Monday, December 7, 2009

K-Music: SS501: Love like this

There are finally airing the new album release by SS501 on KBS world cable channel here. I saw the "live" Music bank TV performance of the song "Love like this" (download) and frankly, it was awlful. I was cringing at the various off pitch moments and most of all, I really dont like the new hairdo for Kim Hyun Joong. The crop pointy haircut just doesnt suit his face shape. That aside, the dance steps were also not in sync and it spoilt the song for me.


Ok visuals aside, I didnt think the track was spectacular despite the "acclaimed" fast pickup by fans. The song is not bad, just a little too commercialised feel for me. It is just one of those "dime and dozen" kind of song, the music mix has overlapping similarities with too many other dance tracks (esp compared to english albums) so much so that it doesnt hold the sort of "freshness" I was hopin for.

I thought to be fair, I should check out the official MV.


The song is definitely more "polished" and "groovy" in the MV but the tune still borders on average here. It doesnt have that wow factor for me. The dance movements reminds me of group dance in "Think you can dance" competition shows except it is even less fancy, just some coordinated moves meshed together to try to look good. My review prob sound harsh but only because I am hoping more from SS501 and had better expectations than this. If I am 16yr, I will love this but I am not, hence the reservations about going gaga over this.


I hated the makeup and styling for KHJ even more here. The punk look with Black eyeliner on his lower eyelid simply doesnt cut it for him. Ugly outfit aside (the red one esp). I prefer KHJ in his natural looking style.

KHJ appeared in tonite's variety show "Let's go Dream team" (S2-Ep4) and I was hoping that he would help win the game but much to my disappointment, he didnt make it. Instead, it was Minho (from shinee) who saved the day!! But at least KHJ did a short solo dance performance to the tune of the new track "Love like this"...with the "L" "O" "v" "e" and signs of course *swoonin*

After watching months of variety program (which always crack me up big time), I was really impressed with Eunhyuk and Minho, but esp the latter. I like his new hairdo, and esp his fighting spirit to try his best each time. I find myself rooting for him more and more each time as Minho looked so determined to lead his team to winning the game. After 2 loses, 1 tie, he finally won tonite!!!! YEAH!!! I was screaming in excitement!!!

Ok I digress...I was suppose to talk about SS501 new video.
I dont like it. Maybe I should check out the remaining songs from the album

6 comments:

Nimy said...

Hi ,

Did you hear that 'kimi wa petto'(LOVEeeeee) is going to be remade into a korea movie? I thought Matsumoto Jun was the cutest pet that anybody could have and Koyuki was an inspiration but KJH as momo !!!pluuleeezzz though the guy is prettier than me :)I love his straightfaced quirky answers in interviews and he was great in' we got married ' .Am not too familiar with SSS501 ,liked a few of their tracks in BOF.

btw I finished 1st 2 books in dresden series .Ploughed thru even (though alarm bells went off after 10 pgs )coz am a sucker for werewolves,wizards and to a minor extent vampires (never understood the allure of blood thirsty *shudder* twilight,though movie was ok -loved the storm baseball scene !!!).Average prose ,sometimes laughably bad,ok plot,very one dimensional characters ,really not scary villains ,an interesting lead modeled in the very best Raymond chandler tradition but didn't work for me .May be later books slowly unravel the complexity & mystery behind Harry Dresden's past but now I know why u liked the other series better:)

Psssshhh- am still working on my top 10 fav YAB moments :0

Elisa said...

@TVADddict
Hi there, I agree, this song didn't make the grade. I love the group SS501 but this song was busted including the dance routine. too girly for me. "Deja vu" was their best work ever.

Go ahead and digress away, I first saw Minho in Shinee's MTV of "Noona, you are so pretty" there was a part in the MTV that had head shots and he was the cutest of the 5 boys. i watched the MTV in youtube and there was a link that you could see them practice wearing their school uniforms. i was always a sucker for school boys who have part-time jobs. whoah!!! i sound so cradle snatcher...anyway, he was cute in it. ahhahaha

By the way, what is DIL...are you referring to my cable service? yup, really happy with it...I get a lot of US series, like GLEE (really enjoy this show), two days after it airs in the US. so yes, got great DIL.

@Nimy
hahahaha...honestly, i don't understand the bloodthirsty allure too. have you tried the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins(its a trilogy and only two books are out, third expected Aug2010). great plot, less than average prose, characters very interesting, no werewolves, wizards and vampires...just ordinary people who have high gears for survival. i think there are negotations to make it into a movie by 2011.


okay, will work on my top 10...this is going to be difficult.

Tvadddict said...

Ohhhh my "gang" are back esp Elisa! Was wondering what happen on your end for the silence. Thot your sons gang up and mobbed u, or got a mouse to chew thru the cables:)

@Nimy
No I havent heard the update yet! I'm always slow in that kind of things in that sense:) So thanks for the head up!

Jun is not my fav actor. He isnt even cute in my books (no offence to fans) so I am always surprise at his popularity.

Wait, KHJ is going to be in Kimi wa petto??!! U aint pulling a fast one on me are you!? I like that manga but to make it into real life drama? I cannot imagine. Can you? I mean KHJ acting like in a cute puppy way?!! I dont know if I want to imagine that.

I read some comments about people thinking KHJ being unsuitable but actually I think he can pull it off. Reason being, firstly he already has a cute face, I dont mean handsome, I mean CUTESY face, so I guess I can imagine him acting like a adorable wide eye doppy puppy. Secondly if anyone did read the manga, the guy actually has good physical attributes, where he can morph into a protector. We all saw KHY MUSCLES in WGM, so I can convincedly believe him being the man to save me from bad guys....
Damn.... U get me fantasting with this newsbite now! Wonder who they are gonna cast for the girl. I want someone pretty and sexy!!!

Is it some belated realisation or did i just discover my blog has become a lair for lovers of vamps, wizards, werewofe and magical world? *chuckle* I am a BIG time fan for anything to do with fantasty world, (blame it on growing up with D&D)I esp love shapelifters (more than vamps). The only vamp series that I write off are those from Anne rice...I just dont like them. I take it everyone here watch "True blood" too huh:)

@ Elisa
DIL - Daughter in law:p

I'm soo jealous... HK is sooo backward in airing latest eng drama unless its dead popular that u have to be living in a coffin not to know the series. I still havent seen flash forward yet..annoyed, any one can tell me if its anygood?

I'm so bored because I couldnt find any good "fantasy" books. Ended up with Conn Iggulden - World of the plains series since I really like his other "Emperor" series which I read few years back.
I hope this will be as good....

Nimy said...

Hi Guys,

@tvaddict,talk about KJH as momo was big news a few weeks back and am not pulling a fast one on you :)Am one of the few ones who think KJH was cast because of his immense popularity/looks as momo and not coz of acting chops unless he has improved by leaps & bound since his BOF days

Since I have not read the manga ,I have only Matsumoto Jun's version of momo to refer back.Am still ambivalent about his acting and more so about his looks(he looks like a monkey sometimes:),stone me fan girls!!) because I loved his acting in Kimi wa petto and the very very famous (i know,understatement!!) Hana yori dango ,but couldnt bother with any of his other works ,ZERO interest !!! so does he work better with well written roles or is just a fluke? Time will tell!

That said Hana Yori Dango deserves a retrospective from u having a cult following in Asia and having been adapted to almost languages, its a serious money maker!! would love to hear ur thoughts!!

I loved Interview with the vampire by Annie Rice,book is less about vampires and more of a monologue on existentialism,a classic ,which the types of twilight can never hope to achieve ! & to think I read the book nearly 10 yrs back :) and I have not read any of the sequels

and yes ,I think we can safely assume everybody has seen true blood :)though I have only caught a few eps here & there

Conn Iggulden & Suzanne Collins, 2 new writers to check out ..Guys , thanks for the suggestions ,I am a strong believer in references :)

@elisa ,u have fallen for the noonakillers ??:)u know they work at it ,right!!..awwww,I am no fun today :)..a deadbeat cynic !!!

nimy (when will this week end!!!!!)

elisa said...

HELLO!!!

@nimy

hahaha...no i didn't fall under shinee's spell. just loved their dance routine. i was a dancer for 8 years and although am older, i still do anything really. "Noona is so Pretty" had a great choreography so i was drawn to it. first saw it as a cartoon step by step version forwarded to me by a friend who knew i love to tinker with all kinds of dance moves. then got intrigued and made me wonder who were the original dancers and viola!!! met shinee! Minho reminds me of my teenage crush ... hehehehe... don't tell the hubby. he was really pretty, prettier than me and nothing much in between the ears hence the "just friends" relationship.

love anne rice too but TvADddict isn't a fan...i believe we touched on that topic months back. have you tried ann rice religious books yet? a complete 360degree from her original stories but you can still sense her in it. if you will, try Road to Cana first.

@TvADddict

I actually liked MJun's version of Hana Yori Dango most, although looks-wise, the other guys were way ahead of him but whenever he acts bratty, which is how the Tsukasa should be played...his acting came naturally compared to the others. Haven't seen the Pet thing although I find it kind of odd that a man would want to be treated like a pet. super perverted but then again, must see drama or read manga before making harsh judgements on the script.

so after we do our top 10 YAB, what do we watch next? have been trying to get favorite scenes from each episode...but sometimes i like 2-3 in an episode. so difficult to slash it down.

happy rebooting!!! thanks for the tip will not put Windows vista anymore and jump to W7. still have the 2004/05 version I think. Good to be slow sometimes

hear from you soon. will be busy the next few weeks too but will try to drop by as much as i can.

elisa

PS Yup, seen TrueBlood too. it is confirmed, TvADddict is stalked by vampires, werewolves...witch-lovers. the allure really of blood...hahahaha, or should it be mmmmmwhaahahahahah (evil sounding, like vincent price version of laugh)...ooops do you know who vincent price is ??? way, way, way, WAY...maybe you are still an ovum in your mom's ovary time.

Nimy said...

@ elisa, hahah you have a legit reason to ogle :)....just kidding:)

I have not read any other works of Annie Rice,not even the sequels to IWV ,so thanks for ref ……..Some times I'm possessed ,hunt down books of my favorite authors or authors of my favorite books and devour them(books ,not authors :).... .Then there are the ones you liked but forget till it pops up at the most unexpected places .. ..My remembrance of these books are tinged with nostalgic memories of where & when I read them .

I strongly recommend Kimi Wa Petto. Matsumato is a revelation.He is so comfortable as Momo (ie what he is called …btw the character does have a real name which I cant remember!) with none of the macho bullshit but nonetheless a man ....Strangely he is not a boytoy or a wimp but come across as worthy .Interestingly the underlying theme of the drama is momo's absolutely necessary presence in sumirechan's life but for me ,more importantly ,it was why momo choose to stay on when he really can be anywhere he wants ... it will /may strongly resonate with accomplished single women(who are obviously the target audience ,no doubt ).. …..

This brings me to all time fav Jdramas(am not too familiar with 90s dramas ,some are supposedly classics and have not watched some recent dramas like liar game )....have I missed any great ones here? if so ,plz ,I would love to watch them.........
1.Hana Yori Dango ...Do I need to say more
2.Nobuta wo produce…really well written ,very good acting by all leads
3.Kimi wa Petto
4.Hana Kimi - with the hilarious antics of ma boys , who cares about the main plot funniest craziest bunch I 've seen
Honorable mentions - Kami no Shizuku ( I loved the way wines were described )
Conclusions: shoujo manga adaptations work just fine for me :)

Vince Price ..u lost me..but bloodhound I am ,I did a background check on him and realised I may have see him in Edward Scissorhands ,which again I don't remember much except the weird makeup on Johnny Depp

Ladies ,I put forward my pet theory as to why we are attracted to these creatures of the night:our whole fascination with netherworld can be boiled down to one simple assumption : ….Sex with a vampire must be awesome :) ...............till they bite.....noboby knows ,nobody contradicts:)...

There are a lot of books that sell on that premise alone..I know I am simplifying/generalising too much but good fantasy reads are hard to find when you are a booksnob & is pressed for time !!!...

Quips aside,I immensely enjoy bestsellers /blockbusters ..infact I was a first day firstshow kinda girl .... but when u have ploughed thru a number of terribly written prose masquerading as 'a story' or sat thru much hyped billion $ summer movies (transformers 2,I am looking at u !!!! or pretentious indies giving me terrible headaches ,I lose it ! ...........People, go back to Creating writing class101 if raw talent falls short!.......So these days am heavily counting on refs for a painless evening ...Must be the reason why I am starting & dropping dramas in no time -Case in point :Iris -stopped at ep 3,tokyo dogs -ep 1 (am sure at some future dt I will marathon) .RANT OVER & OUT!

I do have a confession to make-I am enjoying 2 fillers :am watching' Shanghai Sweetheart-tdrama (lOVE sHOWLoVE) & Smile You-kdrama(the lead couple beat all drama leads in adorablecutecomicness:) ....