#i will watch PERFORMANCES of ballads and other more heavily narrative based songs because they deserve to have attention paid to them

[sanstropfremir]

(not sure if you have done this before) but how do you rank taemin's cbs/title trackss?

I haven't really done an official ranking per se, but someone did ask me about my favourite taemin songs which you can read here, but I can go a little bit more in depth if you like! i think these are his main title tracks? i know he released a bunch of japanese singles including eclipse (which is a song i love) but i think these are all the ones with mvs? i’m probably missing some because he has so much and i can’t keep track. also these are purely in my personal opinion on which songs i like the best combined with aesthetics and concepts, not full analysis of the stages + choreo + aesthetics, because that would take SO long.

advice - perfect culmination of his career up to this point and also a perfect note for him to fuck off to the military on. i wrote more about it in my taemin + masks post, but it has big fuck all y’all energy and i love that for him because he’s been so prominent a public figure for so long. also i’m obsessed with the styling and how grody it is. especially the charles jeffrey suit, who is one of my fave scottish designers.

famous - what do i even have to say here. the ropes. the bloody nose. all the half eaten apples. the LYRICS. the concept photos of him in the acrylic box. everything about the choreo is so weird and awkward and incredible. only taemin would make the point choreo of a title track straight up spasming.

want - i think we all know how i feel about want and the answer is i love everything about it. flawless. it’s so careless and deliberate and watching the choreo is so hypnotizing and he knows it. it’s really one of his best examples of perfect execution of concept + choreo + song all together.

criminal - i hate that criminal is fourth on this ranking but taemin’s discography really is that flawless. another example of perfect execution of concept + choreo + song all together, and i think i’d probably rank the live stages of criminal higher than those of want, but i personally like the choreo and concept of want that smidge bit better. if you haven’t already seen it please watch this kbs song festival stage because everything about it makes me insane. the lava suit?!?! and then you should watch the intro choreo clip that kasper posted. AND THEN you should watch koharu’s original demo choreo, just because. also the mv is an incredible work of art and one of the best mvs i’ve ever seen. my only complaint is that there wasn’t enough chainsaw.

idea - i hate that idea is fifth on this ranking. this is the only song i’ve ever had a visceral bodily response to: the first time i heard that bass and strings drop in the chorus i actually almost vomited. catholic fuckery? check. niche intellectual concepts that have no place being in a kpop song? check. boa? check. perfection.

move - it’s excellent but also it’s four years old now and so much of his newer work expands on the concepts that he first put forth here much better. do i still watch the mv occasionally? absolutely. is it still leagues ahead of most of kpop? 1000%. the choreo will be forever iconic and i don't think he's going to be able to ditch it anytime soon. patiently waiting for the day we get footage of him dancing it with his new boy crew in the military.

press your number - it’s a great song and a fantastic album; press it has my all time favourite taemin track one by one on it. but again, like move, it’s from early in his solo career and in terms of overall concept and aesthetics, his newer stuff hits harder as gesamkunstwerk.

danger - it’s great and i’m very partial to the remix with sherlock that he’s been performing at concerts, but it's the same as with press your number: it doesn’t read as ‘him’ in the same way as his post-move stuff. although at the time i’m sure it was genuine because he was 21 and wanted to shake the ‘feminine’ and boyish persona that he’d been pigeonholed into, but a lot of the aesthetics of the mv and the stages from his debut feel a lot like performative overcompensation when looking back at them from where his current work sits. honestly it’s kind of neat to see how far he’s matured; he was shirtless for danger and he was shirtless for advice too, but both of them have very different vibes. i think that’s why i like the remix with sherlock so much, it’s kind of like a sonic acceptance and embodiment of the journey he’s been on.

sayohito - it's fine i just don’t listen to ballads!

under my skin - it's fine i just don’t listen to ballads!

flame of love - it's fine i just don’t listen to ballads!