#but generally it's more like 'the melody on the 3rd line of the prechorus feels distinctly dallon weekes' and then it is him

[darcyolsson]

panic at the discos three viciously different songwriting formations have accidentally created this really interesting thing in their discography where if youre familiar enough w the band you can easily tell who wrote which songs within the first 30 seconds

[flakandforay]

Converse High Analysis

this is the analysis for their 3rd mini album, 화양연화 pt. 1, 7th track - Converse High

i will be analysing several components - music, lyrics and choreography

disclaimer: this is just my personal opinion, feel free to disagree. do let me know your thoughts in my ask box

overall: this fun youthful track is produced by namjoon in which he wanted to put in his mixtape initially but instead decided to put inside this album instead to become a group song. not to mention, he even purposely named it ‘converse high’ in which he mentioned in an interview before that his ideal girl in 2015 was one who owned a pair of red high tops converse sneakers which led to the name of the song. 

music: it starts off straight away with the use of cymbals inside, specifically the hi-hats and the use of electrical guitar chords that sound more reggae and hippie in the beginning. namjoon also comes in with an adlib of ‘yeah’ as if to feel the groove of the song and to set the mood. actually throughout the first few seconds of the song, namjoon is using it to his advantage to ride the groove etc and only till 0:10 does he begin the song, but he starts it off softly so as to prepare for the impending drop. not to mention that one could hear jungkook doubling inside towards the end of namjoon’s lyrics and that the beat now includes claps inside in time with the hi-hats. then namjoon wraps up the intro with ‘converse high’, intentionally slowing down so that the drop would have more impact as listeners would listen out to it more.

so jungkook comes in at 0:19 with that sweet voice of his to which at the beginning one could hear this ‘shimmering synth’ as now the percussion and guitar chords are dimmed down to amplify jungkook’s vocals. the key part of this song is ‘woah woah woah’ at 0:28 in which it is constantly repeated throughout this song, giving it its own groove.

jimin then comes in at 0:29 at the second part of the chorus and again at 0:37 with the ‘woah woah woah’. one could notice that the chorus is actually more choppy - in a way, several breaths are being taken to sing the chorus as they time their singing with the beat and also to sustain the ‘woah woah woah’. to be honest, almost all of the vocal line members’ make it obvious that they are taking breaths especially seokjin however jungkook is the one that makes it less obvious that he does so.

and the after this chorus, there is this short piece of drum melody that signals the start of the verses - actually namjoon’s rap and he’s taking it more chill together with the claps of the beat ( the hi-hats and guitar chords are already dimmed down in this verse ). what’s interesting is that at 0:49 with his lyrics ‘f u’, it adds on to his style of rapping here, clearly showing he could manipulate the beat of the song. yet, he repeats the ‘f u’ several times as he makes a statement.

and then at 0:59, namjoon’s part abruptly ends but is quickly overcome with hoseok’s part as he takes the next verse, as the beat accelerates and picks up speed. the claps actually occur every crotchet and it appears to have ‘speed up’ the song because of it occurring every beat but again, i feel that this is just an ‘audio illusion’, the speed didn’t change, it just sounds faster because of how many more beats there are in a bar. hoseok, too, also knows how to play along, easily integrating his laughter at 1:16 as part of the song.

then at 1:18 with that shimmering synth, taehyung takes over the prechorus and instead of claps, what one could hear are the snaps, the snapping of the fingers to be precise but of course synthesized to make it sound more electronic. in this prechorus, one could hear the adlibs of jungkook and jimin inside as they make up for the loss of percussion inside and guitar chords. and at 1:25, that nice vocal riff by jimin and possibly jungkook as it moves on to the second part of the prechorus which is done by jimin at 1:28. then there is that one synth that signals jimin’s entrance. only during this part did the hi-hats actually come back to play together with that descending synth. again there are some adlibs being done here but subtly done as it is only the middle of the song and not towards the end.

and one could hear yoongi’s ‘ack’ at 1:38 before it makes way for the chorus to start at 1:39 with jungkook and to be honest, there is the percussion that’s in time with the words that adds on to the ‘choppy’ feeling that one could hear. seokjin takes over at the chorus at 1:48 to wrap it up with the drum melody at 1:57 to signal the repeated part of the chorus which actually has a lot of jungkook’s adlibs inside, though very subtle, sounding more like riffs. 

at 2:07 it’s yoongi’s part coming through and for some reason, the song sounds as if it picked up speed again because the claps are back again but in quarters, constantly keeping yoongi’s rap in check. not to mention the use of hi-hats are back in again. yoongi’s small adlib of ‘ah yeah’ at 2:14 as well just to fill in the small gap in between. i like how his voice kinda got dragged down at 2:18 as he said ‘numbers’, something called like text painting where his voice goes down in time with the beat also going down - descending for that matter. but that brief pause ends when he comes back in full speed at 2:19 but he seems to be squeezing more words in a bar in this second part of his rap. and he even dragged his last word to tie in to the prechorus at 2:27 with jungkook.

again, nothing much has changed in the prechorus except that jungkook and seokjin are the ones singing this time round. one could hear yoongi’s adlib again at 2:47 before the beat drops for the final time.

one could tell that this is the last chorus with the number of adlibs being done in this chorus specifically by jungkook such as in 2:49 and then at 2:58 where taehyung takes over, one could hear jungkook harmonizing with him. jungkook’s adlibs could be heard again at 2:59 and at 3:01.

that short drum melody is used again as the go for the coda at 3:05 and jungkook’s adlibs again at 3:08, 3:13 and even hoseok contributing by saying ‘ah yeah’ at 3:17 and that nice melodic riff by jungkook at 3:21 and then at 3:23, hoseok’s giggle that just added more to the youth theme. and then one could hear that drum rhythm at 3:25 before namjoon ends off with ‘converse high’

lyrics: the lyrics here are more laid-back, maybe because the song is called ‘Converse High’ and are singing some praises about the brand ( but then again, who doesn't own a pair

also namjoon did mention before in 2015 in an interview that his ideal girl would actually wear a pair of red high tops converse shoes and is seen here in the lyrics in his rap 

흰 티에 청 반바지 빨간 컨버스하이 that’s it

=

White t-shirt, jeans and red Converse Highs, that’s it

note: it is not common for people in Korea to actually say the brand or name of a product hence which is why when bangtan performed this song on Mnet Countdown, they changed it to ‘Lover’s High’ to be in check with the broadcasting rules 

저 하늘 별보단 오늘은 니 신발의 별을 볼래 하하 다 남준이 몰래

=

Rather than the stars in the sky, I wanna see the stars on your shoes Haha, without Namjoon knowing

now in hoseok’s rap, we see the mention of the brand, converse again, even adding his own humour in his rap lyrics by including namjoon inside 

니가 좋아 그래도 컨버스로우는 신지 마

=

I like you but still don’t wear Converse Lows

this part of the pre chorus got me dying, the clear preference for high tops instead of the low cut converse shoes lmao

너의 컨버스하이에 꽂혔나 봐 별 수 없나 봐 나는 wo 너의 컨버스하이에 꽂혔나 봐 너무 좋아 다 자꾸 wo

너의 컨버스하이 I really really want yo 컨버스하이 I really really like yo 컨버스하이 I really really need yo 컨버스하이 컨버스하이

=

I’m so into your Converse Highs I can’t help it I’m so into your Converse Highs I like it so much

Your Converse Highs I really really want yo Converse High I really really like yo Converse High I really really need yo Converse High Converse High

so this chorus and sort of coda talks about how one loves the shoes on that special someone, im here thinking do they dig the person or dig the pair of shoes or the special person they dig wearing those converse shoes being a bonus? 

컨버스 컨버스 i really hate a 컨버스 화려한 니 겉모습에는 말야 검정스타킹에 아찔한 하이힐 그래 그것은 사기야 근데 더 어울리는 것은 조던 numbers Ha 모르겠니 컨버스는 니 매력을 죽이는 옥의 티 아무튼 날 만날 때는 컨버스를 신지마 무엇보다 벗기가 무척이나 힘들잖아

=

Converse Converse, I really hate a Converse When you look all flashy with your black stockings and your high heels That’s just a lie But you look better with Jordan numbers Ha don’t you know? Converses kill your charm Anyway, when you meet me, don’t wear Converses It’s too hard to take them off of you

so yoongi’s rap lyrics are actually funny to me, because he is going against the general idea of a girl wearing converse shoes being attractive, here he states, he rather have them wear jordan sneakers instead of those converse shoes and that they are even harder to take off ( is this suggestive hmmMM ) especially since converse shoes are laced up unlike high heels which could easily slip off

i feel that this song, for some reason, is very appropriate, maybe because of the fact that most youth, whether they own a pair of converse shoes, are very familiar with this brand, especially in Korea. i feel that the moment you own a pair of shoes with laces, you have reached that period of youth - which technically overreaches this whole concept of their album - youth. 

Reference: Colour Coded ©

choreography: the choreography for this one is laid-back, possibly the same level as Boyz with Fun choreography  ( which you could see here )

that cute footwork in the beginning, of course. for some reason they all look like boys who see their crush ( or maybe thats what they were going for ) 

and when the chorus hits, here they are dragging their feet, honestly i think the main point of this whole dance is to literally exaggerate their footwork, possibly because the song title is Converse High. 

i dont know, i just really thought that this whole dance was cute?? 

this part when hoseok comes in, well let’s all admire the formation, all i can just say that this whole dance focuses more on their footwork, highlighting those parts which then become the main point of the dance etc 

a cute dance to be honest 

last thoughts: regardless, i think this is still a fun song, not a hype for sure, but one that could still lift the mood

[Photo Source] Bighit Entertainment  Credits: maxine ☕️ DO NOT REPOST ©