Normally on Sundays, we post a bible study in which we make our way through the Diaries (aka The Sacred Text) one entry at a time. However, today we have something much more pressing to discuss.
This was not my original idea for this week’s belated Fix On but I realized as we approached the comeback that the last thing anyone in the world would want to read about (or that I would want to write about) is anything other than WILL. And so after a bit of discussion, we thought it would be fun to have a long-distance listening party and record our reactions to our first listen and share them with the world in the most 2011 way possible.
Of course, we watched Crazy Form a few times before we started the listening party.
GD: Wow
Wow
Oh my god
We’re going to watch it again
There’s so much
Murklin: 😭
GD: It’s like I couldn’t see a single thing
Like my eyes were on fire
Bobby: I feel like my entire brain has been scrambled
GD: That was my third time to watch it
What if I just want to watch it forever
Bobby: Too many details
GD: What if I need to watch it in slow motion
Bobby: That's what I was thinking.
Too many things
GD: Before we listen to the album
Bobby: I have to go to bed
GD: 😭
Okay should we listen to this album now
Or should we give up
Bobby: Let's listen now
I have the document set up and ready to go
If you aren’t aware, Spotify has this fun feature where you can invite people to join you in a Jam, where you all listen to the same playlist in real time. Everyone can add and remove songs and control the music. It’s a good time.
WE KNOW
GD: It’s happening
Bobby: I'm afraid I will have no thoughts
Just
!!!!!!!
GD: This is the song I was most excited for based on the preview
Omg
Murklin: There she is
Bobby: So smooth
GD: Yes.
This is going to be nothing btw
Just us saying yes
Unconnected to the sound [Editor’s Note: Lol, this turned out to be a very true prediction. This is why people do reactions on YouTube and not blogs. Just treat it like a fun game where you try to guess what specific moment we’re reacting to.]
Murklin: Oh for content
Hongjoong is a god
GD: It’s so good
Murklin: Fuuukk
Mingi
GD: Omg I love it
The whisper
It’s perfect
Murklin: Hide and seek?
Bobby: JONGHO
GD: I want to live in that note
Murklin: Chills
GD: Wow
Hongjoong has said that the lyrics of We Know are very important to the lore. I am not mentally equipped at the moment to decipher the meaning, but they have me feeling some feelings. My initial impression without having put a lot of thought into it is that Ateez have taken on the role of hunters. It’s like Ateez’s Ode to the Guardians and therefore Z. “I’m chasing after you/ Coming after you” they say. “Hidden behind a mask/ I’ve noticed a mean smile/ Still believing you can deceive me” and “You better run, hide and seek/ Coming close on you, then I got ya.” The lyrics are fierce and unforgiving.
I also love that this song includes references to ATEEZ’s favorite elements: “I'll become a wave, I dive in/ I don't care about a thing, 'cause I'll be burning”--water and fire, right there back to back! But also: “I got it, the thunder will turn the lights on.” UGH. I love it and I love them and it makes me angry. Aggressive Appreciation.
I highly recommend, by the way, that you listen to We Know right after Outlaw (the song or the whole album so she knows we still love her)--an immaculate transition.
Emergency
Bobby: I wasn't prepared to move on spiritually
Murklin: fire
GD: No me either
Bobby: Vibe switch
Murklin: Who has got my back?
I need lyrics
Nasty
Who is gonna pay? Play?
GD: This song is like the fancier older brother of to the beat
Omg
Jongho
Bobby: Love a soft Jongho moment
GD: I will just spend this whole comeback crying about him
I can feel it
Murklin: Rapline and jongho layering 2/2
Bobby: Reminds me of The Leaders
Structure wise
GD: Everything that is happening is just
Wow
Jesus
Murklin: Well leaders and to the beat sit at the same table
The whole first verse of Emergency is just. . .
La vida loca engraved in my body
Born crooked, get it?
Everything in the world is boring
I'll ruin it all, hope everyone enjoys it
Start by turning up the volume, fire, this choir of troublemakers
Turning your empire upside down
No tolerance for blocking the stars at anytime
Open up the ball of chaos
Like what am I even supposed to say? These boys mean business. Also “this choir of troublemakers” is such a good line. It reminds me of absurd collectives for animals (an embarrassment of pandas, a parliament of owls, a coalition of cheetahs, etc.) and fills me with unspeakable joy.
Crazy Form
Bobby: I feel like every song just stops
GD: They are just not letting me breathe
Murklin: Get uppp
Ay Aya aya
He said he redid this 4 times?
GD: The time is ticking part is so perfect to me
It just gets right into my veins
Murklin: 9024 is what?
Taki Taki 🤌
Bobby: This is definitely the first time I have actually heard this song
GD: I for sure thought the song ended and was like what happened
Bobby: That tiny little, kinda, choral moment there?
GD: Yes.
I love an ateez chant
Murklin: We both said yes thank you when wet Jongho did the thing
GD: I will be thinking about it forever
When I read these lyrics, the only thing I can think about is that this whole song is a clapback to all the idiots who say that ATEEZ “overdance” or are “doing too much” on stage.
Just leave me alone, I don't mind
Just close your eyes if you think it's unsightly
…
Nobody plays like this
Oh, right or wrong?
*Just empty talking, blah, blah, blah, blah*
…
Crazy boys are getting crazier
When I show up, crash
Just partial destruction everywhere [Editor’s note: LOL]
…
Already crazy with passion, ambition and tension are to that world
One that's mysterious
One that you've never seen before
One that's been all around the globe
I'll make you scream, when I go
Like. . . come on. How satisfying is it whenever our humble and kind kings throw some shade?
ARRIBA
Murklin: Arrrrriba
Fun
GD: This whole album is fun while also having a lot of listenability
Murklin: They gotta have the best dance for this
GD: I mean I know we’re only 4 songs in
But I believe it to be true
Murklin: I love him
GD: That was so fun
Omg
Bobby: Ooooh FUN
GD: I love it
Bobby: Very playful
GD: Mingi’s rap is literally perfect for this song
Murklin: The range
Bobby: Didn't he say this was his fave rap? Or something like that?
Murklin: Maybe. Might still have been in the factory when they were talking about it
GD: If he did, he was right; that was fantastic. I want to hear it again.
Bobby: Jongho's really putting in work
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t super looking forward to Arriba based on the previews. It’s just not my usual vibe? But, of course, leave it to ATEEZ to take a genre of music I don’t really love but give me a wonderful exception. It’s so fun and playful, and I can’t wait to see it in concert.
Reading the lyrics, I have decided Arriba is Illusion’s worldly cousin.
Wake up, right now
Wake up, stretch left and right
Wake up, follow me, all the burden
Drop it, it’s a, it’s a trance
Already a mess, all the wackos
We dance, all night long
Those fake shows are over
Just follow me
…
Surrendering our bodies to the rhythm
Drink up the end of this night
Let's sing, hoping all of this
Feels like a dream
Compare to Illusion:
It's like I'm dreaming
Please don't wake me up, oh, oh
…
The bluish sun, the purple star (Let me free)
Flowers are dancing, the song is a bonus
It's talking to me from somewhere (Let me free)
All night, come on, party all night long
I have a lot more thoughts about Illusion and Arriba and how dreams might be affecting what we see but I’ll talk about that when we get to Crescent pt. 2.
Silver Light
Bobby: Oh she's here
GD: I am not sure I heard a single thing after Mingi’s rap
Bobby: OOOOOOHHH
Murklin: Sex
GD: 🥹🥹🥹
It’s hard to believe it’s all this good
Bobby: Right now there's some idiot out there about to complain about the raps in this song bc they don't see the vision
Murklin: Take me home sexy sister
Bobby: I hope they can feel me judging them
GD: The like.. climb? That Yeosang is doing?
It’s so good it makes me physically ill.
Murklin: Like that spider thing people didn't like in? Cyberpunk?
GD: YES.
That I loved
You. Don’t. Get it. You don’t understand how much I love Silver Light. You don’t understand how much Silver Light is for me and specifically me. Silver Light is a perfect song. Silver Light is flawless. Her hair is insured for $10,000. Silver Light punched me in the face and it was awesome. There once existed a me before Silver Light, and I don’t know who that woman is. She bears no resemblance to the me who has experienced Silver Light. We are living in a post-Silver Light world and there are people out there who don’t even know.
And then. . . I read the lyrics.
I know that it’s sort of a joke to say that you’re crying over an idol or a song and like, no one’s really crying. I am not joking. I read the lyrics and cried actual tears.
Spreading my frozen wings, I’ll fly up
Now I show myself in the gray sky
*A single light appears, a silver light of hope*
My awaited salvation, the shelter at the end
…
Those blue bruises
Come back and become a spark
So that nothing stains you
Burn it up far away, oh-oh
…
Peace out to my past
Without hesitation, keep on [Editor’s note: Mingi, an actual lyrical genius]
Typical ATEEZ. Putting the saddest, most meaningful and inspiring lyrics over the sickest, sexiest beat. Eden, you madman.
Crescent Part 2
Murklin: Transport me
I'm ready for the other dimension
If I cry listening to youth
GD: It’s beautiful
Murklin: When I cry
GD: I feel sick
Bobby: Was that a ship?
GD: Impossible to know [Editor’s Note: It was]
Like my stomach is all upset
About how good it is
Listen to Crescent and then Crescent part 2. Just do it.
I find it interesting that we have Crescent on One to All following Illusion (and Utopia) and then we have Crescent pt.2 following the first half of this album, which is arguably the lore-infused half (same as One to All, if you ask me). We know, of course, that the cromer is affected by certain phases of the moon and that the crescent moon allows you to travel/communicate through dreams. And then we have ATEEZ’s Mama performance that includes San using some sort of device to infiltrate people’s dreams and make them strip.
I’ve also been thinking about their use of color. When we look back at the Strictland of Guerrilla and Halazia, the colors are muted and dull. Then we look at Outlaw and Crazy Form which are just bursting with bright, intense colors. When we see all the absurd things that happen, in Crazy Form especially, it makes you wonder if the whole thing is a dream. It’s easy to hip thrust at some cops and drive a car through the wall of a bar and escape scot-free when it’s not real.
Dreamy Day
Murklin: Hongjoong vibes immediately
GD: Ahhhh I love it
Murklin: 12:41 AM
😭
GD: This one
Murklin: This is the crying dimension
GD: It’s mine
Incredible
Oh my god
Oh my god
Murklin: Summer
GD: Sick. I am sick.
This song feels like it belongs on my nostalgia playlist
Bobby: I feel like KQ owes me an MV of this
Flowers blooming, spurting up with all their strength on the field
Can't be seen, but what kind of force brought you here?
Patience, time, understanding, enduring pain
In the moment of collapse, did you bloom beautifully?
We should keep in mind
You, me, and in this moment
The courage to overcome, rather than fear
…
We capture this scene in our hearts
Even if we have to wake up someday (Oh) [Editor’s Note: This line hurts me physically.]
All the memories
Never gonna fade away
Hongjoong, how dare you.
MATZ
Bobby: Ready for my Lego rap
Murklin: Hip hop in your veins
GD: Unexpected
Murklin: Will take some getting used to unit songs
I keep waiting for more boys
Bobby: How could there be no Jongho in the bridge [Editor’s Note: I have learned there can, in fact, be bridges without Jongho sometimes. Amazing.]
Murklin: Seonghwa must have had so much fun
GD: It sounds like they’re having fun
Murklin: Imagine the stage at the concert
GD: Fun
I did not hear this brand name
If the GPS for necessities is on, not on the Carnival but on the carrier
You can be busy too
Don't worry, regardless of above or below the stage
I don't live shamefully
Numbers without sources
Just don't sell them, no shame, enjoy as always
Hongjoong, please. Committing actual lyrical murder.
IT’s You
Murklin: I need lyrics
This is sus
GD: [Sends twitter link]
First thing I saw on Twitter
I did not expect a sexy song from this unit
Bobby: Oh. They're "dancing"
Murklin: Suspicions confirmed
It's good clean fun y'all
My body
GD: Just like cookies
WooSanSang are most definitely singing about performing. On a stage. And not anything else. It says it right there in the lyrics. With zero subtext or innuendo.
Oh, my body, I don't wanna stop, until the break of dawn
There's no end to my performance for you
…
Sighs in the rhythm
Spread in my breath
Just the two of us, oh
Freely without any distractions
There are no boundaries to our dreams, joyfully
Neverland is a fantasy that's prepared only for us
Fly endlessly like Peter Pan
See? No one would ever write a sexy song with Peter Pan in it. . . right?
I know one thing for sure, nostalgia is not an emotion that this unit is trying to evoke. But for some reason, this song makes me feel nostalgic and I don’t know for what. But I just feel. . . a little homesick? It’s the same sort of vague feeling of homesickness I feel when I look up at the stars. Like there’s somewhere else I’m supposed to be. It’s very odd that this instrumental in particular makes me feel that way.
Youth
GD: Youth is here
Bobby: Yunho and Mingi here to pull our minds out of the gutter
Murklin: The literal angels
Yunho wrapping around
Bobby: Love the brass
Murklin: So long?
This is so his style
GD: It’s only two people but it sounds very full
Murklin: I'm so happy
I love them
GD: I think it’s the way the music follows the singing? It’s very good
Murklin: 😭
I’m dancing as if every day is my last
I want to shine like the pouring light
Looking at the starry night sky, I want to lean on you
Smile brightly when you see me
Why is it so hard?
What did I do wrong?
Alone
In my twenties
Hugs for everyone. We’re going to make it.
I enjoy when there’s a purposeful disconnect between the lyrics of a song and its instrumental. Youth has a little bit of a melancholy vibe, but it also feels like the instrumental is meant to feel more hopeful than anything else. It’s chill but upbeat and has the bright bits of brass that lighten it up in spite of its dark lyrics. It gives it balance.
Everything
Bobby: Well
Here we go
GD: Oh god
Murklin: Good luck
GD: It’s perfect.
I can feel his voice in my spine.
😭
Murklin: Perfect
No notes
Bobby: No words
GD: 🛌 [Editor’s Note: This emoji represents GD being overwhelmed by Jongho.]
Jongho, my beautiful boy.
These lyrics are exactly what I expect from Jongho. They are not flowery or full of metaphor and imagery. But they are straightforward and earnest. I feel like I should have so much more to say about a Jongho solo, but perhaps I should be like Jongho himself and keep it simple: I love this song and this boy so very much.
FIN : WILL
Murklin: This is great in headphones
GD: Oh this is long
It’s like a full song
Murklin: Maddox 💖
Bobby: This feels like reclaiming memories
Like, I'm visualizing people finding their little memory beads
GD: I feel like this music is familiar
Murklin: Probably because it is
The VCR remember
GD: OH
Right
Murklin: No I don't want it to be over
Absolutely nothing more to say. Exploring the lyrics has made me emotionally exhausted. I am wrung out in the best way possible.
The First 3 Seconds of “Do or Die” (Accidentally)
Bobby: Babies, please
Seriously, y'all know I love xikers, but it was incredibly jarring to hear literally anything else after finishing this first listen. I have autoplay turned off on my Spotify for streaming reasons (even though I'm not sure why, but the streaming gods have demanded it), and it's actually nice to sit in the silence for a moment after Fin : Will just so I can process. Even after actively listening to the album a dozen times at this point.
Final Thoughts
Murklin: Well I just read the youth lyrics and will just cry and cry and cry
GD: Wow
What a slam dunk
Murklin: His big beautiful heart
Bobby: I feel like I need to just sit in a dark room and FEEL for like, a few hours
Just process
GD: Unbelievable
I can’t believe I have to talk to Hongjoong after listening to this
Bobby: ASK HIM ABOUT BOBO I'M SO SERIOUS
GD: I will I will [Editor’s Note: She did not.]
Bobby: This is extremely important to me
Murklin: And From!
GD: After I tell him how cool he is and how dreamy day is my new favorite song
And then I’ll demand the from remix on streaming platforms
And then I’ll move to Bobo
Where I assume we will spend the rest of our time together.
Bobby: With a thorough and sensible answer
Okay final thoughts
GD: It’s the best album anyone has ever made
Bobby: Yes, you must listen to the album in order don't be crazy
Silver Light is my clear favorite bc they wrote it for me; they know how I feel about synth
I assume it’s KQ's apology for their various sins
Against me specifically
GD: I feel like this album is very easy listening
Bobby: Yes
GD: Even the front part has a lot of the like chill sounds that are good for background
Bobby: Every song is so wildly different from every other song, which is a switch up from the rest of World. . . but also isn't
GD: My favorite is We Know and Dreamy Day and Everything
And also all of the other songs
Because it’s really perfect
Bobby: The whole thing is just absurd
It makes me angry
I'm angry AT Ateez and angry FOR Ateez
Like, HOW DARE you be this perfect
And also HOW DARE this not be everyone's favorite album
Murklin: I'm just so so proud of them
GD: I still feel sick
Murklin: They've been working so hard for so long to get to this and it's so good
GD: My stomach is literally queasy contemplating how something could be this good and perfect and right
Bobby: Fix On is going to be late. I'm too tired to edit
Tired and overwhelmed
GD: That’s fine
And good
And right
Murklin: Feel all your feelings
As per Maddox instructions
I know this is an unusual replacement for a bible study, but as I told GD while I was editing/writing, it felt like going to church. Like I’ve had a revival in my soul. I simply cannot thank ATEEZ and Eden-ary enough for this absolute gift of an album.
Comentarios