We're talking about
The Cure - Drunken Tiger.
Although this song is off of Drunken Tiger's album, it is in fact the members of MFBTY that perform the song together. It came out on September 12 2013 and as of September 16th had 234,369 views.
We also reference this video, called Sweet Dream, throughout the review, it's worth watching:
Overall impression:
Ruby: This video is really different for us. Not because we
tend to not review videos of this type, but because its quite rare that this
type of video is released. It is worth noting a few things about MFBTY: the
average age of this group is 35 years old, Tasha and TigerJK are married and
the three formed the group MFBTY in January as a project. I think all of that
is reflected really strongly in this video. It has a beautiful clean and
natural feel to it. They use mature, but distinctive clothing that speaks to
their individual styles. Like Mirae wearing long skirts, which is mature but
also quite distinctive.
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| Mirae in a patterned, long dress. |
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| The cutest lil' tiger cub. |
Em: Everything was very loose and casual, a nice contrast to
the usual in kpop. It looked like it was styled to be unstyled in some ways. In fact, I feel like this is the first time
we’ve seen pants that look like they were ripped doing work rather than ripped
doing…er…something else. *cough* Taemin *cough* Even their hair looks messy,
and honestly I personally like it a lot. Its more personal somehow.
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| A glowing mop of unruly hair |
Other promotional Materials:
Ruby: So there was a teaser released a few days prior to the
album, which is really quite different in every way possible. They use some
short scenes from the mv but mostly the teaser is talking 3d rendered heads and
strobe effect. They use their older songs Sweet Dream and Bizzytigeryoonmirae,
remixed. I mean it was fun, I guess. Honestly it reminded me of the Black Eyed
Peas’ music video for Boom Boom Pow.
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| The faces of MFBTY in the teaser |
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| From The Black Eyed Peas Boom Boom Pow mv |
Em: I thought it was interesting that they emphasized
previous songs when it seems to me that the new style is very different. It’s
still them, I don’t think it was outside what made sense for the group, it was
just a lot softer and sweeter in both song and style than Sweet Dream and
Bizzytigeryoonmirae. Little bit crazy with the quick flashing between scenes.
Not a huge fan.
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| Sweet Dream is a great video but it is.... |
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| a much darker MV in general with a faster beat and harsher tone. |
Continuity:
Ruby: it was so simple that
there was really no issue within the continuity. Mirae stuck mostly to long
skirts and unique accessories, Tiger JK favored loose shirts and jeans and
Bizzy wore tighter shirts and no shoes. It was the small things that really
spoke in this case. Tasha wore a beautiful headscarf at one point or the
embroidery on Tiger JK’s shirt; it all just followed together so nicely. Things
that were subtle parts of the styling, Bizzy’s barefeet, Tiger JK’s tousled
hair or Tasha’s gorgeous earrings, really made the video feel very natural,
very real. Something that kpop misses out on a lot.
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| Mirae's lovely chunky earrings. |
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| Bizzy forgot something on his way to the shooting today.... He just can't seem to remember what it was. |
Em: I agree about the realness. It just felt very human.
They looked comfortable, like they were just people who liked music. Clothing
can make artists seem otherworldly or worldly, and I think kpop usually tends
toward the otherworldly. It wasn’t eye-catching in the same way as HOW SHINY CAN WE MAKE
THIS FABRIC OKAY NOW ADD GLITTER but I think it gained from the subtlety. It
fit the song and the style. Even the
accessories seemed like something a real person would wear.
 |
| Rather than sequins suits, toady we're wearing ripped up jeans.... |
Band’s Overall Image:
Ruby: So MFBTY formed in January and released an MV for a
song called Sweet Dream. If you haven’t heard/seen it, GO NOW AND DO IT NOW.
The styling in “The Cure” was quite different from the image they used in Sweet
Dream. However, that was a heavily stylized video with a Victorian dream
concept. Since MFBTY is a project group, they each have maintained strong
independent identities. Tiger and Tasha have always tended towards the sexy
side. Tiger JK is a manly man muscle man way and Tasha in a sultry seductress
way. They’ve done 1920s concepts and hip
hop concepts and even posed together nude a few times. I think for them its
about suiting the moment and the song rather than trying to establish an
identity.
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| Dr. and Mr. Watson have arrived, from Sweet Dream, a much stronger concept. |
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| Straight out of the Great Gatsby, huh? |
Em: Continuing on that note, it might be just because
they’re older too. They know who they are as people by now, and they can focus
on other things rather than trying to define themselves. Fashion becomes part
of the concept more as they show the style of the song (while still showing off
themselves). There’s a lot of confidence in it. They’ve always done lovely
details too.
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| A detail of graffiti jeans in Sweet Dream |
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| More important things, like this lil' guy. |
Trends in K-POP:
Ruby: These three have always existed outside of the
mainstream from music styles to lifestyles and even fashion. Tasha spent her
childhood in America. She also feels a strong connection to her father’s
African American roots. Tiger JK was born in Korea, but at the age of 12 moved
to America and lived in the US through college. They were both exposed to
American fashion and American ideals at an early age. I think that changes
their use of fashion a lot and places them outside of the Korean mainstream.
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| Dirty jeans and some bead bracelets, MUCH TOO SIMPLE TO BE KPOP. |
Em: That influence definitely makes a lot of sense. We have
seen simple clothing before, occasionally, but
it rarely has the same personality. There’s a very fine line between too
complicated and too boring. We don’t talk much about trends in kpop for people
who aren’t dressing like teens or young adults (there isn’t much to talk
about)…if we do talk about people over 25, its usually to complain that they
aren’t dressed their age. Drunken Tiger was definitely an exception, in a very
good way.
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| A similar concept from Park JiYoon's "Tree of Life" |
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| Remarkably similar outfits, but this just feels like a more interesting video |
Conclusion:
Ruby: The video was not fancy and it wasn’t on trend. But it
is also one of my favorite videos of the year. In all seriousness, this video
was stunning in its simplicity. So often in kpop we get the more is more
mentality with fashion: 15 different outfit sets, wild hair, runway makeup etc,
etc. This video shows that there are other options, different ways of
approaching fashion that might communicate your ideas with more maturity.
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| Although there's a huge korean influence, its unlike other kpop videos on so many ways... |
Em: Agreed. It was beautiful. It was soft and subtle and
classy and let me use all these adjectives that I don’t usually get to use with
kpop. Woohoo! I hope they keep it up and keep making beautiful things. I also
hope that other kpop groups can take inspiration from them and understand a
little bit more about what makes them so good.
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| Even Bizzy seems put together!!! |
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| Simple earthy clothes complement the set and the animations. |
Daily Dose of Daebak:
I love Bizzy’s giant imaginary friend.
Shirtless Tiger in a bathtub…even better than fashion!
Thanks so much for reading! Which do you prefer? The wild side of MFBTY from Sweet Dream or the earthy side of MFBTY from The Cure?
Let us know! Or tell us what you'd like us to review next!
Thanks for reading!
Ruby and Em <3
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