#but this is the type of visuals where you see the rapper clearly fucks other women too

[notchainedtotrauma]

#LightSkinKeisha #there might be records saying she's bisexual #but this is the type of visuals where you see the rapper clearly fucks other women too

[yeolmae-s]

a chanbaek analysis from a veteran exo-l

before anything else there are a few disclaimers i'd like to make:

i am writing this analysis right now because as a non exo stan i'm not into chanbaek that much anymore. of course i like them to some degree since i'm writing this and all but it's nothing in comparison to the way i felt about them two years ago. so i feel like it's easier to keep a less clouded (?) state of mind being where i'm at right now, mentally, in regards to them. i feel like i can look at things more objectively, which is why i decided to write this and share it with you all.

for all the smart asses out there, this is a ship analysis. yes, i’m reading too much into everything. that’s what an analysis is.

all translation credits goes to @/fyeah-chanyeol

i'm a chanyeol stan. this analysis will, most likely, have more information about him in comparison to baekhyun. this is simply because i consumed more content about him since he's my bias (such as magazine interviews, fancams).

i don't stan exo anymore, but it's not because of anything they did. i liked them for a long time and made a lot of different friends because of this fandom, therefore i experienced a lot of hurt, scandals, fights and didn't deal very well with many things, so i decided to leave. this didn't happen because of exo themselves and neither did it happen because of the fandom itself. it happened because of the relationships i had.

that being said, i haven't been following them closely for the past year and a half, but i still keep up with stuff a bit, although not chanbaek related stuff since i gotta dive in kinda deeper for that lmao. so this analysis is mostly in depth for 2012-2018. if anything that you perceive as significant happened after 2018 i'm more than willing to hear your opinions about it.

so, let's get started!!

MAMA ERA

I have always felt like Chanyeol and Baekhyun's relationship was strange. I started shipping them when they debuted and more specifically because of the 130128 ISAC. When I was younger I didn't see a lot to discuss in their ISAC interactions besides it being cute and shippy, but I've started to look at it differently now.

I think everyone knows how ISAC is known for being basically a stage for fanservice. The whole "dating ground for idols" issue aside, judging from the amount of attention they direct towards the fans who manage to attend the event, idols are clearly instructed to perform fanservice. EXO's first ISAC had to be full of it, obviously, and they did give fans a lot to be happy about, content we still get giddy about to this day, and I'm sure they were instructed to act like this to please us. I don't believe that fanservice equals "false interactions": if two individuals are talking, touching each other, they are interacting, even if it is a carefully planned setting made specifically for pleasing fans. They still get reactions out of one another through these interactions, it is still relevant to the way these people's relationship will develop; even though these acts are done with the intent of pleasing a crowd.

Don't get me wrong, though. I don't think the 2013 ISAC fanservice changed anything in Chanbaek's relationship. In fact, I just want to use it as a way to illustrate something I will explain later on.

To be remembered in an industry you must have an image. You won't be getting anywhere without a carefully constructed visual image. Marilyn Monroe is always used as an example of this: she's someone you can easily make a costume of and people will instantly recognize it as her. She's basically a concept by now: blonde hair, red lips and white hair. These aspects take our mind back to her instantly. Of course, most celebrities don't achieve this type of icon status, but it is still important to cling to a specific concept/image of what you want your celebrity self to be perceived as. Without this, you'll be forgotten as soon as your career ends.

When Chanyeol debuted, he clung to the first trait they gave him: being a happy person, a.k.a "happy virus". If you were not an EXO fan back in 2013 then it's likely you're not even aware of this nickname that was given to him, but it's basically just what it sounds like (lol). He was bright, energetic, had a "teeth rich" smile (another nickname that was given to him back then), was able to give 10/10 laughter reactions to MCs and to his members jokes, was always enthusiastic to interact and smile towards fans. He even introduced himself as "happy virus Chanyeol" in interviews (and later on that changed to "EXO's voice Chanyeol" or "EXO's rapper Chanyeol").

I feel like Chanyeol was very much aware of this "must have" that I mentioned, this need to have an image pasted into yourself and have that image be what people will remember you as. We're all complex and multifaceted individuals, but the general public needs something simple to grab on to, something easy to remember. That happy guy from EXO? I know who he is! I'm sure this is the path Chanyeol chose, back when he debuted: to pick a trait given to you by the public and make it a huge part of your image.

However, that image of him didn't last very long. It certainly became tiring to worry so much about how he was being perceived, to carefully construct something so his career would last, specially when his group had so many scandals and went through a sudden burst of popularity that changed their lives completely. By 2017, Chanyeol already had a change of mind in relation to his career, these changes being mostly due to how he felt about music and what he wanted to do with it.

He recognized himself as having always being impatient, which might be the reason why he clung to a specific image so fast right after debuting:

From Fall Magazine in 2017

"At the moment I just want to enjoy myself with the music as it comes, without feeling as though I have to do something. It isn’t a greed from impatience, I could call it more of a greed to do better."

"When I first debuted I thought I was very optimistic, but as time has passed I think a more reserved side of me is showing."

"I think I've grown in many ways. Maybe it’s because it’s as though I perform everyday, but the stage has become comfortable for me. Shall we say I’ve become more calm and composed? [...] I think I’ve become more mature."

He matured. He's still bright and energetic but he's also more reserved. He managed to keep up the fanservice that his fans adore in a way that is more fitting to his actual personality. It still is an image, but an image that's not as exhausting as his previous one, with its strict demands to act in a certain way all the time. I remember specific interview with MCs demanding him to smile (although jokingly, of course) saying things like "Aren't you EXO's happy virus?", so I'm sure he felt pressured.

This is interesting to think about when put side by side with his relationship with Baekhyun. Back when they debuted, Chanyeol and Baekhyun were close friends that clearly felt comfortable with each other, and it isn't surprising to think that Baekhyun would be Chanyeol's first pick when he thought about doing fanservice with someone. Of course, I can't exactly pinpoint their first fanservice moment since I'm not a walking EXO encyclopedia anymore, but I can say with certainty that both of them felt like it worked as soon as they first tried it with the fans, and that's the reason why they kept doing it. Conveniently, they were both good friends, so all was good.

Until well, it wasn't.

At some point, Chanyeol's interactions with Baekhyun seemed too eager for Baekhyun himself. There are various moments where this is visible, such as this one:

Why are you grabbing my wrist out of nowhere young man........

Or...

That one pic where Jongdae, who was in front of them, looked so damn uncomfortable I can't even bring myself to google it

Of course, they had some over the top fanservice that did work out pretty well, such as this one, both of them imitating Jonghyun's and Taemin's Internet War stage, which seems a little scripted now that I look at it properly, with Baekhyun seemingly expecting Chanyeol to do whatever it is that he did on that day. (Can you imagine this: both of them backstage, watching Jonghyun's and Taemin's performance in silence, and one of them just blurts out "We should do that too!". What the fuck was going on)

By the way, if you have never seen the original Internet War performance, you can watch it here.

This is what they were imitating.

Tumblr won’t let me upload the gifs for this moment for some reason, so here and here.

You can't tell me Baekhyun wasn't expecting it already, lol.

Now, know what this moment reminds me of? ISAC. On their Internet War imitation moment, Baekhyun seemed fine, playful, even, agreeing. During ISAC, however, doing basically the same thing again (this time on a lighter way even; since they weren't, you know. Imitating a strong performance such as Internet War.), he appears reluctant. It's a bit painful to watch.

What changed? The ISAC event happened a few months after the SMTOWN concert where they did the Internet War thing, so what made things become so different?

If this has enough likes I’ll make a second part!

#i got tired halfway through writing and i decided i needed some motivation to finish this so i'm posting it the way it is lmao #chanbaek #baekyeol #park chanyeol #byun baekhyun #exo #kpop

[sanstropfremir]

the hotly anticipated kingdom episode 7 review is here!!

this episode was a lot less spectacle-y than the last one (the last episode with stages, i mean), and i think that was a good choice for all the groups on the whole to tone it down on the run up to the finale, because at the rate everyone was headed there would be no room to go any higher. i'm very glad that there was actually a collab stage and not just a song swap, especially because it gives a chance for the boys to work together and make friends when they otherwise arent going to be able to interact much. love love love to see them making friends and having fun doing these stages!

i'm not really sure why mnet didnt put the vocal stage this episode, because what on earth else are they going to put in the next episode with it??? i know it's a content stretch but still, it seems like a weird choice to me. anyways, there’s four stages for me to talk about this time and i'm going to try to not ramble out of control, but we’ll see. i did enjoy watching all of these, but we’ve all got favourites and i'm going to rank by which group i liked better out of the two for each stage, and then i put a few conclusions at the end. strap in folks this is another long one.

rap stages

skz + btob + atz

i was actually really surprised at how much i liked this stage. i would not classify myself as a rap fan and believe it or not i actually do not place a lot of importance on lyrics when enjoying music. although i have very high lyric retention and comprehension, i focus more on the sound than the literal words, so a fair amount of rap is swing-and-a-miss in my personal listening. plus when you add a language barrier on top of that, a lot of the nuance and technical skill of it just flies over my head. so i really dont have much to say about the sonic elements this time around, sorry. also.....i know i joked that nobody from the kingdom staff is reading my reviews.....but is someone from the kingdom staff reading my reviews????? i specifically mentioned that i think skz should do an art themed stage and then we got one????? i know i manifested the punk ateez stage but did i manifest this also??? am i just that powerful???

costume

obviously these are pretty basic rap/hiphop stage looks, but the white was a really good choice for visibility’s sake, and also thematically: it reflects the colours in the lighting really well.

i am DYING to know who the designer of minhyuks jacket is. if somebody knows please tell me i love it so much. it looks like some of the recent belted jackets that dior was putting out, but the drawing on the front armscythe piece reminds me of the superm/kim junggi collab for tiger inside. say whatever you want about superm, but you cannot deny that that is not some of the coolest merch on the kpop scene.

loved the traditional korean elements that came through in addition to the western references: the screens, hongjoong’s fan, minhyuk’s big fuckoff brush, the masks, and the sleeves on the dancers at minhyuk’s bit. those are a costume feature from a style of korean traditional masked dance called bongsan talchum. the masks themselves are versions of hahoetal masks, which are used in a very specific archetypal ritual dance in andong. i think these are imae masks, who is the servant/fool archetype that mocks the nobleman and the scholar. i suspect that was a deliberate choice, but i can only speculate.

another point about the masks which is not relevant but maybe a fun fact for people who don’t know. i actually thought at first that they were western theatre half masks, which are a very old style of mask that, like with hahoetal masks, represent a number of archetypes/stock characters. maskwork is a very common training practice in theatre schools, because it teaches body language and control, because half your face is covered and you cannot speak in your own voice (sometimes you cannot speak at all, this is one of the rules of full mask). the tradition of usings masks to portray emotion goes all the way back to the ancient greek chorus, but more commonly people in the west sometimes know it from the italian commedia dell’arte, of which you will have definitely seen some of the character archetypes before. i just find it neat that the same types of art pop up in different places seemingly independently of each other. humans are cool.

set

not much to say here, it's pretty bare with just some propwork. thought the screen use was fun and they used it smartly in a couple of transitions. 

thought changbin’s bit of ‘interrupting’ the artists was cute and fun. there’s obviously a picasso reference there, and the four technicolour paintings are a reference to andy warhol’s pop art silkscreen portraits, most famously of marilyn monroe, but he also did many other celebrities in the 70s and 80s.

lighting

i LOVED this lighting. super bright and fun, lots of use of colour, obviously. the projections were there to enhance the visuals and weren’t distracting in any way. i thought the transition to black and white/ink with minhyuk was smart and had good contrast, it gave a strong rhythm to build back up to for the climax.

sound

bang chan’s ‘spelling colour with a u’ bit had me SCREAMING with laughter. we spell colour with a u normally bang chan, the americans are the ones that are wrong. 

staging

i don’t really have a whole lot to say here, it was pretty straightforward and fun. like i’ve said in previous reviews, i wish they were more conscious of the steadicam direction and would stop showing extended bits of the production crew. at least everyone was wearing full blacks this time.

fun use of the upward angle combined with the groundwork/leg choreo during hongjoong’s verse, that was a highlight for me.

sf9 + tbz + ikon

nothing against this stage, the other one just hit harder for me. bobby is the best rapper on the show and he really carried this stage with his charisma. he’s a fun performer to watch and he knows how to command a space. i'm sure there’s technical notes that people have about the raps themselves, but i'm here looking at visuals as a priority, which i'm sure you’ve all grasped at this point.

costume

these were clearly extensions of these idol’s personal styles, with is a perfectly fine choice, especially for a rap stage where the emphasis is more on authorship. LOVED bobby’s 11yro girl at recess look.

amusing that both rap stages involved paint in some way? loved the backup dancers shooting supersoakers filled with paint at them, but i wish i knew the reason for it? i'm glad i saw this stage first because i would have been underwhelmed by the paint throwing if i had seen this after rainbow bonanza.

set

almost no set at all here, just a few props. i'm not judging as harshly on lack of set this round because these stages are meant to be more about skill than anything else. 

lighting

i loved the projections, i thought they were unobtrusive and i admit, i LOVE outer space themed anything.

i liked that they did more concert lighting and had no projections in the first half to put more focus on the performers, it really highlighted the fact that this stage was about them, and not about anything extraneous.

sound

it was indeed a song.

staging

i do wish there had been a bit more control of the space, because it did look very empty at some parts and they could have staved that off by keeping tighter camera shots. this stage is so fucking big, holy shit.

they really brought their onstage chemistry and they looked like they were having a blast, which FINALLY!! 

i actually really liked hwiyoung’s opening, i think there was a lot of potential there for some sharp contrast work that i wish had been played through a little more, especially with the cool white light overtop the black costumes. it actually reminded me a bit of the intro in the music video from a rapper i do actually listen to, bewhy’s gottasadae.

glad to see some more use of camera effects with the black and white, but why did they do it over the paint throwing? it just made the trajectory of the paint invisible because there was no colour contrast.

performance stages

sf9 + tbz + ikon

ok obviously im gonna have a lot more to say about the performance stages, nobody is surprised there. this one was the better constructed of the two and my personal pick for better stage, but i actually liked watching the both of them equally.

costume

king shit, literally. we love contemporary hanbok in this house. there was good colour and style distinction between the three of them without clashing. 

costume change was fun and neatly blocked, it's pretty common to see backup dancers and chorus hiding quickchanges but i liked how this was a more unusual formation.

taeyang rocking the organza skirt and the big purple eyeshadow, thank you for keeping it cunty as always.

i really liked juyeon’s underlayer look. finally we get a good tbz costume look thats thematically relevant!

set

like all the stages this round, pretty minimal. the setting was almost entirely established through the costumes and the projections, which is some really good designwork. it's pretty much just the litters (the lifted chairs they entered on), and some smaller props. they managed to not make the stage feel empty because there was a lot of projection visuals to compensate, which is difficult to do without being overbearing, but i think they mostly pulled it off.

i originally thought it was gonna be weird to try and mesh the traditional korean architectural aesthetic with the weird mnet deco, but i ended up not noticing it as much as i thought i would.

lighting

like i just said, projections very well done and do a fantastic job of conveying setting without being overly distracting. like with the atz/skz/btob rap stage there’s a really broad range of colour use here that they offset by brightening and properly fill lighting the faces so you can actually see what’s happening.

the use of the strobing lasers and more concert style lighting fit really well with the change in the music from traditional instrument sounds to electronica and the more hiphop/isolated movements.

sound

i liked it well enough! i think it had a good arc that we can see echoed through the rest of the piece, like previously stated in the lighting and movement style. 

staging

like i mentioned with the quickchange, there was some really interesting formations using the backup dancers here, especially as a lead toward/away from the camera

having the three of them enter on litters; again, literal king shit, love to see it.

this has a pretty clear narrative that doesnt really need an external explanation, which is good. i have to assume that the burning of the paper with 妃 (concubine) is intended to be a gesture of ‘burning’ the love out of their hearts, but that was the only thing i'm still confused on. this may very well turn out to be a reference to a specific story that i just have no idea what it is, but we’ll see once the subs are out!

i loved juyeons solo bit with the alcohol drinking and the table flip, that was the choreographic highlight for me. i just really wish he would use the other muscles in his face more often. we know youre pretty, you dont have to blue steel your way through all your performances!! take a page out of donghyuk’s book and make some ugly faces, it's good for you!!

i though taeyang’s swordwork was fine, but since i do actually have a decade of sword training i'm very judgemental. it's not bad, he obviously has practiced with the weapon and he knows how to control it, but he doesn’t have the same understanding as someone who has trained with a sword as a weapon and not just as a prop. if we hadn’t seen another stage with swordwork in it i probably wouldn’t have brought this up (that's a lie, i still would have brought it up, i have a third dan), but you can really see the difference between how minhyuk moves with his sword and how taeyang moves. a lot of this has to do with the proper weighting of the blade, which i mention briefly in my second episode review in btob’s section (and also this ask here, where i talk about properly weighted weapons in relation to the gun choreo in sf9’s and ateez’s previous stages); minhyuk is likely using a ‘real’ sword (it’s blunted but still made using proper methods and materials), and taeyang is using a cheaper-made replica (unless you’re doing full contact striking a LOT there’s no way a properly made blade breaks like that. also you would never tape it together hello??? respect the blade). if you know what you’re looking for, you can tell from the movements themselves when someone has training. minhyuk did a load of real training for a film where he was a swordsman, and you can tell; the sword is an extension of his arm, all the movements lead with the tip of the blade first, because that’s your first, your fastest, and your most dangerous point. you do 90% of your cutting with the first eight inches of blade, but it takes a lot of specific training to get your hands and arms to a place where that kind of movement is possible. taeyang’s movements are driven from his hands, which is unsurprising, because that’s where he’s used to his extensions stopping. the tip follows rather than leads. wow this got insanely sidetracked i hope you liked this crash course on swordwork.

this is pretty much what i expected to see from this unit. these three groups all have standout soloists, so i wasn’t surprised to see these three boys as the picks. juyeon and taeyang especially, theyre both from groups that are more likely to do experimental stages and choreography that highlights them as soloists and skilled dancers.

skz + btob + atz

this was a letdown from ateez’s last two stages, because they knocked those out of the park, but it's only fair that they have a bit of a fall. that being said, i did really enjoy watching this for its sheer ridiculousness; i’m forgiving the wolf concept this time because well, it’s wolf. you can't cover wolf and not do a wolf concept, that’s against the law. also, like i’ve said before, i'm all for dark concepts IF you give them thematic weight. is it on the nose? yes. is it thematically relevant? also yes. is it dumb? also also yes, but that’s never stopped a single kpop group in the history of ever.

costume

friendship restored with ateez stylists, rivalry started with skz stylists. the fur shoulder fluffs??? stupid and i love them. perfect in every way. however i keep seeing the same fucking costumes on the skz boys and i will come directly for the stylists at jype if they dont get their shit together. be! more! creative!!!

i really really wish they had gone more 2013 kpop with it, we need more of that ugly ridiculous styling. peniel was actually pretty close, with the overly long tunic and those yellow lenses. very vixx on and on (yes i know they were vampires from outer space, let me live)

i actually thought the wolf gloves were fun? the small bits of uv paint actually worked instead of looking out of place, and i'm glad they put them on wooyoung because the uglier an outfit, the better he pulls it off. 

set

same dice, just the long table and the camo net at the beginning, which i thought was unnecessary. the table was useful for levels though, so happy to see they utilized that.

lighting

there is so much happening all the time. lots of lasers. it's definitely aiming for camp territory, and i dont actually hate it as much as i did on my first watch. it actually wasn’t as dark as i thought either, because its mostly lit with blue and amber. but it doesn’t really have that great of an arc and its not really that good on the whole.

the projections are a bit much for me, but that’s only when i'm actually looking at them. true to form, i didn’t even notice the excess of red slashes until like my fourth rewatch because i was too busy watching the performers.

sound

rookie exo my beloved. the original wolf goes so hard for absolutely no reason, so i’m not knocking this stage for being ridiculous. in fact it should have been more ridiculous. i think they did a fine job updating the song for a.....less 2013 sound. 

i like that they didn’t bother to live sing the stage even though they recorded vocals for it, it gave them all a chance to actually focus on just the dance.

that being said, i am kind of missing all the adlibs from the original. but even though there’s some strong vocalists in this unit, they aren’t made of the same stuff as baekhyun, luhan, chen, AND d.o.

i literally just realized that peniel had already debuted when this song came out AND is technically exo’s senior because btob debuted like two weeks before exo officially did.....oh no

staging

choreographically this feels a lot more like the skz stages that we’ve seen rather than the ateez ones, so i'm curious as to who the choreographer was. 

the tricking was definitely more ridiculous in this one, but i can't really say any of it was there for no reason because it all had elements of fighting in it. the scale of the tricks was quite large though and not very well blended with the rest of the choreo, which ending up making them look awkward. i thought it was a nice detail that they shone a green toplight on the dancers that made up the cliff wooyoung climbed up so that it looked like there was grass on it. cute.

the blocking is lacking a lot of fluidity, and i think that’s partially the scale of the tricking and also the editing, because this editing is TERRIBLE. there’s so much cutting, why is there so much cutting!! haven’t we already learned that longtakes are the best for this???

there’s a lot of stuff here that had good potential but could have been pushed a little farther. i feel like i say this for every mediocre stage, but what can i say, i'm good at constructive criticism. 

they should have given more showcase to the tree and the scratching arms; it's the most iconic move!! i also wish they had kept some kind of iteration of the different unit ‘leaping’ in over the exiting one, i always thought that part of the original choreo was really fun and did a lot for establishing them as wolves. 

i LOVED peniel entering with all those backup dancers in chains, thats some fucking iconic shit. very ‘im the alpha wolf,’ which is valid because he’s like at LEAST five years older than everyone else on the stage. i wish that instead of being the backup dancers it was the actual members, because THAT would have been an image. theyre all wearing harnesses and collars anyways, just clip em in! he’d be like one of those dogwalkers!

me last week: specifically talking about how krump is an uncommon style in kpop and it's very hard to get right kingdom, throwing the manifesting dodgeball at me for the third time: here would you like a KRUMP SOLO?

if you didnt believe me before that krump is hard to get right, i sure hope you do now. peniel did fine, but you can see how easily you can veer off into looking ridiculous.

some conclusions

i mentioned this really briefly in an ask i got earlier today, but i do think it's important to establish that the two performance units are doing two different types of performances. i can understand why people are underwhelmed by the atz/skz/btob stage and wanted it to be less of a traditional kpop dance stage and more like the experimental stages we’ve been seeing for the last few weeks. and i agree! i think they could have done more with it. but i also think that this kind of stage was a good choice for this particular subunit. unlike with the sf9/tbz/ikon unit, there are not really any standout technical soloists in ateez or skz. ateez has, in my opinion, the highest ratio of dancers with actual stage presence of any of the 4th gen groups ive seen. they’re at a solid 75% for any given performance, and occasionally they can bump that higher depending on the stage. that high of a stat is rare. it's extremely rare for a group to have all its members have good stage presence (i can think of like, maybe two or three?), and to get over 50% is pretty damn impressive. but ateez’s strength isn’t in how good they individually are as dancers, but it's in how well they work together. there’s a reason why they put FIVE of them in the performance unit. one of the first things i said about ateez to hanya is ‘i love wooyoung but he doesn’t stand out when he's not centre.’ which is for good reason!! he’s not supposed to! they all willingly give up centre and take it back when they need to, because they have that charisma. there’s a very cohesive push and pull to watching ateez that speaks to their strengths as performers. dancing in a group where you are all meant to be equal is a very different skill than just being a talented soloist. you have to understand what to prioritize in a different way. taemin dances differently with shinee that he does in his solo career, especially since they’ve been back. he understands when to step back; more often than not i find key to be the standout dancer in shinee choreo.

this is a very long winded way of saying that wolf was a good choice for them even though the stage didn’t turn out as well as it could have. also the fact that they made a cohesive performance at all, with a week of rehearsal and while working with essentially strangers is a feat and speaks to all of their skill at their job. performing in a group is a huge part of kpop, and they did call this the performance stage, and not the dance stage.

i'm not entirely sure on what the breakdown is on why each of the subunits were formed. i know the team sizes are extremely uneven, with sf9/tbz/ikon clocking in at 26 people and atz/skz/btob clocking in at 17 (i'm not counting changsub because he's not there and probably has a scheduling conflict), which is like, a whole extra group of difference. but atz/skz/btob utilizing their whole groups for each of the units (5/3/1 for performance, 1/3/1 for rap, and 1/1/1 for vocal, for 7/7/3 total), verses sf9/tbz/ikon only bringing out six people for these two stages and then six for the vocal stage is......weird? that's over half of their group number that’s not performing. i do think the groups brought out their standout performers and made smart choices with the stages but the balance still strikes me as odd. i do wish tbz had actually done some group choreo because they are very strong group performers and it would have been fun to watch.

ateez really played the long game here, good job boys. teaming up with the group who gets the highest fan votes AND the group with the strongest technical skills? i see you.

i think this is probably too wild of an assumption and is only based on circumstantial evidence but.....i think hongjoong might actually have a lot more creative sway than i previously thought. all the stages he’s been a part of have been very well designed, and i know he provided suggestions for the two ateez stages prior to this... i’m probably thinking too much. 

ok you know what i know there were some other points in my brain somewhere but this is already 4000 words so i’m going to stop. if i remember anything else its probably gonna end up in the answer to some of the asks i’m inevitably going to get because i think my opinions on these ones are a little bit more controversial, whoops!

not entirely sure if ill do an extensive review for next week’s stage, because i'm not really a ballad fan and i dont really do vocal reviews, but i could do a quick one. i guess it also depends on what else they put in the episode. we’ll see!!

#kingdom #kingdom review #ateez #btob #stray kids #the boyz #sf9 #kpop analysis #if you read this i hope you like fun facts about theatre and swords! #despite having never seen me hanya managed to clock that hongjoong and i are extremely similar #so that might be why ive jumped to this nonsensical conclusion #also tbh i do have an opinion on why the unit breakdowns are like that but its mean so i will keep it to myself #ok im done now #i patiently await my asks #text #lol forgot to tag #ikon

[mellowmoonballoon]

P2 of the Primer - Minho!

Fandom primer for fandom feels.

So, Minho, dance leader!

Minho (Lee Know, Lino...) is the Stray Kids’ Marilla Cuthbert. Very controlled with showing his feelings. Wants to feed everyone. Hard working and practical. Dresses like an old woman who is constantly freezing.

His lack of desire to embarrass himself on screen is very relatable to all anxious perfectionist introverts. He often gets confused for shy or cold because of this, when he will just not do silly things in front of the camera if he’s not sure of the result. His terrible art? He knows it’s terrible and that’s acceptable. His amazing dancing? He knows it’s amazing and that’s acceptable. Things he’s not sure about which include being vulnerable in front of strangers? NOT ACCEPTABLE. I respect that. So this “primer” will not perpetuate any “mean-ho” ideas thank you bye. (Felix calls him tsundere so if you see me use it, it’s not my fault.)

Anyway Minho is a dancer. That was his job before he joined SKZ (he toured with bts etc) and it was his primary role in SKZ for a while. When he first joined he wasn’t a good singer or rapper, but he would have been ok if he wasn’t constantly shaking because he was convinced he’d get kicked out. Which is valid because he did get kicked out.

oh also - I will treat his and Felix’s story as if the elimination wasn’t a setup just because whatever else was going on, they thought it was real.

His singing voice wasn’t great so he was asked to rap instead. He had never done it but said he’d be willing to try. They were given... what? No time? To prepare for that change and famously, Changbin rapped backup for him and Han held his hand and timed the beat with it.

so i cried, and then he did get eliminated because he messed up the lyrics next time so i cried more and then he sent a final message and i FUCKING BAWLED.

To Han: “The time I failed, was it because you weren’t holding my hand?”

Changbin helped him a lot during practice for the second song and they both felt so bad for different reasons. Minho kept saying he was sorry that someone younger than him had to be helping him and that he was failing despite it. “If I had slept one hour less, would I have been able to do it better?” and Changbin with “What did I do for him, that I couldn’t teach him better?” Anyway this show was torture but I’m gonna go back to the good stuff now.

Minho got to come back and they were a band happily ever after. Before the elimination tho he helped the other members with their dance routines. So, shit i learned about kpop peripherally: most bands are made by formula like “2 members rap, 2 members dance, 2 members sing” or something like that. Minho could dance and Changbin could rap and Seungmin could sing and the goal is rarely to get everyone to be great at everything. And Minho was like “nah.” And he made it his goal to make everyone as good a dancer as possible. So while others were helping him with singing and rapping, he was helping them with dancing.

For me a very important scene in the show was when Bang Chan kinda lost it at IN’s lack of ability to dance and he had everyone stand aside and kept telling IN to try again and Minho gave Bang Chan side-eye and went over to IN to teach him how to do it better.

baby bread’s defeated baby face :(

and Minho’s face just saying “you’re not helping” as he walked over in clear defiance of any hierarchy.

So Minho’s whole approach to the group was “I will help everyone be better at dancing”. According to Chan he picked Minho with the idea that Minho would be in charge of dancing. Which is a big fucking deal. For Bang Chan personally and band as a whole.

Changbin asking this question, who else. Chan was like “that phrasing doe?” But eventually:

(Changbin is listening but also not giving a shit, he’s just waiting for Chan to be done so he can ask what his role is and be told he’s the visual, Minho feeds him so fucking well.)

In group dances Minho tends to not stick out. In fact, Minho would really like it if no one stuck out. His goal is to have them all as synchronized as possible and he’s really good at it.

His solos fucking murder us every time tho :(

m... where was i.

Oh yeah. He’s very good at his job. He has also gotten SO MUCH better at singing. I don’t think he gets enough credit for how fucking hard he must have worked on that on top of everything else they do. I know the color of his voice doesn’t pop out like Seungmin or IN’s, but he can hold his own now. (His parts in Slump and Neverending story for example. Slump in particular because apparently Han wrote that whole ass song to fit HIS high notes and everyone just went “I guess” and then Han said “but I’ll only rap in it”.)

But enough about how much I respect him as an artist. Let’s talk about how if he is your favorite in the band, there’s a 99% chance your kink is being spit on followed by a good aftercare. Look I don’t make the rules. Just accept it like Hyunjin has.

Did he tickle him after that? Who knows. Not Hyunjin.

but he feeds him well so it’s all good.

In fact, other than making everyone dance well, Minho’s second mission in life is to make sure everyone is well fed. (He is definitely that grandmother who will tell you you’ve gained weight and then get upset when you don’t eat everything she made for you.)

Life is too short for a full compilation of Minho feeding people so here’s a little vid and a few pics.

How is this post still fucking going? How do I have so many thoughts on this one man wtf? Anyway just a quick note about his ex husband.

Back in the olden days Minho made lunch and wrote a lovely thank you letter to Seungmin and things were great. Now they jokingly call each other the divorced couple and even though they are roommates they both claim they can’t be roommates. I have a theory that could be way off but I will type it up here anyway. My theory hearkens back to the first paragraph which is that Minho doesn’t like doing things in front of the camera when he’s not sure how it’s gonna end up. And I think Seungmin for his own reasons isn’t very expressive either. And maybe sometimes on camera he didn’t react like Minho needed him to. And it ended in Minho adjusting his on camera attitude. Again, I could be way off, but the way I see it, there is safety in teasing. The same way he’ll show off his giraffe picture and be like “isn’t it beautiful” when he clearly has functional eyes, he can show his friendship with Seungmin and say “lol isn’t it horrible” and he gets the expected feedback and it’s fine. It’s better than being seen as overly needy or reaching out and not getting what you want. And tbh I think he and Seungmin pingpong this at each other and this is why every tsundere needs a Felix or Han to hug them despite the shit that’s coming out of their mouth.

But Seungmin can still recognize him by his tiddies so clearly they’re fine off camera.

As far as fan stuff goes, Minho has a regular live where he eats delicious food and talks to fans. Sometimes fans are really shitty and he plays it off but he is human and y’all need to get your shit together. But since all his fans are subs it all works out in the end. (Go on, tell me he’s your bias and you’re not a sub, I won’t believe you.)

I’m going to end this now and sneak edit when I remember other shit like I just did with BC.

Oh PS: I am not getting into Minho and Han now. Maybe ... MAYBE by the time I’m on Jisung’s profile I’ll be emotionally ready for that.

Wait did I do a whole fucking primer on Minho without mentioning his cats? Shit I’m gonna get arrested. He has 3 cats, adopted or found. He also does a shitload of charity stuff, a lot of it animal related. Ok ok ok there.

Bang Chan - Minho - Changbin - Hyunjin - Han - Felix and Felix2 - Seungmin - Jeongin

[ssound]

Music In My Life (#4)

It's July 27, 2018, and I haven't made a post in so long! So much has happened, but currently that is all that I want to get off my chest.

MIML is a music blog series by me (Sunshine) and my ongoing opinions and what's going on in my head with music. This issue of the series, I’ll touch on Odd Future, A$AP Mobb, and various Canadian artists from Toronto and Vancouver, as well as many others in the game. You'll see that I talk about these artists and also mention my very own opinions. I hope you enjoy reading reading this and please check out all the artists I mention because they're all so amazing and most of the time underrated.

ODD FUTURE

As I briefly mentioned before, I've been listening to Odd Future since they broke up, not the official break up but while before they did. Since then, I've played close attention to Tyler, the Creator, Hodgy Beats, Frank Ocean, and then also have grown to like Syd, tha Kid. I want to make a little update of these four and a little bit more.

TYLER, THE CREATOR

Potato Salad? Yes.

Okay, so since I've listened to Tyler, Answer has always been my favorite song. Answer showed the side of Tyler's true potential. Honestly, only during certain moods and times I was able to listen to his old music. I watched interviews and that's what made me a real fan; who he is, what he can do, and his message. You could tell from even way before that Tyler loved music, he loved sound. His knowledge and the way he described sounds clearly shows how much of a music genius he is.

Only recently, from the album FLOWERBOY, this album was able to make it into the mainstream I would say. Through his posts, updates on his life, you can also see how much you see him and A$AP Rocky have been together. I personally love  A$AP Rocky, (hence why he also has a little segment on today's post). Anyways, their duo is truly amazing because I believe they're both so passionate about their work and genuine about it. In the scene, it's hard to tell if people would rather consider it work or passion, but I think that it's ideal that you can find a way to make money whilst doing what you love. I just took in, that it's one of the things that I've learned from Tyler when I was younger; something I actually apply in my own life and philosophy.

I'm really happy that more people can enjoy Tyler's work because since I was younger I knew if he rapped about "more relatable" or "real" things, it would be over. I think that he changed the rap game musically in production and versatility.

A$AP ROCKY

Crafty is how I would explain him. In his work you can see how much he puts into his craft. His sound, his visuals, you can see that there was a lot put into the planning. I've started to listen to him more out of my own curiosity because I would say that he's a storyteller and a visionary with the way he carries himself. He has style for sure, as he's also into fashion. He seems like the type of person to know what he's doing. His flow and delivery is smooth and it all just goes together when he tops it up with visuals. (Added: Praise the Lord (Da Shine) with Skepta & A$AP Forever (ft. Moby) are such good videos, and as a person in the field, I have much respect for the people behind them)

A lot of rappers are starting to name their music videos as visuals when in reality their videos have no story and is just a generic music video of them rapping in front of a camera- like there's no background plot or anything. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but I feel like when you say it's a visual, at least for me, I'm expecting something like out of a movie.

JAZZ CARTIER

Literally just started to listen to his name album Fleurever and the minute I heard that little thing (listen to it to find out) right before he started rapping on the first song, maaaaan, I knew it was going to be beautiful. Listening to this song twice right now. This first song is actually so beautiful. That thing that happens right before he raps, I've always wanted to record a whole ride and feature it into my music (if I ever dip into it).

When he posted the album cover, I was so into it. I love that whole cover.  never really listened to Jazz Cartier heavily but I thought about artists from Toronto who I should start to get into. So far, the second song, SECURITY, is also so wonderful. I love the background chords.

Something I noticed about the majority of rappers from Toronto is the use of piano chords. His type is very different but a lot of the typical Toronto rappers have it heavily incorporated in their music.

I can also see him making a song with Chicago artist Saba.

JV$

Theme Song is truly a summertime song. I think that his sound is unique, something about it sounds different than what you see featured. One thing I do want to point out are his little alibis(?) or whatever they're called and I think they somehow captivate the flow.  He's not your typical Toronto rapper in my opinion.

The production in his music and videos are very well done, professional, and it shows how far he's going to go. I believe in the future, comparing Theme Song and Sidebag that he's going to grow and become a versatile artist.

(Here's the link to: Theme Song)

DENZEL CURRY

I started to get into him recently because of this whole story haha. Me and my friend I think are the only ones who really really listen to Xavier Wulf, and so Wulf used to be apart of Raider Klan, just like Denzel Curry. So we watch the video for ULT, anD MY, MY, MY. I was basically doing a commentary throughout the video. I remember saying something along the lines of "You know how these rappers are just in front of the camera posting up and pointing at the camera? This video is how it's supposed to be done. The way how the make the shot look full of people and show how much they look like a whole gang together, you know what I mean?". That video is honestly best described as legendary. I love the vibes and the whole feel. Later on, I listened to the lyrics and I was hooked as soon as he said "This is the wrath of Aquarius" because I'm also an Aquarius and I honestly have been doing more research because it's something I've always been curious about but never had the time to look into. Anyways, because of this, I got hooked and I'm glad that during the time I got hooked, I also got to look forward to his new album TA13OO.

One thing that really got my on board was the beginning of ULT. That piano captivated me into wanting to hear the rest of what the instrumental had to say. That's another little thing, as soon as I hear the beginning of the song, usually if I like it instantly I know that for a fact and it sticks. Listening to TA13OO right now and it sounds a little different from what I've heard from him so far. I rate it. SUMO l ZUMO bangs so hard. Related to Trippie Redd* to why I like it. Denzel Curry's flow? Holy!! This guy goes off. It reminds me of Xavier Wulf too. Both of them are able to switch up the flow flawlessly.

XXXTENTACION

Rest in peace.

Until now I still can't take in that he's gone. He still lives through his words and music. The following is the caption of the post I've made on my personal account. I just think that I should leave it here as well.

"I did a presentation about music and society for an isp last week . To conclude, especially in times where there's so much doing on, you become confused on how you should feel, music helps focus a feeling. Music brings humans together psychologically and physiologically, it's in our nature.

The passing of the late XXX, 'X', Jahseh D. Onfroy, has made a lot of controversial conversation throughout the media. Despite all the negative comments, many have come together in numbers, pulling all top 10 songs on Apple Music by XXXTentacion.

Respectfully, I don't condone wishing death on anybody because who am I to judge? I can only speak from what's based on factual information from a primary source I've inspected through myself.

A life was taken away, a life that made mistakes and that sinned just like everyone else, but it was also a life that had positive intentions and positive impact on others by creating coping methods to those who can relate in feeling.

At the end of the day, good or bad, opinions, perspectives and one's own take on somebody's life don't matter.

We should accept things as they are at a certain point because we can't change our fate, past, or legacy.

[I genuinely wish you rest in peace.]"

I'm speaking for myself when I say that it bothers me a lot that people forget how old he was. He was only 20 years old when he passed away. He had one interview when he was 19, and at this point in his life, he had a very large audience and had made a name for himself. He was honestly very successful in his amazing, but short-lived career. As Denzel Curry stated, X was a broken kid. If you know and remember his first interviews when he got out of prison, he never mentioned his age, but I do remember his story as well. That's when I also started to follow with him. I wanted to see where he would go, and I knew, (I have tweets from then) that he was going places because he was real with the media. I knew something was bound to come up, but he knew that of course. He believed in karma, he believed that he was going to grow, that he was going places. He knew himself well at a young age, I believe way before any of his fame came, he knew what was happening. I don't have an opinion on his previous cases because there's a lot of mishandled information, especially in the media.

TRIPPIE REDD

Can't lie, I underestimated him a lot. His feature on Fuck Love really put me on, but his other stuff is what made me really appreciate his music. His singing makes me feel how he feels, like how you feel inside and he's able to express it in his sound. Can’t wait for his debut album to come out.

YE ALI

He's a great artist and producer. Waiting on the soon-to-be-released Ye Ali and Chill.

CHE ECRU

Love his music. Waiting on his next project.

DRAKE

Honestly, Scorpion was good. His first songs on every album really set up the whole vibe. Starting with something great. I actually like how there's two sides to this album- it makes me think like I have the actual CD, old vibes. Btw, go back and listen to Fall For Your Type, major throwback.

AFTERTHEPARTY

I've started to listen to him for a few months now and I love the sound. I can only describe it as solid and fresh RnB. He’s a great artist, definitely on the come up if not already.

XAVIER WULF

East Memphis Maniac. My favourites off the album: 1. Chaos Castle (ft. SHWB) 2. Riding Shotgun in Japan (ft. KOHH) 3. Check It Out (Original and the remix).

His music has evolved, there's no denying that. What can I really say? There's a lot of people who have an opinion on how he's doing things now and we all know he doesn't care. I enjoy his old style, but I'm not saying he should go back to it. I respect when artists change because it means they're not in the same place any more- that they're not struggling with the problems they had before, that they're not stuck in their lives. The majority of the album is not my sound, maybe it'll grow on me eventually, but if not I can't say I didn't give it a try.

BONES

I like his softer wavy music. I've been getting into the whole screaming thing you know, I don't even know what's the proper name for that genre of rap(?). His verse on Chaos Castle though? Holy, they did an amazing job putting that song together.

SKEPTA

I’m going to take the time to listen to some of his tracks. Been getting a lot of features with different people, and by people I mean A$AP Rocky and Xavier Wulf. I would’ve never expected that.

A$AP MOB

Started listening to them. I love this collective, and how they present themselves.

Cozy Tapes, Vol. 1: Friends - Yamborghini High (ft. Juicy J), Way Hii (ft. A$AP Rocky, Wiz Jhalifa, BJ the Chicago Kid & Buddy), Young N***a Living (feat. A$AP Ferg, A$AP Ant & A$AP Twelvyy), Put That on My Set (feat. A$AP Rocky & Skepta).

CMDWN

Waiting on Atlanta 2.-- Nvm just checked and it's out-- oh, Pre-Release. I have to mention Atlanta, go (re-)listen to it... right now.

KILLY

He's really doing great. Had a tour in Europe. I'm glad to see him go off and do his thing. Surrender Your Soul!!

NAV

Few months back I saw him and 88GLAM live. It was super fun and I thought I was going to die because it was my first concert and the amount of space you have in non-existant. The album, NAV, is still top in my list. That and his older songs from his Soundcloud days.

As you can tell I love RnB, like the slower the song, the better for me. Don't get me wrong though, I do listen to hype tracks, but these ones are the ones I can listen to anytime of day.

-CLOSING-

It's been a long time that I haven't posted on this blog. Hopefully, this will be an ongoing consistent blog that others too can enjoy. I'll be making a mix or two in the next week and I'll also be posting updates on my own things going on. Apple Music and Soundcloud Go are totally worth it in my opinion. I think I'm going to have to buy an iPod or something that has like 1TB on it because my music literally lagged my phone to the point where my Photos app was crashing, so I'm going to have to work on that. There's much more I wanted to put into this post (even though it’s super long), and it's a super unedited and rough (draft(?)), but I wanted to put something out on this for my peace of mind.

As always, to whoever and whenever you are reading this post, thanks for reading music in my life. -Sunshine

Side note: I hope everyone is staying safe this summer, a lot has happened and especially those in Toronto, please be careful.

#ODD FUTURE #Tyler The Creator #asap rocky #asap mob #jazz cartier #JV$ #DENZEL CURRY #XXXTENTACION #TRIPPIE REDD #YE ALI #CHE ECRU #DRAKE #AFTERTHEPARTY #XAVIER WULF #BONES #CMDWN #CA$TRO GUAPO #FIJI CMDWN #FIJI #KILLY #NAV #SKEPTA #MUSIC BLOG #2018 #MUSIC IN MY LIFE #TORONTO #CANADA #MIML #ssound

[questionthebox]

A Catholic,

You wanna find mediocrity Look no further To whatever has been the most popular, I'm not a listener No Haven't been But when I do I hear kitschy Youthful nonsense As what were they taught But a self parody Left to it's own devices Well everyone can be Distilled black Even blacks Who for some reason Always have other women In their "visuals" Ain't it funny That way It's what I told my best friend I was like You ever notice that But where's their Seafood City Anyone ever been there ? My best friends Filipino So many days With his mother Have we canvassed that whole spot I can hear her voice Saying Cerritos, I can envision her walking in on us Watching Spartacus The show that used to air on Starz Specifically the orgy scene How she was all like "Oy SuSu" hahahaha How we all busted up laughing Fuck hahahaha Oh shit where was I going with this Gosh You know my mom's brother My uncle he's black Did you know this Charlatan tried to do his damndest To make me into a rapper Hahaha I don't even have the voice for that But leave it to a black Because in their Perpetually childish heads Entertainment is the way forward Their people are the lowest In practically every category And all they can think about Is How he said "You need corporations" But what am I really getting at and It confuses Elly But you gotta understand Me Chief of all You gotta spend time with me To know I'm super logical I take things as they are As I told my sister The sky is blue Our dad's 52 years old And our dog is a girl There's nothing else to it, But I'm not ashamed I'm just wondering Why they have absolutely nothing Why they're the only race That seemingly has Uncle Tom's, See this goes into what my cousin Cynthia and I discussed in her house She asked which side do I most Identify with, And I told her the truth Well for one I never saw it in those terms Second I'm never going to choose a side That has no wealth, That can't offer me a country To rest in Away from this country, Sorry but not sorry In death I hope this prevents any of my Artistic works From being analyzed by Some Panel in Berkeley Jesus can you get any more fake Seriously I hope those types Never find their way to me, As in life I've never known them Never met them One can struggle But where are they I've never seen them Not a damn one, Going back to identity Well for one Read through this And tell me you don't feel Violence, a sense of anger, Yes Read it again Identity Well with these eyes I've seen a myriad of cunt I've tasted alot of good with this mouth And walked through Belmont Shore With these feet To only laugh Three times more, Given a dress, Here's the silver lining This older girl If I was 20 She had to be at least 3 or 4 years older, She dug me, She staked her claim Set up shop Asked my best friend about me So ask her about my identity Because whatever it is She felt comfortable, compelled by So I'd say I'm definitely my parents kid Then I'm the memories of Pre birth, Then I'm everything that I've Experienced, witnessed, But I don't belong to how Elly clearly belongs to her town, She's just her town straight up I don't belong to anything That frankly isn't natural to me, What's natural to me is What I've shown So encounter me to know,

#poets on tumblr #poetry #poem #prose riot #prose poetry