100 Days of Ayumi Hamasaki: Pre-Avex Recordings

I always play on a level above where I should. Always. So true to that attitude, I am starting the 100 days with some recordings that are completely irrelevant. This 'album' is called Moon and is nothing more than a collection of demos and whatnot. I say "whatnot" because I totally saw a video of Ayu performing one of these songs on a TV show in 1995. She would have been 17 at the time.

Being snippets and demos, the quality of the actual recordings varies between each song. As does the vocal quality. The actual music quality doesn't, however - it all sounds like it was taken from either a karaoke bar or an early 90's anime. Seriously, this stuff would be right at home in my 4-disc Japanese Transformers theme music collection.

Moon is a song. It probably could have been an OK song, had it been recorded better and Ayu's voice was better. She's not awful, but she sounds young and still learning to sing.

Get Out of My Life is actually really fun. Kind of disco. Ayu + disco = good times.

Raspberry Dream is a cool song title

Dance Dance Dance is not a cover of Fall Out Boy's Dance Dance with an added Dance for more dancing. It is instead some sort of latin-sounding boogie number. Picture Miami Sound Machine. But picture it with ears instead of your eyes, because music is for listening - not for drawing.

Roppongi Shinjuu has an awesome intro and some badass electric guitar

Mizuiro no Koi (Love is Blue) is a fun little ditty. I think pitch it up a few notches and it would have been more fun.

Stranger Tonight is just kinda here. I honestly don't know what to say.

Jingi Aishitemoraimasu is legit great. I wish the whole song was on here. Or Ayu had gone on to re-record it circa 2001. Hell, I'd be happy if she made it now, given she hasn't released anything in 2017.

Hold On Me is also kinda fun

Heart De Shoubu honestly sounds like the theme song for a game show. Picture a Japanese man in a bright coloured suit, wearing thick-rimmed glasses, running on a stage and acting hilariously while his mild-mannered female co-host giggles politely.

I decided to use the interwebs to find more information on these recordings and it turns out this is just a collection of old performances on Idol Stage or something. The videos can mostly be found on YouTube - minus the actually worthwhile songs. But this now explains the differing quality of the recordings. I feel like Ayu needs to buy the rights to this entire show and release a full DVD set of this so I have something to watch every weekend.

Then we move on to the Nothing From Nothing EP. This was Ayumi Hamasaki's first legit release - though this was not with Avex (it was released by Columbia Japan) and is more of a collaboration with a hip-hop artist. I believe she was also credited as "Ayumi". Because most of the time just having one name makes you more awesome. Luckily she realised that simply being her full Ayumi Hamasaki was even MORE awesomer.

Nothing From Nothing [Single Version] is an old school hip-hop jam totally what you would expect from 1995. Just in Japanese. And with squeaky little girl Ayu rapping as well singing the hook. I love old school hip-hop - the late 80's to mid-90's is the golden age and quite frankly soothes my soul in a way no other genre can - so this single gets a solid thumbs up from me.

Limit is the kind of summertime R&B groove that makes you want to cruise through your neighbourhood in the sun. Or groove in the backyard with a cold glass of orange juice. Or watch some Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Paper Doll is another R&B slow jam. Ayu getting her South Philly on!

Gut-it-pez is like listening to a baddass classic Arrested Development jam crossed with De la Soul but all busted out in Japanese. Ayu's rapping is cool, and the other dudes on this track have serious character as well. Also, where else could you find Ayumi Hamasaki spitting "A-Y, U to the M to the I"?!?!

Nothing From Nothing [Album Version] seems to be somewhat darker than the single version. Either way, it's a cool song. This is EP is cool. Ayumi Hamasaki is cool.

Nothing From Nothing is genuinely much better than I anticipated. Fun little way to start 100 days of Ayu's awesomeness.

100 Days of Ayumi Hamasaki

I could have titled this 100,000 days of Ayumi Hamasaki, because in the end that's how long I'll probably listen to her for.

It's kind of already been about 227. 2017 has been the year my love for this woman kicked into overdrive. I watched Power of Music on New Year's Day and haven't really stopped listening since, give or take a few days.

So 100 days of Ayumi Hamasaki?
Well, I'm heading to Japan in 100 days. To see Ayumi Hamasaki live (among other things, but yeah that is a massive priority). But I realised this morning that as much as I love her music, I've really been taking my time with getting to know her entire catalogue. Some might say I've been slack. A terrible fan, even. I was. I still am. I had been somewhat content to just occasionally listen to the same 3 albums over the last 7 years - and even then, I don't think I'd actually listened to them in about about 2 years. But watching Power of Music not only re-ignited my enjoyment of Ayu's music, it completely lit a passion in me for Ayumi Hamasaki and her music. The woman is a consummate professional, an incredible performer and makes inspiring music that crosses genres.

Wow I sound like a pretentious dork.

So that was New Year's Day. I think the next day I realised I needed to branch out a bit on my Ayu experiences and downloaded (like I said, still a terrible fan) the Rainbow and Rock'n Roll Circus albums. I chose those because Rainbow sits chronologically between 2 of my favourite Ayu albums (remember, at this time I only had 3 albums in my iTunes library) I Am... and My Story.

Side bar: My Story is still a masterpiece.

Rock'n Roll Circus kind of interested me as this was the album that had just been released when I first discovered Ayu back in 2010. I'd seen a few live clips here and there and figured it was worth a shot. And I was right. After listening to those 2 albums numerous times, I decided to grab (Miss)understood as well, due to my love of the opening track Bold & Delicious. By this point I was falling further into the rabbit hole and downloading a couple of old concert videos, really driving home for me just how great a performer Ayu is. And just when I thought I could not love her even more, I was led to checking out A One and its absolute brilliance meant my total devotion to Ayumi Hamasaki was now complete.

At this point, I figured I needed to stop downloading her works. Enjoying someone's creative works without actually paying for it is somewhat acceptable in very small doses (or where not possible) but by this point I had numerous albums and concert videos that can be legally purchased but I did not.

Not a good fan.

So I decided that I would not download any more music or videos. I would bite the bullet and pay the stupid premium prices for her CDs and DVDs and blu-rays. Because she is now my favourite artist and I should show my appreciation.

But then a funny thing happened; I booked my trip to Japan to see Ayumi Hamasaki live in concert. A trip like this requires a great deal of money, which means less money to spend on luxury items like CDs and DVDs and blu-rays. But then the next conundrum hit me yesterday: I have only 8 of her albums. Which isn't even half of her studio album output. And then you add in the EPs and such... it means there are a lot of songs out there that I am not familiar with.

Such a bad fan...

I don't want to be at this concert and expose my bad fandom by not knowing half the songs. But I also can't go spending $1,000 on CDs when I'm going to a foreign country in 3 months and need as much money for that as possible. Seriously, my accommodation alone is going to be more than that. So I've had to 'postpone' my rule for a little while longer. But don't worry, Ayu, as I will be definitely on track to make a totally legal music and video collection of your works in 2018. But that's for the future...

What is in store for the now?
Well, to properly get my fan level up to a more respectable position, I am dedicating my listening times over the next 100 days to a somewhat chronological study of Ayumi Hamasaki's music. All 17 studio albums, 4 EPs and a couple of compilations as well for good measure. I'll find some way of working in all the non-album tracks as well, though I'm not sure how to go about that right now. But the plan at this stage is to spend 4 days listening to each album or EP, with the goal being that I will end up with a better knowledge of the songs (and the song titles - it's pretty lame that even now I struggle to remember the names to the songs on A Best and I Am...). I have enjoyed taking my time with each album so far, but it's time to step this up a notch. I don't want to be standing at her concert going 'I think I know this song...' and then six months later I find myself listening to it and wondering if she played that at the concert.

Don't get me wrong - I know it wouldn't impact my enjoyment of the concert. I saw Kiss live in 1997 and barely knew any songs outside of Greatest Kiss and Alive III. But it means that to this day I am reliant on others telling me what songs were played that night, other than Deuce and Rock'n Roll All Nite.

Pretty sure I've made up for it by watching every Kiss concert possible.

So yeah. 100 days.
LET'S DO THIS!!!