[Bonus] The Late Report: October 2019

With this, a full year of Late Reports have been filed. I can safely say that I like this series' inclusion on the blog: it helps take any pressure off having to write multiple reviews frequently, is clean and easy to format and write, and is super resourceful when it comes to Best Of 20XX and any compilation posts. Very glad I decided to do something like this. Here's what caught my eyes and ears during the month of October.

Tiffany - Run For Your Life

It's been a hot minute since I paid attention to what the non-Taeyeon girls of SNSD are up to. Tiffany strikes fear into the hearts of fans with this freaky MV. Halloween came early with these music video because she's got some curious outfits and styling present in "Run For Your Life." Those distorted leg shots are unsettling to say the least. Everything visual appears inspired by the works of a young Lady Gaga, and so does some of the sound. In particular, the way the autotune (or whatever mixing is involved) and her pronunciation of "glitter" is what reminds of Gaga's older material.

[Bonus] Best Of B-Sides IV: Season 9 Pilot

Prepare for a return to forgotten (or simply old) series as Season 9 gets underway. Today we'll have a new installment to the Best Of B-Sides with a small collection of picks. Let's jump right in.

KARD - Trust Me

Both versions are gold, but I linked the J.Seph / Jiwoo version because having the drums in the background driving the song is nicer. And there's J.Seph, whose verse is really fucking good. The English verse that BM delivers is solid - arguably his best performance yet - but there's no denying J.Seph's mastery here. Jiwoo and Somin continue to be consistent in their vocals and Jiwoo's unique voice gives her the edge. This is a beautiful double version that gives any others like it a run for their money.

[Review] Monsta X - Newton (Blitz)

With five other Blitz pieces under my belt, I'm going to set my word limit to 250 for all Blitzes moving forward. Including that first sentence, so moving on! Monsta X slightly take up the mantle of releasing a summer jam for Starship with Sistar's departure. "Newton" is more on the softer side despite making me think of Cam Newton (who is anything but). The instrumental is powerful and drives the song without being overbearing. But the chorus is muddy as the backing sounds and vocals mix. I don't listen to much Monsta X, so I can't tell if it's the instrumental being too loud or the members voices being too soft, but during the chorus it's difficult to listen to. Shownu in particular is soft-spoken from what I saw on Running Man so that doesn't help. Anyway, I.M continues to impress between his technique and his voice. Since none of their vocalists seem standout, he'll be a huge reason behind Monsta X and their successes. On the other hand Jooheon is more of a miss than hit, though he does remind of Zico - still a long ways to go. "Newton" stays at one pace throughout the whole song, and the only thing that really changes is the instrumental. It's still a solid release (albeit not very memorable) and definitely one of the best Lipton advertisements ever.

Word Count: 228