Well that's fucking weird Pt3: Lilili Yabbay and My I

There are many strange Kpop tunes out there, but none are quite as surrealistically strange and otherwordly as Lilili Yabbay and My I by SEVENTEEN. Besides sounding like lamentations by sci fi ghosts from across time and space, they're paired with modern dance pieces that also feel somewhat disturbing.

Before we go on, a word about SEVENTEEN. SEVENTEEN, first of all, has, bafflingly, 13 members. They are what is commonly referred to in Kpop circles as a "self-producing group", meaning that they often write, compose, produce, and choreograph their own pieces. Apparently it's good that they're good at it because otherwise their company would have jettisoned them ages ago.

Anyways, SEVENTEEN makes some very interesting music in general. The production and composition is interesting, and the choreographies are intricate (and sometimes exhausting to watch, tbh). 

But My I and Lilili Yabbay are, to be blunt, weird as fuck. The vocals on Lilili Yabbay are distorted. The singing on My I sounds like it belongs at a funeral. And both together feel like Sunday nights in winter: cold and claustrophobic with a hint of dread and death.

And I love both of these are their apocalyptic feelings — possibly because I grew up in the 1980s when everything was apocalyptic.

Anyways.

Let's first consider My I, which has a really pretty dark/light pair choreography where both dancers are tied together



The video for Lilili Yabbay is… weird. Are they The Four Muses? Are they ghosts? Are they the angels of death? For some reason this video reminds me of the end of On The Beach. Then again, almost everything reminds me of the ending of On The Beach. This is why I walk around in a constant state of existential dread





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Infidelity Playlist

Image
There is a playlist I have always wanted to make but never had time to curate: The Infidelity Playlist. I have so many songs in my Spotify library about infidelity that I feel I could probably run a radio show about them. But instead I'll just write this blog entry for my favourite songs about infidelity from this past decade, starting with my very but very favouritest song, Fucking Around on You. Oh the glory of this tune! It's unclear whether the protagonist is actually cheating or is just getting off on some people they follow on Instagram. I figure that whomever they're fantasizing about is not of the same gender as their current partner. I'm guessing that the protagonist can no longer open up Instagram on public transit because their feed is full of lounging half-naked sweaty bodies. Or fan art. Or furries. Either way, let's crank it up and give it a listen! Please note that the video is not safe for work or public transit. And now for something sli...
Read more

Bookending the decade with Brown Eyed Girls

Image
I wasn't aware Brown Eyed Girls's Abracadabra (released in 2010) until 2014 or 2015, but because Brown Eyed Girls, like Shinee, were active at the beginning and the end of the decade, you can use the as a lesson in the evolution of Kpop of sorts. The video for Abracadabra was sent to me in the middle of a slow workday by a coworker who was also very bored. The video is definitely NSFW, so you can deduce from this that the job wasn't a particularly, how shall we say, high rent one. No, really, it was a pretty boring job in a small office in a business park. You could get very bored very fast there, and at some point half the office started watching Kdramas and listening to Kpop and discussing makeup. I know that about 50% of my time was spent making playlists. Anyways, back to Abracadabra.  It slaps. Hard. It's a sexy, energetic pop song that's heavy on the synth. The singers sound badass even without the video. I have no idea what they're saying ...
Read more

Waking Light: The one Beck song I listened to all decade

Image
I don't think anyone is reading this. Or at most a handful of people are. As such, here is a nice, personal story about Waking Light and why it's the only Beck song I listened to this past decade. Most of my current friends have only come into my life since the turn of the millennium. For reasons I won't go into, most of my friends from the past millennium are gone.  Out of the handful of friends that date back past 2000, I only see one semi-regularly.  One summer night in 2014 I think, I met her at a Persian restaurant for late supper. We shared our plates like we always did when we were together alone. We shared dessert. We talked about our lives. She told me who she was dating. I told her he didn't sound much better than the guy she had just divorced.  The night was warm, and only slightly humid, with a cool breeze. We walked on the street for a bit after we had supper. Then we said our goodbyes, promising to see each other next week but knowing we pr...
Read more