If our faithful readers remember, earlier this month I implored Jay Park to put out a decent record that would be worth our time and money. Well, Jay did not make us wait long with a new tune with an MV.
What can I say? Jay, oh Jay! I promised to the editors that I would not use profanities. What exactly have you been smoking in Seoul? You put out much better gonzo stuff on Youtube that, if my guess is correct, cost a fraction and was ions better than this. Come on, you know it. This song is a very, and I am being generous here, very rough draft of what could have been a decent tune, if you bothered to work on it some more (i.e. better arrangement, better beat, playing around with bass, some work on back-up vocals). Do we need to break Phil Spector out of jail to make this work?
Now, dissecting the “Demon” MV. Why do I have a sense of déjà vu when I am watching this? Oh, I know why! Because half-way through demon-on-a-cable-flying-over-Jay scene I am expecting either Axl Rose, or Slash (or Meatloaf) to pop up. Come on, this has all the markings of a 3 am VH1 special on early 90s music video extravaganza (sans long rocker hair and leopard-print tights).
Spot the difference. Just like Meatloaf, Jay would “…Do Anything For Love.” So he says.
Don’t get me wrong, I love retro. I would pay good money for legendary JYP to don his favorite pair of Hammer-pants and belt out “Can’t Touch This.” But for Jay Park, this is an equivalent of a cop-out. Yes, I said it, cop-out. It feels very raw (as in unfinished), rushed and dated. In fact, the only glimmer of excitement I had while watching this MV was betting with a friend whether the support cable would be strong enough to hold the demon girl from plumping right on top of Jay. For a rap/hip-hop video, that’s pretty lame.
Am I perhaps too harsh on Jay? I beg to differ. Jay is not a newbie in this business, he should know by now, what a good, interesting, polished tune should sound like. If you need any reminders, just listen to U-Kiss’ recent release “Neverland.” I might still smart over the eyeliner galore, Ellison Kim’s oogly-eye expression (is he thinking of a girl or a plateful of samgyeopsal?) and those ridiculous jumper/pullover/chainmail garbs the boys are wearing, but if that song does not make you want to get on the dance floor and shake your bonbon, then you are a certified cadaver. it accomplishes what an MV is designed to accomplish – makes you want to go to iTunes and buy the record, which I promptly did. Jay Park should keep that in mind and shift his gears into overdrive.
