MBLAQ 'BAM!' : Be A Man

From boys to men, MBLAQ is back! Or to be more accurate, Music Men Live in Absolute Quality is back, MMLAQ (pronounced as Am-me-lack) for short!

Okay, MBLAQ has been one of my favorite boy groups of all times. Their songs and dances are pretty good and consistent, their MVs always changing from one form to another, and they have achieved a stable position in the kpop industry (all thanks to Lee Joon). I always divide MBLAQ’s timeline as 2 parts: the primary stage which MBLAQ were still boys and they produced a lot of pop songs, and the secondary stage which MBLAQ is now men, dominating kpop with sexy ballads. They are equally successful in both stages, but the timeline has been divided so clearly that Be A Man did not come in as a surprise.

Like in Smoky Girl, Be A Man MV is presented in black and white. Monochromes aren’t uncommon in kpop; it has always been used frequently by girl and boy groups that sometimes I don’t see the purpose in doing so. However, I think using monochrome in Be A Man MV is a good choice. Black and white express manliness and sexiness so it’s suitable for the MV, and strongly support the lyrics of the song. They even donned suits and ties, exhibiting maturity, slapping your face and were like, ‘hey we are grown men now! We are still as sexy as we were in Smoky Girl! And yes, No Love is a mistake! Sorry guises!’ Oh come on. Almost every boy group makes such mistake that it’s like a norm in kpop.

There’s actually nothing much to say about the MV. Beautiful MV set? Check. Enclosed space? Check. Few shots of a girl? Check. Be A Man is a very typical MV. Well, I understand that a lot of MV producers and directors stick to the comfort zone when it comes to kpop and they aren’t willing to risk anything with a provocative MV, which makes certain MVs so mind-blowing and some remain dull and boring. Yes, Be A Man MV is dull and boring, you wouldn’t want to replay it. I feel like they are dancing and singing in a fridge, with the misty smoke and the small suffocating space, the surrounding looks cold but since it complements with the song so I guess it’s okay. They are using props like hourglass and mirror, which is very very common in kpop MVs because they think items like this is symbolic. Seriously, I would like to see a MV with lots of pizzas because pizzas are symbolic too you know cheese and pepperoni and bread make such awesome combination that it makes calories mean nothing so pizza is indirectly a symbol too, yeah?  

The dance, however, is a beauty in simplicity. They are doing Rain’s style sexy dance, and I really like the sexy shoulder rotate in the MV. The dance moves are basically repetitive, but I like it when they are slow dancing and not trying too hard to be sexy; that’s the moment they are the most delicious ;) .

I must admit that Be A Man is an addictive ballad, even better than No Love. Beautiful song, heartbreaking lyrics which may be overboard for US music but not so for Kpop industry. Mir’s rap with the beautiful melody behind is my favorite part of the song.They really prove themselves as men, because according to the lyrics ‘all I can do is breathe’ and ‘should I be a man and let go of your hand’, which means they are handling the break up like a real man unlike some other boy groups that can’t even breathe in their sappy music videos. I’m glad that there’s no tears in the MV, thank God for that, because I’m so sick of guys sobbing uncontrollably and making stupid decisions when they broke up with their girlfriend in kpop MVs.  It’s disgusting to see five or more guys crying at the same time! (And there goes their fans cursing me like shut up bitch my oppa is upset how could you said things like that?!)

I could see that MBLAQ is growing their own trend in Kpop, with their sexy slow dances and beautiful ballads.There are so many boy groups mushrooming lately that it scares me, they have terrible songs with awesome dances which will bore you after some time, which is why I think MBLAQ’s Be A Man is a smart move, the MV rising above the other new groups, firmly holding MBLAQ’s place in Kpop. Trust me, MBLAQ may not be as popular as you-know-what-boy-groups-I’m-talking-about, but they are here to stay.

4Minute's Whatcha Doin' Today-Partying With the Maids

  Once upon a time there lived a wealthy man with five daughters. He trusted his daughters,  and so he let them in charge of the house when he went on a business trip. The daughters were bored, so they hosted a party in their house. “Yay party tonight!” Typical American teenage story.

  The daughters were bored, like dead serious bored. Sohyun was so bored that she decided to fool around with  house chores. Hyuna was so bored so she decided to lean on the lamp post by the road side, mouth hanging open (must be distracted by her own breasts). Gayoon was bored that she threw a tea party with her servants before the real party began. But poor Jiyoon. She was bored too but you basically couldn’t do anything much when you’re constipating. I just don’t understand how with 4 bodyguards in the same toilet is going to help though. They even squatted down which I assumed they were checking her shit. Like seriously? Pooping when 4 men are watching you is so not cool. But she was having such a hard time, that in 0.55 minute, she had to do that thing. Yes that thing. What’s that thing called actually? I’m-a-banana-smoothie-so-I’m-gonna-shake-myself shake? Ha ha ha. And finally it came down to Jihyun, the sweet naïve sugar princess living in her own world. She looked like she was having a lot of fun with herself though. Can’t put all the blame on her. Her sister was having a tough time battling constipation and I bet she must be so depressed that she needed sugar to calm her nerves. Note to 4Minute: There’s a lot of things to do when you’re bored besides hanging out at the toilet. For instance, you can go swimming. Swimming is fun! You get to try different stunts in the water, wear really sexy swimsuits (which I believe Hyuna’s stylist has prepared a lot of these), or drink the pool water.  Just kidding. Note to all fathers: you’ll never know what your daughters are going to do when you leave the house to them.

  I get that they are portraying the flashy and trashy concept here. Korean Miley Cyrus, eh? Hitting the bodyguard’s buttock, locking the bodyguard into a locker, peaking and laughing at the bodyguards when they are peeing with the servants cheering on. I get the message they’re trying to send here. People are going to judge how mean they are in the MV but they have already defended themselves with Sohyun wearing the strips with word UNUSUAL, which means they are not usually like that. Or maybe they meant unusually mean which is they exceed the appropriate level. Either way I hope the servants are not going to sue them for maid abuse.

  I notice that 4Minute has been asking a lot of questions that don’t make any sense. What’s Your Name? Is It Popping? Now it’s Whatcha Doin’ Today? Why so many questions? Why, 4Minute, why? I’m expecting the next song to be Why You No Answer My Questions?!.

  I’m a bit confused with the first few seconds of the MV where Hyuna catwalking and dancing like a stripper onstage. The scene doesn’t get along with the overall MV. I know the producer is saving some parts in the MV for Hyuna to show off her sexiness, but the first few seconds are a bit too much. It’s like, okay 4Minute, leave all the sexy part for Hyuna. The other 4Minute members were all dressing modestly to cover up for Hyuna’s sexiness. It’s not Hyuna’s fault, it has something to do with their entertainment company. When they show too much Hyuna in the MV, it looks like a forced attempt to insert sexiness in the MV. ‘It’s Hyuna and Brave sound’ should replace ‘it’s 4Minute and Brave sound’, because Hyuna kinda made Brave sound sounds so much like her 4Minute members. It’s also a fragment of What’s Your Name, and the tucking-your-hair-behind-your-ear part? I swear I have seen it somewhere.

About the MV, I think there are way too much lights. Too shiny. Even their outfits were so bright. When there are too much lights, the colors fade into the background which is a shame since there are actually different type of colors in the MV. 4Minute makes it a habit that in every MV, they must be jumping joyfully at the end of the MV. This is pretty immature for an old Kpop group. They put themselves in a position with all the new girl groups mushrooming recently, with cheap and empty MVs. 4Minute has their own style, they stick to it, but they are not doing anything extra. I found Whatcha Doin’ MV plain and boring. It’s time to add the boom effect, girls.

The song itself is not bad, but I think it could be even better without so much rapping. The chorus part is catchy, and you can’t stop yourself shrugging to the rhythm of the chorus.

Sorry 4Minute, try harder next time. And don’t ever rap in the toilet again please it’s too much for the fans to handle.

Orange Caramel's Catallena - Sushi and Kpop

  

I saw vinseop’s comment in Allkpop and I was really surprised of the deep, complex meaning behind the MV. I actually have different thoughts but after reading his/her comment everything makes more sense and I decided to accept his theory and elaborate more.

First of all, what is Catallena? According to Lizzy and Raina, “It's about a woman or a person who's fussy. But even though she's fussy, you want to get close to her. For some reason, she's kind of cool. She seems really weird, but then again she seems kind of okay." Don’t we all have at least one Catallena around us? She’s so pretty, so popular and so awesome yet she has a nasty attitude and obnoxious. But everyone adores her and would kill to be in her clique. This is something you will never understand in high school. Occasionally, she seems less annoying, and you think that maybe she isn’t that bad after all, but in the blink of an eye she’s back being an evil princess and you start to hate her again. Still, deep down, you wonder how cool it is to be her. You want to be her. Anyway, in this MV, Catallena stands for all the internationally famous Kpop groups (I don’t think I would need to provide examples for this). Since they are older, more experienced and well-known in the Kpop industry, they are the backbone in Kpop and they indirectly determines the fate of other less popular Kpop groups. The greater their fame, the tougher the lives of other less popular groups. In the MV, the octopus is the Catallena since it is sold at a higher price. Orange Caramel, however, is sold at a much lower price because the shrimp, salmon and mackerel are common compared to the octopus. We can see that the three mermaids (yes, mermaids. You get to eat half human half fish how cool is that) are struggling in their plastic wrappings and the octopus is laughing at them. This portrays how hard the less popular Kpop groups are working hard and struggling to survive in the industry; but the more popular Kpop groups who live a better life, smirk at their efforts. Although as a mere Kpop fan, we don’t know what’s happening in the Kpop groups’ lives but imagine being in a popular Kpop group. You can’t rule out the possibility that you might be an arrogant bitch who looks down to less popular groups.

The three mermaids, after much struggling, lying hopelessly in their plastic wrappings when they are sold at a 3 for 1 deal. The sushi master is laughing when he is watching the television , which I assume it’s a sale advertisement of the seafood. That, for me, is pretty much sadistic. There are people manipulating the whole Kpop industry; everything is in their hands. You might be a in a popular group, but at the end of the day, you’re almost an item being used for commercial purposes and others. This is Kpop. Kpop is also part of reality.

I like it that they picked an octopus to be the Catallena. When the octopus is put on the sushi, it is sitting there like a king with the tentacles surrounding the rice from all sides. Symbolic, eh?

The price of each piece of sushi demands my attention. The egg sushi is sold at a slightly higher price compared to the mackerel, salmon and shrimp sushi. However, the egg sushi is portrayed by someone who isn’t attractive and looks somehow weird. With this they are trying to bring out the meaning that Kpop groups that use the weird and quirky concepts are more famous than the normal ones. You have to admit, weird Kpop dances do attract your attention. The unagi and halibut sushi are sold at a much higher price compared to the previous sushis, and the unagi is represented by a muscular man and the halibut a sexy lady. You see what they are trying to say, don’t you? ;) Male Kpop groups with beastly figures. Female Kpop groups with sexy concepts. Groups like these normally are more well-known since they got teenagers fangirling/fanboying all over them (even though their songs aren’t good). Why there are some Kpop groups who have debuted years ago, could not make a name for themselves after so many years? Three reasons for this: One, they are not good enough. Second, they don’t make music that fulfils comsumers’ needs. Third, they are outshined by more popular groups from more popular entertainment companies. But still, the Catallenas, in the end, have the highest price.

When Orange Caramel are eating the sushi, they have flashbacks of their carefree lives before they became members of certain Kpop groups. I think the scenes of a fish swimming freely in the ocean is a relevant  brilliant move.  And I’m curious why Orange Caramel are crying. Are those tears of regret? Or pure frustration when less popular groups (I’m not referring to Orange Caramel) could not beat the more popular groups even though they have tried their best? Or maybe, just maybe, the sushi is too heavenly delicious?

As for the song, I have no comment. It’s kinda like Lipstick, and I always speechless for songs of this kind. But in the MV they have some really funny dance moves, like the hand movement that they have a piece of sushi in their hands and the MJ style posture. I know Orange Caremel has been using the Candy Culture, which is the cuteness and colorful style, and it clearly shows in their MVs. The Catallena MV is as fun as the Lipstick MV, and well, Kpop defines ‘fun’ differently. One good instance is B1A4’s MVs like What’s Happening MV and Beautiful Target MV. These MVs are so brightly-colored, and they have silly plots that are so ridiculous that you’re gonna laugh it off and not hating it in the end. I do appreciate fun music videos like this. We all need a break from the sappy Kpop videos sometimes.

I think it’s extraordinary to combine food with music, and bring out a cruel message at the same time.Who knows that sushi has such deep meaning? Well done, Orange Caramel. One question though, how does it feel to dip your whole body into soy sauce and lick the sauce off your legs? Hmm.

Review: 2NE1's Come Back Home

  If you have been a Kpop fan for a long time, you should know that unlike other girl groups, 2NE1 is different. They have their own style (YG style, to be precise), and they have never disappointed Blackjacks since their debut. Even if you are not a Blackjack, you got to admit that their songs are pretty good. Because of that, I look up highly of 2NE1 and I always believed that they have already reached the highest level in Kpop. Which is why I've decided to review 2NE1's Come Back Home, because they totally blew my mind this time and were like, boo-yah, why be no.1 when negative integers exist?

  Yes, 2NE1's Come Back Home is that GOOD. To be honest, before the MV is released, their posters looked ridiculous to me, The first thing that crossed my mind when I saw the posters is Japanese anime. I thought about it for a long time, and I seriously didn't think that even though Japanese anime is a new element for Kpop but I didn't think it's suitable for a Kpop MV. So I didn't expect much but thank God the MV is not about Japanese anime. It is, to my surprise, something much more sophisticated that that.

  I would put that Come Back Home is an impressive 4.23 minutes movie. There are a lot of high-end graphics in the MV, and it is pretty much more American, but in a good way. There are a few scenes with neurones or something swiveling with sufficient colors in the background, which I found awesome. It has the sci-fi feeling in it. I know there are a few Kpop MVs out there trying to be sophisticatedly sci-fi, but they all failed pathetically. When I watched those MVs I was like, no too colorful. Too fake. Too disgusting. Too shiny. Or too girlish. But Come Back Home is a completely different story. Kudos to the producers, I really enjoy the way they presented the MV and I love the colors in the MV. Very interesting.

  To add icing on the cake, Come Back Home, as according to Allkpop, has a complex plot that is hiding simplicity. After watching it for a few times, I'll put down the plot in 3 ways: First, it was a modern Hunger Games. The guy in the MV had been chosen as a tribute and was going to be sent to somewhere called Virtual Paradise. He shaved his head, took the pills and was gone, leaving his body behind since he was going to somewhere virtual, his body was not required. Second, Virtual Paradise is a place where the government fixed the lifespan of the citizens and monitored the citizens' every single move. Sandara and her boyfriend received an announcement from the news that her boyfriend's time was up, so the guy took some pills, barbiturates maybe, and prepared himself to die. Third, the guy may have been seriously ill, and this was because the government set a system of rich people buying poor people's time to increase their lifespan. 2NE1 with expensive outfits did form a contrast with Sandara who was in a dull shirt when she was with her boyfriend. And we have seen 2NE1 lying down with something spec-like in their eyes (nah, I've never been tech savvy) and the same thing appeared on the guy's face in the hospital. So I assumed that the guy's time had been bought, and the system enraged 2NE1. (Doesn't the guy in the MV remind you of Justin Timberlake in In Time?)

  Whatever the plot is, it came down to 2NE1 plotting revenge against the government. The sexy rebels carried out research in their secret hideout and Bom even gave speeches to the people in the Capitol, er I mean, in the Virtual Paradise. Rebellion against the government isn't uncommon, since GD had been using it in Coup D' Etat, but 2NE1's Come Back Home is easier to understand compared to GD's concepts.

  The song itself is amazing. 2NE1 have awesome vocals so it's not surprising that the song came out in perfect harmony of their voices. The 'come baby baby come come baby' part is freaking catchy. With the MV, the song becomes even more tragically beautiful.

  One thing I'm gonna highlight about the MV is Sandara's acting skills. True, she has more shots in this MV this time. Sandara brought out all the emotions without overdoing it and I'm comfortable watching her. And her face expression when she was plotting a rebellion is something you should not miss out.

  I think 2NE1 totally nailed it this time. Come Back Home is their best MV ever, and it's going to stay as one of the best MV ever produced by YG, and it preserves the title of the first of its kind in Kpop history.