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Xiah Junsu - Flower (MV Review)

3/6/2015

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Crazy Mess or Cultural Critique?

          There is a HELL of a lot going on in this MV and some of it is really not all that slick. There's a ton of good stuff going on, but there's a lot that I'm disappointed in as well. I keep waffling back and forth. Junsu's voice is unquestionably one of the best in Kpop, but it's usage here doesn't make it obvious... And while there's a lot of gorgeous symbolism in the visuals, the way they're strung together without exposition leaves me less than impressed... Arguably, it's a flashy, but poignant critique of the whole nature beneath Idol culture, one I personally find unduly antagonistic. In order to critique it fairly, I think I should start by explaining what on earth is happening in it and to that end, I've moved most of this piece over to the Editorials section. READ HERE.
          However, I do still want to review it, because I'm not terribly pleased with it. Over all, it's a fairly well-done MV with gorgeous imagery. The choreo is weird, ill-suited for its placement in the MV and not terribly well-suited to much in the visual arena nor the sonic landscape of the song. The video would really be much better without it. The song is beautiful and it ties well to the action of the story, but it hardly shows off Junsu's voice... melodically, it doesn't really evolve or mature, harmonically, there's almost nothing in the overdubs outside of a vague choral effect and some reverb, and lyrically, it's pretty empty save for the rap (and even that is mostly poignant statements with generalizations)... there's really not much in it. It's great BGM for a dramatic story MV though, which makes me wish there was just a titch more explanation in this... it can't stand alone in any sort of completeness without an understanding of Junsu's stance on SM and the Idol music culture (that he's ironically playing right into). It's just not... whole. I keep waffling back and forth, between thinking it's good and thinking it's not. When you look at any singular aspect, the reaction is very polarized. The song is great to listen to, but there's really nothing in it. The MV's symbolism is so beautifully specific, but it's hollow without additional knowledge. The choreography is cool for a stage performance, but it's so out of place and awkward in the MV... The list goes on.
         It could be better, cleaner, more of a stand alone piece, but most of Junsu's fans have been with him for nearly a decade, so they'd have the background knowledge to attempt an interpretation of the MV's message. On it's own, with nothing else considered, it's not very good. But knowing a bit about what issues it speaks to... it's not all that bad honestly, and it gives a poignantly delivered commentary.

I Give It a 6/10: Good Job.

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Kim JaeJoong - Just Another Girl (MV Review)

11/20/2013

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Great as Far as it Goes, but I still have some Questions . . .

              Chief among them being about what on earth actually happened between JaeJoong and this girl. According to the Lyrics, she's playing with him, and he hates her for it, but it doesn't seem like there's any particular reason for his hatred other than a very vague reference to her lies . . . I mean we don't see/hear about her as cheating on him or anything. Really it seems like rather than a fight & break up this is really just a falling out of love . . . The lyrics support that idea as well, being that she hasn't yet said goodbye or anything, he just wants her too. In some ways, I think it could be a pretty powerful statement (assuming the 'everything is my fault' idea isn't a sarcastic rehashing of an argument): being that he's fallen out of love because he hates himself and it's uncomfortable being happy, so he his mind just clicks into overdrive and makes him assume she's lying and doing terrible things and he manages to convince himself that he's really not happy with her, despite all evidence to the contrary. I really hope that it's a case of self-loathing, and not just a regular plain-old falling out of love, because if it is as simple as the latter implies, then this is a massively out of proportion reaction (like not just over the top, but actively unhealthy). In terms of video support for this theory, really all there is can be summed up as he's happy and then he's not. All his angsty alone scenes feel very internal and because of that I'd believe that all of it is inside his head.
              Other than the fact that I have no idea what's going on, I LOVE this MV. Kim JaeJoong is easily one of the most gorgeous people in all of Entertainment and he knows how to make himself appear to his utmost advantage. He's a very dramatically visual being and he ties in a uniquely vivid body language to everything he does. There's a very clear transition between the scenes when he's happy and then faking it and then down-right depressed, and it's absolutely gorgeous to watch. My main complaint is just that I have no idea what's really going on, there's not enough concrete evidence to really hold any given theory afloat, the MV fixates on the mental / emotional reaction rather than plot (which is fine and dandy in some situations, but I really would like to know why he's so upset). The MV's use of color is very interesting, the cooler tones reflecting a cold heart and all, with some scenes being devoid of color and therefore symbolically without feeling or emotion. The brightest color in the whole video comes from the flare at the end, bright red and burning hot, more like anger than passion which is perfectly fitting for the MV's idea of devolved and disfigured love.
              Song-wise, I absolutely adore this track. It's gorgeous. Without a doubt, it's one of JaeJoong's best. It has a very J-rock feel (like a lot of the other tracks on this album), and yet it works with JaeJoong's voice, complimenting it as it is. By that, I mean it doesn't fall into the trap that Mine did; where the feel of the song and that of the voice don't mesh together nicely. JaeJoong tried to change his voice to match the music and it just felt strained in the choruses. For Just Another Girl, JaeJoong worked with his vocal timbre in its natural state, letting it sit back in his throat and come out strong and smoothe. The track is incredibly well-composed. It's balanced beautifully; it moves over the beat and builds to a delicious climax before sighing away. The use of echo and delay, of what some might call excessive reverb, and of double-tracking and a redoubled choral effect in making the song's ideas of being trapped in an endless cycle of broken hearts compound for the listener is absolutely wonderful! As a whole, it's stunning and I love it!

I Give it an 9/10: Blissful!

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