(subtitles by the Stray Kids dance tutorials guy, Twitter @angelade17)
KEVIN: Oh... DAY6?!
[Rossini's Semiramide overture plays]
NICK: Um I feel like I've seen these guys before UMU: Yes sir you have, they're DAY6
NICK: DAY6! Oh f*** yeah! AARON: Oh, ok!!!!! UMU: *laughs*
AARON: Oh it says DAY6 right there! I literally was like wait
UMU: So now you're reacting to the band DAY6 and two songs off of their "Book of Us: Entropy" album
Which is the album that tells the story of a relationship from beginning to end
First we'll be reacting to a song called "Ouch", but before we do can you please pull up that video for me on the bottom and watch it
N: Oh is this the one that he requested? A: *squeals*
[t/n A WILD CHAN HAS APPEARED]
CHAN: Wow! Recommend this to all STAYs out there, you have to listen to this song
CHAN: Um, yeah! (N: Is this the song in the background? Are you spoiling it for us right now?) Maybe if you know there's the classical musicians that react to kpop songs
CHAN: If you guys react to this one, I'd be GLAD to watch your video
MELISSA: Ooooh! JAMES: Oh shit! MELISSA: Ohhh!
[lmao Seiji's deadpan]
STEPHEN: That's SUPER cool! That is soooo sick
UMU: So this is the song that we're about to react to!
I decided that we'll react to "Ouch" first since Bang Chan mentioned it (DANIEL: Ouch!)
Um so first you're reacting to a song from the second half of the album
"Ouch!" shows the relationship after the attraction has worn off
The harsh words sting and causes anxiety for the future of the relationship
The song is composed by Nuplay, Sean M. Sinclair, and the DAY6 member YoungK
SEIJI: Okay, it's a bossa STEPHEN: Bossa with like, kinda like a samba rhythm SEIJI: You've probably heard it a lot in elevators
DANIEL: *shimmying*
ELIZABETH: Is that a millennial loop? (OWEN: Yep) Oh boyyy!
ELIZABETH: A millennial loop is when you have that like descending minor third that repeats
N: His voice is amazing
J: The chords! (M: Yaaaas) The chords are really cool M: I like how the verses are like faster than like the chorus, I think it was the chorus
E: I like the off-beat guitar chords
It kind of keeps the tone light even though it's about something serious
M: I love the way this sounds, like they just use like the sound of the words
SEIJI: Okay now there's a montuno
STEPHEN: *laughs* Let's throw in all the styles SEIJI: Yeah, which is a huge no-no in Latin jazz, so uh
ST: Well that's- we can talk about it later. But it's just interesting because like that's Afro-Cuban and this is Brazilian, you know?
A: Ugh, he has really good belt. And I feel like I can appreciate it because I can't sing like that
A: UGH N: That was so f***ing smooth!! Oh I shouldn't probably say that *laughs A: Oh that was so good
J: Wonpil is very good at switching into head and coming back down
J: And he knows how to show it off. It's really really great M: Yesss
N: If you ask me, definitely best vocals in any of the kpop that I've heard (A: I would say out of guy-) like NO question
A: I would say out of guy groups, it's brilliant considering N: Okay whatever
N: *laughs* A: I'm sorry
J: Ugh
M: Anytime there's a high note, James is like "oh my god"
Oh key change, ooh here we go
A: And I love this timbre of the hand percussions
A: Like we have like slight clapping and also with the... N: The little shaker things?
A: *whispers* God, YoungK
D: Oh shit F: The thicc voice award goes to YoungK D: *eyes roll back*
D: UGGHHH F: She thicc-c-c-c-c
A: I like this. I really like this (N: It's got such a groove to it) interpretation of... this genre of music
That was really vague
N: That falsetto though! A: *sings along* Yeah I can't hit it N: I would kill to be able to sing like that
U: *sings* BA-NA-NA-NA-NA
M: Yeah, this is like the part I would be singing along like crazy if I spoke Korean
U: Just say "banana" M: Hmm? U: Say "banana"
M: "Banana". Oh you're right, I could do that
J: Hmm M: Woah it just ended like suddenly
J: Woah. I can't put my finger on why that was so damn catchy
It wasn't like a particularly complex song, it was just like, kind of like the percussive like guitar, and them just like singing
But for some reason, like the way it was written, harmonies they were using and the way they wrote the melodies, it stuck out in my head
M: Yeah (J: Yeah) and I think the way they create like, "chill vibe songs" is they really show off the voices and the acoustic instruments so it feels like really real
M: In this song, they kind of like increase the rhythm sometimes J: Yeah
[clip of "Ouch" plays, to show the rhythms]
M: And they really got the like, "na na na na na" sound to like, make it not like super chill
Like it was like, ok we are like, awake for this, like hello
J: Now that I think about it, the melodies were actually pretty simple
M: Yeah J: Like *sings* 3-3-4-3-5-1-1, like that M: *sings*
J: It's really not that complicated and I think a really well-written melody M: So-fa-mi, lots of so-fa-mi
J: Well-written melodies are simple enough but well-written enough to be really catchy, and I think this song did a good job of showcasing those
O: What was the topic of the song? I don't actually remember
O: It was "Ouch" right? E: That was the one where it was like, you like are in a bad place in your relationship I think
E: And somebody says something that makes you like, anxious about the state of the relationship
O: I didn't feel that much actually at all, listening to this song
E: Having a really dense texture but having everything be really quiet
E: That's kind of like when you're like, low-level anxious or like there's a lot going on in your brain (O: But you're hiding it, the way in your head ????????)
E: Like there's a lot of thoughts going like, really quietly in your head and like, not all of them are really apparent
But you just kind of feel this like, buzzing of anxiousness which like I can kinda get
And then also this sort of like *wauw* effect on some of the instruments, it just kind of feels like uncertain
Like there's no solidity of the timbre at all
So I think there's a lot of ways in which like, the construction of the instruments does kind of make you feel that way
I do think they took it in a more upbeat route
So like it is a serious subject matter, but like
E: Especially the harmonies I think didn't necessarily point to it being like a stressful or a sad place (O: Right, yeah)
E: But I think a lot that has to do with the texture and the timbre is sort of what gives it that effect. Okay?
A: Okay um, big thing with Sungjin, like I didn't expect that voice to come out of him
A: That like N: *laughs*
A: I feel like in a way- in a sense, he almost is like belting for the group
But also like, I don't know he just like, maybe it's just this picture of him that looks kind of like, shy or something
A: I was- and I was really (N: He's really giving it to us) thrilled the whole time with all of that
A: But yes, very very strong vocals
I couldn't exactly figure it out but there was like a strong 4 and there like, you'd have a strong beat pattern
And then like, you were expecting a beat to happen and then they would give you the "and"
And so I thought that that was like a really effective rhythmical thing
SEIJI: Ok so they started off with a samba and then they go into the montuno
SE: And the problem is those are pretty different parts of the world ST: Yeah those are two completely different styles SE: Yeah
ST: Um hey, so like the reason why it's different, in the samba feel has a particular rhythm in it called the partido alto
*demonstrates the rhythm*
And that's like from Brazil, and that's uniquely like their music
But the montuno comes from like, is Afro-Cuban, so like Latin America, like Cuba
Which yeah, so like it's just different feels
It'd be like trying to
It'd be like someone coming in and combining elements of like, American country music and like rock music, you know
Still, I guess you could say classified under Latin music, but you know like-
Brazilian music is complete- at least from like an instrumentalist standpoint, you would play that completely different than like something like this, you know
Because with Latin music every instrument in the rhythm section has a specific role and rhythm
So like the bass player with the samba, like *sings the rhythm*, it would be like *sings rhythm* very 1 and 3-heavy
But with the montuno like Afro-Cuban music, it's actually different
It's not emphasizing 1 and 3 at all, it's emphasizing the and of 2 and 4 so
It's called the tumbao rhythm, but it's like *sings rhythm*
So that's why it's like weird to have both of those rhythms in
Because they're actually both completely different feels and they just kind of clash with each other
They're emphasizing different beats
U: Moving on, so now you're reacting to a song from the first half of the Entropy album
The lyrics in "Emergency" depict how a person reacts when they're around someone they're attracted to
Heart, mind, and breath racing out of control
There is no treatment for this feeling so they keep reminding themselves to breathe and to try and stay calm
U: The song is composed by D: *reads* Shim Eunji and Lee Haesol U: And the DAY6 member Jae
U: GO ahead K: *sings Dreamcatcher's PIRI* EMERGENCY EMERGENCY I: *doesn't get the reference*
K: Oh (I: *sings along*) DAY6!
ST: Ayyyy! Get that 4 on the floor, let's go
ST: Whoo!
E: I love how they're saying- O: This is a good job of making me tense too (E: Yeah, but there's like-) 'cause there's a lot going on
E: They're saying "breathe in, breathe out" but it's so fast that that's not like (O: Right, that's not calm yeah *hyperventilates*) the speed at which you would wanna calm yourself down
I: *grunts along with the song*
K: I kind of wish the melody were a bit more uneven as well, so like, a bit more abnormal
*dance party*
F: *laughs* It's so good D: Spr- sprechstimme right there *laughs*
ST: OH DUDE they got the slap bass! *laughs* I love me some slap bass
K: THAT'S some interesting notation, ok
Oh woah, that's a weird section
Mixolydian!
I: Hmm
O: Is that a, that's a flatline? E: OOH that's like a flatline sound! (O: yeah, mm-hmm) And then you have the heartbeat
(O: *sings along*) E: And now the heartbeat is kind of translated into the bass, and it like keeps going through this section
K: What the
Interesting vocal tricks going on
F: Those are some accidentals in there I was not expecting D: Mm
J: I really like these like, medical sounds they're integrating. It's kind of funny M: Yeah
M: That's true
That was like a brass band there *laughs* but with like synthesizers
ST: Yeah, but definitely also too like a gospel vibe with like some of the hits and stuff that they've got going
SE: Yeah, and the bassline going on all the times ST: Yeah
N: I love that they're just like changing between minor and major chords, like the "in and out" type thing like
They'll play the same chord right after one another, and it's major one time and then minor another time
O: Hmm, the harmonies
E: I think this is the bridge but it's like
(O: I think so, it's definitely leading somewhere) E: Still so fast and like, so crazy, you don't get a break
O: I guess they don't get a break in this situation either, like in actual... just keeps going
K: *reads lyrics* "Even when seeing fried chicken, I'm still indifferent"
That's a new low
Or new high. I'm not sure
F: *sings along* "Out"! D: Oh wow F: *mimics the song* Brrrrrlah!
D: Oh god, he's tell me what to do F: Oh, YoungK is back *pumps* resuscitating
J: Flatline!
J: BAM M: Explosion town, because your heart exploded with love J: That was really cool, though
J: Especially in the beginning when they're- like right at the beginning they're talking about like an abnormal heartbeat, like the rhythm in the background was like
J: They were- there was a lot of like, "text painting" if you will, in this M: Speaking of text painting
M: Can we talk about the fried chicken line? I just enjoy that a lot
Good job. Good songwriting
N: They've got the like, same groove though, as the other song
N: Where it's just super rhythmic and super stale with the rhythm (A: Ok, in that sense yes)
N: And they kind of like, change it up a whole bunch more in this song, which is really cool
A: I was just- I was gonna say I really liked how they reused material in like different ways
So like Nick was saying with the major and minor chords we had, and I guess it's like in a sense reusing chords
But also how we got in between each choruses like all of the motives and things were like either taken from the beginning or pre-chorus, something
It was very creatively woven together
K: I like the lyrics, they're really quirky
But the melodies, they don't feel very DAY6 and at the end of the day, they're not as catchy
I think everything else about the song is catchy. The slap bass is good, the styles are good, the upbeat tempo is good
But the- melodically, it felt like- I felt like it could be a little catchier and sunnier
Like there's this part in Mixolydian and I was like, "What's that doing here?"
K: It's a little um... I: displaced
K: Yeah, maybe it's a grower. Maybe I'll take- need some time to grow on this one, for it to grow on me
I: I have to agree on that. The choruses felt a little bit lackluster compared to all the verses
Because the verses are so so creative in terms of splaying out which instrument should come in, and there's always a continuity
And then you get to the chorus and it's just *sings*
Considering the amount of anticipation and energy that they're creating in the verse leading to the chorus
And then all of a sudden, it's just nice and mellow
F: My favorite thing was like, the overall pacing of it. It was very like, marching along or you could go *runs* D: *laughs*
F: And there are different moments always have that strong *slaps* feeling
F: But there were moments where it felt like suave, and then there were moments that were like *runs* D: "Let me breathe!"
F: So I think I was never bored even though it was like three minutes long of kind of like similar material
D: Yeah U: Did you guys prefer "Ouch" or "Emergency"?
F: "Emergency"! D: Ohh, I prefer the other one, because of the bossa nova / samba thing F: True, ok
D: Like I cannot, like my hips cannot move- like stop moving, like it hears that and it's like, it like twitches a little
And then I just go with it. I just like, I can't help it. I mean this was great too it's just
F: I think how fast-paced and over-saturated and sugary sweet "Emergency" is, I have to go for "Emergency"
K: Musically, "Ouch". As an overall experience, having- reading the lyrics and stuff. I think "Emergency" inches it out
Not two of my favorite DAY6 songs unfortunately, but I enjoy seeing them, you know, always trying new things
O: I liked "Emergency", yeah I think that it had a lot of the text painting, like that it definitely felt like what they were describing
Also just a bunch of cool sounds going on all over the place, weaving together and making a good song. I liked it
A: "Ouch" N: "Ouch", yeah
A: I feel like "Emergency" was more of like a atmosphere-creating piece
And then "Ouch" had more like musical depth to it or like musical inspiration I think
U: *sings* YOU'RE MY BA-NA-NA-NA-NA
A: Is that the lyrics? U: *sings* a-ya-ya
[t/n Hope Bang Chan enjoyed his reaction request!]
M: You get an ouch and then you call 911 for the emergency
OH IT'S CALLED "EMERGENCY" that's why there's the whoo-whoo, the sirens! YEP.