Katie: Ooh
Jarod: Oh
Both: OOOOHH
Jarod: That was so cool, I don't know how to describe that
Katie: That was like 'Nightmare Before Christmas'
Gwen: *singing* You and I
Umu: Okay, so - Gwen: Wait that's funny, IU, You&I, ha ha ha
Umu: So this came out in 2011 Henry: Oh wow
Umu: and the concept is of a 19 year old girl trapped in a clock tower, where time is stopped, with a
boy who is asleep, and her grandfather made it so that the boy - once she became an adult -
would meet her and they'd fall in love, etc. etc. Henry: Wow
Umu: So inside the room, there's like a toy train and basically, like, she goes into the toy train and she sees her future
and she's like, "Oh my god, I don't want this future I'm gonna like, make a time machine"
So then she makes a time machine, and on the day she becomes an adult
she steps into the time machine, and he wakes up and only sees her leave
So like, do they ever meet
Like that's the whole, you know, mystery ending
Fiona: That's so stressful
Yunyi: OK Kevin: *singing* Youuu and I
Kevin: Lady Gaga
Kevin: Alright, Hedwig Yunyi: We're at Hogwarts
Emiel: Bit of a haunted vibe Henry: Yeah really -
Emiel: Scary
Henry: Spook...spooktacular
Jarod: Can you hear the strings in the background, soft strings
Katie: It's kinda creepy Jarod: Creepy chimes
Both: Yeah
Jarod: But at the same time it's kinda beautiful
Katie: Right now, it's just creepy, tbh
Jarod: *hums melody*
Katie: Ooh, look at those perfect fifths
Jarod: *continues to hum melody*
Katie: *joins in humming a fifth above Jarod*
Jarod: One Seven -
Jarod: Oh I love the hanging on the leading tone
Jarod: It's such a pretty -
Kevin: Gotta dig those
Kevin: Sweet instruments
Yunyi: Were those chimes Kevin: Yes
Jarod: This is trippy, I like it
Katie: Yeah Jarod: This ominous choir...chimes
Jarod: But yeah there's like, this innocent vibe to it though, you know
Katie: Which makes it creepy Jarod: Exactly
Katie: So she just wants to meet this boy?
Jarod: Yeah Katie: There's more to life than men!
Jarod: Yeah, girl!
Fiona: Horn! Horn! Lindsey: What
Fiona: They sounded a little sharp
Kevin: This sounds exactly like Good Day
Gwen: She has continued her streak of having a strange amount of orchestra
Gwen: In the back of such a poppy song Rachel: Yeah
Gwen: I like it, it's just abnormal
Rachel: Yeah I like the chords
Kevin: Listen to Good Day after this
Kevin: Where like, from the percussion, to the chords
Yunyi: It's pretty damn close Kevin: Yeah
Kevin: And the key change is exactly in the same spot
Yunyi: Mhmm, it is
Kevin: Chorus is pretty different Yunyi: Oh, I really like the melody though
Naoki: Oh Stephen: The Polar Express
Naoki: Yeah, it's like the action with the, like
Naoki: Rapid harmony changes Stephen: True
Stephen: I also really like how she - like the -
Stephen: String fillers and stuff like that Naoki: Yeah
Stephen: Going in between the vocal line
Naoki: It makes it not boring Stephen: Yeah, or also
Stephen: Just like the hits right here too Naoki: Yeah
Katie: Cadential 6/4
Katie: Ooh
Jarod: Oh
Both: OOOOHH
Jarod: That was so cool, I don't know how to describe that
Katie: That was like 'Nightmare Before Christmas'
Yunyi: That was -
Yunyi: That was a lot of modulations that happened in a very short amount of time!
Kevin: And it just went back
Kevin: There wasn't like an announcement like - "We're back in the key again"
Kevin: It just like - *sdjzhdfzhduduh* - oh we're here Yunyi: Yeah
Naoki: No, because like, with a song like this, there isn't that much contrast but it just works
Stephen: Mmm, right Naoki: Because the -
Naoki: Everything's just filled out and it's just like Stephen: True
Naoki: There are contrasts between the singing and the instrumentals and the hits Stephen: Mmm, right
Naoki: That it makes it work that way rather than, like the contrasts in style
Stephen: Right
Henry: I also dig that it's not, like
Henry: For 2011, it's not a super annoying drum track
Henry: Cuz like, it's not a real drummer, or real bassist I don't think, but like
Henry: The drum track is very nondescript
Henry: It's really like, out-of-the-way and lets the actual harmonies like, be a thing
Emiel: Yeah
Lindsey: Why is there a goose
Lindsey: What the fuck Fiona: Cuz it's -
Fiona: It's basically like a fairytale, like this whole - Lindsey: Oh yeah, that makes sense
Fiona: You know, it's like, why else - Lindsey: What is this?
Lindsey: It's like *daradada* it's like - what's - Khachaturian
Yunyi: Where's that from again?
Kevin: Uh *hums tune*
Kevin: Oh, it's 'Sabre Dance' by Khachaturian Yunyi: Yeah, yeah yeah yeah, yup
Kevin: That's pretty funny
Emiel: Oh, we got a little interlude here
Fiona: Piano Lindsey: Now we're - now we got no drums
Kevin: BIG dominant pedal
Kevin: There it is Yunyi: Dr Who?
Kevin: Yes
Emiel: She has a really good voice too
Emiel: Like, it's spot-on
Yunyi: Yeah, even in Good Day, they had the triplets
Yunyi: The *da da da* towards the end, so Kevin: Yes, yes
Lindsey: Oh, he's waking up, he's waking up
Lindsey: And she's spinning like no other
Lindsey: And he is looking to the side
Lindsey: And he is just confused, probably because
Lindsey: What the fuck is going on Fiona: Dang, that's so frustrating
Naoki: So she arrives at the same place but in the future
Stephen: Yeah
Kevin: My gosh, that ending just went whole Hollywood fanfare Yunyi: That - yeah
Yunyi: Chorus was really extra
Lindsey: That was like - there was like a little deceptive cadential extension there and then
Lindsey: It went into a cadence
Lindsey: You can still hear, like, the little clock ticking in the background, that's pretty cool
Lindsey: And then the train sound
Lindsey: But it's just, like, piano arpeggiating
Fiona: Jeez
Lindsey: But like, it's like an Alberti bass, it's like *dada dadada*
Lindsey: But like, very slow
Lindsey: Is it symbolism that there's a goose in that store
Fiona: Wait
Yunyi: Yeah, she's the next Doctor, that's the only explanation
Kevin: She's the next Doctor, oh, I thought the dude
Yunyi: No, she's the next Doctor
Lindsey: What? And he realized it, but he doesn't know what to do
Lindsey: Oh my go- oh oh
Lindsey: Oh my g- Fiona: *making heartfelt sounds*
Lindsey: I want to cry, why do I want to cry Fiona: Why is this -
Fiona: It's so cinematically like, on point Lindsey: Look at that little smile
Lindsey: And the goose, now they're zooming in on the goose so it
Lindsey: Definitely was symbolism Fiona: The goose is dead
Umu: Yeah, so what d'you think of that song overall, musically?
Yunyi: I actually, kinda liked it better as an instrumental track
Kevin: *making Yoda agreeing sounds* Yunyi: To be completely honest
Kevin: Interesting
Yunyi: Cuz I thought, this really gives off a film score vibe to me
Yunyi: As, like I said earlier, just because it is really sectional
Yunyi: And it shifts textures, and it shifts like, thematic content really quickly
Yunyi: Which was really neat to listen to, alone in the instrumental
Yunyi: But I don't know if it works too well as a song
Yunyi: Cuz with songs, you want more consistency I think Umu: Mhmm
Henry: It definitely was like - and this isn't like, a bad thing
Henry: But it was like, not really like a hummable tune
Henry: Which is what makes a lot of pop music successful
Henry: Which is - I feel like what makes a lot of the K-Pop that we watch interesting
Henry: Is that there are motifs from it that are like, "Yeah, that's like, a good groove"
Henry: Like, you can sing that back to yourself and be like, "Yeah, that sits well"
Henry: But it's also like, interesting
Henry: This just didn't really have much of that in it
Henry: So it was hard for me to, like
Henry: Be able to replicate like, what we just heard
Rachel: I loved it
Gwen: I - It was a cool song, right
Gwen: Like, it's very 'modern movie soundtrack' Rachel: Mhmm
Gwen: Where they have to have the orchestral instruments for that sense of grandeur
Gwen: But there's still like, a lot of modern influences
Rachel: Yeah, it was very, like soundtrack-y...and Gwen: It was cool
Rachel: Disney, and also Polar Express and also
Rachel: Wizards of Waverly Place, all together Gwen: Yeah they straight-up had the actual Polar Express in it
Umu: Did you have a favourite, or least favourite musical moment?
Rachel: Yeah that, like, lit bit in the middle
Rachel: Where they were just *dbudubabuduh dbudhuh* Gwen: Yeah, where it like -
Gwen: I liked the part where they'd slowed down a lot
Gwen: Where she was singing, and it was like a pendulum
Gwen: It was cool Rachel: Mhmm
Jarod: I liked when she was on the train, and it had that -
Jarod: The - she was on the train and it just went into this, like, weird...
Jarod: Different...soundscape, I don't know how to describe it cuz it was like
Jarod: Probably a modulation but I don't know how to -
Jarod: It just - it was so cool
Jarod: I didn't know what -
Jarod: The problem is, I love it because I don't know what it is
Jarod: That's the beauty of it
Umu: So IU debuted as a solo artist when she was 15 years old
and she was always shown publicly as like, "Korea's Little Sister", as this little innocent girl and
like she was 15, she was already a teen, and even at probably like early 20s
she was still shown as that innocent girl, and so, she was like -
Finally her -
I believe her label agreed to let her produce her own album, saying what she wanted to say
and so, then she wrote the lyrics for this song
and so this song is kind of an expression of the duality and irony of her role as an artist
Like dealing with what gets you money, versus, who you really are
Umu: And what, like - Jarod: Yeah, I was about to say, that's like the biggest dilemma
Jarod: It's like, do you do what you're gonna get, you know, the big paycheck for Katie: Money for
Jarod: Or do you do what makes you feel good inside, and fulfilled Katie: "Big paycheck"
Emiel: 5-4-3-2-1 Henry: *clapping like a seal*
Jarod: I love loud shoes
Jarod: Especially heels that make that click - that satisfying click sound
Katie: Should get a pair
Gwen: What a depressing birthday
Rachel: Nah, that cake looks pretty good
Jarod: Oh hey, how you doing?
Jarod: WOOAHH Katie: *is definition of open-mouthed surprise*
Kevin: That sound design Yunyi: That sound
Kevin: *bbfft* Yunyi: Was beautiful
Naoki: Wait, did she just...die on the cake Stephen: Yeah...or something
Naoki: Cool
Emiel: Wow, it gets right into it
Katie: *still the definition of open-mouthed surprise*
Naoki: Yeah this is so different Stephen: This groove's kinda -
Stephen: I was gonna say that groove's kinda, like, badass
Naoki: Yeah
Stephen: Like, kind of a harsher drum sound
Kevin: What a cool song! Yunyi: Yeah
Kevin: It's like there's a breeze
Kevin: When I listen to this
Fiona: Oh my god, her - like, their vocals
Lindsey: I know, they're very tight harmonies
Lindsey: Like, they're close together
Lindsey: And it's like, a really jazzy kind of sound
Lindsey: I like how she's still got the strings in the background Fiona: She's done *imitates shoving away mic stand*
Lindsey: And that's just like, her thing
Lindsey: But it's really subtle in this one
Henry: Oh damn Emiel: Wow
Henry: She's pretty uh... Emiel: This is cool
Henry: On the nose
Emiel: She's very direct with...
Emiel: Yeah Henry: It's also super funny
Henry: Also this - the art is so cool
Henry: The animation mixed in is, like, beautiful
Kevin: Man, some big disco vibes
Jarod: Dude, I'm really digging like, the rhythms
Katie: Yeah, it's very spunky
Katie: The minute that she flung her face into the cake I was like
Katie: Mmm, we are about to get some real shit dropped on us
Naoki: I like how she still used the instrumentals though, but it's in a completely different way
Stephen: Yeah
Henry: It is like the pop success
Henry: That would make her money, but it definitely feels like it still has -
Henry: Like, it maintains the image of adulthood for her
Henry: I don't know, but I guess it'd be interesting to see if she was happy in how this turned out
Henry: Because even if it didn't make her as much money as being some cutesy 15 year old
Henry: Like, at least she's more satisfied
Lindsey: I love the colours in here and I also like when it like - Fiona: Yeah
Lindsey: The vocals cut out and she says something, like before, it was like, she went "check it out"
Lindsey: And then like, she says something in Korean
Lindsey: And it's very catchy in that sense, yeah
Kevin: It's amazing how much of the innocent vibe she keeps
Kevin: While she sings about this
Stephen: Another thing to compare to like, the last one, are -
Stephen: Like the last one was with more orchestrated - kind of using
Stephen: Unorthodox orchestration for a pop song Naoki: Yeah
Stephen: Here, I feel like this is more trying to be mainstream Naoki: Yeah, definitely
Stephen: Where it's not like a carbon copy but just, with just how everything's structured Naoki: Yeah, yeah
Katie: It was like chromatic...woah
Emiel: I like kind of this break- chorus or - Henry: Breakdown, almost a bridge!
Gwen: This is very "Alice in Wonderland" Rachel: Yeah it is
Gwen: Even the music with its, kind of like, weird
Gwen: Little...added...stuff Rachel: Yeah
Henry: Woah, yeah, okay this is a trip, this is incredible
Emiel: Yeah, wow, and it keeps getting like, more and more animated as the video goes, which is really cool Henry: *another instance of open-mouthed surprise*
Gwen: I'm feeling a weird vibe of sexualizing being a kid Rachel: Yeah
Gwen: And I think that's intentional, as a commentary on the rest of her career, but I'm still uncomfortable Rachel: Yeah, exactly
Rachel: It was effective Gwen: Like, I'm sure it's on purpose
Rachel: Yeah Gwen: But, like I'm still uncomfortable
Jarod: Cat-sh- Katie: Chat-Shire!
Jarod: Chat-Shire...I think I've been saying it wrong Umu: Her - No, no, her album is called Chat-Shire
Jarod: Oh Both: *look of realization*
Jarod: Oh, she woke up from the cake
Jarod: What if the cake had drugs in it
Jarod: Maybe she's trying to say "Hey I'm 23, I can do LSD like the big boys now"
Jarod: And then, like Katie: Big girls***
Jarod: Big girls, sorry...look... Katie: Hmm?
Jarod: Fuuuuck
Henry: Wow, that was awesome Emiel: Nice
Emiel: That was a good tune, good video Henry: Yeah, seriously
Emiel: I'll remember that one Henry: I really really dug that
Umu: Yeah, so musically, overall, what did you think of the song?
Emiel: Great - singsong-y, had a good vibe with it
Henry: It was poppy, but it wasn't overbearing or patronizing
Emiel: Exactly
Jarod: I really liked the way they played with the rhythms and the different articulations when she was, like singing
Jarod: Cuz like, sometimes it'd be long, and then suddenly short, and like, it was just really funky
Jarod: Had a nice groove Katie: It was really funky
Gwen: It felt kind of disjointed
Gwen: Like, a lot of the transitions weren't very smooth Rachel: Yeah
Gwen: But I think that might have been on purpose Rachel: Not mad at it?
Gwen: Yeah, like, there's a lot to say about the benefits of having something unexpected happen
Gwen: But if you don't get it...
Gwen: It can uh - swings a little too far the other way
Gwen: So I thought that happened a little bit but ultimately, it was cool, it was cute
Rachel: It was cool that she did some of the more like, speak-singing things at the beginning
Rachel: Cuz I think that is very akin to the rest of the K-Pop genre at that time
Yunyi: It's definitely not as harmonically complicated as other IU songs Kevin: No
Yunyi: But I kind of liked it in that sense, that it like, didn't go over the top Kevin: Yeah
Lindsey: That song, I was trying to like, listen to the chords and stuff
Lindsey: It was pretty much just like a consistent progression throughout
Lindsey: It didn't really have that much variety in terms of like, the instrumentals
Lindsey: But like, her vocal harmonies were so awesome
Lindsey: And they perfectly brought in the really tight harmonies and stuff like that, so it wasn't a constant thing
Lindsey: I think if it was, it would've gotten old
Fiona: Yeah the vocals - it was so uplifting and refreshing when they happened Lindsey: But like - it was s- yeah
Umu: What did you think about this concept and music versus the last one
Stephen: Yeah like, what you'd mentioned before - her trying to be more grown-up and sassy
Stephen: Like, even with the electronic drum sound she was using, that bass drum - much more harsher and kind of -
Naoki: Oh, yeah yeah, not as soft and ...orchestral Stephen: Right, yeah, not as soft and nice and just m-
Stephen: Yeah, almost not as innocent anymore
Lindsey: They're so differ- like, this one was super different, and I thought, it's interesting how
Lindsey: You know, in everything else that we've heard by her, it's very like, heavily orchestrated
Lindsey: And this like - you could hear - yeah Fiona: *dying cat impression of violin-playing*
Lindsey: It had strings in there but it was so subtle
Lindsey: So it was like she took that part of her past music and incorporated it
Lindsey: But didn't make it stand out as much as it had in the past
Fiona: Yeah, like she changed her sounds from the past and it fit in a way like, in more alternative kind of pop music
Fiona: That's what it sounded like, and it's really quirky and Lindsey: Yeah, it sounded like everything that I normally listen to
Fiona: That's so - yeah - and that's so current right now Lindsey: Yeah
Fiona: That kinda like - Lindsey: And this is from 2 years ago but like, still
Katie: Well the last one was extremely elaborate - it had a lot to it
Katie: It was also, you know, along her music video, a different message completely
Katie: I mean, it's kind of hard to compare them, just because they are so different, and they're going for different messages
Katie: But I think both were suiting to what they were trying to get across
Emiel: Hey guys, thanks so much for watching, we hope you enjoyed the video
Henry: If you wanna see what other K-Pop songs we're gonna to be reacting to
Henry: Make sure you check out our schedule in the description
Emiel: If you're curious about songs that we're going to react to that aren't on our schedule yet
Emiel: Click right here, or check out the description
Umu: And of course, a huge thank you to all our patrons who have helped to make our content better
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All: See you guys next time!