Lindsey & Fiona: AWWWWWWWW
Umu: BOYS are you ready for some VIXX?? Davis: Ahhhhhh
Umu: So the very first VIXX song that we'll be watching is
kind of a fan thank you song. So they put out the trilogy, if you remember that
all in 2016, and this is their final, you know, um, quick music video, quick song saying,
you know, "Thanks for supporting us throughout this whole year and—" fun fact
I think you guys know that fans of VIXX are called Starlights
Gwen: Aww, so they're called a milky way because it's it's like milky because of this lights of so many stars. Rachel: That's so sweet!
That's so cuteeeee
Davis: Three, two, one, BLAST OFF.... into the milky way
Aww yeah *mimics bass sounds*
Stephen: Digging the synthesizers, especially I like that bass line
Jarod: I like the sound of the snaps, with the heavy synth
Emiel: I feel like I'm about to listen to a rap record or something
Oh okay
Lindsey: Oh my god *Fiona is shook*
Fiona: Okay, his voice is sex appeal
Emiel: Interesting harmonic choices at the beginning...
a little bit stepping out
Henry/Emiel:Whoa
Emiel: What's that little thing at the end of each verse? Henry: They put a M3 instead of 5 to go back to 1...that's weird as fuck.
Emiel: That's a little bit weird but...cool!
Naoki: Like the
way of singing is like kind of breathy, so it makes it like, seem further away, like more dreamy. Stephen: Yeah! You're absolutely....
Stephen: Airy, dreamy...yeah yeah Naoki: Airy, yeah! That's a good way of saying it, yeah.
Kevin: Oh, pretty good! There's a good chord. I can't identify it though.
Davis: I thought that was going somewhere else for a second.
Davis: They had like that thing in the background like
EEUUUGGHHHHHH
and then it just stops, that was nice!
Peyton: I'm really digging the electric, like the bass line Davis: Yeah
Katie: How would you describe this musical style?
Kevin: Oooh oooh there was a little Picardy! Yeah, this song is something really interesting! Khanh: Oh!
Katie: Funk? Jarod: Not quite funk...
Katie: This is like...
I think like the harmonic structure is kinda funky
Maybe fusion pop, it's like more pop-py than funk, but yeah, at least you like the funk undertones
And also when in doubt, when you don't know what the music is called
and it sounds like two things, you just call it "fusion"
*wink*
Lindsey & Fiona: AHHHHH HAHAHA AHHHH Umu: (laughing off camera)
Fiona: Ughhhh that freaked me out!
*Umu is still laughing*
Lindsey: That's Ravi! There he is! Look at him dancing! Fiona: This is just really good!
Fiona: Like that backup—AW!
My boy Ravi with the voice
Fiona: The background synths are just like really good and like fresh and like current it's just so
Fiona: sounds like Western pop music
Khanh: Oh, that was really smooth
I really like that
Khanh & Kevin:OOOHHHHH
Yeah
Khanh: What was that parallel fifths or parallel thirds? Or just parallel something
Kevin: It's both It's got both 5ths and octaves.
Gwen: The guy in a v-neck sweater is a really good singer. Rachel: Yeah
Umu: Oh, nice! That's N. That's the leader.
He has a really interesting vocal quality!
Emiel: It's pretty poppy, but it's like, it's just good enough. It doesn't break like the corny, cheesy...for me, at least.
But it sounds really cool!
Jarod: So like musically, I don't find this, like too interesting, but what I think is the best is, like, the live element to it
because it's like something just like really personal, like dedicated to their fans
And it feels more like a gift than a song.
Jarod: And I really like that. Katie: I like that
Kevin: Woah! What an ending.
There was like a little dissonance in the chord. Khanh: Yeah yeah
Davis: That was really cute—that was just cute to watch. That music video was so good.
Umu: Yeah, so musically, what do you think of that song overall? Fiona: Ooooohhaahhh
Voice is ohhh. They're voices are so good!
Lindsey: I love their voices. I don't think anything really happened super interestingly like in terms of like music theory
But like—it was—I liked it! I enjoyed it a lot!
Fiona: It was a really strong pop song. A lot of like elements that are popular now
were just used in that like all the extra synth noises the the bass line the whole time just like they're rolling like background sounds.
And then the like nice pause before like the final like chorus or whatever it was. It was just perfect.
Gwen: Yeah, like it fulfilled its purpose very well. Rachel: Yeah, it was a good melody for that. Good song!
Wasn't too anything actually. Gwen: Yeah, it was very very neutral and very cute.
Peyton: The music itself was pretty, like Davis said,
was pretty generic. I mean it was like the bass line was really cool
It was very involved whereas a lot of bass when I was like
Duuuhhhhh
Huuuuhhh
There was like boom oh
Davis: Yeah, I think I think sometimes maybe even some stuff by them we've listened to? I thought that the bass line was really intricate but
Then it was like too complicated.
This was more like an established just groove and so it was very like
Technically like interesting, but it's it stayed pretty much the same, so it wasn't boring because it was technically interesting.
But, it also wasn't too much because they were just going crazy the whole time. So, it was a good balance.
Maybe a little too balanced? That's why I don't have a whole lot to say about it.
It was just a nice, nice little song.
Khanh: Uhhh I'll say something and then you can do the chords. So like
Earlier you said this song was like musically uninteresting. Personally, I have to agree and disagree. I
Kevin: Me too
Khanh: I agree that it is very
static, but it's the same thing over and over again. However, like the mixture of the
interesting chordal shit
happens in this makes it so re-listenable.
Kevin: Alright! Khanh: Okay, do the thing!
So, I'm gonna use a generic example of a pop song you know like, Dynamite!
Right, it gives you the roots, the root core, your tonic, on the third so you know
It's a four chord progression
It gives you the tonic here. In this song, the first three chords suggests it's in G minor. So, the first few chords are...
And so you expect it to go here
Right? Like in an American song it would go—
But here's the kicker:
More than half the times
Like, first of all, by putting the tonic chord last it's already giving you an expectation. Khanh: Mhm
But then by putting the tonic in like the parallel major most of the time, that's what makes this song really musically interesting.
Because it's like—but then—
And then it goes back—it goes back to like an E flat
Umu: So, the next song that we're about to react to is their 2017 comeback. Davis has seen it live at KCON.
Umu: Yeah, do you remember? Kevin: Yeah, yeah I think it was fine.
Khanh: Do you remember? (singing September by Earth, Wind, & Fire) Kevin: I— (joining him) the 21st night of September!
Umu: Afterwards, we can compare like live [performance] versus [studio version]
Kevin: I kind of remember, I remember...that was a long night!
Umu: So Shangri-La's concept is East Asian vibes/Chinese birthstone
Um you'll see them with traditional Korean hanboks. Haaanboks?
Robes on and they have the fans and then also in the music you'll hear some traditional Korean instruments.
Khanh: Would they have the fans like...the fans, or like the faaans?
Umu: Like, the fans! They literally dance with them. Kevin: They're holding fans, like humans, to fan themselves.
Khanh: Okay let's do it! Ready?
Davis: Two, one.
Peyton: Ahhh!
Henry: Oh... Emiel: Wow.
Gwen: This is chill!
Rachel: I like it.
Peyton: Oooh! Oooh! Davis: Yeah, dude
Such a good intro! Like you're just like—oh wait a minute!
Kevin: Ooh I like the color, the dye Khanh: The snaps are not together!
Kevin: Yup.
Khanh: Do you hear it? Like three or four snaps Kevin: Yup, yup, yeah
Jarod: I just feel like my clothes are being taken off.
Jarod: Like right now. Katie: ....there it is.
I feel the beat just like...
Katie: Undressing you. Jarod: Yeah...
Stephen: I really like how the cleaver gets really rhythmically active in certain parts, but they're still
like that snapping at the end.
Naoki: Yeah Stephen: I mean, except for right here.
Davis: Oh here we go... Peyton: Get hype, get hype!
Davis: Oooooh Peyton: Whooooo! Water dancing
Dude, it's in the silence. I'm telling you!
The music is in the silence.
It really is though.
Khanh: I like the parallelism between the the timbre of these... the full synth sound at the beginning
Like the *mimics sound* and what it comes to
Kevin: Now it gets really poppy. And the attack is very—yeah yeah Khanh: Now It's immediate
Kevin: See? Okay
Davis: Oh that was a big cadential six four there I heard that.
Katie: I like the traditional
Katie: references and flavors. It really adds to it actually Jarod: Yeah
Rachel: This sounds like the stuff that's on Top 40, recently.
Gwen: Yeah, but then like with a little bit of a pentatonic scale in the back
Khanh: WHOOOAAAA
ooh.
Baby...
daddy...
mommy? *Umu dies in the background*
Naoki: Woah, this guy's voice is nice and deep.
Nice and rich.
Rachel: He has a good voice, for rapping.
Gwen: He sounds like he's pushing.
Rachel: Yeah, it sounds a little straining.
Kevin: They kinda juxtaposed the traditional percussion instrument with the synth just now
Khanh: Yeah do you hear that like hammer/dulcimer kind of thing? Kevin: Yeah yeah yeah
Ooh that chord! Ooh!
Half diminished
Emiel: Everything's like so chic and like refined
And the music's like...also kind of fits that vibe
Like the music video and the song go really well together.
Fiona: They use the absence of sounds so well!
Lindsey: Yeah!
Davis: Oh! I was not expecting that!
Peyton: Got a friggin deer?! Davis: Yeah, oh dear...
What could be coming up?
Gwen: Oh I love it when it gets really like thin. Those are my favorite parts!
Kevin: Oh yeah vogue! Oh
Both: Woahhhh!!!
Khanh: Whoa, dude that drop!
Kevin: Yeah
Khan: At the end of the bridge Kevin: Uh huh
Emiel: Oh nice! That was cool. Henry: Mhm yeah
Henry: The good kind of like
Not-entirely-even breakdown right there, like made the coming back of the next chorus like even better!
Rachel: A lot of applied chords in all of these.
Rachel: It makes it schnazzy sounding.
Gwen: Yeah cause it's like it's very...jazz.
R&B-inspired
Yeah
Peyton: Oooooh
Kevin: Whaaat!?
Rachel: Yes! Hit them with that unresolvedness! Gwen: hahaha
Kevin: No it was not in the last quarter of the progression, which doesn't, it's the dominant of the first chord, so it's like unresolved
It's totally unresolved. It's like
sinfully unresolved!!
Umu: Okay, yeah what did you think about this song overall?
Gwen: This is awesome! Rachel: Yeah, that was awesome
I really really liked the texture that they did. They were not afraid at all from
having super super exposed parts, and I really liked it. Rachel: Yeah, it was like exposed which made it chill, but it was still like epic.
Somehow...just like, musically.
Gwen: Yeah, the beat never really fully disappeared.
It would sometimes change
but it kind of kept it going. So I think that made the exposed part that much more successful.
Rachel: And I really liked how percussion-wise, it's like that soft stuff
Lindsey: I really love how they use pauses because some sometimes groups like use pauses too much
And they they just like then it just becomes too predictable
But like they inserted them in
such good places and like it it catches people off guard sometimes to hear silence
In music like that because they think it's all just like you know the beats going and it's going and like we're groovin and stuff
but then all of a sudden, it's like *pauses*
And then it comes back in. Fiona: In pieces like
Repertoire that classical musicians play that are unaccompanied
There's like it's kind of like art with knowing like when the silent should be. Lindsey: Yeah
Then you come back in and it's just like— Lindsey: But, this was accompanied though?
Stephen: Yeah, so I mean like you hear like the bass from like 1 and then like the snaps on the 2 and 4 and stuff like that
but sometimes you'd hear like, an electronic drum set behind
uh—Right before they go to the chorus or something like that. Do sort of like a break beat, so it's like they're doing halftime
But also implying double-time
Stephen: I know that sounded like super geeky, but no it was a really really cool effect! Yeah yeah. Naoki: Hahaha it's okay, man!
Jarod: I love the sounds they chose for the synths. It creates, just this really
intimate
sexy environment.
Katie: I really liked the traditional like influences. I wish there would have been more actually!
At the beginning there were, it was a lot more present.
I was kind of missing it towards the end, but it was little really really cool beat.
Kevin: So I appreciate the song way more as a track and not live.
Because when it's live all the the really poppy attack in the chorus that
we talked about like we can't hear that.
When it was performed live
It's just all bass and there was no way to tell like the nuances of the production.
Umu: You seem pretty excited. Peyton: Yeah it was really dope man! I really dig that! They use the silence really well,
Like the build-up, *mimics sound*
It made the drops like that more effective instead of like going straight into it
You know or just like even like that zero gravity feel? Kind of like when you're at the top of the roller coaster Davis: Yeah! That's the word I was looking for.
Peyton: It's like you know, *makes roller coaster sounds*
Davis: Yeah you go over it. Oh. Both: BOOM!
Peyton: Yeah, so that feeling is just like —man when you get into music. It's just like oh
Like I sounded like hitting your body it hits your SOUL
Henry: The song, the song was good! Bass playing—okay, I always say this—not the bass playing is it wasn't real bass, I don't think.
Well, maybe it was? I'd have to listen to it again.
But um the bass line like it walked
Like it definitely like led you from place to place and it felt very good! They weren't afraid to use
lengthy progressions from like 3 to 6 to 2 to 5 to 1 like actually like
Bring you to where the melody was going. The melody kind of like complimented that weird underpinning
It was just like it was super nice. It was really cohesive.
Umu: Awesome! Yeah, compared to the last one what do you think of them musically together? Gwen: Well this was...
More like VIXX, right? Like Milky Way was what it was, it was a fan song. It was probably
written pretty quickly,
mostly it was the video, right? It was the point of: get some fans on camera make them feel special,
They'll buy more music!
Rachel: Yeah Gwen: Which like, sounds crappy?
But it's not when people like think they're fans and get really personal with their fans. Part of it is, like
"Yes, thank you" but also part of it is the more engaged audience you have the more willing
They are to follow you when you change it up or, you know, hit a bump in the road Rachel: Yeah
Rachel: But then I'm sure something like this is very highly anticipated because
Coming out with new and then like this is the kind of thing that is like dropped. Like they probably dropped this track.
Rachel: Um, and I think it was very effective.
Lindsey: This one was more interesting, musically, I thought.
Like it just had more aspects to it other than good vocal harmonies and good
I mean it had that stuff too, but yeah, I just think there was more content.
Fiona: It was like, slower. It was like sexier. I liked it!
Jarod: This was was definitely, I think, a little more well put together.
They're just more happening. Like, I think the other one was like light-hearted and kind of fun.
You know, just for people to kind of jam to and like oh like reminisce and admire them and be thankful that they're
a Starlight. I think this is like, when they go like pulling pulling all stops.
You know, just really going for it swinging for the fences.
Kevin: Hey guys! Thanks so much for watching. We hope you enjoyed the video Khanh: if you want to see what other k-pop songs
songs we're going to react to, check out the link in the description. Kevin: If you're curious about songs that we're going to react to, but they're not on the schedule yet, click right here, or check the description.
Umu: And of course, a huge thank you to all our wonderful Patreons
Who have helped make our content better! If you want to support us by being of Patreon please check the description box or click right here for more information.
All: See you guys next time!