#anyway rant over i will have a baddie comeback on of these days

[jaetaimjadore]

cryingggggg enha just released what im positive will be the masterpiece of a century, @lebrookestore finally showed up in my feed (f u tumblr 🖕), and the weather is ABSOLUTELY DIVINE but here i am stuck in interview prep hell T^T

[beautifulpersonpeach]

What I've been up to:

Got promoted at work for the second time in as many months

Shuttled between Paris -> Tokyo -> Hanoi... *twice* within 10 days on account of said promotion

Had to travel back to Korea for a funeral

Took some time to reflect and eat a ridiculous amount of kimchi (one more thing I have in common with Jimin), then went back to work

Been writing about music with some friends on another platform

Re-discovering Jin. I'm not sure what it is but some time ago it dawned on me that until now I never really paid Jin much attention. And so I've been deep diving into his music lately and it's fun.

Listening to a shit ton of music. I'm especially jamming out to Paramore, NewJeans, BTS, NCT, and Nirvana lately.

And about that, can I just take a sec to rant about NewJeans and gush about how good NCT's latest comeback is?

ARMYs are going to have to get used to seeing NewJeans do well. I saw some of the anxiety over 59 radio spins, PAKs, Min Heejin's interview, and whatever else, and just had to laugh. This might be harsh for some to hear, but I think ARMYs should be happy that the first taste of a challenge to what they think BTS's status is, has come from friendly quarters. Because over the next two years there will be many opportunities for several 'records' to be surpassed. Those possibilities are real and while I don't necessarily care, I understand a huge chunk of the fandom ties their idea of BTS and their worth/impact to the records they hold. This sort of challenge to the beliefs of that many people will cause a sort of implosion. And that's just sad when you remember that throughout all that time, NewJeans will just keep releasing good music and keep doing even better.

(One of the best k-pop songs of 2022)

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Now NCT. For the first time in three years I am not completely disappointed. (Too bad SM Entertainment is sort of self-destructing right now.) Ay Yo is giving me everything the boys are capable of. And by 'the boys' I'm referring to Haechan, Mark, and Taeyong - that trio + Ten are the only people I care for (in a very neutral sense), in NCT. Chenle and Jaemin occasionally stand out. But the real star this comeback is the song. 2 Baddies was an atrocity that didn't need to exist, but Ay Yo sits just at the sweet spot between disorienting experimentation and anthem hit. When you see the boys perform it it only gets better. I'm impressed in how their confidence has grown and here I'm speaking about all the guys. Taeil has always been confident but he and Johnny are really leaning into it this comeback. The whole group feels so much more cohesive this time around. By this I mean, NCT127 as it is now rivals SuperM for their 'avengers of k-pop' title, for whatever that is worth. I really like the song though that bridge and Jaehyun's part was a bit unfortunate - my taste.

The choreo is the sickest thing I've seen in a bit. This song alone has saved their comeback.

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For the people who sent in asks wondering if I was okay, thanks and I'm fine. I had a lot happen quickly for me, and figured since this is k-pop, nothing ever really changes anyway so I wouldn't miss much. Plus anyone who has been following me for some time would know this blog sort of happened by accident, and so now that I've reposted the asks in my Masterlist, any posting that I keep doing here is solely as the spirit leads.

For those still sticking around, hi again. :)