I originally did a guest review of Winner's album 2014 S/S in the "Prober's Thread" on OneHallyu. I really liked the album overall, but immediately loved (I mean LOVED) the song "But", listening to it over and over again. Much to my disappointment, the performance flaws started to appear.
I can hear so much potential and am sad the finished product did not meet my unrealistically high expectations. Now, this song falls under the category of "I really like it, but it could be
performed better." After writing a glowing commentary about Kim
Jaejoong, I thought it would be good to show how I believe a song could reach its musical potential with a little twerking. (LOL autocorrect).
I have scientific (musictific?) reasons for this which I will now discuss. If you read my spiel about Kim Jaejoong read here then you'll get an idea of some of the ways a singer can shape musical phrases (and ruined me for other singers).
I didn't sniff out an official video for it, so here's a sample of "But" on Amazon.com
that starts out just before the rap section. (no, it's not an affiliate link, just for example)
I grieve some because there are very nice musical phrases that could have been given more attention and with a more deft hand, could have made it heartbreaking for me. Listen to the opening verse, second phrase "maltudo heomhaegajigo". There is a note that repeats 3 times in a row and he sings them all the same. "neo badajul namja" there is a two note phrase that repeats 2 1/2 times (up, down, up, down, up) that are sung the same way. The end of the phrase has two repeated notes that are sung the same. *banging my head on the wall*
There are so many opportunities to enter a little musicality. Any time you have a repeated note, each note should have a different importance, maybe it echoes softer, becomes louder as if leading into another phrase, or chop it with some staccato...ness. Plunking out the notes is just blah.
The same goes for the two note phrase - it was repeated and the second iteration of the two-note phrase should be different (see above). When you think about phrasing, think about the flow of the music and meaning of what you are singing. Not knowing the meaning of the words, the musical line could be shaped like this instead: jigoneo badajulnamja (where larger letters are louder and smaller letters are softer.)
One redeeming feature of the performance is the rap section. He uses the rhythm of the words along with some energetic pronunciation. You can feel him singing from his gut (I don't know how else to describe the singer's total involvement).
OK, another redeeming feature - the group members had a hand in writing the album, and I think it's a pretty strong album.
LOL I just realized there might not be that many people who are as stuck up as I am about musicality. But come ON!!! They are with one of the big 3 in Korea!!!! You'd think their idols would be better prepared than the average Joe's idols.
I don't want to see companies churn out good songs just for profit and no musicality. It's me against the music industry.
This is a Squinched Recap of BAP's "1004 (Angel)" MV. Previously, I delved deeply into the heartbreaking symbolism of this video, but it was too depressing and now I need a break. Time to get squinchee!
If you didn't get to watch the video yet, here it is:
I'm just gonna forget that I saw some of that dancing. Perhaps they are
showing the twisted pain of love by dancing like demented spiders. I just want to avert my eyes.
This video is overloaded with the symbols of heartbreak and tragedy. We get it. You're upset. Always sad, always frustrated and heartbroken, wanting what you can never have.
The Melon ad must have been place by a man...just sayin...
Speaking of wanting what you can't have, did you ever notice how gigantic this girl is? I'm thinking logistics here. Dude, if you fit into a dollhouse and she's not in there with you cuz she doesn't fit cuz she's 100 times bigger than you...well, I'm looking on as a concerned friend here when I tell you - It. Will. Never. Work. She's waaaay too big for you, dude. I suppose you wouldn't mind riding in her pocket all day, as long as it's close to her boob. Typical.
Does anyone notice the sheer number of antiques in this video? And are you telling me that this handsome young guy needs a projector
because his memories are so old they can't be converted to an electronic
file? Is he really like over 50 years old?
He desperately needs an iPad
Please take a moment to consider this scenario:
40 years ago Now
Then there's Yongguk digging vigorously next to a Super T-Rex ribcage in a barren wasteland. Does this mean that he's an archeologist?
Um, make that an archeology enthusiast, cuz his raggedy digging technique
would give real archeologists a heart attack. Follow your dreams, I always say.
Aggravating archeologists since 2014
Oh piggy bank!
After digging about four holes, he lays back and shows us the closure on the bottom of the church figurine. Wait, he was looking for his old piggy bank? I thought he was searching for love! My advice is next time you want to bury treasure, mark the spot with an X so you don't have to do so much digging. Poor planning on your part, my friend.
Let's have fun! Just kidding...
The special day at the amusement park...how romantic...except for the part where you electrocuted her on the merry-go-round. That wasn't very nice. (Oooo, now the hole digging takes on a sinister turn!) In any case, you should sue the amusement park for having faulty equipment. Or maybe you can't sue because you snuck in after hours like little vandals and used the equipment without reading the owner's manual.
Running back for Round 2 vs Merry-go-round
you can't hide in ME!
I don't know about
you, but when you look in the mirror and see someone else's image, my
first thought would be that it's an interrogation room. No wonder Youngjae is so frantic! The girl keeps pissing him off, so maybe if he punches the mirror,
that will help. Ew, blood!
Violence against mirrors is real
Or, maybe he's just tired of seeing what the mirror is reflecting. Hmmm. Mirror
reflects him alone, he doesn't want to see himself alone anymore, so
bye-bye mirror. Let this be a warning to mirrors everywhere - you've got
to fudge the truth a little.
At the end, we see the poster child for gun control laws. Dude, you shouldn't make important decisions when you are upset - it's like shopping for groceries when you're hungry.
Tricksie mirror
I just thought about the literal meaning of this image...he's standing in front of the mirror pointing a gun at it, but the mirror shows him pointing it at himself...either he took some hallucinogens that morning or that mirror is messing with his head!
So put the gun down and don't pay attention to that reflection nodding
and telling you to pull the trigger. Can't you see that your reflection
is EVIL? Something bad is gonna happen if you pull the trigger. Or scenario two: the mirror is getting nervous cuz he's pointing a gun at it and it threw up this image in an attempt at self-preservation. Chose wisely my son.
In closing, I think it would really help them out if they would just accept reality - they can never be happy because they are sad men in a video. No more senseless digging, or frantic searching in mirror mazes. You can never have it. There. Accept it and go have a beer.
Lately, I've been interested in the music videos that are loaded with imagery. My interpretations on this might be a little squirrely, because I haven't read the lyrics yet. It's more fun this way. :) Sometimes I get very wrapped up in the little details, so I hope you brought a hot cocoa (or a stiff drink!) cuz I'm not stoppin' 'til it's done!
Here's a link to the video:
I spent a lot of time wondering whether the girl is supposed to be dead,
because a lot of the imagery suggests
this. It would give a very literal meaning to this story if she's dead
and he's agonizing over it. If she's dead, then my interpretation is
over. LOL I can't have that.
Is it all Black and White?
I wasn't going to give this much thought until I noticed the girl is
examining the dollhouse from outside in black and white, while Daehyun
appears to be inside. A dollhouse is a model home that simulates life, or could be saying he
was "playing house" (as in a non-married couple living together). His being in the dollhouse might mean he's living in dreamland.
The way Daehyun is experiencing the vibrant colors and items inside suggests that it is much more real for him than it is for her, who is only seeing minimal details in black and white. These two different perspectives are like an impenetrable boundary. Black and white video suggests her point of view is separate from reality (I suppose that supports the dead theme, because it's rigid and can't change).
The way she's dressed reminds me of Alice in Wonderland - in other
words, maybe she's a dream. Video projectors play movies, and this suggests what he's looking at isn't real, making me think this is all his pursuit
to find love because it's not reflecting the reality of the moment.
Something else that supports the pursuit of love theme is that both Daehyun and the girl are depicted separately with a full hourglass, as if they are waiting for
something, or time stopped. This is a little oddly placed
that the full hourglass is shown when they are separated, but the hourglass has
run out in the flashback when they appear to be happy (see happy pic above). So maybe it's not
a flashback, but his dream of the future and they are separated by reality. For some reason he can't have this dream.
Daehyun is also depicted alone at the chessboard, as if ready to play but waiting for a partner. Chess is a complicated game that's hard to win, like relationships.
(chess makes me hiss!)
Reflecting Frustration
There's a recurring theme of looking at reflections - reflecting on memories or revealing the truth. There's something else about destroying the mirror and reflections. I
just can't quite put my finger on it. Like he's trying to deny reality
or doesn't want to see what the mirror is reflecting...hmmm.
Youngjae (who I only know of because of geek!!) is stuck in a
hall of mirrors and being stymied at every turn because the girl is RIGHT THERE, but might as well be in another world. If the girl represents love, then his searching in the mirrors makes sense, because an unacknowledged love feels like it's a world away.
Looking into the mirror, he sees her
image superimposed over him - she is his reason for being (or maybe she's haunting him, supporting the dead theme). The bleeding hand held over his chest looks like his heart is bleeding out, the way a broken heart feels.
There's the feeling that no matter what you do, or how hard you try, it remains out of reach. It's deeper than frustration to have a longing that cannot be soothed.
Digging up the Past
Previously we looked at the pain of searching, now we take the search to another level - literally. Yongguk is digging in a barren wasteland by a
gigantic ribcage tunnel. He must have a passion for
desolate feelings and digging up the past, but with all that digging, he
doesn't find much. Just proves that digging up the past doesn't help, so staaahhhp!
In the panoramic view of this scene, you can see he's dug in at least 3 places, another way they are illustrating the searching theme. I wonder at the arrangement of the holes...are they heart valves?
Once he digs the grave-sized hole, he finds a model church, which he hugs and sobs over. model church = marriage --> buried in the grave = dead and gone --> agonizing over unfulfilled dreams.
So if this is the case, this ties the images together nicely. The
black-n-white scene in which the hourglass empty and they are happy is an
unfulfilled dream. Searching in the mirrors, beating through the wall are all suggesting he's trying to find a way to make the dream real.
Self-destructive Behavior
They have a very disturbing image of Himchan holding a gun to his head and pulling the trigger. It's kind of emo and dramatic if he were really going to kill himself over the search for love.
He is obviously upset and aiming the gun at the happy images of unfulfilled dreams being displayed. Sometimes, memories or dreams are so painful that you wish to erase them. Then he points the gun at the mirror, which reflects that he is pointing the gun at himself. It's an unnecessarily graphic way of saying these feelings are killing him.
OR you could just go with the literal version - the mirror literally reflects that he wants to die, because the mirror image nods to him, then he pulls the trigger...
I don't support this image. :( Of course, there is the argument that art is art and it's up to you to interpret it. You can't always coddle everyone with PG images. So maybe the mirror is reflecting the happy person he could have been and he feels he will never be happy again and just wants to destroy that part of himself so he won't hurt anymore. How's that for a run-on sentence?
I can relate to the feeling of not wanting to hurt anymore and wishing I couldn't feel anymore. I can relate to the feeling of something being just beyond my reach, and can relate to feeling like I'm desperately trying to break through a thick wall. So I guess I'm satisfied with the symbolism, but I feel like they crammed to much stuff in (all the knickknacks).
THE END
Maybe this is getting embarrassingly long, but I just wanted to mention it's my first time studying B.A.P and I like this song. It has a lot of momentum and almost a frantic feel which dragged me along and dropped me into an emo rock session. YAY! I especially like that the song doesn't stay the same throughout and I think the guys performed it very nicely. I will be looking into B.A.P because of this.
This is a Squinched Recap of Beast's "12시 30분 (12:30)" MV. That
means I'm tired of being serious for the moment, and just want to follow
my heart here. This is the illustrated version of the irreverent things I was
thinking while writing the first entry on this MV.
Maybe I should just start with the central conflict of this MV:
Fractious Filly
Doojoon Oo-la-la!
Doojoon vs Love Interest
I felt sorry for him
at first. She's a wild and fractious filly who doesn't want to be
captured. This little fireball has obviously been taking self-defense,
effectively escaping his embraces with the Fractious Filly Flying Fist
Technique, or by throwing her shoes at him.
Here are a couple of examples of the violence she whipped out on him.
Fractious Filly Fist Technique
Shoe? Any Weapon Will Do
Taking off her shoes and throwing them...I mentioned this before, but I can't understand the thought process of throwing away your shoes in a nappy alley like this. Who knows what that puddle really is caused by... Ew. Maybe she called a cab.
Brat
Somebody give her a Midol!
Oh, I get it. This was required by the plot to show how hotheaded she is. Suuurrre, make the girl into a bad guy. You just don't know what's going on. Maybe he called her a bad name or said her feet stink, so she threw her shoes at him to give him a good whiff. (I think she could stand to practice more aegyo.)
I felt that he could have
handled this smarter - he could have calmed her with some chocolate,
since everyone knows that women love chocolate. I guess some guys
would rather suffer. Minus a point for Doojoon for not coming prepared.
I'm curious, what is the final count of Filly vs. Doojoon? I'm thinking
Fractious Filly 16,000 : Doojoon 0
Anyway, the rest of these are my random thoughts.
Idol Alley
Somebody please tell me where this alley is. Apparently, this is where the handsome lonely idols hang out. Why didn't I know about this before?
This MV really beats into your head that these guys are lonely, and that the album name is Time. Talk about advertising propaganda.
Lonely Hyunseung
Lonely Yoseob
Lonely Junhyung
Lonely Dongwoon
Lonely Gikwang
Lonely Doojoon
Lonely Watch
Even the timepiece is alone and feeling discarded. If I see one more reference to "Time" or loneliness, I might just scream. Although, I have to admit, it looks comfortable, snuggled there on the carpet.
Lonely Drummer
Our drummer is alone, too, but it looks like he's happy about it. Shirtless, like a single guy, casually flaunting his tattoos and shades. (I mean, everyone else is wearing coats or sweaters...you rebel!)
I didn't think about his symbolic meaning last time, LOL. It looks like he's on an elevator and it could leave at any time. This might just symbolize the alleged bachelorhood of all the Beast members.
The Convenient Piano
Junhyung found the only piano for miles in this forgotten alley and very conveniently brought a friend who can also play the piano. Hmmm...this coincidence is just too much!
He prepared well for this photo op, with this nightclub-esque setting. Singing their troubles away. Tra-la-la.
This is what friends are for: following you down a dark alley; and being ready for ANYTHING.
What is that on his shoes? -->
So, I guess the moral of this video is that women are uncontrollable monsters who like to hurt and maim men, which is kind of a twisted version of the "men are pigs" theme we women always complain about. Guys, you'll just have to put up with the fact that YOUCAN'TBEATUS.
Dude, women always win
(Still resisting the truth)
Fly Away!
If you are still here, I'm glad you made it. Thanks for stopping by for the Squinched Recap. Next, I'll be looking at a video from B.A.P.
These are my personal thoughts and opinions appreciating the song styling of Kim Jaejoong.
Having studied vocal technique, I really really really appreciate singers who can be thoughtful and sensitively expressive when they sing. Too often, you hear people who just robotically sing notes + rhythm, and not often enough do you hear someone who actually gives the meaning of the song to you. This is where Kim Jaejoong comes in to save the day and breathe life into pop music.
It is blissful when a singer takes the time to explore sound and express the musical phrase. I was so impressed with his musicality in the song "My Only Comfort" from his solo EP, Mine, which is a slow and lyrical song about heartbreak. (Just as an aside, I read that he wrote these lyrics. What's with all the K-pop men singing about heartbreak and despair?? It makes me sad...So many gals out there need to stop breaking hearts!)
What's interesting to me about his singing here is that this song seems to be carefully planned and choreographed. For example, at the ends of phrases, it's kind of a natural reaction that if the notes go up, people sing louder and vice versa if the notes go down. I noticed the notes go up at the end of 2nd phrase of the first verse "It is only left on my finger, and so sorrow cries." This is not a place to be singing obnoxiously louder, but a place he expresses sorrow very well by pulling back off the higher note at the end of the phrase. That takes thought and awareness of how you want it to sound and good musicianship. (Thank you for doing this!) This is the kind of singing that immediately gets my attention.
In voice lessons, we are taught that a long note should change so that
it's not boring - either it should grow louder, softer, or the quality
should change, such as from a straight tone to vibrato. Though he's
singing softly, I can hear the shape of the long notes - sometimes
softer, sometimes adds vibrato, sometimes he cuts the end of the phrase with a
glottal stop (a throaty end to the sound).
Listen to "Cry, cry, cry again" at the end of the
first stanza of the first verse and you can hear the way he stretches the last word very scrumptiously. The second time he sings "Cry, cry, cry again", he adds an audible breathy "H" sound at the end of the word, making it a different phrase from the one he just sang. For me, it means he's not satisfied with being a parrot, but wants to make the same phrase subtly different each time.
Kim Jaejoong
In the chorus, the hissy "S" and inhalation sounds are placed and exaggerated. Some people might think he's overdoing it and he might be, since the hissy sounds can be distracting. But I can forgive it because the exaggerated diction emphasizes the word meaning "love", which is an important centerpiece of this song.
Also in the chorus, the phrase, "You are already my soul", well, I'm not sure exactly how to describe this...there is a breathy sound that he adds to the phrase, which kind of sounds like a sigh to me. A sigh would say a lot about the meaning he's trying to convey.
"How to live, without you" is sung very softly and is given more meaning by a crescendo (becoming louder) in the middle of the phrase. Really, I'm impressed because it means his technique has to be very flexible in order to add that degree of shading while still singing quietly. Like, wow. My experience in choirs is that most people are rather brutish with crescendos and can't crescendo quietly. Another (+) mark for Kim Jaejoong.
The second verse is sung a bit more passionately with a bit more vibrato and the addition of more orchestration. It's nice that the tone of the song changes in the second verse. The contrast suggests the first verse is holding back, but the second verse is letting out the tears and emotions previously locked within. The love that abandoned him is dramatically more painful this time around. The notes are also different on "You are already my soul" and "How to live, without you", maybe because he's not reflecting now, and almost yelling/crying out the experience of loss. Ending so sadly in "you are my love forever."
Having a different structure kind of spices things up and helps you understand what the singer is going through. I think ending abruptly like this adds to the drama of the song. So kudos from me to the songwriter.
I never read the lyrics before writing this entry. Although the lyrics made this song more poignant, the flexibility of his voice and technique means you don't have to understand the words to just enjoy his interpretation of the song. Now that I've read the lyrics, I appreciate even more the musicianship and he got my attention for singing so artistically.
I trust his abilities and can just lean back, give myself over to the song and let him take me on a journey. LOL is that too sappy? Squinchee is just gonna lean back now. Take me away Kim Jaejoong.
For more info: The lyrics I used are here "My Only Comfort" lyrics (follow outside links at your own risk.) If you don't have this song, iTunes has a healthy sample (1:30 min) to
help while you're reading this. (No, I'm not being paid to advertise
this.) (Yes, I do try to be a good citizen on the net.)
Join us next for "When Will the Men of K-pop Ever Be Happy?" (Just kidding)
I'm analyzing this
because it's fun and I like to.The
views expressed here are my own opinions and interpretation (and maybe long-winded...uh...)
Before we start,
here's the video from Beast's official channel:
I'm interpreting this from the standpoint that this video
is allegorical in reference to relationships, not the actions of an actual
couple.So we can breathe freely even though there's a dead girl (or listless girl) on the bed, because she represents the status of
the relationship.
One theme that
weaves through the video is Doojoon (DJ) holding the watch and looking at
it.This makes me think all this is
taking place in DJ's mind and these are his thoughts at the end of the
relationship as he is looking back over the course of what happened.
The video starts
with DJ sitting on the floor with the girl looking fairly dead on the bed.It's interesting to note that DJ
is holding the timepiece, stands up and looks back at the girl on the bed, then
sets down the watch on the floor.Setting the watch down could signify the end of the relationship, it's
over, time is up and you have to leave it behind and move on.(Skip to
the end though, and he's actually picking up the watch, as if trying to salvage
the relationship.)
Then the minute hand
starts to move all the way to back to 12:00, where DJ was happy with the
relationship.It is cute, cuddly and
sweet in the beginning.As the clock
moves forward,the girl appears to be
disconnected and unhappy, growing distance.
Showing them sitting
together back to back is interesting.Though they are physically close, even touching, it shows an inability
to face each other.If she is a symbol
of the relationship, then he could be avoiding addressing problems that are
surfacing, pretending the problems are not there.
mom would've made me wear shoes
I noticed the Beast members are singing in desolate, barren looking sets. Go figure.
Skip ahead and they
are fighting on the street.He's
struggling to hold on to the relationship.Then she takes off her shoe and throws it.That would be confusing if it were really a
girl in a dirty looking alley throwing her shoes away.Wouldn't she need them to continue walking
down the road?(Silly girl could step on
something. Go pick your shoes up!) Not having shoes is symbolic
that the relationship has nothing to stand on and won't go farther on that
path. It could also be saying there's danger ahead (her feet could get cut by glass.) Or maybe the shoe just doesn't fit anymore...
Still he wants to
hang on.People are stubborn like
that.
Then they are
fighting in the bedroom and she throws the timepiece which hits the floor,
clearly signifying it's over.Time
up.Game over. No more time.
(And here we throw
in Beast dancing.YES!More dancing please.)
Back in the bedroom, DJ begins to
struggle harder to hold on even though it's slipping away and falls from his grasp. I don't approve of the depictions of men manhandling women throughout this video, but especially here where he shoves her. If you look at it as a symbol though, it would be like someone arguing so much and then saying, "Fine! Just leave! I'm done with you." Then sitting down and regretting their actions, moping in bitterness.
Wondering what's in
the jar that shattered, but it's not really important.The jar tells us that it is broken beyond
repair.No one will be able to put it
together again.
As if it's not already loaded with enough depressing symbolism, suddenly there is a winter storm inside and it freezes the romance.Everything has its season, even relationships.DJ mournfully reaches over and holds on,
even though it is already dead.Here, we
are back in real time, because he's no longer looking at the timepiece (no
longer reviewing the past).He's
experiencing the desire to not let go even though it's done.
A lonely chair sits by itself in an unfurnished gray room and it burns. (Maybe they burned it because it was dang cold!) Significantly, it's a chair for one person - there isn't room for two people - so it's not a loveseat. It's a piece of furniture and could represent the home he wanted to build,
or dreams of the future, or what they had built together.His plans for the future are
going up in smoke and the only thing left is burning fragments of unresolved dreams.Nothing more final than the feeling that you have lost everything. Heartburn.
At the end, the
clock moves on but he hasn't.Time to
move on.
I was ignoring the
big wall clock previously, but took another look at the video and paid
attention to the fact that the clock is unbalanced.There are too many minutes and 12:30 actually
arrives before the point where it would be on another clock, at section 5 of
the clock.In other words, if 12:30 is
the end of the relationship, then it occurs before DJ recognizes it.He finally acknowledges the end at the point
12:30 would occur on a normal clock, well past the end. Isn't that the way with relationships? Sometimes people hold on past the point when it's over.
It could also
symbolize that relationships don't go the way you expect them, because the hour hand
at 12 is in the middle of the 12 section.So things are a little vague and unclear, confusing just like real life.Where is 12:30 anyway?Because you don't know where to start
counting - is it at the beginning of the 12 section, or does it begin where the
hour hand stands?Real life also holds uncertainty and can't be measured exactly. It's not completely clear where is the end and what caused it. From one point of view, it happened sooner and from another it happened later.
Almost every moment of this video has a meaningful image and I think they
communicate very well a longing for things to be back the way they were.People can relate to the desire to turn back
the hands of time and make things better or try to see where things went wrong.
The MV seems to be making a very depressing comment that relationships are doomed to fail and can't be saved. Things happen without our awareness until the romance has already cracked to pieces. The more you try to save it, the more it slips away. Not a Disney ending.
Bring in the lyrics
and you see these are the thoughts of someone who knows they are about to lose
the one they love.The lyrics explain
the broken bottle - the bottle is broken just like them.It also explains why "12:30", because they are
back to back and facing opposite directions similar to the hands of the clock, and are about to go their separate
ways.He feels time has stopped on the
relationship and as he's trying to let go, he's still hoping time will resume
for them, or that they will have more time together.
So the lyrics tied
everything in a little differently, but it was fun to analyze all the same
before reading the lyrics.
So you've watched the video, what do you think?
As an aside:
Beast has done two
videos recently showing a dead girl on the bed and a man ("Good Luck"
is the other.)Why is the girl always
dead/listless on the bed and nowhere else?She could be dead/listless on the couch or the floor or any number of
places.I'm starting to wonder if they
are making a sexual reference to women being cold in bed.What?I did just say that.I suppose
that a bed + man + woman clearly signifies a relationship.So much for my dirty mind.Did anyone else wonder the same thing?Let me know.
LOL I just realized there might not be that many people who are as stuck up as I am about musicality. But come ON!!! They are with one of the big 3 in Korea!!!! You'd think their idols would be better prepared than the average Joe's idols.
