9 overdue song and video reviews!
Posted under: I’ve done a lot of catching up this weekend. There have been songs I’ve needed to listen to buuuut I’ve put them off for whatever reason. Sometimes I have the songs on my hard drive (like in the case of S.M. The Ballad) forever and I’ve simply forgotten about them. Other times (like with “WHY (Keep Your Head Down)”) I’ve just had little interest. I thought I’d give you a quick rundown of some of the tracks.
- S.M. The Ballad – Hot Times: I knew this song would be good, but for some reason I just wasn’t in the mood for it until now. I really like it! Without a doubt, it’s high quality perfection. I suppose my initial reaction is that it seems slightly repetitive, but it sounds so good I don’t really mind? (Watching the video = OH. LOVE. WHY ARE THEIR VOICES SO GORGEOUS. WHY ARE THEY SO GORGEOUS.) The rest of the songs on their album are equally good, but “Hot Times” definitely stands out the most to me.
- 4minute – WHY: I’ve heard 4minutes recent Korean stuff and pretty much wasn’t impressed. Their Japanese “WHY” kind of fits into the same category (I think I’ve heard it once before but it’s been about a month), which is disappointing. 4minute is so good! The need better music. It’s not bad, it’s just not that great. (The video is absolute 4minute style. They always manage to look just a little cheap… oops. I still love them.)
- Super Junior-M – 太完美 (Perfection): I’ve actually heard this/seen the video once. It’s pretty catchy in the way only Super Junior can be. As of now, I still can’t say it’s one of their best, but compared to some of the other things that are out there right now it’s definitely pretty good. I’m not hugely into either SJ or SJ-M, but I have to say it’s kind of lame that they added Eun-hyung and Sung-min in place of Hangeng leaving. It’s a weird fix. Whatever thoughhh, I suppose it works? I mean, their music doesn’t sound terrible. I just wish fans weren’t so picky because they’d probably benefit from more Chinese members. (Watching the video again makes me like it more. I have the Chinese version on my computer and I watched the Korean version for the video. I like the energy in the video. I makes the song seem more dynamic.)
- Dal Shabet – Supa Dupa Diva: I don’t really remember downloading this. I have been curious about Dal Shabet, but their name drives me crazy though. Do you ever get words in your head? I have had their group name in my head soooo many times. As far as the song goes, it just seems mediocre. I hate to be so pessimistic about everything but it’s true. They don’t stand out at all with this song. You could tell me this was sung by any number of girl groups and I wouldn’t notice if you were lying. Nor would I care. (The video is kind of cute though. The colors are really nice. However, it doesn’t really help with the music and the fact that they sound like they’re saying “boobie boobie boom.”)
- Swings – By Instinct Remix (with Yoon Jong Shin & Taeyang): I haven’t heard the original version of this song so I can’t really judge it from that point. To be honest, I’m only listening because Taeyang is in it. And he sounds great, as always! It’s funny but I’m already ready for another Taeyang solo album. I LOVE HIM SO MUCH. (Side note, why are Korean rappers so obsessed with comparing women to Venus? Whaaaat.) I like Yoon Jong Shin’s part in this song too. It kind of mixes things up to have all the different voices and flavaaas on this track. It’s not mind-blowingly perfect or anything but it’s a good track. (Okay, a little research shows that this was originally by Kang Seung Yoon–it’s really nice. The remix is definitely Swings-centric though.)
- DBSK – 왜/Why (Keep your Head Down): For some reason I’ve been avoiding this song. I used to love DBSK so much (musically; I never really got into the fandom aspect so much, although I have invested quite a few hours in them. I suppose they were too established for me, as silly as that sounds). Their split has rendered all music related to them rather… lifeless to me. I mean, I just don’t have interest anymore. I guess I’m the kind of person who avoids drama. This song is pretty decent though. It could use some more energy, but it’s not bad. I don’t think Yunho and Changmin are the strongest of the original five though so LOL. They’re doing what they can. I’m sure it works well for the “Athena” soundtrack though (in case you didn’t know it was on there). (As always, SM does a really good job with their videos. It helps the song so much. Is it just me or does it have huge S&M symbolism? Also, Changmin consistently looks like a pirate. And their patterned suits are an abomination.)
- 2PM – I’ll Be Back: Of course I’ve heard this song before (I know you gasped when you saw this listed; don’t lie)! I saw the video and immediate was put off by all of it LOL. I am not even lying. The styling is so hideousss. I KNOW THEY HAVEN’T EVEN PROMOTED THIS IN FOREVER. UGH, I feel so disloyal. I think 2PM is generally very entertaining and great, much like how I feel about 4minute. This song is just “eh” though. Just like their clothes in the album cover, it’s all bland and clay-like and all-around a putty-complexion. I haven’t even seen them perform this in forever and I still remember thinking the choreography was RIDICULOUS. Sometimes a dance will make me like something more but this had the opposite effect. Just listening to the song (not remembering the choreography at this point) doesn’t seem so bad though. (Yeah, watched the video again. It just seems like a weird joke to me. For a song like this the decision to make it an all-dance video was a huge mistake because they look so serious dancing but the song doesn’t fit with it. It would have been way more successful if they had a story theme, in my opinion. Even a clean look would have improved it. This has too much baggage.)
- After School – Someone Is You: Oh myyyyyyyyy gosh. After School totally lost me with this. I have heard it before but I’m freshly reminded about what crap this is. The best thing about AS is gone in the “Happy PLEDIS” release. JUST SAYING. I can’t even get through the whole song because it’s worse than dull. Okay, so I will get through because I’m reviewing and it isn’t fair to give up halfway. BUT IT’S PAINFUL. NOOOOOOOOO NOT A CHOIR EFFECT. KILL ME NOW. / LOVE LOVE LOVE: I couldn’t remember which song was their single but does it matter? They’re both bad. Enough said? I hope no one if offended by my comments, but we all know they can do SO much better. I get that they’re trying to be cute/sweet with this release, but this and Orange Caramel just don’t work for me. I mean, “Love Love Love” is better than “Someone Is You” (and if I remember correctly this is the one they promoted?) but… I just can’t say anything more. It’s just average and AS has released some really fun tracks in the past. (Haha the video… it’s cute. It kind of works as a holiday-ish song, so it makes more sense in that context. It’s a huge commercial though, which is pretty unforgivable.)
I can pretty much could end this by saying, WOW, what a grand collection of boring music (for the most part; I really like S.M. The Ballad). I have been so dispirited by the music that’s been released in the past few months. I have a few favorites (GD and TOP’s album winning by far) but… man, I don’t know. It’s been weak.
[...] S.M. The Ballad – Hot Times: I knew this song would be good, but for some reason I just wasn’t in the mood for it until now. I really like it! Without a doubt, it’s high quality perfection. I suppose my initial reaction is that it seems slightly repetitive, but it sounds so good I don’t really mind? (Watching the video = OH. LOVE. WHY ARE THEIR VOICES SO GORGEOUS. WHY ARE THEY SO GORGEOUS.) The rest of the songs on their album are equally good, but “Hot Times” definitely stands out the most to me. [...]
DBSK’s song is the only one that I actually like in this whole review. It’s probably one of the rarest comebacks that I’ve been excited for along with miss A and 2PM and that’s saying a lot. The spilt hurts Cassies like you and me but still, I’ll continue to support HoMin and JYJ. I’m still OT5 anyways.