If everything goes well, this blog will be my last before I leave. Ever since I watched the Kpop Music Monday for I Got A Boy, I realized that most of the comments Simon and Martina made about the song were also included in my review which I had released earlier. So right now I'm tempted to run around yelling "Simon and Martina agrees with me!!! Fangirl moment, kyaaaa!!!!".
Music Video
BAP is back with a brand new album. Can I just say how glad I am to see them finally ditch the whole cutie concept? No offense, but they really were so not cut out to do aegyo.I still get nightmares from reviewing Stop It. Lol, just kidding. But seriously.
The beginning of the music video was shot beautifully, and all the members did really well in looking properly anguished for their part. I mean, you could actually see tears in their eyes. There were also some added special effects which seemed to be added intentionally to mess up the quality of the video, but makes much more sense when you know the lyrics. You see two reflected sides of Yongguk when he raps about two empty cups of coffee, one the guy's and the other the girlfriend's. And of course there was the grainy Super-8 film movie effect when they talk about black and white films. It's typical for BAP music videos to add delicious little details like these, and I love it.
Kyaaa, Zelo
looked so hot!!! He really matured in the short time between releasing
albums and I have to say, he does angst really well. Oh hell, I'm
sounding like a pedonoona again. Ahem, allow me to rein myself in.
I suppose this counts as quite an artsy fartsy video. Fot the first part of the video, it was shot in an old hospital that was abandoned after Yongguk trashed the place and scared off everyone. There were mood colors and dim lighting for that emo effect, so you can see how much effort was put to making this video as depressing as possible. Also there were mannequin parts scattered all over the place and the way the members interacted with them was totally not creepy at all. Himchan sets one on fire and Youngjae even falls in love with one and tries to bring it to life by hooking it up with some weird chlorophyll infused IV just like Frankenstein.
Love conquers all, even non-animation.
Speaking of weird colored IVs infused with plant essence, how come the rain was green too? Even the tap water in the flower jug was green. Do they live in some alternate universe where water is green? If that's the case, since cells are made up of 70% water, shouldn't the boys be green too? Sorry, that's the nerd in me talking. After all, the alien barf in Power was green too. Maybe they just like green. Maybe there is some hidden symbolic meaning for all that green.
Mother Nature is crying. Either that or she's taking a leak.
The last part of the video was a black and white setting where the members stand in the dessert in front of a project made up of chairs and tables that they put together in their spare time. I thought that that was really meaningful. The background indicates that there was no more color in the guy's life after she left him, just a bland greyish white canvas. That was pretty good actually.
If there was one thing I didn't like about the video, it was the slow motion bits and the still shots. I think those parts were meant to add a dramatic effect, but frankly they were weird and really unnecessary. I think the video would have been much better without them. Also I didn't get the shooting scene at all. Besides the fact that their blood should have been green instead of red, it was kind of confusing. By shooting them, are you trying to imply that death is preferable to life without the girl? Or when she left, it was like being shot in the chest? No, I think what weirds me out is that the members can still stand around looking emo even though they were being shot repeatedly. Maybe the scene would have gone a little better if they actually showed any reaction to being shot. Maybe they could cry out, or drop to their knees in agony. Anything, instead of posing like models at a photoshoot.
Song and Lyrics
The lyrics are pretty straight forward. The song is about a guy who fell in love with a girl and confessed to her on a rainy day. So after he broke up with her, every time it rains he is reminded of their time together and becomes this emotional wreck. Dude, what are you going to do during the monsoon?
I love this song so much I can't even tell you. The music was so heart wrenchingly sad that it almost brought tears to my eyes. And the lyrics were straight forward enough that it didn't ruin the mood by making you have to guess what the song was supposed to mean.
The rapping was incredible as always. For previous songs, Yongguk, with his deep voice, has always been the more favored rapper. However with the change in pace for this song, I found myself liking Zelo's rap a lot better than Yongguk's. I'm not saying he isn't good, just that his baritone rapping doesn't suit the song as well as Zelo's did. Yongguk sounded more pissed off than anything, his emotions in the song was more towards someone turning to anger to hide the turmoil inside. See, told you he was a grumpy bear.
Zelo on the other hand, was totally spot on with the emotional angst of the song. His whispered rapping in the beginning carried all the exhaustion that comes from suppressing the pain of losing someone, and as his voice grew stronger, it was like some fragile wall was cracking and all the emotions that he was barely holding back were bursting forward.
Kpop Music Monday has commented before that while BAP has awesome rapping, their vocals don't always fit with the feel of the song. I respectfully disagree with that statement. I've mentioned before that I always love it when songs have parts which push members to the best of their vocal abilities, so I always thought that Daehyun's high note was the perfect climax for every song. However this song was an exception. I didn't really like the high note at the last part. I'm not saying that it was bad, just that I felt the song would have been just fine even without it.
As for the rest of the vocals, its usually basically four members singing the entire song. Zelo and Yongguk does the rapping, Youngjae and Daehyun does the singing, Jongup and Himchan have maybe a few words for the whole song. So I'm glad to see that more parts were given to them this time round. And I gotta say, Himchan makes a pretty decent rapper. Almost as good as Yongguk, in fact. Well, maybe not. But there is definitely potential.
Dance
So the dance in this video...There is no dance, huzzah! Unless you count sliding their hands down their chest which I don't. I even tried looking up their live performances, but there weren't any. So there is absolutely nothing to say in this segment whatsoever.
As compensation, here's a kitten.
Fashion
I'm happy to see the boys are still matching hair colors, although they have changed it from blonde to dirty blonde. Still looks good though. However I didn't much like their make-up. I get it, the music video has a depressing theme, so they are supposed to look like emo boys, but guys with that much eyeliner has always rubbed on me the wrong way. So guys, next time try to tone down the make-up around the eyes.
I'm really happy to see that BAP stayed true to their punk Hip Hop roots. They look like they just came back from an underground dance battle. Their clothes have dark colors, so it looks convincingly sombre, but at the same time it still represents their style. And I love all the additional rings and necklaces.Yongguk, your earrings are friggin awesome.
I didn't like their white outfits as much, not because they were awful, but more because it was a little too old for them. Apart from Yongguk and Himchan, all the members are still in their teens, so you don't want them to look like they are already in their late twenties. Or maybe they do. I mean, BAP has to appeal to their fans as oppas, even to the fans who are actually older than them (pedonoonas), so maybe it is in their best interest to look older. Still doesn't explain your neck brace though, Daehyun.
"You cracked my neck when you stole my hoodie" *Sob*
This will be my last review for a while because in nine hours, I'll be leaving for Korea. Yay!!!! I'm going to meet SO many Kpop idols!!!!! KYA!!!!!! Ahem, anyway I'll be doing Super Junior's Break Down when I get back. I've already been putting it off for far too long. So until then y'all!
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