Stephanie: Ooooh?
[Rossini's Semiramide Overture playing]
Umu: You are now reacting to the 12 member girl group LOOΠΔ
and their 2021 release 'Paint The Town',
you guys know them from 'Why Not?', it goes "di da damdidam..."
Stephanie: Oh, I liked that, I liked that one! Leon: Oh yeah, that was so killing.
Umu: Alright, so you are in for a long script because LOOΠΔ has...
(Liam: MORE lore? Dude...) even more complex lore than that past group that I was talking about.
Okay, so since you guys are newer to the channel,
I am gonna go ahead and explain the Loonaverse.
Ju Young: Alright.
Umu: Each LOOΠΔ member debuted first as a solo artist over the course of two years.
There was a color, shape, and animal assigned to each of them.
Side note, if you see a girl with a specific color surrounding her,
or like deer antlers or like a wolf pelt,
it's because those are their animals or colors. (Owen: Makes sense)
Kevin: How Vivid.
[t/n: Can you spot the hidden orbit?]
Umu: Stop it, Kevin.
After they debuted as solo artists they were grouped into three separate sub-units,
so there is 1/3, they are located on planet Earth.
. . .
Odd Eye Circle place themselves between Earth and the Cosmos
and each of them represent a moon,
and each have an odd eye that gives them powers.
When their odd eye becomes full into a moon their powers ignite
and together they're able to create a circle teleporter
that allows them to teleport in between all the different places and worlds.
Jason: WHAT happened? Umu: The third sub-unit...
Raffi: They're teleporting between places and worlds
Raffi: because of the eyes and the...and the... Jason: because of the eyeballs that they have that are in between the Cosmos and the Earth?
Raffi: And the voices with the animals and the two years.
Jason: And the colors...
-Umu: Yeah, so we got Earth girls, then we got space girls- -Jason: Except we live in between the 3rd and 4th dimension- [t/n: An in-depth Loonaverse discussion ensues]
-Jason: That are... but they're in between? (Umu: Yes)- -So, we already live in-
-Jason: And how do you live in the - I'm sorry- -Umu: They got moon powers-
-Raffi: Albert Einstein developed this formula- -Jason: The 4th dimension is just time...-
-Jason: And we live in between, in the 3rd an 4th, cuz we move between- -Raffi: And when you break the 4th wall in acting-
-Jason: How do you live in between the Cosmos and the Earth?- -like how are you supposed to be in between f#%*ing-
-Jason: The Earth is a part of the Cosmos!- -You know, the Earth and the Cosmos, that's the same thing!- Umu: I don't know...
Umu: I don't know... I'm just reading this script, okay, that I found online. (Jason: Sorry)
Umu: The third sub-unit is yyxy, which stands for "Youth youth by young".
They were born in Eden, a utopia land,
which is located between Earth and Odd Eye Circle.
Each member possesses a special fruit
and if they eat it they'll be exiled to earth, they end up rejecting Eden.
Henry: Dude.
(Cloud: Bruh.) Umu: So after the sub-units debuted eventually they became a team
and throughout their next few releases they had to overcome various obstacles like a supernova
while trying to find a way to unite as one team.
So in the release before this one they succeeded in creating a new moon to shield the earth from the supernova,
which then brings us to this release.
So 'Paint The Town' covers a theme of destruction of the old and rebirth
as LOOΠΔ continues their mission to protect the universe.
Basically they are a bunch of badass girls that like...
...protect people.
Raffi: Feminism!
Umu: Yes.
Raffi: Go women!
Jason: Yeah, I'm down with that.
This song is composed by Ryan S. Jhun, Hanif Hitmanic Sabzevari, Dennis DeKo Kordnejad, and Youha.
Liam: I don't know if I'm ready for this.
That was a lot of buildup.
3 2 1
Pump it! [t/n: Let's pump it up!]
Stephanie: O- o- oh?
Leon: Ooooh~
Liam: Hh, hello!
Sam: Oh sh*t! Ju Young: Wow!
Sam: What in the world?
Cloud: Sure, go to major, why the f#%k not? Henry: Okay thanks, you can just do that!
Raffi: It's a great melody.
Jason: This is like, this is a nice melody.
Raffi: Catchy.
Sam: And now we're in minor.
Liam: Dude, I love the drum sounds.
Rachel: Yeah, it's like slaps. (Liam: Yeah) For sure.
Raffi: OOOOOOOOOOO~
Jason: Oh, these vocal stacks!
Raffi: They're really be playing with that Jason: That arrangement, the vocal arrangement is genius.
Jason: Not genius, sorry, good.
Stephanie: Wooo~ Henry: Wow, into triple meter!
Liam: Ohoho, that bass is sick!
Booom!
Stephanie: Hmm
Henry: Back to duple meter.
Cloud: They are doing these transitions really well.
Rachel: Is it gonna keep switching from major to minor like the beginning?
I don't know.
Kevin: YeoJin's rap? Let's go?!
Sam: God, those tom hits are crazy! Ju Young: The silence.
Ju Young: I like the silence.
Sam: Yeah, its silence goes crazy.
Liam: The vocals are so rhythmic.
Rachel: Yeah.
Liam: It's really clear.
Raffi: Ooohohooo!
That makes you move, that's like visceral.
Stephanie: Ooooh!
Henry: I love that transition because she sings it in triple.
Sam: I think this is half-time now, I think the chorus is half-time.
Umu: And swung.
Sam: And swung, yeah.
Rachel: This is so cool. Liam: It's so hype.
Liam: And the visuals, oh my god, they're so colorful.
Owen: Wow, having the bass go to ♭2 is awesome.
Stephanie: Mmm~
OoOooooOooOoho, the bass!
Sam: Oh, vocal quality-
She just made FIRE with her HANDS!
Stephanie: Oh, where are we going?!
Kevin: Uh!
Kevin: Uh! UH!
The ♭2!
Stephanie: Woooww.
Liam: OH!
Rachel: Yes!
Liam: Feel change!
Rachel: "Na na na nana na..." Jason: Oh...
Rachel: It's like a revolution song.
Liam: Yeah, this is like super empowering.
Rachel: Yeah.
Cloud: #StanLOONA ?
Stephanie: Hooooooooooooooooooooo~
I likes this.
Leon: Yeah!
Umu: You likes this?
Stephanie: I likes this.
Umu: So that part is confusing to you guys
but it makes a lot of sense if you have been following them since debut.
Rachel: Okay. Liam: I see. So...
Liam: Glad I stuck around for that.
Henry: That was brilliant!
The way they used that triple meter shift into the chorus
to give it that like, just really like tribal feel was so engaging,
but the way that they get into it
is that the percussion doesn't go in triple until after-
I don't know who it is that sings at each time,
but she starts that, it's like a big pick up,
and she is singing it in triple, with like no percussion underneath.
*Demonstrates*
Cloud: Tri-pa-let tri-pa-let... Henry: Right!
Henry: So we get that introduction before it just like-
it's not a hard cut, we get that little transition
and it's so centered on this one singer,
changing the entire meter underneath it,
Henry: and the tempo is the same. Cloud: I thought the transitions for everything were so good.
Cloud: I loved how they held over specific timbres into each section,
so you could still connect it back to the section that you just came from,
(Henry: And the layers) Cloud: and then they morph it
Cloud: so that you could connect it to the section that it's going to,
like you could hear all the instruments there,
Cloud: like leading to where you're going. So good. Henry: Mm, especially that last chorus, yeah.
Cloud: I liked the really reedy woodwind instrument,
Cloud: it sounded so nice. Henry: Ah, that sounded like a suona,
which is like a reed instrument in a big metal brass tube.
And then they had also the pitched percussion
that can go, like dip up, like *mimics*, (Umu: Tabla.)
Henry: the thing you hear whenever you see No Face in Spirited Away Cloud: Dude, even like drumming again when they had like *imitates*.
Rachel: What is that drum called, the-
Liam: Like I said darbuka.
That... like... what?
Liam: Yeah, I'm like almost posi- oh what? That one? Rachel: This one?
Rachel: The, like tabla.
Umu: Yes.
Rachel: It sounds like tabla.
Rachel: Yeah, cuz I was like, that sounds like tabla, like slaps.
They are like so satisfying, that instrument is like...
Liam: It's also ridiculously hard to play. Rachel: It's ridiculously hard.
Liam: It's just all the little rhythmic intricacies
and you have to have so much finger power
Liam: to get the different sound effects. Rachel: It's like,
Rachel: the way that tabla players group rhythms together
and the way it's performed is not like in the western style,
so the groupings of rhythm are often in like 7
Liam: Yeah, they're super odd note groupings. Rachel: Like odd, odd note groupings.
Henry: And it creates a very, I guess, distinct sound
from what you hear in Korean, K-pop music, and even Korean folk music,
but it does drop the question of like:
Are they appropriating this culture by using these instrumental sounds
and wearing the kind of jewelry dresses throughout the music video?
Umu: There has been some discussion online about that. Henry: I'm sure there's been, they've had some criticism about that.
Umu: I did some research looking into this song beforehand
to see how people were receiving this
and when discussing cultural appropriation in K-pop
I haven't ever seen anyone discuss the music itself.
It's always just what the idols are wearing and the dance moves.
And what the idols say,
Umu: those are the specific things that people talk about. Ju Young: Okay. Cuz I like...
Ju Young: I just don't want to offend anyone.
Umu: Well from your perspective,
Umu: why did you like the mix of sounds from these two [?????] Ju Young: Cuz it's so new, like,
Ju Young: I've been listening to K-pop like basically my whole life,
and I think this is the first one where it's just like,
there is like a mix of cultures and different sounds and different instruments,
and the fusion of that, I really like that,
cuz like, it's new. I like new things.
Leon: The first intro has already brought me to the vibe, like:
"Wow, this s#!t is NEW!"
Stephanie: Hihi, this s#!t is new~
Sam: At the beginning it just felt so, like, it was so sample-reliant.
It was building in energy based on the abilities from the production side,
They kinda use it to create rhythmic intensity
that us as the audience really haven't heard before.
I think sampling is literally the coolest thing.
Like, if you're able to hear something and say,
"I know how to use this and borrow it in a way where
it'll just elevate everything involved and pay homage
to what came before it," then I think that is just so sick.
That, to me, was easily my favorite part of this song.
Umu: What was like the most vocally attractive part that stood out to you?
Ju Young: e v e r y t h i n g !
Umu: You started to comment on the voice during the bridge
but then her hand caught fire
and you were distracted by that...
Sam: The first person that was singing had a very unique voice,
or just had a very unique timbre to her voice.
It was delicate, but it had... I don't know.
It's hard to describe vocal qualities because everyone's voice is unique.
Honestly, Raffi will be much more articulate with the voice in this
because he will fawn over that bridge.
And if he doesn't say something about that timbre, then...
someone kidnapped Raffi.
Raffi: I really enjoyed the different vocal timbres
and how sometimes they use them to differ from one another
and then other times it was very blended.
But right before that duet breaks into like the big climax...
(Umu: "Think twice~") But right before that duet breaks into like the big climax...
Raffi: Yeah, the *vocalizes*,
there is very light head voice in the top
and it's like descending down
and then in the bottom there is like more weight
and like a collapsed velum, or soft palate,
and it's just creating this balanced effect
that then explodes into that duet,
and I think it was really really cool.
Just really good vocals all around too,
I love it, I love it.
Jason: Also the melody in the beginning was great.
What was cool was that they were kind of juxtaposing these,
like these chromatic notes with just the regular tonic chord,
so it was like, in there you hear just like *chromatic descend over chord*,
I just thought that was so sick.
They hit the chromaticism within the vocal harmony very low at first
and then it comes later in the bass, like full out in your face,
and then even the vocal harmony on that one was really sick.
Yeah, it stays with the *sings E♭ melody*
but it's *vocalizes chromatic descent*, so it just goes down.
The chromatic descend in the bass comes right after that, yeah,
so it's like a foreshadowing,
and I think that's a really really great way to lead your ears to the chorus,
I think that's just like... fantastic.
Leon: And then I really like the pre-chorus.
The pre-chorus is just like, it is short,
it is not kinda like a meandering pre-chorus,
sometimes a pre-chorus just builds up too long
that it kind of looses the power.
But this one is just short and "Boom! Here is the chorus!"
Owen: 1) The chorus slaps.
Like the way that it drops and also going from,
the bass going to 1 to ♭2 on what sounds like a random interval,
like, and also that effect that it also gets into ♭6 and 5,
it just sounds great.
I really like the rap section.
Liam: I honestly like the verses.
Just how much there is going on, just like texturally,
there is like so many different instruments just being passed around
and how rhythmic and driving it is,
like it's really fun to listen to.
Rachel: Yeah, and I think it just being so rhythmic adds to kind of the whole like...
I don't wanna say this, but like revolution-like girlboss,
Rachel: Just really like... I hate that word, but you know what I mean, Liam: Like kinda anthem, girlboss anthem!
Rachel: Just like anthem, like...
"Yeah, it's a revolution!"
Like... that kind of thing.
Kevin: So I have heard this song before.
The reason I appreciate it so much
even though yes there are things that we've heard before
and the structure, except for the ending, isn't exactly novel,
I like how the verse - it feels like a series of vignettes.
How like, we start in major, HeeJin sings in- huh? (Umu: Can you play?)
Umu: Can you play on the piano?
Kevin: I guess...
So we start:
You know, we're like in a different world,
and then when Kim Lip starts going:
"Wanna be the coo- cookie"
You know, that's like a different world,
and then like two bars later-
cuz I have actually analyzed this in my head,
I've been thinking like okay, the intro with the tabla is like what, 4 measures?
And then HeeJin's thing is like sort of 4 measures,
and then starting from Kim Lip's part
we have these 2 measure long vignettes
and each melody just feels very different,
we have, you know:
And then when Chuu comes in it's:
It's a subtle difference but it feels different,
and then when HaSeul sings like "Go go, let us put on a show show"
and then when JinSoul sings the lament bass comes in,
so all of these little hoops-
and it just feels like more of a journey in a verse
than I have often heard before.
Owen: Well that's makes sense, I guess, with their own colors and their animals,
(Kevin: I guess so, yeah) like they each have their own sort of veil on the entire ensemble.
And also I though that the violin going- it may be a violin,
some sort of descant instrument flying up towards the last chorus,
was a great way to introduce the really high note.
I think they- like you have vocalists going:
*Slide up*
Right, when the last chorus comes in?
But having that be faster and also not a voice was also cool. (Kevin: Nice)
Cloud: This is one of those songs that you can listen to like ten times
Cloud: to just dissect the different instruments out of it. Oh... Henry: And the chorus is so catchy.
Cloud: This is probably my favorite LOOΠΔ song that we've listened to.
I can only name you like three, but this one is really good.
And I really liked some of the other ones.
Ah.
AH!
Henry: That's... slaps you in the face with awesomeness.
(Ju Young: ...the next decade.) Sam: Wait, are we gonna coordinate it with no countdown?
Umu: Okay.
Sam: Just with eye contact?