[Umu jams to "Double Knot" by Stray Kids] (subtitles by @angelade17 on Twitter, the SKZ Dance Tutorials guy)
HENRY: What's up everyone, this is Henry from Classical Musicians React
UMU: Hi everyone, my name is Umu and I'm ReacttotheK's channel creator
And welcome to Henry's and my "God's Menu" reaction
So I have seen the "GO生" teaser and the cooking teaser for this
And I'm very very interested *laughs* to see how the final track will turn out
And I don't know if there are any...
...Star STAYs???
STAY lights! I don't know if there are any STAY lights in- watching right now
But the cooking, the "God's Menu" cooking teaser
Gave me flashbacks to when VIXX filmed their VCR and like, Ravi was seducing a fake rooster
And was like, performing ballet around a ball of dough or something
*laughs* Does anyone else remember that?
HENRY: How do you pronounce this title?
I know the first one in Chinese means shen- is pronounced "shen", which means god
Not like God like, in the Christian faith
But "god" in the sense of like, kami. Like in Japanese, like a spirit, a god
U: And thanks to the tracklist they put out, we know to expect that God's menu is "intense and addicting"
[t/n: this is true]
And it's very spicy. I'm curious, it's so short
So let's go, "God's Menu"! Three two *grunts*
Oh my god
*shook*
[laughing] WHAT'S A TUBA DOING IN A KITCHEN?
H: :)
H: Ugh
Wow, we really jumped into it hard
U: Oh my god
[t/n: love this part so much, Han's impact!!]
H: *stank face*
U: Beautiful contrast
Right? To have an extremely hype track, you gotta have the rise and falls of intensity
*hums along*
OOH! Didn't resolve quite how I expected it to
H: OOOH
Tang
oooOOOoohh
Agh!
U: What are the harmonies??
H: Dang
U: Oh my god, they're FLEXIBLE
H: Ugh ugh ugh ugh UGH!
Oh god, I like this pre-chorus, it gives me a good break from just pure hype-ness
I gotta like, lean into this next one
U: Everything's so gentle in this section
But then we added the intensity slowly back in, with the bass drum and the percussion subdivision
Subdivision, subdivision
[t/n: here it comes]
H: OOH what happened here???
Yeah, YEAH
UGH *bopping hard*
*bops too hard* sh-
We're not done yet!
Ah, I saved it
U: [sings] Why is everything more intense when it's just one note being sung/yelled
Oh my god *laughs*
Wait, there's more?
AH
H: .......what did we experience just now? [t/n: same]
U: So I'm gonna need to go in for a second listen
Because first time around, I was so shook by the visuals that my attention was taken by them more than the song
So this time!! I will pay more attention to the track
But MAN, I feel like with every single comeback Stray Kids' visuals, they're just getting more and more intense
And this is like, the perfect mixture of meme and badass-ness
And I can't help but wonder
I've been watching my STAY friends talk about this comeback
And one of them mentioned how they felt like all the B-sides on this album could be inspired by a different anime
And so this comeback *laughs*
This title track could be like a mixture of "Sound! Euphonium" and that one food anime that I don't know the name of ["Food Wars!"]
Second time around, let's go!! Three two- oh wait
Three two one!
What mode, the rhythms, [sings]
I'll need to find out the tonic for this, right after
(Spongebob narrator voice: Meanwhile)
H: *hardcore bopping and grooving*
H: That's what I feel like doing, when I listen to this
U: Usually a pet peeve of mine is when the melody just relies on-
*sees Changbin's contacts* OH MY GOD HIS EYES
Sorry *laughs* on just one note
[t/n: Han Jisung's "bon". iconic]
But I don't mind this, I really don't
And the "low brass sound" is so huge because they put a lot of reverb on it
Thirds?
Yeah, we have a third melody [harmony] above
H: Build-up, build-up
A little percussion, *makes percussion sounds*
Yeah, double-time! *more percussion sounds*
That's a CLASSIC pre-chorus!
*sings along*
So this is the same bassline as they had in the verse
It's just the "du du" and the "tang tang"
Tang tang tang
Do they mean "tang" as in like, flavor? I guess so
Not a lot of melody- lyricism in this melody
I like this part the most, I like this
U: Ooh, I feel like there was an octave above the end part
Damn!
H: I guess this is verse 2, yeah
*sings along*
What was that? *laughs* That's fun vocalism
Yeah, most singing they got is in this pre-chorus
U: *sings along*
*sings along*
And then as the pre-chorus moves on, it moves higher in their range, I believe
Except this
I love the new... hook? here, I'm not sure-
Would this be called- did we skip maybe to the bridge?
Right?
I'm not sure what we can call the form of this song
Oh actually, that was probably... the bridge!
[reading the lyrics] *laughs* "Anything on the menu will satisfy your five senses"
Yo, could you imagine if restaurants actually had promo videos like this
Like, if there were
A restaurant put out like, an advertisement for their place and they just straight up had this
That'd be way more effective
I mean the production quality, the production value would be so much more expensive, BUT I'd be all over it
U: Yeahhhh and we end on tonic
Tonic *sings intro*
So is it Phrygian?
*sings* If this is tonic *sings*
I think that's like a Phrygian thing? Like [sings] one, flat-two...*sings scale down*
And then like
[sings] five, two. Yeah that's definitely a Phrygian feel to it, Phrygian mode stuff
U: But Changbin's part at the end is connected to his part at the beginning, could we call the beginning the hook???
Okay I'm gonna call Henry, he's waiting for me
You know what, we're gonna go back *laughs*
So we're starting again at the pre-chorus, because I want to figure out the harmonies
I believe it's just parallel thirds, but there's a part where it does break free
0:29, three two one
*sings harmony*
*sings Chan's melody*
So I love it whenever there's a melody that sticks to one note, and then the harmony around it changes
So at that very moment there, he- Bang Chan sang *sings*
Which is different 'cause the upper harmony is *sings*
Instead of *sings*
So it um, stops its parallel...
...parallel... harmony
*sings Hyunjin's melody*
Ooh, I do like the descending chromatic before we get into the hook
I feel like I need to watch this AT LEAST 20 more times before I'm able to like, say any clean comments on it
U: Okay, so (H: SICK) what I was just trying to figure out before we called was
U: You know, the.....
Would we call it the bridge? I'm not sure what the form of this would be
U: You know, *sings* (H: No yeah, because the first two is kind of weird)
U: *sings* that
H: Yeahhh, with the sick dance moves and the low voice
That was my favorite part honestly
U: 'Cause if you listen closely (H: I like deep voice man), it almost clashes with the background instrumental
U: 'Cause right? The background instrumental is like 1, b2, fb7?? (H: *sings*)
U: One? H: No, it's just 5. If it's like, if you're thinking Phrygian then...
U: So while that's going on kind of muffled in the background
He sings something slightly different or at least a different timing, so there's a tiny bit of clashing
*sings*
Okay, that's what he sings
U: [singing] One, sev(en), one, five, one (H: Yeah *sings*)
U: And so- and then while the background is one, flat-two, five, [repeats]
Is it the seven/flat-two or is it the one and the flat-two that clash?
U: Okay, you sing that!
You sing the bassline and then I'll sing what he sings *laughs*
Let's make this acapella version
[both singing]
H: *laughs* I can't go that low, but yeah
[both singing but off-sync]
U: I think it's- H: I don't know, you're hearing a delay from my side for sure (U: Mm) but um
H: I feel like, I think the flat-two and the seven match up rhythmically?
H: *sings* (U: I think it's the one and the flat-two that clash) So the seven matches up with a five and the flat-two
U: Yeah yeah, and it's the one and the flat-two in the instrumental that overlaps, 'cause he goes like *sings*
H: You know, I don't feel like they really thought that out, I think they just thought it sounded good
(H: And put that in there) U: I know, but like what I'm saying is I like that moment because we have tiny bits of dissonance
U: It doesn't matter whether they thought it out or not (H: Yeah) it's cool!
H: That's true that's true that's true, it is cool, it is cool
(H: Yeah, I thought-) U: What's your favorite part of it?
H: Yeah, honestly that part, mostly 'cause deep voice and cool dance
I don't know, it's like a- it's like a dab mixed with a stanky leg, you know?
Like they're kind of moving their leg out while like, with one hand dabbing
And it's like, this is- this is a new move
U: Yeah no, it's (H: It's kind of crazy) It's impressive how, I think
U: I guess, a recent trend almost is to have like extremely intense song with meme trend dance moves, right?
H: Yeah, the "du-du-du-du" is, uh
Well, that reminds me of uh...
U: *sings Baby Shark*
H: Oh no, not at all actually
H: It reminds me of Kendrick Lamar's a "Good Kid Maad City" album (U: Mm-hmm)
H: Because he uses the "du-du-du-du" sound for like, shooting a gun (U: Mm)
H: And then they also had gunshot sounds (U: Mmm) right after that
H: And then I don't know if the "tang tang tang" is supposed to sort of be gun-ny
H: But it's definitely percussive, and it fits their whole menu theme so (U: Mm-hm) that's fine
H: So I get this as kind of like, a challenge of... or like, a claim to clout, this song
So it- I don't feel like there was much of a hook
There's not much that like, makes me want to re-sing this or listen to it a lot, it's like
There's not much where I'm like, "This is, this is like, I gotta- mind-blowing, I gotta listen to this over and over again"
U: Oh really?? H: There wasn't like, a hook- there wasn't a hook for me because the only bit of lyrical melody in there was in the pre-chorus
H: Was the only part they really like, sang (U: Mm-hmm)
H: But it wasn't like, a motif to catch onto (U: I felt like-)
H: Beside- the only thing I can think of is the "tang tang tang tang" thing (U: Uh huh)
H: And then the bass ostinato at the beginning (U: Yeah, that's what I was gonna say-)
H: BUT I feel like it's a challenge, you know, like for the rest of the album. Like hey, we're gonna blow your mind with this album
And this is the track to kind of like, challenge it- challenge you
Like, I feel like we're squaring up at like, a UFC weigh-in
Like they're standing up and like, trying to put on some clout so that when we go in for the fight, we're all the more impressed. I'm not sure
U: Interesting take, yeah I definitely second the fact that I feel like the brass ostinato is the catchiest aspect
And then the reason why I would return is because that music video is AMAZING
U: I love the brass going ham in the kitchen, I love the transitions (H: Yeah, yeah), the dance is fantastic
U: And I'm just- I'm kind of...
(U: What's it called) H: Lots of testosterone in the music video U: Testosterone?! *laughs*
H: Right? U: Yes, I very much enjoyed it
U: I- yes
H: Like, big bold movements, cars racing, refueling
Marching band-like bravado, a lot of testosterone in this
I really like the imagery of them showing the cars zooming down the racetrack from a distance
Well not like a distance, but
You know, we have all this sharp movement in the music video for all preceding that
And then once we reach a musical point where it's very legato and it's melodious
We see an imagery of something kind of like, flowing by and zooming, instead of like "bam bam bam"
So they matched up the the music video imagery with the like, the articulation, I suppose, in their music
Which was- which I thought was actually really nice, it's a nice touch
(H: When those match up) U: Yeah, I feel like this is a really good follow-up to, do you remember "Double Knot"?
H: Yeah, I was thinking of "Double Knot" actually
U: Yeah, did you mention that? Because the pre-chorus lead-in, the "du-du-du-du" is very similar to *sings Double Knot prechorus*
H: Ohh, I didn't think about that. I was thinking more like I wished that there was something-
Why am I getting buzz-buzz on my phone phone?
Like, "Double Knot" was a bit more catchier in its...
(H: I guess...) U: Okay, I feel like, maybe "Double Knot" was catchier, but this song I was more interested in for longer
H: It was definitely unique
I know, there was one line in there like, "This is gonna appeal to all five of your senses"
H: I'm like, "Is it?" (U: Ohh)
H: "Is it?" I feel like that's a challenge
(H: That's a s-) U: LIVE, perhaps live
H: What do you mean?
U: Live, it will claim all of your senses H: Ohh, maybe
U: What if they like, onstage they like put a bunch of smells *laughs*
H: Just like, spray essential oils over the crowd U: YEAH *laughs*
U: Hey Stray Kids, you heard us
Please spray us with essential oils when you perform this live. Oh, it's pretty wild
H: Ah, it was pretty wild
U: Yeah! Let's go on to the album
STAYs, not- can't promise it coming out super quick, I'm still dealing with tendonitis so editing is very slow
But it'll come out eventually. Thanks ahead of time for being patient
U: Farewell, we will see you during our first listen, STAYs H: Oh yeah
U: Bye! H: Bye guys (subs by SKZ Dance Tutorials guy)