sound. Maybe it sounds that way, but I feel it's a very calm song, at least from the preview. Maybe it's made to sound calm? Then again, aren't all songs made to sound a certain way, to capture a certain emotion in us? What varies is how genuine and masterful the execution is (something she's been lacking for quite some time now)...
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  #456  
Old 16th December 2014, 02:18 PM
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Zutto... sounds wonderful!

Last minute reminds me of progress the way it starts like a slow ballad then kicks in with something heavier, very exciting <3

Walk sounds soooo sweet! it seems like a real classic ayu ballad


the three tracks sound wonderful to me so far! I know it's easy to be disappointed by your idols, but I wasn't into her last album at all and I much prefer ballads and rock over anything with a dance beat

great sounding songs, gorgeous covers, free gifts, limited edition medleys, BALLADS! what's not to love?! <33333
  #457  
Old 16th December 2014, 02:24 PM
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Zutto... was not meant to be grand I guess..It reminds me of one of alan's winter ballads (cant remember the name at the moment) and i think its quite melancholic and beautiful. I love the build up but her voice is slightly cute-ish haha but i'll get used to it anyway

Last minute is amazingggg!!! I wasnt expecting her emotional vocals especially in the first chorus but its really beautiful and there was a rawness that came through

Walk was another beautiful piece. It immediately reminded me of Ivy and I think Ayu's voice with TK's ballad compositions always seem to work for me. TK's songs give off a message/story-vibe which I think Ayu can carry really nicely

cant wait for the full single in less than an hour's time!
  #458  
Old 16th December 2014, 02:43 PM
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I think Sweet scar was apretty good ayu-ish ballad tbqh.
  #459  
Old 16th December 2014, 02:55 PM
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Last minute just SLAYED ME! What an awesome song! Definetely my favorite!
Zutto... is cute, but nothing really special. It's the traditional ayu ballad of the single to me.
Walk is very strange, it has some parts with a hope vibe, but then the chorus comes with a darkish tone that makes it hard to describe. I like it a lot too.
  #460  
Old 16th December 2014, 03:03 PM
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3 songs on mora

AAC-LC 320kbps
http://mora.jp/package/43000002/AVCD-83126/

48.0kHz/24bit
http://mora.jp/package/43000002/ANTCD-12976_F/
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