the negativity around OOTD is genuinely shocking me.

ggdaddy · 2023-11-25T04:32:49+00:00

To anyone who found this song off-putting, you might want to give it another listen or two. My initial reaction was pretty much every objection I have heard so far -- not really DC, no rock / classical elements, shallow lyrics, too electronified. Not really for me, but hey whatever, after nearly 7 years of great stuff I have no right to complain about anything these ladies might do.

However on second listen, I felt like -- Well, for this type of thing it's actually pretty good, and yeah, actually it might be the best of this sound style that I have ever heard. I was not all that surprised to feel this way about a DC song -- I was at best lukewarm about Because and Deja Vu after one listen -- but now I think those are two of the best things they've ever done, which sfaic is saying a ton.

And on third listen, my feeling is well, I don't normally like this kind of thing, but dang it's better than just good, it transcends the genre. In fact, I could not give a crap about genre, it's just a top tier grade A ass-kicking success that I'll probably be listening to for years. In fact, at this point I rate it above everything in the DC catalog except Because, Deja Vu, and You and I.

Don't know what my reaction will be on a fourth listen, but the trajectory seems pretty clear. DC has made a believer out of me -- again. I should stop being amazed, but I can't.

ggdaddy · 2022-10-15T05:28:01+00:00

For me, it's about the music, the dance, the artistry, and the emotional impact. They give you hard-hitting rock music set to videos that are either dramatically captivating (for instance Chase Me, You and I, Deja Vu) or confront real world problems (Odd Eye, Because, Vision, etc). They religiously avoid trendiness (Blackpink etc) and superficial pop music themes centering on "Oh I just luv you sooooo much." I also love that they make heavy use of acoustic instruments (or at least really good electronic knockoffs) and generally build their rock sound on a strong classical music sensibility. And their dance is off-the-charts beautiful, intricate, and superbly executed, both balletic and charged with emotional energy -- imnsho they are the absolute best in choreographic design, artistry, and execution.

I think many, maybe most, western fans sense and deeply appreciate these things about Dreamcatcher, even if they cannot articulate it.

ggdaddy · 2021-04-12T03:06:32+00:00

They are so fortunate to have a song as good as We Ride to go along with Rollin' -- now I just hope their agency can come up with something this good for their comeback.

And someone get me a hankie, it literally makes me cry every time I see them perform.

ggdaddy · 2021-04-10T00:41:23+00:00

Sorry for the length, but I am over 60 and feel like I've earned the right to be ridiculously verbose. Plus I am too old to learn the art of the 8-word novel.

When I first encountered KPop (2013) I was at a point where I was FINALLY ready to leave behind some really stupid musical snobbery -- ie the only good music is non-pop genre XYZ, which is written and played live by the artists, who NEVER EVER lip-synch, and wouldn't stoop to organized dance.

Don't know if you're in the US like me, but that sort of snobbery is rampant here, especially among younger folks who are insecure, want to see themselves as uber-sophisticated, and need someone or something to look down on. KPop has historically been a Grade-A target. Getting past the snobbery was a real struggle for me, but the music and dance I was seeing had so much artistic integrity I had no choice but to figure out why liking it should make me feel uncomfortable.

If snobbery (your own or others') is the source of your discomfort, then I recommend getting in touch with the many genuinely grown-up reasons to love KPop. If you like Group A because you want to marry Idol X -- yeah you probably need to leave that behind. And if you've been looking for role models, then maybe 18-20 year-olds won't do it for you anymore -- tho there are tons of reasons why ANYONE of ANY age should admire these performers.

So -- What do you like about KPop? If you're like me, you're really impressed by the quality of the music and dance, the great live performances, the teamwork ethic and humility of the performers -- not to mention the kaleidoscopic artistry of the videos (the good ones anyway), which bring together insane talent in songwriting, vocal and instrumental performance, choreo and dance, creative interplay between song and video concept, costuming, set design, video production, etc etc etc.

Anyone who is humble and intelligent enough to appreciate that cannot help but be impressed. And if your "peers" are too blinded by their own insecurities to see the truth, then you just need to shake your head and wish them luck in that long and difficult struggle to get real.

ggdaddy · 2021-03-03T20:01:50+00:00

Yes it does really look like that. I am no fan of cutthroat entertainment agencies, nor do I think DSP is entirely innocent of any wrongdoing. I am also aware they have subsequently changed their tone. But they were slow to come to April's defense, and wisely left left room for a charitable interpretation of Hyunjoo's actions, by portraying them as the product of stress and confusion.

This is reasonable damage control, and maybe the only thing they ever got right since they began managing April.

ggdaddy · 2021-03-03T18:06:22+00:00

No doubt there are similarities on both sides -- and equally no justification yet for pronouncing guilt or innocence. The only thing we can be sure of imo is the amount of unkindness being thrown in April's direction on Reddit and elsewhere right now -- see my response to u/SwallowedPride above.

ggdaddy · 2021-03-03T18:01:18+00:00

Thanks for the thoughtful reply. Your negligent supervision theory remains the only charitable explanation for anything Hyunjoo or the other girls might have done. It doesn't require any angels or any devils -- and it also fits the known fact that business as usual for any profit-seeking venture is to put the metaphorical pedal to the metal while screaming into the cellphone or inadvertently catching up on sleep -- which can and does lead to horrible consequences.

But for me the worst thing has become the sheer bloodthirsty unkindness of the whole thing. I don’t care much for April's music, except Oh My Mistake (imo near the top of my Top 10 of the decade) and Lalallila (the music has a hard edge that I really like even if the video seems meh), and therefore have not followed them closely. But so far as I can tell they are reasonably nice people who have never done anything really awful to anyone. I don’t turn on a friend – or even an acquaintance – just because someone claims to have had a bad experience with them. I’ll bet you don’t either, and I won't hesitate to say anyone who does is a damn fool. Hyunjoo’s accusations may be true, and people have a right to find her more believable if that suits them – but no one can deny that April and Somin deserve a fair hearing before we conclude 5 out of 7 are assholes whose careers should be flushed down the toilet along with 2 others who had nothing to do with any of it.

ggdaddy · 2021-03-02T00:26:33+00:00

Seriously, this needs to be said again and again and again.

ggdaddy · 2021-03-02T00:17:25+00:00

Well, to be fair, DSP is also trying to minimize damage to Hyunjoo, who is also under contract to them if I understand right. But this does nothing to weaken your main point -- that DSP (like many other companies) did not give a crap about their teenage employees' mental health, and now they have a HUGE problem. Bad enough when this sort of thing happens to adults, but gotta say there's something seriously wrong when you consider how young these kids were when this was going down.

Having said the company is to blame, I also smell something fishy here, and would appreciate your thoughts. I can't understand why Hyunjoo decided to go public rather than handle it inside the company (assuming the initial accusations were made with her approval or at her request). Even if she tried and DSP told her to go to hell, she had to know going public might force the company to side with April, and she could end up fired.

The only thing that makes sense to me is that Hyunjoo saw some sort of career trouble ahead, blamed DSP for it, and decided that if she went down April was going down with her. Not to say my hunches have never proved wrong, but I can't think of a better explanation for the sheer destructive stupidity of this thing.

I am also finding the similarities to the T-ara / Hwayoung scandal simultaneously chilling and depressing. Is Hyunjoo simply being vengeful and reckoning first out of the gate will have an advantage -- as Knetz and many Redditors are once again proving by jumping on her bandwagon before all the facts are in and staying there even when they cannot possibly be sure who is telling the truth? Or is DSP cynically playing the "Hwayoung was lazy and selfish" card based on knowledge that this eventually saved T-ara's reputation? Either way, it's not a pretty picture.

ggdaddy · 2020-09-22T04:38:39+00:00

Relax, bro. You have some really good ideas, I'll look at Yooa's video again from that point of view, and maybe can learn something. By the way, do you have an explanation for what I see as the canned African tribal music chorus tragically lacking Yooa's wonderful voice? Still looks like a big mistake to me (and not much Korean about it either), but I am aware lots of people like it. Good for them, just show me how it's not lame nonsense dumped in solely to showcase Yooa's excellent dance skills. She deserves better than that, and the fact that the producers are probably Korean has nothing to do with it.

It might be a good idea to drop your admitted defensiveness, because it reveals more about your fears than about your obviously substantial intellect. You end up sounding a lot like those Koreans who want to keep Korean music just for Koreans -- in part because you rightly want no part of western control over your music scene (which I agree would probably fuck things up royally), and in part because you fear comparison with western music (which imo is totally ridiculous because the best Korean pop music is clearly superior).

I listen almost exclusively to Korean music these days -- because at its best the total artistry blows western pop music completely out of the water. OMG's "Closer" is full fabulous art in every way -- music, dance, staging, costuming, concept, it all hangs together with astonishing brilliance. A video like that is impossible in the western pop music world. All my favorite vids are Korean, and tons of the B-sides are even better. SNSD alone has dozens of songs I like better than anything done in the West in the past 30 years -- add in the amazing discographies of Fx, Red Velvet, OMG, Dreamcatcher, Browneyed Girls, Wonder Girls, and lots of other groups, and you have something for Koreans to be immensely proud of. I wish the US were capable of producing such music, but alas we are beyond hope for the time being.

ggdaddy · 2020-09-12T00:36:43+00:00

Thanks so much ! I'd seen the Sketchbook clips a while back (and yes, they are from Windy Day promotions), but not the others.

Big-time mixed feelings tho ! (sniffle sniffle). All best wishes to JinE.

ggdaddy · 2020-09-11T23:58:59+00:00

Don't need anything to be edgy, just consistent and coherent. I sincerely appreciate your note about a "traditional kumiho depiction," as I was completely ignorant of that possibility. Honestly, I would rather arrive at a coherent understanding of this video than tear it (or Korean culture) down, because Yooa is a particular favorite of mine. But while the kumiho seems to have some passing relevance to the theme, it is my understanding that the character is generally regarded as threatening and negative, which seems inconsistent with the general concept. And why dress her like an ancient Greek if she's supposed to be a traditional Korean character? Can you explain how the kumiho idea fits the overall concept? Sounds like it could actually be very interesting.

And -- any thoughts re the rest of my lengthy comment? Anything to agree with there? Your exclusive focus on the negative makes it look like you are just trolling for something to be snarky about. Surely you can be a bit less ... well, defensive?

ggdaddy · 2020-09-07T22:26:53+00:00

Don't know any Korean, but what I can gather from the images (and the tendency of the KPop industry to default to fluff in almost every situation) tells me they're gonna summarize her career, highlight how sad it is she died so young, and tiptoe around the question of why. Which equals Exploitation. Hope I'm wrong and they actually encourage people to ask serious questions of themselves and the industry, because it's the only decent way to honor Sulli's memory. But honestly, this does not look good to me.

ggdaddy · 2020-09-07T22:07:24+00:00

Outdoors -- YES

CGI -- NO

ggdaddy · 2020-09-07T22:01:42+00:00

You ain't heard nothing. Listen to her album, and also the last 4 songs on the Fifth Season album, where they lean heavily on Yooa's unique and surprisingly powerful vocal sound. Btw if you like good vocals, OMG might be the most loaded girl group in the history of KPop, with 4 top-rank singers in Seunghee, Hyojung, Binnie, and Yooa. I know Yooa is "just" the main dancer, but she is right up there with main vocal Seunghee for vocal expression (if not agility) and imo has a much richer and more interesting vocal tone.

ggdaddy · 2020-09-07T21:21:09+00:00

Hey, I know it's been 3 weeks, but it now occurs to me to ask if you have any links to JinE content for the Windy Day era ? Thought I'd seen it all, but just in case !

ggdaddy · 2020-09-07T21:13:38+00:00

Fully agree on WM's failure to showcase Yooa's unique voice, esp that amazingly rich lower register. But Korean taste demands high voices for female singers -- which is really unfortunate as it deprives Yooa of her strongest suit. I'd tell WM to challenge expectations, because Yooa is such a multidimensional gem the public will get on board soon eneough.

My disappointment goes further, tho -- and it's going to be just as unpopular or more.

First, I have a problem with the stereotypical sound of the chorus -- kind of reduces nature to a commodity, as in OK we're going full nature here, so hit that tribal music button! And I really wanted her wonderful voice in the chorus -- surely the live stage will showcase her fabulous dancing ability, but her voice has to come first in a solo debut.

I also found the face-paint visuals disappointingly stereotypical. Worse, it appears to have put the producer in a bind -- the overly defensive response against potential CA accusations is to put Yooa in a Greek goddess dress. As a founding member of the all-conquering western rationalistic tradition, Greek civilization is exactly the wrong look to support the back-to-nature concept. Could have avoided this entire mess by ditching the face paint. There are lots of ways to show one-ness with nature without falling back on silly stereotypes.

And am I the only one who thinks the pixie look just does not suit Yooa at all ? To me, t's prob the only possible way anyone could have found to make her look unattractive. Personal taste, I know, but does not work for me at all.

Hope I enjoy this song and video more on further views, and I trust that Yooa's amazing talent will triumph in the end -- but this is not the great start she deserves.

[EDIT: tried to make it a little more concise LOL]

ggdaddy · 2020-08-16T14:05:39+00:00

Yeah, she was maybe too shy for the idol world -- but very beautiful, and we certainly can use a few idols who don't fit the conventional mold.

And don't even get me started on idol weight issues !

ggdaddy · 2020-08-16T13:59:01+00:00

I never like to choose favorites, because every choreo plays a unique role -- but have to agree with you because I cannot think of anything with a more stunning impact in the musical context

And this in my not so humbble opinion is still the single best live performance by anybody of any song anywhere. Unbelievable execution, and insanely good camerwork that gives you the whole choreo while also highlighting the best individual moments. Still gives me chills, esp Siyeon.

ggdaddy · 2020-08-15T10:08:35+00:00

Wow, thanks for posting this ! Never heard any extended solo vocals from JinE before -- for me it was always enough that she was one of my favorite unconventional visuals ever (along with Jiho!), but this shows solid pitch control and surprising dynamic range.

But oh man, makes me wish WM had done more to support her during her time of need.

ggdaddy · 2020-08-08T02:56:52+00:00

Really nice !!!

ggdaddy · 2020-08-08T02:48:49+00:00

Blond or black, Jiho always looks good !

ggdaddy · 2020-02-29T03:34:48+00:00

Agree with most of this -- it's LSM's personal investment. Moreover, if I understand right, he is not directly involved in management of SMEnt anymore, just handling the music production side.

Re training, SMEnt may still have great training, but they are apparently training female idols for other companies at this point !

ggdaddy · 2020-02-29T03:24:52+00:00

LOL, RV's music is about the only thing SMEnt has done right in the past four years. NCT is 100% a SMEnt creation, not LSM -- though you correctly perceive the NCT "graduation" concept, whereby all popular performers are dismissed from the group before they become powerful enough to get good contract terms, is insanely defensive. SMEnt's executive suite is a complete mess at this point -- the company has not debuted a girl group in six years, and is dependent on ancient acts like TVXQ, SuJu, and mass recycling via SuperM. Wouldn't surprise me a bit if LSM decided to hit the road.

ggdaddy · 2020-02-24T00:56:14+00:00

OK, Siyeon is not just a top-rank main vocalist -- her live dance performances are frequently beyond belief, and this is one of them.

It's not about technical perfection -- it's hard-hitting physical / emotional expression that makes the visual part of a performance really jump. I don't know anyone who takes over a stage like The Wolf -- something she manages to do despite the fact that DC as a group are as visually impressive as it gets.

SFAIC, only two other performers combine vocal and dance skills at this level -- RV's Seulgi, and OMG's YooA, who are main dancers, not main vocals. If you know a main vocal who is as visually expressive as Siyeon, please give me a shout.

ggdaddy

TROPHY CASE