Review: Shinee - Dream Girl

Big hype around this song, so I am under pressure to do a good job with this.

Music Video
The music video has a sort of YG-esque approach to it in which it is so weird that it works. You see, Shinee falls into a category of idols whom I like to call the Idol-idols. The category in which the idols are so heart-breakingly perfect, whether in their music or videos, that you wonder if they are even human sometimes. And while that is all good and well, they get trapped in this box shaped by the expectations of Kpop fans on how they should behave or promote their image and music, etc etc.

Thus the literal boxes they dance in.

I want to see them throw away their idol image and look ridiculous and let that become the whole point of the video. And while I could still see some reservations about making them look too insane, I'm really glad to see a non-traditional-SM approach made for this video.

I love the whole dream concept for the video. Since they are supposed to be in a dream, anything goes so long as they follow the rule of not making any sense whatsoever. In fact, you do see actual elements of a dream, for instance when the members fall down in a dream, they wake up in their bed. Or when someone yells at them through a bullhorn in their dream, they wake up to their alarm clock ringing. These things really do happen when you're dreaming, it isn't just random weirdness. So two thumbs up, they nailed it.

Now the issues I had with the video. First, I didn't like the weird techno-static effect when Shinee were bouncing between the dream world and reality. I felt like I was watching TV with really bad reception. They even added the static sound effect to go with it which totally ruined the song for me. Also, what with my laptop and its ongoing tantrums, I found myself constantly rewinding parts of the video to make sure it was actually the video, and not my laptop that was acting up.

Secondly, guys, your dream girl is about the creepiest person I've ever seen in a music video. She has no face!!! And no, the flowers don't help at all.

 "Don't you think I'm pretty?"

You see, growing up, the ghosts that freaked me out most were the types where you couldn't see their faces properly. Whether it was long black hair covering their faces, or if they had no face to speak of, that was the kind of creepy ghost flicks that made me sleep with the lights on for weeks. This girl has a friggin' square hole where her face should be and I can assure you, stuffing a bunch of flowers in there does not ease the pants-wetting horror I feel every time I see that image. So thanks Shinee, for ruining my sleep for the next couple of weeks.

kpopstarz.com

"You're welcome."

Song and Lyrics
Talking about this segment is always really difficult for me. I could begin by not liking a song the first time I hear it, but after listening to it the next hundred times which I always have to do for my reviews, I might start thinking "Oh yeah, actually this is okay." It works in reverse too. I might think a song is totally amazing the first time I hear it, but by the time I finish reviewing, I get so sick of it that I never want to hear it ever again.

Honestly, first time I heard this song, I didn't like it very much. It reminded me too much of Sherlock, which has always rubbed off me the wrong way because of the "Oh I'm curious yeah!!!" part. But after watching their live performances, now I really like the song. One thing I will say about Shinee, they have incredible stage presence. They rocked the song so hard, they literally slammed it in my face until I couldn't help but like it. It was powerful, it had style and Jonghyun's high notes were incredible.

In the beginning, I was wondering what on earth did a song about their dream girl have to do with the members bouncing around a trampoline, then waking up in bed looking as dazed and confused as I felt. But then looking at the lyrics, I realized that Shinee were singing about an actual girl from their dreams. If you pay attention to the lyrics, there is some emotion mixed into the powerful beat. Like when they sing about how much they want to hold on to their dream girl even though they'll forget her in the morning. So they wait for the time when they see her again in their dreams. So it's a little sad, but at the same time it's okay. I have never reviewed a Shinee song before, so I'm not sure if their previous songs were like this, but it's a little different compared to the lyrics of a standard pop song and I like it.

Dance
I know it, and you know it. That mike stand dance is one of the most rockingly awesome dances we've seen in a long time. It's better than the Sherlock dance (Which being honest, I didn't like that much), better than SNSD's Bollywood dance, better than TVXQ's dragon dance. It is, hands down, one of the best routines SM has come up with yet. It is so incredible that I can only describe it with grossly exaggerated negative terms.

It's just so freakishly, disgustingly, gut-wrenchingly awesome!!!

There is only one way to describe someone who knows how to move with a mike stand, and that is suave. I have always loved any music video that incorporates the mike stand because it fits the idols' roles as singers and performers. And even though Taemin is the best dancer in the group, he wasn't the only one who did all the tricky moves. You also see the other members doing cool flips with the stand, or sliding it along the floor in unison but at different angles. It was awesome, I just can't rave about it enough.

wordpress.com

Seriously, I can't shut up.

Fashion 

Shinee has always, always wore really bright-colored, mismatched clothes in their videos. This is their style, so I have no problem with that. I even like their dark-colored suits because it suits the oddly-lit room they were dancing in. At least what they wear actually resembles clothes unlike some SM artists I can name...But then there is Taemin.
 

Sigh, Taemin, Taemin, Taemin, what am I going to do about you? I know I was kind of harsh last time about your old man's clothes in Disturbance, so rest assured I'm going to be just as horrible for this review. Because it looks to me that whoever designed your pants was also the one who did Siwon's concept for Mr Simple. You know, the one with the boxers.

Those awful, awful boxers.

Even though he wasn't wearing actual boxers, he might as well have been with those pants. Not only does it look like a pair of tights, but both the design and color are so unfortunate that I am at a total loss for words. Like Siwon, it kind of leans towards a Superman concept if you squint, and like Siwon, I felt like washing my eyes out after seeing him.

The wide stance does not help.

 I feel bad for picking on Taemin all the time, but really, he was asking for it.