#mm analysis

[but-red-means-stop]

Midnight Memories Analysis: Track 7 - Strong

I would love to have been a fly on the wall when this song was being written. Louis is down in the credits as lead lyricist and it's very easy to relate this one to Harry and Louis. I do not think that the ship imagery would have made it in if the relationship I believe in did not exist. The absolute commitment on lyrical display here is impressive and I don't really know how to express the way it makes me feel.

Musically speaking, I have to say, I really like the way the end phrases of the verses just kind of tie off. At first I was a little bemused by it, but then I found something to relate it to: it feels like a tidy little cadence in a classical piano piece or something.

The agility of some of the acoustic guitar reminds me of the way Miyavi plays (which is interesting, because Louis' voice reminds me a bit of Miyavi's). Also, my roommate pointed out that the opening is very reminiscent of the opening of Kelly Clarkson's "Stronger", so I went and listened to it, and yes, absolutely. I'm kind of wondering now if that was a coincidence.

As for vocals, I'm kind of impressed by the range of this one. The verses are really quite low, for this group, and I was impressed/surprised that Louis actually managed those bottom notes. Almost I suspect an engineering tweak, because historically he hasn't been all that comfortable with that lower register - his voice is high enough that he hasn't needed to figure out how to navigate his falsetto (to the point where I'm only convinced he even has a falsetto because that is how the human adult male voice is built, not because I have any direct proof of its existence), so forgive me for being skeptical. Like, either it's pitch-shifted or they got him to record first thing in the morning, is what I think. I'd like to hear this live, honestly. If he really has got the bottom end nailed down comfortably, hell yes I want to hear it.

Also, Harry in the chorus. That is all.

No, that is not all. You hear him sing "I'm sorry if I say I need you / but I don't care, I'm not scared of love" and you totally believe it. And then you think of the fact that Louis wrote those words, Louis with his perpetual sorry-not-sorry attitude, who, even when he's being deadly honest, is still a sarcastic shit with this defiant non-apology. "'Cause when I'm not with you I'm weaker / is that so wrong? Is it so wrong / that you make me strong?" I have too many feelings to write coherently about the defensive self-deprecation that is Louis' trademark and that I never dared to hope would be translated into a song like this. I just. THIS BOY.

[coquetteblossom]

What are your thoughts on Zen? Is he bad character? Why do people bash him? Someone even said they remove him from the game to make it better :(

First of all nonnie, don’t be concerned about what that person said about Zen. Everyone has different perceptions about characters and some people just don’t like one character. They’re entitled to their opinion and that doesn’t make yours less good! I love Zen with all my heart (one of my top two favorites actually!) so I can’t say why anyone would bash him, but I can try to offer an explanation.

Zen is outgoing, outspoken, socially savvy, street smart, well-balanced, has common sense and is, for the most part, very down to earth. This makes him one of the most grounded characters (alongside Jaehee) which sometimes makes people ignore the profound issues he has, or classify him as a plain, simple character. 

Truly, we cannot compare the drama in Zen’s route with the many issues that happen in Saeyoung’s, but that doesn’t make Zen’s problems less real. I could make a huge post about Zen, considering he’s one of my two favorite characters, but to keep things short I’ll just highlight in a superficial way three issues that are a must when analyzing Zen as a character: Narcissism, self-esteem and romance. 

Narcissism: Zen spent all of his childhood and his early teen years being diminished, insulted and abused. ‘He was called ugly all his life’ seems like a shallow form of abuse but it isn’t, it really messes up with one’s self-esteem and perception of oneself, and I truly think Zen is not over it. I think Zen’s constant narcissistic tendencies are done in order to reaffirm himself. His need for constant reassurance and praise comes from his lack of both things during his childhood. He needs praise and needs to loudly proclaim how proud he is of the one thing he knows he has, so he won’t ever forget it again. That’s because Zen’s narcissism masks another issue…

Self-esteem: …His really, really low self-esteem. Don’t be fooled by his narcissism, Zen has perhaps the second worst self-esteem in the game, next to Saeyoung’s. Many people feel extremely proud of only one aspect of themselves while still believing everything else they are or do is simply subpar, and that is Zen’s case. Now he knows he’s handsome, and he keeps reassuring himself of that… Because he believes that’s all he has. Zen’s sense of worth is very easy to shatter, we constantly see him wondering if he gets his acting roles just because of his good looks and frequently second-guesses himself, his talent, his goals and everything he is. It would be very easy for him to live on a modelling career and use his looks to move further ahead, but he wants to work the hard way, he’s desperate to achieve his dreams through hard work because he wants to prove he’s worth something more than his pretty face. This is why in his route he crumbles down so easily and tries to give up on everything…. Since childhood he was taught not to have any confidence in himself, how does he fight against adverse circumstances without the reassurance that he is worth something?

Romance: Is this need to be reassured he’s worth something what makes Zen so flirty and clingy and desperate for affection. Zen’s circumstances are vaguely similar to Saeyoung’s in superficial ways, actually: Both of them ran away from abusive households in their early teens and spent their next years without any key relationship to rely on (platonic or otherwise), and it wasn’t until further ahead, with the RFA, that both established somewhat stable bonds with others. The difference is that Saeyoung kept pushing people awaydue to his circumstances, while Zen, a lonely man yet romantic at heart, craves companionship and tries to pull people in. The problem is, however, that Zen is also a workaholic and doesn’t meet new people at all outside of work. Since he’s such a professional, he doesn’t seek relationships with any of his co-workers, which leaves him out of options to try and meet new people, so when MC appears in the chatroom he obviously starts casually flirting with her. This doesn’t mean his affection is less genuine or that ‘anyone else would do’, many real, deep relationships start like this and Zen quickly falls for MC when they give him blunt affection and support in his career, the only two things he craves. 

Zen is a genuinely caring, nurturing and empathetic man that is struggling with self-esteem and self-worth issues, and desperately needs to feel loved and appreciated for his ambitions, hopes and dreams instead of his looks. Zen is a character that gives much more than he receives through all routes, and if anyone perceives the game would be better without him, then perhaps we didn’t play the game in the same way. 

[disemboweled-fish-pastry]

☆ I'm stupid but finally I have proof!!! ☆

orz or not/// urrrkkkk I thought I did, but somehow I can't feel convinced.

I dunno who all remembers my post asking if anyone knew Yoosung's canonical height in the Valentine's after story and that I'd found a couple images circulating the internet stating that he had grown to 5'11'' or something, which I've still never seen proven.

See, I've come back to this tangent because my loser meticulous ass decided to start making a character style sheet of him for essentially no real reason only excused by "research" for my art, when I already know my mind just sometimes demands to study data points and overanalyze everything.

Anyway, originally my brain clicked and I realized Yoosung's arms are present in both his sprite images. I measured his wingspan because I remembered wingspan roughly equates to the height of that same person, and the arm lengths were the same.

Of course the thought that they just.. used Yoosung's old sprite when they made his older version sprite.. Made me want to keep looking. I thought to myself, man I need to find a point of reference. Is everyone's skulls roughly the same height? No, right? The 7 1/2 to 8 heads rule... did not work for Zen's full body reference... orz He ended up being like... 9 1/2 of his own heads. Then I thought, "What age does one's skull stop growing in height size?" Google didn't have much for satisfactory answers, merely alluding to the idea that the skull stops growing to it's full size capacity at around 16-18, but will keep changing otherwise throughout life. But that 16-18 just kinda sounds like it grows in proportion to the rest of you, full body height included. Then, I thoght "Eye balls?? Don't they pretty much stay the same size all your life?" I think this would be the closest indicator if he grew, and they do match up one to one when sized up.

Somehow, still didn't feel secure in my findings. I had another click moment while google searching Mystic Messenger heights images. I remembered the visual novel mode has the heights comparable to the other characters. Then I giggled jovially as I set up the visual novel reference of Yoosung standing next to Seven, then him in the Valentine's After Story. ohohohoho I got it this time, I thought to myself.

I'd also say this is some pretty solid proof that he didn't grow any taller, but I still had to keep in mind that they very obviously used the same base. I thought about how his face seemed narrower, but then I realized they copied and flipped the side of his face that showed his ear to accommodate his hair change, though.. the neck from the other side was copied and flipped too actually...

On that thought, I became somehow curious about his dimensions again, "for research", trying to find his waist line under all the baggy clothing he tends to wear. I think back to how he said he used to be fat, and considering... For one, he weighs almost 20 lbs more than Saeran (Y 149 -> S 130) who is actually an inch taller than him (Y 5'7''-> S 5'8'', an inch shorter than his own twin.), but also Saeran is pretty frail. Saeyoung is 2 inches taller than Yoosung, but only a kg heavier, which is potentially muscle (Potentially *le shrug*). To my knowledge Yoosung doesn't do much for exercise or weight training, if not a sufficient amount at all. Of course we all carry our weight differently, so that's absolutely a thing.

If you take BMI into account, which is a bit more accurate if you don't do weight training, honestly, I'm not entirely sure where he is carrying the weight. lol

I did actually look into examples of real people with the same sizes as Yoosung, and yeah, not a single one of them was without some softness, especially around the mid section, which could explain the baggy clothes... Yoosung's calculated BMI was 23.2, which according to asian BMI charts is pretty much at the cusp of normal and overweight (It does matter, supposedly Asians carry weight differently than western ethnicities and are susceptible to weight related illness at lesser weight/ body fat indexes than western people as well. Says medicine. On average. Apparently their bone mass tends to be less dense as well.) Of course, based on this data, I'd say Yoosung is pretty safe, but of course the sedentary lifestyle and consumption of not so healthy foods could be a cause for concern. I kind of came to a soft conclusion that Yoosung did used to be in what would be considered "over weight" territory before, but considering how beauty standards can be over there, I venture to wonder if it was like... 10 to 20 lbs heavier. If I were to guess, the weight pretty evenly distributed throughout his body, probably mostly in the mid section, as it tends to more so in men, then a bit more in the thighs, and a bit more in the upper arms. Of course to the pinchable cheeks. :9 I dunno man, his full body sprite looks so skinny to me lol.

If I were to consider the waistline I originally came up with, which was mainly based on his Valentine's after story, it does seem like he potentially lost more weight since getting into a relationship. That makes sense to me, as it was insinuated that together with his partner, he became more active and most probably ate more healthy foods. (I cry, it seemed like he doesn't really play games anymore by the Valentines after ending. T__T I'll just choose to believe he'll still game from time to time if his partner is also a gamer.) Come to think of it, looking at that gif comparing his VN sprites, his face really is narrower...

Personally, I embrace soft Yoosung. I'd bet he'd still be just as cute as he always is, and squish♥. :"3 But mostly of all, I'd want him to be as healthy as he can be and happy for a very long time (forever!) ♥

[but-red-means-stop]

Midnight Memories Analysis: Master Post

If you want to read all the track analyses on the same page (or, well, two pages), you can view my mm analysis tag.  Below are the individual links if you're after a particular post.

Introduction

Track 1 - Best Song Ever

Track 2 - Story of My Life

Track 3 - Diana

Track 4 - Midnight Memories

Track 5 - You & I

Track 6 - Don't Forget Where You Belong

Track 7 - Strong

Track 8 - Happily

Track 9 - Right Now

Track 10 - Little Black Dress

Track 11 - Through The Dark

Track 12 - Something Great

Track 13 - Little White Lies

Track 14 - Better Than Words

Track 15 - Why Don't We Go There

Track 16 - Does He Know?

Track 17 - Alive

Track 18 - Half A Heart

Conclusion

[but-red-means-stop]

Midnight Memories Analysis: Track 14 - Better Than Words

I really like this song. When I found out the verses were made of song titles I think I actually bounced in my seat and made a cooing noise or something, I'm not entirely sure. Just, that's exactly my kind of thing. Erasure poetry, fan fiction, collage, mashups, anything that takes existing material and transforms it into a new thing is right up my alley. It was apparently Liam's idea to write the song that way, so congratulations, Liam. I dig it.

I also dig the groove. Slow, kind of relaxed, but right on point. It leaves room to breathe.

Can I just talk about Liam for a second and his completely ludicrous ability to spin a falsetto phrase like a line of silk? It's unreal. His prolonged "ooh" section is literally breathtaking and I can say this because the first time I heard it, my lungs forgot to function for a good few seconds.

I've been wondering how much of this album is going on the set list for the new tour. The reason I'm wondering is that most of the songs are gender-neutral and a lot of them are pretty intense and could easily apply to a certain closeted relationship. Considering the tactics on display during the TMH tour - for example, They Don't Know About Us being left off the set list, and Harry being forbidden from singing his echo in Rock Me - I think unless they really do have a management switchover between now and then, at least half the tracks on this album won't make it to live performance. Which is actually one reason I think they will be signing a new management contract before the tour, because they had to know when they were writing this album how their current management would handle it.

I bring this up now because this track has a textbook example of the kind of thing they would not have been allowed to perform on the last tour. More than the echo in Rock Me, Harry and Louis have a full-on duet in the bridge:

Louis: Everyone tries

Harry: They try

Louis: to see what it feels like

Harry: feels like

Louis: but they'll never be right 'cause it's better

Harry: it's better

Both: It's better

Like. ARE YOU KIDDING ME. That is something I want to see live. I cannot, cannot imagine that they would cut this song, and I want to trust that they won't be forced to reassign one or both parts of that duet. It sounds amazing with the two of them; their voices both match and complement each other and it's my considered opinion that we have not had nearly enough Louis-and-Harry duets. MORE, PLEASE.

[coquetteblossom]

I really enjoyed reading your analysis! I want your point of view on this. I've seen people saying V loved Rika's pain and that he romanticized her mental illness. Do you think this is true?

Hi sweet nonnie, thank you very much for enjoying my analysis posts and my point of view on this game, I’ll gladly answer this question according to my own views!

The short answer is no, I don’t think that is true. But since you probably want an analysis on the topic, the long answer it is! 

To answer your question I have to address three main points: V and philosophical love, what made V love Rika, and then, finally, V and Rika’s mental illness.

V is a character that we are repeatedly told is defined by his philosophical, abstract way of thinking. In fact, his character notes on his design and concept by Cheritz define him as someone that has reached philosophical love, which probably means his love is not only eros (the usual kind of love between most young couples) but also platonic (in its original conception, platonic love refers to the emotional and intellectual link people form; loving someone by the way they think and see the world) and perhaps even agape (unconditional, transcendental love that is often defined as the love God has for humans no matter how they are, both wicked or holy.)

This is extremely important, because this philosophical mindset literally defines V’s relationship with Rika. V fell in love with Rika as a whole and accepted her, wicked or holy, as she was, because he fell in love with the way she saw the world and the strength of her ideals. Let’s not forget that V asked her out on a date not because she was pretty, but because she gave an insight on a photography of his that let him see a glimpse of her ideals, and that was enough to get him interested.

Now, V loved Rika unconditionally because of the essence of her person, but even he is practical enough to recognize that her mental illness is not good for her. V didn’t love seeing Rika in pain, and he didn’t romanticize her mental illness. If he did, he wouldn’t have insisted she got help, he wouldn’t have encouraged her to get better, as the following quotes show:

V: How was therapy? It’s been three weeks already.

Rika: I’m going because you wanted me to.

V: Rika... I’m sure things will get better if you keep talking to her

But Rika at this point was closing herself, acting stubborn and refusing to continue treatment.

Rika: No, I don’t want to go anymore (...) V, you won’t understand me either, I feel like these fears will just chase me until the end... Sometimes I feel so suffocated I’m about to die.

So V starts asking her about her thoughts, he wants to know more. He needs to understand her since she just told him he doesn’t. If he doesn’t act interested she’s just gonna close herself even more.

And there comes the controversial dialogue.

Rika: Why do you love me?

V: Because I think you’re beautiful. Rika you... you have this innocence about you. You take everything deep into your heart. The marks on your white canvas, they are so vibrant and unpredictable. The size, the depth, the color... the marks are still there, never fading away. That is so beautiful to me.

Rika: If that’s what innocence is, I don’t want it. It’s not beautiful at all... I feel like you think my pain is beautiful...!

V: You’re not wrong. I love everything about you, even the pain

If taken out of context it does sound pretty awful, but there are three things that you have to consider when analyzing this.

1) Rika has episodes of self-loathing and is just having a crisis right now, where she admits she is disgusted at herself, and is refusing to continue therapy because she hates facing what she truly is.

2) V has just encouraged Rika to continue seeking help and he is reassuring Rika that he loves her and he thinks she’s beautiful, even the parts of her that she is disgusted about. This is a very kind and loving attempt to stop her self-loathing. Is his analytical, artsy, kinda-pretentious way to say ‘I love you, all of you, even the parts of you that you hate. Please don’t be afraid of facing your demons, because I’ll always stay by your side’. It’s meant to encourage her to face her true self in therapy, because she won’t be left alone.

3) He’s not saying that he loves her pain or that her mental illness is what makes her beautiful. He is saying that she has a particular way to see the world that draws him in; she doesn’t live her life ignoring most things and concepts, but she takes what she sees and lets it deep inside her heart, absorbing it into her just like how she did with his photographs. He likes that, because V is a philosophical man, and he is drawn to perceptions and ways of thinking. The pain line is meant to come across as ‘I love everything about you, your highs and lows, your struggles and your fights. I’m with you.’

If V loved Rika’s pain or romanticized her mental illness, he wouldn’t have done everything he did in the game proper. He loves Rika for her way of thinkking, and while it is very probable that her mindset is a consequence of her mental illness, he was never but encouraging towards her getting better and receiving her treatment.

V is a man that loves a woman with a mental illness, not a man that loves a woman because of her mental illness.

[but-red-means-stop]

Midnight Memories Analysis: Track 5 - You & I

This is one that sticks with me. The synth in the opening reminds me of something Jimmy Webb would write; it sounds really 70s to me. I don't have any complaints about this, just lots of love.

Love for lyrics:

All the opposite-pair metaphors are really working for me. I think my favourite is Louis': "I see what it's like for day and night / never together / 'cause they see things in a different light, like us / they never tried like us" (None of the boys wrote on this one, which, sorry, is probably why the poetry is so competently unified.)

Love for harmonic shifts:

The realisation in the chorus that we've been living in the dominant through the verses is one of my favourite things about this whole damn song. It's so well put together that, combined with the instrumentation and feel of the whole thing, it reminds me a LOT of something Chicago would do. Which, since I grew up listening to Chicago, endears this song to me even further.

Love for vocals:

Zayn's incredible soaring at the end that he recorded at fucking 3am after being dragged out of his bed after playing two shows that day CAN WE FUCKING GIVE IT UP FOR MISTER ZAYN MALIK PLEASE

Also the harmonies in the second verse are gorgeous if predictable and I want to hear them live.

Love for the boys:

My headcanon is that Louis and Harry sing this to each other. And possibly Zayn and Liam. This is one of those songs that I just imagine them all singing together and knowing what they mean, whose relationship they're talking about. (And since I've been gaining followers like a boss: if you're new here and missed the manip I reblogged earlier, uh, now you know, I ship Harry/Louis for actual real. I'm not sorry.)

Okay, wait, I lied: there is one thing that I don't love. That thing is the misuse of "you and I" in situations where it ought properly to be "you and me". I is for subject, me is for object. But it's the title, so I can let it slide.

This song gets stuck in my head sometimes and I can't get it out. I have a mighty need to learn it and perform it and make it mine somehow.

[coquetteblossom]

What do you think will happen in the V route? I know we don't have lots of information, but is there anything you believe so far?

Hmmm... Well nonnie, certainly we don’t have that much information on our hands to work with so there is not a lot I can say with certainty; that means, this post will be very speculative instead of factual, but I’ll try to stick with what’s “highly possible” 

Mostly the same gameplay: The route will probably keep the “invite guests and organize the party in 11 days” theme, considering there is a V sprite in party clothes. We will keep playing this game within the RFA chatroom realm, keeping the whole “text message interacting” theme. 

We don’t know when it’ll be set: There is no possible way for us to know where in the timeline this is set. No clue if this is possibly a prequel or just a branch from our main starting point with Unknown. I do have a strong suspicion that it’ll be a branch route from us arriving to the apartment after Unknown’s messages because...

We’ll probably play as the MC, not Rika: Despite my previous doubts, I’m quite sure now that we are not playing as Rika. First of all, Cheritz are all about having a highly customizable MC that allows player immersion if so they wish. Second, the route has been confirmed as having the same format as the other ones; that means, 11 days of gameplay and not all Visual Novel Mode, therefore it wouldn’t make sense to play as Rika, since she lived with V at that point and she could freely walk in and out of her apartment, therefore the whole “interacting via Text Messages only” thing would be completely useless when physical meetings are possible.

New route-exclusive OP and ED: There are two new songs coming that were labeled as “V Route Character Songs”; one is a V-Rika duet named “Light and Daffodils” and the other is a V-only song named “Compass”, I wouldn’t consider it a stretch to assume they are the new opening and closing themes that fit more closely with the plotline of the new route.

Compass as the ED song: The composer said that “Compass” is meant to transmit a sense of “Freedom from bonds”. Considering V’s character is all about being tied down by bonds, I would suppose that if my previous assumption is correct, “Compass” would be the ending song, since he would finally be free by the end of the route, somehow.

Light and Daffodils is the OP song: This means that “Light and Daffodils”, the V and Rika song, would actually fit to be an Opening theme, which is also a logical assumption since any V route would naturally start with his relationship with Rika but doesn’t have to end with it, exactly. The lyric exposed of this song, where V says “You can take my all” fits with the (unhealthy) behavior he displayed in the Casual and Deep Routes regarding his relationship with Rika. Since this is a PROBLEM and a FLAW we need to overcome, I once again think it makes sense for this song to be the Opening; our starting point. 

That’s all I can say so far, nonnie! I’m sorry it is so short, but there’s not a lot of things I can say yet

[but-red-means-stop]

Midnight Memories Analysis: Track 13 - Little White Lies

I am wrenchingly conflicted over this song.

I'd seen mentions, when the album leaked, that the lyrics were really problematic. I went in with pretty low expectations. The lyrics basically met those low expectations; they're pretty awful.

BUT THE MUSIC. fuck.

This could have been, hands down, the best track on the album. All you'd have to do would be to capture that same excitement, that same spark, that same sexual energy, in lyrics that don't reinforce rape culture or gloss over massive consent issues. It is entirely possible to be sexy while communicating. It is dangerous to ignore words over presumed intent.

Especially problematic: "You say you're a good girl / but I know you would, girl" I JUST *keysmash* okay, you know that post that was going around juxtaposing Robin Thicke lyrics with the words of actual rapists GOOD GIRL WAS AT THE TOP OF THE LIST OKAY and fuck you for thinking you can read my mind, buddy.

Look, there's a lot to be said for body language and nonverbal communication and everything, but seriously, there's reading and then there's projecting, and I am getting a fuckload of projection out of these lyrics. Niall's line in the bridge: "I know what you want / and I've been waiting so long" - yeah, sure you do. And I'm sure you have. How long have you known this woman? Seriously.

I'm not going to quote all the shitty parts, but Zayn's verse is especially fucked up, and is the most explicit example of lack of respect for consent. "You want to make some rules now / cool, then we'll watch them break tonight" HOW PRESUMPTUOUS DO YOU HAVE TO BE? There's this view that throwing out the rule book is spontaneous and sexy, but I saw a line the other day (can't remember where, sorry, but it was kink-related edit: found it!) that basically said, "Throw out the rule book? But it has all my limits and safewords in it!" Your potential sex partner wants to set boundaries, you fucking respect those boundaries. IF she changes her mind later, whoopie for you. Don't make assumptions.  If she doesn't change her mind, back the hell up and don't commit rape. It's not that hard.

Having said all of that... I can't just stop listening to this song. I can't. It's too good. Like an oyster with a grain of sand, I have covered over the sharp edges of the lyrics with the near-certitude that Liam and Louis do not fully understand what they have done here. Hell, I wouldn't have had this much of a problem with it five years ago, maybe even two years ago. Everybody's a work in progress. It doesn't make it okay, but it makes it less awful, and it makes it possible for me to listen to the song, put the lyrics off to the side in the "we're not thinking about this right now" corner, and just appreciate the really fucking well-constructed music.

Three good things, and then I'm done:

The opening. Holy shit. If they don't do this live in four or five parts I'm going to be really disappointed. I think they can actually pull it off at this point.

The drums. PLEASE.

The bass in the chorus has this perfect drag that references dubstep just enough to sound solidly contemporary but not enough to alienate people who don't like dubstep. It's actually brilliant.

I really love this music. It makes me wilt in the best way. And it is a damn shame that the lyrics attached to it are so reprehensible.

[but-red-means-stop]

Midnight Memories Analysis: Introduction

Let me just preface this with the fact that I'm a classically trained singer with a music degree and not much breadth of pop knowledge. While I've been paying more attention the last few years, and especially this last year, than I used to, there are still gaps. I'll probably miss things that other people wouldn't. I'll probably also comment on things other people wouldn't. This is my take on Midnight Memories.

Thoughts about the album as a whole:

Midnight Memories is basically a jar of marbles. The first three tracks are some of the most purely coloured (although not completely without other colours mixed in, just to be clear) and they set up the whole damn thing. It's like, look: this album will be made of classic rock and a bit of Brit-folk-rock and also largely 80s-flavoured pop. Red marble, green marble, blue marble. And then all the other tracks have maybe some swirls of the other colours on one main colour, or swirl a couple together more or less equally, but this is a red and green and blue album and it tells you that right up front. I like honesty in an album.

I don't like disjointedness in an album. This is unfortunately something that MM has in spades. I like to believe that taking greater control of their songwriting was their next step towards artistic maturity when this album was in development, and that the next step will be an album that is a unified, structured whole. (I REALLY WANT THIS. Look, I spend hours on my mix CDs. This is important to me.)

General vocal stuff:

Zayn's falsetto has really solidified and I LOVE IT. Liam is basically a rope of silk sometimes and I can't handle it. Niall and especially Harry are in their element in the rock stuff; I feel like this is what they've been waiting for / working towards. Louis still needs better breath control but I will always adore his voice, and his overall control has improved, I think.

General songwriting stuff:

Musically much more on point than the other albums. More diversity within songs, better and more creative chord progressions. Still a few things to sneeze at, but I'll get there. You can tell the boys wrote a good chunk of this because they mean it more. I like that. It makes up for a lot.

General credit stuff:

Wow, this is totally the John Ryan and Julian Bunetta show. Writing, producing, engineering, instrumentals, background vocals... they're not the only ones, but those two are on almost every single track in most of those capacities. I don't actually have physical copies of the first two albums, so I haven't read the credits for those, and I don't know how standard it is to have your writers also do vocals and instrumentals and production and engineering. I was actually a bit surprised by the number of background vocal credits, but thinking about it, the boys were on tour; it must have been a struggle to get all the lead tracks they needed, let alone background. It's an interesting glimpse into this record's construction, though, looking through the credits. I would love to know how the royalties break down.

General other stuff:

The pressures under which this album was written and recorded are actually ludicrous. However much I dislike the way they've been overworked this year, though (AND I DISLIKE IT A LOT), I have to say, sometimes working under strain gets you amazing results. Back in the spring I wrote about 20 000 words in something like four days (this is a lot for me, jsyk) because I planned a Big Bang fic really poorly and needed to just get a draft in. Thought I'd have to take a chain saw to it but when I read it over the edits were much lighter than I feared. Point being, sometimes you get really good results from really harried work.

I'd still love to hear what this album would have sounded like with a little more time and a little less stress. Some of the vocals do show the strain.

I was worried when I saw all the hyperbolic commentary after the album leaked. I went in cautious. It's probably good that I did, but it is definitely a pretty solid album, and I'm pleased that 1D keep developing. I mean, lots of singing groups don't even get to pick their songs, let alone help write them. These guys are trying to find their creative voices in the best way they know how, I think, and the more input they have, the better the music gets - so far, at least. I have a lot of criticism to make, and there are a lot of things their artistic team could and should be doing differently, but the bottom line is, I'm happy to support these boys.

[but-red-means-stop]

Midnight Memories Analysis: Track 8 - Happily

I love that this comes right after Strong, Harry's contribution right after Louis'. And, okay, this is totally playing off of Mumford & Sons and The Lumineers, thank you, wow.

Lyric Stuff:

Look, I just have to get this out of the way: is there any innocent way to interpret "and if he feels my traces in your hair / I'm sorry love but I don't really care"?? I mean, I can't help thinking of the Hallowe'en paint incidents, of course, but this is, like... I'm not going to get explicit, okay, just, you know what I'm thinking. Is there actually a legitimate neutral interpretation for that line? Please someone tell me there is.

(Either way, though, Louis' giving-no-shits delivery is GOLD.)

I feel like this song is about infidelity and I don't like that but I also feel like it could just be a "yeah, we had a relationship before, let's try to make it work this time, please leave him". I choose to believe the latter; as usual, I'm going with the interpretation that's easiest for me to swallow. ...so to speak.

Music Stuff:

I didn't initially like this one all that much; something about the opening seemed a bit grating, and the whole thing felt a bit simplistic, melodically. Also in general it's not that complicated harmonically, although at least I don't notice any blunders. But it grew on me a lot. I mean, I would two-step at a wedding to this. I want the full-on bluegrass cover, you feel me? THERE IS ALREADY BANJO COME ON

Ooh, you could also do a polka cover. Weird Al, get on that.

One thing I still don't like is the amount of compression on the chorus. For those who do not know: compression is when they take an audio file and even it out, so that the parts where a lot of loud things are happening don't blow your speakers (or your eardrums) if your volume level is comfortably audible in the quiet parts. They take the parts of the sound wave that have greater amplitude than what they've decided is allowed, and they put a cap on them and squish them down so the actual overall volume stays approximately the same. (Any sound engineers reading this? Tell me if I've made a mistake, or am incomprehensible, please.)

Anyway, everybody uses compression in pop music to a greater or lesser degree. I get why they did it here, but just... could they not have just brought everything else down a little? I guess not, on a pop album. It all needs to be audible in the car / at a party / wherever.

Let me close with the observation that it seems really fitting that the song that only Harry co-wrote is called Happily. It just seems to suit his personality.

[but-red-means-stop]

Midnight Memories Analysis: Track 6 - Don't Forget Where You Belong

I like that Niall wrote this with McFly and that McFly were allowed to produce it. I'm given to understand that that's uncommon for a band as big as One Direction. It's a great song for a lot of reasons: harmonically solid, effectively paced, lyrics that mean something and Zayn sounding like Darren Hayes from Savage Garden and in fact now that I mention it this whole song sounds kind of like a Savage Garden song and I dig it. I really like the way it hovers and just gradually builds through the first two verses until the chorus. This is the kind of song that could sound presumptuous if it didn't come, somehow, with the certainty that it has the right to address whomever it is addressing in such a fashion. It feels either like an internal conversation or a best-friend uplifting note. Good job Niall and McFly well done

But imagine next year in Croke Park this song comes up on the set list and Niall knew it was coming but he is totally unprepared for the audience response and he doesn't even make it through his first solo without choking up and the audience has to sing it for him

and the chorus is a mighty uprising through the entire stadium

imagine

[but-red-means-stop]

Midnight Memories Analysis: Track 1 - Best Song Ever

Okay, I swear I posted Serious Thoughts about this when it was released, but my Best Song Ever tag has failed me. I'll just have to reconstruct my previous analysis don't mind me

So the first thing you notice is that the opening sounds an awful lot like Baba O'Riley by The Who, except that it's truncated and instead of a I-V-IV progression on the keys it's a IV-I-V. This sounds less declamatory and more questioning (just go with this please) but the similarities are strong enough for people who know both songs to make an aural connection between them, whether consciously or not.

The second thing you notice is that, hey, the twiddly riff at the beginning is almost identical to the opening of Sweet Child of Mine, only at like twice the speed. Probably the reason no one got sued for this is that a couple of notes have been changed.

I remember commenting that, while it's dressed up like classic rock, BSE is actually structured like dance pop. I think this is quite clever, kind of dipping toes into the classic rock aesthetics through vocal timbre and instrumentation, which will be more purely expressed later in the album with the inclusion of structural and lyrical elements.

Basically they did everything right with this song. For its intended purpose, nothing sticks out as a mistake or like it should have been done differently. It makes me really happy, like it's supposed to, and we also get a taste of Zayn's extraordinary falsetto development since the last album. I don't think I have much else to say about this one. It takes deliberate inspiration from very obvious sources, but it pulls them into something that's worthwhile enough that I'm calling it fair play.

[but-red-means-stop]

Midnight Memories Analysis: Track 3 - Diana

When this song leaked - or, should I say, "leaked"? - I deliberately avoided listening to it because I wanted to hear it in its intended context. I'm really glad I waited, because that meant I got to be blindsided by utter joy when I listened to the whole album for the first time.

Listen, it's not flawless, that's not what I'm saying. I'll get to the lyrics in a minute. But the way it opens is kind of stunning, and then you get the slow, slightly agitated build of the verses, and then you hit the chorus and I think I actually cried a little because THEY DID EVERYTHING RIGHT. My standards aren't really that high, okay, and when things like Demi Lovato's "Heart Attack" are charting, my faith in professional pop writers tends to be pretty minimal. But. These guys. I was already loving the chorus and then it got to "but I can feel you crying" and it was PERFECT.

Instrumentally it has that early 80s-style floaty keyboard-y background behind the bouncy rhythmic drums-and-guitar pop - I'm reminded of Flashdance, actually. And the extra guitar layer that comes in in the second verse actually puts me in mind of Steve Reich - parts of Electric Counterpoint have a similar aesthetic, though that composition is much more elaborately designed.

Oh, and you know what else it reminds me of? It took a little while and a little help from my roommate to articulate, but the verses remind me of Message In A Bottle by The Police. Somebody please validate this. XD I feel like there's something else, maybe some Phil Collins song or something, that it also resembles? Help me out here.

Okay, but let's talk about the lyrics. I think they really tried, here. I think this is a really sincere attempt to communicate a real concern for girls who are struggling. They know who their fans are; they're more aware than a lot of guys their age, I think, of what young girls go through (partly because their public personas have put a segment of their fanbase through a whole lot of shit, I imagine, and that can't be easy to live with).

That said, it starts to rub me wrong with the second verse, Harry's line claiming, "I never would mistreat you / I'm not a criminal" and I can't help thinking about the kind of hyperbolic language that bigots use to excuse their bigotry because it's not as egregious as other expressions of racism/sexism/etc.: Of course you can trust me! I'm not a rapist. I'm not a nazi. I've never hit a girl, I've never beat up a gay guy. I'm not the most extreme version of someone you can't trust, so obviously you can trust me, because the world runs polarised and if you're not irredeemably evil that means you're a saint. Not to make a mountain out of a molehill, but I think that's a really unfortunate lyric choice.

There's also the patronising "I don't think you even realise" that I dissected in a little more detail here.

Then of course there's the whole "let me be the one to save you" business, which, honestly, I can forgive. It's unfortunate that it perpetuates sexist male saviour rhetoric, but I'm all in favour of scaffolding, and everybody needs help sometimes.

Lyrics I do like:

we speak a different language but I still hear your call

you don't even know me / but I can feel you crying

if I could hold you / swear I'd never put you down (THIS ONE I LOVE THIS ONE SO MUCH)

I also love that, near the end, "baby, you'd be saving mine" lands on a tonic chord, coming home, resolving, twice in a row. A lot of their earlier songs had opportunities where tiny little switchups like that would have been very effective (hell, Story of My Life would have benefited) but it's easy not to think of doing, I guess, if you have a certain kind of musical tunnel vision.

Upshot: I love this song I love it I love it I love it. I love it enough to forgive its faults and trust that I can help it grow up into a better person. Uh, or something.

[coquetteblossom]

rika going on and on about the darkness and the devil inside her made me sick tbh like 1. it's called mental illness rika lots of people have it and you don't see them starting cults 2. that doesn't excuse your actions or what you did

Oh nonnie, I understand the emotion. 

I would like to admit first that I’m no authority regarding mental illness and my opinion should be taken with a grain of salt, but in all honesty I believe you’re on point, and people with more knowledge than me on this issue agree, as well. 

My issue with Rika is that, regardless of her mental illness, she was perfectly aware of the difference between good and evil, she understood her way of thinking wasn’t good for herself or for others, yet she still refused treatment. Her views weren’t the result of an impulse, they were the result of a particular way of perceiving the world… A perception that she knew was questionable and damaged others, but felt entitled to act upon just because it satisfied her. 

As we see in flashbacks set in the early days of her relationship with V, Rika understood that the thoughts she had were morally reprehensible (by describing them as a ‘devil’ and ‘darkness’ and ‘bad thoughts’), and she was afraid of them and what they’d turn her into. So far, understandable. However, the issue is that she wasn’t afraid of them from a moral standpoint: It’s not that she thought being a bad person is something that people shouldn’t do or that she was afraid of harming others, is that she was afraid giving in to those thoughts would make her unlovable. So, when V proclaimed that he loved her as a whole and that he’d handle any evil she threw his way… She felt loved, therefore her biggest fear had gone away: Being a bad person and doing what she wanted wouldn’t make her unlovable. This is why she despised when V tried to take her to therapy or tried to help her get better, she perceived this as him trying to “change” her; she wanted him to love her, period, she never wanted to erase her ‘darkness’. This put V in an awkward position because he wanted her to continue therapy and get better, but she guilt-tripped him into believing that he was trying to ‘change her’ (or, as she put it, ‘burn her with his light’). V has a weak-will, so he gave in let himself be subdued by Rika’s will. 

So, she refused treatment because, at some point, she didn’t feel the need to change. Why change, if someone (V in this case, but for her it could have been anyone) already said he’d love her as a whole? She wasn’t morally opposed to the evil thoughts her mental illness made her have despite being perfectly aware that they weren’t good ones, because everything in her life was about being loved. This is why she tested V’s love again and again and questioned it time after time.

This is also why she had a mental breakdown when V said it was obsession and not love. Why her crisis had her repeat “You said you loved me” again and again in despair: V’s unconditional love somehow, in her mind, ‘validated’ her to carry on the most obscure desires her mind could conjure: She could blind V, torture him and others, create a cult, destroy Saeran’s mind… Because she never cared about good and evil, she cared about being loved despite enjoying being ‘darkness itself’. 

If you take that ‘love’ away from her… She crumbles, because she is forced to face the weight of her actions and the cost of her morally-questionable decisions without her validation. She was forced to face the person she became. Which is why she became so desperate to get V back (or to get the MC to replace V)… It’s not about loving them, is about having them love her. 

That’s why I cannot defend Rika:

Wanting to be loved? Understandable, even more so despite seeing the abuse she went through as a child.

Using someone else’s “love” to validate herself to do harm, because she felt entitled to do so? Er… 

Manipulating/drugging/torturing others in order to get that ‘rush’ of being worshiped/loved? That’s… Yeah. 

Blaming the person that gave you the “love” you wanted and validated you, simply because you refuse to acknowledge that you chose what to do with such love and validation? Uh… 

So yeah. Understanding Rika’s desire to be loved is cool. 

Justifying what she did to get it? Not… cool. 

[but-red-means-stop]

Midnight Memories Analysis: Conclusion

I've been seeing a lot of people upset because the general public is grudgingly acknowledging One Direction as legit now that they're making music aimed more at grownups than at that most scorned demographic, pre-teen girls.  I entirely sympathise with that upset.

At the same time, while I recognise the social patterns at work here and it does suck that things liked by young girls are automatically devalued in the eyes of most everyone else, I don't think that's necessarily the only thing that's going on here.

I'm one of the people who has loved One Direction since Up All Night.  But I loved them with open eyes, with an awareness of the flaws in their music and in their voices.  Their songs were simpler, not always very well constructed, and they weren't really vocally challenging so it was hard to tell how good they actually were as singers.  Take Me Home stepped it up with a bit more complexity, a bit more of an opportunity to show off vocally, and the songs were generally better written, though not without their issues.  They were also moving toward a rockier, slightly grittier sound.  They could have stuck with the more pure pop aesthetic, but it seems pretty clear that the boys themselves didn't really want to - for whatever reason, if that's not the music they want to make, I'm glad they got the choice to move toward what they wanted to do.

My point, though, is that if they had stuck with straight-up pop, I would have still loved them, and probably still have bought their albums, and it's very likely that their writers would have given them more challenges along that avenue just as they have along the road toward rock.  I would still respect them if their third album had been full of challenging and complex bubblegum pop (no, that's not an oxymoron) rather than what we got, which is a combination of challenging and complex folk rock, classic rock and throwback pop elements.  

The thing is, it's more likely that the straight pop isn't going to rise to those levels; pop producers get away with sloppy work because "no one cares, they can't hear the difference anyway".  I mentioned Heart Attack by Demi Lovato in an earlier post and it's kind of my gold standard for WTF.  1D has suffered from some sloppy writing in the past as well, but I've found much less to complain about and much more to praise in Midnight Memories.

For me, it's about the quality of the writing and the vocal performance, rather than the genre of the music.  And the quality has been rising steadily album by album, until now, I listen to them and go yes, you are starting to approach your full potential and it is exciting. I think that could have happened without the shift in genre, and I think some of the music-snob public might agree with me.  Most of them, though, probably wouldn't.  And that's sad.