SHINee Replay meta! (yes I am fangirling orz)
This is possibly one of my favorite music videos ever. I'm usually super picky but this is so good! XD
There is just something very fresh and hopeful about the pv. I remember poking fun at their name and promo shots when I first heard news about them (SHINee? What the eff is with the selective capslock. How do I pronounce their name? Shin-ee? Shiny? God lord why are these kids pastel colored) but when I actually saw the PV I was blown away by several things:
Needless to say, after seeing them sing live, I was impressed and became a casual fan. I knew that these kids were going to be amazing give a few more years of experience. Their debut stage was so well done! They already looked like pros and outdid their elders (save for TVXQ) in terms of being polished. I went back and compared the debut performances of TVXQ, Super Junior and other famous boygroups and they were much better prepared. TVXQ didn't get good until after their first album and SJ only started getting better after their third. They also totally blew the other new groups out of the water. (2PM was pretty bad back then and are only "decent' now >>; 2AM didn't get any exposure and U-Kiss is just getting good now--two years after debut >>;)
Despite all that, I only focused on TVXQ fandom (and a little bit of SJ because I do have a crush on Donghae XD) because of school. My interest in them waned after Replay because I didn't like Love Like Oxygen or Juliette. Amigo did pique my interest but only for a short while because I'm ADD like that XD
It wasn't until I decided to randomly watch episodes of Hello Baby during break (way after the awesomeness of Ring Ding Dong) that I became an actual fan. By now TVXQ has broken up (but I still love them the best), Super Junior wasn't impressing me musically, and the other groups were nothing special in my eyes. But yes, I was wildly entertained by their antics on Hello Baby and started checking out the rest of their music. They have good music if you look past some of their weirder songs (Juliette! Oh~!)...and then tsukipon introduced me to tumblr. And my love for them kind of exploded >>;
Yet despite my affection for SHINee, I can't help but feel like they regressed a bit in terms of music. Granted they still sing well live, the weaker vocals have improved, and they still have amazing choreography, but I feel that musically, Replay > all their other music. The music on their first mini album was so very mature for their age, so very much different from the rest of the music at the time (save for 2AM who did ballads), but still very catchy and appealing. I feel like the music on that mini-album was more carefully recorded and produced than the stuff on their later minis (Juliette and Ring Ding Dong). Like it was less about producing a catchy song that everybody could dance to (FANTASTIC! ELASTIC! DING DING DING) and could pull in a lot of money but more about proving that yes, these young boys are well prepared for the music world and to blow your minds and the rest of the competition.
But of course, I have to be realistic as well; they could take as much time needed on Replay---that was their first musical impression on the public. They should prepare well for it! They also didn't have other schedules/shows/recordings to attend and could spend as much time practicing as needed. There wasn't the pressure--the pressure to get the album out, gain more fans, promote on x y and z shows, and make as much money as possible. They were not rushed because time was not necessarily against them.
Another note is that I am actually kind of saddened by Jonghyun's voice since Ring Ding Dong. Boy is still an amazing and disciplined singer but his voice is a lot more strained than before and he sometimes pitches his voice weirdly during songs. It could be because of the songs he's singing, the fact that he doesn't always get time to properly rest and the fact that I don't like falsetto voices, but the boy makes me melt when he sings rnb. Though his cover of X-Japan's Tear's was pretty good. If only his Japanese was better and he didn't botch up the English at the end. The original was still better, I think :P
Overall, I am still impressed with what they were able to accomplish in just two years. They may not be the most active/amusing group on shows, but they are solid singers. I love groups that show obvious growth and hard work. They haven't reached TVXQ levels of awesome yet but I hope SM doesn't screw with them. They have a lot of potential and I think it'd be interesting to see if they could possibly surpass TVXQ one day. Hahaha~~ I have pretty high hopes for their second album (Which is taking longer to produce. That is good because I hope the extra time can bring something stunning).
But back to the song. Replay (Noona You're so Pretty) is what I associate with the Summer of '08, it was the summer I first started living on my own and when I started the lonely journey for residency. It represented hope (to do well in school), motivation (to be strong and not homesick) and youth (which I felt I was leaving, now that I had to grow up). It kind of was a new page in my life and I was hopeful for the best. I hummed it all summer--during when I was feeling frustrated with the Gap, whilst nervously waiting for my interview with the credit union, and eagerly waiting for my parents to visit me after months of only webcam and phone calls. I have a feeling this song is going to remain one of my favorites for years to come.
slinks back to exams
Click to viewThere is just something very fresh and hopeful about the pv. I remember poking fun at their name and promo shots when I first heard news about them (SHINee? What the eff is with the selective capslock. How do I pronounce their name? Shin-ee? Shiny? God lord why are these kids pastel colored) but when I actually saw the PV I was blown away by several things:
- The choreography is beautiful. The lines, the formations, the transitions, everything. I am totally uncoordinated but I really wanted to learn this dance even if it kills me. I have yet to master the leg shuffle thing they do, let alone most of their leg movements but I can do the hand gestures XD Rino Nakasone choreographed it and I respect the lady forevermore.
- The featured girl in the pv is gorgeous! She's currently the leader of f(x). I'm used to beautiful female leads but she's pretty in approachable comforting way. Not the useless doll-like beauty or the vixen type typically featured.
- I really dig the camerawork in this. The closeups of their their feet when they dance are really nice, I can't even explain it. Everything is framed nicely very clean and classical, and I am in love the panning shots. The usage of different angles make me happy (I'm being a photography nerd here but bear with me) and the scenery is rather nice and not trying too hard (minus the star lighted dance studio place but I thought it was funny at the time)
Needless to say, after seeing them sing live, I was impressed and became a casual fan. I knew that these kids were going to be amazing give a few more years of experience. Their debut stage was so well done! They already looked like pros and outdid their elders (save for TVXQ) in terms of being polished. I went back and compared the debut performances of TVXQ, Super Junior and other famous boygroups and they were much better prepared. TVXQ didn't get good until after their first album and SJ only started getting better after their third. They also totally blew the other new groups out of the water. (2PM was pretty bad back then and are only "decent' now >>; 2AM didn't get any exposure and U-Kiss is just getting good now--two years after debut >>;)
Despite all that, I only focused on TVXQ fandom (and a little bit of SJ because I do have a crush on Donghae XD) because of school. My interest in them waned after Replay because I didn't like Love Like Oxygen or Juliette. Amigo did pique my interest but only for a short while because I'm ADD like that XD
It wasn't until I decided to randomly watch episodes of Hello Baby during break (way after the awesomeness of Ring Ding Dong) that I became an actual fan. By now TVXQ has broken up (but I still love them the best), Super Junior wasn't impressing me musically, and the other groups were nothing special in my eyes. But yes, I was wildly entertained by their antics on Hello Baby and started checking out the rest of their music. They have good music if you look past some of their weirder songs (Juliette! Oh~!)...and then tsukipon introduced me to tumblr. And my love for them kind of exploded >>;
Yet despite my affection for SHINee, I can't help but feel like they regressed a bit in terms of music. Granted they still sing well live, the weaker vocals have improved, and they still have amazing choreography, but I feel that musically, Replay > all their other music. The music on their first mini album was so very mature for their age, so very much different from the rest of the music at the time (save for 2AM who did ballads), but still very catchy and appealing. I feel like the music on that mini-album was more carefully recorded and produced than the stuff on their later minis (Juliette and Ring Ding Dong). Like it was less about producing a catchy song that everybody could dance to (FANTASTIC! ELASTIC! DING DING DING) and could pull in a lot of money but more about proving that yes, these young boys are well prepared for the music world and to blow your minds and the rest of the competition.
But of course, I have to be realistic as well; they could take as much time needed on Replay---that was their first musical impression on the public. They should prepare well for it! They also didn't have other schedules/shows/recordings to attend and could spend as much time practicing as needed. There wasn't the pressure--the pressure to get the album out, gain more fans, promote on x y and z shows, and make as much money as possible. They were not rushed because time was not necessarily against them.
Another note is that I am actually kind of saddened by Jonghyun's voice since Ring Ding Dong. Boy is still an amazing and disciplined singer but his voice is a lot more strained than before and he sometimes pitches his voice weirdly during songs. It could be because of the songs he's singing, the fact that he doesn't always get time to properly rest and the fact that I don't like falsetto voices, but the boy makes me melt when he sings rnb. Though his cover of X-Japan's Tear's was pretty good. If only his Japanese was better and he didn't botch up the English at the end. The original was still better, I think :P
Overall, I am still impressed with what they were able to accomplish in just two years. They may not be the most active/amusing group on shows, but they are solid singers. I love groups that show obvious growth and hard work. They haven't reached TVXQ levels of awesome yet but I hope SM doesn't screw with them. They have a lot of potential and I think it'd be interesting to see if they could possibly surpass TVXQ one day. Hahaha~~ I have pretty high hopes for their second album (Which is taking longer to produce. That is good because I hope the extra time can bring something stunning).
But back to the song. Replay (Noona You're so Pretty) is what I associate with the Summer of '08, it was the summer I first started living on my own and when I started the lonely journey for residency. It represented hope (to do well in school), motivation (to be strong and not homesick) and youth (which I felt I was leaving, now that I had to grow up). It kind of was a new page in my life and I was hopeful for the best. I hummed it all summer--during when I was feeling frustrated with the Gap, whilst nervously waiting for my interview with the credit union, and eagerly waiting for my parents to visit me after months of only webcam and phone calls. I have a feeling this song is going to remain one of my favorites for years to come.
slinks back to exams