The first real review of 2014! Well we thought it would be cute to welcome the new year with an old favorite. Early comebacks have been extremely... uh... interesting. And this video was no exception!
Let's take a look-see at
Rain- LA Song
This video was released on January 1st, 2014 and as of January 12th had 846,141 views. There was also another Rain video released for a song called 30Sexy but it wasn't nearly as politically incorrect, so we opted for LA song. On to the velvet covered racist and sexist goodness:
Let's join the party:
Ruby: So I guess the first thing to say is oh man, this video was like playing a game of how many bad ideas can we fit into approximately four minutes. The fashion, while not nearly as offensive as many parts of the video, was definitely not to my taste... It's not that what he was wearing was ugly or unflattering (for the most part) but that it was all so viciously out of place that it just left me confused and with bad taste in my mouth. (I mean there's was a bad headband and velvet suits....)
My game face and my headband
I am unamused by these events
Em: Since the song name is LA Song, maybe..... American clothing? But unlike Troublemaker's rather fashionable take on the slapdash, mismatched stereotype, this seems just kinda bad. I can't say I've ever seen someone where a red velvet suit before...maybe cause I don't live in LA, but still. Still. The fur coat wasn't exactly my favorite thing ever either.
Lookin' fine in my red velvet suit
Wait where is this video set again?
Forget your silly dance battle, it's time for a...
First up we've got the Sherlock Homeless look. Grab you warm woolen scarves and an oversized jacket. This outfit makes for a great go to look. It's super warm but also so easy to wear. And you get to explore the existential side of fashion: what is fashion? what is worn out? what is an elbow patch? what is life?
Another contender is certainly FURocious. White t-shirt, gold chains, fur coat. What else could you need to spend an evening jamming with friends, at an under ground dance rave or grocery shopping? Clearly this is a look appropriate for all occasions.
The last contender in this battle of fashions is Dual Dandy in his velvet suit, with two color options. Olive and Tomato. I mean these suits just scream class and subtlety. What more can I say? It's like a pimpin' christmas in this video. And I love it.
Which outfit do you think won this fashionista face-off?
#ohoh!Objectify_me_sir! The real trends of 2014 remain to be seen but the early votes certainly point to sexy sexy women dressed in virtually no clothing. Now being sexy can certainly be a good thing, but it can also be a bit offensive. Especially when it's a back up dancer that serves no purpose. TVXQ is also guilty of this in their first single of this year, Something.
From TVXQ's Somebody.
#highwaisthighopes High waisted looks were big last year with videos like I Got a Boy (SNSD) and Darling of All Hearts (SunnyHill) and it seems like they're going to keep it up this year. High waisted looks, pants, shorts skirts, can be super flattering and add some flare to a less exciting outfit.
Girl's Generation - I Got A Boy
SunnyHill - Darling of All Hearts
#layeredlikeanonion with jacket upon jacket upon shirt upon other shirt. This tends to happen in winter when clothing stores refuse to acknowledge the fact that its cold outside, and rather than wearing warmer clothes you just wear more clothes layered on top of each other. LA Song featured backup dancers that had more than enough layers to be considered sporting "the layered look." This also happened in other MVs, such as B1A4's Lonely where everyone looked.
B1A4 - Lonely
la conclusion (mais oui, c'est en français.)
Ruby: I just feel like these were impractical outfits for a dirt floor dancer face off. The video in general was full of stereotypes and just really mixed messages between clothing and concept. I can see so many of these outfits working on other settings, but so few of them felt even slightly relevant to this video itself. It's hard when each piece of fashion is sort of okay, but the styling and combination of it all is so off putting its hard to watch. Also if a trend this year is out of place, scantily clad women, I will be frustrated. At least there was no plaid.
Let's do the lindy hop!
I mean she looks hot...
Em: All in all, I wasn't particularly thrilled with this week. I mean, maybe we're being a bit harsh...we have liked mismatched things in the past, and its not all bad to mix things up a bit. Unfortunately, it went too far in the wrong direction I think. Fur coats are fur coats, and we see them all the freaking time...nothing really radical there.
Dance Battle Dress Code is Black tie, right?
We're as confused as you are kid.
Chickens. Everywhere.
The Barber Shop set was kinda cool.
What do you think will be all the rage in kpop fashion this year? Let us know!
We've been inundated with cheerful summer party music recently. As much as I love getting into the feel of the season it was awesome to find a video that really broke that mold. And a whole bunch of other ones as well....
I’m no expert on traditional clothing or weaponry, so you’ll
have to forgive the technical terms here, but let me know if you have the names
or any info on what is being used.
Overall impression:
Ruby: So I know that this video was probably a bit of a surprising
choice but I have such a weakness for anything even vaguely reminiscent oftraditional east Asian clothing - furisode,
yukata, hakama, obi, hanbok (no surprise here…) - and I’m all over it. I’m also
a sucker for the fighting arts and use of weaponry in the dance, so this video
was a happy experience for me. Aside from that though, I also loved the way
they played with the modern clothing in some cases to reflect their
counterparts. It gives me the fashion tinglies.
Traditional swordsmen bring artistry in movement into the video
Those beautiful sleeve extensions highlight the dancers flips and tricks.
Matt: Mmhmm! This video is definitely loaded with cool
visuals that combine to create a surprisingly strong and eclectic overall
style. All of the visual and artistic components blend together in a really enjoyable mix of modern and
historic culture to surprise and entertain audiences. A good example of the
cultural complexity of the video can be seen when a dancer wearing a historical
Korean mask underneath an urban-style bandana performs a modern
martial-arts-inspired dance while simultaneously painting an aggressive dragon
on the wall behind him in a style heavily reminiscent of ancient Eastern
calligraphy.
the dragon beginning
Paint and dance and so many feeeeeeeeels
Other promotional Materials:
Ruby: What other promotional materials….. I mean he released
some half naked photos to promote Round 3, his album. But really he hasn’t done
much else to promote. Maybe Mattmatt can find some other videos I missed but
I’m at a loss. He has recently been on a show called Barefoot Friends, which is
quite fun. We found out all about his apartment. It has skulls and booze and
designer clothes and that's about it. If that's not good pr I don't know what
is.
NAKED TEASER TIME
barefoot friends. they take their jobs really really seriously.
Matt: Hahaha… agreed. On another note, I actually did manage
to stumble across some other promotional material. Kim Hyun Joong recently
uploaded one of his dance rehearsals to his official YouTube channel. The video
brings the choreography to the spotlight, which is good considering that in the
official music video, the more complex movements are drowned out by cut scenes
to women in traditional dress, Hyun Joong stepping out of a flashy sports car, or
the aforementioned dragon painting scene. His live SBS Inkigayo Comeback Stage can
also be found online. Its visuals mirror the music video’s main scene,
including elements such as the historic emblem cutout on the backdrop and the
modern hoodies and gold chains that adorn the established singer and his talented backup dancers. Although it’s
worth watching for the live vocals if nothing else, it doesn’t diverge from the
fashion and visuals established in the music video.
stage performance featuring the same sports wear from the mv
Continuity:
Ruby: I guess this is where the video could have gone
horrible no good very bad wrong, but it didn’t. I really think they made an
effort to use the traditional and modern clothing in parallel. We have these
harem pants paired with the idea of flowy skirts and hakama and the slit-side
sweatshirts with the happi jackets. Even the hats and hoods with writing give
the impression of the headbands and headwraps traditionally worn. Yeah, the
button down and wife beater were not the best choices and ripping off ones
shirt is not classy at any point in history… but I have a lot of respect for
the people who coordinated this. I bet there was a lot of thought put into each
outfit and I appreciate that a lot.
The beautiful traditional dress with extended sleeves
and the sweatshirt, split up the sides to reflect shapes of items like the happi coats.
Matt: Definitely. I don’t have much else to add, except for
the fact that the contrast between black-and-white cinematography and color
cinematography was also very well balanced. Mirroring the contrast between
tradition and modern culture shown in the video, the color usage and overall
videography was also very well thought out. A+ for continuity!
the black and white take contrast to a whole new level
Band’s Overall Image:
Ruby: So this is extremely consistent with Hyun Joong’s other
big Korean single, Breakdown. And that's all fine and good, dark alley gangster
dance clothes are fantastic. But lets be real. He spent the beginning of his
career of the leader of the group SS501, who were the ultimate flower boy,
sweet-heart boy band. I know he’s grown up a lot and I respect that, but I
think for me he will always be the playa bartender who can’t pick up a chick to
save his life.
Breakdown era KJH
DOUBLE S FIVE OH ONE, DOUBLE S...
Matt: Again, there’s not much to add here. The video is
consistent with his solo work, but not so much with his pre-solo-debut
material. That’s to be expected. As for his new image, I love it. This video
may not look like the product of “the ultimate flower boy, sweet-heart boy
band”, but it’s still darn good ^_^;
once upon a time, he was such a cutie pie.
Trends in K-POP:
Ruby: So this video is in some ways spot on with the trends.
Fake tattoos, and sports wear are really peaking right now. Guys with six packs
taking off their shirts has been in for a long time now. coughraincough…. not that I’m complaining. I guess I wish that
playing more than alternative fashion was in. They did a nice job of keeping it
accessible by staying with trend for one look and then pairing it with
something off-trend and stylistically really interesting, like traditional
clothing. Even the altered version of the traditional clothing that appear in
the video are really refreshing.
Bi Rain in his famous shirt removal dance.
Exo wolf's sports wear
Matt: Yup. Fake tattoos are definitely appearing all over
the place. Just take a look at Brown Eyed Girls’ new music video “Kill Bill”.
Fake tattoo from Brown Eyed Girls "Kill Bill"
lots of fake tats in this mv
Conclusion:
Ruby: The video really split down the middle of painfully
predictable and really fresh and interesting. Using the rhythmic dance of the
taiko drums in conjunction with the clothing and the modern song really was
completely unexpected but immediately understandable. And for me that's the
ultimate goal. I wish they’d committed to it fully rather than half-assing it.
I appreciate that they made it accessible to more people but for me it took
away from the cooler aspects of the video. I wish they’d gone further with their
metaphors and references.
this is really cool looking, very modern but not at odds.
for me, outfits like this were really out of place
next to scenes like this.
Matt: Really fresh video. Really cool concept, and really
great execution. Unlike Ruby, I don’t think it was half-assed at all. To me,
the juxtaposition of the different elements (some of which were, admittedly,
simpler than others) is what makes the video so captivating.
the traditional meets the new
with breakdancers in ribbon hats
and dudes in weird masks!
Daily Dose of Daebak:
Kim Hyun Joong... in the red light district..... *smirks* because there haven't been any prostitution scandals in kpop recently..... (too soon?)
Hi, there, horsey. The man on your back is terrifying
^_^
Leave us some love in the comments please! If you want, tell us if you prefer the traditional or modern clothes!
This video was awesome. Like, I had so much fun screencapping it and I just couldn't pick. I love the aesthetic. seriously.
