i spill all the thoughts i have on trouble maker that i didn't know i had

*I didn't plan anything out; this ended up being a long ramble on more subjects than I expected. Like I swear to god, I didn't even know it was possible to have this much to say about a dead duo who don't talk to each other with nine total songs and minimal content together (and most of the ones that do exist I haven't even watched anyway). To make it easier to read for my own sake, I separated it into sections by numbers and bolded the... uh, well, what comes closest to being a topic paragraph for whatever my brain moved onto during that juncture.

[1] —— Now is, like, a million times better than Trouble Maker in every aspect: the song, the choreography, the MV, the styling, even the B-sides on Chemistry. But I can't get myself to say 'I wish they debuted with that' or 'I wish that one the one that went viral' because Trouble Maker itself just holds too much eminence in on its own.
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[2] —— I've also completely forgotten what direction this post was meant to go in, so I'm just going to keep going. Let's talk about the alluring contrast in concepts of these darling motherfuckers' two total releases of their expectedly short-lived career together.
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[3] —— Speaking of sexy people, this pairing becomes such a surreal combo the more you know. Trouble Maker is so funny, because encountering their hit music video without context is a vastly different experience than knowing exactly who these bitches are, where they're from, and their career histories.
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[4] —— Anyway, with all this talk about chemistry, let us make our final shift in attention to their best (only) comeback album called, well, just that. Chemistry. Honestly, a super cool title. (Maybe they should've given that name to Now, or something, I don't know. Anything but that boring ass song title.) I wanted to finish this off with a little album review for the fuck of it. I sincerely hope this won't be too long. Pray for me to not get carried away again. It has already taken me four sittings of writing to get to this place.

Okay, I'm going to speedrun this. Brief paragraph for each track and a The Bias List style rating. Sonic speed, because I need to take my damn physics notes soon.

1. Volume Up. For a song with this title, I expected it to be more upbeat the first time I listened to it. Though, that impression is most likely influenced by the 4Minute hit of the same name. (Do you think Hyuna gets confused if you ask her about her song called 'Volume Up'? Just kidding, Trouble Maker's Volume Up has nothing against 4Minute's. This irrelevant B-side could never be compared to Her Majesty Volume Up by 4Minute.) While I can't say this track particularly touches my sentiment in any way, as it is a clear filler, it's an arguably good starter track for an album. Despite being the token filler ballad that all albums have, I don't think it's utterly useless. I see it as the calm before the trainwreck of a storyline the rest of the album will portray. The acoustic guitar sets a solid base mood for this album's theme: an atmosphere of distinct tenderness. It's not that bad of a song, just very mediocre compared to the songs it had the unfortunate fate of being next to.

Hooks: 7
Production: 7
Longevity: 7
Bias: 7
RATING: 7

2. Now. Skipping the pleasantries; you already know what I think about this song. The chorus is catchy as hell; the sounds used in the instrumental fortify the gloriously edgy feeling that I adore. While the lyrics are disappointingly generic (I wish they alluded more specifically to the concept), the vigor this song is enriched with makes up for most of it. It's fervent; I feel like I'm truly sitting at the border of all life, legs dangling off the edge of the world—just me and my partner, holding in our hands what is our last chance. The MV delineates the sensation I get from listening pretty spot on. I see the MV as this: they are a runaway couple, living off theft and making money in less than righteous ways. They do what they want and pride on never having been caught, but as a result of that accomplishment, can't stay in one place for a long time. They have no attachments to anyone besides each other, but that doesn't mean they can't go out and have their individual fun. While committing crimes is fused into their lifestyle like any other daily activity, they have never, ever killed. When Hyunseung gets tempted by money, he breaks their one moral code. Hyuna, appalled by him, lashes out and departs. And from here, they both have to figure out where to draw the line between love and ethics. They know that wherever their final destination is, it will always be together. So, at the emblematic edge of the world, where two people whose only purpose is each other linger face to face, with their souls on the line, will reconciliation be able stitch back together the gaping tear in the fabric of the quintessence? Or will it befall them like a comet to bring the end of all endings?

Okay. Getting a little side tracked. Anyway, I love the melody. I love the verses—surprisingly, more than the hook for once (by 'hook,' I'm referring to the "Tell me now, now, now, now" part). I love the backing music—the definite intensity, amplified creatively by the strings I noticed that were so cleverly integrated. I always treasure my little orchestral touches in electronic songs. Along with that, I have also always had this special attraction to songs in minor keys, as I'm sure many others do as well. The enigmatic flourish this song is executed with stimulates just the right spots in my brain, the near right amount.

On another unrelated note, while watching one of their Music Core stages for this, I looked at the lyrics in the left corner at the right time to notice the pun with "내일은" and "내 이름" in Hyuna's second verse for the first time, and for some reason that affected me deeply at that sleep deprived moment. So, now I have a unique appreciation for that verse for no reason. When I'm playing the song and that segment draws near, a subconscious attentiveness emerges, and I suddenly focus excessively on listening for that part. Perhaps, I just need to get a life.

Hooks: 9
Production: 9.5
Longevity: 9
Bias: 9.5
RATING: 9.25

3. Player (feat. HyunA). I know it's supposed to be a Hyunseung solo where Hyuna raps a bit, but I find it funny it that says it's 'featuring HyunA' while being on the Trouble Maker album. At least Hyuna's solo track features someone that's, you know, not the person she's been singing with the whole rest of this album. Anyway, Player is not the type of song that speaks to me, but at least it's not a boring filler ballad. I think it belongs in the same genre as The Back of My Hand Brushes Against by Teen Top—hopeful electropop ballads? (The difference between the two being that I do enjoy the Teen Top song a lot, shockingly!) Would it be bad to say that Hyuna's part is my favorite section of this whole song? The faraway guitar solo at her verse is very pretty and her voice in a lower register rapping over it gives a dreamy effect. I swear, I love Hyunseung too, but literally 90% of his other solos go harder than this.

Hooks: 7.25
Production: 7.5
Longevity: 7
Bias: 7.25
RATING: 7.25

4. Attention. This cunty banger. This incel bop. This himbo anthem. Oh, I love it; the performance is so fun too. "I wanna rock your body, lalalala // 내 숨이 막혀 honey nananana" lives in my head rent free. The unfaltering saxophone loop that catches no breaks throughout the whole three and a half minutes would be ever the slightest annoying under any other circumstance, but not here! But at the same time, this is also a song I feel like I cannot listen to too often, or else my brain might start molding. Either way, I wish their first album had a song like this.

Hooks: 9
Production: 8.5
Longevity: 7.5
Bias: 8.75
RATING: 8.4

 

5. I Like (feat. Flowsik). It's so 2nd gen. K-Pop, my god. It's spectacular. It's everything dear to me. This is one of the many B-sides I believe deserves so much more recognition. I also refuse to believe this wasn't originally meant to be a Hyuna solo comeback title track. It's well-produced—although it mixes in so naturally with the era of music that it reminds me of, it feels derivative. But that's what I adore it for! The Y2K emotions it evokes ignites something in me. This song is repetitive, so much to the point that the verses and chorus feel like one big blend, and by the end, you basically can't remember anything you just heard besides the hook. This may seem like lousy composition, but to me, it's wonderful! The dumbing state it puts my brain in feels like ecstasy. All the clutter in my head becomes invisible for a brief moment; it's 'no thoughts, head empty' when I listen to this, just joy and positive vibes and some amazing autotune. I don't feel the need to give a single fuck about anything during these three minutes and a half. It's one of the few godsend songs that manages to silence the fuckery in my mind completely, even for just a little while.

Hooks: 8.75
Production: 9
Longevity: 9
Bias: 10
RATING: 9.2

I'm done. I'm done! Bless up! Good riddance to this! Is it just me, or are these journals getting longer and longer by the second... My god, I cannot shut up. Anyway, I bid Hyuna a very good day, and well-wishes for her probably-upcoming comeback with Hyojong. I bid Hyunseung a very good day, and well-wishes for his performances on Double Trouble. I was so glad to see him on there, by the way. It was so nice to see him performing again; it's been a hot while, hasn't it? I still need to watch some more Double Trouble stages. But now, I have some stupid online textbook notes to take and BTOB content to catch up on (the latter being the more important of the two, of course).