I like that it didn’t force everyone to scream sing in a register only dogs can hear.
I liked the base drop.
First listen it did not sound particularly cohesive but I’ll listen to it again with more brain power.

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    What did you think about “Miroh”?

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      The song? Have I not shared that somewhere…
      I thought I wrote about it on Greenie’s wall when it came out. I’m sure of it actually because we talked about the lack of bridge.
      Uh… it was ok but I thought it got boring, and as I have since discussed with @ultramafic, whilst I appreciate the attempt at “different” structure in Miroh, it was still too repetitive and didn’t develop as a song fully because of that. I liked other songs off that album more.
      Overall I still like 3rachas mixtapes more than Skidz songs, and I have yet to fully love any of their title tracks but I AM NOT is my favourite album of theirs as a group and Awaken probably one of their best, and one of my favourite songs.
      You didn’t ask for that info but I’m giving it to you yesterday.

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        anyway*
        I was listening to “Kids of Yesterday” by MCR writing this, sorry.

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        Oh except for Hellavator. I love Hellavator.
        Which I liked when it first came out and they hadn’t even debuted lol

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          Thatโ€™s my favorite song of theirs. Everything just works. They show off their singing well, the chorus is hella catchy, and it just flows.

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            Their rapping is what drew me in. It’s one of those that’s a very good case study for Sic’s opinion on the Korean language lending itself to some really awesome rapping delivery.

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        Seconding your thoughts on Miroh. I found it very interesting when it opened but then it was the same thing over and over again.

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        The mixtapes are amazing!

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        Miroh was more of a sound experience, and was purposefully repetitive to create a sort of anthem/protest feel. I don’t get tired of listening to it, but can’t argue that it’s not repetitive and that can get old for people quick.

        I love all my 9 children equally, but Adi and I wonder often why 3racha didn’t debut as a group. I hope and pray they will still put out their own albums.

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          Yes definitely. They are so talented and do most of the work producing so I need to know the thought process on the whole thing. Who wanted it and why did they change.

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          Listening to Miroh again, because of this, lol thanks, I can kind of feel the protest feel. But I definitely didn’t feel that either visually or musically the first five times I listened to it.
          I think Miroh is one of Chan’s experiments, that unfortunately didn’t work so well for me, no matter what he was trying to do, I think it was one of those songs that didn’t work as well as it could’ve. He has stronger pieces both musically and thematically.

          3racha- Boy groups make money. Three person hip hop crews in JYP? Not as much of a sound marketing scheme. Also survival shows are popular.

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    It’s just so jarring and the sections feel so purposely disjointed (though they repeat sections, but sometimes in really different ways). Especially when Felix and Changbin come in midway, it’s just out of nowhere. The middle sections are almost dreamlike, as if the trance sections wake them up to some hyperreality. And then it ends with a long trance almost like the pain wins out, and idk what that means either. I need to think about it more when I’m not supposed to be working, but I think it’s a cool song.

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      Yeah I found it jarring too but because of the deliberate visual shift, with the yellow filter, on top of the music changes, I was like “this feels on purpose I’ll come back to it tomorrow and analyse it a bit more”

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      So I found the structure for this song, I don’t know how typical it is but it seems somewhat typical of a structure, but when you hear it, it doesn’t sound like it. The first chorus sounds so different from the second chorus, the first and second post-choruses sound different, the verses don’t mimic each other. The bridge is pretty long, it ends with the hook. So it’s the distinct breaks and changes of course in the music itself that make this seem off-kilter rather than anything in the structure.

      Chorus: Seungmin, Bang Chan
      Post-Chorus: Felix, Hyunjin, Lee Know
      Verse 1: Han
      Hook: All
      Chorus: Woojin, Seungmin
      Post-Chorus: Lee Know, Seungmin, Hyunjin
      Verse 2: Felix, Changbin
      Hook: All
      Bridge: Hyunjin, Changbin, Bang Chan
      Verse 3: I.N, Han, Bang Chan, Felix
      Hook/Outro: Felix, All

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        So, I found this structure online too. I don’t agree with it. In fact it only confused me more when analyzing the song.
        I’m not a professional but I can have an informed technical opinion so I’m going to completely ignore this structure and make my own. *coughs*

        Right.
        So. My break down of the song.
        On first listen I have to admit that it did not sound cohesive and the strange music shifts around the rapping particularly were jarring. I was ready to dismiss this song as a clunky thing just trying too hard but the deliberate filter in the MV on some of the music changes, and knowing now a bit of how Chan works made me go “no come back to this tomorrow”.
        And I’m glad I did. Because on second listen it immediately starts to make more sense.
        Honestly, this is very impressive. Because the only other person I know of who makes music confusing on first listen but brilliant every other time after that, is Zico. And Zico is my favourite Korean composer of all time. I don’t think Chan is even nearly up to his standard for many reasons, but still the fact Iโ€™m even mentioning them in the same sentence is a one heck of a step in the right direction.

        The structure is somewhat hard to explain because the lyrics have different parts that are repeated to what musical parts are repeated. But I will just break this down into overall sections and then explain the inner workings of each section.
        Lyric structure is letters (abc, I is the intro, dashes indicate repeats), music structure is numbers (123, plus sign indicates something is added to the motif the second or third time).

        I 1
        A- 2
        B 3
        C 3
        D– 4
        A- 1+
        E— 2
        F 3
        G 3
        D– 4
        H 1+
        E— 2
        D– 4+

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          So that is the general consensus from pretty much every reaction I’ve seen–very off put at first, but it gets better and better each listen. It was kind of fun to watch the twitterverse hate it at first and then a day later it’s everyone’s fav track.

          I am a fan of Zico but have not broken him down at all. But I had “Bermuda Triangle” in my playlist and hadn’t heard it in a loooong time, and I listened to it and thought “why did I put this in my playlist, something about this sounds off” and then I listened again and thought “Wait this sounds great wtf” So I believe you. It’s nice to hear Chan has the talent and potential. This was a big step and a big gamble for SKZ and makes me excited to continue to follow them.

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            Lmao! That’s so funny.

            Zico my boy Zico I could write you books on him hahaha.
            And yes! Bermuda Triangle is EXACTLY one of those songs that does this!!!
            Bโˆ† is so weird on first listen I was so confused when it came out, but then the more I listened to it the more it blew my mind.
            It is such a phenomenal song. Every time I listen to it I get something more out of it. This is the same with a lot of Zico’s songs, for himself or others and it’s part of the reason I like him so much. Ahhh if I talk your ear off about I’m sorry but I love discussing music haha

            I feel like Chan is my peak potential rookie obsession. Like I will keep wanting more and more and better and better from him because I know he’s capable of it hahaha.

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            @sicarius I think I already told you Zico was my first ever k pop song that I heard and liked, so that’s something special.

            Haha no problem, I like discussing it as well. I definitely go more by feel with songs and tend to not have time to break them down often, but it’s fun when I can and when I read others opinions. I’ll have to give Zico a solid listen. I usually end up coming across his stuff by accident.

            I want them to give Chan (and 3racha) more time between albums. I’m convinced he’d already written half of the I am series before they debuted, or at least had the ideas in mind. I hope they get a lot of time for Cle 3, but I bet they’ll push them to release it at the end of summer/early fall. I like the phrase “peak potential rookie obsession” so so much haha.

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        I 1 Intro
        A- 2 Verse 1, Part 1
        B 3 Verse 1, Part 2
        C 3 Pre-chorus rap
        D– 4 Chorus/Dance Break
        A- 1+ Verse 2, Part 1. Repeating the first half of V1, pretty normal in some verse structures, however to change it up this has a different music background and I think itโ€™s a register up. I thought the music was entirely different but Iโ€™m pretty sure itโ€™s just the intro motif with a bit extra.
        E— 2 Verse 2, Part 2. Same โ€œsectionโ€ of the verse as B, but the music is the same as A from the first time. Nice staggering there.
        F 3 This is an added part to the Prechorus to throw us all off and sound weird and cool and to change things up in the second verse to keep it interesting. This is Felixโ€™s part.
        G 3 Prechorus rap. Same build as C, different lyrics ofc.
        D– 4 Chorus / Dance Break
        H 1+ Bridge, again I thought this was different music but itโ€™s just the intro piano motif with more added stuff.
        E— 2 Now this is something I see done in Block B songs. A throwback to a verse after the bridge. This is just part of V2 repeated. Itโ€™s not a third verse. Itโ€™s just part of V2 added to the bridge to extend it. Very Good does this, except Very Good does this like three times in the second half of the song and itโ€™s really weird and makes no sense. This is like the tame version of a Block B song lol. (Except if it were Block B it wouldnโ€™t be EDM.)
        D– 4+ And the final โ€œChorusโ€ dance break with a little bit extra in it to sound different for the final time, Chan does this in almost all of his final choruses and itโ€™s a really strong point of his writing.

        So essentially I saw this structure as a typical V1, PC, C, V2, PC, C, B, C, C structure but each time it โ€œrepeatedโ€ something, it changed something different or added something each time to make it more interesting. Thus Verse 2 and the second Prechorus changes and adds to the structure and music of V1 and PC1, but still keeps the main overall structure.
        This is why it sounded weird and in cohesive the first time round. Every time after that it makes so much more sense, and is even clever in a way. Itโ€™s not overly complex, but it uses a basic structure and then adds to it to keep you engaged. Which is pretty smart, and something I appreciate. I like my interest to be kept throughout a whole song.
        I also really like how the music winds up like a cork screw and then all heck breaks loose in the chorus, the beat of which would work so well in a science fiction movie about literal side effects. Once again Chan and his ability to use music as a sound effect to mimic a metaphor in the lyrics is on point.
        I guess my only quibble now with this song is that music motif 2 reminds me too much of BTS and that itโ€™s very heavy EDM. lol

        I donโ€™t know why the online structure calls what Iโ€™m calling โ€œAโ€, the chorus. Itโ€™s only repeated twi

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        Itโ€™s only repeated twice and it feels nothing like a chorus and the background music changes too much.
        I donโ€™t know if you can call a base drop and dance break with minimal lyrics a chorus either (my D), but this is the main motif everything builds to, and is repeated thrice, and many kpop songs have โ€œDance breaksโ€ instead of traditional choruses these days as EDM becomes more heavily fused with it. So Iโ€™m calling it a chorus.

        I wrote this whole thing on something else which I may post later for you, and I still need to listen to the whole album so Iโ€™ll be back with thoughts on that too.

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          I liked the breakdown so much, thanks for writing it. Smart to break it down by lyrics and also music. I was looking mostly at the lyrics to figure out the structure.

          TBH I don’t know exactly what qualifies as a hook, and if it’s own musical element, and I notice you left that term completely off. I think hook can supersede a lot of the other terms and maybe isn’t useful (a chorus, line, verse can be a hook). It makes more sense that the dance break is the chorus, for the reasons you said. And the lead up raps make more sense as pre-chorus rather than a verse.

          I remember thinking how lovely the intro was and thinking “why isn’t this used more later?” since I only heard it in the bridge again. But I’m hearing it more now underneath the verse that you pointed out.

          F3 is sooo jarring when you first hear it (thank god they put the strongest visual cue at that point to help), but on later listens when you anticipate it, it’s very satisfying and cool.

          E-2 threw me off, I thought it was part of the bridge or a new verse or something, but nice callback.

          I like seeing how they essentially mixed and matched lyrical and musical elements. And yes, when you break it down, it’s a bit complicated but not overly so, and each element builds so nicely on the previous. I’ve heard the song quite a few (*cough* SO MANY) times now and still haven’t gotten sick of it.

          It’s frustrating how many people are hearing this and saying “This is so weird” and dismissing it without taking time to really give it a listen.

          Also, I don’t know if you looked at the lyrics at all, but how they integrate with the music is nice and as a whole package it’s really well done.

          I am invested in this group so it’s satisfying that the title track they chose is more musically interesting. (so many were saying they wished it was TMT or the intro). And this is probably their most ambitious song to date.

          I wish you would post this to twitter so more people could see it! (Or let me, ha)

          Hope your wrists are ok!

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            So despite my bellyaching about others, I’m realizing how many songs I hear once and think “Not for me” and then don’t revisit. And Side Effects is making me question that. (A lot of other SKZ songs sound better after a few listens, also).

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            You’re welcome! I had fun haha.

            Honestly… I’m not sure what a “hook” is either. I don’t have any formal musical theory training, I just go off what I can hear and the basics. I would’ve thought a hook was more an exact musical component though and could be anywhere? Like an exact set of chords or something. Idk.
            It was easier to leave it out.

            F3 was the most jarring!!! But come second and third listen I was like “Ah I see what you’re doing! Okay yeah this is cool” hahaha you definitely end up anticipating it.

            Actually probably my favourite thing about this song is the mixing and matching if same pieces.

            Ah that’s typical haha.
            Lots of people only go off first listen. I mean I do for lots of things too. But then I learn that some artists are Clever little so and sos and I’d benefit from a second listen.

            I did look at the lyrics! Haha I kind of had to because i was analysing structure pfft. I really liked them actually, especially Changbin’s verse, that really hit home with me.

            Ugh no I’m glad it wasn’t TMT haha. TMT was very clearly experimental also but … Idk but I’m glad it wasn’t the title. The intro was just an intro it can’t be a title on its own hahahaha
            I dont know about most ambitious, Mask of Memories was very ambitious haha. (Oh my gosh I need to reply to your thing on that shit I’m so sorry!) But it’s definitely both one of their stronger and more out there title tracks (except I only started analysing Skidz from Miroh… >_>)

            You can post it on twitter sure! I don’t have twitter, deliberately so, but you can post it if you like. Just credit me haha.
            Do you want it in a better format, like a word doc or something?

            Wrists are alright, I wore my braces all of yesterday which helped.

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            @sicarius coool I will see if I can figure out how to get it onto twitter. That format is fine.

            Yes, it’s an (I don’t want to say easy, but efficient) way to keep things interesting, to do that mixing and matching.

            Part of the ambitiousness is making it a title track. And maybe ambitious isn’t the right word, cause Maze of Memories was very ambitious even if it didn’t quite reach the heights it set out for. Maybe I mean boldest.

            TMT is called the stepped up Young Wings by some, and YW was always one of my least fav SKZ tracks. I don’t know why. I just never liked it much. It’s also called their most GOT7-like song, so maybe that’s the only explanation I need.

            Changbin is so hit or miss with me for lyrics. Since I don’t speak Korean it’s hard to tell for sure, but it feels like he often goes for style over substance, like cool sounding words that maybe don’t totally make sense, while I feel Jisung can do both. But then I wonder if some things are just lost in translation. These ones of Changbin’s I liked, especially the end.

            I guess I need to figure out who the clever groups are then haha

            Oh good! Glad you had the braces on. I can’t imagine all that typing without those.

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      I just spent all morning writing you an essay and I haven’t even listened to the song again yet.
      I guess today is a skidz day. I will come back when I have everything written down lol. Pray for my wrists pfft

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    @ultramafic I feel so bad I haven’t replied to your comments on here. I think I ran out of steam and energy! I would really like to but I can’t promise when… But I look forward to future music conversations together anyway xox

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