#Minji's music

[kpodcast]

Dear H. - Xdinary Heroes

Here's a deep dive on the last track from XDH's album Deadlock, "Dear H." Included are my thoughts on the following: Lyrics/Meaning, Instrumentation, Chord Progression & Key Changes.

Lyrics/Meaning

The very first line is about a light that he used to be able to touch, but now cannot. There’s a sadness to knowing what was there, but not being able to reach it anymore. The whole song is a near cry for help; not yet a cry for help, but a struggle within—"I’m alone, I can barely take another step, my broken heart is cutting me from the inside out. Please talk to me, wake me up. Would it be better if I talked about it?"

Instrumentation

The verses have such simple instrumentation (just keyboard). It’s contemplative, it’s lonely. The chorus comes bursting out with the whole band joining in, and it’s an internal battle ("should I ask for help, what if I fly too high and burn?"). The guitar solo is a turning point, it’s an arrival (the key change at that moment also suggests this), the outro returns to the soft keys-only sound, and is sad and questioning.

Chord Progression & Key Changes

**There are a FEW musical things to note before we start talking about this section. Each tone in a key/scale is given a number 1-7. After 7, it repeats starting at 1 again. Roman numerals are used to represent each of those as chords: uppercase for Major chords, and lowercase for minor chords. I = major one, ii = minor two, and so on.**

The Chord Progression:

There is one main progression that happens in three different keys in this song: I - ii - vi - V.

The progression from the I chord to ii feels like a step forward, and, when paired with the melody, it feels so heavy!! This is a contemplative song with a lot of weight. The fall from the vi chord to the V chord reminds me of sinking back, almost settling. Two steps forward, one step back. There’s a hesitance to it, that supports the lyrics “what if I fly too high, too closely? and everything burns and falls?” “what if I fall on my knees? would it be more comfortable?” “would it be better if I talked about it?” and the uncertainty there.

The Key Changes:

The song begins in the key of F Major. HOWEVER! Half way through the first chorus (0:57), the song modulates (changes key) up a half-step (one physical key on the keyboard) to F# Major, with high energy from the vocal slide up to the A#. This is pretty early in a song! Usually key changes are in the last third of a song, and stay in the new key.

Immediately after the chorus (1:08) it returns to F Major for the second verse like nothing even happened, with only a nearly inaudible bass note after some silence.

The second verse and second chorus happen exactly as the first (key change 2:01), HOWEVER (part two!!) following that, the song modulates AGAIN (2:09) up another half-step to G Major. There's no transition here either (like the chorus-verse2), but there's no wait, either. It dives right into G Major, and feels SO triumphant. The guitar solo is a huge arrival point! The song stays in G Major for the guitar solo and outro (with a little extra spice) and the final two chords are G Major and a minor.

More on the chord progression:

The outro is initially the same chord progression we’ve been hearing the whole time, but the song feels so different. The melody for "더 깊이 깊이 난 가라앉아" is reaching, longing, scared, and the chords underneath just walk up the scale with the melody: I-ii-III7-IV. This is not a typical progression, and it's the first time we get a 7th chord, which is filled with so much tension! The song ends with I-ii. The ii chord is not a “home” chord, but it’s also not an “away” chord. The song ends with the same uncertainty flowing through the whole thing.

[froopis]

Calling U Back ᖭི༏ᖫྀ𓂃 ࣪˖ ⋆.˚ 𔓘ֶָ

[evilminji]

Broadway :3c

And I hear ya. (Insert spooky joke here) There is a sprawling WEB of central hubs, for The Arts. For trade. For getting drunk and having a good time. The Zone is large and it is endless. You'll NEVER reach the far end. It can never reach you.

All things, in gentle sweeping waves, across eternity.

So when folks want to have "a market" or "a movie theater" or "the waterpark"? You gotta PICK a point on the endless map. Figure if you are close or far enough away for others like it, to make it worth the effort to build.

You might even be the first to do it for GALAXIES in any direction! People might fly for WEEKS to come to your place! Move their Lairs to be closer too it. Like dust gathered by gravity, slowly creating planets and stars. A mega Lair. A CITY.

They rise, they fall, the Zone shifts all the while.

But!

Does the dead starlet stop singing? Does getting gunned down, stop the show?? I think NOT! Where is her STAGE? What musicals? What dramas? What operas and tragedies and forms unknown to human kind??! Ballet dancers who CAN defy gravity! Singers who have no NEED for air! The haunting blend of instruments, that could never in life have met! From empires long turned to ASH!

The greatest show in DEATH!

Ember was a world wide hit. Yes, her voice was hypnotic. But that could be FOUGHT. It was SKILL that carried the game. And she was hardly "I was Literally The Greatest My Planet Ever Produced" skilled. She was good, great even. Not "I was Born For Greatness" Excellence.

And like?

.....eventually? Danny's gonna ask after "cultural-y" Culture stuff. Clothes and food. Music and the arts. To help his parents get used to the whole "our son is half-dead" thing. To show he's not some mindless monster now.

And? Ghostwriter? Probably an absolute legend. Does he know where you can find some CULTURE? Oh THANK ZONE! He thought you'd NEVER ask! You unsophisticated-! *fist fight in a library* Still a dick, though. Always and forever.

And just? Imagine Broadway stretched out into a floating city. That never sleeps. Never stops. Shows ever changing. Some on a cycle, some only once. Dream-like. Beautiful. Eye catching.

And yeah, Danny didn't think he LIKED musicals. It was more of a Jazz thing. But? This was important! Gotta get the whole family in the Speeder. We're going to see a play, guys! We'll pick when we get there! Family road trip! Educational! We can make notes!

His parents are trying to be supportive. Big, fixed, strained grins. Trying to pretend to be excited. But they... DO seem reluctantly intrigued? And Jazz is all but vibrating in her seat. It's basically her "before you go away to college" present. And she is THRILLED.

The longer she excitedly speculates? The more into it she gets their folks. This IS gonna be new! Exciting! Never before seen Ghost Culture! Music! As a FAMILY! Think we could find souvenirs? Ooooh, wonder if they sell CDs??!

Then? They GET there. And it's... it's like seeing the Las Vegas strip for the first time, except multiplied into a city. Made of even MORE styles and eras. At angles gravity would never allow.

The air filled with laughter and excitement, people rushing to shows or humming bits of tunes. Street stalls. Fountains. Flowers growing everywhere.

They could stay for months and not even reach a fraction of these buildings. His parents are taking countless photos. His sister squeeling with joy as she races for an information kiosk like they just arrived at Disneyland. He, at least, remembers to lock up the Speeder. Grab their day bags.

When did HE become the responsible one?

The argue over shows. Obviously. Wouldn't be Fenton's otherwise. HE wants to see the alien one. It's from mars! But it's his sister's trip, as his dad points out, so she gets to choose. She picks a musical set during the Fall of Krpton. He's... reluctantly kinda interested. I mean, EVERYBODY likes Superman, right?

It's... it's amazing. Terrible, but amazing. I mean? A coming of age story cut tragically short? Oof. Hello, massively projecting then getting FEELS about it! Yeah, sure, rip my heart out why don't you? He's fine. No, really! Just drowning in his own emotions over here. The refrain of "A Life Well Lived"? *gargling dying whale noises* he's FINE. Not grappling with anything! Go on without him!

Thankfully?

They DO sell CDs.

He... he may end up, kinda, getting a bit of a collection. Going on the weekends, hoping show to show. Wandering to whichever catches his eye in the moment. Buying the CDs for one's he likes. Which? Honestly is a lot of them. Even though there's all sorts of genres and languages. Cause it... it RESONATES you know?

The grief. The anger. The "I have died but I wasn't FINISHED. It isn't FAIR.". And? Something about ghost speak flows so BEAUTIFULLY in song? It's hard to explain. But he... he needs them.

A pair of headphones, a CD, and a clear night sky? Nothing touches it. It's like a trance made of light. Like he can just drift.

The problem? Is the CDs are kinda... Zone made? They're radioactive, for one. Nothing a Fenton CD player can't handle. But... they? Also? Kinda fuckin GLOW? Like... very, very noticeably. And not in a "ha ha, cool glow in the dark paint!" Sorta way.

.........but like FUCK is he leaving his music behind when he goes to college. Gotham will have to deal. It's already a burning shit-nado, it can handle this. Probably. He'll put um in a lead lined box. Actually, speaking OF.... he needs to get a few more of those... *goes back to packing*

Which? Is how? The Bats are treated to some of the most HAUNTING music they've ever heard, belted and crooned from Some Guy's speakers, out an open window, on the "stop for a mid-patrol drink of water and a snack" building. It's one of the intersections of their patrol routes. And THAT? That is some dude listening to a Romani ballad about death and the circus. Now it's a musical about the trenches of an obscure war.

Okay, that was DEFINITELY Kryptonian. Like... coherent Krypto- *Bruce gets a call from Clark on his "work" number DEMANDING to know where that is coming from. Who is that voice Bruce?!* huh.... Well Then.

@hdgnj @hypewinter @nerdpoe @lolottes @babbling-babull @spidori @mutable-manifestation @the-witchhunter

[starcatching]

JIU ♡ DREAMCATCHER 240803 Makestar Fansign Event

[chaerrypops]

ɴᴇᴡ ᴊᴇᴀɴꜱ 🫧 ᴀꜱᴀᴘ.

[kpop-girlsworld]

Minji

[moonfountain]

i don’t think i’m ever gonna love another girlgroup the way i love dreamcatcher i’m so glad they exist

[kpop-posts]

✿ minji ꒰ newjeans ꒱ lockscreens !

[phamjeans]

NewJeans at 2023 Billboard Music Awards

[yourdailymag]

Minji (NewJeans) in Chanel for Dazed November 2024

[woonit]

ᥫ᭡ Minji (New jeans)

[kpodcast]

Burst Up and 180sec by THE NEW SIX

What I had originally intended to be a full album thoughts post turned into a discussion on beat feel, style/beat change, and placement of that change in songs.

4-beat feel vs half time feel

When I'm talking about 4-beat vs half time, the tempo (speed) of the music doesn’t actually change, just the feel of the music. The song only feels half as fast - instead of the beat feeling | x x x x | it feels like | x - x - | with the -’s feeling open. You could easily continue to tap 4 beats along with music in a half time feel, but it's not where the "big beats" feel.

“Burst Up” actually starts with the prechorus and chorus at the beginning of the song. The intro/prechorus is a very strong 4 beat, with the brief snare rolls giving a marchlike vibe. The song turns into a half time feel at 0:14 [the chorus] with a sustained bass hit on beat one, and the percussion beats are much more spaced out, with a strong hit only every 8 counts of the 'faster' tempo. The chorus leads directly into the verse, staying in the ‘slow’ half-time feel.

This is SUPER INTERESTING! Typically, style changes happen so that either the prechorus and chorus are the same style OR the chorus is a different style alone, which separates the verse and the chorus in terms of style. HOWEVER, in “Burst Up” the chorus and verse have the same style! The chorus leads so smoothly into the verse; you almost can’t tell where the chorus ends and the verse begins.

We can directly contrast this with “180sec” which shows the ‘typical’ location for style change: before the chorus. The chorus is a half-time feel, while the verse, prechorus, and bridge are all in a 4 feel.

You can see in “Burst Up” the chorus and verse are paired (weird!), while in “180sec”, the chorus is different from the rest of the song in style, and even changes to the 4-beat feel in the final repetition to create extra energy. You can also see the bridge of “Burst Up” has a 4-beat feel as well, but it’s SO HEAVY with the “four on the floor” bass and instrumental hits with NO syncopation that it doesn’t feel the same as the initial 4-beat style of the intro/prechorus.

[froopis]

Neapolitan Ice Cream⋆ ౨ৎ ˚ 🍫 ⟡ ˖ ࣪🩷 ⋆✴︎ ˚˖𓍢ִ໋🤍˚ ˚｡⋆

[rosabie]

Fairy land

[kyupideros]

— Cool With You (side A), NewJeans ∙ side A, side B.

[arachnion]