It’s been a while, but welcome back to another Comments of the Week, where we showcase some of our favorite comments. Before that, here’s a brief recap of everything that was published on the site.
In music, there were reviews of Oh My Girl‘s “Liar Liar,” Day6‘s “Letting Go,” Amber‘s “Borders,” Red Velvet‘s “One of These Nights,” Matilda‘s debut with “Macarena,” Got7‘s “Fly,” Eric Nam‘s “Good For You,” Jay Park‘s “The Truth Is,” Hyomin‘s “Sketch,” and Seo In-guk‘s “Seasons of the Heart.” There were also album reviews of Oh My Girl’s Pink Ocean, and Dean‘s debut EP, 130 Mood: TRBL.
Meanwhile, in tv-land, episodes 1-4 of Goodbye Mr. Black, episodes 1-4 of Marraige Contract, and episodes 7-8 and 9-10 of Descendants of the Sun. And in variety related posts, there was a recap of Celebrity Bromance covering Zico and Choi Tae-joon.
Of course, there are the regular Seoulbeats Segments. There was an SB Mixtape on hope even amidst sadness, For Your Viewing Pleasure focusing on outerwear, a K-pop Indie Gem on A-Fuzz, and Best of Weekly Music Shows.
In a break from the usual, Sonya wrote on the hypocrisy of music censorship in South Korea, Sydney wrote about SM’s impending world domination, Vya ruminated on the rise of the pre-produced drama,
And now, on to the comments!
mijooliet on Hold On Tight to Day6’s “Letting Go”
I don’t know if it’s just me being ‘clingy’ to the good ol’ days, but from the way I see it, Letting Go has a double meaning. For outsiders, for those who just enjoy the music as it is, then yes, this song is about men parting with their girlfriends. However, if you know the group enough, then this may also be a tribute to Junhyeok. Which is genius. And also makes the song become 1000 times more heartbreaking.
From the translated lyrics, I conclude that they’re not actually referring to an ex-girlfriend, but just to this ‘person’. The content of lyrics are also about good memories shared, them not able to make this person happy or a reason to stay anymore, and their pain but sincerity in letting her/him go. This can be said to anyone, either to your girlfriend or your bandmate.
Another thing that makes me sure that this somehow contains double meaning is the fact that there are empty keyboards EVERYWHERE. It’s (they’re) always there, with the band, but there’s no one playing it. This could be a symbolism of Junhyeok leaving an empty spot, a hole, and the band is very aware of it (since the keyboard is always with them), but they have no choice but to deal with it, hence the existence of this song.
find_nothing_here on Break Through Stereotypes with Amber’s “Borders”
I think the message was an admirable thing but the song just fell flat. I mean the chorus was great and catchy, but Amber’s “rapping” doesn’t really convince me that she’s above the idol standard. It’s not just the lack of flow and rhythm–her lyricism is really one note. It’s just the same old same old “never give up!” mantra. Nothing makes it personal, it calls to mind no images and therefore fails to convey the extent of her emotions. This flat lyricism might be overcome if Amber could really spit, but she can’t.
Will on Dean’s 130 Mood: TRBL is Absolute Perfection
I have been following Crush, Zion.T and the rest of the VVD collective since their respective debuts, and while I celebrate each of their releases as they continue to push the envelope in showcasing the capabilities and creative potential of this recent surge in the Korean RnB movement, I feel that Dean’s EP stands on its own as the tightest, most polished and thoughtful body of music in a couple of years. D (Half Moon) is the perfect selection as a lead single – his delivery is wistful but resonates powerfully as he shows off his versatility and absolute control over each note. In that sense, I think the comparison to Frank Ocean is apt.
That’s it for this week! As always, thank you for reading and commenting!
(Some comments have been edited for brevity and clarity.)
