[Misc] The Late Report: November 2020

Man, it seems like this year has gone by both really quickly and slowly at the same time. There's been...a lot going on. But we're not hear to talk about the whims of the world in 2020, we're here to chat about various stuff that happened in November. Unlike the average Thanksgiving plate, this edition won't be so stuffed.

More Of 1million

Ah, 1million. I remember attending KCON and attending their dance workshop and also being in their video during 2017. Good times. Anyway this crew has been pumping out content for a long while now and the quality continues to improve. This time with Soyeon and Miyeon joining them in studio. It's really unfortunate how awkward Miyeon is in her stage presence, as she pales poorly in comparison to Soyeon and all the other dancers. Yoojung is still impeccable, and her movements are easily the highlights of the video (even if her pants aren't...). Listening to this again reminds me that I wanted to review the whole album, but maybe I'll get to that in December.

[Review] CNBLUE - Between Us (Blitz)

Welp I've already failed the whole "write one Blitz per week" strategy but that doesn't mean I'm giving up. Anyway here's CNBLUE's newest release "Between Us." Right away I'm loving the song thanks to the combination of powerful instruments and Yonghwa's voice. This energy and intensity continues throughout the whole song with little to no stopping which is great. I'm always a fan of songs that can maintain tempo from start to finish - having too many jump cuts creates a disjointed sound (and we all know how I feel about those). Yonghwa probably isn't underrated but I think he deserves far more credit than what he usually gets, especially with bands not being common. The final stretch of "Between Us" is all sorts of wonderful. Unfortunately I'm predicting the word count for this piece to be less than the Twice one because there isn't too many interesting things going on in the MV. The whole thing is paired with a lot of black / dark backgrounds which doesn't allow for too much excitement. Other than various shots of the band rocking out and members on flip phones (LOL) there really is nothing going on. I almost didn't recognize Jonghyun, but I'm going to attribute that more to not seeing these guys in a long time than a drastic makeover or style change. "Between Us" makes me realize how much I've missed CNBLUE, and how much hope I have for other bands to keep going strong.

Word Count: 246

[Bonus] Best Of 2010

I may have been looking forward to the nostalgia trips of 2011 and 2010, but it never dawned on me how difficult ranking may have been. Forget that 2010 was a tough year - not only did it seem thin on hits, but of course, my memory isn't as efficient going that far back. Great songs were still found, so the list must be made. Either way, this is the last stop in the Best Of series, at least until December rolls around and I do the list for this year!

#12. G.NA - I'll Back Off So You Can Live
G.NA has been mostly a miss during her career - which is quite awkward to say, given her career is basically over or on indefinite hiatus at this point. However, her debut was what caught my attention for being a really pretty song that framed her voice nicely. This song was probably one of the best debuts for a soloist I didn't know about. Unfortunately, subsequent releases from G.NA failed to live up the expectations she set for herself with "I'll Back Off So You Can Live."

#11. 2AM - I Can't Let You Go Even If I Die
Korea loves ballads, and 2AM is one of the best at delivering them. They were the premier ballad idol group and their long history shows their pedigree. "I Can't Let You Go Even If I Die" is a lengthy title, but who cares? The voices of 2AM are beautiful and each member got to shine in their own way. This was the song that really stood out to me in terms of both their individual talent and working together with each other for harmonies.