Before even stepping foot into this mess, I need to thank the following people: wincy of iloveayu.com, misa, and walking.proud. I decided to take the influx of photos pouring in, chronicling this new and as-yet-untitled or even announced album’s promo materials, and make a picspam from the eyecandy. I also really like staring at these photooooosss.

I hope that by providing some commentary, I’ll get some of you up to speed where you might not otherwise necessarily know what the hell is going on in Ayu-land.

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In my entry directly preceding this one, I waxed influential on the title of Ayumi’s upcoming tour: ‘Rock’n'Roll Circus’. Well, as truehappiness and a few more of you know, I lurk at AHS, and check the damned site at least once a day when news is steady, once every couple of days otherwise. I’m there a lot. A LOT. I’m in ur forum, reading ur posts. And I have this to say:

STOP IT. ALL OF YOU. STOP IT FOR THE LOVE OF GOD.

Were I to say this on the forum (which is why I never do), I’d be torn several new ones by people telling to me to chill out or calm down, that other people are only stating their opinions.

“She’s ripping off Britney Spears” is not an opinion. It is a judgmental statement with little to no music history knowledge behind it. Yes, the “Circus” theme was done last year with not only Britney’s album and tour, but also Koda Kumi’s ‘TRICK’.

But dear Cheez-Its Cry, really?

THIS LOOKS 'SHOPPED.

Bring forth the following offenders:

• Argent – 1975 – “Circus”
• Erasure – 1987 – “The Circus”
• Lenny Kravitz – 1995 – “Circus”
• Eraserheads – 1994 – “Circus”
• Take That – 2008 – “The Circus”

…and that’s just the albums. You can also count things like KISS’ “Psycho Circus” (oh wow, that takes me back) and stuff like T-Pain’s 2008 “3 Ringz”. If you’re going to do that, let’s just extend it to every album that used ‘Carnivalee’ font. We’d be here for pages and pages.

In 2009, Britney was not the only one with a circus-themed tour. Madonna brought out the whips and aerial tricks for the “Sticky and Sweet” Tour, and Pink continues to dazzle (as on Grammy night) with the “Funhouse” tour (see above: albums that used ‘Carnivalee’ font). However, Pink went on record stating that she “regrets” having done a circus theme, stating further: “”Had I known that certain other people were going to base their latest thing about circus things, I probably would have went into another direction. I was six months before that and didn’t really understand that it was a trend that was happening. I’m pretty out of the loop.”

That was way back in the ancient history of 2009.

But let’s look at Ayumi’s track history of setting/following trends, especially when it comes to her idols. Most especially when it comes to Madonna. Most most especially when it comes to the “Drowned World” tour/”Arena Tour 2002″ snafu that even most Ayu fans will shy away from discussing. I once found a very edifying page comparing Madonna’s influence with Ayumi’s homages, which, though informative, sometimes stretched for comparisons in order to call Ayumi a “copycat”. Now, I’m not saying she is. I am saying that if you’re a fan of Madonna’s and have followed her tours through the 90’s and 00’s, you understand what I say when I simply state that Ayumi takes a lot of inspiration from her chief idol. That “lot” should be said with the sort of keening importance reserved for saying that Bayonetta’s character design took a lot of inspiration from Sarah Palin.

Dear fuck, I mentioned Sarah Palin on my blog. Time to bleach this post by getting back on topic:

Ayumi unapologetically borrows concepts and themes from the Queen of All Pop – sort of makes sense, though some of her blatant rips make me cringe. I certainly doubt she’s borrowing from Britney, T-Pain, or Koda Kumi.

That said, the performance of ‘STEP You/EnergizE’ from CDL 09-10 certainly seemed to be indicative of things to come.

FWIW, I love this logo.

I won’t say “poor Ayu”, because that is far from the truth. But I’m absolutely appalled at “fan” reaction sometimes. And it’s not just the spate of Britney and Kuu comparisons with this latest announcement. It’s just that fans are so starved for information and have so little else to do that they spew comments that devalue the artist herself. Saying that titles don’t sound “Ayu-like”, what the flying fuck is that about.

I certainly wasn’t thrilled with titles like ‘Bold & Delicious’, ‘Load of the SHUGYO’, or ‘Mirrorcle World’ (which I still want to shoot in the non-existent face for being harder to pronounce than some of the German vocabulary I’m currently studying), but you’ve got to either accept what the artist has to hand to you and allow the product to sway you (I love all three of the above songs – yes, one is an interlude, but it rocks), or admit that the artist has jumped the shark for you and it’s no longer time to play in that sandbox.

For my own part, I was wild about 311 in high school. I proudly proclaimed them my favorite band, went to see them live twice before I could even drive for myself, and was invited to see them again for my birthday a couple of years back, but declined. Why did I decline? Because, beginning with “Evolver”, 311 became uninteresting to me.  I was simply obsessed with them, before, and this on the cusp of my internet days (1995-2000 is when my 311 love peaked). I bought their VHS that came with a limited edition CD, and even begged my mom for her credit card so I could order the ‘Omaha Sessions’ CD from their official fan club site.  I remember listening to ‘Right Now’ as I watched the fireworks go off on New Year’s Eve, 1999. That’s the sort of shit that makes a band your favorite. I loved them, their lyrics resonated with me, but as I entered my mid-twenties all that began to fizzle. The old stuff is still around for me to love as I jam to ‘Don’t Stay Home’ and ‘Do You Right’ in my car on the way to work, but I couldn’t even tell you the names of songs from their latest album. I do remember shelving it at work, noticing it was a new 311 CD, and muttering “that’s a shame.”

I’ll still gladly support other fans, but I’m not a fan anymore. I don’t hang around publicly saying that they’ve let me down because they haven’t, since 2002, produced anything worthy of my time or money. I’ve just…moved on.

To Asian girls in skimpy outfits, yes, but also to things like Muse and metal, so shut your mouth. It’s more lateral than you think.

If you’ve moved on, move on. If Ayu isn’t making music, videos, or anything that pleases you anymore, take solace in an artist who does. Go enjoy art for what it is supposed to be – an experience. If all you’re experiencing is horror at what you perceive to be poor decisions, maybe you’re just not a fan anymore.

And that’s okay.

I know I sound a bit wishy-washy, considering my own criticisms of Ayumi, but even through the rough patches I’ve not stopped supporting her. As the Lord (Jagganath) himself recently commented regarding H!P vs. AKB48: “If H!P goes down, so does my fandom.” Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead, SAMURAI! SAMURAI!

It’s okay to gracefully step away from an idol you believe has fallen from grace, but there’s really no graceful way to shit on everything he or she does. You just come off sounding like a twat. I understand that this is the internet, and sounding like a twat is basically a part-time job for some of you lot, but seriously. Grow up.

Let’s continue to be psyched out of our minds for this album, and refrain from tearing apart every aspect of her 2010 year as it is announced.

Well, this is breaking new ground, at least where a stylistic possibility is concerned.

To what do I refer?

This is what everyone is thinking:

or better yet:

But what truehappiness and a few others had the insight to point out directly following the announcement, and what immediately came to MY mind, was this:

Let’s see. Ayu has become a spokesperson for Rimmel, touting the “London Look”. She flew to London for her latest PV shoots. She has been photographed (nicely, as a change of pace) for SCawaii’s February issue wearing 1970’s Brit-rock influenced ensembles (even sporting St. George’s Cross on her skirt, but looking very much like a swanky rocker in this shot particularly:

How many more shades of “obvious” does this need to be? Of course, no one can be 100% visionary when it comes to this, but it would seem that the title of the tour and (ostensibly, if tradition will hold) the forthcoming album harken back to none other than Ayumi’s rock and roll influences. What I consider to be the most firmly pointed finger in this whole frenzy, however, is the fact that Ayumi recorded her London sessions at Metropolis Studios. The Rolling Stones, and Mick Jagger as a solo musician, have also recorded there. As have Madonna and Michael Jackson. I’m just saying, Ayumi may have been seeking a musical mecca when she sought out Metropolis.

I, for one, can’t wait for this Rock’n'Roll Circus. Knowing already that (perhaps – who knows?) tracks like ‘Sunrise/Sunset’, ‘You were…’, ‘BALLAD’, and ‘RED LINE’ will be included makes me interested to see just how “rock” she can take it from here, but if the extremely LQ preview of ‘Microphone’ in the latest Honda Spark commercial proves to be a valid lead, this shit is, indeed, gonna rock.

The Tour begins on April 4th. It’s as likely as anything else that we’ll be seeing the 11th album from Ayumi Hamasaki within the next two months.

Here’s hoping for a rocking 2010, Ayu.

Ayumi in 2001

I’m watching Stadium Tour 2002 right now. I’m watching Ayumi Hamasaki, looking naturally gorgeous and well-appointed in a pseudo-Western leather outfit. She’s taking the stage from left to right and back again, spinning, dancing, singing her heart out. She never misses a beat, a pitch, a chance to pump the crowd (but never at the sake of the song). She improvises and plays to the camera. She is smiling, she is winning, she is dripping sweat by the third song but she is radiant with confidence and star power.

It’s a very elaborate concert, but it is like nothing we have seen from Ayumi since. Stadium Tour 2002, you see, allowed for one key thing: Ayumi’s movement as a performer and a singer.

As a singer.

I’m reading new updates at J-Cast and Livedoor. I’m remembering her public apology for the recent performance of ‘evolution’ at Music Festival. The Japanese media is finally pulling back the gag on trash-talking Ayumi, and no one seems afraid, anymore, to shout that the Emperor has no clothes, or, in this case, the Empress has no voice.

I’m watching Stadium Tour 2002 again. Several minutes of the inter-cut documentary footage have passed, and she is performing ‘Whatever’ in a scant and understated outfit. She is letting her ferocity as a performer speak for itself, allowing for her voice to make the statements, not her fashion or her trove of dancers. She is owning the stage.

There is so much movement, so much raw power to this concert.

I want to turn to Countdown Live 09-10 again. I want to wonder. I want to ask myself why I’m accepting “the best of 2009″ from Ayumi and thinking it’s okay in comparison to this, to seven years ago, to something amazing. A time I can never go back to.

On a personal note, I think it is because, in the back of my mind, I don’t want to believe that I never had the chance to see Ayumi Hamasaki live while she was still the fiercest singer in Japan.

She is singing ‘monochrome’ in 2002 and it sounds a thousand times better live than it does on record. I switch to the album cut for a moment, to remind myself. Ayumi on record in 2001 sounds staid, held back. On stage, in 2002, she is booming and holding on to each note. That voice. That singer. Where did that singer go?

I often tout Arena Tour 03~04 as Ayumi’s best. And it really is. It combined the singer with the show-woman that Ayumi has become. It defined her at a perfect point between two eras, while she still had the vocal chops and had not yet resigned to style over substance.

There is nothing wrong with style. I am a strong proponent of Arena Tour 2006, which seems to be as far as she was willing to go with over-the-top. Look at the performances for ‘alterna’, ‘STEP You/Ladies Night’, and ‘Bold & Delicious’, just to name a few. AT06 was a blisteringly stylish affair. There was flash to spare, and yes, her voice was still holding up. It was in the early stages of deterioration, but it was still strong, and it helped that the songs of ‘(miss)understood’ were tailored to her deeper, richer sound.

How much is too little?

She is standing still more than ever. In performances such as last month’s Countdown Live, she could barely move without straining her voice. As I watch her in 2002, she is moving wildly from song to song, around and around the stage, unburdened by costume changes for every two songs, unburdened by an obviously absent vocal range.

I am not happy about this. But I refuse to live in denial. I quote Ayumi herself:

“I have to sing these songs, I have to transmit these songs. That is the meaning of my existence, and I want to continue working hard so I can have a stage where I can feel at ease and have fun.”

I refuse to be in denial, but I will not refuse to admit that it breaks my heart. This woman remains my idol. Even as I watch performers like Beyonce and Lady Gaga and wonder “Ayumi. Honey. Why can’t you do that? Why can’t you be a fierce actress and rock the stage during every song like they do?”, I have to remember: Ayumi was a singer, first, a singer foremost. Watching Stadium Tour 2002 reminds me, as the sky darkens and she rushes the catwalk to sing ‘independent’. Then she takes the stage in that iconic Union Jack sequined dress, belting out ‘Free & Easy’ and making the hairs on my arm rise.

She has very little makeup on, and what is there just enhances her natural beauty. No wigs. No pre-recorded video segments to set the stage. No gigantic dress is needed to enhance a powerful ballad. The powerful ballad is the thing. It is not the accessory to the style.

When did it all go wrong? Here she is, in 2002, completely alone, all 5 feet and 1 inch of her, commanding a packed stadium in Tokyo on a hot summer night.

Re-evaluating is not a thing I like to do. I like to root for my idols, I live to root for my idols, and Ayumi Hamasaki is an idol I hold as dear as I hold some family members. She has treated me, as a fan, with respect and unbridled desire to please for so many years now, but…somewhere along the line, it all went wrong.

What you compensate with says everything about what you are compensating for. We have not been treated to an intimate, dancer-free, stripped-down and vocally-driven Ayumi Hamasaki performance to blow us away since 2006, and even that was just the encore.

I adore and still hold up the 2008 performance of ‘A Song for XX’ at a-nation as a magnificent moment for Ayumi, but with almost two years passed to reflect on it, I realize that it was less of a return to power than it was a resolution to fight.

Ayumi is not giving up. Ayumi will not give up. And I will not give up on her.

She follows ‘Free & Easy’ with ‘M’. Just a woman, her mic stand, and her incredible voice. Not Utada Hikaru, not YUI, not Namie Amuro. Different in every way, singing the hell out of a song she not only wrote, but also composed. Where did this woman go?

I am somber, as I watch Stadium Tour 2002, now, in 2010. At the risk of using a very similar word, I am also sobered to the fact that the Empress has no voice.

She casts her eyes skyward as the now-classic piano strains begin. She sings, with a voice that is no worse for wear from the two songs she just nailed to the stage:

“In a nonexistant place
I stand as I am.
Please be yourself.
That’s how I want you to be.”

It’s my favorite line from ‘SURREAL’, and one of my favorite Ayumi lyrics of all time. She is being lifted above the crowd in a cherry-picker, but the way she reaches over the barriers, it seems more that she is in a cage that is only barely doing its job of keeping her from physically imposing upon the audience the message of her lyrics.

By now, in any other Ayumi concert since 2003, it would be easy to imagine ourselves 6 costume changes in, as she sings ‘HANABI’ and a young dancer performs one of his first flaily solo dances in an Ayumi concert, his hair rather normal and wearing standard jeans and a white tank top.

It’s like watching a bizarro version of Ayumi Hamasaki. The carnivale-inspired costumes and opulence of the final set are familiar now, yes, but by today’s standards they seem absolutely tame, downright “boring” against giant stage mechanics, fountains, and rotating platforms.

Ayumi is singing every word of ‘Boys & Girls’. It was a lovely gesture to the fans in 2002 when, during the final chorus, they were asked to join in, but the mixing of the DVD is superb in showcasing Ayumi’s vocals rather than the crowd’s – if you compare 2002 to 2005, hardly anyone from the crowd joined in. Now, the crowd is a crutch during ‘Boys & Girls’, and is indicative of a larger problem. Listening to her sing every word of this song is downright odd.

Fireworks go off around the stadium, lighting up the Tokyo sky when she is finished.

I want fireworks to go up for Ayumi the singer again. I love her as a singer first, as a singer foremost. If we are to take her at her word, she will continue to sing as long as people will listen. I will continue to listen, but I have to wonder when it will be beyond criticism, when we will officially pass into the era of Ayumi the celebrity, of knowing simply who she is rather than what she is currently responsible for in the music world.

If scuttlebutt is any indicator, that era has come. But I believe in ‘You were…/BALLAD’, especially in ‘RED LINE ~for TA~’.

Give me a good concert again, Ayumi, or refuse to put yourself in the position of ridicule. This is something I have absolutely no desire to snark over. You are my heroine, my goddess, and my inspiration. I will always be listening, but right now it is comparable to watching Kerri Strug make an Olympic vault on a broken leg. Only, Ayumi…you’re not in the running for a gold medal.

“Please be yourself.
That’s how I want you to be.”

Since I spent my New Year’s Day working and then waching the two television broadcasts I’d been waiting FOREVER to see, it seems fitting that I put both the review together, here. I was just going to put them up here without any pics, but sucks to that, and your ass-mar (tits or gtfo, amirite?). I’ll just put whatever pics I can find. It’s cool! I can do zat!

Anyway, if you haven’t seen Doctor Who’s Christmas Special for 09-10, ‘The End of Time’, in its entirety, don’t read this. It will really confuse and/or spoil you (both would be hilarious). If you haven’t seen Ayumi’s Countdown Live My Titles Continue to Get Longer and Longer 09-10 ~FUTURE CLASSICS~ who gives a shit, no one cares about being spoiled on that. In fact, I think the Ayumi fan community eats spoilers for breakfast. They eat HATING ON AYUMI for lunch. I am part of the Ayumi fan community. I do not hate her. But I will give honest criticism.

Also, I’m sick as fuck and feeling very cheeky, so be prepared.

I wrote these this morning, who am I kidding. I’m only going through and adding pictures and other observations, durpity durp durp.

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I woke up this morning feeling pretty good. The sun was out for the first time in a couple of weeks, I was well-rested, and I still had ‘RED LINE ~for TA~’ to play over and over again while I was going through my morning routine.

But oh, what’s this up at AHS? It’s the motherfucking setlist from Countdown Live! The concert was already wowing me with its merchandise, specifically the very very cool Ayu-face t-shirt, the first official merch tee with Ayu’s face on it:

Tres Madonna, oui? Anyway, the merch looked fabulous, and I love the gothic-style logo, plus the very title of the concert, ‘Future Classics’, intrigued me. Seeing the setlist this morning made my world. I didn’t really think it could get better than last yearts PCDL, which was a smorgasbord of rare and never-performed songs. This year has some pretty popular fare, but dips back into the catalog with a very different approach:

THE SETLIST:

01. I am…
02. Moments
-inst-
03. STEP you
04. EnergizE
-inst-
05. About You
-inst-
06. momentum
07. You were…
-inst-
08. Pride
09. INSPIRE
10. Because of You
11. 1 LOVE
12. until that Day…
(countdown)
13. Humming 7/4
14. evolution
15. Startin’
(encore)
16. teddy bear
17. Sunrise ~LOVE is ALL~
18. Boys & Girls
19. RED LINE ~for TA~

(courtesy of 2ch and Coelacanthe of AHS)

I see there’s the standard “hyper-cute-girly-pink-crap” section with ‘STEP You’ and ‘EnergizE’, but having an all-out ROCK section (with three of the most rocking Ayu songs ever, might I add….’Because of you’, you have been sorely missed bb) and featuring ‘Humming 7/4′ in the core setlist and not just the encore (have I ever mentioned that as being my favorite Ayumi song? I don’t think I have, because I try to focus on different aspects of her music and say “oh, _____ is my favorite ballad, ______ is my favorite rock song” No no no no….’Humming 7/4 is MY. FAVORITE. AYUMI. SONG. EVER. Take that to the bank. It has been since 2006)? RELIABLE DECISION-MAKING. The presence of ‘Startin’ is also a treat (‘Startin’??? At the END? Say that ain’t on purpose), and let me TELL you I just about shat bricks when I saw that ‘I am…’ was leading up the show. Especially considering the obvious ‘I am…’/'You were…’ connection. Also, that song is a pure oddity in her catalog and I can’t get over it being awesome.

‘Pride’ has been one of Ayumi’s best live songs in recent years, it relies a lot on her alto and her vibrato, which kick ASS now even where her high range fail.

‘momentum’ has never gotten enough play, usually scrapped in favor of the perennial ‘M’, but OMFG ‘momentum’ is here.

I like my Ayumi encores how I like my coffee: with a spoon in them sweet, strong, and the same as always. I don’t require much change. I was never a fan of ‘MY ALL’, honestly, or ‘Replace’, as encore-enders. I personally haven’t quite gotten over the way ‘Who…’ keeps getting slightly truncated. So: I’d better hear ‘Boys & Girls’ or ‘Humming 7/4′ in the encore, or I’m just going to be peeved (not that my opinion really matters, but…you know…). This encore features two strong happy songs (one of them being ‘Boys & Girls’, fuck yeah), both incredible crowd-pumpers, one amazing ballad, and a song I am completely willing to hand over the ‘Encore Ender’ spot to for all eternity. I mean, have you glimpsed the lyrics of ‘RED LINE ~for TA~’? You must have a heart of steel if you’re not moved by that shit. LOVE IT. Of course, Countdown Live has been notorious for featuring an Encore Ender that never makes an appearance again (‘winding road’, wth), but my god I hope ‘RED LINE’ stands up.

I also have seen photos of the costumes, and here’s where the real kicker is: THEY ALL LOOK REALLY GOOD. I only have misgivings about the “hyper-cute-pink-girly-crap” Alice in Wonderland costume, but it’s only used for two songs and I don’t really think we can complain after the pink fuzzy cloak, fairy wings, and tiara from last year’s PCDL. *cringe*

She also sports a GIANT H!P BOW during one set. I’m just sayin’. GIANT H!P BOW is setting up franchises, apparently.

All in all, I can’t wait to see this. Especially since she looks to be sitting on her best-selling single in a long time. YOU GO GURL. In conclusion:

Well, I’ve listened to the ‘You were…/BALLAD’ single in full, remixes and C-sides and all.

I didn’t think the Ayumi fan community and I would find a common ground on anything, this year. But that thing is this single. I can say, without reservation, that it is her best for 2009. As a complete single, it actually beats pretty much everything from 2008, also. The last great all-around single from Ayumi, in my opinion, was ‘Talkin’ 2 Myself’.

Let’s consider each track on its own:

You were… - 3/5 - The logical choice for A-side, in my opinion. It’s a strong ballad, it carries the single even though it’s not my favorite track. In my opinion, her vocals are off the mark with this one. The instrumentation buries her vocals, and she sounds like she’s shouting to compensate. What begins as a nice, soft ballad turns into a cacophony of orchestration and jingle bells, most of it sounding very synthesized. I don’t like the way this was balanced at all. In short, I don’t like it when Ayumi is fighting against the music instead of leading a song. The bridge is even engineered in a way that drowns her out. I do like the song, don’t get me wrong. It’s a lovely ballad, the best since ‘Days’, but I honestly think the engineer should be shot for this.

BALLAD – 4/5 - This song, on the other hand, is exceptionally executed. The not-so-subtle East-Asian inspiration in the arrangement is so reminiscent of ‘Secret’, ‘Part of me’, and ‘theme of a-nation ‘03′. The entire time, Ayumi never lets her voice escape its natural range, even at the cost of a few of those annoying “hyper-vibrato” moments she’s been prone to lately (I love her vibrato, but that’s just me). My only complaint is the backing “boom-chhk” refrain throughout the song. I hope you know what I mean. The part that sounds like the opening of ‘ourselves’. I think the song would have been gorgeous just as an orchestral song. The East-Asian instruments used for the bridge are PHENOMENAL, and make the song something incredibly special. It’s soft, it’s understated, and it never hits you over the head with its melancholy power. Even the climax is staid, in a way. I love this sort of ballad from Ayumi, especially now that her voice is, let’s face it, limited.

RED LINE ~for TA~ – 5/5 – Here’s where I’ll probably differ from everyone. This is my favorite track on the single, arranged by one of my favorite Ayumi collaborators of all time (also responsible for ‘Memorial address’ and ‘Is this LOVE’, amongst others). It reminds me of some older Ayumi compositions, even the way her vocals are showcased with that almost-screechy edge to them. She sounds happy and pitch-perfect in this one. It’s like the over-produced likes of ‘Replace’ and ‘My All’ had a baby with the raw studio power of ‘Girlish’ and ‘Memorial address’ and produced this song. Yoshio even gets a bitchin’ solo! It’s uplifting without being cheesy, it’s epic without sounding too slick.

You were… (Music Box Mix-retake version-) -3/5 - A separate take of ‘You were…’ set to the barest of music box tinkling sounds. Almost a vox-only take, and when the overpowering music is stripped away it becomes clear how great her vocals really sound (maybe it’s just this take…?) Very relaxing, the verses are gorgeous, but she still sounds like she’s straining in too many parts, as if the song is written out of her range on purpose. Not okay, imo. Just like in the Original Mix, she pretty much shouts the choruses.

Sunset ~LOVE is ALL~ (Orchestra version) – 4/5 - No secret, I loved ‘S/S ~LiA~’. Strangely though, when I hear this song I think it’s too stripped-down for ‘Sunset’. The very essence of ‘Sunrise’ and ‘Sunset’ was in their respective arrangements, and though the vocals are sweet and lovely and soft, it’s not an improvement at all. It’s almost a lateral move, if anything, and only if you’re wanting something more orchestral for the given mix you’re putting together.

Verdict: BUY THIS SINGLE, OKAY.

I’m too 1) lazy and 2) busy to complete this Year in Review the way I wanted to. I realize that I just don’t have as much to say as I thought I did. Therefore, considering that this week marks the release of THIS:

SHIT JUST GOT REAL.

…I’ve decided to throw my format out the window (like a professional, responsible journalist) and just count down my Top Ten Asian Artists of 2009 like every other regular jackoff. *shrugs* Eh, come for the eyecandy, stay for the snark. There may be snark. WARNING: THERE MAY ALSO BE SOME BILE-SPITTING. Just getting that out there.

Who wins? Who loses…well, let’s see. This is a list of the artists whose songs I’ve liked most in 2009. This is not a countdown of which Asian artists have, all history spoken, made the most impact on me. I think everyone can guess on those. 2009 was a strange year for me, musically. I didn’t quite know what to think of what my tried-and-true favorites were doing. Things were changing, not always for the better. Sometimes simply for the mediocre, other times for the WTF. Nonetheless, I was up and down and all over the place during 2009. Very few artists retained the same status they did from 2008, whether it be moving up in my ranks or slipping down, down, down.

So who made the cut?

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We have reached the end. I am finally able to delete the 10+ GB’s of renders and project files off of my computer, and what I am left with is the hope that maybe just one of you will walk away from this countdown more enlightened, more enlivened, more aware of the love that is Ayumi Hamasaki.

Or maybe I’m just glad that it’s over so I can move on to my End of 2009 Shit, which will not actually begin until I get a taste of Namie’s new album (GET HERE FASTER, PAST<FUTURE!!! FASTER!!), but there is much to say. One thing I will say in relation to Ayumi and the year of 2009 to preface this, my purely subjective Top 5 of her live performance catalog: I regained my abiding love for her this year. In 2008 I was wondering if it was all worth it. She was starting to bore me, to actually embarrass me, and nothing she did seemed different or innovative. In 2009 I took a very deep plunge in learning more about her and examining the way she seems to operate as an artist, and from that perspective the year in Ayumi won me back wholesale. Others may disagree. But that’s just how it is. Regardless, Namie already has an album that blows NEXT LEVEL out of the water (judging solely based on the six tracks we’ve heard thus far), but that’s Namie and she is a different sexy beast altogether.

I’m off to see if someone has posted a TV rip of the Arena Tour 2009 broascast from tbs.ch after this…I hope not to be disappointed, but even if I am, I can come back here an relive the golden age of Ayumi live.

On with the Countdown!

The direct download link, in case your computadora does not compute WMV embeds at all.

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Dang, son, we’re very nearly to the finish line with this one! Below you’ll find rankings 11 through 6.

I have to admit that right about at this point in the ranking process I started to flounder around a LOT, because I had to hold style in one hand and substance in the other, and try to weigh which one meant more. In other words, Ayumi sings great and “keeps it real” in one ranking but puts on an amazing show in another while singing sub-par. Things start to get subjective. The Line Begins to Blur. Trent Reznor writes good songs.

But so does Ayu! I think there’s a grander, broader point I’m trying to make here, and that is (loosely) that no matter how much of a lavish performance you put on, if the song sucks it’s not going to fly. That’s why I’m starting to believe some of the “man, Ayu’s songwriting is getting weak” flak. I’ll withhold judgment until I see CDL 2009-2010 and Arena Tour 2009, though. Because god bless and keep me, I WANT TO BELIEVE. Besides, did you see that last post I made? Those new covers are fantabulous. Please let this be the sign of the pendulum swinging back, oh please oh please (also, ‘You were…/BALLAD’ are composed by HAL and DAI, respectively, which is always promising).

On with the Countdown!

The direct download link, in case your computadora does not compute WMV embeds at all.

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