Welp, it's end of year list time!
I went back and forth as to what year-end lists I would actually make this year. I haven't listened to enough albums to make a best albums list, and I certainly haven't watched enough music videos to make a list of best MVs. So I've settled on three lists, with this - my favourite side tracks - being the first! (The other two are a lot more predictable, especially if you saw my mid-year lists...)
Even though I didn't listen to a lot of albums in their entirety in 2018 (something that will definitely change in 2019 now that I've started this blog), that meant the side tracks that I really liked managed to stand out amongst the crowd. Now, don't get me wrong, it's been an insanely busy year; I feel like the comeback rushes this year were particularly chaotic for me. But even if their side tracks were great, I was often left wishing that an artist or group had promoted a different song on their album instead - and that's certainly the case with every song I've listed here! All of these songs are, to me, valid options for a side or even a title track. And I really wish some of them had been promoted.
The only rule I have going into these year-end lists is simple - one song per artist. Otherwise, a lot of my lists would be taken up with multiple songs from the same groups, and that's just being biased.
But anyways, enough rambling - here are my 5 favourite side tracks from this year. 😊
5. BLACKPINK (블랙핑크) - SEE U LATER
BLACKPINK's comeback this year was, to me, everything I really wanted. A lot of people have said they were disappointed by it, and... I honestly don't see how? If you're disappointed with YG being a piece of shit, then yeah, I'm with you on that one. But being disappointed with the music and concept of SQUARE UP as a whole just... means you don't like BLACKPINK. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ At least it does to me, anyway. Because damn, this EP really impressed me. Regardless, even though I really liked "Forever Young" - it's a perfectly good song - I was left kinda wishing BLACKPINK had promoted "See U Later" as their sidetrack instead.
"See U Later" is a flippant kiss-off at its core; all four girls are incredibly confident in their vocal delivery (especially Rosé, if you ask me), and the rap sections give a really nice sense of punch. They're quick, snappy, and in-your-face - exactly the type of thing I like from BLACKPINK! As well as that, the chorus doesn't sound particularly out of place; you'd think a transition from acoustic guitars and a fairly steady percussion line to a trap-heavy chorus with repetitive lyrics would be jarring. But I think it really works; it's certainly a hell of a lot less jarring than "Forever Young"'s ending...
Overall, this was probably my favourite song on the album aside from "DDU DU DDU DU". In my opinion, it shows both sides of BLACKPINK's concept really well; the grounded, more girly pink side, and the confident, badass black side. I love both of them, and they combine really nicely here to make a great song! 🖤💖
4. KARD (카드) - DIMELO
"Dimelo" jumped positions a lot when I was coming up with songs to put on this list. It was at #3 for a long time, but... then another group came back and blew my socks off with one of their side tracks. That meant "Dimelo" got pushed back a spot; but being honest, this song still fucking slaps. The entire album does, really! I struggled to pick just one song to have on this list.
I think it's safe to say that Hidden KARD have wanted KARD to sing in Spanish for a while; they've got huge support in South America in particular, so that was something a lot of us really wanted to happen. Hell, even the non-Hispanic fans though it would be awesome because of the sound KARD typically go for. And when we finally got "Dimelo", I don't think I've seen a fandom be so universally happy.
It's a great song, too; it's not as if the Spanish lyrics are shoved in where they don't fit, or it feels like they don't fit the rest of the song. That's not the case at all, they work excellently! I speak Spanish myself, so I was pretty damn impressed by how good KARD's pronunciation actually is. The song itself is catchy as hell, too, so it's guaranteed to be stuck in your head once you hear it.
If KARD's comebacks in the future are as good as "Ride On The Wind", then they've cemented my position as a stan. I really, really hope we get more excellent side tracks like "Dimelo", too!
3. RED VELVET (레드벨벳) - SASSY ME (멋있게)
I haven't posted my album review for Red Velvet's RBB yet; that'll be coming in January, don't worry! But in the meantime, this song's position on my list should IMMEDIATELY tell you what I think of it.
If I could sum up how I feel every time I listen to "Sassy Me", I think this GIF does it perfectly:
No joke.
If you need an extra bit of confidence in your life, or if you just want to feel like a complete boss bitch for three minutes, "Sassy Me" has got you covered. Because gODDAMN THAT SAXOPHONE LINE IS DIRTY AND I LOVE IT.
Leave it to Red Velvet to make me like vocal fry, too! I absolutely hated it in NCT 127's "Limitless", but... these girls pull it off in a way that makes it work. It fits perfectly with the tone this song is going for - general confidence and just not giving a shit, because you know you're at the top of your game. This is probably the sexiest Red Velvet track to date if I remember correctly - I've listened to a looooot of their other albums, and I haven't heard anything like this on any of them. It's catchy, it's empowering, it's quirky, and it's outstanding. Not to spoil the upcoming review or anything, but it's by far the best song on the album for me.
This should've been the side track. Period.
Let me just say before I begin talking about them - my top two songs here were INCREDIBLY close. I switched back and forth between them constantly. But eventually, I did get there. That doesn't mean I love either of these songs any less, they're both excellent! I just finally came to a decision I was happy with.
2. DREAMCATCHER (드림캐쳐) - TRAP
Man, it was Dreamcatcher's YEAR this year. With every single comeback they had, they absolutely shone. But Alone In The City was, as a whole, just mindblowing for me. I said it in my review - it's one of the closest things I've heard to perfection in a looooooong time. This album's contents will absolutely be appearing in my other lists, mark my words, but... I think "Trap" is a pretty damn good place to start.
This song is the equivalent of an emotional gutpunch delivered by Thanos.
...that's it, that's the song.
The guitars, the girls' vocals, the change-up to an EDM-style beat in the choruses, thE GIRLS' VOCALS, the lyrical content... this is fucking gorgeous. It's a bait and switch in the beginning, for sure, but "Trap" takes you on the same emotional rollercoaster these girls are on following an awful breakup. It puts you in their shoes like very few other songs can. There's also the song's climax, which actually brought me to tears when I heard it for the first time - it's impactful in every single goddamn way.
This is, by far, Dreamcatcher at their best. It's a fucking sin that we didn't get a music video for this. I mean, I love "Wonderland" just as much as the next person, it's creepy as hell, but... Happy Face, what were you thinking?! THIS IS TOO GOOD TO PUT TO WASTE, DAMMIT.
But, in the end, it wasn't as good as my #1. Because even though I love it when Dreamcatcher experiment and do something different, I do still love their creepy/horror-themed content the most. So, since Dreamcatcher chose not to make a creepy side track...
...MAMAMOO decided to step in and fix that.
1. MAMAMOO (마마무) - MIDNIGHT SUMMER DREAM (여름밤의 꿈)
This was my reaction when I listened to this song for the first time:
...then I looked up the lyrics.
Um. Yeah. This song's creepy as fuck.
I mean, it'd need to be, seeing as it's based off of a nightmare Moonbyul had, which inspired her to write the song. But... damn, if you've ever had a nightmare - which, I'm pretty sure everyone has - this is that experience compressed into a song. And my favourite thing about it is that you'd never know if you didn't look up the lyrics. (Unless you speak Korean, that is.) Sure, you might have an inkling that something is... off, but similarly to G-Dragon's "Crooked" back in 2014, there's no way for you to definitely know how creepy this song is unless you look up its lyrics. It's a mind-blowing moment.
That doesn't mean the song itself deserves to be shoved aside though; not at all! Cosmic Sound have produced a few songs for MAMAMOO at this point, including "Rude Boy" from Yellow Flower and "매일 봐요 (Everyday)". Overall, "Everyday" was hit and miss for me, "Rude Boy" was an absolute bop, and THIS is just creepy, horror-inspired perfection.
The twinkly synths, the lyrics' storytelling, the little sound effects added in for a little bit of extra impact... all of it is very masterfully done. That's without mentioning that all four girls sound absolutely gorgeous; the powerful vocals in the choruses clash beautifully with the calmer, more scared vocals in the verses. It's just the cherry on top here!
"Midnight Summer Dream" reminds me of the haze you feel after waking up from a dream or nightmare; you can't quite tell if it was real, and sometimes... you might not want to.
•••••
And with that, that's the first of my three lists done! Getting to go back and listen to all of these songs again was an awful lot of fun, and it reminded me why I love them all so much. 😊 The next list should be up very soon!
