  About two years ago, while reading an article on urlLink Macslash about the musical tastes of the readers, someone mentioned Ayumi Hamasaki and my curiosity peaked. I was already listening to Megumi Hayashibara and Utada Hikaru ( Kingdom Hearts fans - if you didn't already know - this is who sings the opening theme), so I was interested in enlightening my ears to more Japanese music. I quickly became obsessed, finding any Ayu I could - videos, movies, CMs (commercials) - literally anything I could. It's been quite some time since I've been this taken by an artist or band - the last being The Cranberries. Her music ranges from slow paced piano/strings tunes such as LOVE ~Destiny~ to high-paced and fun songs like Independant+ . Needless to say, Ayumi might be that key that actually started to define a genre of music that I prefer: Japanese (aka JPop/JRock/J [insert genre here] ). As Brad, Rob, Jason and others have stated, I have no musical taste. I think, after all this time, that is changing - since Japanese is classified (in the US sense) as JPop for genre - just like Hip-Hop, R&B and Rap genres are in the Black Music genre in Europe. Either that or my entire outlook on music is changing - from caring about the lyrics to enjoying the actual music for what it is - music.
I can't understand Ayumi (yet - give me 10 years and we'll see how different that is) - but the sound of her voice and the sound of her music is so captivating for me. Since being introduced to Ayumi, I've expanded to urlLink Baby VOX , BoA , The Pillows , Do As Infinity , Gackt , L'Arc-en-Ciel and many many many more... however I still find an obsession in Ayumi's voice and music.
I can listen to her for hours on end without ever getting bored with it - ala The Cranberries back in my mid- and late-teens. The purpose for this post? I was able to snag a copy of her Rainbow album! It's the simple things that make me happy. ^.^ Note: also felt like posting something happy before going to the dentist again for Round 2 
