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Sadness
Trevor says, in his writeup about JJ Project's "Bounce," that:
I don't dislike "Bounce" (especially not outraged by any genre busting), though the track doesn't drive me, either. But the more abstract Trevor gets in his reasoning, the more I want to argue with it. Except what I'd rather do is prod him to argue with himself. So what I'd say to Trevor is: Ask yourself what questions would be most troublesome for your argument, and what counterarguments would be the strongest, richest, and deepest. I'll say as an aside — and this is an observation, not a criticism — that at least some of the terms you use to praise JJ Project feel very Sixties, very rock.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0eTeKT44mc [This video is age restricted and only watchable on YouTube, so click the link.]
"For me, there's nothing sadder than, say, a couple of self-described 'punks' arguing about what 'real punk rock' is and is not."Guess you have to count me among the sad, then, since that's exactly what I was doing the other day when talking about Screeching Weasel and Britney in my "Are We NOT MEN?" post. (Ctrl-F "Screeching Weasel" and don't neglect to click the link to my 2007 Blackout ballot.)
I don't dislike "Bounce" (especially not outraged by any genre busting), though the track doesn't drive me, either. But the more abstract Trevor gets in his reasoning, the more I want to argue with it. Except what I'd rather do is prod him to argue with himself. So what I'd say to Trevor is: Ask yourself what questions would be most troublesome for your argument, and what counterarguments would be the strongest, richest, and deepest. I'll say as an aside — and this is an observation, not a criticism — that at least some of the terms you use to praise JJ Project feel very Sixties, very rock.
no subject
1. It feels like it's aimed at the export market. Like Bang & Zelo's "Never Give Up" it uses imagery that doesn't exist in Korea, where high schoolers wear school uniforms and generally don't die their hair;
2. I think the the super-ADD, borderline-obnoxious "Bounce Bounce Bounce Bounce" opening is an attempt to appeal to this international audience of young teenagers ("I whip my hair back and forth I whip my hair back and forth I whip my hair back and forth");
3. But when the actual rap comes in, it's not hyperactive at all, the flow is very relaxed and nostalgic. The title and the relaxed flow mark this song out as a throwback to early-90s Korean hip hop like DJ Doc "Run To You";
5. Meaning that teenybopper US (and Korean) kids are being stealth-exposed to "the classics"? ...Also this is nostalgic for me because I was an elementary school student in a mostly African-American (NYC) suburb during the mid-nineties;
6. Trevor and I are in agreement about liking the way the song switches genres, but for me it's mostly about the control on display through the effortlessness of the switch. Songs like Lovey Dovey, Oh My God are fast and energetic up but feel out of control in some way (and Lovey Dovey contributes to that feeling by subtly speeding up each time the chorus repeats). "Bounce" is hyperactive, but ultimately relaxed and comfortable, and gives a feeling of the singers being totally in control of the pace: they speed it up and slow it down according to their will. It's about mastery, or the good parts of a really good mood, before it all goes wrong;
7. I think the rock parts are also signaling that the song is aimed at an NAmerican audience or an audience familiar with NAmerican cultural exports.
Basically, I like to think that this song is appealing to teenyboppers and specifically NAmerican ones and that its ultimate goal is to interest them in "classic" Korean hip hop, which happens to have a lot in common with classic East Coast hip hop, but also has its own unique characteristics etc.