Jarod: Welcome to Narnia on this episode of Monday night raw
Umu: XIA, I believe that's how you pronounce it is from a kpop group that was called TVXQ, and we've reacted to
Umu: them before so they used to be 5 members and then 2 kept continuing as TVXQ and then
Umu: three others quit and became a group called JYJ and this is a solo artist
Umu: from the group JYJ
Hugo: wow
Umu: Yeah sorry that was a lot Hugo: drama
Gwen: yeah Hugo: #drama Umu: yup
Jarod: alright, 3,2,1, this reminds me of SIA, the american, well not really american artist but she's pretty popular in the states
Kevin: Oh Yunyi: ooooh that's lovely typography
Shimon: [munching away] Naoki: that's kind of creepy
Ben: why do you think it's creepy
Naoki: [bruh] the harmony, no not even the harmony the timbre Ben: okay
Gwen: ohohohoh scary men
Gwen: heyyyy they're wearing armor like girls wear armor
Gwen: .. where it covers nothing
Hugo: I love this
Hugo: with the orchestra and the
Gwen: the vibes
Davis: Oh woah
Davis: that's like really f*cked up--- OH THEY'RE THROWING UP A HEAD Lindsey: now they got strings it's like the obligatory little like chamber orchestra
Davis: is that what it is? or is it a robot?
Davis: aww that's so cool-- Lindsey: I feel like this should be melodic but he's just speaking
Naoki: yeah is this like mythology? it must be
Jarod: that's awesome such contrast
Peyton: [singing] Jarod: Bold visuals with these kind of subtle and very soft harmonies
Jarod: melody and like it's like looking at irony and like hearing our ah whoo
Fiona: strings.. kay, 'kay hello i hear you
Yunyi: i like the harp Kevin: oh yeah
Kevin: [asdlfskd] woah
Yunyi: OMG the freaking female voice
Kevin: fifth element?
Lindsey: yeah this is weird it's like the music makes it sound like an opera thing but then his voice is not
Davis: yeah this is, this is XIA how do you pronounce it XIA? Lindsey: nobody knows
Davis: XIA featuring Jones Southerland playing, it's great
Hugo: this is bad*ss as sh*t Gwen: this is awesome
Umu: Musically or the video?
Hugo: [?? wait what]
Umu: Musically or the video?
The duo: Both! Hugo: I love the music!
Gwen: and the dancing is also like awesome Hugo: the use of the orchestra plus the synth
Yunyi: this has got some final fantasy vibes because of the harp
Yunyi: oh is this where they bring the electronics into the song or is this just gonna stay fully acoustic
Yunyi: esque, course not but idk Kevin: it's esque it's not completely acoustic
course not
Gwen: Mustache Hugo: this dude, is a f*cking queen
Gwen: yeah I love it Hugo: he's so cool
Kevin: woah Yunyi: also the female voice doesn't help but it has vaguely the same progression as Rachmaninoff's Vocalise
Kevin: [woah] yes
Emiel: his voice is good but not my type of music
Kevin: but you see you compare this with EXO's mama and they're like two different types of symphonic
Yunyi: yeah exactly
Kevin: and so when one of them is like more Carmina Burana
Yunyi: but the textures are quite like sparingly used in the song Kevin: yeah, exactly
Yunyi: which is really nice
Jarod: the cinematography is really strong cause like the choreography isn't necessarily the best thing we've seen
Jarod: but like the way the camera's just emphasizing it, like it's pretty awesome
Jarod: and like listen to that choir in the background
Jarod: [conducting the mv]
Peyton: ... I thought that was lil wayne for like 3 sec I was like ohhh danggg .........what is he about to eat Jarod: [still conducting]
Fiona: wait this is like Emiel: wait is someone rapping now
Lindsey: like honestly my favorite part of this whole thing was that the beginning where the guy was like just talking
Lindsey: and it sounded like it should've been melodic but then
Lindsey: it wasn't because that was kind of cool
Yunyi: oh this kinda sounds like- Both: woahhhh
Kevin: that woke me up woahhh
Gwen: i really like this, most of my faces are about the mv not the music
Gwen: I love the low stuff that he does
Umu: youre face is being cut off by the mv @hugo Gwen: almost better than the high stuff
Jarod: this is so dramatic I love it, i just wish I could understand what he's saying
Emiel: I'm not sure about the aspect of it, not sure about that one Fiona: [belts her opera voice]
Emiel: but other than that... pretty good
Fiona: this is like intense praise music
Henry: AHAHAHAH Emiel: this is like spiritual uplifting music Fiona: alsdk that was... sorry
Emiel: like if you need something to really put a fire in your blood right now then you need to listen to this
Gwen: flower... oh this is a ... a flower?
Kevin: wow it makes me want more
Kevin: what a work
Yunyi: see that was also super, it was super repetitive it was like it was good it was fascinating
Davis: yeah it's pretty interesting musically, with the orchestration in it and the voice
Lindsey: I mean yeah I won't disagree with that
Davis: but at the same time I was pretty distracted by it not having a single clue of what was going on
Umu: overall thoughts of that musically
Fiona: I liked it, i liked the crazy like
Fiona: [opera sings] Emiel: [stunned] Henry: [bruh]
Fiona: idk it was just weird and then the [bum] idk just so many weird repeated aspects that like
Fiona: shouldn't really go together that were put together so I was like
Fiona: confusingly like it's a spectacle it's like oh
Fiona: this is fun to listen to because I'M CONFUSED
Emiel: his voice was good Fiona: yes
Emiel: his voice was good, good concept, but don't think he got away with the rapping in there Umu: okay
Emiel: don't think so make that a separate song Henry: it is the next watch
Emiel: and that's good but not at all-- Umu: oh so you didn't feel like the rapping went with the background instrumentals?
Emiel: It just didn't go with like what the entire song felt like
Emiel: the time before and after especially before
Emiel: like I was just like wait what is he rapping right now?
umu: ok I see Emiel: yeah it was just confusing put it in a different song it'll sound good
Hugo: that was good I really liked that, that was f*cking dope as sh*t
Gwen: multiple things that I don't get about the video
Gwen: but the music was great
Hugo: i really i didn't care I was like all for it like
Gwen: yeah I was very like I feel like it was a video driven by the aesthetics of it
Hugo: yeah definitely I mean they showed a vibe of you know people with money and power and people with
Hugo: worried about it when they had like nothing but at the same time I didn't really give a sh*t
Hugo: what the message was I was like this music's so cool the dancing's really good and it was just it was very well played
Gwen: I think this is a good balance between the mv that is dancing and not dancing
Gwen: it wasn't too not dancy, yeah their costumes were cool Hugo: but their costumes were so cool
Ben: the music was good I wish it, I kinda wish it went a little bit farther
Shimon: It reminded me a bit of like super smash brothers
Naoki and Ben: ohhh Umu: AHAHAHAH [dying]
Naoki: the brawl one right? [sings] Shimon: yeah, the choir
Naoki: [still singing] Ben: yeah the choir was really cool but it felt kind of
Naoki: [sings in Ben's face] Ben: like it felt like movie musicy Umu: [joins in singing]
Naoki: is it like call me mama~ it's like a really sh*tty english translation Shimon: call me mama [what lol]
Umu: oh what were you saying, you said something about movie Naoki: yeah
Ben: yeah it's kind of like too much movie musicy? just cause it repeats so much
Naoki: yeah it was, I would agree with that definitely not wired music for kpop or pop Ben: if it had like
Ben: well which is fine but like it didn't Naoki: it's fine with rock
Ben: but it like did the same thing like 4 times
Kevin: it is kind of woah but I wonder what is there a concept to their album?
Kevin: is there a track that like completes it?
Umu: not that I know of there isn't like a part two
UMu: I'm but like i'm looking up the story right now online and like there's lots and lots of theories
Umu: on like how there are things and symbols and wealth and power
Umu: his eyes are the only spot that expression can come through and he's like King or something like that
Umu: overall you didn't really like it
Davis: mmm no I mean it's riding like a strong 6/10 for me
Davis: and it's only that high I think because production value I had appreciation for
Davis: minus the confusion it was pretty interesting they like mentioned and crammed so much stuff into that music video like
Davis: it's pretty impressive like i can't really even falter for that it's just like
Lindsey: I'll give it a 5/10 Davis: it's a feat
Lindsey: 3 of those points are for the creative orchestration and 2 of the points are for creativity
Umu: do you like his voice at least?
Davis: yeah yeah yeah Lindsey: it's fine it kind of got lost in everything else that was happening
Davis: I agree
Yunyi: I really liked how it was like beatless that was, that made it more epic Kevin: [agrees]
Kevin: yeah absolutely
Umu: okay so did you like the orchestral aspect of it?
Jarod: yeah it's really cinematic like it was like you have choir you had you had the hollywood
Jarod: solo art that was such a cool moment where it's like there's nothing just him
Jarod: and you have these little diddies and just like a moment where you're just kind of just embracing everything
Jarod: just feeling [whisper]
Peyton: my thoughts? Umu: yes
Peyton: .. it's a little much for me, not gonna lie
Peyton: call me old but it was just a lot of stuff happening
Peyton: that just uh just gah made me feel uncomfortable
Peyton: and it's like I think i'm okay with it but it's just like why
Peyton: like why where's this have to do with what are you trying to say what like organize your thoughts my friend