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This week's Music Monday will have you pondering in the meaning of life with B2ST's "Shadow"
[S]Batoost *pause* We are a Batoost family in this house so then we will always call them Batoost!
Beast is finally back, [S]Batoost [M]and, whoa, let me say how much happier I am with this video than their last video for Beautiful Night, which was a Horrendous awkward Mess
This, here, is so rewarding, and renews my faith in both Batoost and Cube
We’ve got a really visually stunning video with interesting costumes, lighting, special effects, and sets
It’s got a very similar feel to Yoseop’s “Caffeine” which also had a similar dark, black and white kind of feel it it.
And we both agree that the song is really pretty as well.
Choruses are usually very booming and demanding of your attention,
but the way the chorus here repeats itself and fades away into echoes is really impressive and still quite powerful
Yoseop’s definitely still my favorite singer in the group, and I’d much rather hear more of him in it.
I know that Kpop songs MUST have rap verse breakdowns all the time
and - though the rapping here wasn’t terrible and would have been fine on its own - it just doesn’t stand up to the awesomeness of the rest of the song.
I’ve noticed a trend in Kpop, a style, so to speak, that’s got me thinking.
See, Kpop is usually fun and lighthearted, with pretty flashy sets and bright colorful clothing.
But there is another type of typical Kpop video out there that is becoming more trendy and that’s
THE KPOPCALYPSE
which is just an easy way of saying KPOP APOPoPaPoCALYPSE.
Kpop apopalipse
the Kpop APOCALYPSE!
Nailed it!
We see videos with broken sets, crumbling buildings, overturned signs, chaos, disarray, and just general messiness.
We’ve got Big ***’s Love Song, Fantastic Baby, JYJ’s masterpiece for Ayy Gurl, T-ara’s Day by Day, UKISS’s Tick Tack,
Batoost’s Breathe and now Shadow, and the teaser to B.A.P.’s Badman, to name just a few.
Which, for the life of me, I’m trying to piece together
What is the message we’re getting here?
Is it that even when civilization is on the brink of extinction, you can always depend on cute young Korean boys and girls to sing pretty songs?
Or is it that even when humanity has died off and nobody is around to listen, the passion of Kpop bands to put their lives on line
and sing their songs will not be dampened.
Or is it a darker message than that, something deeper about humanity in general
is it that even when the end of the world is nigh upon us, and it looks like all hope for the future is lost, is it that, even then...
Kpop bands can’t get a day off from their companies
DAMN YOU AND YOUR SLAVE CONTRACTS
There’s gotta be a clause in there for endgame scenarios
What do you mean you didn’t memorize the dance yet?
Well, I thought that, since Seoul was overrun by Zombies last week
and today I had to kill my parents because they tried to eat me,
and the dance instructor is showing signs of turning into a zombie, I thought...
Maybe I didn't have to learn the dance this week?
Oh, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry....
because I don’t remember there being anything in your contract about you to be a little whiny ***.
Now get back in the dance studio, put on your shiny suit or I'll give you something to cry about.
I'm so sorry...
Really Yoseop? This is why you’re late? Because you are a... zombie? ugh, such a disappointment.
Now I'm used to Beast having some of the more memorable dances,
simple, but very memorable, like breath in breath out, and fiction's penguin dance, or everyday I shock, SHOCK
but this dance was totally unmemorable for me, guize...
It was like a cowboy crotch grab waddle, and I even watched their live show to see if maybe I was missing something epic…
but no, kind of disappointed this time around. Cowboy waddle just didn't do it for me.
Sorry guys.
As for the English of the song, I’m giving this a 5 out of 5.
Batoost, you’ve amazed me with the depth of your message.
We see a lot of mirror imagery in the video, with people’s being mirrored for half of the screen
and then there’s even that really ultra powerful image of the girl in white standing in front of her mirror, and the reflection is of her all in black
This mirror imagery actually goes perfectly well with the chorus in which they say
People being shallow and superficial, and focusing on appearances and reflections in the video, works very much in union with the chorus.
You see more of this when their faces are painted and distorted as well.
Overall, especially in the Kpop industry which is so focused on looks and appearances and the tightly managed images of the artists,
the English of this song conveys a very powerful message to stand up against superficiality and shallowness. It’s just so deep
"because I'm shadow"
What?
"because I'm shadow shadow shadow..."
Like Shadow.
It's not shallow?
Like I had a baby. *baby sounds* My baby. I'm gonna name him Shadow.
Hi, nice to meet you, I'm Shadow.
Hi, Shadow. Pangapsumnida.
Batoost, 2 out of 5.
Who am I kidding I heard the rest of the song 1 out of 5.
Last week we put B.A.P. vs Infinite in a Fangurilla showdown and, in one of our most voted showdowns ever, B.A.P. won with 56% of the overall votes.
This week we’re putting Jaejoong’s "Mine" against B2st’s “Shadow” for the dark and scary dog and birdy edition.
Whose video put these dogs and birdies to a better use?
Cast your vote in the comments or on our website where we have a nifty poll available.
WHY DID YOU NOT DO EXO THIS WEEK?
Because they’re supposed to have other videos coming out and I’m waiting for them!
We rushed it with Wolf last time and we didn’t get a chance to talk about the glorious mess of the drama version.
I DON’T CARE! REVIEW EXO NEXT WEEK OR I WILL RIOT AT INKIGAYO
Get a hold of yourself!
If you want us to review Exo so bad, or any other band for that matter, head on over to http://www.eatyourkimchi.com/kpopcharts/ and vote there!
Also, we wanted to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Teeba, who is lounging on our laptop.
And if you don’t know how she got there, you must have missed our fundraiser!
And, lastly, don’t forget to like and favorite this video, and to subscribe for more Music Mondays. Take it away, shadow Spudgy!
You should subscribe
And check the bloopers
You should subscribe and also check the bloopers.
You should do both of these things
You should subscribe and the bloopers. Because I'm Spudgy Spudgy Spudgy~
Jumping Jump-Jumping Everybody [Crayon Pop "Jumping"]