Review: Boa - Disturbance

So...
I'm getting a little hassled by all the recent comebacks to honest. Kpop idols are releasing new albums way faster than I can review them, so I seriously need to step up my game. And what do you know, my trusty laptop chose this time in particular to crack it's screen...again. Based on previous experience, I know that it is now living on borrowed time unless I can get it fixed soon. So during the period where it is getting fixed, I am basically handicapped.

Music Video
Right off the bat, my biggest issue with this music video: what is Taemin doing in it? More importantly, why is he playing Boa's boyfriend? No wait, judging by the inconspicuously placed ring that was shot in extreme close-up before Taemin very slowly and deliberately put it on his ring finger, they were either married or engaged to be in this video.

Let's look at the facts: Boa was born in 1986, while Taemin is a 1993 baby, which means there is a seven-year gap between them. Huh, actually that doesn't sound so bad. At least it wouldn't if you didn't consider the fact that Taemin is technically still nineteen. Boa is twenty-six. And they are supposed to be a couple? Is there some kind of ongoing trend that I don't know of with all these noonas pairing up with boys barely out of their teens? Not to mention the fact that Taemin hasn't lost his baby face yet, and no amount of old-man clothes is going to make him look even close to Boa's age. He just looks like a kid in old-man's clothes.

A good looking kid in old man's clothes though.

Come on, SM. You have dozens of Kpop guys at your disposal. Anyone from either Super Junior or TVXQ could have easily been a better choice to partner Boa. You know what? Forget those two groups, even the other members of Shinee would have fit the part better. But you had to choose the youngest kid of the bunch. When he leaned over her like he was going to kiss her, I felt my gut curl in horrified anticipation. He looks like her baby brother, for crying out loud! Just...Gah, never mind. Forget it, let's just go to the video.

Besides the obvious age difference, Taemin actually did a good job acting in this video. I don't know if Boa broke up with him in this video, or if she died, but either way he portrayed perfectly the role of someone heartbroken and trying to move on after losing the love of his life.

This video is very similar to Sistar19's Gone Not Around Any Longer, because there is a contrast between the happy times when the guy and girl are together, versus the sad times where the guy is trying to deal with the fact that the girl is gone. However, the difference is that Boa still appears before him in this video, but even though she can clearly see him, you can't be sure whether or not Taemin sees her. You see  him looking straight at her at first, but then he brushes past without acknowledging her and when you look at the reflection in the mirror behind him, she isn't there. So you don't know if she's really there or if she's a figment of his imagination. But when Taemin tries to get a closer look, she disappears.

So he goes crazy and starts trashing the place up, but then he turns around and sees her staring at him with a melancholy expression. That's when his calm exterior cracks and he just breaks down and starts crying. By the way, I use the term melancholy loosely, because there isn't really that wide a range of expressions on Boa's face.

 

"What are you talking about? I look devastated."

Or maybe she is quietly contemplating her choice in marrying someone who still looks like a little boy.

Song and Lyrics
I'm not sure why the title of this song is Disturbance. There was no mention of the word, whether in English or Korean, anywhere throughout the song. In the music video, Taemin was so broken after his wife died that he started seeing her everywhere. Thus, it is relevant. But the song is a normal break up song with no mention of seeing ghosts or being emotionally unbalanced. So even though the song title is relevant to the video, it's not really that relevant to the song itself.

Anyone who is into Kpop knows that Boa is a legend in the industry. So I actually made a conscious effort to like the song. I really did. But I still didn't. Like the song, I mean. I can't explain it, I just didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. Even for a ballad, it was too lullaby-like, and the accompanying instrumental didn't help bring an impact to the song whatsoever. Also it's just really, I don't know, monotonous? There wasn't enough emotion in her voice, and there was no build up to the climax. Even the climax was really...anti-climatic. It was basically one flat line.

neogaf.com

Kind of like this. 

I'm being hard on her because I've heard better songs from her, I know she can do so much better than this. So please don't kill me. T^T

Dance
There is no dance! And I couldn't find any live performances either. So this section is again empty.

 

So instead, let's look at this flying cat.

Fashion 

Since this is a music video with an actual plot, the clothes they wear are completely normal and acceptable, so I have nothing to comment about it. Boa's outfits for the entire video are both sophisticated and elegant, perfect for someone with her age and status. But then there is Taemin with his baggy grey sweater and currypuff hair. Sigh, why SM? Just, why?

Also, while I admire your going-green efforts in planting all those trees in your house, you might want to plant those trees outside next time. That way, you don't have to install sprinklers inside the house and worry about all that water ruining your beautiful tiled floors.

"Why did I think this was a good idea??"

Review: Sistar19 - Gone Not Around Any Longer

The battle of the subunits continues with Sistar19's Gone Not Around Any Longer (Man, this is one long song title). Also I think I might have not done as good a job as I hoped with the last few reviews as demonstrated by my depressing lack of views and comments, so I'm going to try and do a better job this time.

Music video
I love ballads. Fast songs are fine, but ultimately ballads are my thing. The more emotional, the better for me. That's why both the song and the video is totally up my alley. It has such a sad and melancholy theme, but not in a dark, depressing way like Rain Sound was. When BAP did Rain Sound, it was the ultimate emo song, where you get the feeling that the guy either can't or doesn't want to move on without his girlfriend. But for this song, the feeling leans more towards the girl still going through the heartbreak, trying to come to terms with the fact that she and her boyfriend aren't together anymore.

Since this is a serious video, I am going to review this with little to no sarcasm if possible. This is a video with real connections with the song, rather than symbolic meanings which you have to scrape at with a toothpick. In the beginning you see Hyorin wandering aimlessly around the bathroom dragging a telephone cord, like a girl clinging to the hope that her boyfriend will call her after their breakup. Also when they sing about the photo containing them and their boyfriend not being in their picture frame anymore, you see the picture slowly disappearing from the frame. As I mentioned before, I really appreciate music videos which make an effort to do that if only they used a Friggin' Effing Different Actor!! Motherfu-

 Suggested song title - Gone Because You Cheated On Me With One of My Members, Jerk.

The video was also split into two parts. On one side you see the girls playing around and cuddling up their boyfriend, and on the other you see them slumped against the couch or sitting in the bathtub in quiet misery. It shows the contrast of how happy the girls were when they were with their boyfriend, so the audience can better understand the pain they are going through now that they are alone. Also the video was shot in such a way that it's almost like the girls are in a dream. For example, there are shots where you see the Hyorin and her boyfriend playing around with each other in one room, but when she reaches the next room, she is alone. This suggests either that Hyorin is reminiscing about the happier times she spent with her boyfriend, or that she can't yet accept that their relationship is over and keeps imagining her boyfriend still with her.

Maybe because this is sung from a girl's point of view, but I find myself being able to relate to this song better compared to Rain Sound and Stop Girl, the other two break-up/almost-breaking-up songs I've reviewed so far. And even though most ballads manage to stir emotional cockles in my heart, for me to be able to go "Oh, I totally get that!" is not as easy so good job, girls.

My one problem with the song is not that much of a problem as it is a concern. I can't help but notice a similar theme reoccurring with Sistar's Alone and Sistar19's Gone Not Around Any Longer. They are both about being alone, and they are both subtly sexy. Subunits are a bit like guinea pigs, they can experiment with sounds vastly different from the usual style of the main group. If it works out, the main group can incorporate that style into their songs. If it doesn't work out, there are no negative repercussions to the main group. Now I'm not saying that this song isn't a good song, but I want to see them break out of their comfort zone and try new things. That is the purpose of creating a subunit. It could turn out either way, but at least they're would be giving themselves a chance to stand out.

Another concern: How come Hyorin got way more parts in the song than Bora did? Hell, she practically sang the whole song, with Bora doing only bits of rapping for the begining and the middle. I'm not a Sistar fan, I don't know the positions of each member, except Hyorin whom I know is lead vocal, so I don't know the arrangements for the songs they do as a group. I'm sure that some fans might go "You don't understand! Bora is a rapper, so of course she does the rapping and Hyorin does all the singing!" To those fans, what you don't understand is that if you say that, you're implying that Bora can't sing. And she's a singer. That's not what you're implying, right? Cause to me, that is what the song director is implying.

Dance
Okay, so for me, sexy Kpop dances can be split into two categories. There is the classy sexy dance, and there is the cheap sexy dance (I'm sorry, this is the least offensive word I could think of). Admittedly, there are quite a few female Kpop dances which fall into the latter category, which I won't mention for fear of getting popped...in the head. However I'm pleased to announce that this dance for me is classily sexy. It totally fits the melancholy vibe of the song and even though it may still be scandalous by Kpop standards, it is not over-the-top-falling-into-Trashyville sexy so it's good.

When you watch it for the first time, the dance seems to be pretty simple, since the two main steps are sliding their butts along the glass table, and rolling their bodies in this really sexy way with their hands pressed against their chest. But take it from someone who knows, all that butt sliding and leg lifting on that glass table takes some serious abdominal muscles, especially when they do it so slowly. That part where they lift their legs up really, really, slowly? You could literally do that twenty times a day as abdominal workout.

"1, 2, 3, and stretch..."

Fashion
The girls wear an oversized button-up shirt for most of the video, the kind of clothes one would wear when one is too tired or emotionally drained from a breakup to even get out of bed. So it's relevant to the song. For the dance part, I thought the sparkly accessories (Yay, bling!) teamed up with the simple black and white outfit they wore looked really sophisticated. Also, there was a teeny tiny section of the video where the girls wear hiphop clothes and dance in a studio. Had it lasted longer than a few split seconds, that would have easily been my favorite part in the entire video. However, their black leather and shocking pink outfit has a very gothic feel and it was way too disconnected from both the video and the song for me to like it.

 Oh yeah, somewhere in the middle of the dance, I was suddenly distracted by this falling rope of bling at the side of the video. Upon further inspection, it was actually Bora's belt falling off mid-dance. This makes the second video in the month where I caught some weird, random slip-up in a music video (The first being Zhoumi cracking up in Break Down). Not that it's a catastrophe or anything, but don't they have scores of guys in charge of video editing and all that kind of thing? So either the director figured that no one would notice the tiny slip-up, or I just notice things a whole team of experts were paid to notice but didn't.

Cuz I'm just that awesome.

 This last bit I'll admit I kind of ripped off Kpop Music Monday but I couldn't help myself. For this showdown, which female subunit song do you prefer? 2Yoon in 24/7 or Sistar19 in Gone Not Around Any Longer? Leave your votes in the comment section and I'll announce the winner in my next blog post. Omg, that was awesome XD

Review: 2Yoon - 24/7

It's the battle of the subunits!
There have been an ongoing trend to create subunits from a Kpop group. It seems everyone is doing it these days. The idea of subunits is quite brilliant, because it means that not only do the lesser known members in a group have a chance to shine, but they can also experiment with different sounds and the main group doesn't suffer backlash if the subunit doesn't deliver. However, unless you are already familiar with said group, it can get kind of confusing. Initially when I heard of 2Yoon, I thought it was a rookie group making their debut. Heck, I even thought Sistar19 was a rookie group until I saw Hyorin. It was an honest mistake, it's hard keeping track of all their names and faces when there are so many Kpop groups out there. And I'm ranting again. Right, let's just get to the review. =,=lll

                                  


Music Video
Before I get to any details, let me state the first thing I noticed in the video which made all my hair stand up in horror. The part where 2Yoon arrive at this cowboy town and look up at the huge sign above with the name of the town? When I glanced at it, I could have sworn it said "Organ Village"

 "Hey, do you hear someone screaming?"

Yes, I know it was my mistake and also some trick of the lighting and whatnot. By the way, this video has seriously lighting problems because apart from the annoying reflections of light and dust scattered all throughout the video, I have watched it over and over again and I still see "Organ Village". In fact, if it wasn't for the invitation card where the name of the town is printed out in big, bold letters, I would have really thought that this video was going to be a gory, horror clip that will haunt me for days.

Not to mention some parts of the video do nothing to discourage my gruesome imaginings. At the end of the video, it shows the girls job-hunting in their apartment when they answer the door in the middle of the night. First GG dates a stalker. Now 2Yoon doesn't know how to lock a door. Don't these idol girls have any sense of self-preservation? Also, you're Kpop idols for crying out loud. Why are you job-hunting when you're already celebrities? And how on earth are you going to find the time to be a journalist?

Anyway, they receive an anonymous invitation by a disembodied hand to go to some rundown village in the middle of nowhere where the folks there are unnaturally happy to see two complete strangers walk in and interrupt them in their daily work. I don't know about anyone else, but all of this just screams diabolical to me. Even the birds there aren't acting quite normally. (Warning: nerd alert) I mean, what kind of geese flies in two parallel straight lines?

"We can also form the letter N, for nightmares."

Now I could go on and on about how this is rightfully a horror flick and everyone in it are secretly zombies out for brains but that would take forever. Therefore I'm going to pretend that I didn't see the name for what it was and instead saw the "Dream Village".

Since this is one of the few music videos where the video is relevant to the song, I'm going to be talking about them in the same segment. I'm not sure whether I like the song or not, but it is definitely a fun song to sing and dance to. And the hook of the song is very different from the typical Kpop mold because it has a very strong rodeo theme. Also I love the whole "Boom, Clap, Boom B-Boom Clap" part. Catch phrases like this in a song never grows old for me. But the climax of the song where Ga Yoon goes "Woooaaaaaahhhhhh..." (Sorry, I can't exactly express it in writing) was really awkward. Sure, it showed off her impressive vocal range, but it didn't fit anywhere with the flow of the song. In my opinion, they should have just left it out.

The song talks about how people these days work all the time and are all gradually turning into zombies. That's why once in a while everyone just needs to take some time off and kick back and have fun. A lot of countries, including Korea, are known for their intense work ethics and many Asian countries have been criticized for being too obsessed with work and having old-fashioned ideas about what is acceptable and never thinking outside the box. So this song sends a pretty good message out there telling us to step outside our comfort zone and just go wild sometimes.

Even the music video shows the girls escaping their boring urban lifestyle to hang out in a cowboy village. They are soon put to work by over-enthusiastic farmers but they are clearly in over their head because they have to constantly stop to rest and wipe imaginary sweat from their forehead.

Eventually they give up on working completely, get out a radio and start dancing. After some hesitation, all the farmers but one joins in. So I guess this symbolizes how sometimes you have to say to hell with work and break into song and dance? Just don't make it a regular habit though, most people get a little freaked out when you start busting moves all of a sudden.

Dance 

The dance in this song has one of the simplest choreography I've seen in Kpop for a long time, full of old-fashioned hand-clapping and skipping around. But at the same time it is really fun and catchy, very much like the song itself. This is the kind of dance where the audience can easily follow and dance along to, as shown by the village folk who do exactly that. It's been a long time since Kpop has done that, kinda takes me back to the Nobody days.

 That's about as much as I can squeeze out for this segment. I mean, it's a really simple dance, just repeat, repeat, repeat, so there really isn't much to talk about it.

Fashion
There is a subtle boyish vs girly concept for the costume design. The long-haired Gayoon wore skirts teamed with baggy T-shirts and jeans throughout the video, while the short-haired Jiyoon wears pants and suspenders, but the outfit is feminized by adding flowers and a butterfly-patterned jacket. Also, I love the Mickey Mouse theme.

Normally I just talk about the fashion of the main characters which are the idols singing the song, however I cannot help but mention that other yellow-undershirt guy. I think his appearance was supposed to be a bit of a joke, but I can't for the life of me see anything remotely humorous about it. First of all, is his hair the result of his disastrous attempt at a cut and dye? Because I'm pretty sure hair doesn't grow like that, even if you hadn't seen a hairdresser or a comb for years. Second, is that an ear chain stuck in his nose? Aren't those things usually attached to an earring? Dude, that means you have a sharp metal pin jammed up your nose. How are you not weeping in agony??

 "Chicks dig the rugged look."

Review: Super Junior M - Break Down

Hiya!!
I'm finally back from Korea!!! As promised, my next review will be on Suju's Break Down. I'm sorry it took two whole weeks to release this, but it had been hectic these past few days, especially since Chinese New Year just ended. Yes, I am actually an Asian. And now that I've told you, I shall have to kill you. Lol, just kidding. But seriously.

Music Video
Based on what I know of Super Junior's music videos, No Other was the last video where any actual acting had taken place, while Spy was the last video where the members had props to work with. For every other video between here and there, the members have done nothing besides dance in random techno-themed rooms. Where do they even get all these rooms?

Ebay?

How come SNSD and Shinee gets a music video with a concept while Super Junior doesn't? That is so unfair. SM, if you think that Super Junior fanbase are already loyal enough that they will just take in everything Super Junior related, then that is an insult. Those who are already on top need to work to stay on top. No one owes them a spot there.

Okay, so this song is about falling in love with a girl. How about adding an actual female in the video? I won't even say anything about all the members sharing the same girl. Instead of having the members just pose in front of the camera, they can interact with said girl while staring at her longingly. Or stretching their hand out towards her longingly. And clutching their heart with the other hand, also longingly. Do something, besides just gazing at the camera! The camera is not something you should be singing to- Oh wait, I think I get it now.

Video director sir, could it be that the scenes where the members stare longingly at the camera were in fact meant for fangirls to swoon when their favorite members admit to losing control when they are around them? I must say, that is pretty weak. It's the kind of strategy that Stephanie Meyer used to promote Bella. Did it make you like Twilight any better? I hope not. I personally would prefer it so much more if there was an actual girl for them to actually interact with so that they could express some actual emotions.

 Although some fangirls might get upset.

My rant lasted longer than I expected. I'm sorry about that. Okay, one more thing. In the individual scenes where the members stare longingly at the camera, a feather breeze suddenly blows across the screen like a pigeon just exploded off the side. I understand that this song is about a girl breaking down the walls around their heart and leave them defenseless before her. And the feathers were supposed to add a more other-worldly, ethereal feel to the video...I think. But seriously, this song has such strong lyrics, so I wanted a much more dramatic scene, like a sheet of glass shattering in front of them. Or maybe a gunshot to the center first before the glass shatters. It's kind of old school but what's wrong with that? I think it's better than a couple of feathers floating across the screen. Assuming those are even feathers, because now that I've taken a closer look at it, they look more like someone just dumped the contents of a paper shredder on them. Either that, or this is the preview for the world's most disturbing anti-dandruff ad.

"They don't pay me enough for this."

Song and Lyrics
This is undoubtedly my favorite song from Super Junior M. Heck, I think this is my favorite song from Super Junior since their Bonamana days. I'm not really a fan of that whole digital, techno-sounding voice effect thing, so I'm glad that they finally minimized the use of that for the vocal part. But I'm equally glad they still kept that electro-funky beat for the instrumental because it added an edge to the song that made it go from average to awesome.

Also, this song has elements of an actual Cpop song rather than it being a Kpop song that was just translated into Chinese, and I really like that about it. There are so many Kpop groups these days who release albums in different languages in order to attract a more global audience, but a lot of them forget that most of those countries have already established their own genre in music. So instead of just pushing Kpop onto other countries, I think that idol groups should also experiment with different genres besides Kpop. If you want to produce a Japanese album, sing Jpop songs. If you want to make it in the US, create music that will appeal to the audience there. They could learn a lot from studying all the different genres of music out there.

Dance
Despite my disappointment at yet another Super Junior music video that features nothing but cool dancing, I thought that it was, well, really cool dancing. There a couple of pretty cool hand movements and the dance break done by the four members was totally awesome. If I had to say something, it would be when they did the shoulder rolling thing, they were a little out of sync. You guys don't get a pass, it was a messy five seconds. But besides that, I have no complaints. It was great.

You know whats weird? Super Junior's choreography tend to always include some steps which by all logic should look extremely silly, such as the apologetic hand rubbing in Sorry Sorry, or the zombie walk in Mr Simple. In this song, it's the chicken wing dance during the chorus. It's so weird that even Zhoumi cracked up in the video.

Don't think I didn't see you there, Zhoumi.

 And yet they somehow manage to pull it off and make it look cool. Its unfathomable. Maybe its because they can dance through the whole song with a straight face. I'm pretty sure they are aware of how hilarious some of the steps are, and yet they are about as serious as a heart attack when they dance it. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Kpop idols are true professionals.

Fashion
To be honest, I always had a problem with SM's stylists. As a natter of fact, after seeing Siwon in his shorts and Superman cape for Mr Simple, I was convinced that all of them needed to be fired. But I was pleasantly surprised that the stylists did a really good job with the outfits this time . They were understated, simple, and yet still managed to reflect Super Junior's style. And thank goodness there were no exposed nipples this time. Okay fine, the feathers on the jacket were kind of weird (What is with Kpop and feathers??), but I'll let that pass out of pure relief from the lack of neon boxers this time. Good work, SM.

Yay, applause.

There is something I cannot and will not let slide though, and unfortunately said annoyance is Siwon yet again. Where do I even start? First of all, I see you managed to save one of the hats from Perfection. While I applaud your 3R efforts, I think I would have preferred you left it out altogether. Also, I'm pretty sure the cost of that Elvis Presley do could have afforded you a new, better-looking hat. That along with your contacts have succeeded in totally creeping me out. I mean, he looks possessed. I kid you not, he even has that unfocused, glassy stare of someone being possessed.

 

Keep calm. He can smell fear.