Batfort

Style reveals substance

Tag: k-pop (page 1 of 4)

A Very Personal Review of EXO Chen’s ‘April, and a Flower’

Chen’s solo album flows like cool water. It’s a clean break from the EXO R&B vibes—Chen continues exploring his own musical personality with his first mini album, April, and a flower.

Our ‘Nature Boy‘ comes through with simple arrangements, focused mostly on piano and vocals. He wrote the lyrics for one of my favorite EXO songs, ‘Lights Out,’ and again contributed lyrics to ‘Flower’ on this album.

Chen shines in this arena. He’s at his best in songs like ‘Nosedive,’ with a focus on rest and refreshment.

I wouldn’t exactly call April, and a Flower an album of lullabyes, but it is a very easy album to listen to. ‘Lights Out’ was my go-to sleepytime music for a few months, and this mini-album is just the thing to put in your ears when you’re tired and worn down.

For a few minutes, you can run with Chen’s voice over sunlit, grassy fields with the wind gently blowing your hair.

Part of me was scared that this mini-album would be full of overwrought, cheesy ballads—but it is not. A+++ for keeping the arrangements sparse, keeping with the spare and natural visual aesthetic.

This mini-album’s biggest weakness is the flipside of its strengths. The songs flow a little too easily. They don’t stick in my head, but slide through in a moment of peacefulness that I can’t remember five minutes later.

I’m not sure that I would remember the title track, ‘Beautiful Goodbye,’ if I heard it out of context.

That said, the album has a great shape, building from lighter songs through an ~emotional journey~ to more impactful songs at the end.

On ‘Sorry Not Sorry,’ I’m happy to hear a descant above Chen’s vocal line. He usually takes care of high notes and descants in EXO’s material, so it’s nice hearing him get to take the melody for once, with the string sections getting the harmony.

I could swear that Chen is channeling Big Bang’s Taeyang on ‘Love Words.’ The song is great—perfect execution of drums in a ballad—but it gives me such Taeyang vibes. Maybe that’s the influence of the songs’s composer, Kenzie.

My favorite song on the album is ‘Portrait of You.’ It’s cinematic. It’s emotional. The melody moves through so many different textures and sections—the piano is a voice, not just accompaniment. (But this is expected: it was written by the brilliant Andreas Johansson.)

Such a perfect ending. I’d drift off to sleep to that song anytime.

Overall, I think this is a very Chen album, which is a good thing—though I wish that somehow they had worked enough hooks in amongst the calm to help me grab onto the songs. It’s good for him to differentiate himself from all the hype that surrounds EXO—and this album is about as opposite as you could get from that.

I have a feeling this will grow on me. It’ll definitely have a place in my earbuds the next time I need an oasis of calm.

Chen’s Solo Comeback

EXO vocalist Chen (Kim Jong Dae) is coming out with a solo album this April.

It’s about time.

Nosedive,” his collaboration with Dynamic Duo, was my favorite song of 2017.

“Lights Out,” the song he wrote on EXO’s winter album Universe, is a beautiful and moving endcap to a day. And like I wished in that past review, I’m glad to see that we get more of singer/songwriter Chen.

The man knows how to communicate through song.

I’m excited to see how this album shapes up, especially with the title “April, and a Flower” with that promo image. (Check the strategically placed lens flare.)

The moodiness of the image (love all the noise from the ISO) and the poetic treatment of the text in this teaser give me hope that this won’t be a purely saccharine spring ballad release.

But we won’t know for another week.

One thing the k-pop industry does right: sweet anticipation.

Another College Admissions Scandal

Too bad it didn’t include Harvard:

As detailed in U.S. Department of Justice filings, the scheme involved a company, known as “the Key,” that illegally manipulated two main “side doors” to secure the admission of its clients’ children to elite universities. The Key, run by William Rick Singer, bribed officials at college-entrance examination companies to allow third parties to take the students’ tests for them. And it bribed college coaches to identify the students as recruited athletes — guaranteeing them preferential treatment by the admissions office — even though they were not so recruited.

Although let’s be real, Harvard already has legacy admissions. The price tag for a side door into Harvard is likely in the millions, rather than the multi-hundred thousands.

Here’s the sales pitch:

What we do is we help the wealthiest families in the U.S. get their kids into school … They want guarantees, they want this thing done. They don’t want to be messing around with this thing. And so they want in at certain schools. So I did what I would call, “side doors.” There is a front door which means you get in on your own. The back door is through institutional advancement, which is 10 times as much money. And I’ve created this side door in. Because the back door, when you go through institutional advancement, as you know, everybody’s got a friend of a friend, who knows somebody who knows somebody, but there’s no guarantee, they’re just gonna give you a second look. My families want a guarantee.

I’ve never worked at a school that had refereed undergraduate admissions, but now I wish I had. After seeing the different tensions and fault lines that split through a graduate-level admissions committee, I can only wonder at the amount of political jockeying that happens at the undergraduate level. Graduate school at least had a lot of technical ability and raw knowledge by which to disqualify applicants.

What’s interesting to me here is how this is yet another example of how elites game the system, while the rest of us dupes try to do the right thing. And yet, these aren’t even the elitest elites.

Do it right, and you get your name on a building or an entire academic program or an endowed chair, AND your kid gets an auto-accept.

With the famous actresses named, this feels a lot like the Seungri scandal that broke in the k-pop world over the last week: a token investigation that will drum up a lot of media hype and general outrage, blowing off steam from the real corruption.

There are people that the public already knows to provide a “face” for the wrongdoing. A scapegoat, really.

And when those people see justice, it’s all taken care of—right?

Yeesh.

Anticlimax

Tomorrow is the launch of a project I’ve been working on for months.

There will be no fanfare. There’s no event or afterparty.

Just…me doing work.

I’m trying to steel myself for the letdown that always happens when I get to the end of a project, which I know will be exacerbated since there’s no event or end product to feel satisfied over.

It’s funny how things that take up so much mental energy in our heads end up being pretty much nothing.

Anyway, here’s a famcazing Korean music video featuring the best guitar-cameo I’ve seen in a long time.

‘Good Boy’ Appreciation Post

You know how some people put on music to influence their mood? Like, they want to feel happy, so they play songs that evoke happiness.

I am not one of those people.

Usually I’m the type of person who has to find the exact music that matches my mood, especially if it’s a bad one. If I try to listen to peppy music whilst in a bad mood, I descend rapidly into an ultra-bad mood.

There are, however, a few exceptions to this rule. One of those is G-Dragon and Taeyang’s “Good Boy.”

It makes no sense. This is the opposite of a song I’d usually like. It’s an absolutely stupid song (as in, “get stupid”). Repetitive beat. ‘Dudes in a club’ lyrics. Autotune.

And yet, it never fails to put me in a good mood.

Maybe it’s because the choreography perfectly matches the beat and the cadence of the lyrics.

Maybe it’s the swagger.

Maybe it’s all the weird little sound effects.

Maybe it’s because G-Dragon used one of the live performances to diss the M-net Asian Music Awards on their own broadcast.

 

Regardless of why, “Good Boy” can turn the day around for me. I appreciate that.

The Reader: SUB PEWDIEPIE, loud restaurants, body transformations, and changes in the fashion sphere

I’ve been sick(ish) this weekend, and watching more YouTube than usual, so there’s some fatty videos at the end of this post. It’s one of those times when I can’t tell if this is a real upper respiratory infection, if my body is processing out yet another round of SIBO toxins, or if it’s something else—perhaps the physical manifestation of a mental transformation? Weird, I know. I still wonder. I’ve watched my mind and body chase each other around enough times that it’s not outside the realm of possibility.

Anyway, there’s lots of interesting stuff on the internet this week.

» Literally everybody is getting behind the SUB PEWDIEPIE campaign (btw, while you’re reading this, consider subscribing to Pewdiepie)

» The “Why I left Buzzfeed” of the beauty industry. Fashion and beauty editors are discovering the power of the personal brand, and are “defecting” to join the ranks of bloggers that they once railed so hard against.

Some editors say they ask their managers before agreeing to appear in a campaign or post sponsored content. Others say they often agree to work with brands and ask for forgiveness afterwards, especially if the brand is from outside their beat.

Steinherr did not ask for permission from Condé Nast to sign with the agency Storm Models in 2016, but she informed them afterwards and says the company was always supportive of her partnerships with third parties, which she identifies with “#ad.” “I have my own code of conduct,” she says. “I don’t find it difficult because I’m used to it — to say this is editorial, this is advertising — to me, there are no blurred lines.”

» From the other end, ROOKIE is shutting down. Tavi was a blogger who became the editorial establishment, so we’re kind of coming full circle.

» We all knew it was coming: CRISPR babies. Pray for these children.

» True confessions of a trans person. I appreciate the honesty, even though I can’t begin to wrap my head around how this is a good thing. Then again, I have spent my life getting my body to heal, so it’s unthinkable to deliberately inflict a wound upon myself.

» The media’s credibility is dead (but we already knew that)

» This one is long, but worth it (and funny to boot): On diet, health, and the wisdom of crowds

» Overly obsessed k-pop stalkers (sasaengs) are nightmare fuel

» Why restaurants are so loud (hint: you’ll see this pattern in other arenas as well)

The merger of fine and casual dining seems to show no signs of abating. As a result, even moderately quiet restaurants have become few and far between. Things have gotten so bad, there’s even an app for helping potential diners find quieter places to eat. The culinary establishment once aimed to dismantle the stuffiness and high cost of dining out by blurring the line between casual and fine dining, eliminating classist dress codes, and make dining a more collective experience. But ironically, that democratization of eating out has produced a new and more hidden tyranny: making people tolerate unhealthy, distracting noise for good food—and then duping them into spending more, drinking more (along with the risk of vulnerable situations that can result from alcohol), and shouting over the din to socialize. By comparison, the worst thing that could happen at one of the upscale establishments of old was using the wrong fork or running afoul of the dress code.

» Reverse Foundation tutorial…but really an interesting ramble on personal beauty.

 

» I like how Gabbie Hanna describes the process of change. It’s never linear, and always includes setbacks. The mental transformation is the toughest part. If you’re going through any sort of major change, you might find this helpful.

 

» Gary Vaynerchuk always provides food for thought (edited slightly for clarity):

There’s a reason that people are struggling mentally, and I’m telling you: everybody wants to blame social media. It’s bullshit. It’s parents creating fake environments for children. We’re building zoo animals. When you take a tiger from the Bronx zoo and you put it in the actual jungle, he dies in one second—because he’s not grown up in the actual environment.

You take kids who think they’re good at baseball, because in school up until 12th grade everybody’s good, and then you actually go and play baseball and get struck out 900 times in a row, you go back to your dorm room and start doing cocaine.

“Oh come on, Gary, it doesn’t work like that.”

That’s exactly how it works. …

Creating fake environments is an issue that needs to talked about much more. “[Don’t create] fake environments” doesn’t mean be mean, just don’t create delusion.

Regulate, Regular-Irregular, and NCT 127’s magnificent SIMON SAYS

With the release of the repack album Regulate and its single “Simon Says,” NCT 127 completes the Regular-Irregular cycle.

“Cycle” seems like the wrong word to use. It calls up Wagner and epics and possibly Vikings. This is just k-pop. And yet, it fits.

Perhaps this is because with the “Simon Says” video, we loop back to the very first teasers for “Regular.” Our group, as office workers, dreaming of something better. Fully fledged, those dreams became the “Regular” video.

In “Simon Says,” office dreams have turned into a nightmare.

Or at least a weird fashion dystopia featuring a giant table fit for a cabal of villains.

“Simon Says” is a fabulously NCT 127-type of song. It’s rhythmic, bass-heavy, a little bit grotty, and weird. This is why we like NCT 127, because they provide something different from a typical refined, pre-packaged k-pop release.

For me, standout bits of this song are, in no particular order:

  • The “fishbowl” mixing effect (similar to “Boss”) with lots of ear candy—there are many layers of distortion and ad libs that blossom when you listen with headphones
  • Haechan and Taeil lead the vocal line to victory with that bridge—one of the best moments of the song
  • I love the nod to the choreo (and dystopian concept) of Baekhyn and Loco’s “Young
  • The bass. This one bites a little bit harder than “Cherry Bomb” or “Limitless”
  • Vans with shoelaces tied around everybody’s ankles over their pants
  • The octaves—seriously, the vocal line killed on this song
  • Best English line ever: “Bless me, achoo”
  • I can’t stop dancing to it

The music video wasn’t super-exciting, but I can deal with that. I’d like to get a dance practice video to get a good look at the choreography, but I’m not holding out for a masterpiece. Apparently they learned this choreo in an insanely short amount of time while they were promoting “Regular” in the US.

Side note: I love the timbre of Taeyong’s voice. It has this stretchy, almost creaky texture to it.

Turning to Regulate, the repack album, I prefer the original. The concept and song selection on Regular-Irregular is already fantastic, and I don’t feel like the addition of new songs made it any better. The Korean version of “Chain,” while great (…off the chain, you might say), doesn’t match with the vibe of this album at all. It’s jarring to me, and not in a good way. “Welcome to my Playground” doesn’t grab me.

The one exception is “Simon Says.” It enters at just the right time—directly after the dream-turned-nightmare of the interlude—and that war chant at the beginning helps to set off the “irregular” portion of the album.

Conceptually, this comeback was a success. The overall concept of Regular-Irregular/Regulate is pretty cool, albeit a bit complicated. Hey, it’s NCT. Complication comes with the territory.

Some of the details of execution could have been done better, such as the other b-sides in the repack, but I don’t think they detracted enough from the overall concept to be a problem. The biggest issue, for me, is the title track. I still dislike “Regular” and don’t see that changing anytime soon.

I can deal with that. Concept is king.

 

 


NCT 127 will always be “NCT one-twenty-seven” to me, instead of “NCT one-two-seven.” You’re welcome.

The Reader: Human beings are important and the emptiness of leaning in

Red Velvet repack coming soon. This image of Yeri is amazing.

» Melania Trump goes after the haters in a way that Sarah Palin never did on that scale. Respect.

» Speaking of the Trumps, Barron is getting really tall!

» Bullshit jobs and managerial feudalism (or as I like to call it, “petty turtle battles”)

» Favorite performances in k-pop (feat. Taemin and TOP)

» The truth about Cheryl Sandberg and “lean in”

“Lean In” is not fundamentally a feminist manifesto. It is a road map for operating within the existing system, perhaps changing it at the margins to make it easier for other women to, well, operate within the system. Sandberg does not spend much time asking whether the system is so screwed up that pushing against it might be the better route toward meaningful change.

» Always learn more biology

» “We are not servants of an economic system. We are human beings.”

 

» The infrastructure behind the influencer beauty industry (Seed, the company behind Colourpop and Kylie Cosmetics, is one to watch):

Landver believes that the next big lifestyle brand—the next Tory Burch or Martha Stewart, say — will be founded by an influencer. Or several, actually. “As opposed to looking at one big hundred million-dollar brand, we’re looking at building many ten million dollar brands,” says Landver. “I say longtail five times a day. The future is going to be many more small brands focused on smaller segments.”

» Further proof that SM Entertainment’s audio engineers are the real MVPs

The Reader: Media Misrepresentation and K-pop Controversy

» The fake news media is once again manipulating images to make perfectly reasonable people look like Nazis.

» Caitlin Johnstone took one for the team

» It still blows my mind that more people don’t know about this study on how everybody else can predict liberal behavior but liberals don’t have a clue about anybody but themselves:

Moderates and conservatives were most accurate in their predictions, whether they were pretending to be liberals or conservatives. Liberals were the least accurate, especially those who described themselves as “very liberal.” The biggest errors in the whole study came when liberals answered the Care and Fairness questions while pretending to be conservatives.

» To make a cup of coffee, it takes more than a village

» BTS may not have factored in cultural differences, especially their American fanbase’s tendency toward SJWism, when they went hard for the North American market this year. K-pop groups use American and European style tropes out-of-context all the time—except now they’re going to get called on it.

» Yet more proof that regulators don’t care about us, and that the people who speak out are smeared or silenced.

In 2004, a world no-one anticipated came into view. As part of an FDA review of paediatric antidepressant trials at this point, it became clear that all trials in paediatric depression were negative, that all published studies were ghost or company written, in all cases the data were inaccessible and in the case of the published studies, the publications were at odds with the data regulators revealed. The data on both benefits and harms was systematically distorted in publications even in the leading medical journals (5). This came to a head over the issue of suicide in 2004, when New York State filed a fraud action against GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), primarily on the basis that a ghost-written publication of Study 3291 claimed paroxetine worked for and was safe for children who were depressed, when in an internal review it had recognised it didn’t work and had opted to pick out the good bits of this study and publish them (6).

» Related: I don’t really know what’s going on with the Cochrane/Gotzsche situation, but it doesn’t look good.

» A whole thread of favorite k-pop stages.

 

The type of people who just want to get it done (instead of done right)

Now, there’s an academic controversy mildly storming on higher ed news sites about English Professors and how English departments are terrible at interdisciplinary work or something. I haven’t been paying attention to the details.

That’s not what interests me.

In a rebuttal, the original author uses an analogy that exemplifies a certain type of person:

Some English professors appear to feel about interdisciplinary work the way I feel about chocolate. I am among those who are skeptical that the category of bad chocolate exists. When I offer someone a bite of my Hershey’s bar, and they say they don’t like bad chocolate, I suspect they don’t really like chocolate at all.

Is it possible to have an entire category that is so good that we are unable to distinguish quality within that category? Doubtful.

Yet many people in this world act like “doing something” is the same as “doing something well.” Just like Hershey’s chocolate is the same super-refined, dense, rich, hand-milled chocolate. (Which it’s not.)

The girl who wears sloppy eye makeup, rather than the girl who build up her wrist strength blending her eyeshadow to perfection.

The music producer who slaps three notes over a beat and rhyme the same word five times, rather than Kanye or Dynamic Duo who actually produce music that is thoughtful and interesting.

The guy who add a fedora (excuse me, trilby) to an outfit with the expectation that it makes them dressed-up, rather than the guy who take the time to work out and find clothes that fits his style and his body.

These people are everywhere.

And to be fair, whenever we start something new it can be really difficult to skip directly from “doing it badly” to “high quality.” Quality is something that takes refinement, which does not come automatically.

I’ve recently gotten back in the gym, and I’m the person who barely squeaks through my reps rather than the person who finishes each set like a dancer. That’s okay. I’m learning, and I’ll get better as I get stronger.

The problem comes when you stay that way.

Always strive to get better at what you do.

Interdisciplinary studies is all well and good, but there is a difference between cross-referencing a literary work with neuroscience and half-assing research because there’s nobody to call you on your BS.

 


“I am among those who are skeptical that the category of bad k-pop exists. When I offer someone a headphone to listen to BTS, and they say they don’t like bad k-pop, I suspect they don’t really like k-pop at all.”

 

Older posts

© 2024 Batfort

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑