LTKpop

[ENG]
2 years…

I did not think that something that was supposed to be a temporary form of creative release between finishing my Master’s dissertation and finding a job in the UK (which obviously didn’t happen) would last this long. In fact, this has essentially become my job, even if I have no financial gain whatsoever. But even after moving house several times, and even countries and continents twice, somehow we’re still here.

This year started with mess after mess for me: moving back to Japan, trying to become an actual Japanese person again, getting into uni again, and moving house, all within 4 months. Add on the mess from the UK, it was nearly 8 straight months of no stability in my life, and all of that takes a toll on someone.

…And that’s where this gets tricky. Whether it’s getting overloaded with school, other personal events or just a general decline in my mental health, life isn’t great right now. That’s been made clear to me by the fact a lot of my hobbies I no longer find fun or get enjoyment out of. Unfortunately, k-pop is one of those hobbies.

I can’t really articulate this thought in a coherent way, but taking all that time for k-pop just doesn’t feel enjoyable right now. Sure, the music has been pretty good this year, but my mess of a life combined with the fact K-pop this year has been a mess itself, man has that joy been sapped dry. Sapped so dry, I’m considering dropping this whole YouTube thing altogether.

That day isn’t today, not yet at least.

But I will take a step back in terms of the amount of what goes out. Less MVs and albums covered moving forward for a while, at least until I can figure out what I want to do with this “hobby-turned-job?” thing that this has become.
I hate that this may seem like a disappointment for some of you, because that’s what it feels like for me. But I need to actually take care of myself, and not just pretend like I am.

But I don’t want this entire thing to be down and gloomy, so let me take some space to say a big thank you to everyone out there. Thank you for thinking this random dude on the internet who waffles on and on about k-pop on the internet is worth your time, thank you to those of you who have put me onto new artists, and thank you to everyone showing love for their favorite artists.

We’ll see what happens moving forward, but no matter what happens with the channel, I will always be your friend, ally, and shoulder to lean on, whenever you need me.

So take care of yourselves, take care of each other, spread the love, and I’ll see ya whenever I see ya.

-LT

[JP/日本語]
今日で２年間か…

修士論文書き終わった後の遊びでやり始めたこのユーチューブチャンネルがここまで来るとは全然思ってなっかた。実際イギリスで仕事見つかるまでやろうかなと考えてたのが代わりに仕事みたいになりましたね。あんだけ引っ越しとかしてもビデオを作りつづけてここにいる。

今年はホントにごちゃごちゃの年になってるんです。4か月以内に日本に帰ってきて、日本人になって、入学試験やって、引っ越して学校に戻って、イギリスの最後の何か月も足すとおよそ8か月安定無しの生活をするとホントにメンタルに来るんですよ。

それでちょっと難しいことなんですけど、学校の疲れなのか自分の人生内のハプニングのせいなのかわからないんですけど、嬉しくないんです。実際に考えると好きだったもの好きさがなくなり始めたのが最初の証拠で今はK-POPもそのケースなんです。

きれいに説明はできないんですけど、今年のK-POPの世界がもごちゃごちゃで自分の人生がごしゃごしゃになってるせいだと思うんですけど始めた時に比べるとK-POPのビデオを作る楽しさがだいぶ減ってるんです。減りすぎてYouTubeをやめる事を何回か考えたこともあります。

ですが、今日はやめるわけではありません。

ホントはやりたくないんですけど、自分の面倒を見るのが一番なのでこれからあの楽しさを取り戻せるまではだいぶ作るビデオを減らす予定です。

たくさん言いましたけど全部悲しい話だけにしたくないのでちょっとトーンを変えます。

ビューアーの皆さんに、このインターネット上の野郎に時間を割く価値があると思ってくれてありがとう、新しいアーティストを紹介してくれた人たちにありがとう、そして好きなアーティストに愛を注いでくれるみんなにありがとうございます。

これからどうなるのかは分からないですけど、変わらないことはどこにいてもいつでも私はあなたのK-POPの友達です。なので次に会うまで自分自身を大切にし、互いを大切にしてください。

-LT

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1 year ago | [YT] | 196

LTKpop

For those of you looking for the album listen for FTISLAND's 'Serious' album, it is blocked for certain regions. Here it is for those of you who have it blocked in your pat of the world: e.pc.cd/vKmy6alK

1 year ago | [YT] | 28

LTKpop

People who are unable to watch part 2 of the ONF marathon, I've also moved it off-site, and can be found here: e.pc.cd/EanotalK

1 year ago | [YT] | 22

LTKpop

Feedback has been noted, so now I turn the question to the rest of the community: what songs do you want me to watch that I missed between 8 December 2023 - 31 March 2024?

If you could leave your suggestions in the Google Form below, I will gauge the demand of releases from the community, and base the catch-up schedule in accordance with the results.
forms.gle/XchuDmvWdzmcz9JDA

1 year ago | [YT] | 21

LTKpop

Hello everyone!

Yes I have returned, and I've started back up watching and talking about the new releases that are dropping now. But with me missing nearly 4 months of music, I did some number crunching and found that including OSTs, I've missed a grand total of 265 songs that I normally would've gotten around to had I not been away.

I had initially promised that I would work through these over the course of April, but seeing the actual final number, I cannot in good faith guarantee that anymore. I think I'm going to try and end up working through the backlog at a rate of 1 week's worth of MVs every day on the weekends, except if there's releases during the weekend itself or I'm behind through the week. Again, that's the goal, but in actuality that might change, especially with the academic year starting next week.

If anyone is curious what this list looks like, here is the Google Doc that I've filled out: docs.google.com/document/d/1pZWICMICeyRieIsScROnXQ…

Please be patient with me while I try and go through this list in the hopefully near future.

1 year ago | [YT] | 50

LTKpop

Happy new year to you all, people of the internet!
새해 복 많이 받으세요!
明けましておめでとうございます!

2024 should be one heck of a rollercoaster, and I am so excited to see what this corner of the music world has to offer this year.

The 2023 awards videos will start rolling out tonight and probably over the course of the next couple of days or so (as long as copyright behaves itself), and then a nice hefty piece to camera following that, so please look forward to those coming up very soon.

1 year ago | [YT] | 42

LTKpop

Twitter got it first, but a very merry Christmas and happy holidays from yours truly here in snowy Japan! Regardless of if you celebrate the occasion or not, I hope everyone is doing well out there.

Currently working on those year end videos for new year's, so keep your eyes peeled for those in about a week or so. But otherwise it's probably going to be radio silence on the video front until then (spending time with the extended fam).

(Side note, I've now experienced and learned the difficulties of the art of aegyo. Can confirm, very difficult)

1 year ago | [YT] | 76

LTKpop

Thanks airport WiFi for not uploading this when I told it to, but yesterday was the 1st anniversary of the channel! Just a little blurb from me to you all.

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2 years ago (edited) | [YT] | 74

LTKpop

We've got an album to run through, so let's run through it properly (and hope that YouTube doesn't screw me over again with these long posts again). This is FTISLAND's 'Sage' EP!

02 'All Of My Life'
A song in 3 that's a bit more brighter and upbeat is always for me going to a good time. I say this with ballads in 3 as well, but a song written in base 3-meter just has a nice lilt feeling to it. Having said that, this one is very much sitting in the confines of that rock anthem sound, one very reminiscent to those songs from the 80s rock scene I grew up listening to. Plenty of priority given to the electric guitar, which has a mix of the twinkle and crunch, and the open hihats really are fitting of the 80s scene.

The vocals on the on the other hand, are a bit more broader and are given some freedom to ring and soar, which on a song with a pretty quick cadence in the instrumental is nice to see. The top line actually is very slow in comparison, and because of it, almost feels like it's flowing on top of the busy beat beneath it, and that combination makes it really cool to listen to.

03 'I'm Still Here'
Here we've got another bit of an anthem, but this time it's in 12/8, meaning it can be broken down into either a quick base 3 or a slow base 4 count, and these songs whenever we come across them are always fun trying to understand what the true intended meter is. The song itself has an air of light-heartedness to it, but it comes across as a pure fast ballad, and I'm very quickly realising just how flexible FTISLAND are at writing songs in those different veins of that ballad genre I hold so close to my heart.

I reckon this review is gong to start sounding repetitive when it comes to vocals, but the dual vocal combo of Jaejin and Hongki makes such a nice top line no matter the sound they go for. Again we have a nice slower ballad type song, and that just naturally suits Hongki's big upper range so well when he lets loose that emotion-laced high note. But the verses themselves sit pretty low in comparison to the chorus, so that contrast is very nice and keeps the song fresh.

04 'Broken'
Ramp up the intensity a bit, bring in the heavy drums and guitar, and immediately, let the bass take things forward. It's not the fastest song in the world, but boy does it have a lot of power behind it. They've really distilled that essence of the hard rock genre and given it a bit of a modern spin with the extra instrumentals and mixing techniques. In a way, it kind of reminds me of TVXQ/Tohoshinki and their crunchy rock-inspired Japanese discography.

I noticed in the current member lineup and in the MV, but there isn't a designated keyboardist or guitarist, but this song has some really nice guitar/synth combo parts all throughout, especially in that chorus. So shout out the session instrumentalists that provided instrumentals for this album and especially this one. The feeling of that hard rock vibe is perfect with that guitar giving that head bop vibe and the moving gritty synth adds a really nice extra texture to the song.

05 'Not Enough'
The chime opening kinda threw me off a bit, but then more of the beat started coming in and I got what they wanted from this. It's definitely the most modern sounding track so far, and leans kinda closer to what I can see The Chainsmokers or Coldplay do in terms of sound: big high chorus, the vocal chops, reverb-y, whistling, and the EDM influences. No problems with that at all, in fact I quite like the switch up that we got away from the rather traditional rock sound up until this point.

In fact, the way this song doesn't immediately jump out at me as being an FTISLAND song kind of works in its favour. Especially following a very rock heavy first half, getting something a little bit different and modern that doesn't have too much of a reliance on the band instruments carrying the instrumentals is a refreshing palette cleanser. For sure this one song has opened up my mind when it comes to what genres I associate with FTISLAND, especially since I am rather new to the group.

06 'Rising Star' (With G.O.P)
I was entirely expecting one more ballad to finish the album, just because FTISLAND and their ballads are always top tier. But the fact 'Rising Star' is a rather bright song is a surprise and a welcome sight. Immediately you know this one is going to kick it up a gear with that kick drum and piano/keyboard instrumental that sets the tone really nicely. In fact, a good majority of the instrumental part is keyboard-based, which is new for this album.

The composition of the song takes a lot of cues from pop and EDM, especially in the risers and the post-production elements of the song, and it gives it a new sound that still feels like them, but with less of a reliance on the band aspect and more towards just making good music. Having gone through a big EDM phase probably around 10 years ago in high school, I can hear many similarities in this to the lighter EDM stuff I listened to heavily back in the day, and that nostalgia is very nice.

B-side of the album: I think it has to go to 'Rising Star'. I know it's definitely not the most "rock band-aesthetic" song on this album, but it's that nostalgia factor as well as having a bright finish after a nice length album is just such a nice way to conclude the whole project. You still get the classic FTISLAND vocals and musical quality, but it's just packaged in a different vessel so to speak (it's like getting juice from a plastic jug instead of a paper carton).

#ftisland #FT아일랜드 #kbandreaction

2 years ago | [YT] | 11

LTKpop

Welcome back to the world of k-bands, and this one is a big one, because FTISLAND are back not with just an MV, but a whole mini album to go along with it. So let's check out the title track first. This is FTISLAND's 'Sage'!

This is doubly exciting for me, because I am an avid k-band enthusiast, but I am a recent one, and this marks my very first comeback with them. We've had a couple of FTISLAND songs on the channel before through viewer requests, and to be able to experience this release on time is tremendously exciting.

Mmmm a nice and crunchy rock anthem, I am entirely on board. But something really cool about the way the song starts is the riser is actually quite crunchy already, with that electric guitar chugging away in the background, only for it to switch to an acoustic one for the verse. In fact, the instrument choices in this song are really well thought through. That crunchier electric guitar is there for a lot of the song, but almost blends into the riser through phrases until you get to the climax points where it comes forward in the mix.

Speaking of the climax points, this song does all of the flourishes and risers so well. You feel the swell at every point it starts and the anticipation that is building because of them, and you just get immediately sucked into the song in a way that FTISLAND are and have been really talented at doing with their music.

But for me, this song absolutely knocks it out of the park with the vocals. If the instrumental is this crunchy and heavy, the vocal part needs to match, and Hongki does this song so much justice as the main vocal. You get his lower softer tone through the song, but when the song climaxes you get the full brunt of that rocker Hongki vocal that everyone who is familiar with the group knows and loves. But kudos to my guy Jaejin on bass with the sub vocal parts, cuz his tone is very nice to listen to. It's a nice bright tone even in that lower register, and creates a nice offset to Hongki's voice. Like that bridge where it's pretty much all Jaejin on lead, absolutely gorgeous.

A quick note about the MV, this I believe is the same location where Yuju shot her special single from a few weeks ago, but this time shot in a daytime setting. I always think these connections across MVs through the sets are quite neat.

Moment of the song: THAT bridge. Jaejin letting the vocals soar, the instrumentals going that extra notch up in power, the introduction of the strings section, that drum run from Minhwan, only to drop the bottom out for Hongki on the re-entry into the final chorus. Spine chilling.

But that's not all for FTISLAND today, because the EP has 5 more b-sides to check out. And I will take any and all k-band music that I can get.

#ftisland #FT아일랜드 #kbandreaction

2 years ago | [YT] | 13