Soooo....this happened last week. I watched the two videos he dropped from the LP, Coup D' Etat and Crooked, both equally wonderful, yet very different songs. Netizens are spending loads of time trying to over analyze both videos. (Fangirl: Omg! Is Oppa okay? I worry for his health!!) I can't help, but shake my head in amusement. Not that I don't think there are messages there, I just think you guys are going a little off the deep end trying to make it fit the fanfiction you have created in your heads. Chill Jill!
Right now I think Crooked is my favorite song off the LP. (Downloaded Part 1 and 2 from ITunes first thing Tuesday morning. Support your artists folks! Good art, deserves our dimes!) In the video, he has that punker, self destructive attitude, which if you know my punk rock roots, you know really appeals to me. (Not that you didn't already have a special place in my heart already Kwon Jiyong, but rocking that Sex Pistols tee cemented your place there!) The upbeat tempo greatly contrasts with the dark lyrics. The video is a perfect depiction of a down hill plunge of someone that has momentarily gone off the rails. It happens to most of us, guys. Whether it be a break up or a failure, we have all had those nights/days/weeks/years, where we just pushed to see what pushed back, because we hurt damnit!!!
This video resonates with me, not because this is how I feel now, but because that has been me. I WAS the dickhead that pushed, overindulged and was just a complete utter fucktard. I'm not going to try to analyze the personal meaning he is presenting in this video, but I know what it represents to ME. And isn't that what music is supposed to do? Be a vehicle that you identify within a personal way, with your own personal interpretation?
I appreciate how GD continues to grow, musically and artistically. I find myself anticipating each reinvention he undergoes. The songs are as eclectic, as the video visuals are complex. Sure the album has several standard, but great pop tunes. He's no dummy, he has to give that loving nod to his faithful Kpop fans, who have carried him to this point. There are also some interesting hiphop tunes, a soaring rock anthem, ballads, grooving retro dance tunes, a dancehall/pop/dubstep hybrid that has become my earworm of the day. Seriously, I can't find a single song I dislike.
Some of these tunes may not be received very well by his traditional fans. I would like to think as fans we support his growth, but that is not often the case. Fan culture is an odd and sometime stagnate creature. Nevertheless, I really hope GD continues this path of exploration. I can't help, but believe this will be the stepping stones for new fans to discover and appreciate his work.
I've been a fan for several years and I enjoyed most of his music. Not every song, but generally like his body of work as a whole. What I can say, in all honesty...and this isn't just the fangirl in me talking... I fucking love this LP! To me, it's like he's just slinging out his musical paint brush just to see what comes out on several different canvases. Looking at them individually, they don't seem to go together, but if you put them up together and step back a little, you can see the bigger picture of the series. From where I'm looking, it's a very appealing, fresh vision, one that I'm definitely hanging on my wall. Namaste.
No comments:
Post a Comment