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My daughter is at day 1 of Stray Kids concert in Atlanta. I have to admit ... I am jealous. And really pissed that she didn't even ASK if I'd like to go too. And, of course, by the time I found out tickets were very scarce and very expensive.

Imagine my surprise when I got home from work, sat down with my dinner, and opened YouTube. One of the reactors I follow is live streaming the concert! So I am watching Stray Kids live. Of course, the quality isn't great and I have to listen to her screaming, but I'm still watching. And I've got a better seat than my daughter. :P

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K-pop lingo (or maybe I'm just old)

I've been watching new reactors discover Stray Kids. In many cases, it is also their introduction to k-pop, as it was mine. I'm remembering how confusing the terms were when I first started watching.

Stan, visual, bias, bias wrecker, ult ... are these unique to k-pop? It's pretty obvious where everything comes from except "stan." Is it short for ... what? I don't have a clue! It's being used as a verb. Standard? That doesn't make any sense. I really can't figure that one out.

I'm not sure what happened to handsome, pretty, favorite, runner-up, best, etc., but no one seems to use those words.

And, good grief, how many times have I been called "bro" and heard "like" and "Chef's kiss?" And "fire" -- fire is a noun! It's not an adjective!

It does amuse me that in people's profiles in chat rooms and boards they list their bias, bias wrecker, and ult. Do people only want to chat with others who share the same ones? Do people try to convert you to their side? Or is it just "idol" curiosity? (HA HA, I slay me!) And why is ult typically listed last? If it's your best of the best, shouldn't it be first?

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Stray PCD @ home

Stray Kids just had their 2 nights of concerts at Kyocera Dome in Osaka. I got up at 3:00 in the morning yesterday to watch the 1st concert on Beyond Live. It was really different to see them live. Even though I wasn't there, it was still different than watching videos on YouTube. There is just something about a live show that makes you feel like you are a part of it. A shared experience is just so much more meaningful.

Now it is Sunday mid-day for me, (3AM for SKZ) and I'm watching Channie's Room Ep. 199. I realized this morning that he would probably go live today, but I was out for brunch when he did. I almost told my friend that I needed to watch it, but I realized that was silly, especially since I wouldn't understand much of it anyway. Right now, HAN has come to visit Chan and they are giggling away. I wish I understood Korean, but watching Chan impersonate JYP's Groove Back dance is a nice consolation.

I could see from posts and comments that there was another video message for them that was played at the end of day 2 and most of them were reduced to tears. I can't even imagine the emotions they must have been going through. The stage was huge and the crowd was enormous - over 40,000 people, I think.

I spent most of yesterday on socials looking at clips of a concert I had already seen. It was a silly use of my time, especially since I have so much work to do, but I couldn't help myself. Post Concert Depression is a real thing!!

I know there have been events in my life that were the same. You spend so much time preparing for "the big day" that after it is finished you feel bereft and want to relive it. I've never married, so that's not a thing for me. The birth of my daughter, special event parties, and performances are when I have experienced that. I never expected to feel it after a televised concert of a South Korean boy group!

Well, I've got a lot of work to do, so I'm going to go look for more concert clips. (oy - help me!)

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It's the music, man!

The main reason I was attracted to Stray Kids is that their music is great! They really make good music. I've seen people refer to haters who say their music is noise. I've read comments that the members can't do whatever it is they do (sing, dance, rap, etc.) And there is always the ever-present "my group is better than your group" bullshit.

The main reason I wasn't interested in k-pop back in the 80s and 90s is that what reached my ears all sounded the same. And it was similar to the American pop music that was around. All of it was blah!

I am one of those masters of song lyrics who can pull out a lyric for almost any activity. I've been known to break out in song over a flat tire or bad weather. I love words and wordplay. I can remember all kinds of lyrics (when I'm not trying, of course) and I really connect with the story of the song. I can't remember much else, but you can always count on me for a verse or two.

I can't do that with Stray Kids. Since I don't understand Korean and I can't sit around watching subtitled music videos all day, I often just listen to the music itself. Their music is very intricate and interesting. The blending of genres is very exciting. The use of different environmental sounds (horns honking, birds tweeting) is fascinating. I am in awe of Chan's dexterity with sounds! Their ability to build tension and suspense in the music is amazing. Listening to their songs is like going on a roller coaster.

Of course, they're not masters yet. They are still young and learning, testing and tweaking, but they're better than anything else I've heard in a long time! And observing their experimentation and growth is so satisfying! I look forward to riding again.

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Reactions to Stray Kids

My grandson loves Minecraft and kept trying to show me videos of other people playing the game. I was truly baffled as to why someone would consider that entertaining. I kept trying to explain to my grandson (he's 7 btw) that I didn't know the game and, therefore, it was not interesting to watch someone else play it. I wasn't learning anything; I wasn't entertained by anything; I wasn't interested. As you can imagine, he didn't understand me either. But I still love him loads!

And now I've found reactors to Stray Kids. I have to admit that it's exciting to watch other people discovering them. I couldn't figure out why it kept pulling me back in. Now I've realized It's sort of like reliving my own discovery. Feeling that excitement again is almost like a drug. Endorphins?

I am a classically trained pianist and a singer -- mostly ballads, American standards, and pop hits covering ... SHIT! ... over 40 years now! I was also a church organist for 15 years. All of that is to say I've experienced A LOT of music.

When I first started watching SKZ music videos, I was mostly watching title tracks. Each video was such a ride and I would have to pause them to catch my breath! There are outfits and accessories. There's group dynamics and interactions. There's backgrounds and scenery. There are colors and choreographies. And, of course, there are handsome, young men in the middle of it all. It's a lot! More often than not, I just watched with my jaw on the floor. I haven't often experienced music this way.

I was 13 years old when MTV premiered, and my family didn't have cable. We were still making cassette mixtapes from the radio and buying 45s of our favorite tunes. There was nothing more frustrating than the DJ who talked over the song you were recording! I saw some music videos when visiting friends' houses but, for the most part, I did not see many. They were usually just footage of the band/singer performing, and not much else. Sometimes, the artists were "acting out" the song, but they were pretty cheesy.

A little over 2 years later in December 1983, Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video premiered. It was such a big deal! He was a massive star and the video was being hyped as a mini-movie. Watch parties were organized and events were planned. My friends and I went to the nearest roller skating rink 5 miles away to watch on their big screens. That is the 1st time I can recall seeing a music video on such a grand scale. It was 15 minutes of great music, (cheesy) acting, and a dance that is still done to this day around Halloween.

and that is JUST ABOUT EVERY SKZ VIDEO !!!

Of course, there is a language difference, and reading subtitles while trying to take in the visuals was often overwhelming. I spent a lot of time watching videos multiple times as well as rewinding and pausing. I also spent a lot of time researching things they'd referenced.

I found myself watching the whole video once through while reading the subtitles. Then I would watch it again to SEE it. Then I would watch it again and try to sync the two. Then I would watch it many more times because I kept finding different approaches to understanding the video. Like, what's up with Hyunjin and apples???

And now that I'm reasonably caught up on MVs (I occasionally still discover one I haven't seen) I have discovered the reactors. There are so many! I didn't realize it was "a thing." People are trying to make a living out of other people watching them watch still other people do what they do. It's actually kind of mind-boggling if you really think about it.

There seem to be an awful lot of people just discovering Stray Kids. I don't know what's driving it, but there have been so many new reactors just in the last couple of weeks. I think I've read that sometimes there are "fake" reactors, but that wouldn't explain all of them. Why so many new ones? Are they just jumping on the bandwagon? Is "the word" getting out there?

I've tried to find reactors who have a history of reactions as well as a reasonable number of subscribers. That tells me that they're doing something right. I have my favorites of course -- Teddy Grey, Handsome Sausages, Amari Leon, and Sebastine. They each analyze rather than just react. The people who just really watch "with" you and say, "Ooh, that was fire!" don't interest me.

But I truly enjoy watching people "discover" Stray Kids. Their hype is invigorating. I will binge a reactor's entire journey into SKZ if they are excited about it. I'm subscribed to so many channels now. Prior to this journey, I was subscribed to about 10. Now It's close to 100.

They just remind me of MY 1st time ;)

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the evolution of Stray Kids

I've been thinking a lot about the evolution of Stray Kids. The group's survival program and subsequent debut did not bring them immediate global success. Although, from what I've read, I think they were more popular outside of South Korea.

I've been watching videos of older events and concerts. Those guys were all over the place! Advertisements, festivals, conventions, vlogs and vlives, reality shows, movie-like trailers for album releases -- it seems like they took any and every opportunity to get themselves seen. One thing I don't think anyone would deny is that Stray Kids have worked their butts off!

I was introduced to them by my 35 year old daughter. I don't know when she discovered them, although I do remember she seemed to always be watching videos or doing artwork with the members' names. My 6 year old granddaughter kept asking to watch YouTube so she could see the "blue powers" song by Stray Kids. I quickly learned that she was referring to "Thunderous," so that must have been the fall of 2021.

Here in the U.S. we don't commonly see music that is not in English become very popular. Many Americans really haven't been exposed to other ethnicities. This country clings to being Euro-centric even in the face of a changing demographic. Part of the American identity is "You come to us," and that includes speaking English. As a nation, we have welcomed Canadian and British musicians and singers with open arms. Maybe also Australians, but I can't think of any other than actors. That's all to say that it is very surprising to me to see k-pop making inroads.

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OCD and Stray Kids

My journey into Stray Kids began with me triggering my OCD to its highest levels yet. Luckily I have never been too extreme, but I do have a tendency to sort and organize things. My vinyl albums and then my CDs were all sorted in alphabetical order by artist, and then in chronologic order. I like to read books in series (Stephen R. Donaldson, Janet Evanovich, Harlan Coben) and watch movies and TV shows in order. That was great during quarantine, as I could binge shows that I hadn't seen before and actually get through multiple seasons.

And then came Stray Kids --

They have massive amounts of content out there. We're talking TONS! And I have been compelled to watch it all in chronological order. It's taken months to get where I am. I never fooled myself into thinking I'd found it all, but just last week I discovered that there are people maintaining databases of SKZ stuff! And here I've been reinventing the wheel. I've got notepads all over the place with birthdates, heights, star signs, release dates, tour dates, MBTI scores, etc.

By the way, does anyone know how tall Seungmin and I.N are now that they are adults?

So now I'm attempting to fill in the gaps and find the things I've missed. I realized I never watched their vlives, so I'm working my way through those now. I'm sure I'm going to discover the source of a lot of those cute Instagram and TikTok edits I've seen. Hopefully, the YouTube archive channel has all of them since vlive is gone.

One good thing about OCD is that I spent much of my earlier journey counting the number of members present in videos so I could tell pre- and post- Woojin activity. It was also handy to understand when HAN and Hyunjin weren't participating. Unfortunately, even though they are now settled in the 8-member lineup, I'm still counting. 😒