Comeback Celebration: Giving Purplekiss An Album
Happy Purplekiss comeback to all of us! Though I've been a fan for a long time, I'm excited because this is my first comeback with Purplekiss officially on my list of favorite artists :)
if you want to see me talk about music that's actually by purplekiss: [my top ten purplekiss songs]
Okay, time for my made-up album!
Album Title: home.
As inspiration for the sound of this album, I'm thinking: liminal spaces & feelings of hollowness. I love the different ways Purplekiss invokes horror through pop music, and I think it would be cool to give them an album that expands on that idea! I'm not a huge visuals person, but I imagine the visual concept would be something like Red Velvet's "Psycho", that fragile, frilly kind of haunted. See also: Nicole Dollanganger, in general.
12 of the 13 tracks ended up being all-English songs, which wasn't intentional--I imagined this album to expand on their Korean discography, but it just happened that the songs I chose for this soundscape are mostly in English! (I actually think their English-language debut should be something more upbeat, in the vein of "Zombie".) In my made-up world, these songs would be translated & this would be a regular Korean release.
1. Soil -- Giriboy
Look, I just need an excuse to talk about Giriboy's album Novel ("Water" is so so good y'all, it's so so so so so so good). "Soil" is very rap-heavy, but there's a lot of space in the instrumental for vocal layering--so every member can add to the track! This is THE chill album opener, a little strange and unease-inducing, but overall pretty normal... right? I think it's a great starting point for my liminal-space sound to expand from.
2. goodnight n go -- Ariana Grande (TITLE TRACK)
Purplekiss makes, above all things, really solid pop music! "goodnight n go" has the same perfectly put-together feel as "Cast pearls before swine" and "Oh My Gosh", but it also has the spacey, empty atmospherics that I want for this album.
3. Atlantis - Extra Sped Up Version -- Seafret
This chorus is just REALLY awesome, so I think Purplekiss should sing it!
4. Easy -- Troye Sivan
I love this song; I love how it's hollow and echo-y, I love how it makes me feel submerged. I think this sound would really suit Purplekiss--it's a hazy sonic world to compliment their rough-around-the-edges vocal style, and there's plenty of space in the melody for the members to give us some really lovely riffs.
5. It'll All Work Out -- Phoebe Bridgers
I actually like the original Tom Petty version a lot more, but I think Bridgers' murky, downbeat take on "It'll All Work Out" fits this album's concept better!
6. Fire of Unknown Origin -- Blue Öyster Cult (PROMOTED B-SIDE)
A small break from the overall album aesthetic for some whimsical, upbeat 80's rock. I have a feeling this would be a huge hit for Purplekiss--it leans into the colorful, fun side of their discography, while also continuing with the tongue-in-cheek horror concept of songs like "Pretty Psycho" (these lyrics are perfect for their concept, truly). I would LOVE to see a choreography for this song, and the vocal lines in "Fire of Unknown Origin" are actually pretty slow, with plenty of space for the vocals of the Purplekiss members to shine through.
7. Sober -- P!nk
Wine-colored ballads are, I think, one of the defining traits of Purplekiss' musical style, and P!nk's "Sober" might just be my favorite example of that dusty maroon-ish feeling. I love the buzz of the guitar, I love the wailing strings; "Sober" is raw enough to fit in with Purplekiss' stripped-down ballads, but it's also dramatic enough to compliment the orchestral pop that's sprinkled throughout their discography.
8. DKLA -- Troye Sivan, Tkay Maidza
Oh hey, it's one of the few songs here with an actual rap section! Haunting production & a sharp beat perfectly suited to a cool choreo--this song is just begging to be a dark-concept kpop song. I think Purplekiss have the vocals to really warm this song up, too--it's about love, even if it's buried deep under pain, and I think the members could really bring that emotion closer to the surface, making their version a whole new kind of compelling.
9. Needed Me -- Rihanna
I love this instrumental so so so so so much, and I couldn't resist putting it alongside the Troye Sivan tracks I've included in this album, since they all have such creative ways of invoking desolation with their production. (And I hope this is obvious, but if this song is sung by non-Black artists, the n-word should be written out!)
10. Dreams -- Fleetwood Mac
A classic, and the queen of atmosphere. "Dreams" is wildly catchy, but also surprisingly hollow--it doesn't have a lot going on, and what is going on is this terribly exhausted kind of resignation. Though Stevie Nicks's voice is grittier than those of the Purplekiss ladies, they share these mournful, deep tones; I think a Stevie-fronted track is a perfect match for Purplekiss. (Also, I would LOVE to see them sell the hell out of that delightfully passive-aggressive "I keep my visions to myself...")
11. I'll Wait for You to Call -- Nicole Dollanganger
I knew I had to include a Nicole Dollanganger song in this tracklist, since her music captures exactly the kind of liminal-space horror I wanted for this album. This wisp of a track is meant to break your heart, before we move into some brighter, more hopeful end-of-album tracks.
12. Rager teenager! -- Troye Sivan
Yeah, here's another Troye Sivan song (it's the last one, I promise!). It's a little eerie and hollow, like "Easy" and "DKLA", but "Rager teenager!" is gentler and sweeter overall--its production feels like the kind of magic you hear about in bedtime stories, a fluffy-pink color that hopefully pulls the album together by calling back to "goodnight n go".
13. Crystal Ball -- P!nk (PRE-RELEASE)
Another wine-colored ballad! This is a bittersweet, but uplifting overall, addition to that more mournful side of Purplekiss' discography, and it has these gorgeous melodic lines that I would love to hear the members sing (see: "love just needs a witness, and a little forgiveness, and a halo of patience, and a less sporadic pace, and..."). I think this would be a great pre-release to show off their vocal colors, which are pretty unique for their generation, and a nice album closer, since it isn't quite as depressing as some of the other tracks.
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