케이윌 (K.will) - 이러지마 제발 (Please don't...)

Today I'm going to go about this blog a bit different as usual. Instead of starting off this post telling you all my own opinions and thoughts I would like you all to shape your own. So, I ask you guys. Please have a look at the video first before reading this post and try to think by yourself what the story is about. After that I'm going to willing share with you my own thoughts.

TaeTiSeo (SNSD) - Twinkle

Have you found yourself searching though the enormous list of Kpop songs in search of a song that has some  strong female vocals and amazing diva-like adlibs to the point that the song seems like one major adlib? Well, then I think that Twinkle might be the song for you. I don't even remember how I came across the song. But I do know that it did end up leaving quite an impression.

For this song SMent threw together 3 of SNSD's most powerful vocals and gave them a song where they get the chance to show their inner diva. Personally it kinda reminded me of Lady Marmalade. I know that they aren't strutting around in corsets asking people to sleep with them, but if you look more deeply the similarities are definitely there. They are both about some powerful ladies who spend their days in the spotlights and are both paired with quite some crazy adlibs. They even have shots of both these groups of ladies preparing themselves for the evening in front of mirrors. One thing that Lady Marmalade does have that Twinkle is sadly lacking though is variation.

Through Lady Marmalade there are many changes in sound while with Twinkle the instrumental seems to be the same during nearly all of the song and the melody seems to be a simple copy paste job. If it weren't for the adlibs I wouldn't be able to tell them apart. In the end though I still enjoy listening and I find singing along quite a challenge so I'll definitely give the girls credit for pulling it off.

When it comes to the PV I'm not very positive. While the song itself still managed to seduce me into liking it, the PV didn't have as much luck. It was nicely made and all that, but in the end all that happens is them strutting their stuff while preparing themselves to perform on an abandoned roof. Compared to the standard I've come to see in Kpop video's, this seems somewhat lame. I can't deny though that they all look gorgeous.

Oh my god guys! A car with an illegal number plate! Who are these criminals? We must bust them!

Any second now...

Taeyeon: "Uhm, guys, can we just pretend that you didn't see that?"

Tiffany: "Let's smile and wave... smile and wave..."

Chanyeol: "Aw man, the guys are gonna kill me if I don't manage to get a decent shot of these girls..."

Seohyun: "You do realize that you're tall enough to just see us without trying right?"

Oh well, let's just wave and dazzle them with our smiles. Maybe they'll forget our crime that way.

Looks like someone is immune to these lady's Mozes powers.

Chanyeol: "Ah crap, I have a clear shot. If there aren't other photographers in the photo the others will think I just took the pictures of the internet."

Chanyeol: "I must quickly get a spot where my view will be blocked!"

Tiffany: "Oh Fifi, what should I do? There are so many light pink dresses to choose from!"

Seohyun: "You think you have a problems? These shoes are attacking me!"

Baekhyun: "I really don't get what these girls are on about, it's not that hard to look gorgeous."

Tiffany: "Hey guys, like what you see?"

Kai & Sehun: "What the hell is her problem?"

I have to say that they look gorgeous in these shots! I especially like Tiffany's look. Though Seohyun is also rocking it.

Seohyun: "I can't stand this endless repetition! Let me change it up a a bit."

Taeyeon: "That's okay, I'll add some of my amazing adlibs and everything wil be fine!"

Tiffany: "What are you guys on about? Repetition is awesome! Let's repeat the same melody a few times more!"

The ladies look amazing in these clothes and they know it!

Forefore re forefore re forefore

Oh~ Oh, oh, beauty forest

Chanyeol: "So here I am... waiting on the streets for some girls that work in the same company as I do. Just because of some stupid bet."

Fifi: "Hey guys! Anyone wanna take me for a walk?"

Chanyeol: "Aw man... I thought I finally had a chance to take that picture. They're gonna give me a hard time when I get home..."

So yeah, as you might have noticed I quite enjoyed taking these screenshots. Hehe, those beautiful comeo's are amazing. All in all it is a nice song and a nice PV, but I think they could have added something extra to make the whole twinkle.

BIGBANG - Fantastic Baby

A few days ago I launched this blog with my review of 2NE1's I'm the Best and I talked about how a certain  remix got me into liking the song. Well, that remix was very effective in making me like songs because another song that was in there is now also on the list of my favorite Kpop songs, BIGBANG's Fantastic Baby. Now considering that 2NE1 and BIGBANG are from the same entertainment group I wondered whether it would be wise to be reviewing them so shortly after each other but then I realized that I don't really care. I just want to review this song, so I will~

Just like with 'I'm the Best' this song continued to echo in my head for days, though this time it wasn't the lead singer that had found themselves a place in the dysfunctional radio that I like to call my mind. The first part being TOP's rap while being in those picture frames. Not only did I love the sound of that part (even though it seemed kinda.. sudden?) I also loved the look of it. Never before had I bothered even looking at a picture of this group but the moment I laid eyes on him I knew that this was the man my friend had been fangirling about. Anyways, the weird zooming thing, his voice and his looks & expressions just killed me for a moment right there.

The second thing that stuck with me was Seungri's part when he is surrounded by those cat ladies. I loved the sound of it in the remix but I found out later that the mixer had placed an effect on his voice which was what I majorly liked about that  part of the song in the first place. But even without the effect it's still amazing, especially the "Na na na na na~" part at the end of it.

Finally the other three also managed to impress me. I really love Daesung's long notes though the neck muscle thing he does kinda scares me... And Taeyang and G-Dragon are just generally awesome, I can't really point out some point in the song that they impressed me most vocal-wise. Still though I am considering whether I should grow my hair out and dye it so that I can start wearing it as a dress... Lady Gaga's got nothing on that! And if I grow tired of it I can always cut it off at the exact place where my original hair color stops and the hair dye starts~

Now, let's have a closer look at the PV...

Hello mister owl, are you one of BIGBANG's members?

I swear, he only has to wrap it around him in a fashionable way and it would become a great dress!

Stop music? NEVER! Stop singing? NEVER! Stop wearing a gas mask and headphones at the same time? I might consider...

I-Is that a Molotov cocktail?

Watching him unfreeze in slow motion...

Taeyang: "Oh yeah, you like it when I unfreeze in slow motion, don't you?"

Hmm, I expected a bigger bang... Hehe... Get it? BIGger BANG?

Is your forehead itching dear?

Okay... as a still this part kinda creeps me out... in a good way~

Oh captain, you may sail my ship <3

During this part I was anxiously waiting for him to start floating, but it was not meant to be.

I'm not likely to ever take a tattoo... but if I will, it won't be in my neck... that must be so painful!

Oooh, look what I have in my dungeon~

Don't... don't do that... it's not sexy, it's scary...

Oh hello there! Long time no see! Actually, I think this is my first time seeing you... where were you till now? Interesting piercing btw, you could use it to hang curtains in front of your ear.

Ah... So that's what you were doing hmm? Well, it looks like you had fun. I would have those scratches on your chest looked after though.

Seungri: "Bitch please, I got this."

Mkay, if you say so... but be careful that they don't get infected.

Aww, I liked your previous backdrops better. Don't get your suit dirty~

Hmm, what's that on his lips?

Do I spy a Full Metal Alchemist referance? Probably not but I'll just pretend that it is.

Oh... Oh my~ I liked TOP's suit, but this much better... Daesung in a blue suit definitely works for me.

This reminds me of a movie where someone falls down a cliff to hell or something like that, where there are many creatures awaiting a nice snack... what is it? Do you know?

Dancing BIGBANG style~

Forget TOP, forget Daesung, these guys are the sexiest beings in this whole video!

I see a free spot to the right, surely I can join you guys, right?

Now at first I didn't really see any underlying message in this video, all I noticed was the Anti-Music Alliance battling against the rebels. Later though I watched Simon and Martina's review and I realized that each person was indeed breaking out of his restraints. G-Dragon manages to shed of the crazy amounts of hair that has been pinning him down and finally reaches a mirror so he can fix his make-up, Taeyang unfreezes and finds his inner self through meditation (though later he realizes that all he really wanted was a metal arm), TOP finally manages to leave his framed life and rediscovers his love for blue fur, Daesung is no longer chained down and manages to find a shirt and Seungri... Well, I guess those cat ladies helped him relieve some tension and frustrations 'cause what else was he doing during the first half of the video? Seriously, he's nowhere to be seen for such a long time!

One thing that does amuse me though when it comes to the video and even the live performances I have watched. For a song that mentions the word 'dance' so much there is very little dancing involved! Surely, there is some towards the end of the video but it's just them moving their bodies while singing to the camera. If I hadn't seen the video while listening to the song for the first time I probably would have expected there to be some major choreography throughout the video. But oh well, it was not meant to be. If I am correct in my assumptions BIGBANG just isn't really a group that goes around dancing to a certain choreography. Either way, I still enjoyed the video a lot.

Brown Eyed Girls - Sign (싸인)

For this review a friend of mine suggested that I would do a song by either B.E.G. or Sunnyhill and this song immediately came to mind. I had never heard of Sunnyhill before but I had seen SHINee's Key dance to this song and I loved it (though a great part of the reason was that it was paired with some amazing Diva attitude). Beside's Key's awesome though I still loved the song a great deal and listened it whenever I felt like it. The chorus is very catchy with the 'dot dot dot dot dot', the verses were beautifully sung and the instrumental spoke to me. Overall I really liked it a lot. That's why I was definitely pumped to review this song. And to be honest, the dance with the hand fans also looked awesome. 

What I hadn't realized though was that I had never actually seen the MV. Sure, I'd played it on YouTube several times, but it was always a backing music to whatever I was doing. So when I started the MV I expected to see some awesome dance shots with fans incorporated into a video with a regal feel... Well, those who didn't know already have probably guessed it by now, I was completely wrong. Instead I was greeted with a drama like video that didn't make sense to me at all.

After watching it over and over again for a few times I've tried to make something out of it that makes at least a little sense, though I'm still confused at some points. 

So, we begin with alternating images of a young man, portrayed by Ryu Deok-Hwan, who seems to be hurt and an older creepy guy I do not know the name of (if someone does, please let me know). These two seem to be the main characters of the video's story. 

 It appears that the young man is injured and is trying to protect himself. The older man however appears to be frozen in place blankly staring ahead of him. There is a big contrast between the movement surrounding the one and the silence surrounding the other.

Then we zoom out and find out more about the situations these two are in. 

The young man appears to be in the middle of a group of fighting people. They are all beating him up while he desperately tries to protect himself and attempts to get out though with very little success. The older man on the other hand appears to be seated in some kind of chair. His expressions seem imply that he is watching the things that are happening to the younger man after which he tentatively raises a hand.

After this we finally see the first appearances of B.E.G.

They seem to just stand there, looking on with what seems to be pity, as the young man is struggling to get up. Their presence confuses me since they seem like they are in the same place as the young man, yet the lighting is different and the men that are beating him up seem to have disappeared when they are on screen.

The fighting still continues and then we once again see the man from the older man from the same angle as before as he suddenly makes a gesture with his hand. This results in the attackers to be blown away from the young guy buying him time to get of the platform where they were fighting.

Then suddenly one of the girls appears in front of our main guy clearly giving him a scare.

During this time the attackers have once again gained their composure and once again start throwing the younger guy around, showing him no mercy. Our beloved Brown Eyed Girls show up in front of him one by one while singing to him making him wonder the same thing I am.

What the hell do they want from him? At this point I believed that maybe they were just in another location or moment in time or something that isn't related to 'what is going on'. But that theory is scattered the moment he uses Miryo's leg to get up in both 'situations'.

After this it continues on a while the same way, the fighters fight and the girls watch while singing, though I have to say that at some times I feel quite bad as it keeps getting worse and worse. But maybe that's just me being sensitive. 

Then, when it looks like there is no more hope he manages to find a weapon and tries to fight them off though it still doesn't seem to be going well. Eventually though he seems to be able to escape them, only to be waited on by three other men.

While he's still fighting with the first group of men we see some flashes of a document and a tattoo in his neck. At first I didn't even notice it but now I think it might be some sort of prophecy... I would love to know what the document says. 

Anyways, he arrives at the next three attackers, he gets beaten up some more, the girls sing some more, I feel even worse... And then the older guy returns. Clearly not liking what he sees he flicks his hand and the last attacker is thrown away.

After this he is very dispirited but still carries on until he finds some doors and goes inside. There he finds the older man, surrounded by cages in which the girls are trapped, drowned in water.

Then, the older man utters some words which don't seem to be a non-existent language. Unlike me though some people did some more effort to find out what he said and reversed the audio. This resulted in something which seemed to be Korean for "Only you can rescue me and bring me peace."

Quit frankly this kinda creeps me out, but it also gives me more of an idea of what was going on. Clearly the older guy was somehow trying to get the younger guy to reach him, maybe to fulfill the prophecy that we saw earlier? But that doesn't clarify what is going on with the girls?

Then, he uses his magic powers to provide the young man with a weapon and levitate him towards himself, successfully having him pierce his heart by doing so. Leaving the young man shocked over what just happened.

Then, after recovering from his initial shock, he does what any person should do when surrounded by 4 pretty girls who are drowning in glass cages. He tried to smash in one of those cages and save the girl inside.

Sadly enough the girl passes out while he tries to save her leaving him crying over her dead body.

And that concludes the video.

So yeah, even though I still find it very confusing I feel like it makes more sense after looking at it for the nth time. I believe that the idea of the story is that the young guy somehow get's to know that his 4 female friends have been kidnapped and he desperately tries to get to them. This results in him trying to get through enormous group of men that won't let him pass. The older man I believe is some kind of evil entity that is sick of his life and wants to end it. But, according to some prophecy he is not capable of doing so himself, he can only be killed by this one person: young man. Thus he helps him when it looks like he won't be able to make it. His being evil though makes him still make it as hard as possible... and kidnap the lovely ladies. So when the young man finally reaches him he doesn't wait any longer and finally releases himself of life.

For me this still doesn't clarify everything for me though. I still don't understand what's up with the girls earlier on in the story. I understand that they somehow wanted to incorporate their faces in the MV but the way they did it doesn't seem sense to me. What was their part in it? Where these their spirits? But then why can he touch them? Or were they guardian angels? In that case they aren't really doing a good job. And how come the other man disappeared whenever they appeared?

Something else I don't understand is why he gave up on trying to rescue her so quickly. I know that she passed out in that water tank but why didn't he try to give her CPR? I'd think that if you've gone through so much to save her, you will at least give it a try right? And also, what about the other girls?

 Anyways, to end this on a brighter note, I still absolutely adore the dance. Even though it isn't in the video, they do dance it live. My favorite part of the dance is probably when they tap their neck with their fans. 

All in all Sign was an amazing song with an amazing dance and a confusing though secretly still quite good MV. So, what do you guys think? What was the part of B.E.G. in this video? Did you interpret the MV in the same way I did? If not, what do you think it's about? I'd love to know~