Elizabeth: Do you suppose this is how conductors feel when they step on the podium?
Like this amount of like energy, like
"I'M SO GREAT (Owen: Yeah, everybody get-) HUAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH"
Umu: You're now reacting to the solo artist Ravi who is from the boy group VIXX and his song 'Bomb' released in 2017.
In the lyrics Ravi compares himself to a bomb saying he has explosive potential that could blow up at any time.
He's like a bomb that can blow away the competition, and he'll be a star and live forever. (Aaron whispers something)
This hype track also features the hip-hop artist San-E and this song is composed and arranged by Ravi.
Cloud: I wish I felt that way about myself
U: Yeah Henry: You just gotta believe C: I just yeah
H: Or you gotta (U: He'll give you the confidence you need) hire pop-artists,
to feature in your daily life. That's also a little good strat(egy).
C: Ready? H: Let's drop the bomb.
Daniel: Okay, this is like, already scary.
Fiona: He gon' die.
Just kidding. D: Oh is it like, he's like...
performing pent-up rage? Damn that's like...
It's looking- It's look like- his body's a museum
Aaron: OooaaAAAAAA [singing along with the high pitched background vocals in the song]
Nick: Okay, yeah, this is exactly what I expected from like, the other things that I've seen.
Isaac: Brrah Kevin: Oh my god!
Yeah, I was like, how is this drop gonna surprise me? And it totally did.
James: Oh wow.
Brianna: He really has a good sense of the beat and time.
Oh! His rhythm play is really nice. [sings the rhythm]
E: We name drop Justin Bieber (O: I heard Justin Bieber) alright- (O: Yeah) thats- alright.
That's a reference
O: It seems like it's just staying in this one minor chord,
and just playing off- just going off 5, 6 [sings the pitches], 5 6 5
yeah.
K: It's good flows and I like the b2 emphasis.
Oh my god that-that major, that major kills me.
B: Okay, he has bars. I don't what he's saying, but it feels nice.
Like you can't deny that he can rap.
F: Oh this is like, ramping up to the drop.
D: Oh this is like club music. F: This is like on to the next.
Each... section
D: Alright, alright
K: Oooh, OH extra beats!
"Let me stop there and then go."
B: That sounds like a harmonica in the background [mimics the noise]
K: I like that piano, that's like, like-
late 90s to early 2000s hip hop.
Like Eminem's golden years.
N: It's like very hit oriented like [gives example]
They're hitting on all of the beats and then all of the percussion also is- like rotates around all of the beats.
So I would kind of expect
something to come with the offbeats or something more melodic that just like flows through.
C: I'm really scared.
H: Well, they got it in the right direction.
J: Gurl they holding those bows right- why is he conducting in his underwear.
O: Pattern [of the conducting baton] is what matters
Technique? technique isn't able to make the music.
If you have bad technique and you sound good, it's okay. E: Oh, yeah, that's what every conductor does-
Is like mime playing a string instru- [breaks into laughter] O: Yeah, yeah, EVERYBODY GO LIKE THIS E: DO THIS
E: It's pretty bad xD
O: Wait, he's going up on the... on the one (*conductors are supposed to go down on count 1)
O, conducting: One two (E: Do you s'pose this is how-)three four, one two [breaks into laughter]
E: Do you suppose this is how conductors feel when they step on the podium?
Like this amount of like energy, like
i'M SO GREAT (O: Everybody get-) HUUUAAAAAAHHHHHHH
O: if you're Dudamel (famous conductor), then probably
K: Okay, he finally got it right (the conducting pattern)...excellent.
I mean he clearly knows how to conduct but you know, it's a music video
He's gonna go crazy.
A: I wanna go to one of those rooms where you break shit (N: A riot room, yes) and I wanna like, yeah, I want to destroy something to this song.
N: This is like the perfect music for that. It's just like- A: It gets my blood pumping
F: It makes sense that he'd be portrayed as a conductor, because like conductors really do be acting like that
K: I dunno, I think like ten string players is considered a chamber group, so...
Technically they don't need a conductor. I: That's true.
K: But hey, it was fun.
It was a good track.
And when the song began I was like 'uh oh this sounds a little generic'
'I've heard songs like this before' but then right from the drop where it turns major the song is full of surprises.
Very well...
Just a lot of energy, and a lot of the energy comes through
variation lots of variation throughout good flows good roasts- I saw some of the lyrics.
And yeah, that rap feature in the middle was cool, too because the song brOKE! And gave him twO extra bEAts!
Before starting his verse which is excellent.
I: Different meter? Or just-
K: So it was like, it was like 'one two, three four, let's pause and then duh duh duh duh duh.
I: Huh. K: Yeah, it's good stuff.
O: So I notice two motifs.
The one I- the one that I was talking about that I couldn't figure if it is in the rest of the song when they're just going
[does the beat] Bop bop bop, bop bop bop. U: Mmmmm
O: And I don't know if that just appeared in the middle-
but then they went back to the- the two that I think they're were repeating the entire time that like [gives example] Duuun dun dun dun and also
[gives another example that put emphasis on different beats] U: Mhm.
O: Uhm, and I think those played really well together to make it like feel like there's a lot like-
I know there's something Dvorak does when he has two really nice countermelodies playing off each other,
and I feel like those two countermelodies spell out like the essence of the song really well. U: Hm.
Then I was just wondering about the (first beat he mentioned earlier) because I think that was just isolated.
I: I thought about bombs.
Throughout the song.
K: Here we go.
Well- here we go folks- when a bomb goes off, usually the highest point of compression
Is that- the detonation so every time the bass comes in I'm thinking 'wow! Those are just many explosions,' but then every time it disperses
It's less...
Strong as an impact. So that's why the more eth- ethereal parts, or the higher- higher registers-
you lose the base and you lose the...
Concentrated firepower and it's o- every time it goes up into the atmosphere up there,
it's kind of like the end result of a bomb and then sometimes when it comes down it's tapering down [Kevin is done]
It's like 'oh where's this coming from? maybe it's a re-ignition'
And... yeah, I thought it was very well executed to present the idea of a bomb, or in this case, for him
it's his potential to produce more music and it's always a re-ignition off of his previous
explosion, so it's a continuous flow.
D: No I was thinking about...
Like who's the intended audience for this because in Korea- like for us Western viewers,
especially in America because you know gun culture is a thing [unfortunately] like weapons and
explosions and bombs and like guns, especially like with in this type of [Fiona makes gun noises]
Yeah, like- it's like rapid-fire almost like ballistic kind of crazy, I don't know
pyrotechnics. That's sort of the thing that we see a lot
in western films and in media and also just like kind of like our culture in America in general [uncomfortable laughter]
F: Yeah D: Yeah, so so it makes me wonder though, in Korea where like guns are banned how it would -
It must seem to need a Korean viewer to watch this and see this guy, who like
performs like kind of listen American-esque or this Western like heavy rap sort of feel,
I wonder what kind of shock like,
native Korean viewers would probably
get from seeing this, or listening to this kind of music at the same time where it's so intense, (F: Mm) you know.
But then on the other end, it's probably also marketed towards Western viewers, right because kpop is like kind of an international... market
and so for us it's like... it's like not that far off from our music genres
you know, to see this kind of thing happen.
I'm just thinking how interesting it must be to like (F: Mm) be the person who like creates this kind of music and then it's like...
'How can we?
Sort of tap in, now into our international market and see- and like use their kind of like, expressive cultural tropes,
but also do it in a way where like,
this kind of creates like a literal spark or like a literal flame, or like a bomb in Korea with this kind of like,
exaggerated, like stretched out
display of masculinity and power and aggression,
musically and also performatively.
E: I don't usually pull out this card, because usually I ignore it but
This is like one of the worst cultural appropriation ones I've seen U: The tattoos or the hair?
E: All of everything about it the hair with the like cornrows, and
the heavily tattooed, the ways they're
dancing, the intonation in his voice, the way that they like musically constructed the song kind of stealing from like hip-hop.
it just feels definitely like trying to embody
a culture that is not his own and- O: Oh that's why you asked if the tattoos were real or fake
E: I know that a lot of shade has been thrown at kpop recently because of the cultural appropriation
aspects and sometimes I'm like [takes deep breath]
Put it aside, but this one feels
particularly nefarious to me and maybe I'm the only person who feels that way
But yeah. It's kind of a lot.
Like I just feel like all of his body movements and the way that they dressed him was just like
that way.
I'm not necessarily the expert on these things. But like I feel like if I'm noticing then other people probably did too.
J: I felt like he was trying too hard
to be American. U: Hm.
B: American? (J: Not-), just say black.
you- (J: No!) you know you meant black J: I mean sure, like- B: That's- black.
It's like it was it was stuff that I've heard b- like- Nicki B: Nicki. He was really trying real hard to like
B: Imitate all black artists who've ever been alive. J: You, you could take it there. I can't take it there.
B: No, it's literally, Elizabeth was talking about this previously and she's actually like really correct, and so many artists do this and the main thing,
culture appropriating is taking a culture and not saying that
'yes, I've taken inspiration from this' and you can when you read this to me, I was like
'Is he gonna talk about how he literally like copied every like black artist that ever was?'
Does he ever reference his inspiration to a style? U: In the lyrics?
B: Or, yeah (J: I mean he referenced Bieber) ,no has he ever like talked about what influenced his music like this song at all?
Or does it just talk about what it's about?
I mean, I my main offense- (J: But it's style like,) but that's, it's okay to do a style, but my main offense is like
There's so many artists who have spoke about their influences, (J: Mm) and I just feel like he doesn't even understand what he's like
referencing right now the braids that he's wearing in his head like,
black people, black women especially have to wear braids because if I were to take out my natural hair right now
I'd be looked as unkept,
unprofessional, probably kicked out of my like job- like down the street, like.
These are things that black people have to do in our- in some form
oppress us, and that we're still being oppressed to this day and you're using it as a "style choice" a "vibe" J: Mm
B: It's more than that, and can you just bring light to that? Like you have such a wi- like a large platform,
Why can't you promote other like black artists? Who you are copying essentially. That's just my main like issue right now,
It's like even if he didn't like credit his influences, can he credit like, his like art form?
Because obviously he did not wake up and was like 'I'm getting braids in my hair'
cuz like, no, you guys don't have to deal with looking unkept. J: Did he have braids in his hair?
U&B: Yeah. J: I didn't even notice.
B: I grew up wearing box braids the moment. I took them off for the first time, and I went to school
my teacher asked me if my mom had enough food to like give that night or something, like she was really concerned like
U: JESUS!
B: Yeah, these are problems that every black person goes through and the fact that you're just making it a style trend really offends me
But this is my story. Not every black person like, is going through this
but like can you just bring light to these issues with this
like wo- this large platform that you have
J: 'Cause that's what we're talking about my music history class right now,
like literally like... for instance do you know like what the Bamboula rhythm is?
[gives example]
B: Yeah. J: Like it's a big thing in like black music.
B: Oh yeah (J: Yeah), I know- that's the African drummer- that's yeah that's African.
Like that and, but we were talking about how her teachers showed us literally like a Lizzo
like two thirds like she uses it but, for an artist to use that rhythm as like a reference to like a
different time to kind of like create a dialogue between like- it's kind of complicated-
Can like, a white artist like use that rhythm without
explaining where it comes from or if they give a disclaimer and they're like
'Hey, like these are my influences' like it's kind of complicated.
B: Yeah, and- and there's- and there comes the question of like are they even aware of where they're taking this from?
J: Mm, yeah.
So can even can you call them appropriating if they're just like aren't aware and they're just like 'oh it just sounded good'
U: Mhm
B: And that's where it's just like you can't give hate for it for somebody who just like it does- isn't aware of what they're doing.
J: Because it's like art is supposed to be a dialogue like B: Mhm
J: Like we're all standing on the shoulders of people that came before us (B: Yeah) like when you reference something from the past. You're like,
creating a dialogue you're making a statement, you're like 'I know what this is', or maybe you don't
You know, it's kind of like yeah, it's weird. So I think the whole thing you should take from it is just like, research.
J: Yeah. B: Just know what you're doing.
J: And if you, yeah, if you want a reference like flamenco rhythms in your music (B: Research it) or if you wanna, like you can't be like
Wikipedia (B: Ignorant) you can't be like Wikipedia deep (B: Yeah) you need to like
Like be sure that you're like giving like some sort of accurate semi-accurate representation.
But then it's art so it's like does it have to be accurate? Can it just sound cool?
Like does it have to (B: yeah) be completely culturally right?
B: And that's another thing! I feel like no culture would want to say don't use our rhythm don't ever use it because
When you're using the rhythm, you're giving- you're bringing it back to life. (J: Yeah exactly) you're somehow-
J: It's complicated (B: Yeah), it's real fucking complicated.
U: This is a member of Vixx. F: I like Vixx... I have good memories.
[F laughs] U: I love you *hi fives*
F: I got an Umu Hi-Touch. [Umu scream laugh]