Kevin: Oh my gosh! Gah!!!
Gosh, syncopation! Delay!
[dramatic orchestral music: Rossini's 'Semiramide Overture']
Umu (offscreen): So Lovelyz is an eight-member girl group
that debuted in 2014 under Woollim Entertainment,
which is the same entertainment company that has Golden Child and Infinite.
'Wow' was released in 2017 and composed by OnePeice.
A fan theory is that their 'Wow' music video
is shot in the point of view of a fan
who fantasizes about Lovelyz and wants to catch them,
but when the fan comes too close,
the members turn into paper versions of themselves.
Hugo, (offscreen): That's--
James: (incredulous) What do you mean by 'catch them'?
He wants to snatch them up??
U: [laughing] I don't know!! H: Haven't you ever gone hunting before, James?
J: [horrified pause] Oh my god, let's start the video. Jesus christ.
H: Sorry, I just had to take that one more level up.
Also, Owen Wilson. (imitating Owen Wilson) Wow...
[several clips of Owen Wilson saying 'wow']
J: Alright, let's do this. H: (still imitating OW) Wow...!
H: [continued OW 'wow'ing] J: Uh, three, two, one.
H: (laughing) I'm gonna just do Owen Wilson the whole time.
Peyton: [taps his foot to the beat]
K: Wait, where's the downbeat? This is the offbeat, right?
P: We have to find a way to react to this video without saying 'wow'.
Charlotte: [laughs]
K&I: Ooh! (x5)
I: Wow! I'm saying 'wow' too!
K: Oh, they're the paper.
I: She was a sticker!
K: Yeah.
K: Doki-doki!
H&J: Whoa! H: Yeah!
J: Yes!
J: Holy shit!
K&I: [singing/dancing along]
I: Ahh, that's so cute!
Lindsey: It's like video game music in the background.
L: Doesn't it-- If you took away the vocals, this would be video game-
Nikki: This is like salsa. L: Yeah.
N: (rhythmically) Des-pa-cito. L: [laughs]
N: Just kidding, it's not.
I'm sorry.
H: Do you know what it is? They don't have a drum track.
Like, they don't have a 'boots and cats and boots and cats and--'
H&I (bewildered): Salvador Dali?
K: This is so cute! Like, the music is so cute. I: Wow! (x3)
I: [laughs] You should put the meme 'wow'.
I: Just put it all over. K: Yep, yep.
K&I: (in an Owen Wilson impression) Wow.
Jarod: (rythmically) Sta-cca-to! (x2)
K: Oh man, I just love that first chord. I: [imitating the vocal line]
K: It just comes out of nowhere! I: [still imitating]
K: Uh, first chord of the chorus.
K: Oh, it does do Picardy. It goes from minor to major. I: [imitating vocal line again]
I: [still imitating vocal line] K: It's subtle!
I: Ugh, YES!
I: Sequences done RIGHT! K: [imitates high note in vocal line (F5♯)]
K: Yep. Exactly.
J: Is it almost like a descending fifth sequence?
J: Wait...
J: [imitating descending fifth sequence]
H&I: [both imitating sequence]
H: It is!
J: Yeah, but they take out some of the notes!
H: Yeah.
L: What did it just do?
L: It like kind of modulated, but they're not really
in a key, so it didn't, but...
N: Yeah, I mean, this is "the bridge", but... L: Yeah.
L: It's like, the build.
N: I don't know where we are harmonically.
K: Ah, half-diminished!
I: [imitating vocal line]
K: How many songs have a chorus I: [still imitating]
that starts with a half-diminished chord, you know?
I: And then AGAIN!
K: Oh no, the second half is actually a IV (4)!
It's a different chord!
It's more-- it's a more- I: Oh, okay!
K: -harsh version of it.
K: So the first one is meant to surprise.
Peyton: This bass is really doing it for me, not gonna lie.
C: But it's so strange to hear such like a strong...
... Funk bass? And then like this
techno thingy- P: [imitating vocal line in a baby voice]
P: [still imitating] C: And then this cutesy thing on top.
C: I'm like...
C: This is an interesting color that they've created. P: Yes.
K: Ooh, outro! It starts with the-- ends with the beginning.
I: Yeah.
K: They know what makes their song catchy.
This is good.
K: Ooh, it ends on like a IV (4).
I: Ehh, it's still-- I think it's- K: But yeah, yeah-
I: -It's still nice! K: Yeah, yeah, it's great.
I: (v. enthusiastically) YES!
K: Thank you, thank you, Lovelyz- I: That's how you do bubbly songs-
K: - You are indeed a lovely group.
U: Yeah, what did you think of the song overall musically
and how it supported the kind of like
boppy, cute concept?
J: 'Cause it was very light, like, rhythmically?
Katie: [gasps] You read my mind! J: [laughs]
K: I was gonna say that!
J: Whoa! K: Word-for-word!
J: 'Cause it-- Yeah, 'cause it was just like,
the rhythm was really light, and everything just kinda popped.
So it's like. It's just very cute, like that [imitates vocal line]
J: It's just cute, like the--
K: [imitates vocal line] J: -- like, the lines kinda danced around.
N: I think it sounded like early 2000's pop
but like... The sections were really different
from each other. L: Yeah.
It was like there was-- I think there was a combination--
There was the early 2000's pop
which was like, the chorus. N: Mm-hmm.
L: And then there was that video game music section
which was like, maybe a prechorus or something,
that came back a lot. N: Mm-hmm.
L: And then everything else was just--
it was just doing its thing.
L: [laughs] N: (playfully sarcastic) Great insight.
L: Thank you, thank you so much. N: Really, really.
N: That's the kind of commentary- L: -I'm really, I'm feeling blessed-
N: -that we're here for.
P: Well, I thought that the underlying bassline was
very entertaining.
That's kinda what kept my attention the whole time.
The rest of it was, I mean...
I don't wanna say, like, 'typical' or anything like that,
but like. I dunno, I wasn't really drawn by it.
C: It was too cutesy for my taste.
I'm just not into like, the cutesy vibe.
P: Yeah.
It would work for like--
I think it would be very effective for a younger crowd.
C: But they definitely sold their concept,
so I-- I respect that.
K: Yeah, the song's very complex within this
very catchy pop vibe.
K: I think these are like my favorite niche of pop songs.
Just the ones that have the catchy appeal
but they also got the cool chords and stuff.
They use the sequences and it's memorable.
K&I: [imitate sequence] K: Yeah.
I: [still imitating]
K: And it sounds fresh, because you start on
the half-diminished, and it comes--
-- it sort of comes out of nowhere.
'Cause it goes from like a Picardy third--
You're like "Okay, this is resolved."
And then BOOM, the first chord you hear
is half-diminished!
So there's a, there's a little jarring...
A little jolt- I: Jolt.
K - every time the chorus starts.
K: I'm gonna. Put this on my Spotify playlist.
I: I dunno, I thought it was like...
... very, VERY well done.
'Cause like, this, um.
The intro and the outro were the same.
Not that it's bad.
It's actually fantastic how they prep it.
And also like, the way they go into choruses
with verses prior, like the prechorus.
They would have very different rhythm
just to show you-- 'this is the prechorus'.
And then, uh, going into it...
I don't know! It's just like...
It's just the way they do the sequences.
The [imitates sequence]
So you think-- you're going from an A to a G,
and you go to-- you THINK you're gonna go to an F♯
and it's like 'oh, no, we don't do anything'.
And then they come back later with the
second reiteration of the sequence,
and they hit a high F♯ and you're just like-
K: Yeah, the high F♯ is really cool. I: -'oh.'
K: [imitates high F♯]
I: [laughs] That was F♯ a bit E.
[imitates K with an F♯ sliding down to E]
[laughs again] K: I think they do go down to an E though, afterwards.
I: Do they? K: Yeah.
I: Oh, maybe.
K: Every time they do the F♯, they go
straight back down to E.
So it's like a- I: Yeah.
K: Sort of like a neighboring suspension-
I: Yeah. K: -sort of thing.
I: You know, like, it's an experience.
You're looking at the video,
you're looking at things happen,
and it's just so nicely paired!
Like, the beats pair with the bubbly and the
youthfulness that they want to capture
with the... The energy.
Paper cutouts? This is like, a new one for me.
I've never seen anyone do this. K: Yeah!
And the thing is, you only see sometimes
that they're paper cuto--
-- like, by the end, with all the girls in the room-
I: Mm-hmm- K: -they don't even look like paper cutouts.
They look KIND OF like paper cutouts,
but you're like... "What is happening?"
I: It's just the edits, it's just ridiculous. K: Yeah.
K: And you wonder, like, what is this song
really commenting on? Do-- Are they--
Like, they're obviously being slightly flirty
about it, they're like "Yeah, sure, come at us--
but guess what? If you chase us like you do,
we'll just end up being paper cutouts
and not who we really are." I: Damn.
K: I don't know if the lyrics reflect that.
I feel like they don't.
I: (imitating Owen Wilson) Wow.
U: (quoting song lyrics) 'Something was in my eyes'
'Don't misunderstand it for a wink'
'In that moment/Our distance will disappear'
'Love is a special two-dimension'
'A mystery with an unknown depth'
I: This is very- K: Two dimension!? I like it!
I: Dude, this is very dark.
U: (still quoting) 'All the things I thought of'
'Seemed like they would all come true'
'But love is a strange dimension'
'A story that will smudge with tears'
'Though I want to hold your hand.'
I: Dude, that's very dark.
I: You know what, this makes me very intrigued
to just learn Korean for the sake of understanding-
U: Do it with me!! K: 'Cause it sounds so cute!
I: Yeah, it's so cute- K: Yeah, it sounds--
I: -and bubbly! K: I mean, I guess the beginning is all like
'tickle tickle tickle-' I: Well, it's the aspect of cuteness.
K: Yeah. I: But then as soon as you get to the middle part
where they start doing the sequences,
it becomes like...
something that's like, very serious,
but then you still think it's bubbly.
K: Mm-hmm. I: But...
Oh man, that's so interesting.
Like, not understanding Korean is like.
You think of this piece in a very different light. K: Mm-hmm.
I: Compared to actually knowing the lyrics.
U: So the next one is 'Twinkle'.
This is their second 2017 release and it was released
in November, but it's like. Hyping people up
for winter and Christmas, I believe.
It was composed by 1Take and 'T-A-K' or TAK.
(stuttering) Not sure how you pronounce their name. P: [laughs]
J: Three, two-- (Owen Wilson voice) -- wow!
H: [laughs quietly]
H: (softly) Oh, yes.
J: They've got the like little wind-up box
kind of sound in the opener.
N: This feels like the introduction to a Christmas musical--
L: It's twinkly because it's called 'Twinkle'!
N: Oh right, I forgot the name.
I: [gasps]
K: Whoa.
I: Very dramatic...
.. that trill. K: Ooh, filter! Filtered instrumentals!
J: How do you get that in the voice, again?
Is it a low-pass filter or a high-pass filter?
... Low-pass filter.
H: Think it's a low pass filter, yeah. J: -'cause you're taking off.
J: Yeah, you've got like, the bell chime sounds.
J: Very much, that alludes to the holidays.
K: This is a G-Friend song. I: Very anime-- [laughs] What??
[continued laughter]
K: I like the sparkly-- the super bright synths, though. I: Yeah.
K: Why is this great?
K: This is so hype!
I: [beatboxing to the rhythm]
P: Whoa, I like this little
cycle they're going through right now.
L: Someone's singing really high.
P: [imitating synths]
Whoa! Okay, that was dope. C: Nice!
N: That was a great dominant chord.
K: Oh my gosh! Gah!!!
Gosh, syncopation! Delay!
P: Did she just boop her head with
the ball of yarn?
C: Yeah. Do you not do that with your friends?
P: You know my friends. C: [laughs]
True.
K: They're one of the few groups where
even though I don't understand Korean,
everything they say sounds cute.
Like, they make everything sound cute.
You can just hear it in their inflection and like.
I appreciate that.
J: It's like a frickin' breakdown.
Whoever's doing the music behind all this is like...
Pretty dope.
K: Is this swing now? [imitates synth]
There's a little triplet thing going on. I: [imitating triplets]
I: The rhythm. K: Now we're back.
I: Dotted rhythm.
K: Little minor v (5)? Come on.
J: Is this their version of like, 'cute rap'?
C: Yeah.
K: That's like one of the most irresistable little...
I don't even know if it's rap.
Little chant/rap breaks I've ever heard.
I: [delighted yelling]
K: See? It-- Yeah, you didn't catch it the first time!
I: No! K: That's what happened!
I: I didn't get it-- [frustrated yelling] K: (loudly) Yeah, exactly!
I: It's so good!
J: Yeah, you would think there would be
more reference to bells in the music, right?
H: Yeah- oh, they're- J: You hear that one big bell-
H:Yeah, but there's-- that's about it.
J: I'd say their voices also allude to the cute element.
I don't know if it's just the character of that voice,
if that makes sense.
It's very light-sounding.
Upper register, nothing that's really that
low register that we hear a lot of rappers
and stuff in the other groups go (to).
'Cause that-- everything's kinda kept in that mid-to-high range.
K: Ooh!
They sing the dominant seventh.
K: Eyyyyy!
I: I love how they just STOP- K: -Yeah.
I: pull back and then give it back. K: Yeah.
C: Originally, I was gonna say they keep
doing the same stop-time surprise
in all their choruses, and then-
P: They got you. (x2) C: -They proved me wrong!
C: That was nice.
J: I like the way they finish their phrases as well.
Kinda has like, a lift to it.
C: (in a drawn-out, unenthusiastic yell) CHRIST-MAAAAAAAS.
P: [laughs] C: [also starts laughing]
P: (imitating C) CHRIST-MAAAAAASSSS. C: [joins in at '-mas']
N: There you go. L: The song is over.
U: Yeah, so, thoughts on that song- N&L: [start laughing]
U: - overall musically and how it matched with the visuals? N&L: [still laughing]
L: I definitely felt a lot of just like,
general 'holiday in the winter' kind of feel. N: Mm-hmm.
L: And the music sounded cheery, Christmas is...
(slowly and awkwardly) ha- ha...ppy....
N: Christmas IS happy. L: So...
Yes, Christmas is happy. N: [laughs]
L: Yeah, I think it worked well,
and they did the thing with the skippy thing,
but I didn't like the rap because
it didn't make sense to me.
I nee--
Like, I like rap in these songs usually,
and I like when they incorporate it in there,
but this felt forced.
N: I think they also, like, really messed with the inflection
of like. [imitates rap section] L: Yeah.
N: [still imitating]
It felt almost like. Melodic? Rap?
L: I o-- I had once a fine country. [onscreen text: Only ESM class of 2020 will understand]
I: There's a lot of synthetic sounds that really
support the light texture that is the
cinematic aspect of it.
The part you-- [laughs] for some reason,
you reacted to the- K: -The chorus! The beginning of the chorus.
I: The chorus.
K: uh-huh. I: It's very cool.
'Cause this is how you do rubato.
You sometimes-- or, when you take- K: ??? It's a form of rubato.
I: Yeah.
K: But the third time, they're-- [imitates syncopation] I: Yeah. [also imitates]
K: Which is-- which took it a step further, which is even better.
I: And it's interesting, because they take away time,
so they take away, they slow everything down,
and then sort of slap you in the face with the tempo.
I: And just going back into tempo, and it's just GREAT.
K: I think the chorus, after that initial rhythmic thing...
It's not as catchy as the rest of the song.
It just became more about the flat six chord, the seven chord.
It didn't feel like it needed to be there,
and I feel like they were-- it felt like they were just
writing some melody over it.
Like, compared to the rest of the song, it's not...
Like that little rap break! That's so catchy!
But, I dunno, the chorus just seems like
a bit of a letdown after the- I: Mm-hmm.
I: -rhythmic slap.
U: Yeah, so what are your thoughts
on this song overall musically?
There was a lot of like, 'OH!' and like, 'I like that thing!' C: I like the stop-time.
And like I said, the whole changing up that last chorus was nice, to...
... do something different, other than--
'Cause they'd already done the same thing two times
and I was like
"Oh. We're gonna do the same thing again."
And you heard that stop-time and they were like
"Just kidding, we're changing the whole thing this time!"
And I was like (intense whisper) *yesss.*
P: Yeah. I feel like it could've been like...
... A minute shorter.
And it would've moved around a lot more.
Like, more often. C: Mm-hmm.
P: And it would've been a little more engaging
that way.
I feel like they felt the need to repeat things a little too much.
Yeah, I mean, all the actual, like, material was good.
P: This is my material hand motion C: material
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