Gourmet Bomb and Friday Music Favourites – 28 October

 My dear O.,

Your food-inspired letters were really delicious! I am glad that you take care of yourself by eating good food and socializing with people! That’s the best way to beat the autumn melancholy. The worst is that after autumn there comes winter which is even more depressing and colder. It is good that you search for some colour in your daily routine, do not let the cold make you feel sad!  Your lodging looks very comfy and warm; I can see from the photos that you furnished it with style. I really liked the pictures you posted! And also, the gluttony quote made me laugh sincerely, hahaha!

The dinner you prepared for your colleagues is the best way to “break the ice” as people say and to catch up with the times you couldn’t meet with those girls. They look very pretty and friendly in the photo you posted.

You did everything well – from the stylish arrangement of the table, to the wonderful meal. The menu seems very delicious and fresh – is turkey common meat to eat there, as it was with the fish in Brest? I know that in France they eat goose meat (a stereotype, because of the foie gras, maybe?) and each region has its unique meals (like the Pâté Lorrain you wrote about). The connection between food and wine that French people have has always impressed me. I saw it when we were touring in France with the choir in 2014 – especially older people, they couldn’t imagine eating something without a glass of wine. For me wine is too heavy to drink alongside a main course or if I want accompany it with some cheese, I will definitely not do it during desserts time.

Japchae!!! I cannot believe it! I envy you so much (in the noble way, of course)! This dish is in my Korean food bucket list! You must cook it for me, haha!!! So, they sell dangmyeon (sweet potato noodles) in France, don’t they? And the thing you wrote about how your Korean friend prepared all the veggies and the meat – the patience they have when preparing their dishes is something very different from our hasty Western style. I really admire the effort they put and the respect they have towards beautiful and nutritious food.

So, it’s Friday again and this time, as promised, I will write about music - something I had to do last week…

BTS and their wings

My dear, there is a group I stumbled upon by chance more than two weeks ago in one late Sunday evening. Called BTS, or also Bangtan Boys, they had just released their newest album and the Twitterverse (and the entire Internet) was literally exploding that same night. My curiosity brought me to the song I posted last Friday. 

Their album, WINGS, topped the charts in many countries with the Blood, Sweat & Tears MV becoming the fastest K-pop music video by a group to reach a high number of views on YouTube in a very short time.

The album consists of not only group songs, but also each member has a solo track. I only recently watched the short films for their solos that use quotes from Hermann Hesse’s novel Demian (a book that I plan to read).

Source: Wikipedia

The reason I continued listening to their album that Sunday night was simply because I was really surprised by the promotional song. Blood, Sweat & Tears was simply something I didn’t expect to hear from a South Korean band, so I had to check the other songs, too. Below there are few words about some of them, including the lead single. (Thanks to all those YouTube users who upload the songs for us to listen! I should thank them every time I write and share songs here.)

Blood, Sweat & Tears reminds me of one of those summer European mainstream songs that we sometimes listen and dance to. Due to the oriental elements in the song, the resemblance with our modern pop-folk genre in Bulgaria is astonishing and makes me giggle every time I listen to it. I must confess that initially, when I was first listening to it, I was literally frozen by surprise (as I told you above). I watched a video where the boys explain that the genre of the song is moombahton trap. A simple check in Google leads you to a Wikipedia page that tells something about the genre and gives examples of other songs, some of which that are famous, too. Moombahton or pop-folk, I don’t know anymore, but it is definitely different, distinguishing and mostly likable to listen to. The video is…well, you know my habit of not watching the MVs, so I only recently watched it as a whole and was impressed by their moves. That’s the best Korean dance interpretation of pop-folk moves that I have ever seen in my life, hahah! But still, they are good, I must confess. And they surprisingly correspond to the song.

Begin starts with sensual vocals and then flows into a rhythmic and pleasing dreamy song. The sounds in the chorus seem very familiar to me. It’s like I have heard a similar style of music somewhere, but I cannot remember quite well. For me it’s a song for the night – the sounds predispose to something mysterious and exciting, hiding in the darkness.

Lie – my most favourite song! Jimin’s voice range is very wide I must say. The classical notes at the beginning take you to a complete different version of reality. A playful vocal tease, followed by a dramatic burst of emotional high notes in the chorus – simply delicious to listen to! Drama, violins, creepy female voices and old crinoline dresses from the Victorian era – this is the universal feeling I got at first, while being swept by this swinging musical harmony. I usually stick to several songs and listen to them multiple times and this song is on repeat at the moment. It may sound too eerie and dramatic to you, though. Just focus on the beautiful musical heights he conquers, haha!

First Love sounds like a painful confession. I really regret not knowing the lyrics (and not knowing Korean), because it is really promising as a single. The piano sounds complete Suga’s voice which is filled with regret, pain and mocking disdain. The song is very suitable for a movie soundtrack.

Stigma, MAMA and Reflection are songs that you will definitely enjoy. They are calmer, relaxed and close to your preferences.

Awake and 21Century girls sound more like k-pop songs, although there are still some moombahton-ish elements at the end of the latter, but that makes it appealing, more boyish and danceable in my opinion. Awake is a very delicate ballad, showing the tenderness in Jin’s voice. His timbre is also very light, but unlike Jimin’s boyish notes, Jin’s voice feels more relaxed and manly in the musical heights (with no offence to Jimin’s abilities, of course!). Bonus: There is a new dance practice video which is simply hilarious! Hahaha! Happy Halloween in advance! :D 

BTS Cypher 4 is your jumping song! Rap trap power, haha! I heard that there was another song that used the same musical theme, but I must confess that I like the Cypher more. Brrr! Ha!

Although I wrote only about some of the songs, I highly recommend you to listen to the complete album. The songs in it are very well arranged and their course does not burden your mind while listening.

Actually, it is very difficult to write about them, because I am a Bangtan newbie, so to say. I feel that there are still some things about the concept that I am missing and that makes the songs’ reviews incomplete in a way. For me they are still a new group that I discovered by chance and I think the surprising sound of the promotional song made me listen to their album and to dig on YouTube for more. I recall that I have listened to parts of their previous songs in the past, but initially they couldn’t hold my interest for long (simply because I was obsessed with only few groups and that was it). So, now I can only say that all the opinions above are mostly based on my first impressions and the reviews do not encompass everything that could be said. But, as a whole I can conclude that this album is very interesting and it’s close to my taste in music and style concept. It has that enchanting vibe with a pinch of eerie mystery that makes you tremble from excitement and pleasure. I am glad that I turned my eyes (and ears) to other fresh artists from the K-pop scene and BTS is indeed a valuable addition to my collection of favourite Korean bands.

I will continue observing their future work as closely as I can, because they seem really fresh and capable to create more great pieces. And, from what I have seen and heard recently, they are very well matched as a group.  BTS, fighting! :)

R.