Thoughts: “Not By The Moon” by Got7, “Eight” by IU (Prod. & Feat. Suga of BTS), and “Knock” by Astro

Hello!

For this post, I just wanted to talk about three music videos that I’ve watched so far this May. These are not the only music videos that I’ve watched so far this month but these are music videos that I’ve watched for the first time since they’ve been released.

Given that I love these artists, I tried to write unbiased thoughts about their recent releases. I tried to write them as soon as I watched and listened to the music videos so that my thoughts would be my initial reactions and feelings. Doing this prevented me from listening to the songs too much until they grew on me.

So moving on…

“Not By The Moon” by Got7

Photo taken from Google Images.

This was released around April but I only got to watch and listen to the song around May 3 because when it was released, I wasn’t really in the mood for listening to it because I just finished watching Bang Bang Con the weekend before the release. Also, I guess I missed the release date even if I saw the teasers for this. I don’t really know why I didn’t even know it was released the day that it was. I only found out because I came across the music video on Youtube and I was seeing snippets of it all over social media. But then again, I still didn’t watch it until I felt like it because I wanted to give it a chance and not have my mood affect my appreciation for the song.

Anyways…

In the music video, I thought that they kind of looked like kings or princes. They had very regal and expensive-looking aesthetics where everything felt very fancy or classy. I also liked the minimal use of colors and the light and dark contrasting aesthetic. I also loved the ending scene in the moving carriage.

As for the performance video which I watched after watching the music video a couple of times, I loved the smooth movements and that each member was highlighted during their parts. However, I honestly thought that some movements seemed a bit awkward-looking.

Moving on to what I think “Dye” and “Not By The Moon” means…

From the song, I think that “Dye” means being imprinted in the heart. It’s making a mark on someone. I also think that it could mean bringing color or meaning in someone’s life. As for “Not By The Moon”, I think it meant that they wanted a lasting kind of love. Since the moon changes (i.e., different phases), if you swear by it, there might be a possibility that the promise will end when the moon changes. And they wanted the person (or Aghases) to love them forever or give them lasting love.

All in all, I think I don’t think I love this song as much as “You Calling My Name” but I think I still prefer it over “Eclipse”.

“Eight” by IU (Prod. & Feat. Suga of BTS)

Photo taken from Google Images.

I watched and listened to this song the same day that it came out which was on May 6. I saw it on my Youtube home feed and I clicked on it.

I actually really liked this song because it sounded so chill and light. It kinda makes you feel good and hopeful. I didn’t get to understand how meaningful the song was until the following day when I got to watch it with subtitles and I got to learn the meaning behind some of the animated characters (i.e., girl in white is Sulli and lizard turned dragon is Jonghyun). I’m not sure how true this is but I kept seeing this theory in my social media feeds and I thought it made sense seeing how according to the theory, there was a lot of allusions to the looks or favorites of her two late friends. If these theories are true, I think that the song is such a beautiful tribute to them and it seems kind of healing because it felt like letting them go but at the same time, remembering them and keeping them in your heart.

I think the message was that she’s kind of happy and hopeful that they (or someone else) are in a happier and better place now but she also feels sad that they’re not with her anymore. I also think that she’s saying that there’s no permanent goodbyes and that they’ll be reunited again some day.

Aside from the song and its meaning, I also loved the video’s aesthetics. The use of different animations and live action was brilliant because I think it really helped in setting the story. I also loved the contrasting use of the futuristic and nature scenes. 

I also loved Suga’s rap which transitioned to singing.

I’m more impressed with them after this collaboration because they were really able to really make us feel the sadness and hopefulness after experiencing something so heartbreaking.

“Knock” by Astro

Photo taken from Google Images.

This was released on May 4 but I got to watch it on May 10. I wasn’t able to watch and listen to it right away for because for a similar reason as to why I didn’t watch or listen to “Not By The Moon” right away. The only difference was that I knew when this was going to be released prior to its release date.

The music video aesthetics was one of the things that really captured my interest. I thought that it was really beautiful and the dark and light contrast was really able to highlight the muted colors and the members’ visuals. I also liked the space concept that’s very fitting of their group name.

I have two thoughts about the song’s meaning. 

First is that it could be about a couple’s breakup but the guy wants to get back together because when they broke up, his world seemed to get darker since his life probably became lonely and things probably started not being okay. I think he believes that if they reconcile, everything would be okay again.

Another meaning is that it could be connected to “One & Only”. This could be a message to Arohas that as long as they are there, they are happy and okay.

All in all, I’m not sure if I really loved this song because I didn’t really love the chorus part. I’m not really sure why but it might be because it felt a bit out of place for me given the feel of the song. Also, it seemed a bit loud and in your face compared to the rest of the song.

All in all, I think these three songs kind of have different feels to them which could appeal to different people or moods. Personally, I think I would listen to “Eight” more just because I think it suits my preference more than “Not By The Moon” and “Knock”.

That’s all for now. If you’ll have song recommendations, I’m open to hearing them.

Bye!

Thoughts: BTS’ “On” and “Black Swan”, Itzy’s “Wannabe”, and Astro’s “One & Only”

Hello!

So the last time I posted about music videos, it was for the Kinetic Manifesto Film of BTS’ “On”. But there had been a few releases after that that I watched and listened to although I haven’t been able to write my thoughts about them here. But now that I have the time and energy to write in this blog, I will.

So the thoughts that I will be posting here will be based on what I wrote in my journal so that it would be mostly my initial thoughts after watching the video. I may also write about my thoughts after rewatching the videos for a couple of times.

So here it goes…

BTS’ “On” Official MV

Photo taken from Google Images.

BTS released the official music video for “On” on February 27. So this was about a week after the release of the Kinetic Manifesto Film.

One of the first things that I’ve noticed in the video were the Biblical references. I felt that there were a couple of Biblical references in the video and the most notable one for me was Noah’s Ark. 

It also had a kind of dystopian world feel. When I first saw it, it kind of reminded me of the “Maze Runner” movie, the Divergent Series, and the Hunger Games Series. I’m not really sure why. I think maybe because the scenes somewhat felt like even if the scenery was filled with a lot of green landscapes, it still felt a bit trapped and filled with hardships until the end part when the rock formations opened to reveal the mountain that looked like the mountain in “The Lion King” when you suddenly feel hopeful and almost like a celebratory feeling especially when Jungkook was running upwards the mountain.

Aesthetically, I think it was beautiful. It was a contrast to the Kinetic Manifesto Film where it was a lot brighter with the blue skies and the bright pavement.

However, I honestly still prefer the Kinetic Manifesto Film. I prefer it over the official MV mainly because of the dance. I really loved their choreography for this song and in the music video, we didn’t really get to see it apart from the dance break.

BTS’ “Black Swan” MV

Photo taken from Google Images.

The music video was released on March 06. It was such a surprise when it was released because it wasn’t included in the comeback map and there were no prior announcements that they were going to release another music video for “Black Swan”. I thought that the music video that was first released was going to the only music video for “Black Swan”.

Anyway, I wasn’t mad about not knowing about the release of this music video beforehand because it was a pleasant surprise. It just suddenly popped up on my Youtube feed while I was scrolling through. And since it immediately caught my attention, I immediately clicked on it.

The music video itself was so artistic and was really visually stunning. I think it really made use of the shadow and ego concept. I was also really impressed by Jimin’s dance. He was so fluid and graceful.

However, I think the song hasn’t really grown on me yet from the time it was released because when I watched it, I didn’t feel the same excitement as I had when I first heard “On”. I guess it comes down to preference and I typically prefer a more upbeat music. Although, I do appreciate the string instrument sounds that are heard throughout the song. I think it makes it stand out a bit more and it gives it a bit of a melancholic feel.

Itzy’s “Wannabe” MV

Photo taken from Google Images.

The music video was released on March 09. I was excited about this comeback because I love Itzy’s songs. They tend to have an energetic vibe which is good when you’re trying to hype yourself up.

For this song, they didn’t disappoint. It was a really catchy song and I especially loved Ryunjin’s part at the beginning with the shoulder dance.

The song also had an empowering message about wanting to just be yourself despite being imperfect and despite what anyone says. I think that’s a really important message because it’s okay to change yourself if it would make you happy and a better person. But if you’re only changing yourself to please others and you’re changing yourself to someone you’re unhappy or uncomfortable with, then you shouldn’t do it. 

But despite loving Itzy’s concept, I do wish that in the future they would be given a chance to try other genres and concepts so that we get to see the different sides of Itzy.

Astro’s “One & Only”

Photo taken from Google Images.

The single was released on March 13. 

At first, I was honestly disappointed because there was no music video. I initially thought that it was going to be a comeback but as it turns out, it wasn’t. It was a special gift from them to their Arohas to celebrate their fourth anniversary.

Anyways, I wasn’t disappointed for long because I really liked the song. It had a sweet message that really communicated how much they love and appreciate their fans. What made it even sweeter was that they participated in the song’s composition.

I hope that when they have a comeback, they also include this song in the album.

So those were the releases that I wanted to write about. As a fan, February and March were fun times because I had a lot of releases to look forward to.

That’s all for now.

Take care and bye!

What I Got Up To

Hello!

In the past few months that I was away, I got up to a lot of things. One of these things was that I finally finished another book for this year. I finally finished “Me Before You” by Jojo Moyes. I have been reading and trying to finish this book for months but it took me so long to finish because I haven’t been consistently reading again. I’ve been trying my hardest to read more books because I do love reading but as you may know, I haven’t been doing a good job in allotting time for it in my life.

I actually bought this book after watching the movie for a couple of times. I didn’t immediately want to buy it because I just wasn’t interested in reading it. Watching the movie was actually enough for me. It wasn’t one of those movies that immediately made me want to go and purchase the book that it was adapted from. I actually bought this book impulsively because I was only supposed to buy a different book and on the way to the cashier, I spotted it. For some reason, at that time, I decided that I wanted to give the book a shot.

Now that I’ve read the book, I’m so happy that although it was an impulse buy, it wasn’t totally regrettable because I actually liked the story. Although, admittedly, there were times that I kind of grew bored of it because it was taking me too long to reach parts that I’ve seen in the movie. 

Anyways, I think that reading the book was good and it did let me get to know the characters more. I think I would have enjoyed it more had I read it before seeing the movie because I wouldn’t have been rushing to the parts that I knew and I think it would have left more room for my imagination to visualize everything instead of seeing what I saw in the movie while reading those parts.

Another thing that I got up to was buying Kpop albums. This is not my first time to buy albums because I used to buy Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, and Jonas Brothers albums years ago. I got my first Kpop albums recently during the Lazada 11.11 sale. I was able to purchase three albums at the price of one. I was super excited about this because I’ve been thinking of buying at least one for such a long time now ever since I started getting really into Kpop but the lack of nearby CD shops and the price of the albums stopped me from doing that. So when I came across this shop from Lazada and I saw that it was selling albums, I was super excited. And to top it off, they took part in the sale and slashed the prices to about 50% off. Since I wanted to buy Kpop albums so much, I decided to go for it as an early birthday present to myself. And since it became cheaper due to the slashing of the price, I decided to buy three since they would be equivalent to one normal priced album. I chose Blackpink’s “Kill This Love”, BTS’ “Love Yourself: Answer” and “Map of the Soul: Persona”. I wasn’t able to get a Got7 and Twice album because they run out before I was able to include them in my cart. I got lucky I got these three because as soon as I checked out and completed my transaction, they were also sold out. The delivery was great because it arrived within the time frame given and the packaging was in great condition.

When I finally got my hands on the albums, I was super excited and happy. It brought back those old feelings that I got whenever I used to buy albums. I’m a really sentimental person and buying these albums and having my collections help me document the times that I’ve loved these groups and the songs that I listen to.

I’ve also immediately went ahead and bought other albums in a physical store. I bought Astro’s “All Light” and Blacpink’s “Square Up” in a mall somewhat near our home. Unfortunately, I was unable to buy more because they didn’t sell a lot of albums that I was actually looking for.

And finally, I had my birthday last month and it was the first time that I felt like it was the new year. I don’t usually feel like it’s a new year during my birthdays but for some reason, this year,I felt really moved to improve my self-discipline and to be more confident in myself. I’ve been trying to do this for some time now but this is the first time that I’ve actually been trying to be more aware of what I’m doing and I’m being more experimental when it comes to what and who I really want to be.

Anyway, that’s all for now. I’m not going to include pictures in this post but I might post a year-end post that would include things that I’ve loved and made me happy this year. So stay tuned for that.

Bye!