IU's Remake Album, "A Flower Bookmark"
well, the international (as well as korean, haha) kpop fandom is kinda in chaos right now because of the whole exo and kris incident... while my personal opinion is that history is repeating itself (come on. hot, shinhwa, ses, TVXQ (!!!!!), super junior...), oh well. as "hot" as exo is right now, i don't think sm would let go of kris this easily. i'm far from an exo fan but i still hope things work out smoothly! (i still think sm entertainment is very abusive of its powers but... i don't know any better. eh.)
let's get down to real business, shall we.
iu's flower bookmark.
ah. someone explain to me how more perfect iu can get. just how? singer-songwriter. works like 'peach', 'lost puppy', 'bad day', and the perfect all-kill 'see you on friday'. these songs that she composed herself proved to the world that she knows what she'scapable, what she's good at, and how well she can demonstrate her abilities.
i thought things couldn't get any better.
i think that this remake album proves to the world that she's able to take other works by other people, apply her own color and her musical sense, and express it in a way that the music can become 'iu's'.
a lot of international fans might not understand how "grand-scale" the songs listed in her album are. i myself don't know some stuff regarding a couple of original artists from the album. but i'll list what i've found out and what i know.
1. [TITLE] 나의 옛날이야기 (조덕배 원곡); My Old Story (Original Song by Jo Deokbae)
now. when i heard news about the album, i originally thought that another song (i'll discuss that below) would be the title track. so when i finally saw the album release (only greentea knows my struggles... i use korea's music chart bugs on my phone as a mobile app, but this damn site wouldn't upload the album even when it was well past 8am, which is midnight on the sixteenth. so i was freaking out in class and my friends were getting more tired of my iu obsession-- coughs), i was rather surprised. now. when i heard the song play... i was even more surprised. oh my god. iu's voice sounded so-- clear. crystal clear. as the song title suggests, the lyric revolves around a man (i guess it's a female now that iu's singing it) reminiscing the past and an unrequited love. this song pretty much symbolizes 'first love' to me. but in a more... analog, antique manner. in recent times, us teenagers go around having a countless number of crushes here and there. just as fast we fall for another, we get over them just as easily. but this song... it's kind of like. some part of the love stays in your heart, and even when you've gotten over it, it's a part of your memory that you can treasure, both in pain and in nostalgia. my favorite lines in the song would be the last two lines, which roughly translate to: "this night, tomorrow night, and the night after that, i am waiting forever."
[UPDATE] SO I SAW THE MUSIC VIDEO, WHICH WAS ON BUGS. BUT LIKE. I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S ON YOUTUBE YET.... WAIT GREENTEA JUST SENT ME A MESSAGE IT'S UP LET ME LINK IT FOR YOU. wait never mind. apparently loen has a technical issue in uploading on youtube right now. i'll link it (or someone else will) later on when it's up! it's really pretty by the way. the reunion(???) between memories and the present. sighs at eternal beauty. again.. forgive me. it is out. haha
2. 꽃 (김광석 원곡); Flower (Original Song by Kim Kwangseok)
this was the song that i thought would be the final. i hadn't listened to the original one, so i didn't know what nuance or feel the song had. but, the original artist has a lot of name value (and obviously musical value as well). kim kwangseok is someone really close to a national figure. he was a folk singer, though he did rock too (but not the screamo rock and roll kind of stuff, you know?). born in 1964, he passed away in 1996; he was barely thirty two years old. there are lots of rumors as to why he passed away, but that's not of importance now. (on a side note, rest in peace.) his music is really amazing. there are a lot of covers, and if i'm not wrong, i believe iu participated in a concert along with other artists that had something to do with his songs a year or so ago. maybe i'll look for a video somewhere. anyway, the song itself... it's a really... ominous feeling. dark. tragic. heart-wrenching too, maybe. the lyrics are rather short. directly translate, it talks about a flower blooming and withering. i'm sure the song has lots of metaphors and relevance-- in fact let me quick google it right now. okay, the research was pretty unsuccessful. but. i can't really analyze the song-- it's kind of beyond my literacy level at the moment HAHA. then let me just talk about the melody and all. unlike the first song, which had a sweet tone to it, this one's just plain tragic. iu's voice is a bit lower. but it gets louder on the chorus. ugh. it's just my type of song to be honest.
3. 삐에로는 우릴 보고 웃지 (김완선 원곡); The Pierot Laughs At Us (Original Song by Kim Wansun).
now now. this song is a dance song. it's really famous. in 'i am a singer' season one, BMK remade this song and it was pretty popular too. um. back when the original song came out, this became rather viral, especially in clubs (though it can't be called a CLUB... but a night. night club. yep. something like that.) the original artist kim wansun was praised for trying genres which wasn't a major thing for females back then. for the most part, i love the song. then again, what song of iu's do i not like-- anyway. but, i'm not sure. there's a part of the song where "electronic" singing is repeated (repeating the word pierot). this is a slight turn-off for me, but the rest of the song is great nonetheless. i like how the song was "acoustic-fied", but it wasn't completely and entirely made acoustic. i guess this is because the original song was such a famous one that completely changing it might be too much of a challenge and lose public appeal. oh, and did you guys see the video teaser for this? it's soooooo cute. iu tries to be badass and you can see her chewing gum (which was a symbol for being the "bad unnie" around the neighborhood back then).
4. 사랑이 지나가면 (이문세 원곡); When Love Passes (Original Song by Lee Moonsae)
this artist also has great name value. he's still very popular. some of you might be familiar with his name - he's the original artist of the song red sunset by bigbang. apparently, according to the bugs album description, this song was the BIGGEST hit of 1987. it sold two million copies of the album-- omfg that's a lot LOL. in my opinion, this song has an especially more serene feel to it. just as the concept of the album itself is nostalgia and reminiscence, the song contains a lot of that. the lyrics talk about how she doesn't 'remember' the past and how she has no regrets anymore-- but it's still full of longing. as the title says: "when love passes."
5. 너의 의미 (feat. 김창완) (산울림 원곡); The Meaning of You (feat. Kim Changwan) (Original Song by Sanwoolim)
a lot of you probably know who the guy that featured in the song is. have you watched the drama 'my lover from another star' or also known as 'you from the stars' with kim soohyun? do you remember his lawyer, who was practically his father? yep, that's kimchangwan. he's actually a singer. he's the vocal (i'm not sure if he's the leader or not, haha) of the band Sanwoolim. they focused on folk rock, and iu's remake here made it much more acoustic. this is like one of the only songs that is an actual duet. compared to the low, deep and nostalgic voice of kimchangwan, iu's voice sounds more clear and young. but the harmony between young and old is really amazing. on a side note. iu has said from the past that she wanted to work with kimchangwan. and i hear he took care of her a lot on radio shows while she was a rookie. i'm glad she was able to do what she wanted to. anyway, it's one of my personal favorites in the album; the lyrics are cute yet really pretty. not 'elegant beautiful' kind of pretty but... like. a pretty cloud in the sky pretty. the lyrics talk about how each smile, each action, each look from 'you' holds significant meaning. a smile means a lot. even a bitter look holds meaning as a 'heavy promise'. it's beautiful. and i've been replaying it since forever.
6. 여름밤의 꿈 (김현식 원곡, 윤상 작곡); Midsummernight's Dream (Original Song by Kim Hyunsik, Composed by Yoon Sang)
well, yoonsang. he's one of the more recent composers of the kpop age today, isn't he. he's the man who features in iu's 'only story i didn't know' music video as well as the composer for this song. i believe he also composed 'everybody has secrets' with gain in iu's 3rd album, modern times. iu has mentioned many times that yoonsang has been a great teacher for her; and i'm very grateful that he taught her well. apparently, this song holds a lot of meaning for the original artist. this song kind of marked his title as a composer. what i like about this song is that it resembles 'flower' (track two) lyric-wise. it shifts away from the whole typical, common topic of 'love'. the lyrics talk about the scene of a quiet, starry night. (is it just me or does that call for a drabble-- oh, if not, that's fine too HAHA). my favorite lyrics here: "my mind, like a child, is running to the blue ocean of memories." oh, and: "i remember the eternal dreams of the midsummer night." god... the beauty of it all. how am i even handling this all.
7. 쿵따리 샤바라 (feat. 클론) (클론 원곡); Boomboom Shalala (feat. Clone) (Original Song by Clone) **I actually don't know how to translate the song title. It's an onomotopoeia of drum beats and a popular musical saying... but it's close.
this song i consider one of the two relatively 'fun' songs in the album, along with track three. the original artist was a dance duo group, so that's not a big surprise there. it's kind of an energizer song-- how whenever you face crises and hard times during life, you should get yourself back on your feet. things happen, things pass. you should take a break from time to time. stuff like that. now... on a personal note, this song was SLIGHTLY, just SLIGHTLY, disappointing to me. the featuring seemed pointless - it's a long narration by clone, TWICE in the song, which takes a substantial part of the lyrics. while the music tone is very joyful and happy, maybe youthful, the featuring was really just an eh factor for me. nonetheless, iu's voice didn't seem a bit awkward trying to convert this song into her own acoustic feel.
in conclusion? well. iu's the best. i've said this before, and i'm reasserting it: iu is NOT an idol. yes, she has songs like boo, marshmallow. even good day, you and i, and red shoes count as 'major' 'idol' 'mainstream' 'kpop'. but this album proves to us that being an idol isn't all that iu's capable of. this is a real significant step towards her being an artist. she can not only compose and make her own music but she also knows how to sing in a way that makes things hers. and, in a broader audience perspective, she narrows the 'gap' between young musicians and the old legends. i hope iu will do more music like this in the future... ugh.
happy birthday, lee jieun! thank you for being born-- truly. i should be the one giving you a gift, but here you are, giving US such a big present. god. i'm teased a lot for my obsession (which really isn't-- it's eternal admiration and love) for her, but her talents and her efforts make it so that i don't have to be a TINY bit embarrassed of being a uaena. literally, even when my friends try to, they have nothing to diss iu for! except for her choice in picking dramas...which is a completely different topic... god iu you can act but you REALLY don't seem to know what are good storylines and what aren't. LOL. off topic.
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