#kpop music theory

[omg-horns]

Produced, filmed and featured in a silly lil "(Un)hlepful Guide to Classical Music" for all my k-pop loving besties who are open to learning more about classical music. 

Inspired by Cunk on Earth (& Between Two Ferns thanks to all the shade my friends threw at me). 

Made in partnership with Apple Music Classical! Download for free here~ https://apple.co/ReactToTheK

[huellitaa]

music theory is so hard i'm literally js a girl

[ilistentogirlinred]

is enstars a dystopia

[goblinkingdomsblog]

Okay, my theory about Enhypen’s song “Chaconne” is that the song talks about a character of humble origin who ended up getting rich and noble (to the point of living in a castle), and this makes a lot of sense when we think that the chaconne was originally a popular song of hispanic origin that was then appropriated by European nobles and underwent several changes, such as been played by orchestras and stuff. This character must have been in love with a woman who also had humble origins, and they used to dance the chaconne together. However, he seems to have done some not-so-nice things to achieve wealth (after all, he even talks about himself as a “monster”), especially to give everything he could to the person he loved. However, as soon as he got power, I believe that his loved one died and he went crazy and now sees her spirit, as he talks about “seeing her through a broken mirror”, of an “aroma that is only for him” and even a “party just for him”. I believe his beloved died hating or rejecting him for the terrible things he did, because there is a noticeable bitterness in the character. “Brighter than the sun, this is me” would be him trying to convince himself that he was not someone bad and was still the same good and innocent man as before, but inside he knew that he had become corrupted, because soon after he talks about drowning in arrogance. “I kiss the flower that died”, “I don't care about death” and “in the darkness, this seems to be the only world left” seem to confirm that he knows she is dead, but that he desperately longs for her ghost to be real and not just a hallucination of his own head (“even if this moment is a curse, it won't stop”, “even if it’s a curse, I also can’t stop me”) simply to be able to dance the chaconne with her again, like they did when they were still together. “Get drunk on the beautiful me” and “I shine even in the broken mirror” are the answers that her spirit gives him (or that he imagines she gives), as she remains a good person even in death. Ultimately, I believe he follows her spirit's words to death ("dance the dance of death", "dance for me while you die like the bleeding flower") because he believes this is the only way to be forgiven and be with her again. Then, they dance the chaconne, this time forever -> “there’s no such a thing like an end”.

_

Yes, I came back just to share this crazy theory that my mind created. I hope to not be the only one to see this music as the description of a tragic love story of a morally gray character. ☝️

[blizzardfluffykpop]

You sent me an ask so I shall return the favor! What is the most recent Kpop group you’ve gotten into and how did you find out about them? I always love hearing fan “origin stories” lol

Thank you for returning the favor~ That would be The Boyz 🥰💖 I love hearing fan "origin stories" too hehe (This is gonna get long I love them sm)

Anyways I've known about them since debut? I loved Bloom Bloom Pow with my whole heart when it came out and tried to fall for them then- It didn't work. The next time was when The Stealer (TS) came out~ I had watched them perform for Road to Kingdom- because ptg was on the show too- But I really loved TS cb- sm so that I bought the album about 6 mos later with my favorite members as inclusions at the time (Eric, Kevin and Hyunjae). But nothing came about of it even after watching the weekly idol episodes... Then came Whisper era and I ended up biasing Changmin (Q) and loving that song but again nothing came out of it.

(A little backstory is that Changkyun (I.M) got me into Dominic Fike's music-) Thus, when tiktok showed me Juyeon, Changmin, and Sunwoo dancing to Babydoll earlier this year as a dance cover: I fell. And then I finally checked out Watch It~ But Hui had his solo and it distracted me completely from falling further. Then I had gotten sick and decided 'well, what if I watch their content?' And I did... I watched their hello82 interview and their reaction to fanart of them, and lastly their mafia dance. And I loved each sm that I decided to check out more.

It was the first time I had watched their content and wanted to see more. And now, I watch their content almost daily. It's kind of like they revived the joy of kpop for me? My (old) ult of ults has been on hiatus due to the military so it's been stagnant content lately for me. But then they came in like a breath of fresh air- and I simply can't get enough. This month will be 3 mos and I honestly hope I'll follow them for a long time. (I think they're my new ult of ults tbh)

And lastly now here I am as a Younghoon and Juyeon bias (with bias wrecker: Changmin... he's doing everything to be bias again). And with them having a comeback I loved with my whole heart this past month, I think it really solidified them with me. Honestly, I'm so happy with them.

[the-great-fusilli]

The Great Fusilli Theory

Every Courage the Cowardly Dog theory I see is some kind of psychological horror theory about Muriel and Ustace being dead and Courage being insane. When i’ve always thought that every Courage episode was trying to teach children a lesson about the horrors of real life situations through allegory. A lot of my friends said courage was too scary to watch as a child, but I thought it was hilarious, and now that I’m older its far more scary than it ever was when I was younger.

My theory is that “The Great Fusilli” episode is about becoming a slave to the entertainment industry. When Fusilli arrives near Courage’s home he ask Muriel, Ustace and Courage “Have you never dreamed of the excitement of being on stage? Have you not dreamed of putting on the makeup that takes away all the cares of life? Muriel goes on to say that she is too shy, but Fusilli believes that she can be a star. “Just you stand on the stage, you hear the applause, the cheers, the magic, all your fears they go…. And then, you stay forever.”

You see I believe Fusilli was using his personal experience with fame to lure in more people and make his dream come alive. The way we’ve seen many people in the industry do. He found a family out in the middle of nowhere, told them they’d all be rich from touring the world and that being on stage was magical. When in reality, the magic they would experience on stage was all manufactured because the audience was empty (a figment of fusilli’s imagination.) They would soon lose their autonomy and all for fake applause. He wanted to live out his own dream using other people “Do not deny Fusilli’s greatest pleasure to see the stage come alive,” so he ends up turning them into puppets.

What did Doja cat say that one time? “I’m a puppet, I’m a sheep, I’m a cash cow.” (I think you can look at any fallen star and see exactly what this episode is insinuating.) A puppet by definition is “A moveable model of a person or animal that is used in entertainment and is typically moved either by strings controlled from above or by a hand inside it.” This definition is very straightforward, but it is also very symbolic. Lots of artists in the industry have came forward about being puppets for their companies and labels to sell whatever image or idea they want, ignoring the artistic expression and identity of the artists. As someone who was a serious Kpop fan, I was forced to see the darkness of the entertainment industry in a way that made me question if I even wanted to be a performer anymore. From slave contracts, to full on abuse and assault we watch idols go through some of worse things imaginable just to go on tour, just to be on stage, to preform and see their dreams come alive. They become puppets to their labels and companies, but at least they get to hear the applause and feel the magic of being on stage right? Putting yourself in the shoes of an idol and putting all the good and bad things into perspective… it starts to feel eerie. I imagine it’s what courage felt this episode.

By the end of the episode when courage is trying to save Muriel and Ustace, he’s covered in powder, Fusilli thinks he is a phantom and jumps from above the stage where he is controlling Muriel and Ustace. I’ve never seen “Phantom of the Opera” but, the phantom that Fusilli is so afraid of is Courage (the dog), but also LITERALLY courage. He needs the courage to address the false identity he has created in his own subconscious mind. After courage gets away with Muriel and Ustace, Fusilli realizes he is on stage and the spot light is on him. He does his act and turns into a puppet himself, continuing to read the same script over and over…meaning he did not have the courage to face himself and in turn became a slave to the stage.

(Crazy how Fusilli’s dream was to see the stage come alive, and in the end he winds up being fully controlled by the stage… technically he got exactly what he wished for.)

[tzulv]

omg + ditto mv theory

so we know that the 5 girls are struggling with a delusion:

hanni believes that she is Siri, which is clearly stated at the beginning of the mv: 'i exist for you. when you call i'll run to you, anywhere, anytime.' we see her running around through an iphone and in and out of different apps (clock, phone, music, etc.)

minji believes that she isn't a patient, and is actually a doctor trying to help the other girls: we see her find hanni talking to a brick wall and bringing her away. we also see her at the end with a person who we can presume to be another patient typing up a hate comment about nwjns 'am i the only one uncomfortable with this music video's material? just show their faces and dance.' and minji cuts in with 'all right, times up. / let's go.' we then see her approach a girl crouching down, who turns to reveal that she's also minji

hyein is shown to believe that she is a princess from a fairy tale: we see her with her prince charming (danielle) and when her apple watch strikes 12, she escapes on a subway (carriage). she's also shown as snow white and gets offered a poison apple, and then wakes up to a bear. in ban hee soo's video on december 28, the description reads 'these days, hyeins princess disease is so severe. she keeps asking where to buy the glass slippers, which really upsets me.'

haerin believes that she is a cat: there isn't much with this in the music video but the other four girls stare at a cat which we can assume is haerin and she's seen eating what looks like a cat treat

danielle believes that all 5 of them are a girl group called new jeans: during the music video she breaks the 4th wall by saying 'girls, what are you talking about? we're shooting a music video right now.' and points to the camera crew before going up to them and asking 'aren't we?' then she says 'guys, you really don't remember? come on, we're new jeans!' after which various clips of the girls performing and in music video's flash before moving on to the attention mv, during which minji cuts in with 'all right, stop.'

ban hee soo is the girl who is filming the other with her camera in the ditto mv, and her face is never shown. in the ditto mv, she represents new jeans' fans, with her name sounding like 'bunnies' the fandom name. the ditto mv shows the relationship between fans and idols, and how you can be so invested in them that you almost feel like they're your friends and you can go through a lot of ups and downs together, but you'll never really know them. but i think the ditto mv also links up with the omg mv.

ban hee soo is also a patient in the ward, but she doesn't actually know them. her delusion is that she is friends with the 5 of them and they all go to school together. side a of ditto shows hee soo's delusion fully, with it just being her recording clips of the girls dancing or messing around, while side b shows bits of reality with the clips actually just being empty halls or her other classmates giving her looks as they can't see the girls because it's all in hee soo's delusion.

[maxellminidisc]

I have music bios I need to read but god my attention span is in the fucking pits

[winterf4iryy]

i’m actually so happy i’m back in my kpop phase

[goldennika]

there’s a fine line between interpreting imagery and symbolisms in art and taking those symbolisms to be cult propaganda

[kstarvibes]

Kpopalypse’s music theory class for dumbass k-pop fans: part 18 – auditions

It’s Kpopalypse back with another episode of the music theory series! This one is all about auditions! So why is the topic of auditions considered to be music theory? Because music theory is, ultimately, all about the practical world of music making, and auditions are definitely part of that. If you’re a musician who wants to do more than jam in your bedroom and make videos, you’re probably…

[musiclessonsforme]

A reddit post that dives into kpop music theory a bit.

[hopelessskznatic]

Literally can’t wait for Friday

Stay! Comeback is literally this coming week!

[dumbseee]

boyfriend!iwaizumi when you’re a famous idol.

iwaizumi hajime x fem!reader.

genre: fluff.

warnings: bad english/grammar :p /mention of the kpop industry (in here, dating someone is less taboo than it is in real life) / first work so it’s not that good.

_

after high school, you left japan for south korea, you always had this dream of becoming a kpop idol. during your time in seijoh, you were already known for being an amazing dancer but also for your angelic voice.

iwaizumi would always brag about you to the volleyball team, oikawa would tease him about you leaving him for a famous korean actor, after you became famous. to which, iwaizumi would respond with a kick in his friend’s back. truth be told, he was actually very scared of what the future had in store for you two after high school. he didn’t know if long distance would work for you, or if you even wanted it in the first place.

during your last school day, iwaizumi walked you back home, like he always did, but he seemed out of it and almost, sad? you asked him what was wrong and he told you that if you wanted to break up with him to focus on your dreams, he’d respect your decision and always support you. he couldn’t even look at you, tears starting to form in the corner of his eyes as he tried his best to keep a straight face. his words surprised you and broke your heart because you never knew that iwaizumi could be so dumb to think that you’d break up with him like that. "no matter the distance, it will never make me forget about how much i love you, hajime."

so you left for south korea and he left for america to study. you two called each other everyday, when you two were too busy, you’d try to call at least twice a week. iwaizumi was busy with school and finals took all his time while your trainee program took up yours. but somehow you two made it work. a few years later, you debuted as a soloist and sold millions with your first album whilst iwaizumi came back to japan after graduating, and became an athletic trainer for japan national volleyball team. you couldn’t be prouder of him, and you were his pride. he streamed all your songs, putting them on speaker while the boys would practice, he brought all your albums and watched the variety shows you were featured in. he was basically the president of your fanclub. and he wasn’t ashamed of it.

you two always made sure to go together on vacation in a foreign country, where kpop wasn’t really the thing. the distance actually strengthened your relationship since being apart of each other for so long, made the reunion better. you knew iwaizumi was it for you, and he was also your muse for your music. your fans often joked about how inspired and how deep your love songs were. it made you laugh to read all their theories about you being married to a farmer. if only they knew…

iwaizumi never minded being your secret boyfriend, he actually liked it that way. he didn’t know if he could bare being in the public eye every time. knowing that you were south korea’s sweetheart, being your public boyfriend would mean saying goodbye to his peaceful life, and iwaizumi wasn’t ready for that. well, he wasn’t ready yet. one day, he woke up to his phone being blown up by messages, actually tons of messages, from the groupchat he shared with the japan national team. he even had missed calls from oikawa, and all his close friends.

shoyo: IWAIZUMI-SENPAIIIIII

SID YOU SEE HHE NEWS???

kageyama: learn how to spell, idiot.

ushijima: blowing up his phone isn’t the best way to announce something like that.

bokuto: HAJI-SAN IT’S TERRIBLE ARE YOU OKAY??

atsumu: JUST SHUT UP

let the man wake up peacefully damn

shoyo: IT WAS TO BE A FAKE NEWS RIGHT??

bokuto: YEAH L/N-SAN WOULD NEVER DO THAT

iwaizumi: what the fuck?

ushijima: you should check twitter, hajime.

iwaizumi had frowned, but went on twitter, an app you forced him to subscribe to. apparently it was the genz’s newspaper. to his surprise, your face was all over his feed, it wasn’t surprising because he liked everything about you, followed dozens of fan account and basically became a fan account himself. but what surprised him was seeing those big account talking about your "relationship" with a famous korean actor.

"l/n y/n, the famous soloist who stole everyone’s heart with her heartfelt songs and beautiful looks, is dating a/l a/n!"

his eyes widened as he typed your name to call you immediately. his heart was beating so fast as he didn’t know how to feel about this. of course it was fake news, right? he knew you’d never cheat on him, you loved each other and iwaizumi couldn’t see his life without you in it. he quickly became aware of how much he loved you and how important you were in his life. without you, iwaizumi would be nothing but an empty shell. "hajime? thank god, i tried to call you!" your voice made him release a breath he didn’t know he was holding. "you saw, right?" your voice was small and for a second he thought that maybe you called him to announce your new relationship with this dumbass actor. "yeah, it’s not that fun to wakeup to your friends blowing up your phone and news outlets talking about your girlfriend’s relationship with that fucker." he rubbed his face with his free hand. "these idiots took pictures of us while we were in cabo and thought it was a/n. apparently you two look alike." he heard you chuckle which made him feel warm inside. he hated the fact that he doubted you for a second. suddenly, an idea popped up in his head, a crazy one but still. "you have an award show in a week right?" he asked you, a smile tugging at his lips. "yeah, why?"

well, iwaizumi’s idea was indeed crazy but you didn’t care, you were down for it. and as your name got called in the category, "best female artist", iwaizumi was next to you, he stood up before you could even understand what was going on, and he kissed you. showing to the world, that you were his as much as he was yours. it was a crazy way to launch your relationship to the world, but you didn’t care, because as long as you were together, nothing could happen.

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

This is complaining day because I realized there's more than one thing that got on my nerves lately and it's not just about the treatment of a kpop idol's mother. Let's begin.

Please, stop refering to Jungkook's mother as mama Jeon. I know the tendency is to ignore so many of the cultural differences that exist, but in SK, people don't change their surname after marriage. It just sounds idiotic and westernized in a ridiculous way.

So, Jungkook's mother loves all BTS members. She LOVES them all. How does army know that? How? I'm genuinely curious and genuinely asking. Because they say it as a certainty. Or, forgive me if my memory is faulty as well, but the only instance that we as outsiders were privy to in which we heard that woman speak for the first time, it was in early 2021 on another phonecall with Jungkook when she said I love you to Jimin.

Of course, the same ot7 narrative came as a buldozer at that time too. Damn, does that mean Jimin = BTS? Sometimes yes, but only when Army wants to diminish Jimin's importance and doesn't allow him to stand out individually too much. Musically or otherwise. But back to this Big Love that Jungkook's mom is supposedly feeling for everyone and which has been invoked once again when that woman mentioned Jimin twice while talking to Jungkook on the phone. Cause she already knew they were in Jeju. I bet she didn't have to find out randomly from a schedule group chat.

So what happens? An assumption is turned into certainty because of small people being extremely insecure. Because they see that one person is once again given more importance on a personal level and we can't have that. No sir! So in a panic, they tweet, they post on tumblr, tiktok, youtube the old age, boring af, sounding like a broken record sentence: "Mama Jeon loves all seven". Fuck me gently with a chainsaw cause that sounds a lot better than the feeling of throwing up I get whenever I read such things.

No, she doesn't love all of them. That is not a fact. It could be true and it's not impossible. But it is not a fact based on the knowledge we have at the moment.

Also, it shows once again that an entire fandom is actively creating a reality of their own which is not even like some sort of simulacrum of the reality they must live through. In Army world, the mother of one member of a k-pop group must love all the members of such group. It doesn't matter than irl, our mothers a lot of the times don't even like all our friends, besties or partners. We might have the most incredible connections and it would mean nothing to our mothers.

In that same vein, another narrative that makes me want to pull my eyes out is the "awww, their bond is to die for, they are (like) siblings after all". Do any of them never had any siblings? Never saw other people and their relationship with their siblings? Or with their family?

I also had to read (which was followed by me blocking it immediately) how Jimin and Jungkook's relationship is the sum of the other relationships they have with other BTS members. I mean, why would I have any sort of expectations from any of these people when they are completely incapable of looking at JM and JK as actual people. As persons with individual minds and an intellect of their own. Let alone the fact that their world does not stop with the presence of 5 other men. In what realistic scenario does this translate in real life? That's not how it works. Yes, we are social creatures and a product of our surroundings, but it is not in the way in which these stans believe it to be. They think that living in a dorm for a few years and working together with other people, it means that those experiences are the only ones that actually shape the personality of a person. They are real people, not fictional characters. I've never heard such ridiculous theories in my entire life, to be used as talking points about someone's behavior or relationship with another person.

Maybe the need to create this elaborate fantasy comes from the lack of love in their life, which then gets projected into this Disney, kumbaya, capitalist heaven narrative in which everyone is a big family and they love each other so much and equally and all the parents of all the children love every single member and thus, harmony is created. Love is always platonic and ever present. The complexity of human relationships must not exist.