#the actual theme for this is a certain kpop song that released very recently that i think fits them well lyrically but not musically

[summertrianglee]

fashion drawings with 25ji after i looked at a video about layering outfits. i did have a theme in mind for this but i forgot it . no cohesion no set aesthetic no theming just vibes guys

[lesbiancarat]

sadlkjfa;sdfj it's ok! i actually would have been really interested to hear your thoughts on the dichotomy of dark vs cute concepts. i also believe that ppl have a weird obsession with very clear cut, distinct concepts. but at the same time these concepts can be a bit boring as we start seeing the same ones over and over again? it's not that i dislike them, it's just that i'd love to see much more creative concepts!

also that weird thing of dark concepts have to be dark and cute concepts have to be cute is reductive and doesn't allow for more nuanced concepts! for example, some people were shocked about onf's beautiful beautiful bc they expected a darker song to match the cyberpunk theme of the mv, but i wasn't? idk this is starting to get kinda long asdjfkl;

dfkjh mostly i was just going to say that i feel like there's a number of kpop stans that only classify songs as either "dark" or "cute/fresh", leaving no room for songs that don't fit in either category. i feel like most people who think this way have self-prescribed themselves as a die-hard fan of one concept or the other, and therefore any song that doesn't fit into that concept/genre they like must belong to the other category (people probably don't think this explicitly, but more that its a subconscious thing that comes up in the way i see some people talk about songs)

for example, pre-fear era there were a lot of carats wanting a dark concept, and some of those people (definitely not all) advocated for it by saying things like "svt are grown now, they need to stop doing cute concepts all the time". which like, completely ignored the fact that dwc/home/thanks/clap are all songs that, while not dark, are far from cute. and it makes a false assumption that for a concept to be "mature" or "grown" it has to be dark and sexy, which imo is not the case

but yeah i also love to see variety and creativity when it comes to concepts. i think when there's variety in the industry, that's when the most people are happy, because everyone gets something they want. i think variety also helps people appreciate other concepts and genres outside of their comfort zone. like, if you're a fan of really dark, loud edm, concepts you can probably still appreciate cute bubblegum pop every once in a while. but if bubblegum pop is the current trend u might start getting annoyed bc you feel like you can't avoid it

that being said though, i feel like a variety of concepts within a certain group can be tricky. there's a certain extent you can switch things up and still stay within the groups brand, but straying too far from the concept that drew most fans in in the first place is bound to be controversial. for example weeekly's recent comeback or svt's fear. it baffles me that people are surprised that others don't like those songs--they're both groups that built they're fanbase with fresh concepts, of course there are going to be a lot of fans that don't like darker concepts. if they did they'd probably be stanning different groups. and like, to be clear i'm not saying those songs are bad or they shouldn't have been released. ultimately its up to the group/company to release whatever they want. but there has to be the understanding that an extreme concept change up will always be controversial, and it may lose fans, even if it gains others

i also totally get what you're saying about nuanced concepts. like bubblegum pop with bright colors and flowers and heavy edm with grungy city aesthetics aren't the only concepts to exist! like there are so many more interesting things that can and have been done! certain visual aesthetics aren't relegated to one type of music!! i feel like i had a similar experience in the last year or so of ppl not feeling like a song fit the concept aesthetic but i didn't see the problem. can't for the life of me remember what it is though lol, but i definitely feel your frustration dfkgh

[grumpymacaron]

snsd & twice 💖

heyyyyyyy thanks for the ask B)))

do i already stan them?

yes | only for the music | attempting to | no for both!!!

snsd:

my bias + bias wrecker*

seohyun, OF COURSE + jessica (pre-departure, ofc...)

first time i heard of them

the first time ever was when i stumbled onto the oh! mv in second grade... i might've also seen girls' generation back then but i'm not quite sure ^^;

when i became a fan

i would say i became a SONE then and there cause i watched every big title track following gee; it was just casual until eighth grade tho, when i got serious with kpop in general~

favorite (and least favorite) title track

this is such a hard question LOL so imma fold and say my top three! this is in no order, and for a variety of reasons, but here they are:

hoot, the boys, and paparazzi!!!

in terms of least favorite title... i'd say flower power's pretty bad... FJDSKLFDSJALDFKS like i've tried to like it, but dare mo ga butterfly pooped a spider...

favorite (and least favorite) b-side

i think this counts as a b-side? but the great escape is honestly matched by none; i've listened to it SO MANY TIMES, it's like 9th on my top songs of the year fjdsklfdsjfkls

i also really really love europa and destiny~

i actually exclusively listened to snsd's title tracks until VERY recently, and i don't have anything i really dislike yet so ;;; imma cheat and skip on this one HAHA

favorite (and least favorite) mv

the impact of the boys cannot be understated... literally changed my life forever...

ngl i feel like they film shoujo shidai songs with the worst camera and color grading on earth so i really don't like most of them... the ones that come to mind first are mr. taxi and flower power (again, PFFT); it really wouldn't be like this if they didn't look so freakishly pale;;;

favorite (and least favorite) album

maybe this is cheating again but since i haven't listened to many non-title tracks, i'm skipping this!

a concept i wished they’d try*

i wish they had a chance to dip into some classic sm rnb... the world if snsd had a be natural by ses moment>>>>

what i like most about them*

they're just iconic. like there's nothing else i can add, really; they were, are, and will be my forever unnies, the girls i look up to and live in my heart forever 💖

twice:

my bias + bias wrecker*

despite my theme, i'm actually a hardcore mina stan~ my other faves are jeongyeon and tzuyu!

first time i heard of them

i found out about them right when sixteen finished and like ooh-ahh was released!!!

when i became a fan

that's also right when i became a ONCE! it's still crazy that i've followed them since debut… it's been almost eight years…

favorite (and least favorite) title track

this is easy; i ride and die for i can't stop me, and nothing will change this 😤

sorry to say for everyone who likes this song *cough cough* dalgonamilk *cough cough*, but i am a steadfast likey hater. the lyrics just piss me off, LMFAO! i only can listen to it when i'm in a certain mood.

favorite (and least favorite) b-side

that's a hard question... HAHAHA i actually went through all of their discography a while back, and collected every song i like here: 🍭

basics is my current fave ^^

and for least favorite b-sides... anything they released pre- fancy (excluding the ones in the playlist) were mid at best and actively offensive at worst FJDKALFDJSALFA

favorite (and least favorite) mv

i would've said smth different before the latest release but talk that talk is just SO GOOD. SO GOOD

if i had to choose a least favorite... i guess it'd be knock knock? but that isn't to say i like it or anything; i really love that song hehe

favorite (and least favorite) album

the fact ALL of formula of love: O+T=<3 and literally none of twicetagram/ merry & happy (outside of heart shaker) is in the playlist says enough if u ask me >:)

a concept i wished they’d try*

tbh i am very satisfied with the variety of concepts twice has tried! i can't say the general vibe isn't the same for most of their work, but they've broken out of that following breakthrough and feel special, methinks

i'm just curious as to what else they'll do next!

what i like most about them*

for a long time, i've kept up with them casually like i did with snsd; i only really got serious once i was lucky enough to see them in concert this year :,)

it was only after i looked through all their discography and saw them in person did it really hit that they've worked so hard to be where they are now; just the sheer amount of media they've produced over their career is enough to last a thousand lifetimes, but they're all just as committed to us, and each other, as always

i'm very inspired by their work ethic and how much they just love their job, and it makes me hope that i can find smth like that for me~

[whatadaze]

shan writes another long ass post no one asked for: 

so unless you’ve been living under a rock, you MIGHT have heard about skam nl + its recent decision to remove the geoblock on its youtube videos. if you have never watched skam nl or am on the fence about it pLS PLS PLS keep reading okay!? PLEASE 

I’m not the best at articulating my thoughts and suck at writing but i’ll try my best so PLS read :-) 

1. THE CAST

skamnl’s girl squad has a WOC playing noora (liv), a bisexual chris (janna), the least problematic vilde (engel), an AMAZING eva (isa), and even though their sana (imaan) could only be in the show for one season PLEASE do not let that deter you from watching. the actress left due to personal reasons and they left her character’s storyline open ended so if there ever was a chance for the actress to return, she could! i know there are many people who want a sana season with muslim representation but skam nl introduces another character, esra, who is also a muslim woc and FUCKING AMAZING. that aside, the cast members have great chemistry with one another. the way the characters interact + talk feel so real and genuine, largely because of the fact that the cast members are very close irl. one thing that i love about skamnl is the way they portray the friendships within the girl squad. i’d even go as far a saying that they are the best girl squad (even surpassing og) because they are so open and honest with one another + actually TALK to each other when problems occur. i don’t want to get too into specifics because you just need to watch the show but UGH i love how the show promotes POSITIVE girl/girl friendships without all that unnecessary catty drama we usually see in teen shows. 

2. THE WRITING + PRODUCTION 

so season 1 follows isa (eva) and i’m not going to lie, season 1 was always the season i didn’t care for as much but i was drawn to isa from the very first clip. she is just SO relatable and i would’ve loved to have watched a show with a main character like her when i was a teen. the dialogue feels so raw and real—the writing isn’t cringey or sound forced/straight from a script. and let me tell you, the PRODUCTION IS OFF THE CHARTS. skamnl has a unique way of telling its story through eVERYTHING. what the camera chooses to focus on, what colors are included in the scene, the song they choose for certain scenes, EVERYTHING has a purpose and i love when people analyze clips because it just shows how genius the skamnl team really is. they all work so hard on this show and it’s truly a shame that they don’t get the recognition they deserve. 

3. THE SOUNDTRACK

i’m not sure how it is with other remakes, but the spotify playlist for skamnl gets updated after each episode and that will tell you how long an episode will be. it’s actually one of my favorite parts of the show—waiting for the next group of songs to drop, listening to them, and trying to figure out what might happen in the next clips. they have introduced so many songs that i listen to on the regular from all over the world. in season 1, they had a song by kpop group TWICE and as a korean person myself, i was s h o o k when that happened! if you love music and discovering new songs, you’d love what skamnl has to offer because their soundtrack is A++++++ 

4. THE CHEMISTRY 

i touched on this in my point 1 but i just need to delve a bit more into it. so i mentioned that the cast members hang out outside of filming and they are genuinely all good friends. this makes their acting feel more genuine and real, their dialogue sounds more natural, and as a viewer, you really feel like a fly on the wall when you watch the show. it feels like you’re watching a real group of friends hanging out, going through typical problems you might be facing yourself, and for those of you who aren’t in high school, watching them really takes you back to your own high school days. i always get this warm, nostalgic feeling i just can’t really explain whenever i watch season 1. 

right now, it’s liv’s season and i know that many people who watch skam+remakes don’t like william or noora/william or think it’s just a season where two het couples making out all the time but IT’S NOT. first of all, season 2 has so many important themes that people (especially teen girls) need to be aware of: sexual assault, eating disorders, relationships, and like season 1, touches on the importance of friendship. also, noah IS AND ALWAYS WILL BE THE LEAST PROBLEMATIC WILLIAM. you just have to watch to understand but I PROMISE YOU you will not be disappointed. i have talked to so many people who HATED william and now they hate themselves for loving noah so much. not to mention, zoe (liv) + monk’s (noah) chemistry is INSANE. these two dorks are friends irl and in order to prepare for their season, they spent a lot of time getting to know each other and building a relationship so that their interactions on screen feel more natural. the cast just goes above and beyond to deliver an authentic performance and it FUCKING SHOWS

5. THE FANDOM 

this will be the last thing i touch on + may be the most controversial so pls don’t hate lol :-) one positive thing about skamnl being underrated is the small fan base. i’ve gotten pretty familiar with the regular group of people who frequently post in the tags and they are some of the sweetest and talented people i know. it may sound cheesy as hell, but the people in this fandom feel like a small family + i LOVE THAT. there’s no drama, there’s no hate, and we all just love discussing the show, promoting the show, and freaking out over clip drops, hiatuses, social media posts, and sharing theories. the fan base is one of the main reasons i enjoy watching skamnl so much, and i’d say it’s the least problematic as well. and that’s not me saying other remake fandoms are toxic or horrible, because for the most part, THEY AREN’T. i enjoy watching other remakes as well + am familiar with people in those fandoms as well but the environment seen in the skamnl fandom is just so.......different. i’ve developed genuine friendships with people from all over the world through this show and i think that’s just SO amazing. we’re small, but we’re a warm, inviting bunch and would love to have more and more people join us! 

SO WHAT SHOULD YOU DO NOW? 

skamnl has removed its geoblock from all their youtube videos which is how they gather data on viewership and all that so it’s SUPER important that if you decide to watch this show, you do it through their official youtube channel. the clips are usually subbed within 30 minutes of being dropped by the amazing @skamdutch team, social media posts are translated within 15 minutes, BASICALLY waiting for translations has never been a problem okay? they are released super fast so don’t let the waiting deter you. 

i personally love watching it the first time without subs and use that time to freak out and let all my excitement out of my system + once the subs are released, i watch it again and actually pay attention LOLOL 

but anyway, i know a lot of people didn’t want to watch skamnl because it was geoblocked so if that was your excuse, you LITERALLY have no excuse now. and we don’t know how long this will be going on for but i have a feeling they will block it again soon so THE TIME IS NOW. the cast have spoken out about it, the production team have spoken about it, so go go go and watch it!!! 

even if you can only watch one or two clips a day, do it! anything and everything helps at this point! this show deserves to have its season 3 and many many more in the future. 

ok all of this probably didn’t make any sense because like i mentioned before i suck at writing and articulating my thoughts BUT if you actually read all of this then THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU and please click HERE for a surprise.

byeeeeeeeeeee

love, shan

me after writing this post: 

[shesawriter39049]

“Underdog” Hoseok (M) AU One shot

Producer X Artist AU CONCEPT/BACKGROUND STORY

-Song inspiration “Underdog” by Banks (The song will fit the theme in multiple ways)

ANGST/SMUT/FLUFF/ADULT/SENSITIVE THEMES/ NON BTS IDOL AU, BUT IT IS REFERENCED THAT HE WAS AN IDOL

Just throwing out this  ROUGH concept, seeing if you guys would be interested..I made a post saying I wanted to do a Hoseok (M) AU one shot over the next month or so that was more than just smut. Then this idea came to mind, let me know if your interested...and still feel free to send in scenarios as I’m not necessarily dead set on this one.  

** PS Hobi’s tatted in this concept....jus sayin ...like..full sleeve...back piece...aka torture

Hoseok -is a 27 Y/O producer/ mentor, who was born in LA but raised in Korea, who also happens to be an ex Idol. Started his Kpop career at the age of 14, and retired at 21. Now he’s currently a producer, creative director, mentor and occasional choreographer for artist all throughout Asia. Recently he’s been dealing with a lot of Non-Idol artist, enjoying the freedom of being able to creative whatever sound he pleases..not having to worry about always fitting into some cookie cutter box.One of his biggest regrets during his career as an Idol was he didnt feel like his management had HIS or his members best interests at heart. Yet he never spoke up..too afraid he’d lose everything he worked so hard for. At times it felt like it was only about the profit as if they forgot with him there would be no profit. He never wanted anyone he worked with to feel like that, he wanted them to know that there health, sanity and happiness is more important that there “Job”.  I guess, in sense he wanted to try and protect them from the things that he wasn't protected from..

He’s been wanting to branch out a little step outside of his comfort zone and work with more artist over in the states. As of Late Hoseok’s been feeling like he’s lost his drive, his inspiration to keep creating,almost feeling as though he's just working on autopilot. The past two songs he’s produced have received mediocre reviews as opposed to what he’s use too, and unfortunately he wasn’t even remotely surprised. Not sure what the hells gotten into him, how he got to the point of almost not enjoying his job anymore, maybe that’s because all he had was work, too busy for anyone or anything else for the past couple years. That’s when One of the lables he often works for offered him a change of scenery.  He’s been asked to spear Y/N’s new project, her comeback if you will, as she’s signed to the partner label over in the states. But not only as her producer, but also almost as her ”Right hand” If you will..be everything she needs to reinvent herself musically. Only problem is she already has her own “Hoseok” but his name is Hayden...he’s been with here since pretty much the beginning and she has no clue he’s about to step down and leave the future of her career in the hands of someone she doesn't even know nevertheless trust. Not to mention that Hoseok also has his own issues that he still hasn’t fully worked out..maybe that’s why he tries so hard to help other people….So I guess we'll see how long he can keep his “sunshine” front up before she calls him on his own bluff.

Y/N- ...Is 25, born in New York, her first album came out when she was 14. Jojo vibes, Pop/R&B the girl can sing...and write...and dance actually she was the full package. Her first album did exceptionally well and 2 years later so did her 2nd. When she was 19 when the first single debuted for her third album..the single did amazing, yet something changed….actually a lot changed. She pretty much went MIA out of nowhere,  her album was never released..it actually got leaked and she never tourd or promoted it. She actually got dropped by her label about 2 years after that, not that she could blame them. They lost a shit ton of money on that album, as of the past 3 or so years she's slowly started to step back into the limelight. Regaining some popularity due to her her social media presence. Thanks to Instagram even people who were too young to know her music , or just never heard of her were starting to follow her just based off of her looks/fashion. Also the little covers she’d upload here and there, still never publicly speaking out as to what happened and why she disappeared at pretty much the peak of her career. A lot of rumors circulated,  drugs,depression,pregnancy, you name it. She has hinted at certain things within the new music she’s created and post via soundcloud, but has never given a formal statement. After seeing the interest start to creep back up the label reached out to her, offering her another contract. This time around if she flakes out, or can't deliver and promote a completed project on her end they've made it clear that there going to sue her for damn near everything she has.

Now she’s supposed to trust  someone who knows absolutely nothing about her..who's also technically never solo managed someone else! To pretty much spear head her career. Not to mention  she still has her own demons that she’s dealing with on a daily basis and will be forced to explain to a stranger, great!

Little do they both know, if they can make this work, and not kill each other in the process..this could do a lot of healing for the both of them. As he starts to realize he needs her just as much as she does him. Even if neither of them want to admit it off rip…Not that there partnership starts out on a good foot to begin with...since as I mentioned...she has no idea Hoseok is even in the picture. Until all three of them meet for what she  assumed was just a casual business meeting….in downtown LA...where there's paparazzi all over the place. So of course they had a front row seat to all the drama, I guess all press is good press right??!

This will have a lot of sensitive topics...pertaining to both Hoseok and the OC...this is (M) so yes there will be smut..probably multiple smutty moments  as I feel like, in there situation they would ease into it. Kinda like a slow burn, If there interest I’ll start writing it, and if I feel like this is something that she be a multi installment..that that’s what it will be…but no promises...not sure how this will pan out length wise...

Let me know what you guys think,

Love you guys as always,

Rocki

Also in my mind the OCs current style of music is very similar to Banks/Devon Baldwin...

[regularbeans]

Best Artists of 2019

Hello and welcome to me forgetting how I do these things.

So as you may have noticed I got into kpop last year and then I continued getting into kpop this year. This year I got to know a lot of other artists in kpop and mostly spent my time listening to one specific artist (you will never guess whom) so this list is... just that ok. Also this category used to be called best newbies and only included artists I got to know in a specific year then I changed it to include any artist I listened to a lot but with a few exceptions all the music I listened to this year were new discoveries for me so...

Idk why I always overexplain these, huh.

Honourable mentions go to Monsta X, Nu’est, Chungha, Sunmi, Stray Kids, Bolbbalgan4, The Boyz, and returning artists Mamamoo ♥♥

7 - NCT (the whole of it but mostly 127)

As a baby kpoppie NCT always seemed so intimidating to me with its many many members but the few songs I liked from them upon first listen eventually lured me into getting to know them. Now I’m no expert but to me NCT is a little frustrating because I feel like the label could do so much more with them (and by more I don’t mean to make certain members work even more). I have to admit I often don’t feel like a proper fan because I don’t follow them very closely but to me their music is always the best part of the package and I care very little for their vlogs and... whatever else they’re doing, honestly.

But as a group I feel like they really could do anything as they’ve already explored so many styles and concepts there really isn’t anything that doesn’t sound like them. My personal favourites are Superhuman, Touch, and Boss but this year NCT Dream made a really good comeback I was 100% on board with with Boom, and Wayv’s debut Take Off was also 👌👌👌👌👌👌

6 - Oneus

I didn’t know a whole lot about anything when these guys debuted and I didn’t even know Valkyrie was their debut song for a long time. It was nice and I didn’t really keep them in mind any longer until they were on Weekly Idol with the other group I’ll talk about in a bit and then I mean, I just had to adopt them, I think we all did at that point. It was also around the time they had their first comeback and it was 👌👌👌👌👌👌 but they still only lived in my tiny brain as a group I’ll eventually get into. And then they released 가자 and I did!

They have two amazing rappers and a fairly versatile vocal line and a style that allows for both dynamic bangers and less radio friendly albeit still addictive tunes that defines their sound even further. I don’t know a lot about how they well-promoted they are, I know they have a shitton of schedules so I hope RWB calms the fuck down eventually and paces themselves because these boys are really promising.

I guess checking their title tracks, Valkyrie, Twilight, and *cringe* Lit should have to suffice but also Bingbing and Blue Sky.

5 - Tomorrow x Together

I never said I didn’t like them so stop staring at me.

Obviously their debut was exciting and interesting and I was really looking forward to seeing what they would be like. It wasn’t 100% my cuppa though Crown was an amazing song, I was still happy for them and excited to see how they would evolve overtime. I kinda fell off the bandwagon around May and June cause they weren’t really putting out content based around music and I’m not super interested in variety shows and reality shows unless I’m really invested in the members, but their first comeback was also 👌👌👌👌👌👌👌 The songs are really poppy and catchy and cover a variety of themes I think most people interested in getting emotional value out of music can relate to and Yeonjun and Soobin are just, simply put, my boys.

If I could have one comment on what I’d like to see change in the future it’d be the endless masking and layering of the vocals. I can just about tell their voices apart in certain songs but then they pump ‘em full of effects in other songs and I’m jus like whomstdve the fuck am I listening to?

Check out Crown and Run Away, their two title tracks so far and also my personal favourite, Magic Island and maybe Can't We Just Leave the Monster Alive? too and this one as well whatever.

4 - Taemin / Shinee

I’ll put these two together because yOU CAN’T SEPARATE THEM OKAY I mean it is true that Taemin’s solo material is vastly, vastly different from Shinee’s music but uh this is how I decided.

Shinee is very fun, very diverse, they have the most heart-wrenching songs and then the most upbeat melodies that kickstart the serotonin-production in my brain just like that. I mean they are just vocal powerhouses and they’re using it, but in the same time they have like, these low(er)-energy bops that are just so pleasant to listen to.

Shinee’s weird cause I have a Shinee playlist where I put all the songs I liked from them and I think I don’t know the title of a good half of them but I don’t think I’ve ever pressed the skip button while playing that playlist.

And then Taemin is just very different on his own. Vocally he’s way more strong than Shinee’s music would have you believe, and though he has a sexy concept going on most of the time he’s also not way over the top with it which is... weird to say because he’s very theatrical sometimes. But especially if you compare his most recent material to his solo debut stuff he just looks and sounds way more relaxed in what he’s doing (it’s almost as though he’s matured a little over the years. but only a little). Things you love to see: that.

From Shinee: Symptoms, Countless, The Reason, Drive, Don’t Let Me Go, 1 of 1 From Taemin: Stone Heart, Want, Move, Under My Skin

3 - Day6

I want you to picture this: me, crying.

I had heard about Day6 from one of my two kpop mutuals on twitter lmao but I always heard Days Gone By mentioned as the best song ever and when I checked it out I didn’t think it to be very special at the time. It was only because I thought Time of Our Life was ok and cute and Shoot Me was very catchy that I made a playlist with all their songs on it and listened to it one time when I had to walk a mile to the train station at five in the morning. And then I heard 121U and Headache and that was it.

I don’t think I say anything outlandish if I say Day6 could be from any other part of the world if you take a look at their sound. They’re very easy-listening pop rock, they’re the kind of melodic rock music I loved when I was in high school. So what makes them special?

That I love them, that’s what >[ I don’t think they have anything more than any other group in their genre but I think they just have everything to steal my friKKEN HEART. First of all I don’t know what kind of demon deal JYP made to get a hold of four vocalists like this, I mean they’re all different but instantly recognisable and their range is just ????????? I think Jae is considered the weakest vocalist (outside of Dowoon but I mean he’s drums) and even the notes that boy belts out are blowing my mind. He has a very natural, almost untrained-sounding tone, Sungjin’s very raspy and emotional, Young K’s voice is very open and full (I think he actually has the biggest range? I could be wrong), and Wonpil has that boyish, charming, kinda slippery but still stable voice that first grabs your attention.

And of course a lot of the writing credit goes to the group’s very own Young K which makes me feel a lot closer to them when I’m listening to their songs. So good job, guys, on everything.

Truly, though, getting to know Day6 has just been so special this year and it just goes to show how even mainstream pop music in korea can be so diverse and anyone could find something they like at any corner.

Holy fuckbucket, what should I even recommend? I guess listen to Shoot Me, 121U, Headache, then also my first favourite song, Somehow, my current favourite song Beautiful Feeling and my current second favourite song I Need Somebody and also their most recent comeback Sweet Chaos and my recent new discoveries Lean On Me, Goodbye Winter, I Would and but also just check out my Spotify playlist for them I literally love every single song on there. Fuck, Like That Sun, Letting Go, Sing Me, Rescue Me, 365247 i’M DYING HERE, SUNGJIN

BITCH, LIKE A FLOWING WIND

2 - Seventeen

hOkkkaAyy

For the longest time, well, for about five months I guess, I thought these guys would be first place on this list forever. They were the ones who broke the big BTS spell I was under for the second half of 2018 and I really just, fell facefirst into the diamond life. Getting Closer didn’t quite get me in the first round and even Home was a bit like, okay, cute, best of luck for them. Then something happened and both Getting Closer and Home just hit me like a fucking truck even though they’re on two opposite sides of the scale. You know. The song scale. The famous one? That one.

I made a tweet once that I still agree with, that loving Seventeen really is just cutting your own heart up into thirteen even-sized bits and every single bit is filled with so, so much love.

Like many/some(?) of the groups I love, Seventeen is self-composed and for that I am so grateful because their label Pledis is a shithole so thank fuck to Mr. Lee Jihoon for carrying the industry on his back.

The group consists of three units, all of which have their distinct strengths (except for the performance unit, those theatre nerds just had to be good at everything, didn’t they) and Seventeen makes time to explore all of those units, sometimes even making other subunits from different boy configurations (or boyfigurations for short) and somehow it manages to feel balanced and patient and not rushed.

And I especially love how admittedly they started to stop caring about what the public expects from them and they’re exploring concepts that excites them personally. They caught a lot of flak for releasing songs like Hit and Fear after the astounding success Home had back in January and a lot of fans and non-fans alike quoted the groups unwillingness to keep doing what has been proven to work as the reason of their diminishing sales and public interest.

And even though I personally enjoy their brighter concepts also, I just, I can respect that attitude, you know? At the end of the day Seventeen has an obvious and visible love for their own craft and there’s nothing more enjoyable than that.

Now I’m really in trouble as to what to recommend, they have so many different types of songs x”) Okay, Our Dawn is Hotter Than Day, Clap, Adore U, Home, Getting Closer. Also Hit. And like, a billion of their b-sides, just check my spotify playlist for them ok.

1 - Ateez

*feeling of fear*

Do I even have to go into why I love Ateez? Every time I think about them and just how big a part they played in my life this year I get this overwhelming urge to express just why and just how much I love them.

This year I really just... lost the ability to be happy about things that used to give so much happiness. It’s been a sad and scary downward spiral that I just don’t have enough strength to stop so I guess it’s no wonder that I’d latch onto the first thing that becomes an everyday positive presence in my life. Ateez and the memories connected to them this year have been the reason for the few and far between moments of happiness in my life in 2019 and for that I’ll forever be grateful.

It’s like. When it hits, it just hits, you know?

And I just can’t, can’t wait to scream my little heart out to their songs in March with Linn okkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk

I guess if I could just have one wish it’d be for them to play Twilight, and Treasure, Illusion, Say My Name, Utopia, Hala Hala, Win, Mist, Wave, my whole Spotify playlist.

[betterthinkaboutittwice]

Andrew’s Top 10 Kpop Title Tracks of 2018

Hello again, it’s me. Yes, I’m still trying to make this a thing. Nobody cared in 2015, then my 2016 list got a decent amount of notes, then that dropped off by a lot for my 2017 list, so we’ll see what happens this time. I hope there’s even a couple folks out there that enjoy reading this, but even if there’s not, I still enjoy putting it together and writing it, so here we are. Quick refresher on how this works, I limit myself to title tracks (and/or songs that have a MV and were promoted), link their MVs, and then give a quick write-up of why I picked them, all listed in descending order from 10 to 1. I’ve changed the name from “Top 10 Songs” to “Top 10 Title Tracks” because I’m thinking of doing a separate list for b-sides or non-Korean releases. On that note, let’s get it; list under the break~

10. KHAN - I’m Your Girl?

The tenth spot on my list is always a dogfight, and my honorable mentions list is always long. This year, the debut song for KHAN (composed of former The Ark members Jeon Minju and Euna Kim) won the fight, and I’m not gonna lie, a solid part of why is based in the gay undertones of this song and MV (and honestly, they’re really not undertones, the lyrics are pretty frank about it). Honestly, though, I just really adore the chemistry Euna and Minju have always had together, and I’m so happy they’re back making music together. I’m Your Girl isn’t the fanciest song out there, but it is a bop and a half and will definitely be one of the songs I think of in future when I remember 2018.

9. gugudan - Not That Type

At spot nine, there was another fight, but it was between songs by the same group. The loser of that song will appear in my honorable mentions later. As for the winner, Not That Type was something I’d been hoping gugudan would do ever since they debuted. Their Produce 101 trio (Sejeong, Mina, Nayoung) have always had a certain sass and badassery about them, and even in previous comebacks you could see the other members had it in them, too. This is the song they needed to let it out, and boy did they. This track and MV had an attitude we don’t see much as of late, and the song managed to have that attitude without seeming try-hard or having an overplayed sound. One particular thing it did that I really liked was how it never entered the chorus the same way or on the same beat, keeping the listener on their toes. All in all, a breakout song for gugudan that had to make my list.

8. IZ*ONE - La Vie en Rose

This song, at number eight on my list, took some growing on me. When it came out, I never pictured it being on my Top 10 of the year. In fact, I didn’t even think I’d listen to it much at all. However, there’s just something about it, something about the chorus, that made it unforgettable to me. It worked its way into my brain and wouldn’t leave. Still to this day it won’t leave. It’s quickly become one of my most-played songs of the year. I followed Produce 48 all the way through, and while I wasn’t entirely satisfied with the final lineup, I must say they’ve really grown on me. Whoever produced this song did a brilliant job, because each member has a part that fits them like a glove, and no one really feels either over or under-exposed (though I could certainly ask for a couple more lines for Nako). Just a very solid song from a dynamic group that deserved to make my list.

7. Sunmi - Siren

Dropping in at spot number seven for the second year in a row is everyone’s favorite lesbian and best follow on twitter, Sunmi. Does she release anything other than bops? I think not. She revealed recently that this song was actually originally a Wonder Girls production, and released a quick snippet of the original recording from WG as a band in 2016. While I most definitely wish we could’ve heard the full group’s take on Siren, I’m glad Sunmi revisited the track and made it her own, ‘cause it’s really a stroke of catchy genius. Get away outta my face! More like get away outta my head. I just could not justify keeping this song off my list, not with how often I find myself subconsciously singing or whistling it.

6. WJSN - Save Me, Save You

Another artist that released multiple jams this year, WJSN comes in at number six. While I loved Dreams Come True, there was just something very special about Save Me, Save You. It felt like they finally nailed their sound again. The last time they truly hit it on the head was with Secret, and it feels like they’ve been trying to get back there ever since. Well, they did it here. This track has exactly that dreamlike quality to it, that beautiful cosmic sound that their name would lead you to expect. Add in nearly properly balanced line distribution (except for Dawon, #JusticeForDawon), and a particularly interesting choreography, and you’ve got a recipe for one of the best songs of the year. With their next comeback on the horizon, I’m hoping they can continue the trend.

5. (G)I-DLE - Hann

IDLE really leapt onto the scene in 2018 with their debut, but it’s their followup effort that makes my list at spot number five. The main thing I can say about IDLE is that, as rookies, they have no business being this good. They’re all incredibly talented, their stage presence is off the charts, and both of their title tracks thus far are certified bops. Rookies don’t do that! Yet, here they are. The chorus of Hann is simply unforgettable, both musically and visually. Vocals, raps, visuals, choreo, this song has everything you could ever want and it has them in spades, which is why it leads off the top half of this list.

4. GFriend - Time for the Moon Night

It wouldn’t be a kpop Top 10 without GFriend on it, and here they are at number four. If you’ll recall, I was probably the world’s biggest fan of their first “different” release, Fingertip, naming it my Song of the Year in 2017. TFTMN arrived as their second effort at a more mature concept, and I think they really killed it here. Not only is this track a more mature GFriend, but it is also still very distinctly GFriend. For their entire career, these girls have had a sound all their own, and TFTMN proved unequivocally that they can maintain their signature sound while striding into new conceptual territories, and for that alone it would make my Top 10 of 2018. It certainly isn’t hurt by the fact that the chorus is incredibly memorable, the melancholy-yet-upbeat tone is right up my alley, and the choreo is dope as hell.

3. fromis_9 - Love Bomb

The song that made me fall all the way in love with what is now essentially my second bias group comes in at number three. Honestly, I was actually expecting this to be my Song of the Year for 2018, but a couple other songs reminded me who’s boss. That’s to say nothing against Love Bomb, of course. I mean, imagine a single song making you fall head-over-heels in love with a group whose names you didn’t even know! Going into this release, I legitimately only knew Gyuri (from Produce 48) and Jiwon (way back from SIXTEEN). Now, a couple months later, I know them all better than I ever thought I would. As for the song, this is honestly one of the happiest songs that came out this year. By that I mean that it never fails to put me in a good mood. There’s just something truly special about this song. Moreso even than the song, it’s the girls’ singing; they have a way about them, where they always seem to put feeling into how they deliver lines. I can feel this song, and it wouldn’t change that even if there were no instrumental included; their singing is so incredibly emotional, it’s just special.

2. Chungha - Roller Coaster

The earliest release to make it on my list this year, coming in at number two is one of the bops of a great month of January, Roller Coaster by Chungha. I’ll be honest, this song really had a good argument for being #1 on the list. If producers went into the studio and said “we need to make the perfect song for Andrew,” this is what would’ve come from it. It’s funny, actually, because if you go back to when this was first released, I was lukewarm on it, but now it’s one of my most-listened to songs. The song has nearly every musical element that I love; it’s got that retro sound, those good synths, a gorgeous voice, upbeat, catchy, great choreo. I couldn’t ask for any more, other than to have her do more songs in this style because she absolutely kills it.

1. Red Velvet - Bad Boy

January was truly a great month for kpop songs, and Red Velvet’s Bad Boy has stood the test of time, making it all the way from January to year-end to claim the title of my Song of the Year for 2018. As I said when Bad Boy dropped, “Well fuck. Good luck, literally everyone else. I don’t see this being passed up as my song of the year for 2018.” Here we now stand, and that holds true. I said that Roller Coaster is the perfect “me” song, and it is. Bad Boy, though, is the perfect “me” song for my other main love in kpop; laid-back R&B. Everyone always seems to love the Red side of their music more, but I’ve always been about the Velvet side, and Bad Boy really gave me the perfect Velvet song. It’s everything I ever wanted from Red Velvet, and I’m not sure they’ll ever pass it up for me.

We’re at the end! As always, if you’ve read to this point, I love you, I thank you, and bless you. I’m not a professional writer or music critic, but I love putting together this list every year, and even if only one person reads it and finds it truly interesting, then it was worthwhile. I’m very proud of this list and the work I put into it, and I just hope y’all enjoy it. I began this list on January 1st, but it is now the 2nd (this seems to be a theme for me with this). That said, I wish you all a happy new year, and here’s to another great year of kpop!

Honorable Mentions

MOMOLAND - Bboom Bboom, gugudan - The Boots, CLC - Black Dress, Jeon Soyeon - Idle Song, J-Hope - Daydream, NCT 127 - Touch, DAY6 - Shoot Me, TWICE - Dance the Night Away, SNSD-Oh!GG - Lil’ Touch, Oh My Girl - Remember Me, TWICE - Yes or Yes, Yubin - Thank U Soooo Much, MAMAMOO - Wind Flower

[doozyems-writes]

hello future (nct dream) 1:49

"i'll still love you even in the future and beyond"

chenle sings this part so amazingly and i just completely adore how the following lyrics are associated to love and how they are sort of waiting for someone to appear back into their lives (i've been waiting for you, welcome), and how they have also assured them they will never leave their side again (wherever it may be, we're coming together). also loving this whole sequence because we've got jaemin at the center and this is the line right before the chorus so it creates this celebratory and joyous atmosphere in the music video. but that's not what i'm trying to put focus on, rather it is more on its lyrical value.

hello future speaks out to me through its very meaningful lyrics because somehow it discusses points of life you would never really consider to use as lyrics in a kpop song. for instance, aside from relating it to love, hello future conveys themes of peace, teamwork, and growth, all linked to achieving a good future as a final result. they are basically saying, if you aim to have bits and pieces of these qualities and improve these certain aspects of living, your future would be worth welcoming or looking forward to.

but right now, i'd rather talk about the love aspect this song carries since it has recently become my favorite reference. i never got to truly appreciate this part of the song before but that could be because i never felt a strong transformative love during the song's time of release. truthfully i have always had reservations writing a piece about this song since it might sound ridiculous having to admit where, how, and who brought me into a state of full realization regarding the song's context. currently i no longer have connections with this person, but i got to get a sense of what the song actually means when we were still talking and expressing love to each other. loving someone in the future and beyond holds heavy meaning and could not be valued less than what it originally is meant to entail. loving someone in the future and beyond means you will love a person endlessly since for you two, the thing or relationship you share will never come to an end and your love will remain regardless of anything coming your way.

this is beautiful in words but it becomes a whole new experience when spoken by a person and directed it to someone they truly care for. may sound really stupid for spewing out the weirdest crap about love and my relationship or lack thereof, but i kinda do wish i'll get that chance one day, to be able to stand in front someone i've been waiting for and tell them that our love is aiming towards the future and beyond.

[coll2mitts]

#89 Head (1968)

From the minds of Jack Nicholson and Bob Rafelson, is a 110 minute acid trip featuring The Monkees.  Their television show had been recently cancelled, and this movie is essentially their former-Disney star “I’m an adult!” moment in an attempt to break free of their preassigned roles and become Serious Artists.

I cannot adequately express the despair I felt when Head literally announced there would be no plot to this movie, and would instead be a series of skits.  It makes sense in the context of The Monkees, since they were formed for a television show.  Each section of the movie has a different genre, ranging from a traditional Western, a boxing movie, a television commercial, a stage-performed musical number, horror... they are all here, which makes an overall narrative pretty hard to discern, other than The Monkees’ general discontentment with their current position.

It begins similarly to A Hard Day’s Night, where the Monkees are being chased by... we don’t know what yet, but we can assume it is not excited teenage girls.  They then launch themselves off of a bridge, trip on LSD, find some mermaids, and hold a kissing contest that only triggered my Covid-spread panic.  The movie doesn’t give you much time to breathe before it comes in hot with a football player attacking soldiers, a football stadium cheering for war, and The Monkees playing a live concert with a screaming crowd cut together with scenes of civilians being killed during the Vietnam war.

Not gonna lie, I didn't think I'd have to address the Vietnam War at all during this project (unfortunately, Meet the Feebles took that assumption away from me rather quickly).  To be honest, I was really expecting this more from The Beatles, especially with John Lennon's very famous pivot to anti-war protest songs.  In college, I wrote a sociology paper on the Vietnam War's influence on popular culture and the function of the media created, and not once in all my research were The Monkees even seriously cited, other than some coy allusion that “Last Train to Clarksville” might have had something to do with a soldier travelling to an army base.  I was so taken aback by the opening scene of this movie, that I literally pulled out my paper and the books I had purchased to write it to see if I had missed something.  There was ONE sentence about Mike Nesmith singing a protest song before he joined The Monkees.  Granted, if you were alive during the 1960s, to be ignorant of the war in general would have been so incredibly tone-deaf.  Had I realized this movie would be political in any way, I would have expected this.  In one book, the author had compiled over 750 songs that directly addressed the war.  Record sales tripled during the decade, and Woodstock might be the most famous festival we’ve ever held in the US - processing the war through music was very much *a thing*.  So, of course, I had to dive into this, because my brain can't just be like, "Well, I guess The Monkees hated the Vietnam War like the majority of the population, I guess.”

There wasn’t much to find, other than this bizarre clip of Davey Jones on an 80s talk show bragging and singing about how he had evaded the draft.  Turns out, the writer/director of this picture, Bob Rafelson, really controlled the message of this movie, and he inserted these scenes as commentary on the performative aspect of war, and how television “...makes you inured to the realities of life.  Oh yes, it brings it into the living room, but then you don’t have to fucking deal with it.  There is no distinction made between the close-up of the young girl responding hysterically to the appearance of The Monkees and to the shot of the assassination at the same time.  And then the hysterical girls attack the stage where The Monkees are playing and shred their clothing off.  But they’re not The Monkees, they are wooden dummies.  They’ll shred anything, as long as it’s the thing to do.  Rape the stage, attack the musicians, real or unreal, who cares?  And it was just pointing out that there was a sort of a mindlessness to, as The Beatles used to complain all the time, to the appreciation of the music.”

There’s a lot going on in this statement...  I’ll agree that the constant barrage of violence and unrest eventually numbs you to it.  Especially now, with a 24-hour news cycle, and twitter just bombarding you with every fucking egregious thing going on in the world at once.  A sense of hopelessness overtakes you; The doom-scrolling will only pacify you into not acting, because what the fuck can you do to change anything?  There are too many problems, and they’re too large to solve on your own.

The second part of this statement, where teenage girls will do anything “as long as it’s the thing to do” is pretty insulting.  I suppose the attitude of teenage girls being easily manipulated to enjoying things was amplified with Beatlemania.  Its continued on, where bands like New Kids on the Block, The Backstreet Boys, and One Direction are immediately dismissed as superfluous because teenage girls like them, and teenage girls are shallow because they’re driven by their hormones.  What’s unbelievably frustrating about this mindset is it has been disproved time and time again, INCLUDING The Beatles.  I know more dudes who rep for them than I do women.  Shit, in this dumpsterfire of a year, Harry Styles’ new album has been one of the few positive things that has kept me going, and that came out 10 months ago.  With the success of kpop as well, a lot more people are starting to come around to “manufactured content that teenage girls like can be good, actually”.

The Beatles complaining about how their music is secondary to the mania about them is really rich, considering their legacy now.  It’s not like they were that attractive or charming... I sat through 2 of their movies and the only person I even mildly connected with was Ringo, because he was a goofy dope.  I’m fairly certain teenage girls were buying their records and going to their shows because they liked the music.  As a former teenage girl, let me tell you, the illusion of depth and sensitivity is way more attractive than a pretty face.

Teenage girls made The Monkees and The Beatles successful, and for the director, who directly profited off of that success, to make a movie that criticizes them really rubs me the wrong way.  Also, it was the fucking 1960s, about as volatile of a decade as you could get *until* now.  Maybe teenage girls focused so much on The Monkees and The Beatles because it was one of the few uncomplicated things that could bring them reprise from the violence unfolding around them.  But whatever, disparage their money lining your pockets, I guess.

The skits afterward are pretty unremarkable.  Micky is in the middle of a desert trying to get happiness out of a Coke machine, only to find it, and the task itself empty.  He then blows up the Coke machine with a tank given to him by the Italian army.

The Monkees are given a tour of a manufacturing facility, only to see what they are producing isn’t a quality product, and the workers themselves are either fake, or endangered by the endeavor.  There’s a few scenes where they fight against their predetermined personalities in the band, or what their fans might think of their behaviors.  They are used in a dandruff shampoo advertisement and vacuumed up and held hostage in a black box.  There is an outstanding upbeat musical number performed by Davy (and Toni Basil!) about a boy whose father left him.  He lays it all out on the dance floor, only to be criticized by Frank Zappa of all people, for not having a message in his music that will save the youth of America.

While they are searching for answers on how to escape the box they’re trapped in, or purpose in what they’ve accomplished, they find nothing.  Peter tries to enlighten them with a bunch of culty bullshit, but instead Davy loses his shit and starts physically attacking literally everything featured throughout the movie, culminating in The Monkees running from their movie studio and jumping off a bridge to free themselves.  They unfortunately are captured and shoved back in the black box, awaiting the next time they will be carted out to market something else for The Teens to buy.

I probably don’t need to tell you that this movie flopped.  The studio purposely left The Monkees out of all the promotional material because they thought it might detract from the serious motion picture they were trying to release.  The problem with this, however, is if you don’t know anything about The Monkees, this movie is not going to make sense to you.  I had to watch several behind-the-scenes clips to get any semblance of an idea what they were trying to achieve.  Sure, the Capitalism and Manufactured Entertainment is Bad theme is pretty easy to pick out, but why The Monkees were the ones saying this after being immersed in the middle of it for three years is an important position to understand beforehand.  And even if you were a Monkees fan, like my mother was, this basically shits on their entire experience in show business, so it probably doesn’t hit too well with their core demographic, either.  I respect what they were trying to do here, but it’s no mystery to me why this movie has almost entirely been lost to time.

I’d like to say this ends my series on rock bands that decided to make musical movies, but next on the list is a little story about a pinball-wizard-that-could, Tommy.

[thedramafilesblog-blog]

We’re not a blog that is dedicated to reviewing music (including Kpop), but because we absolutely adore BTS and their music, we decided to do a memo-style review of the Music Video (MV) for their Japanese Version “Blood, Sweat & Tears” (血、汗、涙 -Japanese Ver.-).

***Note: If this is your first time browsing the Drama Files, please read The Rules on how our Memo-style reviews work.***

***Note: We really wanted to analyze the Blood, Sweat, Tears Korean MV before, but we missed out on the opportunity. We thought this MV was very interesting as well, so we were really eager to share our theories about what they could possibly signify. There are definitely many theories, so we thought we’d propose ours. Our views are simply theories and purely speculative.***

Memo

Dear Reader,

There have been some questions regarding the recent release of BTS’s 血、汗、涙 -Japanese Ver.- (“BST”), particularly:

(1) Who/What does each member represent?

(2) How is the ending clip that is reminiscient of the “I Need U” MV connected to BST?

Conclusion

(1.1) J-Hope acts as a guide. J-Hope is Archangel Michael and Frau Eva from Demian.

(2) This will be answered in a subsequent Memo.

Background

Jubiemon J: I will first start by setting the background that leads to the analysis of the characters. Please bear with me! Through BST, we see two predominant influences: the Bible in particular The Fall of the Rebel Angels by Pieter Bruegel the Elder and Demian. The Fall of the Rebel Angels is based on the passage from the Book of Revelation. This passage highlights the confrontation between Good and Evil, before the Fall of Man. Archangel Michael forces Lucifer to leave heaven based on God’s Orders and as a result, there is the fall of other rebel angels (See here for the actual text).

The main themes in BST, as a result, are adulthood and temptation/sin. (I write it as temptation/sin because I believe they go hand in hand. Each member is tempted by something sinful.) The lyrics of BST highly emphasize temptation; the chorus is: I want more, more, more. Given this context, we can see how each member, except for J-Hope and maybe Suga, face temptation and from these struggles, they are forced to eventually grow up and mature into an adult. I will go through each character from a biblical point of view (POV) and then from the perspective based on Demian.

When the MV has a blend of neon colours, we are safe to assume that this is a time of war/temptation/animus and that we are in the internal reality.

This is after Jungkook drank the green liquid; Look at the neon vibes.

When the MV is in an everyday type of light and the setting is still in a Victorian vibe, this seems to imply that we are looking deeper within ourselves.

Jimin is trapped in this room.

When the MV is filmed with an everyday light but the setting is modern, then that is reality in a distant past.

Jin is hitting V and V is retaliating. Look at the modern kitchen and their clothes.

When the MV is filmed with a slightly brown light that gives a nostalgic vibe, then that is the present reality.

Look at this brownish tint. Mostly only Jin shows up for these type of scenes.

I also think it’s important to establish where BST chronologically fits among BTS’ MVs to understand who each member represents. I rewatched almost all of the MVs and I think the ones that are related to BST are the Korean “BST”, “I Need U”, “Run”, the BTS 화양연화 On Stage Prologue MV, and “EPILOGUE: Young Forever”. (I consider “Spring Day” another story by itself. Feel free to read our analysis of it to understand why that is so.)

The chronology of the story, in my view, is:

1. “I Need U”

2. “Run”/the BTS 화양연화 On Stage Prologue MV/Korean BST

4. “BST”

5. “EPILOGUE: Young Forever”

I think we can divide the MVs into external reality and inner reality (aka psychical reality). “I Need U”, “Run”, and the BTS 화양연화 On Stage Prologue MV focus on the external reality (The BTS 화양연화 On Stage Prologue MV does have psychical reality, but I think it’s more like a memory playback.) The other three MVs represent the psychical reality. The way they are filmed is different from the former three.

The starting point of the boys’ story would be “I Need U”. That is when we are introduced to all of the boys’ problems (eg V struggling with his broken family, J-Hope battling what’s likely a mental health problem, etc). We end this song with V killing his father to save his sister.

Next is “Run” where we see V fall back into the water, meaning that he has succumbed to darkness. He also leads the boys into mishaps and they all play pranks or do some petty crime together.

In the end, we find that Jimin is in a tub, burning a group photo of them. All of them have changed or matured and there’s no turning back now. I placed BTS 화양연화 On Stage Prologue MV with “Run” because I see the BTS 화양연화 On Stage Prologue MV as a time where V is reminiscing about the past.

Then we move into the psychical reality. We see in the Korean BST how the characters are struggling internally. Chronologically speaking, I think the Korean BST happens around the same time as “Run” and the BTS 화양연화 On Stage Prologue MV. As the boys are changing and being led by V for the external reality, the inner reality is also occurring. That’s where the Korean BST fits in. I placed BST after the Korean BST because we see Jin reminiscing about what has happened.

Finally, there is “EPILOGUE: Young Forever” where all of them have all grown up and are wishing to stay “Forever Young”. There’s a really dream-like state with this MV, so I consider it more of a psychical reality.

There is a chance that the boys have all died as a lot of fans have remarked, but in my opinion, the boys have just matured and though they wish to stay a boy, they have to become an adult. Their “youth” has died and not their actual selves. When we go through each boy, we see what they have gone through or left behind.

White ribbons are used in Korean funerals and white ribbons can also mean innocence and pureness in other cultures. At one point, the ribbon in Jungkook’s hand seems to have turned into a white feather–hope and then the white feather is shown by J-Hope’s feet along with the scattered pills.

The members will try to savour this blissful moment for as long as they can. I think this explanation matches the lyrics more like how J-Hope raps that “[he] wants to stay young forever”/”yeongwonhi sonyeonigo sipeo nan Aah”/”영원히 소년이고 싶어 난 Aah” (See credits for translation here). I think the huge irony here is that even though they want to savour youth, getting through youth is a challenge and a maze itself. That’s why they’re in this grey fenced maze that also resembles a cage. At the end of the day, you navigate through this maze and grow up, yet you also still become super nostalgic of those days. Ironic huh?

Look at this scary maze — youth.

(Side note: I quoted the romanized Hangul and Korean lyrics because I prefer to translate the phrase as “I want to stay as a young boy forever”. Though I’m not fluent in Korean, I am certain that “sonyeon” is “少年”. 少年 in Mandarin means a teenage youth or young boy (something like a boy of ages 10-16). To be honest, I feel like when the term is translated into English, it loses its beauty and what it embodies. 少年 embodies that growing up phase.) 

(Just a another note: I am not an expert in Christianity. I only know references based on what I’ve learned in English Literature and Art. I also have not fully read Demian as I have a bit too much on my hands right now. However, I’ve read summaries on Cliff Notes and Coles Notes and read character analyses. Finally, I am not a psychology major, so I apologize if I’m not 100% clear with the psychological concepts. I’ve tried my best to understand them through research.)

Now that we have all the background settled. Let’s go onto who the members represent in BST beginning with J-Hope. I have decided to release this Memo into different parts.

Analysis

(1.1) J-Hope acts as a guide. J-Hope is Archangel Michael and Frau Eva from Demian.

Throughout BST, J-Hope is like a guide. We first see him sitting in front of Michelangelo’s Pieta. Pieta depicts Virgin Mary who holds onto Jesus Christ’s deceased body after his crucifixion. We are past the scene where Jin looks through the painting, The Fall of the Rebel Angels, with some binoculars, so we know that we are in a chaotic stage of war. Notice how when the painting is zoomed in, we only see the images of the monsters and rebel angels and the Archangel in the centre is completely black.

Jin with the binoculars (setting = reality based on how it’s filmed)

No Archangel here. Just monsters and rebel angels.

Reference to the Devil from the Korean BST. 

Then the first time we see J-Hope, nearly everything is pitch black, except for him and Pieta. The neon pink/yellow light symbolizes that he is here to show the light. J-Hope has a sword in his hand; we know from a lot of stories, noble knights or Kings have to fight with a sword (ie King Arthur/Lancelot etc). Similarly, he has to fight off the bad angels.

Neon pink in BST meaning that “there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,” (Book of Revelations, 12:7)

As Archangel Michael, J-Hope chases V who is likely Lucifer from Heaven and brings about the demise of the Rebel Angels. Jimin and Jungkook are seen restraining V, the Fallen Angel. You’re probably wondering how these two can be helping J-Hope when they too have fallen into despair. I think the only reasonable way to explain it is that each member starts their story at a different time. Jimin and Jungkook were saved first or have matured enough to realize that the Fallen Angel needs to be out of Heaven.

Jimin and Jungkook are restraining V (the Fallen Angel). 

Reminder that J-Hope is the one holding the sword.

I am pretty sure that this is J-Hope shooting at V because in his other outfit, he is wearing the same sweater as the one here.

After all, right after the scene above, we see J-Hope with a bow and arrow. 

We never get to see who exactly is the one that aims at V. However, we see in the subsequent scene that J-Hope is the one shooting his bow and arrow. In the Bible, a bow is the doctrine of truth and good: “Jehovah’s arrows are sharp, and all His bows are bent, the hoofs of His horses are counted as rock, and His wheels as the whirlwind” (Isaiah 5:28) (See this website for more explanation). After he shoots that arrow, the doctrine of truth and good are spread to all of the boys. We see the boys hanging out with J-Hope after there’s a small clip of V being in pain.

Then we notice J-Hope pouring down some pills in a cauldron which lets the truth explode. In a way, I think it could be that J-Hope is foretelling what “may” happen, but I think it is more likely that he is telling us what “has” happened. This is because the next scene is Jin looking around in the present and after that we cut to V and Jin.

(Just a little note: When J-Hope is with the boys or in his lounge room, he is wearing a sweater that is pieced together in many parts. Half of it is black and red and the other is grey, white, and blue. I suddenly got the feeling that the red and black reminded me of Jin’s outfit throughout this whole MV. In a way J-Hope seems to embody both Good and Evil at this stage after fighting the war.)

J-Hope pouring some pills down and revealing fortunes or the past.

Based on the two filming styles, I think the V and Jin scene feels more like the past. Jin keeps hitting V and then mouths a “Sorry”. This somehow makes me feel that Jin is really enraged that V led Jin or all of them down the wrong road. After all, if we take a jog back memory lane, we will notice that V is always the one leading the group to do something. V is the only one that jumps from that high contraption in BTS 화양연화 On Stage Prologue MV.

V being the first to jump and to lead the group to elsewhere

That jumping scene is more likely a memory of the past as we first see V with bloody hands in BTS 화양연화 On Stage Prologue MV, meaning that he has already committed the murder. He keeps trying to wash off the blood but like Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, his hands are stained. Right after this short scene, the lighting in the MV changes to give off a bright yet nostalgic vibe and then there are clips of happiness. Therefore, it’s likely V’s memory of the happier times. I think this theory works because this is also a Prologue MV leading to Butterfly.

In “Run”, V is also the first one that has plunged into the water because he has sunken too deep via the murder. After his plunge, we are shown Rapmonster who dumps some sugar into his cup of coffee. This act symbolises that similarly, all the boys have subsequently fallen into darkness after V’s crime. In “I Need U”, we already know that all the boys suffer from problems. However, V is the only one who commits arguably the biggest crime out of the boys: V has murdered his father. Therefore, these all prove that V is the one that has led the boys astray.

  Also, closer to the end of”I Need U”, J-Hope is the one pouring down pills. In the beginning of “I Need U”, he seems to have to rely heavily on pills as we see him with his pill cabinet. His external reality is likely dealing with a mental health issue which is why he also suffers a lot in his psychical reality. (It could be non mental health related illness as well; we don’t really know that much based on the clips.)

J-Hope pouring pills in this fire in “I Need U”

J-Hope pouring pills in this cauldron in BST

Let’s go back and contrast this “I Need U” pill pouring scene to the BST one. Somehow I keep getting reminded of the Three Witches in Macbeth. I wouldn’t say J-Hope fully embodies the Three Witches because there are three of them and J-Hope doesn’t start any of the MVs. However, I think there is a subtle inference that J-Hope may have been like Three Witches who planted the seed of temptation in Macbeth’s mind to kill King Duncan. Although this pill pouring scene is shown among all of the boys changing towards the end of the MV, there are also clips of the boys’ happy youth where they are playing with fireworks and I’m pretty sure they all gathered around a fire way before V killed his father.

V coming in to rescue his sister and ends up killing his father.

Jimin sinking to despair

Happy Jungkook at the group camp fire

Everyone playing with fireworks (in the past)

Therefore, when he pours the pills in his external reality, he is foreshadowing the darkness that will come and perhaps in a very subtle way, he has influenced V to act. However, unlike the other boys who have succumbed to darkness, J-Hope is able to break free from temptation and is the bearer of truth in the inner reality. He dumps the pills once more in BST, becomes the one that awakens from this chaos, and has to punish V, the Fallen Angel.

  Now that we have established how J-Hope fits as Archangel Michael, we can see how J-Hope can also be Frau Eva who represents the anima. Anima and animus are concepts developed by Carl Jung. Anima is “the woman in men” (See here for more info). The Anima’s archetype is the mother figure. It’s quite fitting that Pieta, which shows the Virgin Mary, is right behind J-Hope. Moreover, in Demian, Demian gives a kiss from Frau Eva to Sinclair. As a result of the kiss, Sinclair who represents the conscious ego is able to combine with Demian (the self) and merge with Frau Eva (the anima). Throughout the novel, Frau Eva’s role is also to help Sinclair grow. As a result, J-Hope has helped all of the other boys mature and the boys are thrown back to the external reality.

Look behind J-Hope!

As for himself? J-Hope is left behind and gazes up to this sky that features an ominous green butterfly/pair of wings. I initially saw this as a butterfly; butterflies generally symbolize great transformation. Think of a caterpillar who changes into a butterfly. Wings gives a different meaning like freedom, independence, and in the Bible, wings are known to be spiritual truths (See here).

  All of the boys have gained some form of truth and returned to the external reality which is in green. Green is associated with nature and the Earth. I’m pretty sure in BST, green here is used to represent when the characters are in the external reality.

Whenever this neon green is used, the scenes are related to the characters being in the inner reality. We first see this neon green when Rapmonster and Jungkook are sitting across from one another and Rapmonster tempts Jungkook. Notice how the neon green is on the exterior of the windows and how the Hotel is outside of this building. Jungkook was in a hotel at the beginning. The last three pictures show the ending scenes of the MV. There is V who has been punished looking up to the green sky (external reality). There is Jungkook who is going through that weird neon green/blue light to get back to the external reality. There’s Jin looking down at the vortex and stepping away from it. The green sky is all around him. He too is getting back to the external reality.

I haven’t figured out which member to analyze for the next post, so please feel free to let me know who you’d like to understand first!

[reistellae]

A really really long reflection 3/3

The riveting conclusion of my fucking multipart essays examining BTS/ARMYs in recent months, stan culture, and discussions of race within pop culture. In my conclusion, I’m gonna state my opinion on a recent incident that sparked this series.

Part one I went through a brief history of Asian/Asian American representation in American pop culture and the rise of kpop into the mainstream.

Part two went further into detail about the rise of BTS and their activities and the growing toxicity of the ARMY fandom.

Now we are currently in this timeline at 2018.

Before I continue with the history lesson, I’m gonna make a very important distinction here between the typical ARMY and what I’ll be calling an ARMY tribalist. The typical ARMY makes up the majority of the fandom: they follow BTS on social media, interact with the group’s posts and with other fans, stream MVs, vote for them on award shows and typical dedicated fan behavior. An ARMY tribalist takes the usual activities and behaviors and multiplies them in intensity to a million. A tribalist will put the fandom/group over everything else; over logic, over reason, over disagreement. Their loyalties are to their group of choice. Anyone can be a tribalist for a certain fandom that they are in, it’s not exclusive to ARMYs, or kpop in general. There’s Ariana Grande tribalists, DC tribalists, My Little Pony tribalists...the list goes on. So, I want to say that I don’t think all ARMYs act the same way the tribalists do, but the tribalists are the most active and the most vocal of the fandom and have influence over the average fan.

Now let’s get back to 2018. BTS had finished a wildly successful year in the United States. Thanks in part to their recent appearances at American award shows, stores such as Walmart, Target, and Barnes and Noble began selling their latest album, Love Yourself: Her. BTS merch also started to drop in Hot Topic. LYH had record sales for the group and for a kpop group in general thanks to this new audience or in part to loyal fans having access to buy albums without paying for overseas shipping. 

Despite this, scandal wouldn’t be too far behind. In May of that year, an article was published that discussed black ARMYs who were receiving racially targeted harassment from others within the fandom. Acts such as whitewashing selfies, making jokes about slavery, and calling them slurs were highlighted in the article. BTS/Bighit Entertainment were asked for their comments on the matter, but as of February 2019, there has been no public statement issued regarding this. 

The rest of 2018 was perhaps BTS’ biggest year: they were featured on the cover of TIME magazine, spoke in front of the United Nations as representatives for Unicef and their “Love Yourself” Campaign, released Love Yourself: Tear and Love Yourself: Answer to record breaking numbers, and had major shows in the United States for their Love Yourself Tour. Understandably, ARMYs were very proud of their favorite group.

As early as mid-2017, some ARMYs felt as though American media/artists did not take BTS seriously or were only using them for clout or extra attention. Pop culture tends to focus on whatever is popular at the moment, BTS being a popular group and kpop being a popular trend, of course American media outlets would pay special attention to kpop (although many outlets had covered kpop, though in smaller occurrences way before 2017). These outlets do need to make money at the end of the day and simply cannot be personally invested in every single thing they discuss. With that being said, I personally think it isn’t entirely impossible that some artists actually do like BTS/kpop. Kpop is appreciated worldwide by all sorts, so it doesn’t seem too out of line that celebrities do too. But obviously, it is music business, and some moves are only made to attract a new audience, which is fine. The fans also benefit from this newfound American fame BTS has: physical albums being sold in stores, more stops on their American tour, seeing them on a local television time at a reasonable time, merchandise at local stores. Of course, all of these benefit the providers because they get money, but that is the trade off of capitalism.

As I said, scandal continued within the ARMY fandom in 2018. With the release of his solo debut album, ARMY tribalists posted a fake translation of one of Mino’s songs with the lyric “baby girl” and accused the rapper from YG Entertainment group Winner of being a pedophile. Girl group Momoland was caught on camera laughing at something during an award show and Jimin coincidentally was singing at the time, ARMY tribalists took this as the girls were making fun of Jimin and proceeded to relentlessly attack the group to the point where they had to turn off Instagram comments for a time. The harassment of black ARMYs had not stopped and while some showed support for them, the fandom made major efforts to not let the group see it. ****** Trigger Warning: Suicide, Death ******  In December of 2017, SHINee member Jonghyun had committed suicide. It was a tragic day for SHINee World across the globe and many fandoms showed their support. Majority of ARMYs also showed support during this time, however, tribalists took the opportunity as a time to make jokes. This would become an ongoing theme in many other tragedies, that ARMY tribalists would be disrespectful and makes jokes about the recently deceased.

These are not all the scandals that ARMY tribalists were involved in 2018, but these are the most egregious to me.

And now we are in the present day. I’ll lightly touch on the incident that inspired this reflection and then get to my final thoughts. On February 12th, anonymous opinion blog, unpopularkpopopinions, had published a submitted opinion that stated “I feel like army created this bubble for bts where bts is huge in the west when in reality the american shows they were on aren’t difficult to get on, every meme these days can get on ellen so that’s not really an achievement, those interviews were all awkward and I couldn’t shake off the feeling that bts were simply weird asian gimmicks for the american audience, something they can’t and won’t understand but it’s weird enough to get views.” Initially, most users, who were regular followers to the blog, agreed with the opinion to varying degrees and the conversation seemed to have hit its point. However, on the 14th, the post started gaining traction once more with tons more notes. A disgruntled ARMY had reposted the opinion on Twitter, which attracted a new group to the post. Most ARMYs kept their response to Twitter with tweets such as “just ignore it and let’s prove them wrong next comeback,” but others took to the post itself to respond. 

The common points for contention were 1. The American shows BTS were on weren’t difficult to get on and 2. BTS being seen as an “Asian gimmick.” The common arguments were “if it’s so easy to get on Ellen, how come your faves weren’t on?” and “Calling them an Asian gimmick? That’s racist, OP. This blog and anyone who agrees is also racist.” I won’t repost my entire response to the argument, but here were my main points: “ “America uses BTS for clout” is something I’ve mostly seen ARMYs say. Which clout is the wrong term because BTS doesn’t have Drake or Beyonce levels of clout; they are being used for clicks, engagement, whatever, which is reasonable since America is a capitalistic economy and if there’s a demand or an untapped market (rabid kpop fans) then it makes sense to exploit that. Most people realize that. The whole “Asian gimmick” bit that is what most of y’all are here for. If you literally read very closely, OP said “[they] couldn’t shake off the feeling that BTS were simply weird Asian gimmicks for the American audience.” It doesn’t say that they think BTS is a weird Asian gimmick, it says that from the interviews and other things BTS did in America, they had a feeling, a vibe if you will, that the American audience only SEES them as Asian gimmicks. You can agree or disagree with that point however you’d like, but y’all are claiming that this is how OP and others in the notes feel when that simply ain’t it.” And I stand by those points and I believe what I said earlier on in this post supports my point. It’s also hypocritical that just months ago, ARMYs were basically saying the same thing that this opinion did, but now it’s racist to point out that BTS are being used and the racist attitudes behind it.

So there it is, the ENTIRE timeline and build up. What are my thoughts? I think ARMY tribalists are the fucking worst. I think the fandom has a lot of hypocrisy going on, particularly within discussions about race. Why is it that CupcakKe is only looking for attention or that BTS shouldn’t see their black fans being bullied by fellow fans or that any artist of color who works with BTS just wants clout but as soon as someone points out that American audiences may only see the group as an Asian gimmick, that that is a serious racist attack? Why is it that people cannot point out that the group has done racially insensitive things in their past? Because tribe goes first. Not saying that those who agree with one, agree with all, but it is still a problem nonetheless.

I think fandom culture can very very easily feed into tribalism, especially in kpop. BTS in particular have so much content, that one could easily become obsessed within a matter of a day. From music videos, variety shows, fanfiction, fanart and edits, web series, merchandise, albums, and video games, I find it not too hard to believe that an ARMY tribalist only interacts with fellow ARMYs on the regular basis. I also think Bighit Entertainment is a rather shit company for never speaking up/allowing BTS to speak up on these issues especially since BTS are supposed to be anti-bullying ambassadors. 

If you’ve made it this far, congratulations! I’m fucking tired. Do I still like BTS? Yes. I was just listening to Outro: Tear (the best outro in the LY series btw) as I was writing this and I think the group themselves are nice and talented. Do I hate all ARMYs? No. The fandom is too big to hate the millions of them, but I do find myself very very tired of them (and I’m sure they’re tired of An tiS like me). I’m just so fucking tired of all this bullshit with the fandom that I had to write down all my thoughts.

Part One

Part Two