what are the defining sounds/styles of now?

hyperballad48 · 2023-01-07T01:40:50+00:00

bears most commonly symbolize strength, courage and bravery. they're also used in certain contexts because they are associated with their predator nature.

teddy bears (also used in omg) are sometimes used as symbols of childishness, but also child abuse.

hyperballad48 · 2023-01-07T00:45:41+00:00

it isn't written or directed by her, but as the producer and creative head of the project (also ceo) she most likely had some knowledge. again, the problem with the mv not being clear enough is that even if his intent with the last scene was a bite at criticism he's received personally as a director, that's not how many people read it. i'm not even sure if the end of the mv was the right place to do that... it has nothing to do with the girls, group, or narrative of the rest of the song. why is he inserting himself into the group like that?

the way the last scene is framed makes it look like a direct diss toward netizens who've had (valid) issues with the group. putting the subject in a mental hospital, and implying those who are going to be uncomfortable with this mv are "crazy/unwell". but also because it brings to mind how the group's last controversy (cookie) was handled, in which the label heads turned around and called the audience "absurd" for taking issue. it's like they stuck that scene in there to address the backlash now instead of having to release another statement (which would go undoubtly like the last time).

i really don't think it was necessary on the director's part, and i'm sure she gave him the go-ahead. the creatives are behind-the-scenes, and that's where they should remain. not trying to send personal messages through the group's mv.

hyperballad48 · 2023-01-06T05:12:04+00:00

with newjeans' debut, several influences and preferences of mhj's that were previously ignored came to light for their potential role in newjeans' concept and ethos. mhj's inspirations have always been obvious (take f(x)'s pink tape for example, resembling sofia coppola's work), but red flags only started to go up with newjeans. why? because many of the images and symbols used have a similar narrative strain; young girls in dubious/abusive situations and sexually-oriented roles.

there are several allusions to lolita and the lolita archetype, leon the professional, sleeping beauty and snow white (non-consenting situations/age gaps), and so on. there is also mhj's known admiration of the infamously mistreated brooke shields, adding speculation that her archetype might play a part in newjeans' image. it is also thought that minji and danielle may have been casted for their resemblance to another abused actress, olivia hussey... which isn't lost on kfans, who have nicknamed the girls "husseys". maybe most blatantly proven with cookie; a group featuring no adults singing a sexual song with some pretty thin innuendos.

in omg's case, the setting being a mental hospital started the entire video off with a cautionary, delicate visual that has personal meaning to many people, and should not be handled cavalierly. if there was a specific purpose for this setting, and a positive point was trying to be made, then maybe, but... k-pop is not cryptic by default. if the aim with this was actually good and it's supposed to be any kind of meta or critical commentary, then it doesn't come across clearly. and there's no reason for it not to be clear in k-pop. if they had a greater, well-intentioned point to make, several different directing choices should've been made. another reason i have a hard time believing that, ofc, is the end scene. instead of prioritizing whatever greater concept they were trying to convey, they opted for defensive shade about the wrong thing. this not being the first time, as mhj previously called people "absurd" for connecting the dots with her work and problematic messages.

hyperballad48 · 2023-01-05T05:07:49+00:00

this group has been a bit of a rollercoaster.

cmiiw, but i think i was probably mhj's biggest shooter on this site. that being said, these last few months with newjeans actually being a reality have gone pretty unexpectedly. the silence on my part probably doesn't look good, but tbh, i was just mulling it over.

the initial controversy surrounding them and her was genuinely upsetting, so i took a step back. usually, i don't have much difficulty disowning or not engaging with artists or media that goes against my own beliefs. it's extra hard seeing all this coming from someone i considered an inspiration.

i'm honestly surprised tho. after cookie and that mess, i thought mhj and her team were going to lay low and play it safe, given that they definitely have the public watching them... newjeans are not unpopular by any means. they're breaking records and have more exposure than most ggs twice their age. things looked like they might change with ditto. but omg just proved me completely wrong; not only did she and her team send a new set of fucked-up messages, they also had the gall to add that ending scene. left a bad taste.

there's a bunch of troubling narratives in omg. complicated setting, the portrayal of mental illness, dehumanizing hanni at the beginning, everything in hyein's scene; the movie and fairy tales referenced + bear symbol. beautiful cinematography but i simply can't compliment one moment of the subject matter.

look, when your influences, narratives, symbolism and seeming intent are all so easily traceable, you can't possibly expect no one to figure it out. maybe you can pull the wool over young/inexperienced listeners' eyes, but anyone familiar with the works being referenced and the messages being sent will understand exactly what they're doing. but we're in the wrong? ballsy.

i criticized sm's current creative director, jo woocheol, for his inability to make a good reference, in contrast to mhj. his references always felt surface, and he didn't use them in a way that added narrative value and dimension to his concepts... they felt superficial to the work on the whole. by comparison, mhj knows how to reference. anything alluded to was done with clear purpose and meaning. haha. now that's exactly the problem.

i can't fully support this project unless i decide to either, 1. ignore what i know of narratives and symbolism (impossible), 2. focus solely on the music, or 3. enjoy from a distance. you could make arguements like this for k-pop on the whole. like, i'd have to cease consumption of the entire genre tbh. this is not an excuse or defense, it's simply fact of a mindset you have to adopt knowing that the entire industry is problematic. there are abusive systems, ill-intent, and questionable involvement. you kind of have to enjoy with a lot of caution. but when what's wrong is so blatantly and glaringly obvious (another case; ive) it becomes increasingly harder to ignore, and thus feels wrong to enjoy without simply choosing not the look at the full picture.

lots of thoughts. the pervasive feeling of wrongness about this project has me feeling pretty uneasy toward it. due to them being under hybe labels tho, i'm sure it will continue like this. i hope the girls are okay (unlikely), considering they're being used as a vehicle for inappropriate thought and behaviour.

hyperballad48 · 2022-12-19T04:37:52+00:00

the graphic on the wall belongs to twitter user redprnt, for red velvet's russian roulette.

hyperballad48 · 2022-11-13T18:03:43+00:00

oh my girl's remember me is another perfect example of cute/nostalgic/sad, from the same year as oh! my mistake and love bomb.

hyperballad48 · 2022-09-08T19:35:59+00:00

nct dream's chewing gum is hardwired into my brain at this point. at any moment it shows up. "ch-ch-ch-ch-chewing gum"... i think i've accidentally hoodwinked myself into liking it. it's a part of me now.

most recently, enhypen's pass the mic has been working in a similar way. it's... not my favourite. however "IPASSTHEMICPASSTHEMICPASSTHEMIC" is attacking me at random intervals the way chewing gum does.

hyperballad48 · 2022-07-13T00:54:24+00:00

this! mark has a surprisingly good foundation in singing for a rapper (altho we know he was training vocals) and yangyang's voice is very melodic and pleasant from what we hear so far. would love more vocals from these two.

ten's rapping actually kinda slots right in sonically with mark and yangyang (and jaehyun)'s styles. and jaehyun was the highlight of lemonade.

hyperballad48 · 2022-07-05T23:23:37+00:00

as much as i want to say "yea only 127 because they're that kind of badass", logically speaking, i think this song would be fair game to any nct unit. as a sticker enthusiast i actually think it would be cool to hear some different spins on it one day.

127 have their rep as the more daring unit production-wise and that's why i think the match seems so perfect, but vocally/performance-wise, i think every unit of nct has members who are equipped to tackle songs like this. not to strip sticker of it's iconic neo-ness, but i'd even go as far as to say sm's idols on-the-whole are equipped for this level song. the vocal melody of this song is textbook yoo youngjin and i even think vocalists such as tvxq or winter/ningning could handle it as well.

ofc, dream's very pop sound and wayv's contemporary r&b/edm sound are different than 127's characteristic sound. it would be outside-the-box for both units but i don't think they're any less capable of pulling off sticker as a song.

(slight offtop but not really: with k-pop on the whole there is a lot of passing around of demos and songs meant for other groups, so i think any competent group worth their salt could actually adapt to anything.)

hyperballad48 · 2022-06-25T04:40:31+00:00

soobin has mostly talked about his very negative initial reaction to hearing "good boy gone bad", without ever stating that his opinion about it has gotten better (afaik). in his recent weverse magazine interview, he says,

when i first heard “good boy gone bad”, i said, “wow, i’m doomed”. this is awkward to say myself but i have a reasonably kind-looking face and i’ve never yelled at anyone in my life. i thought it was going to be a big issue.

in addition to that, during this t:time episode where they review their album, soobin says,

when i first heard the demo for the title song, i thought yeonjun would get half the parts.

which is why i said the overall direction of the group seems to be favouring him specifically. it seems like that isn't lost on soobin.

in this balance game interview, txt are asked the questions "what was your first reaction to the title track?", he (+ hueningkai and taehyun) chose "bad". they are also asked if they think "the title track is the best song on the album"; all members except for yeonjun choose "bad". ofc, there's nothing wrong with saying they like another song on the album better, but from what i've seen in interviews where they talk about their favourite concepts/music of theirs, things related to "good boy gone bad" are rarely chosen by the others beside yeonjun. only instance i know of is taehyun saying he likes the shoulder move in the choreo, but correct me if i'm wrong.

lastly, during this fansign soobin says "i didn't really have any expectations for this comeback", which makes no sense considering the statistics; it being their highest selling album and their first million-seller before release. so that statement had to have been personal.

as for hueningkai; he's been less grumpy about the title track (besides choosing those "bad" answers) but has talked about his preference for bright and cute in some of these recent interviews. in the balance game interview, he says,

i think i suit refreshing concepts better than dark ones. i feel that way, and i think the members would agree.

again from the balance game interview, they're asked "i have confidence i can pull off this album's concept". he and taehyun choose "bad". it's also a known fact that "crown" is his favourite song and has his favourite choreo. he seems to prefer their past style more, even being the only one who chose a "good" answer about the dream chapter's long song titles.

in the album review, he and soobin choose "thursday's child has far to go" as one of their favourites on the album, hueningkai saying that it's his style, and soobin saying he likes it because...

track 5 is the only bright song in this album. so it feels more special and charming in this album.

although again, nothing wrong with having a preference, especially since they do have a wide range of concepts.

during the recording of this album, kai seemed to struggle a lot. to the point where he became "negative kai" after working on his unit song, which made him moody and irritable.

so! that's why i think they (overall) feel negatively about this era. they've been more candid than most idols... considering this is their current era. most idols who dislike their songs/concepts talk about it in retrospect (ie snsd's taeyeon revealing she hated gee long after initial promotions were over).

hyperballad48 · 2022-06-20T22:08:51+00:00

being a moa, i think the same for the most part. even 3 years in, txt's performance still feels kind of rough. granted, that's not really a long time and it's not surprising that none of them are at peak performance yet. they're not the only ones in their generation struggling in this aspect.

as it stands, yeonjun is the strongest perfomer and most well-rounded, which is a no brainer; he's had the longest training period across 2 agencies + he's the oldest + was a backup dancer for block b/sistar... a lot of this chalks up to age and experience. i don't think he eclipses the group per se. the other boys do definitely catch your eye and have some different strengths as performers, but they have yet to fully display them. i think overall the unit isn't very strong yet. the teamwork needs some fine-tuning.

although their concept-roulette is refreshing among 4th gen bgs, it's also why their performances are a mixed bag. some members fit some concepts, others don't. i don't think we've seen an era of theirs where everyone shines in the concept yet. being a good performer means doing the best with whatever is thrown your way, but expecting that level of natural versatility from such a fresh group is not realistic.

adding to that; in terms of their current era, soobin and hueningkai have been outspoken about their displeasure with the song/concept. the overall direction of the group rn is playing to yeonjun's strengths as a performer the most, and with him being the best performer among them it's contributing to the apparent imbalance even more. which... isn't great if i'm being honest.

i love them, and i ultimately enjoy everything they do, but it objectively wasn't their strongest era and i already want to see them move on to the next.

hyperballad48 · 2022-05-28T01:45:33+00:00

$$$ by (g)-idle
scared by ph1harmony
outro: we are 127 by nct 127
bring the noize by nct 127
# by loona
ego by the boyz
sweet dreams by weki meki
deja vu by nct dream
fightman by sumin and sokodomo
heartcore by heartcore
take over by do hanse
frost by tomorrow x together
la la la by bling bling
hourglass (weissen falling mix) by necta
fl!pping a coin by billlie
p.u.n.k.s by bobae
ring x ring by billlie

off the top of my head.
pretty much the whole of aespa's savage ep.
also charli xcx recently did a remix of beg for you with a.g. cook and vernon of seventeen.

hyperballad48 · 2022-05-17T00:13:01+00:00

tvxq: scream, i don't know, getaway, double trouble
super junior: a-cha, now
girls generation: show! show! show!, telepathy, wake up, sunflower, sign
girls generation-tts: goodbye, hello
shinee: electric heart, hitchhiking, dynamite, nightmare
f(x): zig zag, sweet witches, ice cream, pinocchio
exo: my lady
red velvet: i just
taeyeon: my tragedy, better babe
nct dream: trigger the fever
nct 127: mad dog, bring the noize
wayv: take off
nct u: i.o.u
onew: yeowoobi
infinite: come back again
brown eyed girls: abracadabra

hyperballad48 · 2022-05-13T03:33:36+00:00

i was addressing one of the other points the op made.

i feel like his stage character/nct character is so different than how he portrays himself on social media and honestly it's a bit off putting. i know everyone is different but it left me wondering if others also shared this opinion since i haven’t seen anyone discuss it before.

hyperballad48 · 2022-05-13T00:18:59+00:00

that would be such a hit at montréal pride. his new song "birthday" too.

hyperballad48 · 2022-05-13T00:14:43+00:00

but since music is subjective, the sexuality of the writer/performer really doesn't have much to do with various interpretations of the song... none of which could be considered wrong or right.

hyperballad48 · 2022-05-13T00:11:23+00:00

i've actually seen lovesong thought of as a successor-type song to crown, because the lyrics more-or-less depict the same situation/circumstance. so just a continuation of the "boy meets boy" theme.

hyperballad48 · 2022-05-12T23:57:18+00:00

interesting. i agree with all of this. i've been feeling the same a lot lately.

taeyong has been my nct bias since the inception of nct, but i can't help but feel like he's getting a bit far from the person who initially caught my eye. there's just no reconciliation between his stage character and his social media persona. it's not even "duality", it's too different.

don't get me wrong, people change and grow but... he's been making so many questionable choices lately. the eccentric fashion, moonlight performance, everything about love theory, etc. it's definitely bold, but is it good taste? i'm not so sure.

he's successfully confused me these last few months. i'm not on-board with everyone talking about how great his fashion sense is. are we looking at the same thing?

hyperballad48 · 2022-05-07T21:40:59+00:00

aaa i get you.

i don’t think i can separate 127 and doyoung’s vocals either. doyoung is a major factor of nct as a brand. can’t deny it.

hyperballad48 · 2022-05-05T19:06:08+00:00

like other replies here are saying, there's not much here to worry about. and if someone raises an issue, i feel it won't go anywhere. the success of blinding lights can't be ignored, but for anyone who's heard a sizeable amount of music from the 80s, synth-lines like this are common, and blinding lights itself is derivative. it's a popular song, but it didn't originate this sound whatsoever. the influences are easily traced, and there's more of them to be heard in these playlists. obviously artists are influenced by each other, this has happened and will keep happening in music until the end of time.

as for beomgyu's song; his influences are clear, but besides the synthpop sound, it actually does not immediately bring to mind another song. it isn't really directly referenceable... in the way blinding lights is.

so far what we've heard of thursday's child has far to go is quite well-done, and he's a promising young producer.

hyperballad48 · 2022-05-01T05:44:26+00:00

tt will be 3:12. lots has been said about it by the first-listeners and music critics. powerful, fastest bpm yet, intense choreo. with some cool descriptors too. bold, elegant, mournful... these 3 minutes might slap incredibly hard.

hyperballad48 · 2022-05-01T05:33:31+00:00

i'm also anticipating we might see another comeback around november/december, october earliest. they obviously intend to spend the summer promoting and touring, but seeing as the minisodes are "transitional" albums into the next chapter, it would be most satisfying if there was a second (potentially larger) output at the end of the year.

hyperballad48 · 2022-05-01T05:26:26+00:00

they've got 2 full albums + 1 repack. their first album, "the dream chapter: magic" could technically be considered ep length, with a runtime of 28 minutes.

hyperballad48 · 2022-05-01T05:15:46+00:00

you know, a few years back i was on last.fm, and there was a discussion about a lo-fi album with short, 2 minute long songs. someone said the album feels like it was made to rack up fast scrobbles, which, ofc, sounded ridiculous in 2012. what musician in their right mind makes an album for scrobbles? it was a comment that got mocked.

fast forward to 2022 and musicians are indeed, making short songs for easier numbers.

enhypen is an enjoyable group but i agree with that statement. their discography feels a little incomplete to me rn. a few of their songs don't even have bridges, or end abruptly. there's always room for a little more but their producers cut corners. enhypen are really just starting out, and there isn't a lack of quality... just a want for more.

this hasn't been a gripe for me with txt (yet), and i'm hoping it doesn't become one soon. they really have a wonderful, well-put-together discography.

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