WelL... I can't Believe I'm Saying This About BB, but... Blech.
Considering the fact that Big Bang is literally the most important musical group in the world to me... I don't find myself blindly adoring their musical releases. And Bae Bae... is NOT one for the acclaimed annals of history. I was SO hyped for it. Bae Bae looked like it had the potential to be incredible. And with Papa YG himself stating that the 19+ rating was meant to open up story-telling possibilities.... I was hoping that it would be able to take fans on a ride that makes every other dramatic Kpop release in the past few years look like comic-flip-books in comparison.... And what I got was a drugged-up Sex-fiend fantasy with no real impact and no over-arching political statement or dramatized viewpoint declaration. Not only is this a rather pathetic attempt to tell a story, I feel personally betrayed because the press releases had specifically stated that “It wasn’t a 19+ video just because we wanted to be sensationalist or sexual." Which is a blatant lie, because sensationalist & sexual are the only two words that accurately encapsulate the MV at all. There's a bit of a futuristic cant to it, I'll admit, but only in the fact that there's hookers on the moon (a moon set that looks exceptionally fake and rather awkward to be perfectly honest). The MV is honestly a bit disgustingly sexual with references so obtusely blatant that the subtle references get ignored in the face of your brain shutting itself down. Even Koreaboo made a list of sexual references and it barely covers the half of them! Honestly, it seems like the MV was vulgar for vulgarity's sake and it gives nothing to a broader theme or storyline. Honestly, TOP's face-shot is repulsive, and all the spray references and the literal skirt-chasing just make me feel uncomfortable... It's the single-most disappointing music video that Big Bang has released since I first became a Kpop fan.
The styling is mostly awkward, though the members are all so fantastically attractive that it hardly matters and their charisma shines through even the most ridiculous of outfits. The track is okay. It's awkwardly imbalanced and dramatically un-catchy, which is something I never thought I would ever say about a Big Bang track. It's spatialized well, and there is a uniquely entrancing vibe that permeates the mix of smooth acoustic and jarringly above-the-mix rap aspects... but over all it's only okay. The two main genres are mixed together quite impressively, but they don't mesh well and they feel quite incompatible as a whole. It's quirky and unique and certainly a song to reference in terms of ambitious musical experiments, but not one to be included in the 'Successful Experiments' category. Over all, I dislike the song, but I will admit that it has aspects that are impressive. The MV on the other hand is deplorable. The ONLY thing it had going for it is that it's not actively assaulting the idea of female sexuality or being too obscenely antagonistic to women as human beings. To say that the only thing going for you is that you DON'T proliferate Rape Culture is not really the kind of complement you want when your previous releases have been game-changingly incredible and deeply profound declarations of political and social platforms. Fantastic Baby might not have been everyone's favorite track, and it might have begun to grate on the ears in the two years of waiting we've had since it's release, but hell. I'd have waited longer for something even half as awesome.
Loser was okay. But with Bae Bae being what it is... I can only hope that the other singles that Big Bang is planning on releasing this summer for MADE have some dribbles of the majesty and creativity that should have gone into the first pair on the release schedule... I just can't accept that THIS is what we get after 2 long years.
The styling is mostly awkward, though the members are all so fantastically attractive that it hardly matters and their charisma shines through even the most ridiculous of outfits. The track is okay. It's awkwardly imbalanced and dramatically un-catchy, which is something I never thought I would ever say about a Big Bang track. It's spatialized well, and there is a uniquely entrancing vibe that permeates the mix of smooth acoustic and jarringly above-the-mix rap aspects... but over all it's only okay. The two main genres are mixed together quite impressively, but they don't mesh well and they feel quite incompatible as a whole. It's quirky and unique and certainly a song to reference in terms of ambitious musical experiments, but not one to be included in the 'Successful Experiments' category. Over all, I dislike the song, but I will admit that it has aspects that are impressive. The MV on the other hand is deplorable. The ONLY thing it had going for it is that it's not actively assaulting the idea of female sexuality or being too obscenely antagonistic to women as human beings. To say that the only thing going for you is that you DON'T proliferate Rape Culture is not really the kind of complement you want when your previous releases have been game-changingly incredible and deeply profound declarations of political and social platforms. Fantastic Baby might not have been everyone's favorite track, and it might have begun to grate on the ears in the two years of waiting we've had since it's release, but hell. I'd have waited longer for something even half as awesome.
Loser was okay. But with Bae Bae being what it is... I can only hope that the other singles that Big Bang is planning on releasing this summer for MADE have some dribbles of the majesty and creativity that should have gone into the first pair on the release schedule... I just can't accept that THIS is what we get after 2 long years.
I Give it A 1/10: Wow. this is the Best You can Do? |  |
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