Kevin: Yep, yep, we got one more! We need to get one more Ab in there.
James: Okay, so you said this was different. How? Tell us, tell us.
Umu: (laughing) No, that's spoiling it!
James: Intro, intro. Umu: Now you'll be reacting to the boy group Stray Kids, and their b-side track called 'My Side', released on their 2018 album called
'I Am YOU'. The song is composed by Bangchan, Changbin, and Han who are known collectively as 3RACHA,
and they also wrote it with a songwriter named Frants. In this song, the group shares their fears and uncertainty about the future,
but they also want to tell the listener they are comforted by knowing someone is standing by them.
Jarod: Okay. Collin: So, it's the Stray Kids
are singing 'My Side', which is a b-side, which is
Jarod: Their side. Collin: What was the next... no, no, but there's the last one..
Jarod: I am you.
Collin: I am you! Yes, exactly. Like, what?
That's kind of poetic.
Jarod: Three, two, one.
Lindsey: I think I was not expecting this to sound so like, indie pop acoustic, at all. Davis: Yeah
But now that I think about it in relation to the
subject matter of the song, it makes total sense that this would be what the song sounds like. Like, it's just
angsty sadness.
Lindsey: Yeah Davis: But maybe, hopeful, it sounds a little optimistic.
Kevin: Ah, that second E chord. It's got a major minor quality. It's like, exists in both worlds. Isaac: (singing)
Peyton: Oh sh*t!
Jarod: Oh. Wait, where are we now?
Kevin: We went from C to F sharp. Okay, you know, the us(ual).
Lindsey: It's rhythmically really cool, what they're doing in the vocal line. Davis. Um, hmm. Yeah.
Peyton: Yeah, dude.
What we doin' 'bout that pop, pop?
Jarod: It's like that synth sound, like these pads are like, very much Linkin Park.
Collin: What?! Jarod: Now we're in Plain White T's!
Peyton: uh they were Green Day, like for a sec.
Kevin: All that was a prequel. That was before the material repeats.
So there's like a transition that's in the style of the C major stuff. That's really interesting.
James: Mmm.
Melissa: Ooh! Ooh a chord! James: Love that chromatic Melissa: Yeah
James: ascension.
Collin: Whoa. Okay, Felix has a good voice actually. Jarod: Yeah Collin: It's like, the timbre's good.
Jarod: See? Collin: Yeah Jarod: How did we get from there to here?
Davis: Like, that's a good transition, isn't it? Lindsey: Yeah, I was gonna say, they're kinda rockin' the transitions.
Yeah, the transitions are seamless. Cuz I don't think the percussion changes beat at all, really,
I think it stays in tempo. It just suddenly feels faster.
Lindsey: Yeah Davis: The subdivisions are smaller, so it goes faster. Lindsey: The consistent tempo's just...yeah.
Melissa: The contrast in vocal timbre James: Yeah, totally.
Davis: Oh, we got new people singing now, that's cool.
I thought it was...I'm glad it's not just the same people that sing one portion versus the other portion.
Shows some diversity.
Lindsey: Yeah, we definitely just got this like, angsty pop chorus, Davis: Yeah Lindsey: and then the verses are all just like
intense, fax rap. Davis: Yeah
Isaac and Kevin: (singing)
So this is like different because it doesn't have drums, but it's like the major pop section. Oh, they're all singing?
James: This is a very uplifting song. I like it. Melissa: What?
Whoa!
Isaac: (singing)
Yep, yep, we got one more! We need to get one more A-flat in there!
Isaac: Ha!
Ha!
Isaac and Kevin: (mimicking guitar sounds)
Lindsey: No, this is like a totally different thing, I feel like, though. It's like,
Lindsey: dubstep, kind of like. Davis: Yeah, this is an outro, yeah. Lindsey: Yeah
Davis: This is how you do a f*ckin' outro. Lindsey: Yeah.
Kevin: What?!
Isaac: Aaugh!
Isaac: Wow, that was such a good song!
Kevin: Yeah Isaac: Woo!
Kevin: Wow, Stray Kids. Isaac: My goodness!
Kevin: Man. Isaac: That's a good Stray Kids song.
Kevin: Delivering the goods today.
Melissa: It ends on an echo, James: Ambient noise Melissa: or like a siren kind of sound.
Like, I thought it was gonna be a siren and then it changed into an echo. James: Interesting
Melissa: Okay, so there was an A section and a B section.There was no transition section.
It was like, A, B, A, B, A, B
like, I don't know how many times, but it was like... James: Yeah. But they couldn't have been more different. I thought it was interesting.
I think it was surprising and it subverts your expectations. As far as like how it contributes to the meaning of the song,
I don't know if it necessarily does that. I kind of just liked the more like
soft, poppy,
uplifting bits. And I was reading the lyrics, and at one point it repeated like, I hope these lyrics reach you, you know,
I'm coming to you, like you guys are here for us, and I really liked that.
I thought it was really, really kind of a nice, uplifting song. And especially when it changed to that soft, poppy vibe.
Melissa: Yeah James: Their voices went up, it was more breathy, it was higher.
Melissa: Yeah. And then the growl in like the other section, James: Yeah
Melissa: the B section. James: Yeah. But overall, I liked the song.
What I noticed is they would have that like poppy, soft ballad,
uplifting singing about hope, and then they'd have the fast rapping parts, and they'd be rapping about strife of some kind, Melissa: Oh.
James: and it was more serious.
That's not what I had an issue with. What I had an issue with was when they went to that
screamo-like, genre-ish change, Melissa: Screamo rap
and there were no lyrics. That didn't really make sense to me, as far as the meaning. Melissa: Oh
Melissa: Oh, that part? James: Cuz they weren't saying anything.
Melissa: Yeah James: You know? It was just kinda there. Melissa: Well, it was just like, angst.
Umu: Can I share my theory? Melissa and James: Yes
Umu: So, my theory is that they're talking about their fears and uncertainties.
So that's the switching between genres, James: Um, hmm.
because they're totally in different keys. James: Yeah, that's what I thought. Melissa: Yeah. James. Yeah.
Melissa: Well, cuz also like ,when they're rapping, it's so fast.
I feel like when you're worried about something and you're stressed, and you just need to get something off your chest, you start talking
really fast, and then when you're trying to like comfort somebody, you're just like, okay, James: Yeah Melissa: it's gonna be okay, and you talk really slow,
James: Yeah Melissa: so that they can feel reassured. James: And it's so funny you said that, cuz it did like cross my mind.
I was like, this is very kind of like,
unsteady, Melisisa: Yeah James: and kind of like, back and forth. Melissa: Like speech.
James: Yeah. I guess I should have figured there was meaning behind that. It's an interesting thing to think about,
Melissa: Yeah James: certainly.
Davis: That's the thing. It's like they hit it hard, but at the same time....
Lindsey: but it kept going back to it Davis: I don't think most of the people that are listening to this are thinking about it, but their like confidence in the two
distinct sounds, like of the song, kind of made me feel more comfortable with them being there.
Lindsey: Um, hmm. Davis: I think otherwise it would have felt really unsettling to go from the one to the other, but with the transition and like,
Lindsey: Yeah. Davis: the commitment to it, I guess, it made me, as a listener, much more comfortable. Lindsey: The transitions
especially, like they really did a good job with that. They were like their own thing,
Davis: Yeah Lindsey: but also worked with the chorus and verse styles.
Davis: Also, for nine guys,
that wasn't too much.
I feel like some of these groups get too big and it's like overload. This definitely kept it contained.
Jarod: I wasn't sold on
the contrast Collin: Yeah Jarod: and like how they
executed it. Because it was like, you already have like this guitar, kind of like, you know,
like a One Republic vibe, and then immediately
no questions asked,
no hints, it's just like the new material was just like, bam! Punching you in the face, like, now we're here.
Collin: Yeah Jarod: And then all of a sudden they want to go back to it, and then they do the same thing.
It's like, cuz you said this was written by like three people? Collin: It's like shock therapy.
Jarod: It felt like these three people went in a room,
composed their sections, and then they came together on the day of recording,
and was like, okay, here's what we got. And they've recorded each section and then like, kind of glued it all together, and you're like,
it's a Franken song. Collin: A good thing: Felix had a good voice.
Collin: His timbre was yeah, it was really nice.
It's that round like, bass.
Jarod: Yeah Collin: Cool. Good.
Isaac: The rap was just like, man,
that was so enjoyable, Kevin: Um, hmm Isaac: cuz they all have different timbres, and it's like, the F#, that just like goes
prominently in the front, and then just muted in the back, just like contrast. Kevin: Yeah
Isaac: And then having that wavering minor third. (singing) Kevin: Um, hmm.
It's very interesting cuz it's very like...it stirs up like this
turbulence, and it really builds up the rap, and then you go in for this like weird soft part, and it's so enjoyable, Kevin: Yeah
Isaac: because it's like, completely opposite. Kevin: And there's the outro, where they just go
Isaac: (singing)
Kevin: Yeah Isaac: Into high E-flat. Kevin: I just think this song
exists in, both in the world of power pop and in the world of hip-hop.
Like, heavy hip-hop. And one of the clever things and more subtle things that they do is that you have this
drum kit sounding, you know, thing, during the soft pop ballad. The moment
I first heard it,
I could tell that the tom was probably not a real tom, Isaac: Yes
but because what would be the cymbal or the hi-hat sounded pretty close to like a drum kit,
I actually thought, wait, this could just be a really weirdly produced drum kit sound. Once it transitions into the rap section,
it's like all the you know, the rich wall of instruments go away,
and you hear the drum for what it is, which is a really synthesized type of low boom, boom, boom.
And I think that's a really clever just, bled.
It's like hiding the fact that this is not a drum kit, but making it sound like a drum kit.
Isaac: Oh, yeah Kevin: And it kind of confirms that this song exists in many genres.
Isaac: The descending fifth,
very good.
Isaac: nicely placed Kevin: The flat six chord, very good. Isaac: Modulation, aaugh!! Kevin: I really like it.
The rap part is tonally ambiguous. We have no idea what key it is. Isaac: Agreed.
It's just, you just have an F drone. Kevin: It could be F-sharp Phrygian, it could be D major,
it could be G major.
Isaac: The possibilities are endless. Kevin: Yes.
You only get three notes instead of a real scale, and you know, what can you say?
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