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Sly and Brian

It's tempting to say they received the gift of creating music from the angels. That's not the case. They made that music all themselves. They worked at it, struggled to get it right; just right, as they interpreted "just right." They worked with others. They worked alone. They got it wrong. They swore. They fell down. They got up. They won and they failed. And they won again.

They both were visited by demons. They fought them. Sometimes they lost. Sometimes they won. They did a lot of falling down and getting back up again. And when they could, they went back to making that music.

And the angels were just a little shocked; just a little jealous. A little glad the music had come into being.

I hope they're somewhere, exchanging notes about how they made some celestial bangers even before they got there.

Watch on YouTube

(Don't mind the spotty visual - it's live and it's dynamic, and it's him and his family, so it's just right.)

Watch on YouTube

Current Mood: sad
Current Location: the home office

For the ~~Millions~~ ~~Thousands~~ ~~Hundreds~~ ~~Dozens~~ ~~Handful~~ of My Fans

I finally decided I might as well put this piece of RPF-adjacent fic up here. Alert the press.

Also, I'm putting the MV here (under a cut, I'm not subjecting folks to it if they don't want to see it), so that if you do want to read it, you have the MV there as proof of what sparked this ~~ridiculousness~~ creativity.

( Watch )

With that handled, here's the story, under its very own cut.

Fandom: Stray Kids, Stray Kids "Escape" MV

Words: 1,826 per AO3

*** *** *** *** ***

( Read more... )

Current Mood: amused
Current Location: the home office
Current Music: Ateez "Wonderland"

Because of Course I Am. Obsessed. WHAT??!?

I've been listening to the four latest music videos from Stray Kids. The eight of them paired up (just like in school! When you had to pick someone to do the project with!) and gifted us Stays with four amazing pieces of music and video.

While I'm not going to go on at embarrassing length about all four, I do have to say that the fourth one, "Cinema," performed by two of the sweetest-voiced members, Seungmin and Lee Know, caught me completely by surprise at how deep it burrowed into my ears and my heart.

Just as its title suggests, the video is very cinematic. It tells a story, one that science fiction lover me immediately grabbed, stuffed into my brain and started writing back story for. As a one-time chick singer in a monumentally unsuccessful band, and as someone who's not averse to post-apocalyptic monographs and/or navel gazing, this story - open to interpretation, of course, as all good visual art is - this hit me where I live. The end hasn't failed to raise the hair on the back of my neck. Nor has it failed to thicken my throat with tears.

I promise I'll go back to less ridiculously niche maunderings. But I hope you enjoy the music, and the potentially intended story.

(They were actually extremely cold when they filmed this. It's not makeup.)

Watch on YouTube

Current Mood: enthralled
Current Location: the living room
Current Music: "Cinema" Seungmin and Lee Know/SKZ

I Got Things Done!

This is mostly to remind myself that doing things in small chunks, with lots of breaks to do nothing, or read, or watch videos, or listen to music, works just as well as writing four or five paragraphs at a time does.

I got the bathroom cleaned, something it desperately needed. I still need to scrub the floor and tackle the shower walls, but it doesn't repulse me now, the way it did while I was consumed with writing deadlines and just a tad of back pain.

I cleaned the kitchen and took care of the catbox and some recyclables. These are quotidian tasks but I often leave them undone for a few days at a time. Not good. Today's work was good.

I emptied the vacuum yesterday, and it's ready for action (living room, hall and office) tomorrow.

I found a very nice recipe for lime and garlic chicken that didn't use any tomato stuff. I followed the recipe exactly, and it came out right. Imagine that, says the woman who usually fiddles and shortcuts recipes, which works about 60 percent of the time and doesn't the rest of the time. We had chicken and mashed potatoes with butter and parmesan cheese, and green beans with butter. The mashed potatoes were done for Bob, because I've been providing him with a lot of dishes that I like (heavy into legumes, quasi-Asian and Indian) lately, and I know he sometimes longs for at-least-kinda-American dishes. It's been stressful for him lately, and this was a supper I was happy to cheer him up with.

I just had an inordinately hot shower, I'm listening an inordinately long SKZ playlist, and I declare today a general win.

Oh, I forgot to say that I redyed my hair on ... hmmm ... Monday? It's wonderful. I've been coming to grips with the fact that my hair is thinning, but when it's freshly blue, it looks a lot better. And modern hair dyes are a lot gentler than the dyes that kept my hair red for decades, so I'm relatively sure the dye isn't why the hair is thinning. I think it's genes; I'd hoped to luck into my father's thick hair, and not be beset with Mum's fine hair that was very thin by the end of her life. I've apparently landed right in the middle. And that's something I can live with. Not completely happily, but I can live with it.

And tomorrow, I'm going to tackle some fiction writing that I've been ignoring for too long.

Current Location: the living room
Current Music: Stray Kids "TOPLINE"

Because of Course There's Another Group to Love

They're Ateez, from a relatively small KPop entertainment company, KQ. They have eight members, all of whose names I now know, and who I can now identify (and amongst who I have my biases). They don't have quite as much creative control as Stray Kids, but because they're with a small company, they do have more control than many other groups. They've been around only slightly less time than SKZ, and members of the two groups are friends (they all competed in Legendary Wars, which isn't a thing I need to bother y'all with.)

I love their music, and I love their music videos. They have so much fun, and have, apparently, such fun in making sure their MVs are ridiculous ... and they sing and dance just ... well, I'm not going to fangirl too much. Instead, I'm going to bother you with at least three MVs. "Bouncy," and "Work," which came out in 2023 and 2024 respectively, and "Ice on My Teeth," also out in 2024. They have a metric ton of lore, but I'm not going to bother y'all with that, either.

Just enjoy the crazy, and the dancing, and the acting, and the music, and the knowing humor of it all.

Watch on YouTube

And then there's "Work"

Watch on YouTube

And finally, "Ice on My Teeth"

Watch on YouTube

Current Mood: grim
Current Location: the home office
Current Music: Ateez, "Work"

Your Occasional Reminder ...

That we're living where Huey, Benito, Uncle Joe (not the good one), Idi, That Man, and others have slithered and prowled.

Watch on YouTube

(The original music video is equally good, but this ... *chef's kiss* Also? The 80s and 90s didn't all suck.)

Current Mood: grim
Current Location: the home office
Current Music: In Living Colour, "Cult of Personality"

... Plus Non-Canadian Positivity

First - Happy Flag Day, Canada! I'm old enough to remember the arguments and debates about which potential Canadian flag should win. I was about 10, but for some reason I recall hearing older kids (sixth graders? Junior high kids? Possibly; the memory is kind of fuzzy) talking about it. I remember liking one that had three maple leaves and blue side columns; I think I thought having just two colors was boring. These days, however, I'm glad we went with the flag we now have.

Mind you, Canadians never seemed to have the flag worship that Americans have. At least not until now. (Fifty-first state? Not bloody likely. Suck it, Donny.) That may have something to do with the Canadian psyche. But it's a good flag.

And today, I'm particularly proud of it.

As for other things I've felt positive about today, I put another chapter of "Gleaning Musutachi" up over at

originalkaffy_r , after a long period of inactivity. I've got a second chapter ready to go tomorrow.

I listened to some non-Stray Kids/general Kpop music today. (I know ... alert the press!) Some Keola Beamer, because I'm a sucker for his beautiful Hawaiian slack key guitar. Here, have some!

Watch on YouTube

And ending the day on a completely different - and exhilarating - Patti Smith in 1979. Damn. What a beautiful woman. What a beautifully brutal performer

Watch on YouTube

Current Mood: calm
Current Location: the living room
Current Music: Keola Beamer

My Hand Above the "Buy" Button

I am laughing at myself. Ruefully, and with a bit of self ... not loathing, not nearly, but with more than a bit of self-disapproval. Only a bit, because in the end, I did the right thing.

And what that might be, kaffy_r, you ridiculous Stray Kids stan?

I almost ignored my better judgement, my determination to save money, my intention to continue hiking my credit rating and my credit line to handle condo improvements, in order to buy a ticket to the June 26 Wrigley Field SKZ concert.

I've been joking with Bob about how my yearning to buy SKZ tickets while knowing I can't is torture.

Torture, hahaha, amirite?

By this morning, I'd gone to the ticket purchase site far too many times (I mean, going to the site even once, given what I knew I couldn't do, was "far too many times".) So the only torture I was experiencing was my own fault. I finally told myself that I'd try for a ticket, if a second show was added. I figured that mental trick would keep me happy without spending a dime, since I was fairly certain they wouldn't be adding another show.

And yet at 2:58 p.m., two minutes before the tickets were to go on sale, I found myself on the ticket site, my hand hovering over the "buy" button.

Then I thought about the fact that we aren't going to be sending holiday gifts to the people we love, because we're saving money for the move north. How could I be this selfish, this self-indulgent?

I turned off my laptop, shut it, went to the livingroom and put on an Erroll Garner jazz CD, then started looking through my cookbooks for a split pea soup recipe to make tomorrow. I listened to the entire album, and remembered how much I like Garner's piano playing. I sat in the livingroom listening to him and reading recipes until about 3:30 p.m., when I knew the tickets would be gone.

Tonight, I caught some of the Lolla concert on YouTube, and I'm still enjoying SKZ music right now.

Seriously, what the hell is wrong with me?

Current Mood: confused
Current Location: the home office
Current Music: Stray Kids "Haven"

A Song for Our Time. Or, You Know, for Today

I'll probably post again today, although I still have some vacuuming to do. And since I'm thinking of ~~drinking heavily~~ cautiously imbibing after the polls close on the East Coast, subsequent posts may becoming increasingly incoherent. So for now, I'll leave you with this. They're a real family, they have done a good number of fantastic song parodies. You might have seen this but for those of you who haven't, I present "Bohemian Trumpsidy." You're welcome. *goes off to find the vacuum cleaner*

Watch on YouTube

Current Mood: stressed
Current Location: the home office
Current Music: See above

So. Lolla.

Yes, I finally got around to posting about it. Bob’s brief hospital stay* and fun with switching mobile phone carriers, complete with SIM card madness**, disrupted my original intent.

Short version:

Attending Lollapalooza to see Stray Kids perform for the first time was an amazing experience — positive and joyful. None of the things my fearful son had worried about came to pass. The heat was reasonable, Lolla provided free water, the food offered for sale wasn’t overpriced. The sun shone, despite weather forecasts that predicted rain and thunderstorms. The crowds were a delight to watch, not a claustrophobic nightmare to survive.

I met other Stray Kids fans, Stays, who were happy to adopt me, a baby Stay. One came from Boston, another from LA, a couple from Evanston, just a few minutes from my place. I know that others came up from North Carolina, a couple reportedly from Paraguay. They loved the band enough to make the journey.

When the time came for the Kids to storm the stage, we were there for it. We couldn’t see the stage ourselves, but we didn’t expect to, given the crowd. Just seeing them on the huge screens behind them, and knowing that they were there below the screens, was enough. We sang along to the songs, we spent 1.5 hours grinning like fools and taking part in a community that included eight young men who loved performing for us.

Long Version:

( Read more... )So here it is, my Lolla report. Too long delayed, and just too damned long.

*He's fine. Medical weirdness, yay.
**Not fun, but taken care of; only us, Maynard ....
***skzoo, not surprisingly stands for Stray Kids Zoo. Each member has an animal totem. As one does. Skzoo merch alone could keep JYP financially afloat.

Current Mood: sore
Current Location: heading to bed
Current Music: Stray Kids "Youtiful"

Today Has Arrived and I'm All Aflutter

Yeah, in about an hour, I head downtown to Lollapalooza to take in Stray Kids tonight.

Checklist:

Clear fanny pack, as per Lolla regulations. Purchased the day before yesterday, after racing around trying to find one. Check
Enough of my pain meds to handle today, in the original prescription bottle, as per Lolla regs. (The rest of the Rx is in another bottle in the bedroom.) Check
Activated Lolla wristband, which will get me in, and will also function as a way to pay for the undoubtedly overpriced food I'll need. (Luckily, water is free.) Check.
Check of the weather - hot and humid, but less hot and humid than yesterday, so I may survive. Check.
Sandalwood fan, to be stuffed in my shirt pocket and used to help me survive. Check.
Roll-on sunscreen, to be used liberally, or as far as 3.5 oz. will go (the largest size they'll allow in. Apparently they've trained with the TSA. Check.
Water bottle, empty, as per Lolla regs. It can be filled at free water stations. Check.
Phone, charged up. Check
Portable charger, charged up and ready to charge my phone when it gets low. Purchased yesterday. Check.
Long beige shorts, purchased from Goodwill; a little worn around the leg hems, but they'll protect my upper legs from UV. Check.
White shirt, which won't be tucked in. Fashionable, that's me. Check.
Map of Lolla stages. Check.
Schedule of acts, so I can check out some of them. I've checked about five online; they all seem to be young, white indie bands with videos of them being thoughtful or fun-loving in various outdoor settings. A couple sound promising. Check.
Hat. Bob's rainhat, which will do very nicely. Check.
Sneakers and white socks. Not fashionable, but I'm not wearing either my Birkinstocks or my flip-flops/sandals. That way lies madness blisters, no protection from bbeing stepped on. Sneakers are at least a little better than nothing. Check.

AAaaaaand - me. So nervous I can barely think. I'm excited. I'm revved up. I'm ridiculous.

Current Mood: nervous
Current Location: the living room
Current Music: Stray Kids: Chk Chk Boom

Just Keep Swimming, Just Keep Swimming

It was great to listen to President Biden today, as he announced, in a speech at the LBJ Library, a three-part plan for fixing the Supreme Court corruption and anti-democratic mess: a constitutional amendment that would erase the presidential immunity with which the Roberts Court gifted TFG, a proposed 18-year term limit for Supreme Court justices, and an enforceable, binding code of ethics governing SCOTUS. Yet another reason for us to keep the White House, keep the Senate, and win back the House.

The more I hear about and read snippets from Project 2025, the more my gorge rises. Jesus Harold Christ ....

As far as VP Harris's search for her own VP choice, I'm rooting for Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. I'd liked Josh Shapiro, but learned that he is pretty strongly against pro-Palestinian activists. That's disappointing, and cuts him out of my consideration. And if Mehdi Hasan likes Walz, that's a point in his favor.

I got up this morning, and got right on the phone to my bank, in an effort to clear whateever tech glitch was preventing the Canadian government verifying my identity by checking with my Canadian bank account. And exactly what I feared would happen happened. On Friday, the nice tech people at Government of Canada told me the problem was on the bank side; today, the nice tech people at the bank told me it was the government. I'll take another whack at it tomorrow.

I've gotten at least a start on checking other music acts that I could watch and listen to, other than Stray Kids. One that takes place on that stage immediately prior to SKZ is a singer named Laufey, singing her songs, backed by the Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra. I'd never heard of her, but listened to a couple of her songs, and read a bit about her (an Icelandic artist of Icelandic-Chinese background, who sings, plays cello, and occasionally has her twin sister play violin with her.) She sounds very interesting. I'll have to look at some more acts tomorrow...

...but not before I complete my police shooting range story. I finally transcribed my notes from the interview; that's become more and more important, as my written notes deteriorate.

I baked an orange cake; I'm relatively pleased with the outcome.

Current Mood: calm
Current Location: the living room
Current Music: MSNBC

A Few Things Make a Post

I still haven't rewatched the Doctor Who finale episodes. I've had a few other things to do. Mind you, I didn't get those things done, either. Ah, well.

I did re-blue my hair. I need to have all the confidence-boosting things possible in hand so that I can hit Lollapalooza on Friday without completely losing my nerve.

I talked to my son yesterday, to ask him for some Lolla survival hints. The first thing he said was that I shouldn't go at all, and that he had stopped going to music festivals 14 years ago because he couldn't take the crowds, etc., and he thought that if he couldn't do it, I certainly couldn't. I pointed out that I'd already paid for the ticket (which is actually a bracelet that I will activate the day before.) He said something like "I know. I can't stop you. I'm not your mother." Bless him - a real bless him, not the southern type of bless. We mostly agreed on things: light colored clothing, hat, sunblock, staying well hydrated and fed, not being surprised by the cost of those things (I learned this morning that they won't make people pay for water, which is good.) We parted ways on his directive not to try to get as close to the stage as possible. At some point during that discussion, he said, sounding like I undoubtedly sounded to him 25 years ago, "If you're not going to take my advice, then there's no further reason to talk."

I probably deserved that.

I have to get to work on a story-for-money tomorrow. I'd like to get it done by noon. Ha. And again ... ha.

I've been rereading "Nona the Ninth" and dear lord, it's good. Weird and sad and funny and beautiful and horrible as fuck.Tamsyn Muir is brilliant.

Oh, I meant to say that I have seen hummingbirds, or perhaps just one hummingbird, twice in the past week. I have never in my life seen hummingbirds before, outside of pictures or film. They are a true and beautiful wonder.

I'm so tired. I have to go to bed now.

Current Mood: sad
Current Location: heading to bed
Current Music: ambient music

Politics, Who, Stray Kids

( Politics )

( Dr. Who )

I'll end with Stray Kids: I'm nine days out from watching them at Lollapalooza. I'm nervous, and excited. ATE, the EP they just dropped, is really impressive, especially the first two songs. I'll link to the EP, but I have to include their "Chk Chk Boom" music video here, because it's not just a fantastic music video in and of itself, but because it shows what happens, when two MCU actors happen to be big fans - REALLY big fans - of a K-Pop idol group. It's funny as hell.

Watch on YouTube

Current Mood: tired
Current Location: the living room
Current Music: MSNBC

I'm Going to See Them

Yep. Not by getting a successful answer from Lolla's waitlist, but because I happened to run into someone selling their Friday wristband. It's a little more expensive than the waitlist cost, but this is worth it.

I'm trying not to be too giddy about it. But I'll allow you to figure out how I'm feeling, thanks to this gloriously, monumentally, cosmically OTT version of "Victory Song" which they performed at the 2020 MAMA Awards ceremony. And by OTT, I mean Over. The. Top.

Watch on YouTube

Current Mood: excited
Current Location: heading to bed
Current Music: Well, what do you think?

No, Not Stray Kids

Instead, it's this perfectly gorgeous piece from the anime "Made in Abyss."

The entire soundtrack of all the series' seasons was created by Kevin Penkin, and I think he's brilliant. This, though; this is transcendent and always brings tears to my eyes.

Also, when I was reading the Icelandic lyric, it suddenly occurred to me that Icelandic might be related linguistically to the language spoken in the Faroe Islands, (possibly because of

elisi , who doesn't quite live rent free in my brain, but does have a guest bedroom there) My google-fu tells me that's the case.

Anyhow, I'm tired and kind of burned out, so I'm heading to bed. Here's the music.

Watch on YouTube

Current Mood: drained
Current Location: the living room

"The Devil's Chord"

Question: is love the message?

(Don't worry, I'll actually talk about the episode. But first, this.)

( It's under here. )

Current Mood: accomplished
Current Location: the home office
Current Music: Stray Kids "DLC"

Final (Probably) Stray Kids Video Dump

Largely because I said I'd do it, rather than any expectation that folks would share my current obsession. Heh.

I figured I'd start with the very first full music video I ran into, whle I was looking for the K-pop band that featured the weirdly watchable pieces of choreography I'd seen in YouTube shorts. It was full-on gorgeous chaos, with a story of giving frightened kids the courage to be themselves hidden in plain sight amidst that chaos. The dancing was amazing (although you don't see the amazing piece of opening choreography that initially caught my eye in this. You'll see it in the long live performance video further down.)

LaLaLaLa

Watch on YouTube

Lose My Breath

At the opposite end of the swagger stick (sorry, couldn't resist), is their most recent release, one that was co-written with western pop singer-songwriter Charlie Puth, and 100 percent written in English. This is not surprising, given their eyes most recently turning across the Pacific to North America (and, to be fair, they've had a couple of others, such as "Youtiful," in English.) A lot of existing fans might have been underwhelmed by the music, and I confess that it doesn't rank high on my list of personal favorites, the way Top Line is. And yet, I've found myself humming the song on multiple occasions. Also, shots later in the video show an absolutely angelic Felix. A note: in their live performances of this song, there's an additional verse.

Watch on YouTube

Live Performance, 2023 Asia Artist Awards

This performance, just over 12 minutes long shows them dominating what appears to be a slightly awed audience of fellow award nominees, (I could well be wrong on this, but to my eyes, the other nominees seemed pretty damned impressed and in awe, at least by the time the Kids start in with Top Line.) In this performance of LaLaLaLa you'll see the opening choreography that hooked me in the beginning. You also get another song that I like, Get Lit, for free in the performance. You're welcome.

Watch on YouTube

And finally, I didn't forget the YouTube video that plays their last six full albums; I just figured I'd link to it, since this post is already video heavy. One note: the video plays the latest album (at least as of the video's uploading) first and goes backward from there. I hope at least some of you will listen, and maybe even enjoy some of what you hear. And thank you for your patience.

Current Mood: amused
Current Location: the home office

It's So Difficult, With Stray Kids

At least it is for me. I've been going through what songs, what music videos, what general video information about the band, I should present my vast and waiting audience.

Or, you know, you guys.

So it took awhile, and it'll take two posts.

I'm going to start with three music videos that I thought were creative ways to showcase the songs themselves, and at least one song where they collaborated with a Korean hip-hop star. (At this point, I should let you know that, like a lot of K-pop, their songs mix varying amounts of English into the mix. Two of the guys grew up in Australia, and speak English very well, so their songs don't feel like the English is just shoveled in without thought.)

I'm also going to try to highlight songs that show their songwriting diversity. I'm going to include at least one live performance that I think illustrates that the band knows how to perform. And finally, I'm going to provide a YouTube compilation of their six main albums (that doesn't include some of what are generally EPs.

"Thunderous," below, was relatively early in their career. They apparently wrote it after hearing critics accuse them of just being noise. They embraced it with a good deal of humor.

Watch on YouTube

"Maniac" was a little further on, and again felt, to me, like an extremely creative way to tell listeners basically, "We all sometimes feel as if we have a little screw loose; don't feel as if that's bad - embrace it." It's the tiniest bit anti-authorarian in a culture that is ... not anti-authoritarian. Also, it has flying pizzas.

Watch on YouTube

I think "DLC" will be the final one I shove into this post. It's not one of their big hits. It's just infectious, and shows some pretty genuine interactions between the guys. Also, the main protagonist is I.N., who I like. And they're dancing in Paris.

Watch on YouTube

More, probably tomorrow, with at least one more music video, and a couple of the live performances.

Current Mood: accomplished
Current Location: the home office
Current Music: Stray Kids, DLC

Too late. I already am ...

... but let's try to handle it rationally. I can do that, right? Right?

Well, at least I can give it a try.

I'm talking about how I fell in ... not love, exactly, but definitely into intense like with the Korean pop group known as Stray Kids*. I also decided to take a dive into the world of Korean pop music, K-pop, generally.

What I read about the latter didn't surprise me, but it did give me pause; could I become a fan of Stray Kids without acknowledging the dark side of K-pop?

TW for mention of emotional pressure and suicide below this point. I'll put it under a cut. The rest of the post will focus more on Stray Kids.

( The dark, or sad, side of K-pop )

So, again; why am I still falling into K-pop, and specifically into Stray Kids fandom (which makes me officially a Stay, in Stray Kids fandom/K-pop parlance.) despite knowing at least a reasonable amount about the awful side of the industry?

The superficial reason first. They're remarkably easy on the eyes. There, we got that one out of the way.

WHAT??!?

More seriously, when I first started paying attention to the band, it was because of their choreography.***

It began when I ran into short YouTube clips of Stray Kids' performance from their "Lalalala" music video. I didn't know them from Adam's off aunt at that point, but some of their moves seemed so deliberately off-beat for K-pop that I found myself watching the shorts again and again. From there it was a short hop to watching their complete videos. And man, were they ever creative - surreal, beautifully filmed and directed in a way I haven't often seen in western videos, at least not lately. They obviously had a big budget, so I looked into what agency they have a contract with. It was JYP Entertainment, which was started by Park Jin-young, one of the earlly (think 1990s) K-pop performers.

What happily surprised me was the fact he gave the nascent Stray Kids' leader, Bang Chan, near complete authority to decide who was in the group. Additionally Bang Chan and two other band members, Chang Bin and Han, write and produce most of their songs, which appears to be highly unusual. I liked that. (I've used their stage names; it's how most of the world knows them.)

So: nearly untrammelled freedom to create, backed with money and support from one of the Big Three K-pop agencies Talented singers, rappers and performers willing to put in the work. My respect increased.

Then I started listening to the music a little more, and reading subtitles (although they're performing an increasing number of their in English, and like a lot of K-pop groups also perform in Japanese). Their music went hard, and their words went harder, with a message of anti-conformity that rang more true than similar lyrics from other more culturally amenable groups. I mean, I could well be wrong, because I'm by no means an expert on this industry, but my gut says that's the case.

Over six albums and a lot more mini-albums and EPs, I could hear music diversity, which I liked a lot. I found myself humming songs, or waking up with their music in my head. I was able to identify each of the group members (it took a bit to differentiate between Lee Know and I.N., but once I could I was hopelessly hooked.)

Today, I'm on a waitlist for a one day ticket to Lollapalooza here in Chicago, because Stray Kids is (are?) headlining on Friday. I have virtually no chance of getting a ticket, but if I do, it will be $190 that I'm happy to part with.

So there you have some of why I'm so focused on this group, and why I'm fascinated by the industry out of which it comes.

Oh, and did I mention they're remarkably easy on the eyes?

This is horrendously long, so I'll do a follow-up post with links to some of their very cool music videos, and a YouTube video containing all the songs from their six full albums.

*I don't use the term "boy band." First, none of the members of Stray Kids are kids although they started training as teens, and their initial performances were when they were approaching 20. Second, the use of "boy band" infantilizes its members. In fact, that terminology has infantilized performers for a long time, whether in the K-pop world, or in the western world. Do. Not. Want.

** The same obtains even more with female K-pop groups like Blackpink, Twice, or New Jeans. Even more Do. Not. Want.

*** I did know at least a couple of the big K-pop groups - BTS (male) and Blackpink (female), before I ran into Stray Kids, so I was already familiar with how those performers had to be good singers and rappers, and good dancers, all at once. Oh, and many of them have to be fiarly proficient in English and Japanese. All of that takes a lot of dicipline, so I was predisposed to respect the work such groups put into their songs.

Current Mood: accomplished
Current Location: the home office
Current Music: Stray Kids

The Lion Lurks, But We're Still in the Greyest Month ...

... and I'm left wondering if I'll have the ability to communicate with folks after Leo romps into the year as he is supposed to do. I certainly haven't been very good at doing so between New Year's Eve and today.

Today, the sun shone, and the back pain that has damn near wrecked my daily routine, making it almost impossible to report and write, is in abeyance. So I guess I'm going to try to use this pain-free moment to you know, communicate.

( Read more... )

Well then. Sigh. Wait - is that the sound of the world's smallest violin playing "Moonlight Sonata"?

And that, my friends, is that.

Other things. There have to be other things. Good things. Well, our cat seems more healthy than he seemed to be late last year. That's good, right? And I haven't killed our plants, so the place is not a horticultural disaster area. And I have been able to get out and buy groceries and such. I'm starting to get back to fiction writing, although not to the level I want. Just keep swimming, I suppose.

Oh, and I've kind of fallen into being a fan of the K-pop group Stray Kids. I've liked a couple of other K-pop groups, like Black Pink and BTS, two of the largest groups, although BTS is on hiatus through 2025 while its members report for Korean military duty. I probably like about two-thirds of theK-pop music I hear, but I'm truly even more fascinated by the K-pop system that trains these youngsters. It's undeniably cruel in some ways - dorm living away from home, sometimes for years, training in dance, and song that never stops,strict rules of how to act and speak in public, and probably numerous other things - but the kids who make it get tossed into the world and make a huge splash. Ultimately, they're the people who make the decision to stay or leave.

What's that, you ask? Are they pretty? Yes. Yes, they are. They also write a goodly amount of their songs, which elevates them in my book. Quelle Surprise

Here. Have a couple of Stray Kids videos. They're completely unhinged, and I love them.

Watch on YouTube

Hmm. The second one doesn't really want to embed. Let's try this again, shall we?

Watch on YouTube

Current Location: the living room
Current Music: Ambient, and NOT Stray Kids. Quel suprise!

It's Almost March

( Didn't want to put the music under a cut. )

I've been listening to the sound tracks to Made in Abyss lately, as well as to some of the late Burt Bacharach's work. Music is wonderful. So here, have some.

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

Current Mood: exhausted
Current Location: the home office
Current Music: As shown

The Music of "Made in Abyss"

When I have more intellect and command of language than I have tonight, I may talk about one of the most brilliant anime I've seen for a long time: "Made in Abyss" (short form: brilliant, gloriously alien, unbearably sorrowful, with silver glints of hope insistently growing in the corners, artistically stunning, a gorgeous and frightening world, characters that hug your heart so hard it threatens to burst, and oh, did I mention brilliant?)

But right now, I'll just put its Season 2 OST here. It's pretty glorious.

Watch on YouTube

Current Mood: impressed
Current Location: the home office

I Want This On A Loop

Watch on YouTube

Luckily, I think I've found a one-hour loop on YouTube. Which I will play as I put together my fourth Arcane AU fixit fic.

WHAT??!?

Current Location: the home office
Current Music: "Welcome to the Playground" Bea Miller, Arcane OST

Treble and Bass Roads to Happiness

One thing I need to remember when I have those directionless days, the ones that threaten to send me off in panic, is that listening to music that transports me, music that makes me close my eyes, move my feet, bang my head, listen, nod, sing because it's impossible not to - that's a way to find direction.

And sometimes, even if the music doesn't help me find a direction, it reminds me that I don't always need to find a direction in which to go.

Current Mood: contemplative
Current Location: the home office
Current Music: International Jazz Day

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kaffy_r

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