literally 3k words about nothing at all
Apr. 23rd, 2024 12:36 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ittnseanyways it made me think about a lot of my old relationships with day6 and their members, which, like, if you were a day6 fan in the early days automatically means my relationship with jae and youngk/brian (used interchangeably in this post) because being an international english-speaking fan in those days basically meant that your favorite was one of those two, or maybe wonpil if you were more adventurous. thoughts under the cut because this is, like, 2amposting and also my first dw post, so like — if you expected any sort of formatting or structure beyond this there is none. sorry
i was literally talking about this on twt for a few days but listening to day6 songs i would literally ignore all of jae’s many numerous crimes and the fact that he sucks if he came back to day6 through some divine providence and started singing again just genuinely because i think he’s that good — not even on a technical level, because i definitely don’t think he’s the strongest or most stable singer or even guitar player (although i haven’t kept up w/his recent level of guitar playing, sungjin and young k have definitely improved with their respective skills to cope with his absence especially since he was the best out of them in day6 prev.) but he’s suchhh a good performer vocally and it’s so obvious in their live stages.
i know a myday (a couple mydays???) got jumped for talking about how jae “brought the life” or energy or whatever into day6 stages but i genuinely think that they shouldn’t have been because it’s true: i obviously don’t think day6 SUCKS or whatever without jae or that they don’t have energy, but jae brought in a very clear and obvious playfulness and showmanship that the day6 members lack without him. i know young k in particular has this habit of singing songs differently live every single time (different notes, adding in runs, flourishes, etc.) and the members groove (some more obviously than others) to the songs and bounce around and whatnot but you can clearly see the devolution of their stage performances and charisma w/jae leaving — like look at their picnic live compared to their current lives— jae calls out to the members and plays with the song and reacts in a way that i think day6 doesn’t have right now. they feel very restrained in comparison and studio-perfect? which i personally am not a fan of.
i also think that his way of playing with music live is a lot more unconventional than most of the other members’ with maybe the exception of young k, but a lot of young k’s adlibs have been a lot more textbook in the recent years, but that’s just a complaint i have with young k’s sound in general as someone who’s watched his radio stuff and listened to his solo stuff and everything — a lot of the stuff he released and made when day6 was on break seems like stuff to tide the fans over/make stuff that's received decently well rather than any, like, really raw, vulnerable music or even memorable music, because even tracks like “dance dance” or “you were beautiful” are clearly very marketable songs but hugely fun and recognizable in a way his solo stuff was not, which is not to say that i don’t like any of his solo stuff (i liked nothing but, for example) but that it didn’t resonate with me.
but back on jae — i also think his solo stuff sucks, not necessarily because it’s bad (though i think it is) but because it’s just not memorable and very mediocre to me, just generically pleasant sounding stuff. i see the direction that he was trying to go in post-day6 and i think he has a very solid, clear vision for what he wants his sound to be and his vision as an artist, but it kind of sucks. sorry. i do appreciate that there’s a lot more vulnerability in his songs, which is obviously his goal as an artist and singer: i know the whole dunking on kpop thing he did was not popular for obvious reasons, but i do *get* what he was getting at — arguing against the manufactured aspect of the industry — even if i don’t necessarily agree with the sentiment. ymmv. i also think that his message and the depth of his emotional investment in his music =/= good music.
when it actually comes to jae’s controversies i may be in the minority where i don’t think it’s that deep… though i don’t agree with or condone w/a lot of what he says. i think he’s formally apologized for most of the stuff — not all of it — and i grow uncomfortable with the idea that he has to be “punished” for what he’s said/done, especially since he’s been open about his problems with alcoholism and suicidal tendencies. i *do* think he’s ignorant, immature, and insensitive, especially wrt certain topics though he has improved substantially… but i think that’s an entirely different topic entirely. but moral judgements aside
i do have a lot of affection for jae that i think that a lot of people do not anymore which is understandable after his many many controversies etcka and i respect that… unfortunately i am just not one of those people. it really is a >the kpop guys you grow attached to in your teenage years will fuck you over forever< situation… ironically this did not happen to me w some other groups i was notoriously obsessed with at the time too (does anyone remember my bts or skz phases LOL)
stealing beloved friend’s phrase but anything i say about him is literally > my views don’t represent my views < because i feel whatever i say about him is both, like, fundamentally incorrect and also inherently true at the same time. i think when it comes to personality youngk was always my favorite; i was just inherently skewed towards jae because 1) he had the most english-speaking content and 2) jae’s voice was my favorite by MILES (i think i’ve singlehandedly generated at least half of the views on their 160428 radio put your records on cover).
obviously now that jae is GONE my attention has shifted wholly on youngk, which is 1) good because there’s like a youngk-issance going on in south korea right now and 2) bad because i hate the new youngk concept they’ve decided to go with i haaaate the — i don’t even know what to call it? the kind of dandy concept for him which i GET is only a concept insofar as, like, anything is a concept; i know everyone in kpop fandom cycles through the oh everything is real > everything is manufactured pipeline but i genuinely think what makes a good, consistent, and what makes a company concept is something that is real but just real *enough* — not wholly authentic but a mirrored facet of the truth? not to try to be pretentiously poetic.
i think it’s obvious that so much of it comes from his obvious personality traits — insanely hard worker to the point of being, like, overzealous (that “yes man” concept where he does everything he’s asked immediately, like in his one top audition bit), the sincere/earnest/well-mannered way of putting things diplomatically (especially important in a group like day6, where obviously they have SUNGJIN but their most eloquent member is obviously youngk — jae was definitely the more chatty/comedic/variety-esque pick but his korean wasn’t as strong and he wasn’t as conscientious), or his way of getting along with others that i think we can just condense as popularity.
he never really struck me as a guy who necessarily had *charisma* in like the idol sense — a lack of “x factor” or star power off-stage, i guess you would put it? and what comes through very clearly with his current image is that exact thing: that he’s not the smoothest, suavest guy out there, not the best conversationalist or wittiest, funniest guy, but he’s just plainly and obviously likable; he’s easy to like, wants to give a good impression of himself to others, and delivers on these two counts so consistently that it’s obvious why he has tons of friends and is well-connected. and it’s not that i dislike this part of his concept, but i do wish that a lot of his previous day6 persona in their earlier days — like hunt, blood, etcetera — showed up more in their music like it did in “home alone”. give me back playful6 !! groovy6 !!
i also think that his current hair looks terrible and that it was way better when it was floppy (like 160724 styling). his current makeup + outfits also aren’t really my style… i think the beige suits don’t look good on him and that they should stay w/black suits and let him keep the edgier details of his outfits (like his piercings, especially with his ear moles) on and give him “sexier” makeup… i know it doesn’t really fit his clean-cut, mannerly image right now but the sort of gap moe between his chic looks and his actual earnest personality is what attracts fans, i think, though it probably wouldn’t be popular in variety aimed towards larger audiences. i also think that sort of grungier look works with most of their songs and their concept generally speaking as a band??? a lot of people say that this is the result of them growing/maturing/post-army era and i don’t deny this is true but i’m not a fan of it…
and to add onto that i think it’s also pretty obvious that young k has a vested interest in looking “cool” — like, inherently, though obviously the definition of that changed over time. (take for example the whole conversation he had about how he practiced smiling because he realized that to survive in the industry he needed to look more loveable or wtv…) and that the kdrama boyfriend outfits aren’t really that — i mean, this is a guy who literally uses a long bass strap instead of a short one because he thinks it “looks cool” even though it makes it harder for him to play. of course the bad boy concept doesn’t suit him completely (his consummate need to have people think well of him is palpable whenever you meet him, plus his lyricist sensitivity/the fact that he only looks cool when he’s actively not trying to be cool) but dressing him up like a typical band bassist wouldn’t hurt pleaseeee i’m literally begging you… DID YOU NOT WANT HIM TO HAVE THIS CONCEPT IN THE START? that’s literally the reason why they kicked him out of guitar to bass and made sungjin learn it even though he knew guitar already when jae took lead guitar position…
was talking to oomf also and they mentioned that day6 is kind of boring when it comes to meta/personality content which made me kind of ctfu because it’s true… (i mean they don’t even have a member chemistry on their namuwiki !!!) which is not to say that as people they’re boring or whatever but their personalities are very straightforward/played as-is … which is of course what every idol group tries to sell you but i am inclined to believe it in the case of day6 because 1) people usually do not make a celeb’s concept “boring guy” [which is NOT the same thing as guy-next-door] and 2) whenever i watch day6 on variety i’m like wow…you guys are really bad at this. they are just not intentionally funny/good at acting/and that’s OKAY…
which just brings me to the point that same oomf mentioned that i have a love for guys who are tryhards which is true… but in the context of day6 specifically youngk and being “boring” i think it’s easy to straightforwardly like youngk for his personality because he’s very results-oriented, and how he measures the results is through us, the audience… so it’s very easy to like him because he caters himself towards the preferences of others. which isn’t to say that he’s necessarily “manipulative” or “faking it”: but it’s like what he was talking about in his interviews before, where he goes:
Young K: I've stopped consciously practicing smiling since I haven't heard anyone being intimidated recently. Fortunately, I've had many opportunities to naturally smile. But yes, I still consider how others perceive me and interpret my words. It’s not about my own insecurity, but rather about listeners' comfort.
and
Young K: Different me, me with the addition of time. My voice has changed — how I think of it as growth — so the results are likely different. As producer Jisang Hong told me, continuous growth is crucial. If that’s not possible, at least strive for meaningful changes. I've dedicated effort to my musical growth, yet the ultimate assessment rests with the listeners.
like he’s just that guy. it doesn’t feel manufactured because it’s very direct, i think… he changes his actions to mirror the person he wants to be, but if you keep on acting like the person you want to be, at some point you stop *acting* like them and you just are that person. you know? i think a common complaint wrt that is that he comes off as very closed-off beyond a certain point, like, it’s hard to know what he’s thinking? because obviously yes, he’s a very good-natured and easygoing person, but to the point that it’s hard to know what he’s thinking; i mean, just watch him with yoo jaesuk or talking to joo woojae in his turtlenecks and charmingly sincere maknae-ness. you would not think that this is the guy who wrote hunt (though you could say the same about wonpil) or i need somebody.
& i think a lot of people say that fans aren’t owed anything from an idol or a celebrity, that they’re not owed vulnerability or truth or anything like that. and i think in a lot of ways that’s true. but i also think that any type of art — any type of good art — is revealing. it exposes something about the artist and the way they think… which is why art can be so personal and moving, and why their music can resonate so deeply with each other. like, you don’t make music so it can just go unused and quiet forever: isn’t the part of the point of singing to be heard too? and it’s natural, i think, to want that connection — to want to know more of someone. i do not care about young k’s personal life though to be clear LMAO but i am curious about his, like, emotions? his interiority? his inner state? something like that.
i like welcome to the show. i also think it sounds like a ost reject from “the greatest showman” but that’s just MY OPINION… i think it does exactly what it needs to do and that you can really feel the influences from young k’s festival performances in the show which is what inspired it after all: that type of song that you can sing and get people hyped with at a festival and live stage like best part / our page / etcetera… i’m not in love with their current sound (inclusive of subunit and solo activities) compared to the daydream/moonrise/sunrise era but i like all of the songs that they released fine…
i was talking to a friend and we agreed that we need kangbra to get his heart broken or something or go through a deeply tumultuous relationship because that hunt/love me or leave me/warning/i need somebody energy just neeeeeds to return to day6 to me… really want fun, funky romance or crippling loneliness to their sound back, even if it isn’t gp-friendly. i did like sad ending off of the new comeback though so LOL more of that please…
jaehyungparkian
i was literally going to put this whole thing about jaehyungparkian (dynamics not romantix) in here but on second thought no one needs to read about my meta and also this whole thing was getting too long to be in here anyway. and i do think most of it is — like, too late to be relevant? but i do have a lot of thoughts about them regardless, some of which i’ve talked about to friends and some not. but. you know.
young k (again) ft. sungjin
i think it’s funny how sungjin is known as the control freak in day6 when you would by appearance think it’s young k (because he involves himself in basically every aspect of day6). like, radio? he’s there. promoting day6? he’s there. magazines, interviews, youtube, production (lyrics, melody, arrangement, etc.)? he’s there. and i think it’s interesting because it’s not that i don’t think young k can’t delegate (he can) or that he doesn’t trust the other members (he does) but if he feels like he can be doing more, he’s just not going to wait for other people to do it or ask them to do it, he’s just going to do it. w/jae gone there was an obvious lack of day6 promotion and although the other members picked it up a bit (dowoon and sungjin youtube activities, for ex.) young k really stepped up and filled that void.
which i guess just circles back to the fact that i love tryhards. this quote in particular makes me LOL.
Young K: To my younger self I would say, "You think you're doing your best, right? Do more. Prepare more. More is coming." But to everyone else, I would say, "Give your best, but always remember to stay healthy. That means both physically and mentally. Always take care of yourself, look at yourself, and make sure you know how you are feeling.
