Squinched Recap - B.A.P - 1004 (Angel) MV

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.

Just because...

Contents

CONTENTS
Kinda like a site map... :)

K-POP
1.  Beast 12:30 MV
2. The Song Stylings of Kim Jaejoong
3. Squinched Recap: Beast 12:30MV
4. B.A.P - 1004 (Angel) MV - Unfulfilled Dreams
5. Squinched Recap - B.A.P 1004 (Angel) MV
6. Performance Review - Winner "But"


News
 Artwork for Squinchee's Blog  Feb. 7, 2015

Other Music
1.  Hey Goldmember

B.A.P - 1004 (Angel) MV - Unfulfilled Dreams

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. 

Squinched Recap - Beast 12시 30분 (12:30) MV

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 YOU CAN'T BEAT US.  

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. 

Featured Artist - The Song Stylings of Kim Jaejoong

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.

© Sarininka | Dreamstime.com

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."

© Photowitch | Dreamstime.com

One more thing.  I enjoy that this song doesn't follow the typical formula found in soooooo mmaaaaannnnyy songs (yawn): 

Verse 1 + Chorus + Verse 2 + Chorus + Bridge + Chorus/Finale.  

It is more like this:

Introspective Verse 1 + Introspective Chorus 1 + Passionate Verse 2 + Passionate Chorus/Finale

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)