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K-pop Discography Deep Dives: BTS (Part TWO)
A Disclaimer: I was planning, when I first started Tumblr, to be a lurker, but then I began an office job and needed something to listen to to keep myself occupied. And then, I started going through entire K-pop groups’ repertoires, album by album, and jotting down my thoughts. And then, I stumbled into K-pop tumblr and decided, you know what, there’s at least four people on this hell site who would read in depth rants about these discographies and at least five who wouldn’t read it and then get mad because it’s kind of our job as K-pop fans. My lukewarm takes should be taken with an entire silo of salt and the knowledge that this is completely for fun and occupying my very bored, very neurodivergent brain. All this to say, for the love of god, I’m a sleep-deprived student and I don’t have time for internet hate, so don’t kill me. With that being said, enjoy!
So, my credentials: I’ve got nothing this time, folks. I’m not an Army; I’m too casual to even be a casual fan. I like most of what I’ve heard, based on friend recommendations, but I have no idea how representative of their work the songs I’ve heard are. I know the group members’ names, but barely anything about them, although I’m always open to learning more. The reason I wanted to do this deep dive is because I’ve been a k-pop fan for almost five years now and I’ve heard every opinion between “BTS is the second coming of Christ” and “BTS is responsible for the collapse of society,” and I want to make up my own mind, free of influence.
Since BTS has over 200 songs, I’m also doing short supplementals each week, both to give myself and you guys a break and to look at groups / soloists with discographies too short to need a full week (because this is gonna be a dissertation and I’ll have to separate it into two parts). So, grab your lightstick, get some ice cream, steal a fluffy dog, and settle in folks. Let’s do this.
We left off just before You Never Walk Alone, and Blood, Sweat, and Tears. I was surprised on first listen of this one, because I don’t quite know how to classify it; it’s too calm to be one of their more bombastic songs and too loud to be one of their calmer ones. I’m just not sure what to say about it, to be honest. I don’t hate it but I don’t like it either. I like the instrumental and the elegance of some of its quieter moments but as I’ve stated ad nauseum, empty, chanty choruses are one of my song pet peeves, and I just can’t get into a song with it.
So then, we have Spring Day. I also don’t know what to say about this one, for the complete opposite reason. It’s the other one of BTS’ songs in my Top 25 K-pop songs, and I admit it; I find it almost impossible to be objective when I go “aww” the second I hear the opening notes. It’s melancholy and contemplative, wistful and pained, hopeful and tragic. The lyrics are honestly beautiful and such a raw expression of grief that it’s the kind of song you need to sit with for a minute before moving on.
I, like most people, have someone I love deeply that this song reminds me of, and it always makes me appreciate life just a little more every time I give it a listen. It’s perfect, but you don’t need me to tell you that. Go take a deep breath and watch the music video for yourself.
Not Today’s opening is…not for me, and feels especially harsh after the beauty that is Spring Day. I do really enjoy the pre-chorus, although I admit that I appreciate more than like the song as a whole. But, it has so much energy and drive it’s hard not to be pulled along for the ride. For the album as a whole, I really enjoyed seeing the variety in all of the solos, and although the one I liked the best was Stigma, I enjoyed the cinematic opening and the odd vocalizing of Lie and the slightly jazzy vibe of Mama too.
I’ve mentioned that I liked Taehyung’s voice before, but I really loved it in Stigma. He goes between whispering and half-wailing so well, and his voice carries so much emotion that I found myself swept up in it too. And of course, as a queer woman myself, the plaintive apologies and constant reference to “sins” make me wince in sympathy, although I have no idea if that’s the intended meaning.
On to an odyssey of a repackage album in Love Yourself: Answer, starting with Euphoria. At first, I was worried that the chorus would be empty, but the post-chorus assuaged my worries. I like the instrumental, especially the mix of the gentle guitar and the electronic twinkling (I don’t know how else to word it). The song’s overall not my favorite of theirs but a nice breather, upbeat and wispy, and the music video definitely made me smile, so props to them!
DNA continues the wispy, upbeat guitar trend, with whistling thrown in for good measure and making a nice contrast. I love the sprawling quality of the chorus, although I wish that the slight post-chorus at the end of the song continued through the rest of it, as I think it would make it live up more to the greatness that is the pre-chorus, which I don’t quite think it does. Although, I’m aware that that’s more personal preference than anything else. I think this one is my favorite single from the album.
Idol has an interesting beat and a good message. I’m sure it’d be a great song to run or dance to, and I do understand why people like it. I found myself tapping my head during the post-chorus, which I did enjoy. It’s just not for me, with its constant rapping and such a chanty chorus. Something about it just doesn’t feel like it works, although I could see it growing on me if I gave it more listens.
Mic Drop is even more not for me, to no one’s surprise. Unlike with Idol, where I could appreciate but not like it, I didn’t enjoy any part of this one and I found it grating on my ears. Again, I acknowledge that this is due to personal pet peeves more than anything, but it bears repeating that even if I can note the talent in something, that doesn’t mean I have to like it.
Overall though, I quite liked this album. The trilogy (if you will) of Serendipity (I love the guitar), Singularity (Taehyung’s vocal control is impressive), and Epiphany (I’ll talk more about it in a minute) is lovely, down to the names themselves. I also enjoyed Answer: Love Myself and although the song itself isn’t my style, I appreciated the unique lyrics of Anpanman.
Epiphany is definitely my favorite, though. It starts with a soft piano and strings, then slowly builds to become a quietly powerful song about the strength that it takes to wake up every morning and keep going, even when it seems impossible. It’s a topic that is near and dear to my heart, and I don’t think enough songs address it. I love how something about it feels cyclical, just like its meaning, and Jin’s voice communicates it so honestly that I completely understand why so many people have connected to this song.
Black Swan starts with a unique harp (?) that gives a sharp contrast to the more hard-hitting beat and electronic production layered over it. I want to like it more than I actually do, because there are so many interesting ideas in it but none of them are given time to breathe or developed enough to make the song stand out. I don’t really have an opinion in a way, because it doesn’t feel quite finished to me.
Boy With Luv surprised me with how much I actually liked it. Halsey’s voice works very well in it (though, as a fan of hers, I wish she had a little more to do) and it was a little toothless compared to other singles of theirs (and hers, for that matter), but I loved the pre-chorus. Overall, it’s fun! It’s not ending up on my Top 10 Lists but I didn’t skip it nor did I want to.
ON has a great build up and finally is one of their more EDM songs with a good payoff after it, moving like a marching band with the background drums. I quite liked this one; it marries their more ethereal and electronic style and their more harsh and dark style together in what turns out to be a great combo. I especially enjoyed the bridge and the pre-chorus, proof that I can enjoy chanting if it comes in concert with other things too.
On Map Of The Soul: 7, I liked most of the songs, including Filter, 00:00, Moon, Louder Than Bombs (especially the “louder than bombs, I sing”), and Inner Child. But, my favorite was Friends. If you’re a fan of them, you might think I’ve been harsh in my reviews, but I want to say that’s mostly because when I know what groups are capable of and they don’t strive for it, it feels like a missed opportunity. Like NCT Dream, I think that BTS’ best songs are when they let the cool facade fade away and sing (and write) from the heart, which is exactly what Friends is.
Look, I’m a sap. It’s a gently anthemic, almost sickeningly sweet song about Taehyung and Jimin’s friendship that doesn’t just wear its heart on its sleeve, but screams about it from the balcony. Of course I replayed it three times and kept going “awww” every ten seconds. I was doing work at my desk and once it got to the “you are my soulmate” part, I suddenly got the urge to text my own soulmate friend and tell her how much I love her. Which I did.
Life Goes On is understated and feels a bit more like a b-side, but it’s honestly so sweet that I like this one too. It feels like a warm hug, and I don't even mind the rap, because it’s miles ahead of the ones in calm songs from the beginning. I already knew this song too, but in context with the rest of their discography, I enjoyed it more. Having spent this review and the last going through Everests of albums, BE is almost scarily short. That being said, I did enjoy the guitar in Dis-ease, and I especially appreciated the throwback to the skits of the first few albums in Skit, a good return to form.
Alright. Enough of the hearts and flowers, I have a confession to make. I hate Dynamite. I know that I don’t have any actually valid reasons for this, because I know it’s a good song. But, as I said in the disclaimer, I’ve been a k-pop fan for almost five years now and since the time this song came out, it’s become people’s reference point for BTS, which is already wrong, and then it becomes their reference point for k-pop, which never fails to get under my skin.
It’s not BTS’ fault that so many English-speaking people see a song specifically designed to appeal to an English speaking market, and then refuse to do any effort to look beyond it, but it drives me insane nonetheless. I’m sure that if it wasn’t to that level of fame that I’d feel the same way about it that I do about Boy With Luv. My thoughts are the same for Dynamite, Butter, and Permission To Dance, so I’ll spare you the repetition.
I’m going to end not with my irrational hatred of Dynamite but with a note that I really enjoyed the song they released with their Best Of album, “Yet To Come,” although I don’t think it was a single. I won’t go into too much detail but I did think that it was very sweet and a good thing to end on.
So, overall thoughts: I’m very glad I did this. I’m glad that I took the time to make up my own mind and recognize that I was doing what I just called out all the people who assume that Dynamite is every k-pop song ever, and assuming that I wouldn’t enjoy this deep dive. I’m extremely happy to say that they proved me wrong. I can’t call myself a fan, exactly, but I can say that I respect their talents (and their humor) much more than I did before this. I always watch an interview when I’m typing up this last part, and I might even watch more than one this time. We’ll see.
My top 5 songs are, to no one’s surprise, Spring Day, Friends, Butterfly, Epiphany, and Life Goes On, with a special shout out to Paldongangsan and War Of Hormone. BTS gets a 8.5/10 from me, the same as (G)I-DLE and NCT Dream, which I definitely didn’t see coming. I enjoyed the greater part of their discography, and of the songs I didn’t like, it was usually personal preference or bias and not any fault of the songs themselves. Once we get to 9/10 and beyond, it gets firmly into the land of what are my own absolute favorite groups (like, say, Gfriend), so I can’t really rate them any higher.
I’ll see you very soon for a quick girl group supplemental and next week for a longer girl group! Tschüss!
#BTS#k-pop deep dive#BTS review#review#K-pop#yoongi#suga#namjoon#rm#Jin#seokjin#jungkook#j-hope#hoseok#v#taehyung#jimin#k pop boy groups#Halsey
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fatima aamer bilal, from being unwanted is a language.
[text id: the world is happening in a room that i can't enter, life is happening in a gathering i am not invited to. / being unwanted is a language i am fluent in.]
#fatima aamer bilal#poetry#poeticstories#literature#art#poetic#book quotations#writing#words words words#yearning#longing#fantasy#book review#literary#franz kafka#taylor swift#bts#sylvia plath#lana del rey#mahmoud darwish#life crisis#self loathing#poem#prose#dark poetry#dark academia#typography#fiction#spilled poetry#spilled quotes
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TAROT SCAMMER
@adorastarot is a scammer, do not buy from her.
As some of you know, I love supporting readers and people in general. If I have enough money, I'll more than likely buy from a small business or donate if I can. It's really a shame that I have to make a post like this because I have personally felt scammed by a reader on here.
I’ll try to keep it short. I have bought 4 readings from @adorastarot and have only received 2 of them. The second batch I had ordered when I knew she was on vacation (@adorastarot had even confirmed the purchase) so I expected a bit of wait at LEAST for that month, and wasn't knocking down her door for it because they were fun readings and nothing urgent. For about 2 months I would on and off forget that I purchased it and left it alone, which is a mistake on my part.
I didn't know there was a refund period (because I have never been scammed like this) so unfortunately, I missed the time to be able to get a chargeback. She has stolen $50 from me with no remorse. Typically I don't care what a reader does with the money they earn because it is up to the buyer if they would like to support them or not. But when you juke people out of their money, have no remorse and also only use your funds to go on trips (which is a luxury) is just so crazy to me. Imagine doing this while there are so many other readers out there who actually NEED the money.
I have tried contacting Kofi about this to no avail. Here are the screenshots of our last interaction. Keep in mind I have never had a bad experience with her before this.
And before anyone says anything, it's about the principle. Not only did I not receive an order, there was no communication as @adorastarot willfully posted on both her Kofi and Tumblr while not responding to my messages. I shouldn't have to do this over what is £35 to you.
#scam#scam alert#scammer alert#tarot reading#tarot reader#divination#bts tarot#tarotblr#pac#pick a pile#spirituality#tarot community#tarot commissions#bts fs#future spouse#love reading#tarot readings#law of assumption#loa#pap#paid readings#affirmations#jungkook fs#jimin fs#taehyung fs#bts divination#paid tarot reading#paid tarot review#kpop#kpop tarot
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Goodbye, for now
BABY? HONEY? BOYFRIEND SHOT? Jikook you're too much!
This episode was truly the best way to end the show, maybe even the best episode of the series. (Neck in neck with episode 2 of course) The way they enjoyed it so much but were also so sad it was over. The hot tension all around, the soft boyfriends mood who can't stop flirting and name calling each other with the most low-key couple-like sweet names. They could not stop laughing, they could not stop touching and they couldn't stop being hilarious without even trying.
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SK Spotify daily chart end of November 2023 :
Jimin Jungkook Jimin Jungkook Jimin Jimin
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It would be such a full circle moment if Jimin posted the boyfriend photo (which won't happen). Would almost be like a soft launch of some sort.
Not the underwear too?? Gosh I love my little gay freaks!! (didn't understand why Jimin would quote their 'yet another inner joke meme' right at that moment but I've learned to not question their inner workings)
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Sorry but i have to be pretty one last time and say that I kinda had enough of seeing so much from the crew around or even in Jikook's shots and angles. It breaks the fourth wall a little too much and ruins the whole bubble idea. Ok I'm done lol
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Returning to the issue at hand, the "seeing the beds for the first time" scene keeps getting funnier and funnier. As if they don't already have designated sides of the bed 😏
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Ah the never ending bickering gives me life. Peep the half korean half english talk when they playfully get on each others nerves 👀😂
I better not speak on the scuzzi jacuzzi shenanigans cause otherwise.. Let's just say the photo speaks for itself..
NO YOU KNOW WHAT IMMA SPEAK. We all know that jacuzzi time is always intimate, relaxing and personal for people that's why I wish Jikook had enjoyed it fully without cameras. Yes I'm pissed on their behalf, that they had to film the whole thing with 382929 different angles. lol
His face is literally saying "oh so you're really gonna make me do it huh? if I was in your place I would've folded immediately and would've never let you go through with it!!" 😂
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No one ever:
Jikook every 2sec : HONEY OH HONEY
(I was actually listening to the song while writing this and idk why it's so funny to me even tho it's a sad love ballad)
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They must've loved getting the chance to at least see one episode of the show, plus the idea of watching it together..
Jungkook being so entertained by it meanwhile Jimin being mortified about half of the things that happened. HILARIOUS
HAHAHHAHAHA all parties were concerned if they'd be able to pull it off, I can't
BEST BELIEVE they're always gonna find a way to touch. Consciously or unconsciously.
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This show made me realize that my favourite thing ever is Jk making food for Jimin, then making him hysterically laugh and therefore getting to hear Jimin's adorable giggles.
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"Hello it is I the one and only, the only one who can touch Jimin's head ble ble ble ble" - JK
Jk was like: How can you imagine Jimin without me in your dream? Are you crazy? What is this delusional dream world you live in Jin hyung??
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Tbh it's so meaningful and a huge thing saying that these trips were literally the best trips of your life. I think the statement almost went over people's heads.
I can't get enough of Jimin looking pretty and cuddly and Jungkook's immediate thought being: I HAVE TO FILM YOU
Them saying they can do a reboot when they come back gave me some hope that maybe just maybe this is not the end of AYS 😭
The ending bonus clip left me fulfilled but also sad and with goosebumps all over.
Thank you Jimin & Jungkook for letting us peek into this trip and getting to witness some of your precious moments.
Signing off, J&J 🥹
Ps. So I'm guessing the 52 minute video that comes with the photobook is probably the 3 bts videos combined that they've been reviewing for 48392 months right?
#I really enjoyed this review series#jikook#kookmin#jimin#jungkook#bts#bangtan#are you sure?!#jikook travel show#ep. 8#september 2024#final episode😭
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cuteness aggression activated!
#kim seokjin#seokjin#jin#bts#bangtan#dailybts#useremmeline#userdimple#usersky#userpat#annietrack#...i dont know any other bangtan creator tags#im sorry i'll milk out every content i can from seokjin's festa activity until i really have to focus on my review :')#fiz.gif#btsgif
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MORGANA | Cloaks, Coats, & Covers ➛ first & last appearances
#morganaedit#merlinedit#katiemcgrathedit#merlingifs#bbcmorgana#katie mcgrath#morgana le fay#perioddramaedit#morganapendragonedit#merlin#morgana*#gifs*#*#morganaoutfits#okay after a lot of time closely comparing the two and reviewing bts footage i am 99% certain that the fur coat from s1 was the same as s5#but it makes me laugh because morgana must've snuck into camelot at some point to get it back#also as with the last outfits set i did not include things that only appeared in one episode#i plan to do another set with single appearance outfits
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HELTER SKELTER (2012) - dir. Mika Ninagawa SIREN by SUNMI (2018) - dir. Choi Yongseok
#ksoloists#filmgifs#kgoddesses#sunmi#helter skelter#mika ninagawa#lee sunmi#erika sawajiri#**remember when lumpens mvs were good....#**anyways i never kno how to tag my non bts gifs anyways. here u go.#**i swear i intended for these to be big gifs but i hate the colouring on some of these so bad that they need to be small.#**it makes the colours flow better anyways.#**ANYWAYS. sunmi helter skelter letterboxd review when.#*creations#*gifs
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The Japan first edition blu-ray is here! \(^o^)/
The digital content is the same save for an additional Japanese dub, so I'm way more curious about the trinkets!
2nd pic is a set of six postcards that iirc are DVD volume covers. (Wow remember the early days of TCW where there's ZERO Ahsoka on any promo materials) Each cover features screencaps of the episodes it contains.
3rd pic is keychain charms. 4th pic is a poster by… I think, Kilian Plunkett? It looks a little too finished to be Filoni… Enlighten me if you do.
#the clone wars#star wars#tcw reviews#now I only have the lost missions and I'll have a complete collection#unfortunately S6 doesn't include any bts bonus so I keep forget it :p
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K-pop Discography Deep Dives: BTS (Part ONE)
A Disclaimer: I was planning, when I first started Tumblr, to be a lurker, but then I began an office job and needed something to listen to to keep myself occupied. And then, I started going through entire K-pop groups’ repertoires, album by album, and jotting down my thoughts. And then, I stumbled into K-pop tumblr and decided, you know what, there’s at least four people on this hell site who would read in depth rants about these discographies and at least five who wouldn’t read it and then get mad because it’s kind of our job as K-pop fans. My lukewarm takes should be taken with an entire silo of salt and the knowledge that this is completely for fun and occupying my very bored, very neurodivergent brain. All this to say, for the love of god, I’m a sleep-deprived student and I don’t have time for internet hate, so don’t kill me. With that being said, enjoy!
So, my credentials: I’ve got nothing this time, folks. I’m not an Army; I’m too casual to even be a casual fan. I like most of what I’ve heard, based on friend recommendations, but I have no idea how representative of their work the songs I’ve heard are. I know the group members’ names, but barely anything about them, although I’m always open to learning more. The reason I wanted to do this deep dive is because I’ve been a k-pop fan for almost five years now and I’ve heard every opinion between “BTS is the second coming of Christ” and “BTS is responsible for the collapse of society,” and I want to make up my own mind, free of influence.
Since BTS has over 200 songs, I’m also doing short supplementals each week, both to give myself and you guys a break and to look at groups / soloists with discographies too short to need a full week (because this is gonna be a dissertation and I’ll have to separate it into two parts). So, grab your lightstick, get some ice cream, steal a fluffy dog, and settle in folks. Let’s do this.
BTS, as you probably know, is short for Bangtan Sonyeondan, or Bulletproof Boy Scouts, and debuted in 2013 (they just had their tenth debut anniversary) and they have seven members: Jimin, Namjoon (RM), Taehyung (V), Jin, Yoongi (SUGA), Jungkook, and Hoseok (J-hope).
First things first, I love a good intro, and the loudspeaker is funny; 2 cool 4 skool is not what I was expecting. I’m not the biggest fan of “I’m too cool for you” hip-hop personally, but I can respect We Are Bulletproof (p.2) for the fact that the message doesn’t feel empty. I believe what they’re selling, even if I don’t want to buy it. To be honest, I’m a singer, and I listen to artists to hear their singing voices, because I know that they can sing beautifully.
On the album I’m much more a fan of Like, although I prefer the slow mix from their later work. The rest of the first album gave me a bit of whiplash to be honest, but I can appreciate how unique it is, both in k-pop and music as a whole. The skits are very odd, but they did make me feel like I know more about the members than I would about an average k-pop group from their album; I can see why so many people became fans early on.
On O! R U L8 2?, N.O. immediately caught my attention with the interesting instrumental and the sing-talk and singing combo. I did enjoy it more than We Are Bulletproof, because of the melody, but I liked it, didn’t love it. (I could’ve done without the growling). Most of the b-sides aren’t for me, but I do want to talk about Coffee and Paldongangsan.
I did like Coffee (especially the harmonizing on the Baby~~ part of the chorus) but I really didn’t like the rap verses. I don’t have anything against them being there in theory; raps can be done in a quiet, calm way (like in “Child” by Mark from NCT), but it’s not happening here and they feel very out of place. It’s all well and good to rap excellently, but you need to have some variety or else everything threatens to feel the same.
But, my hidden gem from this album is definitely Paldongangsan. Look, one of my majors is linguistics, so it’s no surprise I went wild at this song. It’s about the different dialects of Korean (which originate from different places there) and the stereotypes associated with each one, and it ends with Namjoon yelling at the rest of them to stop ragging on each other for their dialects and be accepting because it’s all the same language anyway. It was actually the first BTS song I heard, about two years ago (barring Dynamite, of course), because an Army friend of mine recommended it to me. I’ve never heard a song like it before (or since for that matter) and it’s remained on my Top 25 K-pop songs playlist ever since.
Anyway, digression over, and onto the next album, Skool Luv Affair. Boy In Luv is definitely a turning point in their discography, with its drive and rock elements. I wish it was more melodic, as I always do, but it grew on me after a couple more listens and it's my favorite of the title tracks so far. Hidden gems for this album are Just One Day and especially Outro: Propose (which I wish wasn’t so short, because I thought it was pretty good.)
With Dark & Wild we turn another corner. Danger intrigued me from the first part’s guitar riff and interesting instrumental. Although I was a bit wary, the set-up of the pre-chorus, pay-off of the chorus, and earworm of the post-chorus reassured me. It’s the first single from this deep dive that I’ve liked on 1st listen. (The “don’t get me confused” is stuck in my head now.)
War Of Hormone arrives with a record scratch and a bombast of horns. And arrives is the right word: it makes its presence known. I really enjoyed this one, and I even replayed it a few times. At its best moments, it mixes very different parts together without feeling like whiplash and becomes anthemic. I especially love the contrast between Namjoon’s scratchier, lower voice and Jungkook’s higher notes, and of course, harmonizing, my one true love. It’s a bit of a dumb song but they don’t take it too seriously and I appreciate that they aren’t afraid to laugh.
This album was also a turning point for me when it came to my enjoyment of their work; I didn’t really dislike any song on it and the better balance of rapping, sing-talk, and singing made me less reactionary towards the raps that were there. There’s more variety in the raps themselves too: sometimes they’re upbeat, sometimes they’re pensive, sometimes they’re angry, but they don’t all sound like they’re trying to kill me through my earbuds. Improvement! Also, showing some vulnerability helps balance the more boastful songs that are there, so I disliked those less too.
Yes, I’m fully aware that their rapping is technically very good, I just don’t always enjoy it. I appreciate songs like Hip Hop Phile and their meanings, but appreciation still can’t make you like something that you don’t like. As for what I did like, my hidden gems for this album were Let Me Know (which finally lets them sing and be open with their feelings), Could You Turn Off Your Cellphone (harmonizing again), and Look Here (very odd but I enjoy the horns).
I Need U is surprisingly calm in its intro and is very much poppier than the last few title tracks have been, with more of an anguished edge than a youthful “I’m cooler than you” edge, which I appreciated. I liked this one. It’s much better at balancing the harmonizing with rap and the instrumental (which is very interesting, by the way) than the previous songs, and I can see how it sets them on the path after that leads to their more melancholy and contemplative title tracks further down the line.
Run works as a good foil; it’s pretty upbeat, which does make sense given that it’s (somewhat) a love song. I love the way the chorus surges forward and even though it’s poppier than the others, it doesn’t feel like they’ve lost their identity. It still feels like a BTS song, basically. It’ll probably be making an appearance on my gym playlist, which is never a bad thing.
As a side note, I love that so many of their songs embrace the idea of full pre-choruses, choruses, and post-choruses, because it makes each track feel more intentional and lived in, not like they’re trying to fill space on an album or have empty space. In the k-pop songs that are on my top 25 (of which two are BTS), this holds true for the vast majority of them.
Dope is a song that, like War Of Hormone, feels like it arrives, not begins, with its “Ladies and gentlemen”, and I love the build-up that it has leading to the chorus. But…it just doesn’t have enough payoff to that build-up for me, with an empty, shouty chorus and more lyrics about how great they are. I know a lot of people love it, but it has too many of my pet peeves to get past. Sorry, guys.
In the same vein, I should like Fire. I love an explosion of a chorus and I adore a song about burning down the system as much as the next witch. I love the lyrics, and I think that pre-choruses are good and the bridge especially is great. But I don’t like this song. At all. It comes dangerously close to grating one too many times for me, and embraces all of the worst aspects of their early material with none of the charm that had me chuckling with, not at, the first few albums. I’ve mentioned many times how much I hate an anti-drop and this song does absolutely nothing to change my mind. I expect the cursing to the heavens to come in in about 3…2…1…
Save Me is the last single from the album, and the most similar to the BTS songs I’ve heard before: ethereal, wispy, ruminating, and with a soft electronic background. I do like this one, although I wish the last chorus had more of an end (like I was a bit confused when the next song started) and I wish the main rap was a bit calmer to fit with the rest of the song. It’s at its best when it allows their voices to just be and meld with each other.
I have one main hidden gem for this album, which is Butterfly. It’s no surprise that I love this one with how insane I am about harmonizing and vulnerability, but I really do love it. I feel like this should’ve been a single instead of Save Me, to be honest. All of the main gripes I have with it are remedied here: the chorus is fuller, the ending feels earned, and the raps are just calmer enough that they don’t stick out like a sore thumb. I also appreciated Taehyung’s voice more than I have in the past, and I’m glad for him in the chorus.
Also, speaking of vulnerability, I also, somewhat surprisingly, like the intro of the Most Beautiful Moment In Life, although I didn’t plan to on first listen. I appreciate that this song doesn’t try to paint them as above the world or better than anyone, but embraces the genuine emotion that they’re so good at conveying. It’s such a raw expression of exhaustion that I felt sympathy even before I looked up the words, which is pretty damn powerful.
And….breathe. Would it surprise you to learn that we’re only in mid 2016? Yeah, yeah, me too, kid. This is where Part 1 ends, I do my Supplemental for the week tomorrow (a boy group who I highly doubt you’ve heard of), and we all go touch some grass and eat some Doritos. K? K.
I’ll see you next week, for both Part 2 of this odyssey and a girl group supplemental!
#k-pop#review#BTS#BTS review#jungkook#jin#jimin#RM#namjoon#v#taehyung#hoseok#j-hope#suga#yoongi#discography deep dive#k pop boy groups#Spotify
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BTS: Are They Really The Best of K-pop?
#k-pop#review#music#kpop#kpop deep dive#album-review#pop#reviews#k-pop deep dive#Jin#Namjoon#Jimin#park jimin#BTS#bangtan#yoongi#Suga#taehyung#BTS V#BTS updates#jin discharge#seokjin#jungkook#RM#bts rm#Dynamite#BTS review#BTS Suga#agust d#bts army
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BTS: K-pop Discography Deep Dive (Part TWO)
A Disclaimer: I was planning, when I first started Tumblr, to be a lurker, but then I began an office job and needed something to listen to to keep myself occupied. And then, I started going through entire K-pop groups’ repertoires, album by album, and jotting down my thoughts. And then, I stumbled into K-pop tumblr and decided, you know what, there’s at least four people on this hell site who…
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#k-pop#review#k-pop deep dive#k pop boy groups#bts#bts review#rm#jhope#kim taehyung#taehyung#jimin#Jin#suga#yoongi#Halsey#boy with luv#dynamite#permission to dance#butter#spring day#bts on#run bts
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