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Battle of the B-Sides:: CL (2NE1): MTBD (Mental Breakdown) (멘붕)

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    I had this one started over a year ago and then realized the bad timing, and decided to delay it a little bit because it would have been posted during Ramadan and would have been one of the most insensitive things I could have done due to the chanted bits of the Quran which have been removed (there was one concert in 2016 where the unedited version was the one used and CL apologized, corrected the mistake by ordering that all copies of the unedited version destroyed, and that's that) . Which is why it got sent to the pile for me to forget about. I remembered about it during Ramadan again this year, which frustrated me and made me laugh because I needed to remember it during literally any other month of the year. Which is why I'm doing it now so that I don't forget about it again. I did find a version of it online that apparently is the unedited version, but we're not going to use that one. In case you were unaware, CL is the leader of the recently reformed girl grou...
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Song Reviews: Kim Jaejoong (TVXQ!/JYJ/JK): OASIS {Japanese}

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Release date: 2026 May 27 Album tracklist: OASIS Album runtime: 4 minutes  He also released an OST recently, but while I'm not positive about if that's an OST or not (if I can get caught up, I'll do it) but I know I didn't do this one. So, I'm going to rectify that. Obviously. Since you're reading this. = I really should dig into his discography a bit more to see how often rock shows up. This one has a pretty sick guitar solo there, near the end, and for most of the rest of the song, it almost has a little bit of a science fiction vibe to it. It's a little bit techno in spots, but in general, it's got an earnestness to it where it goesn't quite demand attention so much as stand in the center of the room and allow others to notice it. His voice however does not. The earnestness is strong in his voice, as his vibrato is and his vibrato is loud an din charge. There's also a softness here that I really appreciate. He's really got such a nice voic...
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Song Review:: izna: SET THE TEMPO- METRONOME

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Release date: 2026 June 08 Album tracklist:  METRONOME ; R.I.P; INFINITY; ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS; LEAN ONE Album runtime: 14 minutes  I could be more disappointed by the runtime for this album, but the title track is nearly three minutes long, so I'll accept the others. Would I prefer the other songs to also be three minutes or longer? Yes, but the title track is the important one, and if I can only have one song be the right length, then I want it to be the title track. It's got kind of that underwater synth that I so enjoy underneath a trap beat. I think. I am mildly disappointed that we didn't get an actual metronome during the song because that would have been thematically appropriate. Really dropped the ball there, and I don't care how on the nose it would have been. The instrumental gets a bit cyberpunk grungy during the dance break, whose existence I also appreciate. It's got quite a bit that it's doing, which I enjoy. I'm not overly fond of how synthe...
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Greatest Hits:: TWICE: One Spark

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 This was actually the first TWICE song I liked, and I wouldn't have heard it if it hadn't been for a cupsleeve event where I live. And I figured I probably should listen to some of the songs before I went. I listened to three or four that didn't really spark my interest, pun absolutely intended, and then this one played. And I went "Oh? Okay. I've got my song." I've had a bee in my bonnet about this song for a couple of months now, ever since I saw a video compilation on YouTube about the person's worst songs from 2024. No, I will not be sharing it. Think of this as in the classic tradition of scholars responding to each other by writing their own disagreement papers, like during the Enlightenment. And also Cope and Marsh, the two paleontologists who engaged in the Bone War back in the 1800s, but a lot less vitriolic than that. No smear campaigns and no dynamite will be used. There were at least three other songs on there that also sent me into a bit ...
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Song Review:: MEOVV: BITE NOW- DDI RO RI

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Release date: 2026 June 01 Album tracklist: Hit 'Em, DDI RO RI , In my hands, Favorite Song, Revenge Album runtime: 15 minutes It's amazing. I was stuck on the writing, changed the medium (studies have shown that handwriting is really good for your brain in general and specifically your memory), and boom. Writer's Block has been defeated for the moment. Anyway, as I was writing the reviews for both I.O.I and NMIXX, this music video was part of my "Watch Next" recommendations on YouTube. Since it was so eager, I'll do it next. We are still on Underage Protocol because the manager, Ella, was fifteen at debut, but she does turn eighteen at the end of this year, so they're close to coming off the list so I can go dig into their choreography like I did with NewJeans. I am three seconds into this song and I had to pause it. It's going to take a lot to put this song not on the playlist. Three seconds. That is a fantastic use of a sample. Is that right? Look ,...
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Song Review:: I.O.I: I.O.I : LOOP- Suddenly

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Release date: 2026 May 19 Album tracklist: IOI (Where My Girls At); Suddenly ; SPF 100+ (Summer Pop Fantasy); IF I; Then, Now and Forever; Goodbye With A Smile (Recorded in 2016) (Prod.Jinyoung) Album runtime: 20 minutes  Congrats on the music show even though this is super late! I also hear this may have gotten an All Kill? Congrats for that as well. And the quality of this survival show group had so many of them end up in other groups, including the two who did not participate in the reunion and comeback. I like how pleasant this is. It's remarkably Stranger Things in terms of the instrumental, but only because it's got a bit of that 80s techno flavoring rather than it being a full dish of it, like a curry potato salad rather than a bowl of curry, if that makes sense. There's a softness to the song in some places, especially there near the end, that is quite suitable for a reunion song, and I love that there's an entire section where it's just a guitar for the ins...
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Song Review:: NMIXX: Heavy Serenade- Heavy Serenade

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Release date: 2026 May 11 Album tracklist: Crescendo , Heavy Serenade , IDERSERVEIT, Different Girl, Superior, LOUD Album runtime: 16 minutes  Wow, I could have sworn that I'd done this one. Whoops. I've also been forced to go back to writing these on paper first and then typing them up because my brain is struggling with writing anything. For a song called "Heavy Serenade", this instrumental isn't very heavy. It's got moments where the guitar is certainly active and quite grindy, but for the most part, there's a softer, floaty echo quality to the song that reminds me a bit quicksand. It's funny. This reminds me both of A Fleeting Dream from Final Fantasy X and also the sound of the Reapers from Mass Effect . It's not a combination I thought I would be hearing.  They really have such pretty voices. Also, the mix feels a bit off, like the instrumental is really overpowering compared to the vocals, especially at the end. The same sort of floaty qua...
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