#but the mv and pre chorus is TOP TIER

[luvistqrzzz]

Le sserafim never disappoint

#🎤.rim is speaking #tho the chorus kinda sounds weird like itd grow on me ig #but the mv and pre chorus is TOP TIER

[innocent-diamond-2090110]

"Such perfect pair // We share the same soul // Three to get ready // So let's shoot and go"

I don't even know where to start when describing aespa's "Armageddon". The song itself reminds me of "Next Level", but the amount of action + visuals is a combination of "Black Mamba", "Next Level", "Girls", & "Drama". I still can't quite figure out who the new enemy is (if there is one), but people were talking about aliens in the MV, so we probably won't know unless aespa &/or CAWMAN release more special clips. Now, to get my thoughts together...

All the wordplay between "Armageddon", "I'ma get it done", "I'ma get 'em" is extremely well done & maintains the underlying meaning.

My love for police procedural dramas made me think that Ningning's bathroom blood splatter was cool. ^-^"

Winter's strawberry blonde double braids made me think of Sailor Moon.

All the intricate hand movements during the (pre)chorus are so mesmerizing (e.g. palms pressed together, raising right hand, hand dance over right eye/forehead... I could go on).

Giselle gets a split screen during her line in the 2nd verse! Her lines in Korean sound almost like one-two-three-four ("WAN-byeokhan Pair // neon TTOK-kateun Soul // THREE to get ready // URIN Shoot and go" — the last one is a stretch >_<").

The CG & fantasy outfits are top-tier! I'm still trying to figure out who the enemy is... the girls' own alter egos?!

The "aw wayo wayo" & "go way up way up" lines throughout the song & especially in the OUTRO sound like battle cries... aespa is declaring war against haters!

And I don't even know where to start with the B-sides because there so many good ones that I like (I'm not going to rank "Supernova" because I already talked about it during the pre-release). Sorry to the other B-sides!

"Set The Tone": This song is super powerful & sounds a lot like "Girls"! The girls should perform this at least once during their promo period.

"Mine": This is a much darker & more serious version of "Illusion (Will o the Wisp)" (which I didn't like). All the deep/low tones & whispers are mesmerizing. (also made me think of HyunA's "Party, Feel, Love")

"Licorice": Now that I've heard the full version, I definitely think it sounds like a peppier version of "Salty & Sweet".

"Long Chat (#♥)": This song finally grew onto me! It's definitely f(x) coded & made me think of "Ending Page" again.

I made another cool GIF of the face-changing sequence!

Full album is here on YouTube Music!

#2024-05-27 #music releases #aespa #aespa armageddon #Youtube

[vitaminwaterreviews]

Moon Byul - Starlit of Muse

This was a very enlightening experience. First off, none of it was bad, but none of it was super great either. Every song was a 7 or an 8, which is the sign of a consistently decent album. Ultimately though, I think I learned that I just don’t care much for her solo singing voice? I think she’s an excellent rapper, and in the context of Mamamoo I adore her. But as a soloist, I’m just not sure. Average score of 7.4 which feels about right. I do wish I spoke Korean so I could get the lyrical content, so I imagine I’m missing quite a bit here.

- There’s an insane run that I’m in the middle of: Le Sserafim -> IU -> Moonbyul -> Twice -> Taeyong, all in the space of a bit over a week. That’s kpop though, it never stops. I watched the pre-release from this album, and I’ve only heard it the once.

Intro : WWUD

Lol that bass is squishy

Funky, mmm

Her voice is neat there

A proper hip hop song I guess

8/10

Think About

This is the pre-release

Still got that funk bass going on

I dunno if I buy her voice on the “i”s

Honestly I dunno if I buy her voice in the chorus either

It feels like, a bit too high? Or like it would be better if her voice was higher

Mmm, the ‘high note’ coming out of the bridge is nice

It’s more of a harmony than a high note and I appreciate that

7/10

TOUCHIN&MOVIN’

MV time

Bass

Lol wait what is this 80’s synth moment

She’s having fun

Horns moment

Why did she look like Solar right there

I don’t think I’m convinced by this either

Like, this style of song doesn’t totally fit her voice imo

Obligatory modulation I guess

The instrumentation is top tier though, disco vibes

And then she takes her headphones off, stands up, and … looks?

7/10

Like A Fool

Lofi vibes, this is neat

Kinda wish her voice was distorted more to fit it

I like her voice in this range a lot more

Oh my god the sax moment is exactly it lmao

8/10

Attention Seeker

And now we bring out the guitars

Yeah, I dunno, maybe I just don’t vibe with her singing voice in general?

I did quite enjoy the last song though

The random chip synth in the pop rock song though

It sounds very Radio Disney to me, but her voice just isn’t it imo

7/10

NOLTO

I dunno how I feel about this one. I just listened to the whole thing, I had no comments, but I’m not actually sure how to rate it

7/10

After Sunset

Dramatic

Oh is it a ballad?

I actually like her voice a lot more here

The little harmony moments are super nice

8/10

Timeline

Well this is a super cute vibe, with the guitar and the synth

Subtly latin, alright

Yeah, the empty chorus is really nice actually

Hmmm I dunno about that high note

Such a nice vibe though

8/10

Dark Romance

LAlALAlalalALALLalalaA lmao

Oh hey, a rap song

And yet for some reason her voice feels too soft for this song

Yeahhh and I dunno about the high lines either

This song really reminded me of something but I just couldn’t figure it out

7/10

GOLD

Bass

Lol this album has so much “Bass” on it

I love the “ohhh”s

This kinda reminds me of Feels Like Summer

I don’t know a lot of r&b with this type of vibe but that’s exactly the vibe I’m getting

OHH she’s not saying “ohhh” she’s saying “gold” lmao

8/10

Memories

Anime intro moment

Lmao no wait this is literally anime intro moment

My only knowledge of ONEWE is that they’re also under RBW and they have a brother group called ONEUS, because there’s a pair of brothers split between the two

Are they saying ‘10, 9’?

7/10

Without

Piano, nice and soft

Is it another ballad?

It is

This actually feels kind of IU to me

Oh now it’s kind of slow jammy with that drum kit

I also feel like I’d particularly appreciate these songs better if I knew Korean

Like, no doubt Moonbyul is a very capable lyricist, and I’m definitely missing that

7/10

#album #kpop #Moon Byul #Mamamoo

[peachjaem00]

here’s my review of glitch mode even though no one asked for one 

fire alarm: glitch mode this glitch mode that, arcade this arcade that, teddy bear this teddy bear that BUT WHERE IS THE HYPE FOR FIRE ALARM?!?! this song slaps and it deserves everything and tbh it should’ve been the title track... me thinks

glitch mode: it’s a good song but tbh listening to it after fire alarm was kind of underwhelming, maybe i’ll like it more with more listens and also i haven’t watched the mv, so maybe that’ll help. i really like the guitar tho, that was a nice touch. 

arcade: oh shit dude OH SHIT, okay i get the hype now lmaoo (i still like fire alarm more tho). jisung singing gives me life ngl, his voice is insane in this song. haechan’s adlibs are always top tier, and this is not an exception and the high note ughhh YES. 

it’s yours: nice intro tbh, very smooth and cute, i like the guitar a lot. very nostalgic vibes, reminds me a lot of the we young mini album, it has that nct dream feeling if that makes sense lmaooo. 

teddy bear: uuuu nice intro, is this the sexy song of the album? oh fuck yeah it is. i get the hype now lmaooo. jisung’s voice is driving me insane, he fits this type of songs soooo well. okay i’m obssesed bro this is sooo fucking good. 

replay: i like this, this is funky lmaoo, the oh oh part is everything. okay chorus i see you. loving the raps, everyone did an amazing job but the raps put the song into another level for me. dude its the way the songs titled replay that always hit different lmaooo. 

saturday drip: oh shit, so this is the other sexy song of the album. okay i like this a lot, the way they say saturday drip it’s so hot lmaooo. i am obssesed with the chorus bro it’s so fucking good. 

better than gold: okay i get a lot of 127 vibes from this intro, i’m not complaining tho. the pre-chorus is really good, that shit catchy, loving the way they say cash. amazing bridge bro, like holy fuck! 

drive: cute vibes, i dig it, also has a nostalgic feeling for me. the chorus is really cute bro i love it. renjun’s voice sounds amazing in this song, he suits this song very nicely. nice raps, very smooth, like they didnt seem forced. 

never goodbye: oh this has that dreamy vibe to it i really like it. dude okay this is really cute. JISUNG’S VOICE AAAAAAA. i really like the instrumentals? instrumental? it’s really soothing. no but jisung’s “it’s never goodbye” killed me and brought me back to life. dude nct dream really knows how to put raps into songs and they make it so smoothly i love it. 

rewind: okay groovy, i like it. yes jaemin YES, yes jisung YES, yes jeno YES, yes mark YES. the outro it’s so good. dude very nice song to wrap up the album. 

overall it was a very very fucking good album, all of the songs were different and unique in their own way but they fit together so well. album of the year? hell yeah

#nct #nct dream #glitch mode #lp talks

[bisexualhobi]

wait I think I agree not today is really bad but now rank all their title tracks from best to worst pls

lmaoohdksjjdjf i love this question so much anon but due to the fact that i’m me this would get way WAY too long. so i’m doing the top 5 best title tracks and then top 5 worst ones okay? i’m looking at google and apparently they have 26 korean singles so yeah that’s too much.

to rank them as objectively as possible I'm gonna try to take into account gp impact (which is not the same as chart impact since the fandom inflates those numbers), production, creative value (how innovative/different from other pop songs was it?) and the concept of the music video/aesthetic in general. 

BTS TITLE TRACKS: TOP 5

5. Black Swan (2020)

am I cheating by putting here a pre release single? maybe. but it would be a disservice to leave this one out so bear with me

⭐gp impact: this song made more noise as a pre release single than the title track. I saw it in at least 3 end of the year editorials for best kpop songs of 2020. and the thing is it could have been WAY bigger but a lot of stuff happened that sadly made it go away too soon. I don't think this one is as famous or recognizable as the others in this list which is why it's going last, but also I think this song is the most underrated gem in bts discography so it's still going here.

⭐production: this song beat out the front runners (I need u, save me, DNA) solely because of its production. there are not a lot of kpop songs out there that manage to pull off what this song does. it's powerful, it's nostalgic, it's a dark and sexy song without being too on the nose. the mixing is SUPERB I remember the first time I heard it I thought "this would blow the fuck up if it was a Travis Scott song" and I will DIE on that hill. this is an example of heavy autotune on a song done right, not like the rest of their super autotuned songs that sometimes come out unrecognizable and empty sounding.

⭐creative value: it's not truly a new concept in pop to make a song about the Death of the Artist. it’s also not something a rookie group can do, this song needed to be released at exactly the time in bts’ career that it was. there’s just no emotional impact if you just sing about how the music makes your hear beat and you’ve been in the industry for,,, 3 years. this is the type of Swan Song you release at the peak of your career, so that really contributes to the message. mixing a trap beat with a ballet motif is GALAXY BRAIN SHIT.

⭐️concept: the ballet influence is just beautifully executed, this song is a beautiful piece of craftsmanship on all fronts. i think they could literally build an entire ALBUM off this concept, so the fact that they jampacked it onto one single song is both amazing and a little sad for me. i wanna hear more of this. i want a literal Black Swan (the darren aranofsky movie) horror concept where the protagonist falls prey to his own madness because he strives for perfection. but yeah, the song itself and the orchestral version just make this a complete golden concept in my book.

4. IDOL (2018).

⭐️gp impact: i think a lot of people that didn’t know anything about kpop vaguely knew about this song when it was released. i know i wasn’t into kpop at all but in my pop culture circle there was a small bleep from this song bc of the concept and the dance. i think it’s a great “embassador of kpop” track, like if you wanna explain to someone with no previous knowledge what kpop is about you can show them a performance of this song.

⭐️production: the production is a little all over the place for me. the instrumentals are amazing and really creative tho, but like in terms of mixing vocals and the structure of it, it might be a little too grating. it’s not the best produced song in ly: answer by any means but it still makes it work

⭐️creative value: the whole hanbok thing is a 10/10. bts weren’t the first ones to do it, but they did it in such a tightly executed way that honestly that “classic korean roots meets the edgy western feel” concept belongs to them now. groups are still recreating it. it’s a really innovative concept in general.

⭐️concept: the music video is,,,, something. you might love it or hate it, but it’s memorable. i think the purposeful way in which they made it as loud and brilliant as possible can be taken either as a camp adjacent or just as the group going nuts with the budget, which props to them. the choreography is also a BIG plus. the south african influence is really well executed and they made sure to do it as cultural appreciation and not appropriation. definitely the most memorable thing from this song is the choreo

3. Run (2015).

⭐️gp impact: this was their second song to have a music show win. it was the lead single from hyyh pt2 and honestly it might be the best song off hyyh as a whole. it cemented bts as not just another kpop group, because it made non fans turn their heads too! from what i gather this really propelled them forward and made the fanbase grow a lot.

⭐️production: hyyh pt2 is super well produced. i feel like this song in particular makes a fine job of mixing the vocals but it’s not outstanding. the best part is the instrumentals. but overall it’s a really good song with amazing lyrics and a great melody.

⭐️creative value: this built off of what they did with pt1 so they were already in a comfortable place, when they found this sound they really explored it well and deep and it works! i’m glad they went this emo pop route because it was a good contrast to what was dominating the charts in kpop in 2015.

⭐️concept: the aesthetic is PERFECT. there’s not a single other thing that i could add or that i wanted gone. it’s the perfect mix of coming of age teen film and heartfelt, dreamy pop. the music video is by no surprises the favorite mv of a lot of the fandom. the cinematography is beautiful and the song and the video perfectly capture that fleeting moment in life when you’re in the brink of adulthood.

2. Mic Drop (2017).

⭐️gp impact: this song was the first bts song to chart on the billboard hot100. back when the fandom had no idea how to chart, mass buy etc. that’s enough said. (personally i think mic drop is the quintessential bts song and their best release so the fact that i’m not putting it first should count as something).

⭐️production: for the purposes of this ranking i’m using the original mic drop and not the steve aoki remix even tho it was the steve remix that was released as the single. the song has the BEST mastering i’ve heard in kpop. the transitions are flawless, the beat is pure fire, the entire first minute is literally the hardest hype rap i’ve heard in kpop. everything about it WORKS.

⭐️creative value: it’s kinda funny how this song got released the same year as kendrick lamar’s humble, because imho it’s the best hiphop song of that year after humble. 2017 was truly the year of the diss tracks. bonus points for including it right after the billboard acceptance speech skit in ly: answer. SUPER refreshing among the ed sheeran type of pop that dominated that year.

⭐️concept: it’s a great concept but not innovative by any means. still, it works and bts managed to exploit it to the max. the choreo, the mv, the styling, everything was amazing!

1. Blood, Sweat & Tears (2016).

⭐️gp impact: it's probably the first song to put bts on the map beyond the kpop sphere. it really set the tone for their 2017. it's one of their most famous and recognizable songs to date.

⭐️production: this song is STUNNINGLY arranged. the mix, the ambience, the progression,,, it's all brought together to make a very well crafted song. it has a distinctive electronic/pop sound to it that still manages to set itself apart from the trend that was going at the time. black swan is probably the closet single they have to this in terms of production.

⭐️creative value: the song itself is very in compliance with the 2015/2016 trend of hype songs with edm influence, (ie. closer, shape of you, cheap thrills, let me love you, something just like this, etc.) but it still packs that punch that makes it sound fresh even for 2021.

⭐️concept: it wasn't the first song to sound like this in kpop ofc but it was the first truly sexy concept for bts. the aesthetic is innovative and very well thought out, the mv is amazing and the choreography too. i read somewhere that j-hope had a lot of input for this choreo so that's amazing. also blond taehyung is literally the best thing to come out of big hit.

WORST BTS TITLE TRACKS

ok so here we go with the worst ones! this is in ascending order as i prepare myself to pick the worst of them all, but please remember this isn’t meant to be mean spirited, i am simply applying the same criteria to their most underwhelming songs but that doesn’t mean they don’t have their own merit! it’s just that out of 26 singles, SOME of them have got to come out at the bottom right?

5. Life Goes On (2020)

⭐gp impact: this song is not memorable with the general public, its #1 on the bb was the product of mass buying and even though it's a feel good song made to comfort fans in the times of pandemic it's still bland and boring. I think it had no music show appearances either, and as far as bts ballads go this is just bottom tier. it’s not that it’s terrible, it’s just very underwhelming 

⭐production: the autotune in this song is very poorly executed, it doesn't add to the song the way black swan does for example. it's just off putting and the melody is really forgettable. it's funny bc the chorus is directly pulled from the 2018 reggaeton super hit "La Canción" by J Balvin and Bad bunny lmaooo 💀 so I can't get that out of my head either. the structure is just fine and has nothing of substance 

⭐creative value: the song is attempts to be a heartfelt acoustic song but it really has nothing that sets it apart from other songs product of the pandemic like Justin and ariana's stuck with u. for a song in a self produced album it's the song with the least input from the group. the lyrics are good, but they're not as sincere or groundbreaking as for example Spring day. 

⭐concept: as a ballad ofc I'm not expecting it to have a grand choreography, and the mv being filmed in their personal dorms to reflect the lockdown is actually a nice touch but besides that there is nothing exciting, innovative or even sincerely comforting about the song and the concept. the greatest thing abt it is the fact that jk directed the video, which is actually pretty good.

4. We are bulletproof pt 2 (2013)

⭐gp impact: this song made no noise back in the day and to this day its just beloved by the fandom due to a sense of nostalgia and "remembering bts' roots". don't get me wrong it's amazing that bts still perform it in the year of our lord 2020 because you can't forget where you came from, but it's not a good or memorable song by any means. 

⭐production: I went back to listen to it for this and oh god. I can't remember the mixing being THIS bad. jimin, jin and taehyung sound exceptionally bad, they don't sound like themselves especially jin. it's just a really poorly mastered song, but then again the rest of their debut album isn't far better. 

⭐creative value: this is straight up ripping off early 2000s black culture from the US. not only the music, the styling for this era in general is unfortunately really bad and culturally appropriating and overall it's a mess. 

⭐concept: there is nothing of substance to be said about this song. it's just really a miss. the mv is terrible, the only thing that can be salvaged from this is the choreography, but besides that the whole thing feels sloppy, rushed and is also kinda cringey.

3. N.O. (2013)

⭐gp impact: no noise. this song was just a really weird pick for their first comeback when attack on bangtan or coffee was right there. not to be mean but no wonder they didn't have a music win this year. 

⭐production: it's an objectively bad song. it's just really underwhelming, the whole mixing feels amateur. it's not a good hiphop song and it's not a good vocal arrangement and the chorus is also a rip off of a late 90s American song I can't find right now 

⭐creative value: this song isn't innovative in any way, it's just..... there. very meh in general, I have nothing more to say about it 

⭐concept: the storyline kinda wants to go somewhere with the music video but it doesn't manage to make a connection. the styling is plain, simple and not flattering at all. it tries to make a protest of the Korean school system but it doesn't say anything beyond "school bad" which we already knew

2. Not Today (2017)

⭐gp impact: its a very middle of the list song for a lot of the fandom. I literally know of no one that claims this as their favorite mv/era/song. when you ask people about their least favorite bts songs they won't mention this one either, you know why? because it's that irrelevant. it had no music show wins either. it's precisely because of this why I put it so high up on the list. there's nothing worse than an unmemorable song, if it was widely hated then at least that would be a response. 

⭐production: it's a really mediocre song in terms of structure and melody. it tried to be hype but it falls short. the chorus feels half finished and the message of the song is just “the revolution has begun”? which okay? but it adds nothing to the You never walk alone album either.

⭐creative value: there is nothing exciting about this song, and the chorus is too grating. the rhythm is repetitive and nothing new either in kpop or pop in general. 

⭐concept: sadly there's not a lot to be said for the song. it says nothing of value and what it says falls flat. there's no innovation. you can actually see a lot of idol in this song, and also ON. those two songs are what this one tried to be but failed.

1. War of Hormone (2014)

⭐gp impact: thankfully none. this song got the treatment it deserved, if they had won a music show for this one it would feel tainted lol. now it's just a meme in the fandom but overall it made zero noise and contributed nothing to bts' evolution 

⭐production: the production is very lazy, which is odd because dark & wild has some pretty tight tracks. but this one is just meh, nothing outstanding and the melody is just annoying 

⭐creative value: this is a song that was probably born out of the desperation to have a gp friendly hit. it tries really hard to replicate an outdated idea of what boy bands should be, and it does it badly. simply put this song is very mediocre and misogynistic and the fact that it's a running gag in the fandom that "feminism isn't important when war of hormone comes on" isn't funny and it's actually cringe. please stop 

⭐concept: the styling is so ugly :( the mv is very low budget which isn't surprising but they managed to make more with less in past releases. it's just embarrassing and I wish this song didn't exist, there's a reason why they never play it anymore lol. overall a dark mistake in bts' career

#asks #long post// #song analysis #bts

[smolie]

in december i wrote a 2020 year music review for myself that i intended to post here BUT...because i was infamously restricted twice last year, i didn’t bother since you wouldn’t be able to read it anyway because it was not possible to view my blog hjfdhfd

now that my restricted era is (hopefully forever) over i just want to post it here for the sake of completion since i want to do the same thing this year

this is really long so if you actually read it ... idk you are insane in the membrane and i love you... but i genuinely don’t expect anyone to read this hjfdhjf i just like reflecting on the music i have listened to and be able to look back on what i enjoyed in certain stages of my life! okiiii bye 💗

january

mac miller - circles (album) it’s a bit funny that i worried putting my thoughts down about this album and now it turns out to be first on the list, chronologically of course … oh bittersweet irony </3 listening to this album is such a double edged sword, either way i am always hit with a truckload of feelings when i turn to this release.

this album came to me in a time of my life where i was slowly but surely sliding down towards rock bottom again just after i got out of it and thought i was okay. the times i’ve listened to this crying in the bathtub with a glass of wine….girl let’s not lol…. it’s almost strange how much i can relate to the thoughts another person brought to paper. the comfort this album brings me is otherworldly, i feel so understood by mac’s words and it’s my go-to “wallow in self-pity for a bit then come out stronger than before” album. then again, i feel a little sting when any of mac’s songs come on shuffle. a friend of mine said she cannot listen to artists who have passed because it feels too strange and most of the time i agree but this time, it’s so so different. this album would have been mac’s salvation, i can feel it. everything would have been a bit brighter and lighter for him after this, it would have had to be. i feel like i would do him a disservice if i did not listen to this album, so i will cherish this final gift from him as his legacy and my comfort. i miss him incredibly and am all the more thankful he shared his heart with us.

album favs: circles, good news, surf

tiny meat gang - broke bitch (single) MAN I TELL THAT BROKE BITCH IF YOU WANNA GET IN TUNE BETTER CHANGE YOUR WHOLE PITCH LIKE WOAH !!!!!!!!!! did that give you whiplash? hehe funny to say this about a song called broke bitch by a duo called tiny meat gang but this song actually means a lot to me! it came out shortly before their show in berlin and i almost exclusively listened to it on my 7+ hours train ride from one side of the country to the other to see my meat boys. this played out of the fat ass speakers at the venue when they stepped on the stage and i will never forget meeting them :’) also the song fucking slaps obviously

february

loona - [#] (mini album) ah yes, the most controversial loona release to date! i’m not gonna lie and say this sounded anything like i expected it to. but also, i have come to terms with the fact that loona release noise music now and personally i am here for it. why not did not have the endless energy of hi high or otherworldly vibe of butterfly, but it’s a hype song and i am always there for hype. i also have to say the b-sides were not as strong for me as on previous releases but i think i have to come to peace with the fact that loona will never top their debut mini for me. though if i can wish for one thing…… let loona have title tracks with a chorus in 2021? pls? crumbs?

album favs: so what, oh (yes i am)

tame impala - the slow rush (album) *lights cigarette* i’m listening to pretty underground music….i don’t think you’ve heard of this band….they are called tame impala *intro of the less i know the better starts playing* yes i am a basic white bitch and listen to like 3 alternative bands but damn i listen to them religiously. like any other basic bitch on this planet i found out about tame impala through the less i know the better and checked out their music. i wasn’t too much into this album as i was into currents but towards the end of the year, i was in a moody alternative music slump that took me back to this album and i like it a lot more now! most importantly, tame impala fulfills my primitive urge to listen to songs that exceed the 4 minute mark. something clicks in my brain when i see a song that is like 6:34 and chances that it ends up as one of my faves on a album are high. i enjoy tiktok like everyone else but this trend of 2:50 long songs needs to be stopped immediately.

album favs: borderline, lost in yesterday, it might be time, is it true, posthumous forgiveness

honorary mentions: onlyoneof - dOra maar, everglow - dundun

march

nct 127 - neo zone (album) ah, yes. the album that fundamentally changed me as a person <3 i’ve been listening to nct for a while, matter of fact i checked my top tracks 2019 playlist on spotify and cherry bomb was on there lol. i remember trying to get into them in 2018 when they released their regular-irregular album but the endless member & unit concept scared me off, so i only listened to a handful of songs without looking into them march 2020, the fateful month in which they released kick it and screencaps of jaehyun’s sexy ass tiddies in the kick it mv landed on my tumblr or twitter and i HAD to look up who this man is…...remember when i thought jaehyun was my ult for like, 2 weeks? me neither, johnny suh only in this house <3

anyway, i checked out this album and by god, is this pure kpop perfection. last time i listened to a god tier no skip album like this was … maybe the perfect red velvet? hype songs, well crafted ballads, love songs that make me wanna learn the lyrics, genuinely fun and interesting pop songs, this album has it all. somehow, the way this album is crafted greatly reminds me of brown eyed girls’ sound-g, it has the same vibe, concept and mix of genres to me, i’m not entirely sure how to explain. anyway, this album is one of my favorites of all time and even though i’ve obsessively listened to it (lastfm says 1.4k scrobbles as of today, december 7th…) i am still not tired of this. i recommend this to anyone who loves kpop tbh, you will have a good time with this!

other than being just a musically solid album, the emotional ties i have with this are …. isabel stop making albums your emotional support 2021 challenge. i’ve listened to this release all spring lockdown, this basically played at every waking hour for all of march and april. the promotion time of this era and lockdown are deeply intertwined for me and so i am always remembered of all the nct content i consumed during that time which inevitably cheered me up so much. this album really means a lot to me :’)

album favs: kick it, mad dog, love song, boom

honorary mentions: itzy - wannabe,

the weeknd - after hours (album) my dear melchanoly, was one of my favorite releases of 2018, so i had been desperate for a new release by abel and boy did he not disappoint. the perfect thotty, dirty emo 80s, making it clap while crying in the club album! this is a no skip from top to bottom and all i can say is that the grammys can go to hell <3 abel aoty! there is really not much i can say about this album, the flawless production, lyrics and sound speak for themself. my only criticism is that i feel overwhelmed by 14 songs, especially when some of them are really long. a few songs greatly overshadow the weaker tracks on the album for me but i still love this to death.

album favs: escape from LA, blinding lights, after hours, faith

dua lipa - future nostalgia (album) after the weeknd’s masterpiece of an 80s inspired pop album i was really looking forward to this. i greatly enjoyed the pre-releases, i played don’t start now and physical up and down, they are still some of my favorite songs released this year! when i first listened to the album i really liked it, songs like boys will be boys or pretty please sound like fillers to be but the rest is solid. yet a month after release you couldn’t catch me listening to this and i cannot even really tell you why. i think it was a combination of the following: 1) i greatly overplayed dsn and physical to the point where i didn’t want more of the pop 80s sound that the album has 2) there were other releases at the time that caught my attention and interest more like neo zone or after hours 3) dua herself….girl….she really gave it her all this year to make herself as unlikeable as possible. nationalist propaganda and the constant traveling during a fucking pandemic were really the kicker. i can barely stand seeing her on my instagram feed anymore, much less listen to her album. her having the nerve to go “we’re in a pandemic lol” when people asked about an animated music video …. if you don’t shut the hell up lmao … also, she takes the crown for the corniest album opener of all time. i nearly closed spotify when i heard future nostalgia (the song) lmao

album favs: don’t start now, physical, levitating, hallucinate

honorary mentions: megan thee stallion - savage

april

apink - dumhdurum (song)

listen, i’m not gonna sit here and pretend like this mini album interested me in the slightest but god, the title is such a banger.i’m so sick, eung eung and dumhdurum are a holy trilogy that i will defend until the end of time! i really hope apink stick to this mature, elegant concept, it suits them so well and goes well with their new sound. come back soon queens <3

rina sawayama - xs (song) i feel like i’m gonna catch some hands here … xs is an absolute banger, the guitar riffs and disruptive sounds really get me going every damn time! but the rest of the album … tell me why it doesn’t catch me?! i literally cannot explain. i need to take an hour, sit down and do nothing but listen to the album from top to bottom once again and see if my thoughts change but right now i only care about xs.

chungha - stay tonight (song) drama! vocals! dance break! choreography! this release served it all. i listened to this obsessively during the time of the release and it still holds up today. can we talk about the run chungha had with gotta go > snapping > stay tonight? lord have mercy.

honorary mentions: april - lalalilala, nct dream - ridin’

may

lady gaga - chromatica (album) the immense disappointment i have in this album is tough to put into words lol. any other artist might have gotten away with this release but gaga having the discography that she has, well … she doesn’t get away with it. this has underwhelming all over it. i enjoyed the pre-releases and my hope was high but the rest just doesn’t live up what i expected, i can’t even say why. it’s just underwhelming pop for someone of gaga’s calibre. i listened to this album during release week and then never again till december to write this list and i can see why.

album favs: rain on me, sour candy ft. blackpink, stupid love

baekhyun - delight (mini album) it’s confession time … this is a name i never would have expected on any of my music lists to end up. exo has always been one of those boy groups i casually listened to. i greatly enjoy their title tracks and a handful of side tracks, i have a few members that i keep an eye on more than others but that’s about it. baekhyun was never one of those members i had any interest in, matter of fact i always thought he was kinda vanilla and boring 😭 i didn’t even plan on listening to this release if it wasn’t for his association with superm and thus nct, so i gave it a shot and we have no choice but to stan. his voice is like butter and can cut sharp at the same time, his versatility is insane. i dived a bit more into baekhyun related content and he is so likeable, it’s almost ridiculous. this production is absolute god tier, not a single skip on this mini. late spring/early summer i had this weird urge to listen to songs with mellow voices but still a banger instrumental and i wholeheartedly blame this release. matter of fact, this album is so good, i had to buy a physical copy. Y’ALL. THIS IS A BIG DEAL. i haven’t bought a kpop album of anyone that’s not holy top 3 (brown eyed girls, loona, nct) in like … idk, 5 years?! baekhyun’s impact. i’m a fan now <3

album favs: candy, r u ridin’?, love again

ak aussenkontrolle - in meinem benz (song) this … is very unrelated to this entirely list but i had to put it on here. i miss my ex boss and our 3 hour drives to meetings in the south of the country where we would blast trashy german rap music </3

nct 127 - neo zone: the final round (repackage) *airhorns* REEEPACKAGE TIIIIIME!!! my first nct era that i experienced from start to finish! i remember watching nct 127’s beyond live with luna where these mfs performed punch and we finished the concert having no idea what this song sounded like. the structure is so unusual and the intro catches me off-guard every time just to hype me up beyond compare. not gonna lie, the fact that johnny has exactly one (1) line hurts but! it’s my favorite line of the entire song! possibly related to the fact that it’s his line but let’s ignore that ….

album favs: punch, make your day

kim woo seok - red moon (song) i’m not even gonna lie to you. i have not a single idea who this man is. you could put him right in front of me and i wouldn’t know … all i know is that he has a banger song. i saw him perform this on a music show that i watched for nct and i ended up loving the song … thanks for your service sir, whoever you are ...

june

stray kids - go live (album) 2020 was kind of the year of boy groups for me, i’m so sorry … stray kids promoted simultaneously with nct 127 so i ended up hearing their title track and holy hell, is that a song. god’s menu is hype from start to finish. it reminds me of good ol’ 2nd gen noise boy group song a lá b*g b*ng fantastic baby. just pure hype and fun noise. i am forever grateful to witness the birth of the line cooking like a chef, i’m a five star michelin. the title track impressed me so much that i ended up checking out the entire album which i rarely ever do with boy groups and what is even rarer is that i enjoyed the b sides lmao!!! it’s not an album that i would put on and just enjoy from start to finish but it has some really solid tracks! this release made me want to keep an eye on stray kids, they seem like a really fun bunch.

album favs: god’s menu, TA, airplane

seventeen - left & right (song) the boy group run continues … same thing with stray kids, seventeen promoted during punch era so i heard their song while watching some music station show for nct and i heard this and was sold. solid, fun pop with the catchiest pre-chorus in history and a banger chorus. i listened to the entire mini and can’t say it really caught my interest so this is a title track only release for me.

dishonorary mentions: twice - more & more (i hate this song so much lol)

honorary mentions: ryu sejeong - tiger eyes, monsta x - fantasia, chloe x halle - do it

july

irene & seulgi - monster (mini) this is a weird release because it’s good. the title track is fun enough, the b sides are dope. but my issue with this is that it’s nothing new. this sounds exactly like a red velvet release. i get that they didn’t want to a  joy, seulgi, irene, yeri release only and went for the sub-unit route instead, but why not be experimental and stray away from the usual sound of the group? also, whoever made monster and not naughty the title track deserves to be spat on. at least the choreography here is more interesting and “experimental” for kpop standards. also, why only a seulgi solo and no irene? i have no idea how reveluvs reacted to this release but this has rushed written all over it.

album favs: monster, naughty (i’m counting this to the mini idc), uncover

exo-sc - 1 billion views (mini) doing my part as a filthy casual exo listener. this release goes in the same category as baekhyun’s delight where i like the album so much that i HAD to get a physical copy. i don’t know what they put in the title track for it to be so diddly darn addictive but it clearly worked. the only bad thing about this release is how criminally mismanaged it was by sm, when i get you lee sooman ...

album favs: 1 billion views, on me, say it

baekhyun - garden in the air (song) i told you i’m a loyal baekhyun fan now <3 king releases and i listen, that’s just how it goes now! this is a cover of a boa song and i really love his version. there is not much to say except that it’s a really smooth song and his voice absolutely carries the track. i enjoyed this much more than i thought i would!

hyoyeon - dessert (song) YOU KNOW WHAT I DESERVE??? DESSERT!!!!!!! *insert tik tok challenge here* imagine if miryo featured on this instead of the ethnic hip girl … why can’t we have nice things. anyway, a banger!

johnny - sunny side up episode 1 set (spotify playlist, actual set) johnny being the skilled, talented, multi-faceted king that he is has been dj-ing since before debut (not me acting like i was around at that time lmao) and thus he decided to bless our quarantined, lockdowned asses with an online dj set! that was the most turned up sunday morning i ever had in my entire life. this set kicked off an edm/house/techno affinity that i had for the following couple of weeks. this set is an absolute banger, i would go insane to this in the club. he has an amazing ear for transitions and drops and i still just put on this set on the regular when i have cleaning to do or so. he could fill the void that rona and thus no clubbing in 2020 left in my heart and i’m so happy he decided to share this with us <3 now … john … sunny side up episode 2 pspspspspsps

honorary mentions: gfriend - apple, jessi - nunu nana

august

cardi b ft. megan thee stallion - wap (song) late summer 2021. we are vaccinated, icu beds are free, barely any new cases, clubs are open, this song plays and i can finally make it fucking clap.

troye sivan - in a dream (mini album) a cute mini album! nothing life-changing or as exciting as previous releases but easy (haha!) to enjoy. i really, really enjoy easy, can always count on troye for a dreamy sound.

album favs: easy

honorary mentions: itzy - not shy

september

wonho - love synonym pt. 1: right for me (mini album) honestly? i know like, 3 monsta x songs. i never bothered to get into them and maybe i never will, but it was difficult to ignore the whole wonho & monsta x mess that went on. i have absolutely no memory of why i decided to check out this release, i guess i was curious what he was going to do and … i was positively surprised lol. open mind is the exact time of song i had been so desperate all summer (remember mellow vocals with banger instrumentals? yeah) and uhm … can’t ignore the obvious … mr wonho is fucking fine. sir, you just gained a fan … now, where is love synonym part 2?? huh?????

album favs: open mind, i just, losing you

joji - nectar (album) this one is on tiktok. i heard gimme love in a bunch of tiktoks and had to look up the song and here we are. what an album! it came right as seasonal depression started to hit and accompanied me for a good chunk of autumn. at this point one has to ask if joji can ever really miss? the entire album is a no skip, it’s almost difficult to narrow down my favorites if my favorites weren’t so damn god tier!!!

album favs: gimme love, ew, tick tock, pretty boy, your man

super m - tiger inside / 100 / drip (songs) okay, listen. technically tiger inside & 100 were already released in august. instead of those three songs i was gonna write about the entire album until i realized i really don’t give a fuck about it 😭 i really only care about those three songs. and YES, i unironically like 100. is it a good song? no. but neither is jopping and that fucking bangs. i don’t turn to superm for life-changing, profound music, i turn to them for a good time LOL and that’s what they deliver every time! that being said, taeyong’s VROOM VROOM, UHMM UHMM, GRRRAHHHH verse is life-changing and profound! speak your truth king! also i wish drip was a b side for nct 127 that song is so damn sexy

taemin - never gonna dance again act 1 (album) this isn’t kpop, this is taemin pop. taemin never misses and the fact that hw*s* won dance performance over taemin is a literal hate crime. i will never forget the industry for this daylight robbery … anyway, nice album!!!!

album favs: criminal, black rose, waiting for

stray kids - in life (repackage) *airhorns* REPACKAGE TIIIIME 2.0!!!! i was on the edge of my seat waiting what stray kids were going to deliver after i greatly enjoyed god’s menu. i was still not over listening god’s menu when the repackage came out so i didn’t listen to it right away and now i greatly regret the few days i could have listened to back door earlier </3

album favs: back door, any

jackson wang - pretty please (song) i’m not gonna pretend like i ever listened to a song by jackson ever before. he is short king from got7 in my head and that’s all! i don’t even remember why i listened to this song but all i know is that it slaps severely. i love the wong kar wai inspired music video and the choreography is fun too! i’m gonna check out more of his music <3

honorary mentions: fromis9 - feel good, knk - ride

october

blackpink - the album (album, duh) i don’t even know what to say about this … this might be the weirdest release on the list for me. there are song i absolutely fucking hate (ice cream …) and songs i get my life to (pretty savage) on here and the discrepancy just gives me massive whiplash. i would never put this album on and listen to the whole body of work, i just cannot with the brain damage it gives me. i am still stuck in 2016, begging for bp to release music like whistle/boombayah/stay/playing with fire but i think i need to give up on that wishful thinking … i am just grateful we a got a title track with actual lyrics in the chrous for once.

album favs: pretty savage, lovesick girls

nct - nct 2020 resonance pt. 1 (album) this era was … a ride. nct 2020 happening was near inevitable but with covid it got pushed back so far, i started to believe it wasn’t even going to happen. i was semi-terrified of what was going to happen during a comeback with 21 (now 23!!) member group since i only experienced nct 127 comebacks so far and uhh … a LOT happened lmfao but let’s keep this about the album … i had no idea what was going to hit me. johnny having effectively 3 lines in nct 2018 did not give me much hope and after he got denoted to no line treatment in punch again, i was ready to not even have any expectation but this release changed everything. make no mistake that most of my favorite songs are units with johnny, we knew that was gonna happen lmaooo they dropped the teaser video for misfit and i thought i had my favorite song in the bag and then faded in my last song happened. y’all. JOHNNY SINGS? LIKE? ACTUALLY SINGS? DOESN’T GET FORCED TO RAP OR TALK-SING? MY MAN’S VOCALS??? OH MY GAAAAHD! this song is dramatic, theatrical, emo, it serves vocals and rap, it has catchy english and korean lyrics, this is THE song, the ULTIMATE song. i love this song so much, i want to belt it on top of my lungs in the pouring rain. apart from fimls, i also loveeee misfit, that was to be expected after i was going completely insane over the track video. johnny has like 3 lines but again they are iconic (WARNIN’! NCT WE MOBBIN’!) and i just enjoy the track too much to be upset over that. nectar. holy fuck. nectar!!!! wayv never disappoints with their thotty songs, they now have an absolute god tier hoe-ly song trinity with love talk > bad alive > nectar. the first chorus and hendery’s first verse (CHOP CHOP CHOP!) get me every time, this song is so insanely good i am severely upset i cannot sing along to it :( music, dance has nct 127 written all over it in bold letters, it’s so inherently 127’s sound!!!! i love this song so much, it’s so fun, upset and has massive dance-ability, i wish we had gotten a stage for it but i guess you can’t have everything in life </3 make a wish……………………………..the cursed unit. i don’t want to say anything about this except that, unfortunately, the song is fun and i enjoy it. the end. overall, this album is so insanely solid. i know i talk about my favorites A LOT but i genuinely do not dislike a single song on here, this is an absolute no skip album! that’s it. see you for resonance part 2!!!!!

album favs: FADED IN MY LAST SONG !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, misfit, nectar, music dance, make a wish

loona - 12:00 (mini album) controversial loona release 2.0! i don’t know what it is, but somehow they managed to lace the words di da dam di dam di dam dam dam dam di dam (yeah) with pure crack. i fucking love why not, i would even go as far to say it’s my 2nd favorite title track. that is right, i think it’s better than butterfly (btw: hi high > why not > butterfly > so what). so much was strange this comeback, from the inexplicable concept + teasers, the outfits, the styling (yves….i mourn your hot girl era) but the title track is just SO good, SO fun, SO catchy that i am willing to ignore it all. i also enjoy the b sides much more than on #, they are much more memorable to me. and now … HASEUL RETURN…………….i purely live to see the next loona comeback at this point

album favs: why not, voice, universe

twice - i can’t stop me (song) thank fuck twice released a good song this year. if more & more had been the only 2020 release, that would have been the real tragedy. not gonna lie, i still haven’t listened to the full album, it just keeps slipping my mind. but! i’m going to! until then i’m gonna bop to i can’t stop me.

ariana grande - positions (album) the way this album has people upset is so funny. i am a huge dangerous woman fan myself, it’s my fave ariana album to date but she has said repeatedly that this is not the sound she is striving for. now she has her coin and can do whatever she wants in music and if that is r’n’b then fuck! we have to live with it! lmao! i can live with the sex theme of the album because it’s delivered in a fun way? but it’s getting a bit old...if the next album is about riding dick only too idk how much i would enjoy that. i would probably always come back to ari because i like her voice so much but girl, there are other topics to sing about, i promise! anyway! i like this album, it’s one of those where i can hit shuffle and enjoy it in the background while doing other stuff.

album favs: positions, 34 + 35, love language, my hair, pov

tiny meat gang - sofia (song) ayyy, it’s my meat boys :’) ending the year the same way they started it, with a banger! i absolutely love the guitar instrumental, the melancholic love song type sound paired with the theme of singing about loving a robot … yup, that’s creativity and talent right here! this makes me so freaking desperate for a new ep and i genuinely have no idea how far or close we are to one but!!! i am always waiting!!!

noel - push (ep) this is something i absolutely did not expect. noel (of tiny meat gang!) released his first ep ever and i was absolutely wowed. noel has it all, the voice, the talent, the creativity and all it took him was the confidence to finally put something out and i’m so happy he did. he gets real personal on bus back, more than ever before and i always get a bit emo listening to this track </3 this man is gonna go places and i’m so happy to witness his journey.

album favs: crow, head sunk, bus back

honorary mentions: sam smith - diamonds

november

taemin - never gonna dance again act 2 (album) i’m gonna say it. idea is better than criminal. the chorus drop???? when he goes MY AH AH  MY AH AH MY AH MY IDEA MY MY IDEAAAAAA A-A-A A-A-A???? bitch … tell me you can sit still, i won’t believe you. i like part 2’s title track more, but part 1’s b sides are more interesting to me. either way, taemin delivered as expected!!

album favs: idea, impressionable, exclusive

nct - nct 2020 resonance pt. 2 (album) part two, baby! we made it! part 2 had more mellow, ballad-y songs with my everything, i.o.u. and all about you, overall less drama than part 1 but i still enjoyed it. work it is one of those controversial songs where you despise it with your entire being or you defend this top tier noise till the end and i am absolutely the latter. the agony of not being able to listen to it and seeing the timeline so divided nearly killed me, but i have concluded that people who hate work it have never felt joy in their life <3 honestly my opinion cannot be counted because i eat up anything johnny participates in … biased ass… what i’m not gonna talk about is resonance (the song), this absolute mess of a “remix”. the audacity sm had to release this as a single is insane. anyway!! this era was a rollercoaster ride. all the interactions truly made me interested in members of other units more. hendery (the rise and fall …), yangyang my beautiful son, jeno aka blue hair guy, chenle the chaos kid and xiaojun after he made make a wish his bitch in particular! all the interactions between the units were so fun to witness and it was fun while it lasted but i am … so glad it’s over lol. i miss nct 127, i miss some peace, i hope the boys get to rest for a bit and so does my bank account.

album favs: work it, 90s love, i.o.u., raise the roof

miley cyrus - plastic hearts (album) not in a thousand years would i have expected a miley release to be on here. this girl does everything to be absolutely unlikeable in my eyes but after severely banging out to her heart of glass cover, i was really excited for this and it did not disappoint. what is disappointing is that it took her so long to find a sound that fits her like a glove. i believe many people miss out on this release after her previous history and i nearly would have done the same. this alt/rock influenced pop does her voice so many favors and i really hope she sticks to this direction, i love this album greatly!!

album favs: heart of glass, midnight sky, night crawling ft. billy joel, wtf do i know

kai - kai (mini album) just. imagine debuting with an album like that. lol. what a god tier big dick move. we all knew whatever this release was gonna be, above all it was going to be sexy and boy were we RIGHT!!!! mmmh is exactly as thotty as i needed it to be and the b sides give me everything from r’n’b to trap. i love this release and i love that it’s only the beginning of kai! like!! he is only gonna gain even more experience and become even more powerful!! what the fuck!!!!!

album favs: mmmh, ride or die, hello stranger, nothing on me

honorary mentions. gfriend - mago

december

nothing? wtf?? 😭 no interesting release happened,,,,half the time i listened to christmas songs anyway lol

pre 2020 releases i only found this year

mgmt - little dark age (album, 2018) & oracular spectactular (album, 2007) another tiktok serve. i found little dark age through a tiktok trend and ended up really liking mgmt. they fit perfectly into my autumn/winter moody alt/rock mood that i had going on and i’m happy they have so much more music that i can check out!

artist favs: little dark age, electric feel, time to pretend

tame impala - currents (album, 2015) everyone’s favorite basic alt bitch album! i enjoyed this more than the slow rush for a good chunk of time, it also fit right into my alt rock autumn mood. i really love this album, like previously mentioned it has my favorite long ass tracks on there but also a good amount of short or medium long tracks. i’m still busy enjoying currents and the slow rush but i can’t wait till i finally take the leap to dive into their other releases because i’m loving everything i’ve heard so far.

album favs: the less i know the better, let it happen, new person same old mistakes

joji - ballads 1 (2018) after liking nectar so much, checking joji out was a given and i just love this album. only when i listened to this i realized i heard slowly dancing in the dark a few times on tiktok lmao that cursed app man … i would say i love nectar a bit more but this is still a fantastic album!!

album favs: slowly dancing in the dark, attention, test drive, yeah right

jus2 - focus (mini album, 2019) in my “mellow moody bangers” phase i was scouring playlists for more songs and i think i found focus on me first which fitted right into the niche i was looking to fill and i ended up enjoy this whole release! only later i realized this is a sub-unit from got7 lmao how come i enjoy solo or unit releases by got7 members but their group discography never interested me? anyway, very sexy ep!

album favs: drunk on you, focus on me, love talk

knk - sunset (song, 2019) part of my mellow bangers playlist. very sexy, i can imagine this as a runway song! i have no idea who knk are but given the fact i enjoyed two of their songs so far maybe i should look into them lol

baekhyun - city lights (mini album, 2019) i am repenting for my sins of missing out on baekhyun releases by consuming his music at an exorbitant rate. un village is one hell of a title track that i didn’t appreciate before, but i feel like in 2020 my music interests started to vary and i love the groovy r’n’b and string sound of this song so much. i also love stay up to death, the vocals baekhyun serves here are unreal. his BABY WE CAN STAY UP!!!!!!! gets me every single time!!!! what a mini!

album favs: un village, stay up

mac miller - swimming (album, 2018) i’ve listened to this album before 2020 but i had the urge to put this on here. this is going to sound so corny, but if i had to pick one song to be my life’s title track, it would be ladders. the hope this song gives me is unreal, it feels like a light at the end of the tunnel. this album is so fantastic, i love the upbeat instrumentals paired with sometimes gloomy lyrics are so incredible, mac was truly one of the greatest artists of our time. this album is  so outstanding and i miss him every day.

album favs: ladders, jet fuel, 2009, self care, perfecto

doja cat - hot pink (album, 2019) i can never decide if i like doja or not but the album slaps lol that’s it come on tiktok queen

album favs: say so, juicy, like that, streets

my fav 2020 playlists

slapping mellow

neo culture technology

malcolm

why go to therapy when this playlist exists?

top songs 2020

(by spotify)

#again a heads up: this was written in december 2020 and there are a few names mentioned here that....i want nothing to do with anymore lol #like h*ndery of gfr*end #but i'm not gonna delete them because at the time i enjoyed their releases and no one knew they were ignorant asswipes <3 #also not me thinking i'm gonna get vaccinated this summer LMFAOOOOOOO #i can consider myself lucky if i even get them this year #german government my detested <3 #about me

[flowery-skz]

Top 20 Songs of 2020

Okay y’all, here’s my top kpop songs of 2020 list for this year (finally, good lord this year felt like an eternity). These are the 20 songs that I felt really made an impact on me this year and why 💕

Starting from last to first, here we go!

20. Dr. Bebe, Pentagon - this song deserved so much better tbh the music video was everything, their acting was excellent and the vocals were *chefs kiss* i also loved the dark, creepy vixx -reminiscent vibes

19. Back Door, Stray Kids - Ok like objectively i know that God’s Menu was like their piece de resistance this year, but Back Door was just so fun and had a great bass line and the choreo was SO good

18. Cry For Me, Twice - this literally JUST came out like two seconds ago but let me tell you cry for me has legit been stuck in my head from the SECOND i heard it just ask my sister she’s this close to killing me next time i sing the chorus

17. Red Sun, Dreamcatcher - Let’s be real, dreamcatcher’s entire studio album was perfect from start to finish, and red sun was a standout among that perfection for me like from the magical mystical instrumental to dami’s absolutely earth-shattering rap line, just absolute gold my dude

16. Kick It, NCT 127 - This was a very polarizing song for a lot of people i feel, but for me the concept was literally executed to perfection. It had so much potential to be cheesy and gimmicky, but it totally wasn’t and i think it’s because nct 127 committed SO wholeheartedly to the concept

15. So Bad, StayC - THIS song. I actually already had my list all written out when i discovered so bad by stayc and i literally had to reconsider my ENTIRE existence. They are so so good with such a talented production team backing them and they’ve literally just debuted.

14. Dun Dun, Everglow - A lot of people really hated this song, and don’t get me wrong i had my own issues with the line and screen time distribution for sure, but you can’t deny it’s a total banger

13. Nonstop, Oh My Girl - This is the kind of song that i never really expected to fall in love with. It’s bubbly and cute and quite like youthful, but oh my girl honestly pull that concept off so well and they had me immediately hypnotized

12. Be In Love, Itzy - 2020 was the year of bailey eating her own words aka the year of me falling in love with itzy. when itzy debuted i seriously thought if they stuck with their concept i probably wouldn’t ever be into their music but lmao. they showed me. anyway this b side is seriously underrated and it really shows the girls vocal talents off, especially lia and yuna

11. Love Killa, Monsta X - hyungwon. that’s it that’s the post . . . jk but for real, visuals popped off. love killa was exactly what i’ve been wanting from mx for the past year or so. they hit the nail right on the head with the this one.

10. Secret Story of the Swan, izone - my relationship with izone is basically like my relationship with itzy part 2. I always appreciated them for their talents and having a very recognizeable sound but i could never get into their music. then SSOTS happened, and to be honest it STILL gets stuck in my head at random times

9. Phobia, Stray Kids - i LOVE this b side. for a while i thought it might replace Voices as my favourite skz track, but it just didn’t have the longevity that voices does. that said, it’s still such a good song with an important message did i mention that i love stray kids

8. La Di Da, Everglow - i have said it before and i’ll say it again: no one is doing it like everglow. this song came so out of the blue and blindsided so many people with how unexpectedly different it was, all while being a certified banger. the line distribution is aMAZING, you get to hear each member’s unique flavor, the straight 80’s vibe is immaculate, the styling is God-tier, just . . . everything. i LOVE this comeback

7. Eternally, TXT - if you know me, you know i love a good beat switch-up (i mean, my ult group is stray kids for crying out loud) and ladies. this song is the switch up to end all switch ups. txt somehow managed to combine two completely different tracks, each of which would have been A+ songs all on their own, and somehow make something a million times better. listening to eternally is a whole experience in and of itself and i haven’t heard anything that could compare to it to this day

6. Girls, Nature - UGH. WHAT an underappreciated masterpiece. girls by nature does everything that other companies are so afraid to do with their girl groups: a strictly dark, horror concept, a haunting melodic line with no need for a rap breakdown because it stands on its own as is, a visual concept that does not sexualize the girls in any way but instead tells a story of a person at the mercy of the one they love. it’s e v e r y t h i n g. Not to mention the song has one of the best pre choruses i’ve EVER heard.

5. Wannabe, Itzy - Let’s be honest, you knew this was going to be here. Everyone and their grandma was learning ryujins shoulder move. this was literally the summer of itzy’s wannabe. This is actually the comeback that got me onboard the itzy train and now i’m barreling down the mountain going 200mph and can’t find the breaks

4. I Can’t Stop Me, Twice - I think onces really had no idea where this comeback was gonna go. after more and more got such mixed responses from fans, we all weren’t really sure what direction the company was going to take twice in next. personally, i’m SO happy they went for the retro synth 80’s vibe concept. it was current enough to fish in non fans and keep new onces engaged but they also added their own unique twice spice to it, and i’ve been playing it on repeat for weeks also stan risky risky wiggy wiggi

3. Oh My God, G Idle - Ahhhh, yes. another polarizing song from gidle. omg for me was exactly what i needed from gidle. They’d been playing around with the darker concepts but had never fully committed to the potential that i saw in their music, but with omg we finally got the see them go full out with it, and i don’t think ANYONE could have done it better. The drop while empty was somehow so satisfying, the visials in the mv were visceral and witchy and to think that soyeon wrote and produced such a masterpiece. all i can say is bravo

2. Daisy, Pentagon - if this song doesn’t hold a very special place in your universe heart then buddy i think it’s time to throw the whole heart away. daisy, on top of being the first song to earn pentagon a well deserved music show win, was so emotionally moving from the lyrics to the mv to the choreo. you don’t need to know korean to feel exactly what the writer is feeling when hui sings that chorus, and that my friend is true artistry.

1. Answer, Ateez - Bet you were expecting a stray kids song. answer though has had my whole entire heart body and soul from the second it came out all the way back in january. for it to last a whole year as my favourite song of 2020 really speaks volumes as to how incredibly talented ateez and their production team are. Over the course of this absolute shit year, this song really inspired me to push forward, to keep working toward my goals and to keep believing in myself, and i think that’s a pretty amazing feat for one single song.

Anyway y’all sorry for the unnecessarily long post. I’ve just been compiling this list for months and was really excited to share. If any of my followers or just anyone who reads through this wants to share their own list, id love to see what songs impacted you this year! Happy New Years’ yall!

#bailey yodels #bailey yodels for an unnecessarily long time #kpop #top 20 #2020

[wennjunhui]

map of the soul 7 album review

told yall id be back to yell about this

i’ll only be voicing my thoughts about the new tracks. bolded tracks are songs i found to be standouts! 

interlude shadow: 

suga showing why he owns the kpop industry again. its not an everyday listen for me, but that doesn’t take away from its quality. its probably making it into my emo boi hours rotation. i liked the little reference to home. the tone shift at the end got me SHOOKETH tho like DAMN FUCK ME UP

black swan: 

fuck yall i really want an instrumental version of this song because honestly it sounds so beautiful? or maybe an instrumental version of the mv version bc jesus i love this backing. otherwise, its not really for me. i can see myself getting tired of this song really easily, and sometimes it feels like it drags on for too long. 

filter: 

ok i know this latin inspired sound is really in right now and its everywhere but DAMN it sounds so good here. jimin sounds so freaking good with this type of seductive sound and it just fits him so freaking well??? also i really like the message of this song? i think this type of genre really adds to the desperation for attention its trying to convey. top tier song easily one of my favorites of this album

my time: 

im gonna be honest, this really isn’t my kind of song. like its almost there for me?? like its so freaking close, but this chorus just isn’t my thing at all. the verses i can get behind (kinda reminds me of dean a little which im here for), but this chorus is just so not there for me. the use of finna is also kinda cringey for me and its making not take this song seriously at all. 

louder than bombs: 

this is a movie/tv show soundtrack and you can’t change my mind. this is BIG ruelle vibes and i am HERE for it. you can really hear the troye sivan influence too in the chorus. like i swear i can here troye singing this chorus so easily. with that being said, i really wish there was something more? i dont think the chorus hits enough, but otherwise i like it!

on: 

ok but we been knew this song is so hype. lowkey dont know why sia was featured on this track she doesn’t really contribute much?? she sings like 2 lines and i’m just really confused why she didn’t feature more (feel free to correct me here i was skipping around so i mightve just missed it). more thoughts on the song/mv here.

ugh:

ok i really want to like this, but damn as an ace this chorus makes me so goddamn uncomfortable like damn stop grunting in my ears this is GROSS. besides that, i’m down for the verse/pre chorus. the gunshots i was not expecting??? like thats also why i dont wanna listen to this on the speaker bc thats FRIGHTENING but at the same time my ears feel violated if i listen via earbuds/headset. basically i 20% like it, 80% wish it would get FAR AWAY FROM ME

00:00 zero o’clock:

it’s pretty~ probably making it in my emo boi hours rotation. but otherwise it wasn’t anything immediately ear catching. i hate its placement in this album tho? like right after ugh?? like i cant concentrate on this song bc im still distracted by everything that happened in ugh, and thats such a shame bc i would really like to but its not happening :///

inner child: 

ITS EMO HOURS THEY ARE OFFICIALLY OPENNNNNNNN yall i listened to this in the middle of class and that was a MISTAKE because i just started SHEDDING PHAT TEARS HOLY SHIT. i wasnt even reading the lyrics i just fucking felt everything and wow im getting emo just typing this again. these lyrics are so fucking meaningful too and im starting to cry just thinking about it OOF. v’s solos are honestly some of my favorite tracks ever that bts has put out, and this song is no exception. he sings with such emotion and puts so much thought and care into his music and its honestly so admirable and meaningful. like damn my bias is really here doing this. also pretty much everything about this song is my song aesthetic???????? like this is an 12/10 song. definitely just sprung to the top of my favorite bts songs

friends:

DID SOMEONE SAY VMIN????? FUCK YALL this friendship is the CUTEST PUREST THING EVERRRR i genuinely love and admire this friendship so much like shit dude this is just pure emo hours. FUCKING CALLING EACH OTHER SOULMATES AND EVERYTHING GOD DAMMIT IM EMO. otherwise, musically it doesn’t grab my attention too much. it’s a nice listen, but nothing extremely noteworthy. but am i still gonna cry at the lyrics???? every single fucking time you bet your ass i am

moon:

YES JIN POP OFFFFFFFFFFF this songs cute as fuck yall. i can tell the more i listen to it the more i’ll love it. idk i dont have much to say im just vibin with it and honestly? i love that

respect:

another cute song that represents their friendship and i am HERE for it. love the little nod the epilouge young forever too. in terms of music genre, not really my sound i go for. i can still see myself listening to it tho, probably just not often

we are bulletproof: the eternal

you know i was expecting another go-hard song like the previous two we are bulletproofs so i was kinda sad when it didn’t happen, but this songs still really pretty. i think this song gets more meaningful when you listen with the lyrics, because thats really when the feels hit hard. otherwise, by itself it didn’t intrigue me as much as i wanted. but its still gonna wind up in my emo hours rotation bc im still emo listening to it so it all gucci

outro: ego

THIS BROUGHT ME BACK TO 2013 YALL BRUH WHEN IT FIRST STARTED TEARS STARTED COMINGGGGG ok but this songs so freaking cute and happy and you know what? i needed that. bc this album is emo as FUCK and i want a happy song and thank you jung hoseok for delivering that to me. also the mv is adorable and i uwued very much

remember that this is all just my opinion and you are allowed to disagree! i’d love to talk more about anything with you guys so don’t be afraid to reply/message/drop an ask!

#personal #bts #map of the soul 7 #album review #MORE RAMBLES BY MEEE #i put a keep reading this time so it doesn't take up your entire dash #bc no one wants to see me ramble for that long lol <3 #love yall

[nini-amore]

SuperM 1st Mini Album analysis/review

Hey there! I’m Nahir and I wrote an analysis for SuperM’s debut album (song by song!).

I realised that I had SO MUCH to say, lol (I’m just too shy to make a video and post it on YouTube), so I wrote down everything. I hope you guys enjoy it and feel free to add stuff! Here we go… PLEASE DON’T LET THIS FLOP, I WORKED FOR LIKE, TWO HOURS ON THIS POST

Jopping

 Jopping is the title track of this mini album and the 7 members participate on it.

LDN Noise produced this song and if you’re an SM stan you just know that the song is about to be GREAT if you hear their name, for reference, they produced songs like “Monster” by EXO, “Married To The Music” by SHINee, “TOUCH” by NCT 127 and many more!

Intro: I have so much to say about the intro, first let’s talk about Kai using his powers, during the beginning of the MV you can see him teleporting himself from one dimension to another, I think adding his ‘exo super power’ was a very cool and creative idea!

The start of the song itself was very interesting to me since the used the sounds of chanting  (I thought this was only part of the MV because it goes well with the visuals but it’s on the audio version as well!). This reminded me of an old Rome stadium, with desperate chants for the winner of a fight. I immediately associated it to victory and them conquering the music industry with their debut!

Rap: I personally really enjoyed everyone’s rap (Kai, Taeyong, Mark, Ten and Lucas), they delivered the lyrics in a very fierce way that complimented the song.

The only flaw that I could spot was with Ten’s rap, I don’t know if it’s because I’m used to hearing him as a vocal or what but I found myself mixing Mark with Ten on the first couple of listens! Their voice tones sound very similar (rapping wise).

Vocals: urghhh, there´s nothing bad to say about this! Baekhyun and Taemin’s voices blended SO WELL, I was SO impressed by how well they match each other, I saw so many people complementing this which made me so happy! Remember all those times Baekhyun said that he was going to vocal lessons? I think that paid off very well because his voice was very stable and clear throughout the entire song, his falsettos where on point and he held a note for like,,, 15 seconds which is VERY IMPRESSIVE.

I feel like Baekhyun and Taemin carried the vocal part of the song flawlessly and supported one another just perfectly!

Overall song: this song reminded me of “Take Off” by WayV because it had a very dramatic change in the middle of the song, but it this case, the change was repetitive, giving us a contrast between the rap and vocal parts.

MV/visuals/choreography: this video was filmed in Dubai which I think it contributed to the visuals BEAUTIFULLY!

You can see that the video was very huge budgeted and had good editing.

The styling was just 10/10 and very high end, I loved the clothing, hair, makeup, EVERYTHING.

The choreography (from what I could see) is amazing very creative and everyone was in sync which was very satisfying to watch.

Last but not least, Ten’s dance solo! At this point I think we should be used to seeing him have his little thing! It was very well done and delivered, very clear and sharp! Wouldn´t expect nothing less from him!

I Can’t Stand the Rain

Again, another song with the 7 member s, and also, ½ of my favourites!

The overall song gives me adventure vibes but also the feeling of being trapped inside one’s mind, like not being able to escape! This second thought came back to me when I read the translated lyrics!

The lyrics, oh my… they´re amazing! The message was very simple and direct but they were written in such a poetic way + the boy’s delivery was very well done. Top tier song.

What really stood up to me were the rapping verses of Mark and Taeyong in contrast of the vocals; perfect musical production in my opinion.

The percussion and the violins building up the song really captivated me and kept me in some sort of trace, I just can’t get enough of it! All of this plus the high note from Baekhyun made the song really perfect.

Ten, Kai and Lucas had very few lines but I understand that Kai and Lucas may not have voices that suited this type of song but I feel like we definitely could have had more of Ten.

I wish we could get an MV for this song; I can picture them in some kind of cliff or mountain with a gray sky over them while they sing/rap with Kai and Ten doing a ballet performance!

2 Fast

In this song you can hear: Taemin, Baekhuyn, Mark and Lucas.

2 Fast automatically remained me of SHINee or Taemin would sing, it gave me “Good Evening” and “Crazy 4 U” vibes!

What can I say about this song, huh? The use of Lucas deep voice is precise and sharp because it comes in very particular moments and, in my opinion, helps break down the song in a different way, I think a good colloquial term to describe it would be “melting it off” because it gave me that sensation!

The ad libs in this song really catch my attention; they were on point and made me think a lot of an NCT or EXO song since they use them super well in their songs.

Ironically, the song gets faster as it develops, loved that.

Not much to say about this one, it’s a great song.

Super Car

In this song you can hear: Mark, Taeyong, Ten, Baekhyun and Taemin.

This song gave me major NCT vibes, songs that come to my mind are “My Van”, “Simon Says”, “Black On Black”; but also old school Monsta X (more precisely the song “Quiet”) since the pre chorus was delivered quite… aggressively. [I’m talking about these lyrics/part]:

“움직여 vroom, like a black car

어떤 리듬 다 잘 타

더 vroom 레벨이 달라

나도 나를 감당하기 벅차”

A very engineering and robotic sound (though not the typical robot sound, more like the ‘pipipi’ sound the machine robots make on films, lol I hope you get that, I don't know how to describe it).

I really like the ad libs Baekhyun did, to sum it up, a very aggressive and straight to the point song.

No Manners

In this song you can hear Taemin, Kai, Ten and Taeyong.

The intro is kind of scary, stereotypical instrumental for an Italian mafia film; you’d get it if you listen close.

My other favourite song. It’s a very daring and sensual song, very trap based and because of this, I feel like Kai’s voice suited it very well since he has a honey voice that fits trap and r&b.

The song sounds very orbital, as if you were in outer space, giving you the feeling of being disconnected, which go in hand with the lyrics that talk about being in a toxic relationship and how they should break up right away without going around the bushes, in order to send this massage, the guys sang this song in a very ‘cold’ and ‘distant’ hinting that they don’t care about their significant other anymore.

My favourite thing about this song is Taeyong and his rap, I don’t know if he wrote the lyrics for his part but it was a work of art! I especially like how he mentioned ‘Nancy and Sid’ when talking about being addicted to this toxic relationship, it was a very TY touch to the song!

[For context, Sid was part of the band Sex Pistols and was in a relationship with his groupie, Nancy; both were addicted to drugs (more precisely heroine). Nancy was found stabbed to death in their New York apartment and Sid was accused of murder but he said that he couldn’t remember anything; he died a couple of months before being judged].

This song reminds me of EXO’s “Twenty-four” because of the trap base and chill way of singing.

IF YOU MADE IT HERE, THANK YOU SO MUCH I REALLY APPRECIATE IT

#superm #baekhyun #exo baekhyun #taemin #shinee taemin #kai #exo kai #taeyong #nct taeyong #ten #wayv ten #nct ten #lucas #wayv lucas #nct lucas #mark lee #nct mark #shinee exo and nct #shinee #exo #NCT #nct 127 #wayv #jopping #analysis #musical analysis #super m #my post #mine #nctinc

[headlesshollis]

one-time watch shameless theories

let’s walk through the shameless mv very loosely, shall we?

i’ve only seen the video once, and for this post, that’s what we’re going off of. we’re gonna read some about some things i noticed on my first watch of the video, and draw our conclusions from the things that either camila or the director wanted us to notice first.

when i watched the video, i tried to watch it without bias. i tried to temporarily ignore all my thoughts and beliefs about camila and just watch the video. now, i know, other stans will watch this video three hundred times just so that they can find every hidden piece of evidence or write three hundred theories about it. if you did that, i’m endlessly impressed by you. you have a lot of patience. however, i’m not doing that. this whole post isn’t about every little detail. it’s about all the big ones. i will admit, while writing this, i did have to go back and rewatch a couple parts of the video. i just needed to do some double-checking on certain scenes and lyrics. i added nothing to my writing in terms of details i noticed after my first watch.

so, let’s start off with something that stuck out to me the most: the scenes with camila in the confession box. just in case you’re not aware of what that is, a confession box is where catholics go to admit their sins to a priest and ask for forgiveness.

there’s a few scenes with the box that really stuck out to me. three, to be exact. the first one is at the very beginning, when camila sings “it’s been a secret for the longest time”.

now, i know i said earlier that i tried to watch the video without bias. and i did, i promise. but that, to me, just screams that there’s something more than a casual sin. religion (especially catholicism) has marked homosexuality as one of the top-tier sins. and if you feel same-sex attraction in any way, shape, or form, you’re likely to keep it a secret for a long time. 

however, on the other side of the divider, it’s not a priest. it’s a girl. i’m not sure who she’s supposed to represent, but i don’t think it’s another camila look-alike (we’ll get to those in a minute or two).

the second box scene that stood out to me was when camila sings “i’m tired of loving someone who’s not mine”. she sings that while pushing on the window in the box. does she love this girl sitting next to her?

the final box scene that stood out to me was the one during the bridge, where camila sings, “distance, inches in between us, i want you to give in”. yes, i’m aware that it’s a cycle through all the scenes of the video, but camila’s mannerisms in the flashes of the box scene are very interesting to me. she’s grabbing onto the window. she’s pushing it, trying to get to the girl on the other side.

another thing that stood out to me was something from the party scene. specifically, when the camera zooms in on the back of the dude’s head. what if - now stay with me - the camera wasn’t zooming in on him, but the girl behind him? it’s not camila or any of her look-alikes (believe me, i went back and tried to get the half second shot of her face for an embarrassing amount of time).

so who is this dude? and who is this girl? and why are they so important that they get a whole half-second shot?

let’s cover camila’s look-alikes. who are they? and why are they important?

i think they’re all representations of camila’s innermost thoughts and feelings. they follow her. they are her. i don’t really have any deep explanation for them. sorry.

alright. i have a few other notes that i couldn’t really fit anywhere neatly, so they’re all gonna be one big mess down here.

if we look into shameless’s lyrics, we find something interesting. camila writes, “my emotions are naked, they’re taking me out of my mind”. now, that usually wouldn’t mean a whole lot, but let’s take a look at this from the second pre-chorus in the video.

look at her! look at her distress! she’s back in that confession box. her emotions are taking over. but who are these feelings for? could they be for someone who she’s afraid to love? someone who her religion wouldn’t approve of? someone who is maybe... a girl?

camila also sings “i don’t care if i’m forgiven”. why would she need to be forgiven for loving a man?

and at the end, we see camila burn the confession box.

actually, now that i think about it some more, what if the girl next to camila in the box was a younger version of herself? throughout the video we see camila stressed and have difficulty coming to terms with something, so what if camila was trying to get back to her old self? back to when she wasn’t scared of loving someone? what if, since she’s burning the box, she’s releasing her old self? lots to think about.

that’s about all i’ve got for y’all today! thanks for reading all the way through, and if you don’t agree with something i’ve said, tell me (but don’t be mean)!

#camila cabello #shameless #romance #analysis #mv

[thesinglesjukebox]

JINSOUL - SINGING IN THE RAIN [6.62] We're happy again...

Mo Kim: The LOONA (formerly LOOΠΔ) project, which promises to reveal twelve "girls of the month" through a series of themed solos and units before debuting the entire group, showcases the conceptual ambition and everything-at-the-wall spirit of K-pop at its best. (Few groups would justify throwing off a wintry tango, a throwback to '90s forebearers S.E.S. and a sultry electro-pop bop by writing elaborate science fiction connecting all of them in each subsequent video's YouTube description.) But Blockberry Creative Writing wouldn't be able to pull this off without the help of the girls, who have thus far demonstrated an uncanny ability to immerse themselves in any concept they've been thrown into. "Singing In The Rain" is no exception: JinSoul acquits herself amidst a soundscape harsh and gorgeous in equal measure, half sawtooth synths and galloping percussion and half pianos that sparkle like the stars she sings of "swallowing up." If at times it feels like she gets swallowed by the instrumental, that may be the thrill of the song and the commitment it asks of us; try to hold her gaze at the end of the video, as she emerges completely drenched yet somehow completely herself. [8]

Maxwell Cavaseno: The LOONA group/collective/team are a mysterious lot. If you take them at face value, they're an ever-expanding K-Pop group on a journey who have a discography made of solo material ranging from ballads, electro-pop jams, IU-influenced R&B numbers and showtunesy bits. Also, apparently one of them's a robot or something. Whatever. "Singing in the Rain" is the most violently industrial of all the tunes coming out of this alternate universe. If I was honest about this song, I'd point out how lame the rapped second verse feels, or the inconsistent pre-chorus builds tend to detract from how effective a song can be. But I would be lying to myself if I didn't tell you about how that galloping beat sounds like you're ready to get your chest caved in by a kick from the horse in the Lloyds Bank advertisements. Or how that drop managed to snatch the hard drive where my Hyetal and Hudson Mohawke radio rips from 2011 lie dormant and fling it into the air to shoot it with a cow puncher. Sometimes despite the illogical bits, a song just works, y'know? [7]

Ryo Miyauchi: Fake-deep lyrical touches, high-budget art-house MVs, exhausting year-long promo -- all those extra layers disappears for a second once that winding future-house drop kicks in. The producers responsible for one of the year's best electro glitch is Caesar & Loui of "Red Flavor" fame, whose vocal-twisting once again accents an already-impeccable beat. But not to forget JinSoul, who twirls the fine beat drop around her finger, guiding its glide via the chorus. [8]

Tim de Reuse: In isolation any fifteen-second clip of this would be impressive on a technical level, but to get through the full three-and-a-half minute experience, your ears must contend with scattered jam sessions on pots and pans, wobbly hissing saw waves, tonally adventurous chord progressions, vocal takes getting layered and stereo-widened and digitally distorted: flourish on top of flourish on top of flourish. Even in its few slower sections it refuses to let up, starting each line of lyrics before the last has finished. The effect is less exhilarating than it is exhausting: a conveyor belt of ideas, each presented in quick succession and not returned to, all in unrelenting double-time so that there's barely an opportunity to appreciate the audacity of each individual section before we've been rushed off somewhere else. Props for the well-produced maximalism, I guess, but listening to it just makes me ache for a home-cooked goddamn I - IV - V - I. [4]

Dorian Sinclair: My favourite moment of "Singing in the Rain" comes right at the end of the video, when the music ends and we're left with the sound of birds and gentle rainfall. If that sounds backhanded, it's not meant to -- I just appreciate the suddenness with which the driving rhythm of the three preceding minutes drops away, much like an actual summer rainstorm. It's a fine grace note on an exhilarating song. [7]

Will Rivitz: K-pop meets Majestic Casual? Sign me up. [7]

Alfred Soto: A rather tepid K-pop thumper, dependent on a sawtooth synth and not helped by the rap. [4]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: Blockberry Creative are pumping at least 10 billion won into the 18-month pre-debut promotion of LOONA, an 18-member (and three-subunit) girl group whose Korean name translates to "Girl of the Month." If this isn't a sign that the label's dead serious about the project, take a look at the music video for "Singing in the Rain." They hired Digipedi to craft a product that features all the hallmarks of a top-tier K-pop video -- Wong Kar-wai pastel lighting, post-Flavin fluorescent light set pieces, and enigmatic symbolism that you'd expect from SM's artsier side. Are we to believe that LOONA could duke it out with the best of them? If "Singing in the Rain" is anything to go by, it's an emphatic yes. The song starts off with a triumphant gallop before mutating into a post-dubstep swirl and, as with "Red Flavor," Caesar & Loui pack in enough bells and whistles to make sure the song's physicality is always palpable. The most amusing detail is a sound akin to a Koopa shell bouncing off a pipe in Super Mario Bros. It's carefully considered, and used to accent JinSoul's imperial side. But JinSoul isn't trying to come off fierce for no reason; she's expressing her desire for a night with someone that'll rival the Hollywood glamour of the song's title. The ecstasy she eventually finds only further fuels her hunger, and you can sense it everywhere in the song. You feel it in the pounding drums, but it's also in the soft piano melody, the melismatic coos, the cry to be held all night. It's omnipresent in the video, too. Choreographer HG Kim's metal rod workout? That's a sign of her indomitable spirit in all this. The juxtaposition between JinSoul cautiously running in a school uniform and then stomping on water with a leather choker harness on? That's her shedding off any timidity. The shot of JinSoul floating in the air while wearing a royal blue dress? That's the ineffable bliss of being in love. That particular image is graphically matched with a blue fish that she'd been holding in a bag, and it's the exact moment where everything comes together. It can be easy to feel like one of the numerous goldfish in the video: average, ordinary, unremarkable. But sometimes, being loved by someone can lift you up and make those thoughts feel like the furthest thing from the truth. So take your shoes off and throw them in the lake; soon, you'll be singing in the rain. [8]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox ]

#JinSoul #Singing In The Rain

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Music of 2017

These three tracks captured my attention this year. They still do. Tsubaki Factory - Waratte I immediately pegged this song as sharing the same chorus melody as Gfriend's "Me Gustas Tu," making a couple of mashups (1, 2) from that fact. Not only did that give me healthy appreciation for the various ways one could branch the verse/pre-chorus composition (Tsuno Maisa) using some music theory principles, it impressed on me how important the arrangement (Hirata!) is, as Waratte's is soooooo much better than MGT's, proving Ellington/Mills true as always. Also, the MV is really fun. Reminded me a lot of Perfume. Momoiro Clover Z - Blast! My previous thoughts still stand. (1, 2) Quite happy to see how Momoclo's invisible manners era will go, and I do hope Momoclo's Olympic dreams aren't premature braggadocio, but that they can hold out to 2020. I want to see this performed in person so badly, but also dude, those outfits are all-time greats. WANT. Morning Musume - Jealousy Jealousy Man, Hashimoto can find all the new hotshot composers he wants, but you just can't stump the pure synergy Tsunku can bring out of his favorite arrangers, in this case, Ookubo Kaoru (yes, I've come around to those brass bits). Like with Waratte, I messed with a mashup for this song, which has since because a favorite of mine on the music player, which also made me so appreciative of how lushly maximalist Jpop arrangements are compared to other traditions. As friends can attest, at karaoke I went beyond Ijiwaru Shinaide and sang this song's composition over so many others, hah. But it's kind of weird. Not many Tsunku-isms at all, other than some structure fuckery, but the composition feels more like some of his chameleon masterpieces like Take Off Is Now, where he gets the lay of the land of a new genre before he starts really experimenting. But those lyrics are so immersive and thought-provoking, as usual. Well, that, and they gave us some truly dank memes, too. Tsunku just can't be beat, yet. Wait, our Takui song of the year was Shuukatsu Sensation? Lawl. A Takui/Dance Man joint, dude! That single was amazing. Not quite Waratte levels of earworm, but worthy of being another Roudou Sanka whose lyrical content I pointedly ignore pfffft. Japan ain't got a Shostakovich problem yet lol. As for non-2017 songs that grabbed me this year because I don't give a shit about timeliness: 1. Moshimo..., from the Mobekimasu single in 2011 LMAO what timeliness You just can't beat classic Tsunku bubblegum, with its tricky little composition turns and deceptively difficult vocal interpretation level. A bunch of H!P members have twigged on to that challenge, taking it on for their Bday events, and Duu and Momo even using it for their graduations. Still salty that "kissed me on a Tuesday" was never a part of the lyrics, though. 2. Into You by Ariana Grande, from 2016. I was put onto this by Todd In The Shadows' 2016 best of, and my immediate thought was "That reminds me of TMYW" and off to the mashup races it was (but I don't feel like linking them right now). Max Martin truly is the greatest composer of our time, and Scandinavian pop composition is still where it is at for non-Japanese pop. From the same album, Greedy is also all right, although lol as shown by above mashup its arrangement could use some more oomph, and it also mashes nicely to Cake by the Ocean, with that bridge hook melody. But meanwhile, Bad Decisions not only mirrors Be My Baby from Ariana's last album, but is also would make me unable to take Demi Lovato's Sorry Not Sorry from this year seriously at all, as they're dead ringers. Made me wish the latter had the former's double claps in the chorus, which is hilarious. 3. I abused my local libraries for albums so much this year, y'all. On top of two Babymetal albums (yoooo Tale of the Destinies+The One), I rocked my socks off to Tokyo Jihen's album "Sports" from 2010 this year for a memorable long drive. The lead song "Ikiru" is pretty great. 4. Soundtrack land was rather disappointing this year, but I didn't watch much anime, so oh well. I did, however, rewatch Riverdance and several of those tracks are still gold lol. Going all the way back to the 90s y'all! Some brief tracks that just didn't quite make the cut for top tier fascination (None of them from 2017, of course): Angerme's Umaku Ienai, Sharan Q's Zurui Onna, Kobushi Factory's Go To The Top and Chotto Guchoku ni! Chototsu Moushin (but lbr I really mean the Kawai Daisuke ver.), and Momoclo's Mahoro Vacation. None for you Kpop. I mean, I'm sure there are some Loona or Red Velvet songs waiting to ambush me, but I wasn't in the "explore TSJ's picks" mood this year, sorry. I had some some great classical music discoveries this year, including Hermann's Scene D'amour, Kabalevsky's Overture to Colas Breugnon, Stravinsky/Tchaikovsky's Pas De Deaux, Schubert 9, and William Grant Still, as well as some exploration of MIDI image compositions and MIDI flips. Also I created a music abomination this year no regrets.

#gdi this was supposed to be just a link post for the top three tracks and nothing else #whoops i accidentally a word vomit #morning musume #momoiro clover z #tsubaki factory #category: music #ariana grande #angerme #kobushi factory #sharan q #babymetal #tokyo jihen #classical music