It’s time again for The Fangirls to chime in on some of the newest Kpop and Indie songs released this past month.  So come join us and check out what MV’s we couldn’t stop watching and which ones are a miss.  Then be sure to let us know if you agree or if we missed any of your faves.

BAP – Feel Good

KMUSE: I have a feeling that this is the start of our happy summer MV’s that make you want to roll the windows down in your car and pump out some tunes.  I have to admit that the first two times I listened to the song I was just feeling “meh”, but the third time is the charm.  I think this will for sure go on my summer cruisin list of 2016.

TurtleMaknae: BAP!!! I’m so glad they are back in the music scene. This is their second MV out since their comeback and it’s fabulous. It’s so bright and fun and they look like they are genuinely enjoying themselves and being themselves. The overall feeling of this video is pure excitement. The boys are so full of energy. The boys look like they are having so much fun in each of the scenes.

The video doesn’t have a strict plot-line, the scenes change quickly and don’t stay on a shot for very long but overall it’s pretty easy to watch. The sets are well made and well made. The mixture of pastels and vibrant colors is pleasing. Going along with the bright sets is the bright and fun fashion. The fashion is a mix between cute and hip hop with a splash of suit and I love me a man in a colored suit. The clothing, set color choices and the song go great for spring.

The song is bright and the chorus is catchy. The rap parts almost blend and there is a slight separation between those and the rest of the song but it’s not enough to bother me. The song has a great message about how the man loves the woman not because she’s amazingly beautiful or sexy nor is she super special. He loves her because she is unique and wants to be around her because she makes him feel comfortable and happy. He is very much in love. For the bits of choreography that are shown throughout the video, it seems funny, lively, and upbeat but not too intense. It flows well from move to move and helps highlight the main vocalist for each of their parts. Overall I love this song.

Jennie: I always enjoy B.A.P, but I never considered myself a Baby until now. I’m a HUGE sucker for bubblegum pop and the second I turned on this MV I knew it would be right up my alley. I finally learned everyone’s names! I’ve only known Himchan and Zelo for a long time. Dare I say I have a new bias? Daehyun, why you gotta sneak up on a girl like that??

The dance was rockin’. It wasn’t over the top crazy, but these boys have so much energy and strength they could be doing the chicken dance and killing it. They’ve now tied for my favorite dancers next to SHINee. Well done!

 

 

 

Mamamoo – You’re The Best

KMUSE:   I love love love Mamamoo to bits and this MV is so much fun both visually and audibly.  Not only are their vocals AMAZING, but they have that “it” quality that sets them apart from the kpop pack.  It is hard to walk that line of sexy without feeling that their company is only promoting how attractive they are.  Being cute but not aegyo.  Concepts that can sometimes detract from a groups talent in my opinion. .  Mamamoo does both with ease.  Even if you tend to not like girl kpop groups I suggest you check out their work.  You will be surprised at how talented and listenable they are.

TurtleMaknae: I love Mamamoo. I really loved their song Oh Um Ah Yeah and I started to listen to their other music as well and boy are they talented! I love all their music. Oh My goodness I love this Music Video and song. It’s light, vibrant, fun and it’ll get you moving. The song is super catchy. It’s upbeat, lively, and the harmonies these girls sing are amazing. They have these perfect harmonies throughout the entire song and especially at the end. These girls know how to sing and do it very well. This song is exactly what the title says it’s about. This guy is the best and she is madly in love with him. The dance that is seen throughout the video goes perfectly with the beat and feel of the song. It’s fun and doesn’t look to terribly difficult. I could probably learn it if I applied myself.

There isn’t really a plotline to the video. It’s mostly scenes about them being with this guy and their relationship with him. The sets were fabulous though, they were retro but looked old and authentic rather than being recreated to look old using new stuff. The fashion went along with the vintage feel of the video. They blended many different decades of fashion into this video, such as the 70s and 50s but the way they styled them worked well that they could be in one fashion in one scene and another in the next scene and it didn’t feel out of place. This song is great and I recommend it and all of Mamamoo’s music to everyone.

Jennie: It ain’t a secret these ladies can sing. Such an adorable MV, I had to download the album. They manage to SLAYYY every time. This would be my #1 LIVE girl group choice, with f(x) right up next to them.

 

Eddy Kim (Feat. Beenzino)  – Paldangdam

KMUSE: I have fallen in love with this song and Eddy Kim.  This is the first time I have watched anything of his and I have become an official fan of his style and work.  One interesting note: This MV/song is actually being banned by a few sensors in South Korea because of his use of the word “dam”.  While he is indicating a dam he pronounces it like “damn” and that is just too much for some naysayers. Personally, if I had not read an article about the topic, I don’t think the word would have even registered to me.  For each his own, I guess.

TurtleMaknae: Beezino’s voice fits perfectly with Eddy Kim’s voice and the rap breaks don’t feel out of place in the song at all. The overall flow of the song is smooth. The lyrics are a bit confusing though, I think what its saying is that even though he’s a normal guy, girls flood to him because he has great communicating skills so his girl should be haughty and show some skin and be better than the girls flooding him? I think? I don’t know but not only are the lyrics odd but the video is odd as well. It’s very fun though especially in the use of dolls to represent girls. The filming style is choppy and spliced but it doesn’t transition fast enough to be obnoxious and set is simple for the most part. They stay in room boxes for the most of the scenes with the exception of using a pool a few times. The fashion and coloring of the whole video is very retro reminiscent of the 70’s, with plaids, big glasses, and lots of tans, browns, and yellows. The song is kind of catchy but I don’t think I’ll be listening to it too often.

 Jennie: I’ve never been a big fan of his, but this was cute. Still don’t consider myself a fan.

 

Jung Joon Young (Feat. Suh Young Eun) – Sympathy

KMUSE: I have always appreciated that Jung Joon Young’s songs all seem to have a story/meaning behind them.  Even if they are a bit racier than your usual Kmusic.  This one not only has a tale but is an actual mini- story in MV form.  Full of love, addiction, cheating, and despair all set to some amazing vocals.  Suh Young Eun’s voice is equal in intensity as Jung Joon Young and combined they give me chills.

TurtleMaknae: I really like JJY. I got to see him live at KCON a couple years back and before that I didn’t know anything about him so I looked up his music before going and Teenager had just come out and so I was able to listen to his music prior to seeing him perform live. He then came out with JJY Band which is awesome and I still listen to that album often.

This song and video are so deep and very heavy. The song is sad and lonely. It’s got powerful moments but it hurts instead of riling you up. The cello is a lovely addition though. I hate the sudden break for bongos during the gambling scene but I don’t that will be in the album release of the song. I don’t know who she is and have never heard her sing before but Suh Youngeun’s voice matches well with JJY. What I think the lyrics are basically saying is why can’t we just break up peacefully? We should have just broken up without any hurt feelings, why did it end up like this with us being hurt? I stopped loving you (He let lust get in the way. And if he could let lust get in the way then he may not have loved her at all, personal opinion) Maybe we should have loved without caring so we wouldn’t be hurt in the end. Very sad.

The fashion in the beginning is simple and normal clothing but as the video goes on, the fashion for the male lead changes. He wears more clothing that fits the stereotypical bad boy. And her fashion doesn’t change. Much like how his love get twisted with his life and her love for him remains the same.

The Music Video is shot amazingly well. The setting is Hong Kong so everything is very real. It portrays a dirty and gritty style of living perfectly with a combination of close and far shots in the same scene. The video also has this subtle element of sadness and loneliness throughout the whole Music Video. It isn’t right out there until the end but it permeates throughout in the lighting and the actions of the actors. On the bus near the end you can see that she is still holding on and still loves him (She is holding a drink with two straws and looking at him) but he has drifted away (He’s not moving and is looking away from her and into the city) and it continues to the bed where she reaches out to hold him and he goes to kiss her but turns around without any emotion on his face and she finally turns away before throwing him out in the next scene. I think this shows that this style of life, which is often represented rightfully in a negative light, can cause pain. It may not have meant to put it this way but it shows that when you have low morals, someone is going to get hurt. Especially if only one person in the couple has no morals. It shows that cheating, drinking, gambling, partying and smoking tend to go hand in hand. It shows that lust ruins everything. Except this song. I love this song.

Jennie: Sorry to differ in opinion, but I thought this was a snooze-fest. I wasn’t that impressed with him at Kcon either. Even standing I almost fell asleep during his performance until Rapmon came out. Zzzzzzzzz

 

Taemin – Drip Drop

Jennie: WAHHHHH!!! *Fangirls everywhere* Taemin is back!!! I’m still not over Danger, so I was not ready for this to happen. My Shawol feels are overflowing. I don’t know if anyone’s noticed, but this boy can DANCE!! If anyone knows where this was filmed, please tell me. I plan to visit there and do the dance someday… Kidding. Not really.

KMUSE: This isn’t my favorite song of Taemin’s.  HOWEVER, it is an incredible opportunity to watch his dancing talent and I might have rewatched it more than once.  It is such a complicated dance routine that I think I am going to finish this post and then go check out some of the live performances of this song.  His dancing skills are undeniable.

TurtleMaknae: This song has to be meant as a dance performance song. It’s fast and has an intense rhythm and a strong bass beat. It repeats enough to add repetitive dance moves and adds to the catchiness of the chorus. You’d think that as a performance piece the lyrics would be lacking but it isn’t. In fact, It’s quite deep, using the analogy that the girl is like water and he is a boat going out in to the ocean and he is falling more and more into her.

I find this dance is better than the Press Your Number’s. The dance fits the beat so well and is crisp yet fluid. It’s just powerful enough in all the right places. The use of fast and slow, static holds and flowing movements is intriguing and entertaining to watch. I love when he does the “catching water drops” move around 2:27.

I love when the fashion works the benefit of the dance. His jacket and scarf combo add to the flowing feeling of the beginning. Mustard must be coming back into style. Also his vest/gun holster suspenders thing is awesome, where can I get those.

 

Nu’est – Overcome

KMUSE: I can’t get past poor Ren’s bad hair.  The stylist did him wrong trying to make him look like a high school girl from the 90’s who has been watching too much Friends.  But when I ignore the actual MV I like the song.  Not my favorite, but still really solid.

TurtleMaknae: I’m really upset about this comeback. So many people probably will disagree with me but I don’t like this one. I don’t like Ren’s hair, I don’t like the song or the choreography. The only things I like are the setting and costuming, which are pretty spectacular. The sets are intricate and the costumes oddly fit perfectly. They are my favorite part of this video. There doesn’t seem to be a real plot though and it’s kind of confusing. I might have to watch the video a couple more times to get it completely.

Well, the lyrics seem pretty standard, except the weird spell they chant (mahakenda peupeldomun), It’s about a guy would traverse distances and be her knight in shining armour to save her. Although the lyrics are straight forward the song itself is anything but. It starts out weird and changes suddenly. There are too many electronic instruments and not enough real ones. The sound is too loud compared to the voices, the rap doesn’t fit in the song either. Overall, I’m not impressed with this song. Which makes me sad because I like Nu’est and it’s been awhile since they’ve released anything.

Body rolls are awesome but the choreography is off. I can’t put my finger on it but it’s off and it makes me slightly uncomfortable. It’s well executed but it seems too much for the song. It’s too powerful for the pace and sound of the song.

Jennie: I agree with most everything said above. The song isn’t bad, but I’m not spending money on it.

 

4Minute – Hate (2 Versions)

KMUSE: I think I like the Choreography Practice MV better.  The original just felt to cluttered and I couldn’t focus on the song.

TurtleMaknae: I watched both Versions of the song and with the original version, I feel like they could have put more story into the shots and filming because all the scenes were different and disjointed. None of them really fit together in a cohesive way. The shots are stunning and the sets are elaborate, until they get to the chorus, where it reminds me of GD’s One of a kind and their song Crazy. Basically, the fashion is female hip-hop in the main group scenes. The individual scene and the non-dancing scene the fashion varies more and I like those outfits more.

For a song called Hate, it feel rather more sad than angry. The verses drip with longing that the chorus chases away. Almost like trying to convince yourself to hate the one you loved. The sudden change between verses and chorus is jarring and takes some time to get used to. The song melody it’s self is more complex than the lyrics are ridiculously repetitive. Even in the verses, they’ll say the same word three times. It’s all about how there is only hate in their relationship now so they better break up. That’s as deep as it gets.

Just like the song, the choreography starts out slow and smooth with the girls flowing with the melody. As the as the beat builds the girls and the dance gets more intense until you hit the chorus where the beat completely changes. When it goes back to the slow beat so do the girls. The dance builds and falls with the song.

 

Double S 301 – Pain

Jennie: SS501 is back as sub-unit with a new song! After five years a comeback looked dim, but these three really brought it with this song. I might be a tad obsessed. It has that throwback Kpop feel that I fell in love with when I first started listening. Recently groups are trying to go more…western? Not sure if that’s the right word, but I like Kpop the way it is. They don’t need to mess with a good thing.

KMUSE: I totally got a Shinwa/MBlaq vibe with this song and MV.  Love everything about this MV and so glad Jennie brought it to my attention.  I never really was into SS501 (before my intro into kpop) so this is a nice glimpse into their sound.  Might have to go and check out their previous work.

 

 

Taemin – Press Your Number (3 versions)

Jennie: Of course I love everything Taemin does. I’ve enjoyed both his solo albums immensely. Even more than Jonghyun, but I still love him! This song, however, didn’t do it for me. I’m not Bruno Mars fan, never have been, and I just thought this song was so-so even without knowing Bruno Mars had a hand in it. I still like the song, but it’s not my favorite of the album.

KMUSE: Visually all three MV’s were stunning.  The first MV was the one I will watch if I want to stare at Taemin’s beauty.  He looked so good in that MV.  The second had him dancing in what I assume is the LA river.  And while visually it was very cool, the mom in me could not stop thinking of how polluted that water probably is.  So for me, I give my thumbs up to the Lord of the Manor version.  Taemin sure is looking sexy and owning his awesomeness in all three versions.  And the song is growing on me.  Although that might be because I have heard it so much gathering screencaps for this post.

TurtleMaknae: Does Taemin have multiples personalities? Everything about this video is all over the place I don’t even know how to or where to start. The costumes change rapidly and randomly. The scenes are all out of sorts. The Song barely fits. The only why I can get it to fit the music video is if I think that he’s trying fill a hole. Now don’t get me wrong, I love everything about this Music Video and Taemin. I’m just very confused. The overlay at the beginning is weird and then it starts like a movie. Taemin is a hoodlum and a criminal. But then he’s been kidnapped and OMG he is so skinny but wait he’s been kidnapped by himself or evil twin brother. There’s five bajillion blue roses, EVERYWHERE. He wants to set stuff on fire then go dancing in a French hotel.

But at least the song is fabulous. It fits his voice so well. The driving beat is strong but not overwhelming. The balance between sound and voice is pleasing to the ears. It’s smooth just like his voice and his moves because boy can that boy dance.

I watched the performance versions to get a look at the Choreography and it’s awesome but the dance only fits for the verses. It doesn’t fit in the chorus. The dance isn’t powerful enough for the chorus. And as much as I like seeing different moves, the dance has too much variation, sometimes you just need to repeat your moves. Also the dance should tell a story, with a beginning, middle, and end. If the story the dance tells is incomplete or different from the story the song is telling, it feels as if something is missing. And that is how I feel about the dance.

 

 

 

Teen Top – Don’t Drink

KMUSE: I like my Teen Top fast and full of in your face vocals.  This one bored me to tears.

TurtleMaknae: The video all behind the scenes footage from their most recent video, Warning Sign, some photo-shoots, concerts, fan meetings, music shows, and everyday life. The boys are absolute goofs and tend to get violent with each other. There are lots of shots of them just standing around and playing. Also poor monkey plushy.

The song is slow and soft. It flows smoothly from verse to rap to chorus. This feeling of the song is reminiscent of their song Angel. The lyrics are heartbreaking and don’t fit the video at all. The lyrics are about a guy whose girlfriend is going out with guy-friends and wear shorts skirts and parties and he doesn’t like the idea of people looking at her and flirting with her. He just wants her love and all her attention. He wants her to tell people she has a boyfriend.

Jennie: I’m on team Kmuse here. Good. Night. *hits snooze*

That is all for us today!  Hope you were able to catch a song or two that you might have missed.  Did we miss any good ones?  Let us know in the comments.

 

Til next time,

The Fangirls