JYJ, SKK scandal, and Shinee

[satopi3104]

JYJ performed in HK the night that I came back from big China trip. I didn't go. Was this a bad decision? I saw clips and the English stuff (as a native English speaker) sounded kinda weird (I think it was also because it was them singing in English rather than Korean) .  But I am currently obsessed with SKK scandal and a lot of the music for that

Comments

[aegistheia]

Disclaimer: I only know some of SHINee's music and none of what the boys look like.

So I think it's really interesting that someone as untrained in dance as me can still pick out the dancer who excels (who, when I read your post later, turned out to be Taemin) without much difficulty! I completely understand what you're saying about his similarity to dance with Ohno - they're both self-contained and concise. There's something in the way they hold their body and ease out their moves that I have no words to describe. Plus, I love their footwork; they must have such strong ankles. Taemin even silhouettes like Ohno does, too!

I also get pretty caught up by Key, especially in the second, darker half - it's the hip-hop attitude he puts into his arms. But maybe that's just me.

Truth be told I'm kind of awed by the synchrony and the sheer level of skill of SHINee's dance, especially the ripple of hipthrusts from the back to the front in 2:02. Precision, how I've missed you! I've been...used to J-Pop's (and especially Johnny's, woe) dancing, and watching them is a gust of fresh air.

So, really, thanks for posting this! It was a fun read!

[satopi3104]

hey! thanks for commenting.

It's cool that you also see the similarities between Ohno and Taemin. And yeah, they both must have killer strong ankles. Are those ankle rolling moves called silhouettes?

and yes re Key's attitude. He's definitely got some hip hop flair and i love it.

yeah, as someone who is such a stickler for quality and talent, it's hard for me NOT to choose kpop over jpop. I still love Arashi, but they are more the exception and much of my love does not derive from their dancing/singing skills. even groups like snsd or wonder girls has something about them that draws me even though i don't think any of them are singing or dancing powerhouses like the members of dbsk or shinee.

thanks again for reading!

[aegistheia]

LOL I have no idea what those ankle rolling moves are called. By silhouette I simply mean that if I were to hit pause at any given moment in the video, they tend to be holding themselves in such a way that show how well they know their bodies and how to move them.

I'm speaking more from an artist's perspective here, but think of it as them having really interesting (and disciplined) poses. Their structures are visually stimulating, and their motion even more so.

I certainly don't love Arashi primarily for their music or dance, either! (W-well, except for maybe Ohno.) I generally find the Korean pop stars more visually and musically appealing (though that doesn't say much because pop is emphatically not my musical genre of choice).

Thank you for sharing!

[satopi3104]

oh cool - what is your genre of choice? I ask because pop isn't my genre of choice either. I am a huge classical music geek. to vastly simplify my tastes, i love mozart operas and beethoven and brahms symphonies.

and yes, i agree with you that they have very disciplined poses. i know they aren't ballet dancers so maybe words like line are not appropriate, but i think that is what you are getting at. They both have beautiful line and that is so key in being a good dancer.

[aegistheia]

!!! Hello, fellow Classical music lover! To vastly simplify my tastes as well, Beethoven is one of my favourite, favourite composers. I adore Handel and Tchaikovsky, too. When it comes to the violin, though, I am very partial to Tartini. (I can go on and on and on about choral music and piano pieces and quartets...) My preferences in opera are currently being reshuffled, so there's not much I can say right now beyond the fact that I really love opera ♥ I also really love traditional music from non-Western cultures too, for example traditional Chinese music.

As for other, less strictly codified forms of music, I veer mostly towards rock and metal, with a dipping in indie. Despite my love for Classical music, I don't actually listen to it as frequently as these genres, because the moment a Classical composition comes on I can't do anything but focus on it; therefore I need to specifically set time aside for Classical works. Rock and metal are my beloveds, too, so I just get the best of all worlds.

/music geek. (Music, and most other art forms, are of great personal significance to me, so I can get kind of blathery about them. I hope you don't mind!)

Ah, yes, the ballet line! That's definitely along the my line of thought, yes. I'm always so tempted to use them for gesture drawings.

[satopi3104]

i totally know what you mean about not listening to classical as much as other genres because you get too focused on the music to do anything else. i am COMPLETELY like that too, which is why i end up listening to A LOT of arashi and k-pop even if it's not even a fraction of the experience of listening to, say, Mahler's symphony no. 2 <- one of my all-time favorite pieces probably partially due to the fact that i performed it.

i am a choir singer, so choral music is a whole different genre for me. i love being a choir singer because you really come to appreciate the structure of a piece when you are one of so many moving pieces that work together like clockwork. i especially feel this when i perform bach.

and ah, tchaikovsky. so because of my ballet background, i have a hard time just neutrally listening to tchaikovsky's music, and for that reason i tend to stay away. but i really should give his non-ballet music a shot. embarassingly enough, i don't really know what even his violin concerto sounds like, which is pretty bad since it's SO famous. any recommendations?

i also don't listen to much non-western traditional music. i would love to hear more about Chinese classical music. i am studying now in Hong Kong and visited China a bunch of times and am really interested in learning more about Chinese traditional culture.

[aegistheia]

Wow, a Mahler symphony no. 2 performance! Applause. Were you part of the choir, or did you play an instrument? Which part did you like best?

Ahahaha, my musical experience tends more to soloist stuff, so I don't have as much exposure to ensemble music. Do you have any suggestions for me to explore?

As for Tchaikovsky, the Violin Concerto in D major should definitely be your first stop, followed immediately by Piano Concerto no. 1 as your second! I don't know what flavour of music you like, but personally I'm also very fond of June (Bacarolle) and Symphony no. 6 "Pathétique".

Speaking of which, what are your favourites to perform in ballet, and what would you recommend? I regret not attending more performances when I had the time to do so, so I really want to expand my horizons with this when I can again. Have you been dancing for long?

As for traditional Chinese music, hm...well, if you haven't, check out the 12 Girls Band - they use traditional Chinese musical instruments to play a large range of music; they're not exactly the definition of traditional, but they're a good gateway into the instruments and have some traditional selections in their repertoire. There's bound to be something there that'll attract your attention!

Personally I'm really attached to Chinese opera, but I personally think a lot of the beauty of Chinese opera is in the language that they use, and it's also a matter of personal taste; it's not the easiest genre to appreciate.

What do you think of Hong Kong? In my opinion, Hong Kong is a great place to check out Chinese culture; I don't think there's as much blatant censoring going on there compared to mainland China, at any rate. If you have time, visit the neighbouring island Macau too! Its Portuguese influences are a refreshing experience.

Okay I'm finishing this up before this gets too long, but seriously, thanks for talking with me about music! I really do love it so ♥