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yuuana · 8 months ago

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Music Monday #254: xikers - Bittersweet release: September 2024 genre: Kpop, dance rock cw: supernatural elements (magic, powers), flashing lights, implied monster spider-creature, eyeballs, an anatomically correct heart

You know my health has been horrid when not even ATEEZ was able to bring me back to this series, but Halloween is almost upon us and I really, really wanted to get back into this series. And even better, xikers released two new spooky videos last month, Witch and Bittersweet.

I went back and forth on this a few times, and if we're very lucky, I might come back to do a special post on WITCH soon, but in the end I went with Bittersweet as the less intensely horror/creepy of the two. Yes, even with all those content warnings, this is the lower horror level video. XD

A primary strand in xikers' discography is title tracks with a more rock sound to them and Bittersweet, as B-title, continues that trend. Overdriven guitar and solid bass beats combine with lyrics that float effortlessly between sharply delivered raps and then sung lines that alternate nearly-shouted and then sweetly sung passages. The story of the song itself continues to build the dokkaebi lore that is Tricky House - combined with Witch, it's a dual warning to stay away if you value your life/sanity, oops, too late.

As a performance video, about half of the runtime focuses on the boys actually doing the full choreography for this track in a wide open industrial space, with all sorts of effects added in post. Smoke and fire, video surveillance overlays, that spider creature… It's a Halloween-filled fest fit for the wildest of wild dokkaebi. At first blush, the choreography looks fairly simple. And then one notices the lifts and the sync and how close together they're dancing and oh that's not so simple actually.

Of course it's a KQ performance video, so it doesn't shy away from taking this time to further dole out lore crumbs. That said, the lore of xikers is ten dokkaebi (yes, ten; Junghoon is still a member) getting up to all the shit, having the times of their lives messing around with stupid humans. The only human in this video is the viewer, which means nothing we see can be taken for granted - it could all be really happening (unlikely) or it could all be magic (slightly more likely) or any level of a mix of the two (most likely). That said, the overlays in Sumin's early rap (starting around 0:58) definitely remind me of ATEEZ's Deja Vu and while the lores of the two groups have been quietly kept separate up to now, a crossover would be amazing, I'm sure. And pure chaos, too.

HOUSE OF TRICKY : WATCH OUT, the fourth installment in the series, is available now (along with the rest of House of Tricky) wherever you do your Kpop listening and/or physical album purchasing. And if you'd like to watch strictly performances of this and Witch, allow me to suggest this wall.live, 위치 (WITCH) + Bittersweet (cw: flashing lights, camera motion), which manages to still be a bit creepy even in a bare soundstage.

Want to see Music Monday deep dives more often? Sponsor a song selection! For the low, low price of one (1) KoFi, I'll write up the song of your choice. ANY song of your choice. Yes, even that one that's been played to death. Yes, your obscure faves too. With sponsors, I can stop skipping weeks and falling further and further behind in the releases! Sponsor a current CB for the next open Music Monday slot or sponsor a throwback for a Thursday feature! But seriously, if you've been enjoying my selections and analyses, we (me and the foster kittens) would love a KoFi in thanks. DW | Mastodon | Bluesky | Ko-fi | Patreon | Discord

#music #music monday #kpop #xikers #Youtube

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jiminies-ahmee · 5 years ago

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quarantine with ateez!

member: jung wooyoung

wooyoung is a wiggly worm

and with that being said, he mind needs to be constantly stimulated in this time of well... boredom

he thrives on social interaction and u can tell by his love for talking and expressing his thoughts

and since you’re the only one around, you’re gonna have to give up quite a lot of space in your mind to absorb what he’s gotta say

the time u wake up is usually dependent on how the both of you are feeling that day

if you’d planned to get some things done or were just in an energetic mood

the both of you would wake up pretty early

it isn’t too hard to wake wooyoung up so mornings move by pretty smoothly

he’ll make breakfast most days, saying he “doesn’t usually get the chance to” when he’s got schedules

so u sit by, sometimes giving him a hand

and sometimes giving him lil boosts of encouragement and compliments in the form of affection

back hugs, lil smooches on his cheeks

it makes his heart flutter every time no matter how routine it’s become over the past 2 weeks

oh! this is also a time during which the both of u can really figure out each other’s taste in music

music is always playing in the background from the moment y’all wake up till y’all go to bed

sometimes it’s a bit of throwback pop

to which wooyoung will bust a move to in effort to make u laugh (which u always do)

and sometimes it’ll be soft acoustics with sentimental lyrics and gentle harmonies

that’s when wooyoung gets all cosy w u

forces u to slow dance in the middle of the living room even if u insist u can’t

“well now you’ve got time to learn, baby”

which is the excuse u pull when u tell him to continue his english studies

he does enjoy learning the language

but when he’s pretty much got all the time in the world and he’s by your side he complains that there are so many better things the two of u could be doing

“like what, woo? we’ve already played every board game i’ve hoarded over the years and we’ve watched all the good shows on netflix”

“exactly! we haven’t tried netflix and chill, now wouldn’t that be a more beneficial way of passing the time? huh, baby?”

he’d get a pillow to the face for that one

and then you’d remind him that keeping up w his studies wasnt your idea, it was hongjoong’s

so he’d get on w it without another word and you’d sit w him, helping him whenever he got stuck

and he’d also make u give him a lil kiss for every time his pronounciation was correct

whenever lunch time came around (which was whenever y’all got hungry) you’d either order takeout from a local restaurant or woo would whip out his cooking skills once more

and after lunch was nap time

or for wooyoung at least

w all his crazy schedules and restless nights of dance practice and vocal training, the poor bby had a lot of sleep to catch up on

which he did

on you

literally on top of u lmao

you’d take the opportunity to sneak in a few pics of him on your phone

or even nap yourself

and between the time u both wake up to the time the clock strikes midnight

y’all do a bunch of things

watch murder documentaries

livestream on instagram

try that whipped coffee thingy

facetime the rest of the boys

facetime your own families

(wooyoung’s lil bro would always be so excited to see u it lowkey made woo jealous sometimes)

and when it was bed time, wooyoung would pull you into his chest

n kiss your face all over

till you were a giggling mess

and then he’d shyly whisper “i love u so much”

to which you’d reply with pink cheeks “i love u so much”

n then the cycle would begin once more

#ateez #ateez imagines #ateez headcanons #ateez fluff #ateez reactions #ateez scenarios #ateez blurbs #wooyoung #jung wooyoung #wooyoung fluff #wooyoung imagines #wooyoung scenarios #wooyoung headcanons #wooyoung reactions

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popliar · 4 years ago

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Final list of the year - top 10 songs not otherwise mentioned lol i.e. didn't have an MV or I didn't like the MV enough to put it in the other lists

Younha - Winter Flower ft RM KK - Cacophony Vincit - I Don't Wanna Die Ash Island - Error Bvndit - Children Fishingirls - mind your own business Onlyoneof - Dora Maar Verivery - Photo Demian - Cassette Twice - Cry For Me

Bonus c-pop and related: 芒种 - Grain in Ear Jackson - 100 Ways Lay - Jade Jasmine Sokko - 退烧 FEVER 曹寅 - 我们的冒险 Our Adventure | OST 棋魂 Hikaru no Go

Younha - Winter Flower ft RM might be my favourite collaboration from any BTS member ever. one of the best songs of the year. from the same team that produces for Ateez - i think u can hear the link but also their range. link is a stage w/ BX from CIX.

KK - Cacophony i find the mv is too intense so here's a live stage. this reminded me a bit of patrick wolf. i ended up going in to kk's back catalogue a bit too, all worth listening.

Vincit - I Don't Wanna Die girl fronted rock group, i love this throwback sound and i LOVE her voice

Ash Island - Error ash island also featured on heize's your name, what a stellar year.

Bvndit - Children this felt like something off an indie album, i liked it so much. and actually the animated mv is very charming too.

Fishingirls - mind your own business everyone's always like why don't we have more girl bands and i'm yelling every day FISHINGIRLS ARE RIGHT HERE

Onlyoneof - Dora Maar can't believe we never got a MV for this!!!! onlyoneof remain one of the most interesting boybands this year.

Verivery - Photo they had a stellar year of releases and this was their best track

Demian - Cassette i think a lot of mutuals have mentioned him, get in now before he gets big

Twice - Cry For Me love u my black widows

C-pop and related section

芒种 - Grain in Ear I AM SO OBSESSED WITH THIS SONG. it's viral in china and there are tons of covers. see thread.

Jackson - 100 Ways sometimes i am ??? at jackson's choices but i think he really found his voice this year as a soloist and this mv is so good.

Lay - Jade my mid life yixing crisis continues

Jasmine Sokko - 退烧 FEVER a singaporean artist who wore masks before it was cool. she has some really interesting mvs too!

曹寅 - 我们的冒险 Our Adventure | OST 棋魂 Hikaru no Go when it gets to the end credits and this song comes on... i cry...

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baekhvuns · 2 years ago

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Suddenly I can't see, Champions League whoooo? Premier League only 🤗 (not to confuse with Prison League). Wow the racism and xenophobia coming from PSG fans? I shouldn't be shocked though...

Kylian M🍙pe 💞 please I'm having throwbacks to all the football x kpop tweets

Name dropping the weirdos who try to force you to write for others members would be justice! I'd write their names in my Death Note. Also over 4k notes for Bodyguard 🤧😳

I'm just build different, what can I say? My body consists of coffee, tea and juice

20 years from How to Lose a Guy SICK. Hold on Baeksy, of course I'm choosing Seonghwa above everyone he's off limits, at this point he might be a fictional character, he's U N R E A L. I got "silent glare" on that anger quiz, lmao I'm definitely not silent when I'm maaaad

SM is reaching lower and lower. Chris Lee is bad, so is LSM, the tax evasion, the creepy behaviour? The apple doesn't fall from the tree...and the Karina thing? Oddddd. And the plot thickens, the fuckkkk is going on in that company. But also that's all it took to coax them, signed photos?! And now Hybe? Honestly I fucking hate Hybe for trying to monopolise everything. Speaking of awful men. It's not like he wasn't behind the scenes of everything anyway. At least JYPE did something good and donated money to Turkey and Syria.

So if you're in fact Taeyong, please share some of your wardrobe with me. Juseyo 🙏🏻🤲🏻

I'm glad I could help inspire you, now you need to remember not to slander nor tease me anymore! Tamino's voice is really strong and raw, not polished, but also so perfect? He's hypnotising for sure. I've waited so long for new music from him. Brown and emerald as a person?! Wow what a comparison. He's definitely giving Jeff Buckley vibes. I saw that Maddox is following Tamino on insta 👀 Btw Habibi, do you know Sevdaliza? She has a lot of songs, they're very haunting, but also chill. I'd love to see her collab with FKA twigs, it's been my dream for a while. Anyway she's a goddess for sure.

Baby baby baby

Bestieeee Seonghwa playing Animal Crossing is so on brand it's such a Hwa thing, he's so endearing 🤧 I neeeed a cute nerd Hwa fic, I'll die if someone doesn't write it

Live action HTTYD...? I- if Hwa isn't Toothless idc

Oooohhh, hopefully I survive until you finish the Yunho fic, I'll be jet lagged for a week kdjsjsjshahshshs.

Euro Tinys who love black hair in shambles because of HJ and MG (tho idk what's going on with Joong's hair and I'm not a fan of chopped hair Mingi). Also absolutely NOT mad that Ateez are in my continent while I'm flying out on Sunday HA HA HA HA 😆😆😆😆 and that most of my friends and mutuals are going to perceive Seonghwa again 😂😂😂😂

And fucking hell, so many fansites and Korean stans begging for VIP tickets, taking opportunities from those who can't see Atz every week, only to take their dumb photos. GET A JOB!

Ohhhh tea the list should be longer tho

Hwa said "everything is about me" as he should! Extrovert Seonghwa

I refuse to look at any concert videos, but I accidentally saw this and Cyberpunk. He looked good, but I do have to say, he hit more with blonde hair, just looked more otherworldly to me, the light hair was such a nice contrast 🙄 - DV 💖

hi hello!!

Suddenly I can't see, Champions League whoooo? Premier League only 🤗 (not to confuse with Prison League). Wow the racism and xenophobia coming from PSG fans? I shouldn't be shocked though... //// Kylian M🍙pe 💞 please I'm having throwbacks to all the football x kpop tweets

LMFAOOOO HEY AT LEAST THEY MADE IT TO THE FIFA CLUB FINAL JVSNDBDKC premier league v mancity atp 😭😭 kane on his way to single-handedly destroy arsenal <33 every time i think the french fans can’t be this bad, i always get shown the worse 😭😭😭 LMFAOOOO DBWHDKWH kylian m🍙pe more like kylian the ninja turtle 😭😭😭😭 kpop x football the best type of collab, recently saw a messi fancam w gee as the bgm 😭😭 the varane ass thing TOPS EVERYTHING but this, hold on now

London is blue WHERE? 🧐 Tottenham is the only blue team that can maaaaaaybe do something, but let's be honest here ajshjahanajajshsh Kane better not act up, you'll not redeem yourself no matter what! //// Name dropping the weirdos who try to force you to write for others members would be justice! I'd write their names in my Death Note. Also over 4k notes for Bodyguard 🤧😳

ITS GONNA BE WITH THE WAY ARSENALS DROPPING POINYS FVENDBD NO BC TOTTENHAM HAS BEEN CREEPING UP ON THE LIST,, mancity about to get the juventus treatment 🥰😭😭 still hoping for a blue london,, maybe chelsea w enzo and the kaka lookalike can,, hearing rumours about zidane and or pep x psg!!! which means perhaps a tuchel return!! WAITING!!! kane’s redemption arc is already ON ITS WAYYY THEIR AWAY GAMES POINTS ARE PRETTY HIGH ,,, will compile list for u the next time someone does it <3 im sorry4 WHAAT??

I'm just build different, what can I say? My body consists of coffee, tea and juice //// 20 years from How to Lose a Guy SICK. Hold on Baeksy, of course I'm choosing Seonghwa above everyone he's off limits, at this point he might be a fictional character, he's U N R E A L. I got "silent glare" on that anger quiz, lmao I'm definitely not silent when I'm maaaad

u know they say we are like 70% water but it just, 70% coffee juice and tea,,, ur blood is sweet? but then bitter from coffee? DO U HAVE PROBLEMS WITH MOSQUITOES I THINK WE FOUND A REASON,, 20 YEARS IS CRAZY, rewatched it last night and can’t stop thinking who will suit it the best, NOT EVEN SOOHYUK?? 😯😯 ur right, he’s so unreal HOW did u handle seeing hIM I JUST KNOW HE IS PORELESS,, JDVWKDHXK MAYBE THIS ONES FOR U THEN 😭😭😭 found this new one!

it’s the way we are seeing their downfall in real time, tho i hate to see it bc i like the dynamic of sm groups and the talent that comes from it but i guess it was about to happen,, shit like this always happens when exo are about to have a cb 😭😭 there’s a cute in march for lsm or something how are these idiots still stuck together under this company after this much is beyond me,,,

tbh it wouldn’t be happening if they had some brains to them,, chris lee is an absolute idiot for getting kakao involved & now bringing that dude back in the group,,, i guess one thing’s true 😭😭 don’t have business with your family members 😭😭 i genuinely dislike how hybe’s getting these companies and how their company stans are all over the moon BUT i guess they’re kinda helping lsm be in sm,, but it feels wrong to have them be the majority shareholder 😭😭 all the sm artists who’ve been at the company for YEARS must feel extremely lost atm,,, this sucks as a whole but the way select ppl making fun of it 🔫 BUT THE MEMES RBWMFJWK SOMEONE SAID AUTOTUNE IS COMING 😭😭 crying BDMWHDK IF THIS IS A REALITY ID START CRYING one good thing jype did tbh,, hoping ppl give all the help, the sanctions for syria is so devastating, no mf humanity to lift them off and give help

speaking of men, h**chul… i am sorry this is what?

??? im finding these as i get links for u and omgwhat anon buckle up, get ur tea, sit on a couch with a blanket and read it this the main thread

only hope in suju is ryeowook atp

LMFAOOOO IM SORRY IM A LITTLE BLIND I COULD NOT SEE THE FIRST HALF??

no seriously tamino’s voice, and the way he presents himself,, watched his interviews and he’s just this tall guy who’s so articulate when he speaks??? his voice actually is so nice to hear omg,, DEFINITELY UR RIGHT HES VERY HYPNOTIZING his eyes too!!! so dark and hooded, his genes! WAIT YOURE SO RIGHT I DIDNT EVEN THINK, UR RIGHT ITS VERY BUCKLY but he had a softer look! tamino has a vv sharp look! maddox following him now 👁👄👁 if they do a little magic and drop something,, if we sEE HONGJOONG IN THAT STUDIO WIRH HIMRBJQJDKWD goner, i just listened to other girl by sevdaliza AND SHES A SIREN!! A LITERAL SIREN!!!!! she’s what i imagine a goddess would sing like omg ,, LMK HOW THE CONCERT WENT!!!!

Baby baby baby //// Bestieeee Seonghwa playing Animal Crossing is so on brand it's such a Hwa thing, he's so endearing 🤧 I neeeed a cute nerd Hwa fic, I'll die if someone doesn't write it

NEED THAT HAIR ON HIM BACK! STOP DO U THINK HE NAMES HIS ANIMALS AFTER THE MEMBERS OR ATINYS FBWNBDWK do u think hwa’s the type to watch backyardigans? yes.

Live action HTTYD...? I- if Hwa isn't Toothless idc ///// Oooohhh, hopefully I survive until you finish the Yunho fic, I'll be jet lagged for a week kdjsjsjshahshshs.

they’re really about to ruin it 🥰🥰 can’t wait to see the downfall, and if they do a tangled live action. it’s on sight! AAAAAA UR RIGHT! HOPE U HAVE A SAFE FLIGHT!! hopefully it’s not a year until i release the fic 😭😭 but it’s in the middle nearing end now! so a little bit of progress <3

And fucking hell, so many fansites and Korean stans begging for VIP tickets, taking opportunities from those who can't see Atz every week, only to take their dumb photos. GET A JOB!

NOT U FLYING OUT ON SUNDAY THE DAY RIHANNA HAS THE SUPER BOWL FBWN DONT MISS IT 😭😭 RWKDHWKDHKS THE PINK HAIR SHOCKED ME SO MUCH I WOKE UP TO IT, EYES STILL CLOSED AND SHOT UP THOUGHT IT WAS A WIG 😭😭😭😭 it’s giving pre-military fbwmfjwk LMFAOOOO ANON 😭😭😭 AT LEAST U THERE WHEN THEYRE THERE AND NOT U LEAVING AND THEM ARRIVING, same air we breathing the same air,, ha ha ha they’re all gonna see him. haha. anon. NOOO SERIOUSLY THEYRE ALL GETTING THE FRONT ROWS TOO 😭😭😭 always questioning why the special day fansite’s EVERYWHERE will join u in this journey to not look at any hwa videos from this concert <3

Ohhhh tea the list should be longer tho //// Hwa said "everything is about me" as he should! Extrovert Seonghwa

wait the tea is kinda…

HE IS THE MAIN GUY, EVERYTHING IS ABOUT HIM AND WE’RE JUST WITNESSING IT

no.

NOPE NOPE NOPE

i won’t even send the videos bc im not looking at them fbajdhdj need 🔫 the 🔫 snow 🔫 app 🔫 gone 🔫 have not looked a SINGLE hwa video. accidentally saw the glimpse of the hala hala one DESTROYED MYSELF A LITTLE

I DONT EVEN KNOW ANYMORW FBWKDJWK WHY DOES HE PULL IT OFF THO 😭😭😭 he looks like that one hair style neymar and greizmann had 😭😭

now.

#✉️ : ask #dv 💖 anon

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yuuana · 1 year ago

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Music Monday #241: Chungha - Eenie Meenie (feat. Hongjoong (ATEEZ)) release: March 2024 genre: Kpop cw: flashing, mild lens flare, lasers

Who me, playing favorites? Of course I am. Are we surprised? Not if you've been here for more than a hot minute, I'm sure. XD Besides, this song has been stuck in my head, catching me off guard any time it wants, since the day of its release. And not just because of the featuring artist, dammit. XD

Amused that the captain who insists we should only have eyes on him is the first to feature on an outside artist's track. Not at all surprised though that from the moment she started talking about it, Chungha had nothing but praise for Hongjoong, crediting him with helping her step out of her comfort zone a bit on this song (he has writing and producing credits). I wouldn't go quite so far as to call it pirate pop, but there's a fun and slightly funky vibe to the beat, at least partly from that string bass syncopation that's the grounding for the whole song. Chungha alternates between sung and spoken lines, utilizing more of her vocal range in the process. How deep a read you want to do on the song is up to you - on the surface, it's a girl power bop about having one's choice in boyfriends. If we look a bit deeper, one finds a call to know yourself well enough to know what you want and to not settle for something less.

There's enough breaks away from the performance of the song's dance to keep this from being a performance video as such, but I wouldn't say the video has a particular narrative thread to it, either, and we are completely fine with that. Instead we get three minutes of Chungha and her dance team in a variety of settings, from a back alley to the middle of a street, a closed coffee house to an actual sound stage. The choreography is looks deceptively simple in the way that it flows like water to the beat.

There is a performance video, like the music show stages, it's just Chungha and her dancers, with Chungha doing lip sync to Hongjoong's rap. It better shows off the choreography for that part that isn't centered in the MV, since Hongjoong was directed to just go with the flow and do what felt right for the vibe rather than worrying about specific moves. This was likely in deference to the fact that they only had him for a few hours -- the reason the music shows have been Chungha only is that ATEEZ's schedule has had them in Japan for most of the last month and in fact Hongjoong flew in (and back out the same day) to shoot the video around his other schedules. Keen eyes will also catch both the Crazy Form bunny move the dance crew does during the rap section (a move the choreographer specifically put in to honor ATEEZ), as well as Hongjoong's own Bouncy reference. Some Atiny have been quick to jump on the silver chain mask of the masked dancer as another ATEEZ callback, though it isn't exactly the same as the Z lore mask, but hey, close enough? And if that was the intention, then it's another sweet gesture from a seonbae towards her hoobae.

Eenie Meenie (and it's c/w I'm Ready) is available via the usual streaming options. As much as I would love to have seen a live stage with both Chungha and Hongjoong, I know better than to expect it. Still, a jagu can dream, right? ;)

#music #music monday #kpop #chungha #ateez #Youtube

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yuuana · 1 year ago

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Music Monday #238: I.M - Slowly (feat. Heize) release: January 2024 genre: Kpop, jazz

I know, I know, not only am I running late yet again, it's even more Korean music. At least it's not ATEEZ again? For now....

If all one knows of I.M is that he's a lead rapper in Monsta X, one might be surprised to find his solo work leans decidedly jazz. This continues to be true with his recent digital-only single, Slowly, his latest collaboration with soloist Heize. His butter-smooth vocal tone that manages to be both smoky and honey-sweet pairs well with her almost airy verse in a song about a slowly fading relationship he doesn't know quite how to leave.

The use of "official visualizer" instead of "MV" or "music video" was a flag that this video was going to fall into one of two camps - an animation that pulsed with the rhythm of the song or a video that's all about The Vibe. As it happens, this one falls into the latter category, approximately three and a half minutes largely of a camera following I.M around without him doing any lip syncing at all. Indeed, he rarely even looks at the camera at all, furthering an atmosphere of someone lost in thought. There is also a live clip version (mild flashing lights warning), shot on a sound stage with Heize, a large plexiglass pane between them. Perhaps even more than I.M strolling alone through a snowy Seoul, the plexiglass accents the separation mentioned in the lyrics. And the way the camera captures their reflections isn't lost on me either. Both videos are lovely and I'm not sure which I like better at this point.

As a digital-only single, Slowly is available across streaming platforms but not on any physical media (yet). Monsta X is currently winding their way through their military era - leader Shownu has already finished his service while I.M is the only other member not yet enlisted. As maknae, he could likely put it off a bit longer, but I would be surprised if he doesn't enlist before the end of the year.

#music #music monday #kpop #jazz #i.m #Youtube

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yuuana · 3 years ago

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Music Monday #210: JAEHYUN - Forever Only release: August 2022 genre: Kpop, R&B

Monday again and oh look, still on my Kpop bullshit. At least this time it's a different subgenre? Stressed out jaguar burrows into comfort sounds when stressed so yeah, the two musical spaces I've been in this month are ATEEZ and K-R&B, so shoot me.

Jaehyun's second appearance via SM Station and first solo on NCT LAB is a heartfelt, up-tempo R&B ballad that, unsurprisingly, had me hooked from the second that acoustic guitar lick started. What can I say? This jagu has predictable tastes. And a weakness for a guy who plays guitar and can serenade me with such a sweet voice. Worse(ish), this goes back to the trend of being an up-tempo love song whose lyrics are full of melancholy (select English CC for official translation). Even Jaehyun admits there's wiggle room for hope in the lyrics he wrote, but the overall vibe is meant to be a wistful melancholy, which lives more in his voice than it does in the backing track.

The music video leans more atmospheric over narrative, the camera spending most of the time on Jaehyun as he sings the song, first in "his" room and then transitioning to the beach. The beach "set" is really perfect for the vibe, the deep blues of a night shoot and the warmer yellows and reds of fire light (both actual and simulated). (what do you mean, my night-and-wild-water bias is showing?) It's another dimension of soothing

Of course, NCT means SMCU means asking the lore question. Shortest answer: not lore. Like Taeyong's "Ghost," this is a passion project Jaehyun's been working on for some time now, something he co-wrote as part of a conversation with his fans. The song itself is a vibe check and the video is, as noted, much more about building an atmosphere rather than telling a story. Between SM Station being a non-lore place in general and LAB being a sub-space of Station meant specifically for showcasing what the ever-growing NCT is able to do musically, this is not a surprise.

"Forever Only" is out now wherever you prefer to stream music, including Amazon, Deezer, and Tidal. NCT just wrapped SMTown 2022 Tokyo with the rest of SM, with NCT 127 tour tickets on sale now (or maybe sold out, depending on when you read this, since they tend to go fast).

#music #music monday #kpop #kr&b #nct #jaehyun #jaehyun of nct #sm station #nct lab #Youtube

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yuuana · 2 years ago

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Music Monday #225: ATEEZ - BOUNCY (K-HOT CHILLI PEPPERS) release: June 2023 genre: Kpop cw: violence, blood

Of course I had to come back to talk about my best boys, of course I did. And oh boy is there a lot to say ... assuming I can stay coherent long enough to say it all. XD

So after the slight side trip that was SPIN OFF: FROM THE WITNESS, we are now back to THE WORLD with episode 2: Outlaw and as is typical of these middle episodes, there's neither intro nor outro, but rather six tracks that go full out from the first beat and only ever sort of slows down in the shortest 19.5 minutes of the summer so far. Putting the title track in the #3 slot is a Choice all right, one that works well ... but then of course it does - these guys don't play games with anything promo ... unless they're literally playing games to promote. see also: KQ renting pepper trucks for roaming album promotions at the start of the month. ;)

BOUNCY (K-HOT CHILLI PEPPERS) (hereafter referred to solely as Bouncy) starts off with all three rapping members (Seonghwa, Mingi, and Hongjoong) trading lines, low-key taking shit in English, which is pretty much the attitude of the whole song. Early money says this is going to join Pirate King and Say My Name as a "this is the core of ATEEZ" track. The attitude, the vocal range, the energy ... it's a solid three minutes of ATEEZ's musical and lore essences. And sure, it won't be to everyone's tastes - there's quite a few lines that have been run through effectors, making the live stages something to experience all right - but this auntie is both pleased and so very, very proud.

As for the music video ... it's a lot. So much story packed into four minutes, it's kind of a lot to take in and try to parse. And a hint for episode 3? That's usually (though not always) what those post-action teasers are, although some of the Bouncy promo materials also hint at a possible future lore-based webtoon. Either way, I have so many questions ... like how the hell they got a huge-ass smart bullet in that damn pepper. It's a little unclear where in the Halateez revolution this is, whether it's meant to be towards the beginning or the end - that final shot of the main action could mean either and the proliferation of wanted posters is also no help with that. This feels like it's probably set before the major actions in Guerrilla and HALAZIA, though, so my inclination is to think this is towards the beginning of active revolution, especially with the way we're seeing the members acting in independent cells (as opposed to everyone working together) for most of the video.

On a more technical note, between the choice of aspect ratio and several of the visual affects, there's a bit of a retro, late-80s to mid-90s action-thriller vibe going on here that I, an old person with fond memories of 80s and 90s action-thriller movies, simply adore. We're still dealing with a dystopia, but it's a brightly colored one, lit well enough that we can see everything we're meant to see.

THE WORLD, ep 2: OUTLAW is available now in a range of physical versions, including several store-exclusives, plus available for online streaming at all the usual suspects. Promotions are just starting, as it just dropped last week Friday (Thursday on this side of the planet), so no music show wins yet, but streamtiny are working diligently to match the hard work that went into this release!

#music #music monday #kpop #ateez #Youtube

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