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Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Ladies Code shits all over your nugu faves
Out of all the nugu groups, these girls really have something special. That something special has a mysterious name long forgotten, it is called... talent.
Now, I don't mean to say that all idol groups completely lack talent of any sort. Certainly they have plenty of talent in being sexy or charming, a bit less have talent in dancing well, and most of them have at least one person who can sing. But how many groups have all talented members? Especially of the new groups?
I mean, I love A Pink, though they can't be considered new now, and with them I must admit only half of them can really sing worth shit. Their concern is singing well enough to not distract you from how lovely they are, because loveliness is their focus. Then you have really new groups like Bestie, who make for a fabulous time, and Uji is a fabulous singer, but Haeryung is worthless in that regard and Dahye is mostly just an idol-rapper with idol-passable singing. Full-package talent isn't their main offer.
That simple notion, one of an actually talented group offering the whole package, and making the whole package their main offer... Well, it just doesn't seem to be attempted much anymore. Ladies Code isn't just attempting it, they are doing it. Therefore, they shit all over your nugu favs, and even half of your older favs. This is a worthy group, like Sistar or Secret, except not copying either one. If anything they are more akin to a Wonder Girls 2.0 (as the general style WG ended up, not as the R&B they began with) but still their own thing, and more talented overall.
Anyway, I'm just saying to give them a chance. I think they are headed for good things and will offer a lot of good.
I like this song. I actually saw Wonder Girls' fans crapping on the video saying that they copied the concept from 'Nobody' and Girl's Generation's fans talking about how they copied the mannequin concept from 'Gee'. Overall, song is great, and I wouldn't have my ears explode from listening to it.
ReplyDeleteThey will naturally get defensive and lash out over superficial things (which the "originals" did not originate, but fuck if any kpop fans know because they were 12 when the big girl groups of today did them) when they see their favs getting outclassed.
DeleteThat's why you don't let kids use the Internet.
DeleteI remember when Spica debuted, with the notion that "omg every member is super talented", but it took them a while to consistently release decent/good songs.
ReplyDeleteI'm having the same problem with Ladies Code as I am with Spica. Yes, the members are talented, but at the end of the day, the actual song is what is important to me, and I have yet to actually get behind a song from Ladies Code, mainly because Ladies Code tends to have as much vocal masturbation in a song as Ailee does, which tends to bring LC's songs down a notch for me.
Bad Girl is pretty decent. the video sucks tho. their lives could easily take it's place as the official video. the choreo and vocals are sooo good. i haven't really been into any other track besides la da da, but even that's too slow/tame for me.
DeleteI like their songs. Though yeah Spica really is a big shame. Their predebut videos where they did R&B were sooo good, then they release... well, you've heard it.
DeleteI have liked every song from Ladies Code, but not to the extent that I like songs from GLAM, EXID, BESTie, etc. If they tone down the vocal runs a bit, I would probably be all over Ladies Code, as some of the members are pretty hot.
DeleteI agree..and honestly, Sojung's voice gives me a headache.
DeleteI agree with this.
DeleteVocal talent is a nice bonus but I think it's overrated when it comes to idol groups.
In terms of how much it affects my enjoyment of a particular group, I'd probably rank vocal talent behind looks, personality/likability, dancing ability, and promotion concept.
Even if I did really care about vocal talent, I don't see the point in having an entire group of vocalists.
I'd rather have the typical idol group combo where one member is a great singer, one is a good dancer, one is really hot, one is cute, one is funny, etc.
I thought this song was only average... a lot of k-pop groups right now are going for songs with exactly this feel and quite frankly it's getting a bit old.
ReplyDeleteThese are my exact thoughts... about your mom.
Deletehttp://i.minus.com/irnn3Htzsm7mW.gif
Don't talk about Boram like that.
DeleteAnd "talent" isn't a mysterious name long forgotten, if anything you can't get k-pop fans to shut up about it these days. Of course the purchasing choices of fans never really reflects the value of this so-called "talent" so as far as I'm concerned it's all talk.
ReplyDeleteI suppose you're right. They do know the name, and the name is all they know of it.
DeleteThat's true, mind you since when does "talent" only equate to "singing". Everyone's a self-proclaimed singing expert these days. I blame those crappy TV competition shows for deluding the general population into believing that they're all qualified music teachers.
DeleteYou're right about that one, although I think the backlash against good singing as a valuable thing is unwarranted. Singing talent can still bring additional dimensions of quality to a good song. Also, I am a singer and thus naturally tie my listening to my singing instincts. Because I know what it feels like, and have felt enjoyment from singing, listening to good singers is like a vicarious experience. If singing the lines of a song would be really boring, that can be okay if the song is still fun and you could dance to it, but if the whole point of the song is the lines being sung, it's hard for me to enjoy if the melody and associated vocal effort is lacking. It ends up feeling powerless and unemotional, and usually that is not what the song is going for. However, if a song has fun music and the engaging vocal expression on top, that is something I can get into. If the instrumentation is awesome, that is even better. Because of this, I can see how an instrumentalist who doesn't sing would have preferences weighted to the music, but I don't think these weights make it any less valuable as a potential dimension of a song.
DeleteWith all this in mind, I try to understand what people who don't do any music get from it and why they like what they do. I look at things I have no experience in practicing, like woodworking or something, and I see that what I enjoy is based on completely superficial things, whereas someone who actually does it may be really absorbed with stuff they recognize as being a challenge or fun in the making of the end product. Just like I may go "oooh, I like this one" about some fairly average or even shoddy woodwork based on however it appeals to me in my ignorance, I think a lot of people are probably doing the same with music, or dance performances, or pro skateboarding or whatever.
It's an interesting point of view. I'm chiefly an instrumentalist (I can sing but it's not what I teach), but I don't get anything at all out of watching very technically proficient guitar players. In fact I probably think they're even bigger wankers now than I did before I started playing guitar at a technically proficient level myself, getting really good at my instrument has actually decreased my appreciation for technique.
DeleteWell I didn't say technical proficiency was in itself the key to being good. It can actually make a song burdensome to sing rather than fun if it reaches beyond the natural energy and momentum of the song itself. However, the song having no energy to utilize and low-aim vocals is often super boring to me. I play instruments and find a song like, say, 4minute's Heart to Heart incredibly boring. Technical go-nowhere songs are like trying to pretend the subway is a roller-coaster ride. Exceptions to the rule do exist, but they are pretty rare in pop because they rely on more of a communal, participatory air than one of solely witnessed performance.
DeleteAnyway this Ladies Code song is really fun to me, in an odd unexpected association it reminds me of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fT2SnR-IZdo and other such sweet Sega music from the era. Though ultimately I probably appreciate the music style because I grew up going to a pentecostal church, haha.
Okay, that explains everything. :D
DeleteI love Ladies' Code, definitely my favorite nugu group. I don't think I like this one as much as Bad Girl. "Vocal Masturbation" as we call it in this site isn't always bad, as long as the song's composition is good. Ladies' Code has always had good composition and they've also been willing to show off their strong vocal range (especially with Sojung) so I'm super excited to see where they go at this point.
ReplyDeleteThe only time I groan at vocal masturbation is when it's the only thing a song has, just one singer trying to show off with the most boring noise of all time going on in the background. A singer's voice is just like *one* instrument, it can't be all a song has, just like how a song performed entirely on the flute is generally not that great.
*cough*hyorin*cough*
DeleteAlso, yes, I agree. There is a difference between out-of-place showboating and a composition that lets you have fun with your vocal range. I'm sure there is among the masses a good portion of people who can't/don't sing at all and won't get the difference, but if you do sing I think it is simple to know the difference between songs that are fun to sing and songs that just make you do a lot of work vocally without really being in a groove for it. I feel like Ladies Code has the former.
Deleteis this a wonder girls tribute?
ReplyDeleteYes, let's just continue pretending the 50s never happened, no matter how many people before Wonder Girls looked back to singers of the age, or how many groups after Wonder Girls have done it.
Delete^ of all the complaining I've been reading so far, the Wonder Girls"rip off" is the most annoying to me. This concept has literally nothing to do with Nobody and shit. However, conceptually, this is closer to Like Money than to Nobody.
Deletehttp://kpopkollective.com/2014/01/28/ethnicity-glamour-and-image-in-korean-popular-music/
Deleteuhh i meant no disrespect by asking if it was a wondergirls tribute. they are their seniors after all. moreover it IS the wondergirls anniversary this month and the song itself is called so WONDERFUL. to top it off, some of the choreo emulates that of the "nobody" video
DeleteFrankly I'm quite disapointed by this. Spica already snatched Ladies' Code's (aka. Sojung and the losers) weaves with You Don't Love Me and this just sounds like a Wonder Girls reject. And please, spare me the whinning about talent. I'd much rather listen to Crayon Pop's paper thin vocals singing any of their songs rather than the far more vocally able CSJH sing their vitually unlistinable discography.
ReplyDeleteTalent isn't pointless just because shit songs exist. That reasoning doesn't make any sense.
DeleteAs for whether you like the song or not and why, that's a different matter and I won't fight someone over it. If it's not for you it's not for you.
No, but I guess there is more to a group's talent as a gestalt than the talent of its members - namely the talent of the songwriters working behind the scenes. Simply having talented *singers* isn't really enough to make the group worthwhile, at least unless you're specifically into vocal technique. There are tons of vocally talented nugus out there anyway so this doesn't really set Ladies' Chode.apart from everyone else.
DeleteTons? We must be from different dimensions somehow, talking through a magical internet enigma.
DeleteKiss & Cry, Spica, The Seeya, Yellow, She'z, Rania, Mamamoo, Exid and Lush are all quite talented vocally (not that any of these or Ladies' Code themselves are nugus, precisely, except maybe Yellow).
Deletebut really, I wanted to argue more the point about their being a worthy group because of their vocal talent. Lots of terrific pop music has come out of people whose vocals wouldn't even be passable by k-pop standards, and lots of indifferent music comes from people with excellent technical skills.
DeletePersonality seems to play a lot into the success of Kpop groups. Whereas talent alone can carry American artists, it seems that because Korean idols go on variety shows, image is just as important as talent. I thought the same thing about Spica (WOW, every member is so talented), but aside from well sung "okay" songs, there wasn't much behind them personality wise for me to get into them.
ReplyDeleteI can say the same for Ladies Code. Very talented, but can they connect to your typical Kpop fan on the other levels as well? Back in the day, I didn't care about APink, and wasn't into the fairy tale concept that they do. After seeing members like Bomi, Chorong & Eunji exhibiting some engaging personality traits, I watched more and eventually came to appreciate some of their music.
A Pink really is skilled in being lovely. I would tell anyone who doesn't have many feelings about them to watch A Pink News and see if that changes. They are pretty great.
DeleteI became a fan of Ladies Code since their debut. As for the song, I think is just ok. It's not the most amazing song ever, but I am just glad they are releasing something "hearable" to stay relevant.
ReplyDeleteI like this song. It's "so so so so wonderful."
ReplyDeleteI like Ladies Code but they have something missing in which groups like SPICA, Kiss&Cry and Lip Service have down completely. .. Artistic Personae.
ReplyDeleteWhere SPICA has their's both in the group and individually, fellow nugu group Kiss&Cry already have a well built idea of what type of group they are what musical direction they are going in due to all 4 members having previous experience in the industry.
Ladies Code lack an identity as a group and individuals and need something unique to them to get them out of nugudom, sort of like how Girls Day switch to sexy concept and it worked for them or how SPICA has Hyori as their mentor.
*waits for Kiss&Cry to inevitably make major changes after their initial concept fails to gain market*
DeleteI like Ladies Code, Their songs are daebak but they lack personality.
ReplyDeleteI know Ashley from fiddle, she's hot !
ReplyDeleteSong's ok, MV has a cool style.
The only one that can actually sing in A Pink is Eunji the rest of them are below average. Ladies' Code mainly have average to below average singers, but Sojung has a great tone.
ReplyDeleteBut that tone can be ruined if she doesn't get her act together and keeps screeching high notes. There's only so much a voice can take from such tension and constriction. It's quite painful to listen to her sing in the fifth octave.
DeleteA-Pink is one of my favorite girl groups and yet I don't really give a shit about their music.
DeleteIf they all had Ladies Code singing talent, I would just consider it a small bonus.
LOL naeun couldn't sing to save her life. i'd still put it in her butt tho. man, that ass is lovely.
DeleteHonestly, all the girls of A-Pink have to do is look pretty, act cute, provide some humorous moments and be backed by some catchy song writers, and that's good enough for me.
DeleteDo I suppose to care about this bitches when stellar is out there showing some mayor ass also marionette is a better song the this shit
ReplyDeleteAnother horny fucker that drools over only the sexy concepts
DeleteI am forever indebted to you for introducing me to Crayon Pop with your "A debut you should actually give a chance" article back in mid-2012.
ReplyDeleteBut so far, I'm having a hard time getting excited about Ladies Code. Maybe I will warm up to them eventually.
BESTie is the only new group that I became a big fan of in the last year.
I like Bestie singing.
ReplyDeleteLadies Code pisses me off tbh, the main vocal sounds like lee hai ee and that's really fucking annoying I hate her voice. ;) im pressed.
Out of all the nugu groups, these girls really have something special. That something special has a mysterious name long forgotten, it is called... talent. Im literally LOL at that and all LC member have a great voice (even rise)
ReplyDeleteI find their recent releases better than this. 7/10
ReplyDeleteErm, i don't find this song wonderful but yeah whatevs. Sistar? worthy? LOL all that matters is sistar19 forever and ever amen.
ReplyDelete