2023 Reviews

 As things get more filled up, this page will get more filled up. But right now, this large page for one little link is because of organization and consistency.

April

20230417 NCT DoJaeJung "Perfume"

August

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Song Review:: Super Junior: Super Junior 25- Express Mode

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Release date: 2025 July 8 Album tracklist: Express Mode , Haircut, Air, Delight, I Know, Say Less, D.N.A, Finale, Stuck With You Album runtime: 28 minutes  Average runtime of over three minutes, which is aided by the four minute song, but there are only two that are under three minutes. This is all good. Congrats on your almost 20th anniversary, SuJu! The fun thing about this group is that the group and me almost share a birthday. Just as a fun fact, The Incredibles movie is almost exactly one year older than the group.  The introduction of this song is one of the funniest things I've heard in a while. Oh, my gosh. I thought I'd accidentally hit a radio somehow.  Ah, we've got a skittering beat. Good stuff. I'm a little amused that for what I'm assuming is their 20th anniversary album, they went more hip-hop than they normally go, but you know what? The second gen groups adapting to the times is a good sign. They are keeping it in the family, though, because it...
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Song Review:: KickFlip: Flip It, Kick It- Umm Great {Pre-Debut}

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 Well, friends, as this is a new debut (or near enough), I need to take a look at the ages and verify that what I heard was correct. And it was! The maknae, Donghyeon, turns eighteen in a couple of months, so if I like the sound, I can like the group. Four of the seven were contestants on Loud , which also produced TNX (THE NEW SIX) back in 2021, including the maknae, so I'm honestly grateful that they took so long to debut because Donghyeon would have have been fourteen. Three more years of training? I have tentatively high hopes for the group, as well as the fact that a lot of other people (including my Stay friend whose judgement I trust) are talking about this song. She actually brought the song up just as I was sitting down to write this after I finished reading my book. They'll be officially debuting later this month on the 20th. So, let's see what the buzz is about. I'll add the info when the debut happens, and I link everything.  The runtime. Why. Ooh, we've...
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Song Review:: NEXZ: Beat-Boxer- I'm Him {Pre-Release}

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Release date: 2025 October 27 Album tracklist: Legacy,  Beat-Boxer , I'm Him , Co-Star, Next To Me Album runtime: 14 minutes  There are a whole lot of pre-releases that have all dropped at the same time, belonging to albums that are not all dropping on the same day. Fascinating. Also, that means that you all have lots to look forward to. Happily, the maknae is eighteen as of a couple of weeks ago. Happy birthday, Yuki! Also, this album looks like it's going to be longer than the last one I covered, so I am very happy about that one. Title track is questionably short, but this one is within acceptable limits. My only question here is if that sound at the beginning of the music video is in the actual audio track or not. If it's not, I'm sad. The general thing the instrumental is doing is interesting, and I kinda vibe with it because there are textures to the song and I really like that. However, the opening sound? I was catapulted back to childhood with the similarity to ...
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Song Review:: ALL(H)OURS: SMOKE POINT- Graffiti {Pre-Release}

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Release date: 2025 February 04 Album tracklist: Smoke Point,  Graffiti ,  GIMME GIMME , Kings & Queens, Freaky Fresh Album runtime: 12 minutes  I am aware that this group exists. I know they're a fairly recent boy group, but have no idea their company, the number of members, or debut year, and I do have two of their songs in one of my playlists, but they're my Junk Drawer playlist and haven't gotten to them yet. Ah! Seven member group under Eden Entertainment (which is now sort of a subsidiary of JYPE, I think?) that just had their one year anniversary. And because they're a recent debut, I have to check the ages, but they pass! As of December, they're all eighteen or older. So, if I like the song, I can add it to the playlists! Nice! This song has a lot going on. I don't know why I'm getting strong tropical vibes with clanging metal, which sounds a little like an oxymoron as the associations with clanging metal are more industrial and the ones with jung...
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Greatest Hits:: Hyo (Girls' Generation): Sober

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Song Review:: Ken (VIXX): PUZZLE- 신아브로 (Gradually)

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Release date: 2024 December 26 Album tracklist: 신아브로 (Gradually) , Bye My Only Universe, We Are Forever, Make Me Strong, Dear Little Star Album runtime: 18 minutes  I don't normally include the Korean titles because it's inconvenient for me when I'm on the computer but given that this one has no English lyrics at all, it feels disingenuous to have the English title only. The timing is also hilarious for me given that I just covered both a VIXX song as well as a remake of one of Ken's songs. The alignment of the stars brings me a little bit of joy, and I'm glad for it to have happened. It's cute. I'm patiently waiting to see when VIXX puts out a new album, but in the meantime, I'm happy to see what the members do individually.  I accidentally left the whole album on and wandered away from the device. But I have to say that there are some songs on here where he is flexing a phenomenal voice, and wow . Also, take a look at that runtime. Yes.  There are enou...
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Battle of the B-Sides: 9Muses: Miss Agent

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 Someone looked at one of my posts using a Linux operating system in the last week. Wow. My eyebrows are raised and I'm a little bit delighted by that. Hello, Linux user. I don't know if you'll see this, but I'm giving you a thumbs up. Hello, everyone else! Welcome, Champions! I know I'm wildly behind with the plan for September, given that it's almost halfway through and I'm only now getting to those posts, so I'll have to move one of my planned August posts to November and one of my originally planned September songs to December. You will get that first gen song this year. September is going to be reserved for the smaller groups. We had big moments in August, and now we're going to get a little bit of a quieter month with smaller groups. Well, metaphorically because this was a nine-member group. Mostly. Sort of. Hence the name. Kind of what it says on the tin. 9MUSES debuted in 2010 under Star Empire as a nine-member group. Again, hence the name. T...
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Greatest Hits:: BIGBANG: Sober

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 Happy anniversary, BIGBANG!! I am so late with this, but I was not going to skip this because it's the big 2-0 and I would have to make an entire other post to talk about why BIGBANG requires acknowledgement as one of the biggest playmakers in shaping what K-Pop became. I find it amusingly fitting that their company was founded by a member of the boy group generally acknowledged to be the first K-Pop group: SeoTaiji and Boys. Also, fun fact, I went to a cupsleeve event yesterday (as of writing this paragraph) for their anniversary and I really liked that they included TOP in the design, even if he was on one side and the three current members were on the other. Some related bookkeeping first though. There is a prison-striped elephant in the room with this group. If you are OT5 for this group, you may want to skip this post. If I acknowledge him, it will be with begrudging frustration and a curled lip, and only if I have no choice. I'd be lying if I said his immoral choices and...
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Song Review:: VVS: AFTER HOURS- BOTTLE$

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Release date: 2026 August 19 Album tracklist: MIXIN' THANGS - FLW$ Version, V.V.$, $TAY THE NIGHT - FLW$ Version ,  A$K, BOTTLE$ - FLW$ Version, COUNT IT UP, DA$H, Y.O.U,  BOTTLE$ , MIXIN' THANGS, VAMO$, $TAY THE NIGHT Album runtime: 16 minutes  Well, this is an interesting development with this group. They're now independent, which is curious enough, but they're independent with their former CEO serving as their creative director and main producer. That part has me raising my eyebrows and tilting my head. Curious. Very curious. On top of that, one of the members has left the group. She's the main vocalist of the group, so that's a blow to the others and they'll have to step up. I'm fully supportive of the decision to leave as she decided she didn't like the idol lifestyle with the training and the hours well-enough to stay, which is completely fair. I applaud her for realizing it fairly early and bowing out. And we're on Underage Protocol until ...
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Song Review:: ILLIT: I'LL LIKE YOU- Cherish (My Love)

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Release date: 2024 October 21 Album tracklist: I'll Like You, Cherish (My Love) , IYKYK (If You Know You Know), Pimple, Tick-Tack Album runtime: 12 minutes  I'm pretty vocal on my stance on minors in K-Pop. The fact that they're not allowed to stay for the end of year award shows seems to be pretty good evidence that they really shouldn't be working in groups like this anyway; at least, not yet. But until enough people can say "stop exploiting the children," nothing is going to change. In the case of ILLIT, yes, their maknae turned sixteen this year, much like Dino of Seventeen when they debuted. But, also like Seventeen, the group as a whole gets to squeak by in my books on a technicality: she didn't turn sixteen after they debuted (which means she turns seventeen in their first year, which is tolerable though not ideal), and at least half of the group was already fully eighteen or older at debut. I'm also not going to bother rehashing any of the dram...
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