A voyage of rediscovery : Music

Ahhh,FT Island's Bad Woman. Where shall I start from? This song holds a really special meaning to me because it is the first Korean song that propelled me towards this tiny little genre of music called K-pop. You see,a friend of mine suggested this song to me as an introductory to FT Island's music. Their songs usually have string instrumentals,guitar riffs and bass notes of a rock song with the crooning vocals and lyrics of a ballad.  Although the MV isn't exactly the best one out there (Let's face it,it is quite mediocre.)but Hongki's vocals particular stood out to me in this song.(Duh,that's why he's the lead vocalist.) I love the timbre of his voice,love the depth he gives to a song with that slightly hoarse-like voice of his. There's just something very powerful and genuine about the way he conveys his emotions whenever he sings. His vocals are raw and distinctive enough for me to be able to identify his voice. The moment he starts singing,I know right away that it's him. 


This isn't a new release but BEAST's On Rainy Days is actually my favourite song from the group.Since it was meant as a promotional single from their Fiction and Fact album "Biga Oneun Naren" wasn't really promoted and performed as often on live music shows. It's a shame,really since I actually prefer this single over the heavily promoted lead single "Fiction".


I know that this blog primarily focuses on stuff related to the Korean entertainment/music industry as a whole but I believe that good music,like a good book is universal. You don’t even need to know what the song is about because you somehow (subconsciously) understand and get the message behind the song. Well,at least this is how I feel when I listen to Korean songs despite not knowing exactly what the lyrics of the song are about. This song The Fleeting Fireworks was originally sung by Jay Chou,and although the original song was pretty decent I was really blown away by Terry Lin's astonishingly brilliant cover of the song. His beautiful voice,along with the poetic lyrics(for English translation of the lyrics click HERE) made me see this song in a new light. I dare say that his version was definitely way better than the original. 
What this song is about : The setting of the song is in the Northern Wei dynasty in the city of Luoyang. This song retells a love story between an imperial general and a girl he loved. It was a love at first sight for them. They secretly made a pact to marry no one but each other. However, just then, the general received orders to fight at the borders. In the subsequent years of warring, the capital of Luoyang was reduced to rumbles, destroyed. After years of awaiting the general's return to no avail, the girl entered a nunnery. The general then, against all odds, managed to return and found the nunnery the girl was in. Yet, all had changed and their affinity had ended. In this rainy night at the ancient temple, the two exchanged unspoken gazes, lamenting how the grandeur of this world vanished as easily as fireworks. The lyrics are filled with hidden passion and emotion of love and war.  Check out Terry Lin's rendition of the song below!


Here's Yim Jae Bum's cover of Desperado (originally sung by The Eagles). I love his voice. :3

It's amazing how our perspective differs when we listen to the same song after some time under different circumstances,eh?
I hope that this post inspired you to give some love to the old songs in your laptop/cell phone/ipod/mp3. :)