five favorite kpop songs – tagged by Justin ( aiki-do ) who is basically one of my favorite people of all time, ever.
rule 1: write down your 5 utmost favorite kpop songs ever. the songs that you can listen to for the rest of your life and not get tired of. the songs that never get skipped on shuffle. the songs that make you hardcore jam to.
rule 2: tag your followers, friends, people you follow, anyone! :)
1. Alone - Infinite H This song just recently re-caught my interest or, rather, I forgot it existed for a while until just last week or so when I was dicking around on Youtube and stumbled upon it again. Honestly, it was that feeling of being reacquainted with something you missed and didn’t know you needed until it was there again. I’m really comfortable with laid-back, simplistic instrumentals that feature piano or anything that I can really get grounded into, and that’s probably the Jazz fanatic in me popping up, but not only that, it really features both Dongwoo and Hoya’s lyrical/vocal talents on a more emotional and raw level imo. Not that their other songs lack those aspects, but that I just think this song has an approach that showcases it with a specific intimacy that’s unique, stripped of heavy bass and driving synth; it’s sort of just the two of them, a piano and some steady rhythm, which I’d like to think is a good representation of these two as a sub-unit. They’re not flashy or loud, but the emotional substance they both put into their music transcends the desire for those details. Needless to say, I do believe it’s one of the more overlooked songs of Infinite H and I’d love for it to receive more love and recognition.
2. Yanghwa Bridge - Zion.T When this first came out I’m pretty sure I cried the first couple of rounds of listening to it because it was just such a heartfelt song that you could instantly tell was something he created to honor personal subjects and I always have a soft spot for when artists write things for themselves and not for the fans or the ratings because that’s what I personally think music should be all about; filling a void and expressing things you otherwise couldn’t say. I’m not necessarily saying that this is the case though since I don’t have the knowledge to confirm nor deny that the song’s intentions were similar to what I perceived, but I appreciate the song for at least giving me that sense of individuality and for making me stop and appreciate the hand I’ve been given, the people I’ve let into my life. It’s truly a piece by Zion.T that will always be one of my favorites.
3. Good Morning - Verbal Jint I hold this song really close, not only because it’s melodically and lyrically beautiful in a sense that it portrays and successfully relays that giddy feeling you get whenever you feel like you’re falling in love, when everything is beautiful and exciting, but because this song came into my life when I wasn’t doing very well. I remember watching it performed live at the AMF concert and I had to discreetly try and wipe my face because it felt like a ton of weight fell off of my shoulders that night and I couldn’t remember the last time I had been that happy. Now whenever I hear this song I pick my head up a little higher because tomorrow is another day and the burdens I’m facing now will eventually fade. The most I can do is take care of myself and be the best I can be with what time I have.
4. Be The Light - Block B Honestly, being a BBC, I cannot stress how much this song means to me and any sort of elaboration couldn’t possibly do justice to the profundity and impact it has had on us and still does as a fandom.
5. Bolero - DBSK I think I really had to debate hard on this one because I was aiming for a song that has stuck with me for as long as I’ve been a fan of the genre and I ultimately chose this one for a multitude of reasons that I’m not sure how to coherently address without probably noting what is already considered an unspoken consensus across the community. On another note ( oh look I made a pun ), for those of you who haven’t listened to much of DBSK’s older pieces, this song holds many characteristics of which were frequently correlated to the group such as beautiful harmonization and powerful vocal performance. Not to mention, the waltz feel only adds to the build up of the song itself and it flourishes into something both musically satisfying and artfully constructed.
It’s 3 AM here so I’m not sure if my rambling makes any sense, but if anything, I enjoyed the chance to share some music.
Tagging: ceozhang, koroshiyas, deusexomatoki, mitchaf, katackat and yong-goon
