(♔) STE 013

(♔) STE 013

Bane mask - don't think I didn't see that nerd reference : P Mostly videos because that's all I'm doing, fandom-wise

  • Video: MINE (Jaejoong)
  • Video: The Lizzie Bennet Diaries
  • Video: On and On (VIXX)
  • Video: New York Ballet: Pointe Shoes

VIDEO: MINE (Jaejoong)

As much as I was looking forward to the release of Jaejoong's MV, the actions of the fandom in response to this Seoulbeats article and Patricia's response to it has been disheartening. I haven't always agreed with Patricia's opinions, but the extremely personal attacks and assumptions made about the author by some people in the JYJ are ridiculously unnecessary and unwarranted.

But that's material for a longer post in the future. Watch this space.

  • Speaking as someone who was GIFing and making edits the moment she had the video, the cinematographer was a little too annoyingly blur-happy at times

  • I'm glad Jaejoong went full out visual-kei-ish with the styling and eye makeup. No point doing things by halves if he's choosing to go the route

  • The only thing I really didn't like in the song was the REALLY REALLY ABRUPT silence when Jaejoong's running at the birds. The transition was an utter needlescratch loss of momentum because there was basically no transition 

  • The song is solid and I like the piano elements, but it's not really setting my emotions on fire or really feeling like what I normally associate with 'rock'. The backing instrumentals felt like they should have been louder and more 'overwhelming' - there were moments where Jaejoong's voice seemed really bare, as much as he was singing his heart out

  • The styling and sets, for the most part, was interesting and well done. Was hoping for more of a storyline, but direction and general 'feel' of the MV was basically Tarantallegra. I would have liked a common theme running through it all to make the concept more cohesive

  • Obligatory OT5 sigh at the TVfXQ tattoo flash of his back

  • My least favourite styling would definitely be the vampire at the end...fangs, clothes and haircut were not flattering. The wings moved better than I was expecting but was still awkward at times

VIDEO: The Lizzie Bennet Diaries 

Yeah so a friend linked me to this on Twitter a couple of days ago and...I am now...up to date...on the 80th episode ._.

For any Pride & Prejudice and new media geeks out there, this web series is essentially an adaptation for the modern day. Love the use of social media, especially in fleshing out Lydia's character. Surprisingly, many of the characters are a lot more loveable than the book version. Also, THEY ARE ALL GORGEOUS (and the Bennet sisters look surprisingly related, especially Jane and Lizzie)

Each video is a very watchable 3-4 minutes (just don't marathon it like I did...or try not to). I find pretty much all of the actors quite charming and fairly natural, despite some awkward acting/script moments (Darcy is...painfully awkward most of the time, but I think that's just keeping consistent with the source material).

It's a little hard to keep on top of all the different updates on the different channels but there's a list on the website that I recommend.

And this is also a perfect summation of the last week in fandom (spoilers!)

VIDEO: On and On (VIXX)

M recommended this song to me so I thought I'd give it a try. I haven't attempted to learn about any new K-Pop groups since...EXO, really, and that wasn't even by choice because half my Tumblr dash who I followed for the TVXQ became EXO fans. Point being: I am 100% out of the loop with general K-Pop fandom so I'm going into this completely blind

  • The song starts out really well - sharp, on-point and 'aggressive'/confident - and sort of fades out towards the end. I appreciate there is melody in the chorus, instead of repetition of the same note 

    • I didn't get the 'story'...the opening with the gorgeous (all white) female commanders was interesting and then suddenly they were on a spaceship and there were some really cheap-looking special effects (spaceship, the 'planet' they landed on) and then they just danced and some girl was tied to a tree or something...?

      • The dance was solid, except the chorus which was basically a WTF moment if there ever was one. Are they shaking their hips against an imaginary person?? 

        • The styling really hurt them. I appreciated the toned-down suits and sensible clothes but whoever did their eyeshadow needs to be fired and the contacts looked cheap/fake. They also didn't need to stick bling on their faces

          • They have a really cool logo. Props for that. I also liked the glow-in-the-dark glasses. 

          VIDEO: New York Ballet: Pointe Shoes  

          Well shot and informative short documentary about pointe shoes. I quit ballet for art, right before we got to pointe shoes and that's something I always feel a little sorry about. There are a few other shorts that I just found - on tutus and pas de deux.

          As much as there are so many well-publicised problems behind ballet and pretty much every creative/performance industry, beautiful videos like these make you realise why people pursue it in the first place.