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.

AND SOME OPINIONS ON THE RANKINGS:

11. You guys, seriously. Seriously, you guys. It’s such a shame that 2002 is given such a bad rep because of the debacle/gross rip-off of Madonna’s ‘Drowned’ tour called Arena Tour 2002 (also accompanied by an equally atrocious DVD – the editing, it burns!! The goggles do nothing!!). A lot of people forget that Stadium Tour 2002 happened the same year, and was ferociously awesome. Picking just one performance from this gem was difficult, but in the end it had to be this one. Look at how diminutive she looks with just that microphone in the middle of that gigantic stadium, but listen to her, look at her intensity. The perfect song and the perfect presentation. This song belongs outside. Hey, the title says it all, there. Bonus: check out the early lack-of-curves. Awww, that dress fits her like a sack, I love it! She’s so cute!

10. It’s just iconic, she’s just majestic. So in control, so poised, so beautiful. Does Ayumi in cornrows automatically rank her above other, more deserving, performances? I’m not sure, but if ever there was a time when there wasn’t a question, this is it. ‘M’ has gone through some truly awful stage presentations over the years, and this dressed-down version wins every time.

9. HEY LOOK GUYS THIS SONG HAS ACTUALLY BEEN PERFORMED WELL. Not only is it, in my humble opinion, one of the best songs Ayu has ever written, it actually gets justification in its live performance from this concert. You can tell something strange about Ayu, though – which begs the question of why this fantastic song is not performed more often. Does she not like to sing it? Is it too difficult? (I can attest to that – this song is dreadful to sing) Hmmmmm.

8. I get chills every time I see this one. This is the only time it was performed on the large stage (there was a smattering of television promotion, but no more after the album’s release). It’s something about the imagery, it’s something about the lyrics, it’s something definitely about the tears streaming down her face by the end. She’s into it, beyond a simple summer lost-love song. And the single dancer (who crosses herself at the foot of the stage before the final chorus)? If that’s not a ghost, I don’t know what is. This song is about someone who’s dead, people, and if you connect the dots from ‘HANABI’ to ‘July 1st’ to this mini-album, shit starts to get alarmingly real. I’m so glad that we have this live in the ‘Memorial address’ canon, as it proves so much with so little.

7. Okay, wait, hear me out. I mentioned above about the crime against humanity that was Arena Tour 2002. The costumes, the sets, the choreography were blatant rip-offs where they weren’t just uninspired, and the DVD would randomly and perplexingly switch between concert footage and backstage footage during songs. It was and still is impossible to watch, which is why I am one of those who really enjoyed ‘BEST OF Countdown Live 06~07′ for its temerity in recycling old performances step by step, mostly from Arena Tour 2002. ‘NEVER EVER’ deserved better than it got, there, for being the wonderful song that it is. Even if Ayumi’s vocals weren’t 100%, or even 80% on December 31st 2006, she attacks this performance like a rabid dog. Hell, I’m not even all that distracted by her half-naked backup dancers! That’s what I call showmanship.

6. Here’s one of those “sheer power of song/voice win out over ridiculous costume and lack of flash” moments. Easily, handily, almost peerlessly one of the greatest songs in Ayumi’s arsenal, this song just cannot be done justice with pyrotechnic antics and dance corps camera-noshing. All we need here is Ayumi and her mic. You can forget about that harness, hidden under a dress within which the Barnum Circus is still operating to this day, that will hoist her into the air above the stage by the song’s climax. This song is 100% climax, though. There isn’t a weak moment. And when she’s on in singing it, brother, she’s on. Unfortunately she was far less on for CDL 05~06, bbbuuuutttt we’ll forgive her. She doesn’t seem to be vocally on for many CDL’s. Eh. Enjoy this, though. This is the only pre-2003 performance to break the Top Ten.

STAY TUNED FOR THE TOP FIVE OMG WHAT WILL IT BEEEEEEEE??