Big Bang - "Alive"

Taking off from my review of "Blue", "Alive" in it's entirety is exactly what I was saying last week -- the album challenges our existing idea of what the "Big Bang sound" is, and it makes us think. I was looking through people's comments of the EP, and a recurring theme is that it sounds far too pop, that they've abandoned their R&B beginnings. However, this isn't an album you can just listen to at a glance and say "okay, these synths sound like Big Bang, and this chord progression sounds like something from their previous albums" -- no, you can't just end it at the technical elements. You have to take those elements both individually and as a collective, and in as many combinations as you can think of. Just like what I said when I reviewed "Blue", you have to be in the right state of mind to both appreciate and understand this album. It will only make sense if you think about the music in relation to all the other factors this album was put out to.

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Big Bang - "Blue"

I've always been quite neutral towards Big Bang. While there have been those moments of pure and utter adoration for their material, and while I completely respect them and see them as extremely talented and more than worthy of their success, I wouldn't follow them to the ends of the earth. I'm in between adoring and hating them as a whole -- I have my likes and dislikes, but neither of them really overpower the other. Technically they're spot-on, but at the end of the day everything boils down to taste. And so does "Blue". I'm not head-over-heels for it, but I see the beauty in the song.

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Miss A - "Touch"

I guess you can say I have somewhat a love-hate relationship with Miss A, because they tend to only get certain things right at one given time, and the closest they've gotten to a really solid, well-done and well-executed, release was "Goodbye Baby", but almost half of "A Class" was sub-par. JYP, and Miss A, always find a way to get something wrong. During their debut they were always out of breath during performances, "Breathe" was interesting, to say the least, and like I said, "A Class" was all over the place.

And so is "Touch".

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Ailee - "Heaven"

Before the review, of course I have to talk about Whitney Houston. How can I not. I don't have any sentimental stories or whatnot about her or her music like a lot of other people, and I'll admit that I didn't listen to her as a kid as much as other people do/did, but I have immense respect for her. Immeasurable respect. So many people have attempted to pull her songs off, and only a handful, or even less, have pulled it off. There is no one like Whitney Houston. May she rest in peace, and may she continue to serve as both an example and and inspiration to younger singers and musicians.

Honestly, I've been paying next to no attention to all the new acts that've come out so far, but one, I'm glad I watched Dream High 2, and two, I'm glad I bothered to look Ailee up. Because I'd never hear the end of it from myself if I missed Ailee.

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The Wonder Girls Movie: Wait, that was a movie?

When I first heard that there was going to be a Wonder Girls movie, I was excited because I thought it would be something like the Spice Girls movie, or the S Club (7) TV show. And to a certain extent it was, what with the main storyline being the Wonder Girls trying to succeed in the US. It's unrealistic, yes, seeing as one, it's extremely hard to succeed in one try, and two, the Wonder Girls have been in the US for YEARS, but to a certain extent, that kind of mindless plot appeals to people like me. Lit majors who argue over the difference between an era and a period, and who generally think too much about "simple" things, because movies like this are mindless fun, eye-candy, and maybe have the occasional pretty song in between.

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Se7en - "2ND MINI ALBUM"

Yes! I'm typing! :D I'm feeling a lot better now, so I guess I can go ahead and cheat my way into writing a review, seeing as I don't really get all my points across when I do vlogs. And besides, I wrote three papers last week, and my hand is still alive. I think? That and I'm going through yet another "identity crisis", so to say, and more than anything I need to assure myself that I still actually have the brain to write for myself.

But enough of all my drama.

I won't lie and give off the impression that I was sane and all intellectual when I first listened to this EP, because within the first ten seconds I totally lost it. As in everything. After the first song I was freaking out and screaming in my head, and by the end of the EP I was reduced to ash. For those who haven't heard the EP yet, yes, it's that good. So after you read this review, go listen to it. And it's not just because of that stunning JYP song, which we'll get to in a while. It's a good EP because while it sounds current, fresh, and very 2012, the focus of this release is to create classics. Staples. Songs that, anywhere from three to five years later, will be covered to death.

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