The Five Faces Of E.via

[koganbot]

If you add in her sounds, her faces number way more than five. This is not strange, to be a variety; but art and commerce and branding often constrain acts to only a few concepts, as does a focus on what you're considered best at; e.g., "I am the underground speed rapper" or "I have switched to an elegant and sexy image." Whereas E.via's chosen to

Comments

[azacab]

What about "Diary"?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ua6zCel7QPY

Diary

[koganbot]

Wow! Thanks for this. I'd either missed it the first time around or saw it but it failed to register.

When I first heard the song, on her first EP, I conceptualized it as "obligatory ballad," and didn't like it much. I'm still not a giant fan, but it makes more sense now, as a mood and a wisp, a memory. Interesting how in the vid the diary pages become pictures on the wall; seems odd at first, since the essence of diary pages are that they're private, while framed pictures are fundamentally public. But it makes sense, when the camera pulls back and E.via's looking at the display: here are her feelings, her lost love, a time past. Ray Davies: "People take pictures of each other, just to prove that they really existed" and "Picture book, pictures of your mama, taken by your papa, a long time ago/Picture book, of people with each other, to prove they love each other, a long time ago"; happy guy. But E.via's not as despairing; the love's lost but she's not denigrating the diary for recording the forever that wasn't. Isn't denigrating

my favorite e.via cut

[anonymous]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iw1PmS7bius... )

Re: my favorite e.via cut

[koganbot]

I didn't know that! Had assumed "Napper" was someone else.

Of course, she never really abandons her old voices, just adds new ones.

I wonder who "they" are who "decided" that she needed a somewhat different image. I can't imagine they could have persuaded her if she didn't want to go in various other directions anyway.

I like the deep vocal presence of Nam Soo-Rim, and how that deepness undergirds the upper-register prettiness. Haven't had the chance to pay more than glancing attention to those tracks, though. The vids imply that dating her might pose risks.

Re: my favorite e.via cut

[koganbot]

I ended up exploring Rimi/Nam Soo-Rim further when she showed up on the Jukebox. Think I like the hardcore-rap Rimi and the comedy Rimi more than the sensitive-indie Nam Soo Rim, though I'm curious what she'll do next.

[davidfrazer]

Someone in Japan must be paying attention to super-kawaii Korean rappers, because here's tween idol group Prizmmy☆ ripping off the megaphone-wielding e.via from "Shake!" (minus the booty-shaking, of course, but with rapping). Skip to 0:54 if you're in a hurry or can't stand squeeky, autotuned Japanese schoolgirls.

P.S. One arama commentator says "Damn, wish I was even fractionally this cool when I was in elementary school."

[koganbot]

I actually like the squeaky Auto-tune part.

So far, J-pop hasn't reached me. I expect that one day it'll suddenly click, and everything else will sound pale in comparison. But this track does click, maybe because it sounds sufficiently Korean, or Swedish. Good tune, anyway, and rapping chops. And megaphones.