It has come to our attention
That the Kpop Charts have been overrun
by boys and boygroups again
And we haven't really talked about female groups that much
And so now we're going to talk about nothing but girlgroups
Some of the best videos and some of the most interesting videos that we've seen lately
We're beginning with a very sensitive video
Ga-In's "Fxxx You"
I think that this is easily the best song and the most interesting video on our list
And it definitely could have its own 20 minute Kpop Music Monday
dedicated to itself alone.
What I think is amazing about this MV
If you haven't seen it already and in case you are sensitive to this I'll tell you in advance:
This is about rape in a relationship
One of the most interesting things I find about Ga-In
Is that whenever I talk about Kpop as a whole
I find that it's really lacking at distinct voice that speaks for the people
I always thought that maybe G-Dragon might be able to do that
And speak about what it is like to be a student
Or what it is like to be a salary man or something
But Kpop doesn't really have that
A lot of it is just very fluffy and fun music
but definitely after watching this video by Ga-In
And thinking about hte rest of her work
I think that she is definitely the voice of a lot of women
In Korea that's really under-represented.
And the imagery in this MV is very serious
It was very graphic and I know for some people
They are like "Oh I don't like seeing this kind of stuff happening"
That's the point.
This is an awful subject
And she is dealing with it in a respectful way
By making it so awful
Now I think that's what this video goes for
While a lot of videos don't really try to make you feel uncomfortable
and make you think too much
They just want to make you happy and dancing
This video came out with a message
And i think it is a very strong one
Something also I really like about this video was the casting of the actor
That is opposite to Ga-In.
I like the fact that he is good looking, He doesn't look like some creepy, scary gross person
Because a lot of people think "Oh only bad, ugly people do this kind of crimes"
"But good looking guys never do things like that"
No, because they are good [M]They are Good looking
Right? The same way how we talk about Music Videos, how a lot of stuff
Good looking stalkers aren't stalkers.
Kpop videos are like "well as long as you are good looking" [S]A lot of Kpop songs are creepy and stalkerish
But you don't think like that because they are good looking.
A very powerful video, great song as well
And.... I think you should watch it.
Best thing you're going to watch this year so far.
Coming in at a complete opposite corner of the spectrum is Stellar's "Marionette"
Which sucks donkeyballs.
It's really really baaaad!
The MV was so boring and repetitive
and I know that this whole concept of being sexy is being marketed this year strongly
The end of last year and this year they are like "you know what?"
"Let's be as sexy as possible. Let's just go all out."
They are wearing lingerie for the whole MV
When they are not wearing lingerie they are wearing underwear and sitting in bathtubs
Oh and I like how the girl drinks milk but in stead of getting it in the mouth
It's like all dribbling down her cheek and all over her body.
You know what that milk represents?
It's not milk.
It's just milk.
It's just innocent milk.
I can drink like an idiot.
There is nothing wrong with going for the sexy concept
But watching this 3minute and 30s video was Really Boring.
At some point I was hoping to see a plot
Or that someone was going to join the room
And you know they try to explain to you what the plot is in the info boxes
They are trying to be like "Marionette" is about women and their attachment to men
they broke up with and their strings.
And I'm like "Where do you see that in this video?"
Just admit it: if you want to be sexy, I wish that Kpop groups could just say
You know what? Stellar is back, they were really cute before
They had a rocket spaceship theme
and now we're going for sexy and that's it.
We're not ragging on sexy concepts all together
Because there are other videos we're going to talk about in this list
That do sexy very well
This just does sexy very boringly and redundantly and uncreatively
That's why I can't remember the song.
And it seems like I'm not the only one who dislikes this video
because it actually has a lot more dislikes than likes
at the moment we're at 18k dislikes to 16k likes.
That usually doesn't happen in Kpop Videos
But you know what?
They got what they wanted which was: this was the highest viewed video they have ever had
But this MV with what they call it? The... Unitard?
Is it a unitard? [S]What is this outfit called?
Is it a bathing suit? Like a ... crotch puller?
You know the ones like...
This... The...The... The movement explains what it is.
There has got to be a name for this outfit.
The this uniform.
I think it's a unitard. Is it a unitard?
I don't know. No, I think unitards go down... like below...
Ladies and Gentlemen what is a unitard?
Here is a simple test:
Can you watch a Kpop MV with them only wearing jeans and a T-shirt?
And would the video still be interesting?
If yes, then this is probably a good video.
If not then it's probably just the outfits and the controversy that make the video interesting.
Girls Generation's "Gee" for example.
They were wearing jeans and matching shirts
Everyone looked the same in the video
Fun as hell.
I think that if Stellar would have everyone in jeans and T-shirts it would Not get as many views as it did
Probably they'd get 23 views.
Oh stop it!
Ok, 24.
30, ok you push it. [S]Ok ok, you you you you win.
Ok, that's enough.
Now for a breath of fresh air
Let's move onto one of the most underrated groups in Kpop
Spica.
I really like Spica.
And I feel like people don't talk enough about them
Spica has a song that just came out called "You don't love me"
MAn! [S]MAn!
To begin with: their vocals are fantastic!
I mean, the beginning of it, the whole like urrrrrrrrrrr duuuuuuun
Meeeeem Meeeeeem
Reasons why Martina can't be a singer.
Exactly how the song goes.
Anyways, their vocals are fantastic.
It doesn't sound weak and thin it always sounds like everyone in the band is a freakin Whitney Houston
You know the HUAAAAALALAWUA
No? You don't know what I mean?
Please stop imitating singing.
It hurts me so bad.
What is that called when people have shaky voices like Adele kind of voices?
Adele, eh? It's like a meat deli. it's where he goes.
It's the outfits that go like this.
Ok, so on e of the things we complain about for music videos
Is that you have a wide shot of everybody dancing
And then you have a shot of a close up on the face
And then wide shot of them dancing
Then you have like a pan camera
This is the 2nd video in a row that they have really good cinematography
Their sets are really interesting
I like the panning, I like the angles
And you have it from a perspective of somebody who makes videos on regular basis
This is really nicely done
So what I like about this MV is: I feel like this is what I want from Kpop
I want a MV that has set changes, a concept that goes on throughout the whole thing
So doing that kind of pin-up girl era
They've changed costumes 3 or 4 times
She took a banana, she broke it in half and then she stomped on a cupcake
This video reminds me of... Actually the song and video reminds me of something that I'd expect from Wonder Girls
Well because the Wonder Girls had that kind of like dwappy
Long story short: Spica's video was really interesting, lovely video
Stellar's video: bluhhgsdrg [M]Don't drink the poison.
Next up is a rookie group called Kiss&Cry
With their song "Domino game"
First impression I got when I watched this video
Is: I was not actually sure if this is their first MV or not
And if that's the case, I feel like these guys are Way above the rookie level.
This is like when B.A.P. came out with Warrior
And we were like "This is a rookie group?"
This is the same impression I'm getting from this group.
There is confidence that comes in this video that isn't easy to imitate
Like you can see a lot of rookie groups that are forced into these concepts and don't do it really well.
But this video looks like they are having fun
It looks like they are interested.
I am actually very sole on this
If I had to say an opposite of Kiss&Cry it would be GPBasic
Oh... [M]Ok, so GPBasic is also a rookie group
This isn't even their first song
Their song is like "ppikkappeonjeok" or something
They are supposed to be confident, cocky and like "Yeah we're rappers, we're the best!"
And it is so bad.
It is sooooo bad [S]It is so cringe worthy.
The point is: Kiss&Cry don't look like rookies.
That's what it feels like.
Are you still upset about the other band?
You made me very angry by showing that thing.
I'm going... [S]Don't... Don't you... Stop it! [M]I want to show you one of my favorite rap lines.
of GPBasic [S]Oh my god, what was that terrible one like...
New coat, new shoes, my crew, no lose
NO! [M]Yep. [S]NO!
New coat, new shoes, my crew, no lose.
NO! [M]What's wrong Simon? [S]STOP IT!
NO! Horribible.
Terribible.
It is pretty terrible.
It is the worst song I have heard thus far.
Next up on our list is Rainbow Blaxx with "Cha cha"
Question: how can a rainbow be black?
That doesn't make it a rainbow. Rainbow has lots of colors in it.
If you just have Rainbow Blaxx it's just a dark arch.
Here is what I want to know:
Why does it say "rainbow burak" in Korean and why does it say "rainbow blaxx" in English?
Why? What is this trend of like "It's supposed to be an E, but we're making it like a U
And it sounds like this" [S]It's kind of like Vixx that has an extra X in their name for no reason
Or Nu'est that could just say New East, but it doesn't...
The video for this song is actually potentially really interesting
But misses the mark with the editing a little bit.
Ok, so. When you first start watching this MV
You think to yourself "Oh, this is another typical sexy video"
They're all in lingerie again, they all have thigh-highs on
So you're kind of like "ugh, this MV is nothing special"
But then, suddenly they flash this old woman
Who is also dressed up in fancy feathery clothing
And she is watching them through a screen.
And then she disappears again.
And will not appear until a minute or two into the video again.
And you're like "wait a sec, what was that all about?"
But then later on you see her coming there
And she has got her arms on her, she's measuring their arms and their thighs
And what is interesting about it is that you have got these people watching them
And amazed paying attention. And collecting the jewels
There's this guy that has binoculars that's watching as well
And we can't quite figure out what they are trying to get at
Because I think the editing was so poorly done
They focused so much on the girls being sexy
That they forgot to include more bits of the storyline in there
So this is hinting at something very sinister
This could very easily represent the Kpop industry itself
When looked deeply enough into it
I just wish that they had included more of that storyline in there
And less of them just being sexy the whole time
And you know what? It really comes onto editing
because if we were on the set. We would have no idea if the girls themselves and the band Rainbow
might have known what the plot was. And they were acting thusly because of it.
We know about different video editors in the Kpop industry
So that whenever they make a MV
They give 3 different versions to the company
The company has has to pick which one or say "oh cut down on this and include more of these kind of shots"
So some videos actually... Their plot suffers because they want to do more pretty shots or what not
And I think that this is an example of it right here
You know, we've even reviewed some Kpop MVs
Where we said "What's up with this plot? it makes no sense"
And then turns out later on we found out that the people were like
"No, this was the original plot, but it got cut down"
So watch the video. It's not just a sexy concept
And see if you can figure out what's going on there.
I will be assigning it as your English teacher's homework
I would like you to have a full report on my desk by Monday
Double spaced, not 2.25 spaced
None of those 3 inch margins
I've got a ruler. I'm going to measure it. I want one inch margins.
Times New Roman, I don't want you changing it. Not 12.2
No 12.5
So that's it for this week's KMM
Let us know what videos you liked the most out of this list
Or if there are any videos that we missed out on
That we should have talked about.
And let us know if you agree with your opinions or if you disagree