Big Bang’s ‘Alive’ is SO GOOD
Posted under: GUYYYYYYS, I’m finally listening to this! I wanted to remind you all that I’m in the process of my last semester in college and it’s a mad house. I think about updating all the time but I only do things with my whole effort, so it’s hard for me to not spend a lot of time working on each post. Plus, I’m completely out of the entertainment loop (as you have probably guessed by my last six months of posts), so I feel like I’m not going to bring you quality information/thoughts/etc. I still have my best of 2011 on my hard drive, so I’ll post that at some point. Obviously it’s way over due, but it’s all based off of thinking from the end of 2011 so it’s still valid. I just need to clean it up and edit it (IF I EVER HAVE TIME!).
Anyway, I listened to “Blue” the day it came out but was at work (YEAH, WORKING AND GRADUATION PREP ALL AT ONCE. PLEASE KNOW WHY I DON’T HAVE TIME EVER LOL) and it made more sense to write about it all at once. Plus, I was worried I would be disappointed in it. I still am. I never found the “Tonight” album (self-titled, 4th Mini-Album, or whatever we’re calling it) very good, although the songs were enjoyable. It just didn’t resonate with me and that was semi-devastating because I love this group so much. Also, I didn’t want to just listen to the album and review it later. I thought it would be more my style to review it WHILE listening to it for the first time. It’s more exciting that way! So here we go…
- Intro (Alive): LOVING IT ALREADY LOL. I love the energy. LDJFALDSJF PLEASE LET THE REST OF THE ALBUM BE THIS GOOD. This is what I was looking for with their fourth mini-album. It’s viral; addictive. It gets in your SOUL. If nothing else, this intro does it for me. It has that thing. THAT THING THAT MADE ME LOVE THIS GROUP. GUYS, I’M SO HAPPY. SO HAPPY.
- Blue: I was pretty disappointed when I heard this song at first, to be completely and utterly honest. My sister is also a Big Bang fan and we messaged each other within minutes of its release. This was my initial reaction via our discussion: “It’s kind of boring… I’m hoping their next single is better. This was just so slowwww and eh. I think it’s okay though.” Unexciting commentary, but yeah. It just feels like it’s going to be awesome because the verses are beautiful. There is a sense that it’s about to rise into a chorus that’s full of life, but then it deflates into whatever that “my blueeee” mess is. THIS WAS MY FIRST FEELING ABOUT IT. Now I have developed a liking for it. It’s slow, but in a way that I can accept. Not every song has to be overflowing with charisma, lol. I think it’s good for what it is. GD’s hair in the video makes me laugh so much (WHAT IS IT, EVEN) and I’m not a fan of Daesung’s bleaching, but TOP is a BAMF as usual (and Taeyang and Seungri get mild thumbs up).
The song is definitely one that had to grow on me. The other day I woke up with it in my head and I was more sold than before. What I like about this aspect of it is that it means it’s more than just a regular song. It has weight. I mean, with the fourth mini-album I initially loved “Cafe” but now I don’t ever listen to it because I find it bland as all get out. This has the opposite effect and I’m so happy about that.
- 사랑먼지 [Love Dust]: Haha-ing at the electro-ish the beginning. It reminds me a bit of Clazziquai. BUT: OH TAEYANG. I’VE MISSED YOUR VOICE. It’s so good to hear their voices again, but rearranged into different music. IT MAKES ME SO PLEASED. This is reminding me a little of “Blue” in the sense that the buildup is bigger than the chorus, but whatever. It’s not bad at all. It’s just a different thing. And I can appreciate them for diverging from the normal K-pop pattern. You can tell these songs are more complex than their previous releases and I lovelovelove that. I can see liking them for a looooong time. AND HOW WONDERFUL IS IT THAT WE GET TOP SINGING IN THIS MINI-ALBUM?! I remember that being one of the things that really stuck out to me in the “Blue” video, and now thisss. LOVE.
- Bad Boy: MMM, I’m liking this beginning. GD speaking in English is always fun. OHHHHHHHHHHH I love this. GD SINGINGGGG. He sounds amazing. He’s improved so much over the years *sheds a tear.* And Daesung gets so much focus in this album and UGH THAT IS THE BEST. Oh my gosh, this is honestly my favorite from the album BY FAR. I heard the previews/teasers the other day and had a feeling that would be the case but DEAR ME. THIS IS GORGEOUS. It definitely hits me the right way, as weird as that sounds. I guess I mean that it just has everything I love about music + everything I love about Big Bang. GUYS I COULDN’T BE HAPPIER. I’m sincerely thrilled. Even if the album ended here I’d still be feeling good about it. I am not disappointed at all. CRYING IN MY HEART, lol.
- 재미없어 [Ain't No Fun]: SO GOOD. WHY. WHY IS THIS ALBUM SO GOOD. It has something weird that’s wonderful. I can’t even put my finger on it. It’s almost an odd song in the sense that they’re doing that singing/talking/rapping (WHAT IS IT) thing a lot and it has repetition all over the place, but it just sounds good at the end of the day. I need to listen to it more before making huge conclusions, but really, do I? I don’t know. It might not hit me as much as the rest (so far), but I do like it a lot.
- Fantastic Baby: OMG ALREADY LOVING IT. It definitely has the true energy I’ve been seeking. They just needed one with it. OMG IT’S SO ELECTRONIC, LOL. BUT SO GOOD. I can’t wait to see where they go with this. UGH LOVE IT FOREVER. I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO SAY. It reminds me of “Last Farewell” to an extent because it has that FEELING. You know?
- 날개 [Wings]: We’re ending with another Daesung solo! This is starting to feel like a familiar practice, but I’m okay with it. It has an interesting vibe. BUT I LIKE IT. It’s more edgy than I would expect.
Big Bang is back in a BIG way. I feel like they’ve been absent for the last year, or maybe two years. I know groups change and move on, but I was missing that old feeling I used to get when I listened to their music. “Hot Issue” was my first experience with them and I remember getting a new emotion while hearing the first two minutes of their music. That’s something significant. That emotion stuck around for a long time, and I finally knew what it was like to be a real fan. There is this thing where you almost feel like a parent or a sibling or someone close to them because you’re constantly proud and always feeling Feelings and Emotions and you want them to rule the world because you believe in them so much. That never really goes away because true fans have this weirdly unconditional love (well, almost unconditional, but you know what I mean). They can make really bad music and you still find something good about it. So that’s how I’ve been with them, and they have been making music that I can find worth in, but can’t shake and cry over because it doesn’t resonate with my soul (OR WHATEVER).
I couldn’t stop saying “so good” because that’s just what I couldn’t help but think. There is just so much that I like about it. I haven’t felt this excited about a Korean album since GD & TOP’s album. That was over a year ago! This just has me so excited and pleased and I want to melt into a pool of satisfaction because my babies created such a great album. I can’t believe I ever had doubt. Although, you have to admit that low expectations often produce bigger reactions when things are actually good.
Anyway my lovely dears, I might disappear for a while, but I will definitely try my hardest to get my 2011 favorites out before too long, and I might even try to do some reviews for the Big Bang videos. We will see! Thanks for sticking around during my time of stress and turmoil. I will be so glad when I can breathe a sigh of relief and finally end my extended period of higher education and get back to having hobbies LOL.