Charlotte: Oh, this is not where I thought it was going.
Peyton: [absorbed in bopping]
[Rossini's Semiramide Overture plays]
Umu: So now you're reacting to the five-member boy group SHINee.
First, you'll be reacting to "Orgel", a B-side off of their 2013 "The Misconceptions of Me" album.
Jordan: The title "Orgel" refers to the Japanese term for "music box", which you will hear as one of the main elements in the song.
Umu: Jonghyun has said that he was inspired by the 1950s horror film "House of Wax" when writing the lyrics.
He said it's about "a man who loves a girl to the point where he turns her into a wax figure
and places her in a music box to spin around for eternity."
James: Oh my god, I love it! Melissa: That's creepy!
Both: [laughter]
Jordan: It's composed by Mikko Paavola, Christopher Lee-Joe, Philipe-Marc Anquetil, and Iain James Farquharson.
Melissa: Because of the title… and the creepiness, do you think it's gonna quote Bach?
Do you think it's gonna quote his Toccata and Fugue? James: Why would it quote his Toccata and Fugue? Melissa: 'Cause it's creepy and the title's "Orgel".
James: …No… Melissa: Okay…
M: It probably won't.
J: Not quite. M: I love this, though!
It's like a little, like, xylophone that's been processed through a computer.
Fiona: Ooh! This is cool. This sounds music box-y, 'cause it's like… twinkly, and it's minor, so it's creepy.
Aaron: It sounds like those (F: …makes it creepy.) little metallic things that are getting plucked as it turns.
Fiona: Oh, yeah, it does.
Charlotte: [chuckles] I don't know why, but like, I heard this little [sings] "boop, boop, boop, boop".
It makes me wanna be like [makes funny face and moves arms around]
Henry: Ohh… their vocal mixing is SO good.
Henry: It's so lush.
Elizabeth: Ooh.
Henry: Yeah, this is scary. [laughter]
Fiona: It's like they're having a conversation, how it switches back.
They're like, "yeah, this is my experience"… and then they keep, like, finishing each other's sentences.
Henry: Every time they hit that dominant, where it starts, they're using the altered mode,
and that's so fucking hip.
Collin: What will they do next?! Jarod: [laughter]
Collin: Ah! Okay! Jarod: ahahe wow, you timed that really well.
Kevin: That's not in the same key…
What key WERE we in? What is key?
Isaac: Oh, aww, I thought we were gonna go to high E.
Peyton: [sings note from vocal melody]
P: Oooh! C: Ohh!!
C: He's so good…
Both: [sing note from vocal melody]
C: He REALLY delayed that resolution. P: Yeah.
E: Ooh… the super-creepy lyrics are rap. H: This is SO COOL! I think this is creepy as fuck.
E: They're… they're getting their vibe across.
H: [hums part of bass line]
H: Fall to the lower octave? That's how you do it!
Isaac: Wooow…
I guess everything's a descant at this point.
Kevin: Descant? Isaac: Everything's a descant. Kevin: Um… no… descant…
I: [sings part of instrumental]
K: Ooh, different notes!
H: Yeah. This is… this is very freaky.
J: [chuckles] I love the little… [chuckles] C: [chuckles] That's funny…
J: It's cute. C: That's… what… that's the note…
C: The strings! Were they the… were they there the whole time?
J: Was what? C: [sings part of instrumental] The strings?
J: Yeah, they were going on for a while. C: Really? (J: Yeah.) Oh shit, I just heard them there.
J: Well, the music box is clearly, like, very broken. As in… M: Just like his heart… probably.
J: As in, the harmonic structure wasn't quite right. It was like… [sings part of music box line]
Like, it kind of like, falls off, and does like… takes a little weird turn. So I thought that was a really literal, kind of, like,
demented… like, toy box kinda thing. Like, I thought it was cool.
It was kind of… it was… creepy. But in a… way that I can't really identify.
Like, what makes music creepy? M: I think the like… consistent, very quiet, very staccato…
[sings part of instrumental] Like, just like, in the background the whole time, like…
J: Mm-hm… M: You're trying to listen to the singing, (J: Yeah.) and like, everything else, and it's just like…
[whispered creepily] "Hey… I'm still here. I'm the creepy music box."
J: Yeah. M: In the background. It's like you're spinning something.
And it would like, stop occasionally, for a few beats. And maybe that's when you have to, like, spin it again.
J: Mm. M: Like, turn the wheel thingy. J: Yeah.
I: It's so nice… like, they just like… they know how to sing, they have really good, beautiful voices.
This harmony, and just wash of beautiful voices. And it's just going back and forth.
And he does have this beat… [sings part of instrumental]
The same thing as rap, where it's like… you have a constant beat, but you're not focusing on that,
because you know, you're focusing on the lyrics, you're focusing on the rhythm that they're going for…
You focus on their voice, and what they're saying. So this one's like, you're definitely focusing on what they're saying,
but… I don't understand the language, but still… without the language, or understanding it,
you can still get the sense of like, "wow, they know… they're SHAPING music."
And then… over this ostinato, were this held bass line… and it's so cool!
J: Since obviously, Korea… like, Korean is like their primary language, but then they…
obviously they incorporate some English, but because they… the way they approach English words
was really cool, like… the way they emphasized the "O" in "melody", like that "mel-O-dy box".
C: Oh… [laughter] J: It was like… it like… no, but it was like… it was a really…
It was just really interesting, because it was a really unique, kind of like, rhythmic character,
and because it's like, emphasized, you know… like, no native English speaker's gonna
pronounce it that way. So it kind of like… it's just a new take on a… on a word, you know?
It's not… I just thought it was really interesting.
C: I thought the best part was what they were doing with the arpeggiation, 'cause when they did, uh, major,
it just became, like, jumps up and down, instead of like full chords.
And yeah, I also thought the modulation was good.
H: [excited noises]
H: [in a high voice] That was weird.
Umu: So… so what musically (other than, like, a minor mode) made this creepy?
H: That… well, the fact that it never really moved to like a very stable… key center, really perpetuated this… like…
E: Spinning. H: It was gonna keep going… and doing its thing.
Yeah, it was VERY cool.
E: And also, I feel like that combination of instrumentation…
Like, pizzicato string has been used as like a… creepy… um, (H: Tiptoe.) sound effect…
Yeah, like tiptoe kind of idea. Or like a spider crawling on a web.
H: I also think the arpeggio… like, the arpeggiation thing… had a lot to do with that sort of like…
that kinda up and down, back and forth, round and round, sorta thing, y'know?
E: Yeah. H: That was cool.
C: Well.
P: [whispered] Speak your mind.
C: [chuckles] My mind is so many places right now…
That's like… sex.
P: That sounded weird. It's a… C: But like, I feel like it's weird once you know, like,
what the… what it's actually about.
P: Yeah… C: Like, the concept of like, turning, you know, this girl that you're like obsessed with… into a music box,
to, y'know… essentially spin for an eternity for you, was like terrible, but like…
Would I put this song on the "getting it on" playlist? 100%.
P: Jeez… C: NEXT!
Umu: Now you're reacting to a B-side song called "Trigger", from their 2015 "Odd" album.
The lyrics talk about (C: [pointing finger gun at Jarod] Pow.) a love affair gone wrong, (J: Ouch.) where there is no way to turn back.
SHINee metaphorically says that, through this song, the only way to end it all is to "pull the trigger".
I: Ohhh… Umu: Because the lyrics deal with themes of violence and self-harm, it was banned from broadcast.
The song was (F: Oy…) composed by Kenzie, Deez, and Rodnae "Chikk" Bell.
H: [mentally prepares himself]
ThreeTwoOne. [plays song]
E: Oooh…
H: Whoa, that was weird. E: I can't tell what meter it's in… help.
H: Okay, I got it now. It started very weird. E: Yeah.
C: Oooh!
C: Oh, this is not where I thought it was going.
P: [absorbed in bopping]
K: Ooh, I like the vocals… I: What the heck?
K: Like, weird panning I: Wow!
Very interesting voice!
M: This song is so dramatic — like, the lyrics. J: [chuckles] Yeah.
M: I LOVE it.
I'm here for overdramatic lyrics.
P: Heh. Oh… I like how they used, like, the color tones, with like…
[singing] Trig-ger…
P: Oooh…
H: Whoa.
E: The syncopation is strong with these guys.
F: The [imitates percussion sounds]… it's like, militaristic.
It's like… "Ohhh crap. Things are getting serious."
[quoting lyrics] "The darkness welcomes me"…
F: It's crazy how hype this is. And it's like "pull the trigger!"
[chuckles] Okay… A: And you're like… "Umm…"
"Are you okay…?"
J & C: [laughter]
J: [quoting lyrics] "Hey little shawty"! Oh my god.
Like… those exact like… every like, like… (C: Holy shit…) Oh, that's like…
It's like 2000, like… C: There's a first! [laughter] J: [200]8 pop, you know?
"Shawty" was everywhere! [laughter] C: Became R&B like [snaps fingers] this!
J: [laughter] I love it…
F: Their voices are so… vibrant, like… [makes undescribable noise]
H: [hums notes from vocal line]
H: [singing scale degrees] 7, natural 6… very weird. E: Yeah.
H: Odd. Odd thing to do.
K: Why is it so happy?! Oh my god…
K: And then again, in like… rap, hip-hop culture… (I: Holy sheeee…) You know…
They sing about this all the time. It's just really weird that this is in a K-pop context.
H: They've got anticipations that sort of hint at like… underlying… it's sort of like…
Well, it's got an underlying triplet kinda thing going on. E: Yeah…
H: It's like… that juxtaposition of like… [hums triplet rhythm] E: Yeah.
H: Is like… constant. That's… that characterizes a lot of this. Which I love.
Nice background vocals.
F: This is new…
That's cool.
His voice was good.
K: I don't know. After that like [sings] "kill with your kiss", I feel like… they should like…
…use that range a bit more. It just kinda goes back down.
C: What?! Like… J: [sings part of instrumental]
J: There's like so many different like…
C: Oh…
I think there might be a pattern with… when there's certain combinations, too.
J: That's what I've been trying to figure out. C: No, but it's just like… it's so fast.
C: I feel like this is so off from the vibe of the rest of the song.
P: Yeah. C: Like… I get this like R&B… vibe?
And then they're like… EDM! P: Yeah…
C: And I'm kinda like "what?"… but I like it.
P: [makes mock-confused noise] What's going on? C: [mock-confused voice] I'm in the club now…
…but I'm okay!
P: I can't s… C: [makes mock-confused noise] Okay, now we're not in the club any more…
P: I thought I was in my feels, but alas I'm shaking my booty… C: Okay, but… I still like it…
C: And NOW we're back in the club. What's happening…? Okay… like… that's this song.
A: I kind of understand why it was banned from broadcast now.
Because… and I'm not saying I don't like it… I'm just saying… that the message… behind these things…
…is kind of… negative. In a positive way.
I don't know how I feel about it. I feel like I need some time to process.
Because it's not offensive overtly. But in a certain way, like… the chords that were being used…
…when they were like "pull the trigger, come on baby…
…pull the trigger" F: It's like…
A: It's like… (Both: YEAH!) …and that's like a very serious… (F: Whoooo!)
A: …very serious emotion to have. And, you know, I'm not saying that you have to have, like…
…crazy har… like, minor… (F: Yeah.) and, like… y'know, Schubert, or Schumann drama in it…
But, like, y'know, have a little more respect for the topic. F: Yeah, I don't like the thought of, like…
…middle schoolers jamming out to this at a school dance. A: Yeah! Exactly.
F: It's like… it's normalizing, like, death via guns. And that's insensitive and… weird.
J: These lyrics were like, really morbid, like "hey babe," like, "SHOOT ME because this is CLEARLY over." M: [laughter]
J: And like… "I know it's over, and YOU know it's over, so just like SHOOT ME, like, end it!"
And then, like… "Take your bloody hands and, like, walk away and find your next victim!"
You know, it was kind of like… (M: Oh my god…) really morbid. But the music, for the most part, was like…
…dubstep, happy-ish-esque…
Yeah, it was very, like… he had accepted his fate, and he was like:
"Bring it on!" M: Yeah! I LOVED that. J: "…Linda! Like, I'm ready."
M: Okay, I love… J: …I don't know why her name is Linda.
M: It just is… J: …Okay… it just is.
M: But no, I love music… with super dramatic lyrics, and I also… I love, like, when pop music is all over the place,
like… this was like wild. It was like… he would sing a verse that sounded like a pop song, and then a
verse that sounded like… dubstep, and it was just like… that's… it's just jumping around a lot, and I love that.
J: It felt like a LOT, just thrown at you all the time.
C: Yeah, I don't know if it worked, but like… it's a cool experiment.
J: Right! C: Well, and then there's… I mean there's also points when it's like, not dense, and I think it's like
three guys singing, and then it's, uh… sounds like almost… not a capella, but it's just like
way less dense, and very different.
But then they, like, pitch-bend, and do like, weird things while they like…
It's like "WHOA! What?!"
…How did… did you summarize that, Emma?
Umu: It's a lot… (C: [laughter]) There's lots of noise, and… every single time you listen to it, it stays fresh,
because it's just overwhelming amount of stuff happening.
J: See, I was thinking of like… C: That's…
J: Like, I was thinking like… C: That's a fair point.
J: …comparing it to, like, rocks. You know how there's, like, the sedimentary, and then there's like the…
But there's that one… what's the…
Conglomerate… (C: Geologist over here!) where it's like… where it's like a bunch of like…
…different crap forming this one rock, if that makes sense?
C: Crap? Yeah, the crap. J: It's like… crap. Like all this, uh… I don't know… I don't remember… somebody who actually knows probably…
But there's like the type of rock that's just like… a bunch of, like, other rocks, spilled into this one kinda rock,
and that's what I felt like this was. (C: I don't know what you're talking about…) It was just like a whole lot…
C: Just let… layering. J: But not even like layering, just like… almost like a… random… there's like a…
I mean, obviously it's not true random, but it kinda felt that way.
C: Well, it's like the… it's like a bunch of sub-units. J: Yeah.
C: Inside a little bigger sub-unit, inside the entire phrase, right? J: Right.
C: But there's just, like, so many that it's…
…Wow…
Umu: Hello everyone! I'm Umu, ReacttotheK channel creator, and I'd like to thank you for watching this video.
I really hope you enjoyed, or learned something from it.
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