SuperM(슈퍼엠) - 1st Mini Album Thoughts(Kpop)

    SuperM is a South Korean idol boyband that consist of members from other SM Entertainment groups such as NCT 127, SHINee, and EXO. The groups debut album was released in America under Capital Records and debuted at number one on the Billboard Charts before slipping to number 11 the next week. South Korea also gave the band success for their first week sales until the album slipped to position #103. SuperM is the first Korean act to place at number one with their debut album in America.

Track List:
01. Jopping *Title
02. I Can’t Stand the Rain
03. 2 Fast
04. Super Car
05. No Manners
06. Jopping (Instrumental)
07. I Can’t Stand the Rain (Instrumental)



      Alright then… I'm not sure where I want to start first with this group. I've got a lot of thoughts my head and I want to make sure that I communicate these thoughts in the best way possible. First of all, SuperM was introduced using a whole bunch of teasers to promote. Really this wasn't needed because most of the buyers of SuperM's CD were already fans on said so member from the other groups. Their concept was an Avengers concept that's a little childish in my opinion. I mean… you could make the concept more mature but SM did no such thing. We all saw that music video that looked like a sequel to an older Exo music video. Are those long introductions necessary? Jopping was a song that I wanted to like based on the sole fact that I knew I would buy an album to support if I ran across a copy in America.(which I did obviously.) Still, I ran straight for the hills after hearing Jopping for the first time. I didn't make it through the whole song after hearing the chorus. Parts leading up to the chorus actually had me hopeful. A blend of techno hip hop that feels confident as the guys rap on top of the beat. Mark is a king in his parts of the song and it's a damn shame that he went so hard just for this song to be another flop in the trash can. The chorus destroys the whole song, its weird loud electronica sound and misplaced edits on the guy's vocals make you wonder if the producer was high on weed when he thought this was a good song to debut in the USA. I Can't Stand The Rain can be digested a little better than Jopping. Maybe using this sing as the title would have been a better choice. Not that this song is a masterpiece or anything. It's just a bit more rememberable with some of the relaxed tones in the arrangement. 2 Fast was the second and last song on this Mini Album that I "kinda" liked. I wanted a solid rap song with Mark going off but settled for this dance pop hip hop number that would be the perfect song for me to learn English. They repeat the same phrase long enough. Mark really needs to have a solo where he can shine by himself….. No wait, Looking at this album and NCT 127's songs….. I would want Mark to release music outside of SM Entertainment. SuperM's debut was more of the same old wrapped in a new packaging. Same over used sound that a long time Korean music listener has heard many times before. SM doesn't even have the craft to make old formulas interesting for the American Market. Lord, NCT 127's Good Morning America appearance traumatized me to no end. That Clap Your Hands song was an embarrassment.

    I got something else to say about SuperM's number one Billboard Chart position. SuperM is made up of very hard working guys. I would never take that away from any of them. So, what I'm about to say isn't really directed toward SuperM as a group. I'm addressing SM Entertainment and Capital Records for the scheme they used to CHEAT their way up to a number one spot on the Billboard Charts. Especially when the position should have gone to new artist, Summer Walker, who had more streams than SuperM and an overall bigger reception in American. None is saying that SuperM doesn't deserve a number one album in the west based on how hard they work to please their fans however, Their debut album's material wasn't worthy of #1 in my opinion. Let me also say that I have no bias between Summer Walker and SuperM either. I'm actually not a fan of Walker, to me she sounds like a lesser version of H.E.R which isn't appealing at all. That still doesn't change the fact that this girl was set for a number one spot before SM and Capital decided to create every bundle there is to sell SuperM's album. There was even a "pay later" option that was counted toward the charts. We as music consumers and music artists need to accept that doing bundles is apart of the music business to sell albums now. I don't mind this but when a group has sixty different bundles, don't you think that's a bit much? Summer Walker had a bundle too. Just not sixty different ones….. SM pulled a real fast one and made SuperM look bad to non Kpop fans as a result. If I was them, I wouldn't be too happy the way I got that number one placement. Maybe SM kept their dirty tactics from them. Some People will do anything to save face. Yes, SM entertainment tried to break into America years ago with BoA partly under Inerscope Records and failed.(I know because I bought her English album all those years ago.) Yes, They used the member from each group's fandoms to get a quick pay check that Capital Records also had their hand in. Y'all fell for it big time too while not realizing that you helped steal a chart placement from a black girl who doesn't have a big record company behind her. She had to work for every Stream that she has. SM Entertainment grants their artists immediate fame just for being with the label.. Even thought South Korea wasn't really here from SuperM after a week and NCT 127 has yet to crack into a stable Korean fanbase. BTS Army can actually talk smack right about now because BTS got to the top of the Billboard Charts on pure sales without any bundles. SM claim that the bundles were Capital Records's idea. I call BS on that. SM knew what was going on and I don't believe that SuperM didn't care what chart position they got. Those boys cared, most artists care so everyone involved can have a stadium full of seats. It was wrong how Summer Walker got cheated out of her number 1 and that SuperM's label had to cheat to get them there. What's the most saddest thing of all of is that this didn't gain SuperM new fans outside of Kpop fans nor did they earn any respect from the American music industry. I thought that one of the biggest reasons to bring a foreign artist to America was to introduce them to the the American public so that non Kpop fans can become fans of the artist. SuperM didn't create a connection with the American public like BTS did. Well, at least Baekhyun showed America his big vocal range on Ellen…….

    I wouldn't recommend SuperM to anyone unless you're a mindless Kpop fan girl who likes everything your bias puts out good or bad.. This group just exists to say SM put out a group in the west that got number one on the Billboard Chart. I listened to an album by Melomance right after SuperM's and was shocked at how much better that album was.

   

Convenience Store Women(コンビニ人間) Japanese Novel Thoughts

   Convenience Store Women is Japanese Author Sayaka Murata's tenth novel and her third novel to be translated into English. You would of thought that this was her first novel seeing all the praise she received for the 176 page book. She won the Akutagawa Grand Prize(A literary award where the winner receives one million yen and a Pocket Watch.) in 2019. Murata has been say to work part time at a convenience store herself which inspired the novel.

   Keiko Furukura has been working at a Convenience Store since she was in university. She doesn't look at life the same way as others in society and always concerned others around her for being a strange child. This is her story of how she fights to live in the society of Japan where you are forced to conform to the normal stages of live as a women.




    Convenience Store Women opens as the pages describe to the reader Keiko's background as a child. Her story might be very tongue and cheek for the reader. I found her story kinda of fun then very strange as I read on. You could describe the character as more of an Alien living in a world that doesn't understand her. Its not so much that the character doesn't understand the world around her. instead, she has a warped mindset of how things should work. Because Keiko doesn't have the ability to connect to emotions that normal people would, she tries to mimic the people around her in order to fit in with everyone else. The way Murata choose to describe Keiko taking on the voices and mannerisms of each person she works with in the convenience store freaked me out a little bit. This character basically took on the role of each person around her as a mixed up personality of her own. I would go as far to call her a mimicking Alien who didn't have much of a normal personality as you stripped all the personalities she collected away. I did however like how the convenience store made Keiko more humane since she cared so much about the well being of the store itself. There's also a big spike in conflict she runs into towards the end of the book dealing with society pressure to be what some Japanese people feel was a normal way to live. Women have more pressure placed on them than men in Japanese culture but Murata created a character that was a black sheep signalizing change in how women can take control of their own lives no matter what anyone has to say. She makes a last minute decision at the end of  Convenience Store Women that drives the nail deep in the coffin of "normal ideas" to realize where her happiness truly lies. My favorite part of Keiko's character was when she was hit by the cold harsh reality that the people she worked with weren't as invested into the convenience store as she was. Or how quick those people turned on her when she became the topic of the gossip in the store. Yep. Some people seem to get along well with you until you realize they might have been laughing and talking about you behind your back. That's how life is sometimes. Let those people just talk though…. Don't always be willing to entertain them. Not everyone is worth addressing.

   You get a very detailed look at what it's like to work at a Convenience Store in Japan. Story wise, I found myself wanting to keep learning more so I kept turning the pages. Murata sets up an atmosphere in her writing easily repainted in the mind of the reader. You see through the text how the employees set up the store and how early they must began before the store opens. I can't forget the training of mannerisms used when engaging with a customer. Japanese life breaths in the actions of the people involved in the store to the point that I could feel the presence of customers coming into the store through the automatic doors as they swung open, letting people in.

   I would a hundred percent recommend Convenience Store Women to people who are interested in novels from East Asia like I am. Readers who want a new look into Japanese culture will also enjoy this novel. At only 176 pages, This will be a quick and sweet read depending of how fast you finish books.

I Don't Like Mondays - Future Album Thoughts(J-Rock)

   These boys named their band I Don't Like Mondays because they thought having a full sentence as the band name would make an impact. They're signed to Rhythm Zone who's name is most of the time stamped all over Exile's sub group's music videos. (Generations From Exile Etc.) All the guys write their own songs, direct their own music videos, and do fashion on the side(I mean their lead singer has the looks to be a model in Japan… Just saying.). Future is the band's newest album release.

1. FUTURE (Introduction) (0:40)
2. DIAMOND (4:20)
3. Do Ya? (3:40)
4. Up to U (3:55)
5. Zero Gravity (4:17)
6. LEMONADE (3:49)
7. AITAI (3:20)
8. A GIRL IN THE CITY (3:44)
9. PLEASE (3:56)
10. CALL ME (4:19)
11. TONIGHT (4:14)
12. TRY FOR YOU (4:36)
13. 0:01 (Interlude) (0:35)
14. FANCY GIRL (3:44)
15. FIRE (3:37)

   Future felt like a more well thought out album tracks wise than their last album, thus the whole product was more solid to me. I liked how the songs had me dancing from the end of the album's intro to the very last song. They're style is funk rock normally but this album has a mainstream pop feel mixed in that made their overall sound updated. I liked their older stuff that I ran across on Youtube. Their songs didn't hook me like this album did though. Catchy pop soul jam are more the style that fits them as FUTURE groves around the rhythm then jumps off stages to into the crowd at a rock show. It really is such a fun album. What was even better about this album is that you see how I Don't Like Mondays has transitioned into a crowd pleaser. I wasn't expecting an album that was so enthusiastic about making me enjoy what I was hearing. Maybe I Like Mondays will continue to be innovative musically. I'm totally here for that.

    I Don't Like Mondays has always sounded like an Asian American band. Solely due to the fact that the lead singer gives off a "been out of Japan" kind of vibe. Also, most of the band's songs are in Japanese and English. I want to say he sings in English without any accent….. However that doesn't mean anything looking at Japan's history of Rock singers over the past decade. Look at Taka from One Ok Rock, Roy from The Bawdies, or Model Actress Singer, Anna Tsuchiya from a decade ago(What happened to her anyway?) All these Japanese singers sing in English without an accent and were all born in Japan. Their front man's vocals are like many before them, American and Japanese but the key to standing out will be more focused on how their musical style differs compared to other Japanese bands out now. Not many Bands in Japan are doing the Funk Rock thing a mainstream level. I can only think of two bands off the top of my head and I Don't Like Mondays doesn't sound like either one of them.

   Future is highly recommended to people who are new to I Don't Like Mondays. You can also go back and give their older music a try. It's good in it's own "past" kind of way.

Tag-Along: The Devil Fish(人面魚: 紅衣小女孩外傳) Chinese Film Thoughts

     Tag-Along: The Devil Fish is a 2018 film directed by David Chung and is the third film in the Tag-Along series. Veteran actress Vivian Hsu stars in the film alongside Cheng Jen Shuo. Creators said that they wanted to make another film based on Chinese folklore outside of "The Girl In Red". So they came up with an adaptation of The Devil Fish.



   Tales say that the face of a dead person appears on the body of a fish as a person starts to eat it. This face soon haunts the person, appearing in the form of their loved ones who have passed away until finally possessing the host. A family and Priest blessed with the power of a god known as Master Tiger experience the haunting.

   I became a bit fearful to watch The Devil Fish after seeing so many bad reviews of the film online. More good than bad came up in my search but I enjoyed the first two films even if some people don't have the best things to say. Tag-Along: The Devil Fish isn't an award winning film by any means. This film felt to me mostly geared toward fans of the first two films. A viewer could enjoy Devil Fish as a stand alone film. I wouldn't recommend watching this film first though. Everything interesting about what happens has to do with the connection between the first two films. More so the second film than the first since Devil fish was set before the second film and after the first film. People who have seen the first two films get a background story that goes deeper into the history of one the characters in Tag Long 2. What is relieved will have you saying "Ah. I see why this character was shaped the way that he was." Kai's background story was more interesting than the second story involving the son and mother. I've seen some stupid characters in horror films. Still, the characters in the second story take the cake. Who keeps messing with something that you know is possessed by an evil spirit? Then brings the fish home like a normal pet. That haunting that boy brought to his family's front door could have been avoided big time. the film does connect the two stories several times, only really making the origin of Kai the most interesting viewing experience. I wouldn't call Devil Fish a scary time either. It's more eire than scary. The jump scares are easy to predict if you're used to the typical Horror film formula. This doesn't stop the story from being an interesting one however. Especially how the writers so easily turn horror into fantasy in the matter of a scene. Master Tiger's appearance in the second film also caused this transition which I thought was cool. Tag-Along: The Devil Fish hits all the right spots for the fanbase it was made for.

    I thought the value of family the acting presents in the film was golden. The little boy who played the younger Kai stole the show in EVERY scene he was in. I felt his smart mind even as a child. The whole cast was good enough to get the job done but the stand out performances were Kai and his Father. His Father gave the viewers a lot of insight on how the Power of Master Tiger works. Their relationship was so cute as well.

   Devil Fish's cinematography uses a lot of scenery to set the tone. Cites in the dark of night or forest covered in fog shown in a far away shot serves as a setting for all the lingers in the night. Some of those places needed to learn what lights were…. Let me all say that the special effects weren't as bad as some people will lead you to believe. No, the effects are not Hollywood standard but they were good for what Taiwan could do.

   I recommend Tag-Long: The Devil Fish as a part of the Tag-Along films to watch together.  The story is good as a side story in my opinion. I would even take another film if the script is clever.

12 Suicidal Teens(十二人の死にたい子どもたち) Japanese Film Thoughts

   12 Suicidal Teens is a film that was released this year. I happened to run across the film's promotional poster online and it seemed like a thrill that I would want to watch. I'm a huge fan of thrillers/horror within reason. The film was directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi while being written by Tow Ubukata. Originally the theme of the scripted was created by Yutaka Kuramochi who wrote the novel of the same name which was released in 2016. A whole cast of young actors/actresses take on the roles of the teens with some of the most well know among them being Mahiro Takasugi, Kanna Hashimoto, and Takumi Kitamura.(From the band Dish//)



   Twelve teenagers decide to met up in a place they found online to kill themselves. As the come to the building that will be used to do the deed, they find that strange things have began happening around them. This makes on sense to the teens as they are the only people who should know about this place. What makes matters worse is that a thirteenth person has made an appearance unannounced. He is given the name zero because his presence was on played but how did he get there?

   I'm not going to beat around the bush. I was very disappointed when I watched 12 Suicidal Teens. My initial reaction was excitement when I watched the trailer after seeing the movie's poster. Most of the film revolves around a mystery that could have been solved in the first half and hour. Instead the film decided to drag this mystery out for pretty much the whole duration of the film. Viewers get a plot that thinks we're stupid. It's not that hard to guess the answer to the mystery. You have your guesses but you can only have so many before you stumble on the real answer. You'll most likely get there before the film does too. When the film does start revealing answers to questions you didn't ask, nothing about the reveal really adds up to much. The characters spend most of the film discussing the mystery of who the other person was who came into their little "Suicide Club". Why does it even matter? This extra person doesn't spoil your plans nor is he going to stop you from killing yourselves as far as I could see. I did enjoy the lingering doubt that the extra person might have been a killer but the film screws that idea up. Mostly you get a bunch of teens fighting among each other like they're in a high school club meeting after school let out. Some time during the film, the characters explore around the building. Nothing really happens here though, outside of the characters explaining why they decided to take their lives. I'll have no problem saying that the characters are the best part of 12 Suicidal Teens. Even if you might feel like you could have gotten to know each one a little bit more. The script would have done better going for a more raw approach then what was shown in the final result. I took the reasons for the character's actions seriously but I didn't believe that they wanted to go through with committing actual suicide. A person who has made up in their mind that they want to exit this world will not let anything get in their way. There's a message in the film that could be meaningful to some more than others. I completely understood what was being conveyed by the film's ending. It's just that the film overall was such a flimsy package that the core inside it felt generic to me.

   12 Suicidal Teens would have been turned off after the first twenty minutes had it not been for the cast. Every single person did an amazing job setting the stage of the story. Sadly, You can't set the stage when you only have the outline of one. Everyone would end up falling right through the ground as soon as they stepped on the ground. A lot of the scenes where they were talking around the table was boring. Many of the characters's backstories made up for all the stalling though. I didn't mind the little mystery on the side either. If only they film had tried to up the suspense action bit. Then this film would have been more interesting.

   I wish I hadn't wasted my money on the DVD. I'll probably watch this again to find other things I might like about this film that I missed the first time around. Let's hope I find more reasons to not chuck this DVD in the trashcan….. DON'T BE FOOLED BY THE TRAILER.

 

Evan Yo(蔡旻佑) - Metamorphosis(变心记) Album Thoughts(Mandopop)

   I'm about two months too late but I got around to listening to some Mandopop music that might have slipped passed me over the last few months. Evan Yo was one of those artists. This singer has been around since he was fourteen years old and has released six albums. Metamorphosis is his newest release after a four year absence. He is deemed by some as the second coming of veteran singer Jay Chou because of both singers's similarities in musical talents. Evan Yo majored in the Violin  and can play other instruments just like Chou. He also won Best New Artist in 2007.

Tracklist：
1.        装〈intro〉 01:45
2.        装 05:45
3.        变心记 03:42
4.        天真的蝎 03:26
5.        独占 04:38
6.        伞 03:25
7.        伎俩feat.艾怡良 04:09
8.        谁不想太多 04:45
9.        同一片风景 03:43
10.       过站不停 03:40
11.       Never Look Back 04:44




   I was a tiny bit weary of Evan's new music when I saw that he had another album. His last album only provided me with one track that I actually liked. The rest of the album was a jumbled mess of incomplete ideas that might of worked had Yo taken more time to make them consistent. Metamorphosis could've given me the same quality content served on a plate, which I wasn't ready for. Evan is an artist that is very multi dimensional when it comes to his music. So You never know what kind of mood or genres of music you will get when listening to an Evan Yo album. His been this way for the many years that I have followed his music. Metamorphosis was really just that: a evaluation of change from his last album into a stronger musical artist. The main styles of music this album focuses on are Classical, Rock, Pop, and Ballad. He also takes a try at doing the swing style that music people in Taiwan are used to hearing from Jay Chou. This sounds like a more perfected version of the tracks Jay has left, only with a different take on vocals. I'm not made at him to be honest. Some of his choices to mix classical music with almost every production of each track was genius in my opinion. Yo is showing that he has more room to grow and that he's constantly growing. The slow pop/ classic songs really take the charm of this album home. There such an emotional maturity to the producing on this album as a whole that you try to take all the small details in when you listen. From the hard beat drops to the violin intro rock anthems that I love Evan Yo for, He seems to be getting into the groove in preparation to keep experimental artistry going in Taiwan after the greats such as Wang Lee Hom and Jay Chou decide to finally call it quits.(I hope that's not anytime soon…. That news would really be the end of an era..)

   Evan Yo's voice always had the sound of youth in it's quality. Even though he has gotten older, there's still a bright energy when he sings. I need to add that his vocal range grew over the past few years too. I'm glad that he came back more experienced than before.

    I enjoyed Metamorphosis as a full album more than his last album. Evan Yo is one of those artists that I can tell will be around for a long time. Dude really is a super talented piece to Taiwan's pop music scene.