一筋光信じる・暗闇に怯える
Writings and notes about special projects on which I am currently working. Most of these projects involve music in some way, especially the music of Latin America, USA, Russia and Japan.
Escrituras sobre mis varios proyectos. Muchos de estos proyectos imbolucran a la música de Latino America, E.E.U.U., Rusia y Japón.
今年のプロジェクトについて考えを書いておいた日記です。 ほとんどの書き留めるものはアメリカの中心地と北アメリカとロシアと日本から音楽があるよ。
我的篇章。 我喜欢中美洲、美国、俄罗斯和日本的音乐。 我尚未不了解中国的音乐、可是我想学新歈。你有暗示吗？
「なんだかタイミング悪くて」
I’ve been listening to Ayumi Hamasaki’s full-length albums lately and I have to say that I take back what I said before about her music. It may have changed over time, but it’s still pretty damn good.
I just finished listening to a bunch of her albums, four of which are her last few studio albums. After really listening well to these albums I can definitely feel the overwhelming depression that Hamasaki writes about. Although there are a few glimmers of hope in her songs, everything still always has a touch of bitterness.
GUILTY is her darkest album yet. It begins with the short introduction song “Mirror”, which really sets the mood. Then it quickly goes toward an increasingly depressing slope as the first instrumental track called “Marionette -prelude-” hauntingly introduces the darkest song of them all, “Marionette”. I think it’s pretty cool that this song got its own introduction — it really shows how good it is. After “The Judgement Day”, the second instrumental track, sets the mood for the next song, the album takes on a lighter, but very nostalgic, side. “glitter” is probably one of the best upbeat songs by Hamasaki, in my opinion, considering the mood of this particular album. The second and last upbeat song, “MY ALL”, continues on the nostalgic side. Following the third and final instrumental track is the tear rendering “untitled ~for her~”, which was written after the death of one of Hamasaki’s closest friends, to whom she also dedicated this album.
I really have learned to love this album. Everything about it is pretty great. Although this is her first album not to reach the #1 position on the Oricon charts, it’s a well-composed album full of really great songs. The album in its entirety is extremely cohesive. I’m really glad now that I have that poster on my wall.
After the release of this album Hamasaki released two remix albums, the first two of their kind in nearly four years. Both albums, ayu-mi-x 6 -GOLD- and ayu-mi-x 6 -SILVER-, are amazing, as Hamasaki’s remix albums usually are.
Finally, Hamasaki released her 10th anniversary commemorative single “Mirrorcle World”, whose title track is actually a wonderful extension of “Mirror”, the introduction to GUILTY. This single also included “Life”, a mellow song that follows the mood of Hamasaki’s most recent rock music included in GUILTY. Because this single was released exactly ten years after her debut in 1998, Hamasaki re-recorded two of her earliest songs (“YOU” and “Depend on you”) and gave them an edge that fits really well with the rock music of this single.
If Hamasaki keeps releasing ridiculously good music like this, then I’m definitely looking forward to her next single. Next month she’ll release a compilation set called “A COMPLETE ~ALL SINGLES~”, which collects all of her a-side singles on three compact discs. I need a really good incentive to actually buy this one, though. I like the picture, but not much more is known about it yet in terms of artwork, which I always care about!
