Wait. Who are these people? The Joker? An emo Kid who's been recluse for too many years?
People who have followed my chronicles of the Extraordinary League of Kickassery are no strangers to my confusion as to why these honored men must change their hairstyles and don such befuddling garments every time they produce a new album. Just when I think, "Their hair can't get more bizarre than this," these gentlemen graciously swoop in with platinum hair and patterned buzz cuts to prove me wrong.
Once you can get over the visual packaging, however, so far this album looks to be one of the best. I was a little bit meh towards the songs they released last year, but since they've released the music videos for "Blue" and "Bad Boy" I've been hooked on the beats right from the start.
Let's go over the first title track:
You know what's great about this song? The most important line is in English, which means I CAN ACTUALLY SING ALONG. "I'm singing my bluuuuuuuuuuuuessssss!!" Way better than having to be like "Toniiiiiiiight. Toniiiiiiiight. Toniiiiiiight" or "blahblahblahblah HARU HARU."
Not to mention, I'm a big fan of bittersweet songs. This is the perfect song to listen to when I wake up early in the morning and try to do homework. The music video is melancholy as well, and the blue-grey shots of New York city give it a somber, urban look. The only beef I've got is with that girl who keeps popping up in the video. I'm still in the dark as to what her relation to the Extraordinary League of Kickassery is. Who art thou? Wherefore doth thou keep disappearing? Are all five of them hallucinating her image? Is this an artsy take two of "Beautiful Hangover"? Why do their movements keep mimicking hers? Are they implying that the culmination of all five members of the Extraordinary League of Kickassery is equivalent to this female?
Oh, and I was confused by all the running. From where are y'all running from? To where are y'all running towards? And why?
And now we get to the second title track:
I don't usually gravitate towards these more upbeat songs, but seriously -- THAT BEAT. I just want to play this everywhere I go and swagger to class with this rhythm. It's been a while since a Big Bang song hooked me right from the first play, but this one did the trick.
One thing I am starting to notice is that my ability to decipher and interpret their music videos has been on a sharp decline. Is it just me? Has it been too long since I've taken an English class with an analytical focus? Granted, their music videos have come a long way from the melodrama seen in songs like "Lies" and "Haru Haru," but at least I could still come up with some sort of interpretation for the artsy "Love Song" and overtly symbolic "Baby Good Night." No, the lady in "Blue" threw me off completely, and I'm still not sure what's going on here in "Bad Boy." Namely, WHO ARE THESE PEEPS TURNING DOWN BIG BANG?? I mean, I guess I kind of understand the one Taeyang was hitting on, 'cause I'd be kinda weirded out if a guy started doing a body roll right next to me on the street, even if he was pretty ripped and all that.
So once you get over the fact that GD's emo fringe is flopping all over his face, you start appreciating how the same backdrop (New York City) can conjure such distinctly different vibes in two music videos. There's still a greyish blue tint to the video, but it's crisper and sharper than in "Blue." The best part of all this is the gangsta dance/walk they do in the city streets. Totally makes me think of a stylish, updated version of West Side Story's gangs, the Jets and the Sharks, except our Extraordinary League of Kickassery has a hundred times the swag.
Seriously. All this swag is almost enough to forgive this egregious poster:
My excitement about Big Bang's world tour was duly neutralized by my horror upon seeing the Badass One's bedazzled eyebrows.
... SERIOUSLY??
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