Unboxing: BTS - Dark & Wild

Contents of album: 1 disc, 2 photocards, 2 postcards and a photo book. 

Track List:

1. Intro What Am I To You?

2. Danger

3. War of Hormone 

4. Hip Hop Phile

5. Let Me Know

6. Rain

7. Bts Cypher Pt.3: Killer

8. Interlude: What Are You Doing Now

9. Could You Turn Off Your Cell Phone

10. Embarrassed 

11. 24/7=heaven 

12. Look Here

13. So 4 More

14. Outro: Do You Think It Makes Sense?

Cost: $30AUD purchased from eBay. 

*note* sorry for the poor quality photos they were taken with my phone.

The actual box itself looks exactly as the album cover does, which I like. The box has subtle rainbow undertones when it's in the sun which is really cute and clever. In general I was really happy with the packaging it's very simple but effective. The only negative point is that there is not track list on the actual box.

CONTENTS 

*note* It wasn't this messy I messed it up

PHOTOCARDS 

SORRY IN ADVANCE FOR MY HEINOUS CARPET I DIDN'T CHOOSE IT

The box comes with two photocards, each box comes with one group card and one single member photocard. Regardless I was very fortunate to receive my bias, the adorable V. The photo is awkwardly adorable and i'm so pleased I received it. The group photocard's can vary from album to album but I was again very happy with the one I received I mean, LOOK AT JIMIN AND JUNGKOOK. I didn't take a picture of the back but usually photocards come with printed signatures at the back, although these didn't, It was basically just the album cover which was a little disappointing but no complaints here. 

POSTCARDS 

In every album you receive the same two postcards. The first postcard is a trademark cartoon doodle of the boys which you can expect to receive in any album you buy from BTS. It is honestly the cutest thing ever and I adore it so freaking much and it's probably one of my favourite things iv'e ever received as i'm a sucker for those sort of things. It is happily residing on my wall for all of eternity. I have no idea what the second one is but it looks cool.  

PHOTOBOOK

The overall aesthetic of the book is very dark as the title would suggest but it is fairly thick and binned which is a bonus. The photo's are spread into 3 central themes. 

The first portion of the book is shots of the boys with writing over it I guess relating to the central theme of the album which is love hurting and causing unwanted emotions. Each member has a double page spread than it moves into the next portion. 

The next set of shots are similar to the first set, although it has no writing just occasional x doodles all over them, however these pictures were hot as fuck and I barley survived flipping through the pages. 

The final proper set of photos has a camera roll thought of vibe which is pretty cute and more decorative than the rest of the photobook. 

The lyric portion of the book is very cute, each song has lyrics with little doodles on it, it's all in hangul so I can't read it but still. 

GROUP PHOTOS THANK THE LORD

Each member has a personalized letter, judging by seeing some of them directed to the A.R.M.Y which is such a sweet sentiment especially as it's in each members own handwriting. Unfortunately I did not come with an english translation, so I'll have to translate it all. 

  

FINALLY SUGA LOOKING LIKE HE SMELLED THE WORST FART EVER.

December Favourites

Red Band Society 

Admittedly Western TV shows have been really disappointing me as of late. For some reason I just have had no motivation to watch any TV show because for some reason, most of the ones I watch have been going downhill leaving me with no motivation to watch a thing. So safe to say I was in the market for a new show that was consistently good so praise the lord for 'Red Band Society'. The show trails the lives of various teenagers dealing with medical issues and their caretakers lives in the hospital as they all band together (see what I did there) and become a close knit group of friends who share many dramas and disputes but also love and support each other unconditionally, even if one of them is in a coma. The show had me in shreds at times but also in a trans as I watched all 10 episodes in a day without stopping. The subject matter may sound a little grim but I assure you although it can be dark sometimes, it is also light, funny and delightful to watch. 

2014 S/S - Winner 

Winner is the newest group signed to YG entertainment and I was probably a little late to jump onto that band wagon but anyway. '2014 S/S' is one of the best debut albums iv'e ever heard, there was plenty of emphasis on that trademark YG hip-hop sound which I love. I can rarely say this about music, but there was not one track I do not like on this album. While all the hip-hop tracks are real winners (see what I did again, damn i'm on fire today) there are also numerous ballads that are amazingly beautiful and captivating. Winner's lead rapper, Mino, is one of the best new rappers iv'e seen in a while, he has collaborated with fellow YG artists like Masta Wu accompanying him on his track 'Come Home' with fellow rising rapper Bobby of iKON and Dok2. This album was slick and fresh, definitely one of my favorite albums YG has produced. 

  

Block B 

To begin with I wasn't too fond of Block B's music but than of course, 'Her' grew on me. Iv'e been enjoying both of Block B's albums 'Her' and 'Welcome To The Block' equally over the course of this month. Their music is so fun, energetic, uplifting but kind of insane which is mimicked in their music videos too. I think everyone needs a bit of someone like Block B in their life, their music always puts you in a good mood. I can also safely say that are adorable as hell as people too. Although Block B aren't all fun and games, I mean did you see Zico's freestyle rap at the MAMA's? Damn boy.  

Youth - Citizen 

Finally for people who aren't as enthusiastic about Korean music as I am we have and English album. Citizen have a really cool and unique sound which is going to be difficult for me to explain but i'll attempt to do so anyway. Imagine if Brand New and punk music had a child you'd have Citizen. I love every track on this album which again is a rarity, absolutely every aspect of this album was perfect.  

Sims 4 with Dan and Phil 

If you don't know who Danisnotonfire and Amazingphil are you probably live under a rock or somewhere without a stable connection to YouTube. Dan and Phil released a gaming channel recently and what have I been staking out my subscription box for? Dan and Phil playing the Sims. I admit I find Dil Howlter's life more interesting and enjoyable than my own. This series is absolutely hilarious and enjoyable to watch and don't even ask me why. I could play the Sims myself but it's not nearly as enjoyable or entertaining as watching Dan and Phil play, probably half due to their commentary and how scarily alike their Sim actually is to the both of them.  

Watch it here:

Book Review: Noggin - John Corey Whaley

Side note: The cover I had for this book was far less terrifying and disturbing 

Noggin follows 16 year old, Travis Coates who is diagnosed with leukemia. Travis chooses to have his head "chopped off and shoved into a freezer" in the hope of having it re attached to a healthy body in the future. 

Once Travis is attached to the muscly and athletic body of Jeremy Pratt five years later, he must return home and face the fame that comes along with being a 'medical miracle' as well as coming face to face with his ex girlfriend Cate, who is engaged to another man. It is not only Travis who has changed but so has the reality he had left behind five years ago.

Whaley created an extremely bold and imaginative plot that was extremely different to traditional young adult novels. That being said with such an interesting and inventive plot I really wanted more out of this novel.

'Noggin' was one of those books I couldn't put down for about the first half of the novel, then retired to my bedside table for about 3 months until I decided to pick it back up. I was extremely emotionally invested in the novel for the first half then, basically it just became painful to read.

Loss and moving on is a central theme in the novel and Whaley did not shy away from emphasizing that. Straight up I cannot handle people bitching and moaning about ex partners in real life let alone fiction. If I had to read another line about how Travis was going to win back Cate, I was going to ring someones neck. Whaley's writing is exquisite and pleasurable to read, however it was eclipsed by the excess of whining.

I much more enjoyed reading about Travis' adventures with Hatton and Kyle, whom I thoroughly enjoyed the character development of, however there was very little of that. From something that started out so intriguing it turned into a whiny, repetitive mess that was slow and not pleasurable to read.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Dirty Vibe - Skrillex feautring Dilpo, G-Dragon and CL Review

Hello loves! Sorry for my long absence from posting, I have spent my last week and a bit in a hellish state of sickness where iv'e just about blown my entire body weight of disgusting gooey substance out of my nose. Regardless, I will be reviewing Skrillex's "Dirty Vibe" featuring some of my personal favorites.

'Dirty Vibe' is an entirely new sound for CL and GD, mostly because the entire song is sang in English as opposed to Korean. Because people are afraid of this new change of course it was to cause an inevitable shit storm.

YG is not affiliated with this project by any means, so people thinking this is some form of YG blasphemy it's not. CL is set to start her US debut under the management of Scooter Braun, who manages many successful artists today such as Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber. So - I guess you could say this is CL's debut song to break into the Western market.

Both GD and CL had heavy rap parts in the song with explicit language which (mind mine) was fucking awesome if you ask me, although some didn't seem to appreciate it.

You're always bound to get those probable 12 year olds who whine that "o mg CL has changed so much!!!!!!!!!!!! she ruining 2ne1!!!!" but let's be real guys, what is wrong with someone wanting to push themselves out of their comfort zone? CL is a fluent English speaker and an all around awesome artist, why should she be stuck in the confines of South Korea? To those people I say:

As for the song going into it you know what to expect because after all this is Skrillex's song, so you know to expect a dance type of song which was not any exception with 'Dirty Vibe' CL and GD's rapping did not disappoint, they both did really well in their respective parts, although Westerners didn't seem to agree.

Obviously if you don't listen to k-pop you probably wouldn't get CL and GD's style of rapping, so the rapping parts weren't exactly pleasing Western listeners. But in contrast if you listen to only k-pop you're not really going to get the music because it is very different to what you're used to, I mean nobody ever really ever says "motherfucker" or "bitch" in k-pop so you'd probably be a little shocked. This is one that's very difficult to please everyone with.

Evidently this isn't going to be some inspirational song we can all gather around and pray to but for what it is I thought the song was fun, granted I probably wouldn't listen to it on loop and it wasn't my favorite track either of them have ever produced, but you know those days you feel like an absolute badass mother trucker and you just need that song to get you hyped up? Dirty Vibe will be my go to song. It was really awesome to see CL and GD be able to try something new and feel free to let loose so I really liked the song in that respect.

The MV alone was very fun and colourful which was totally enjoyable to watch. It was lively, out there but still really cool and fresh. I mean, CL with a wall of squirt guns how can you go wrong?

And yes CL you are my lesbian crush.

Watch Dirty Vibe here:

*side note* sorry if I didn't cover Skrillex or Dilpo's part enough i'm not exactly equipped to handle that aspect as I really don't listen to dubstep music, so I couldn't really comment :)

November Favourites

Although November has been a relatively slow month for me I have still found some gems that I want to share, so long and behold my first favorites!  

While I Stay Secluded - Knuckle Puck 

Knuckle Puck is one of my all time favorite bands so needless to say I was overjoyed when I heard they were releasing a new EP. I adore every track on this EP, they certainly did not disappoint. The EP has the same trademark style which is punk but still very raw, which I adore.   

In The Lonely Hour - Sam Smith 

Now not to sound 'hipster' or whatever you want to call it but, i'm one who tends not to care for Western mainstream music or mainstream artists for that matter. You've probably heard Sam Smith's Stay With Me or I'm Not the Only One on the radio as I did. I liked 'Stay With Me' when I heard it first, I thought it was a pleasant change from all the songs about ass. Prior to downloading 'In The Lonely Hour' i'd heard a few live performances from Smith and I was admittedly startled by how much talent he had, so I guess you could say that was the tipping point for me to download the album. This was one of the best decisions iv'e made in a while. Sam Smith's voice is something so special, full of love and soul. 'In The Lonely Hour' is a devastatingly beautiful album, every track soulful and blatantly beautiful. If I could recommend only one thing my list of favorites, this would be it. If you haven't already checked it out do yourself a favor and please do.  

First Sensibility - B.A.P

As far as Korean pop groups go, B.A.P was sort of on the back burner for me. I really enjoyed Warrior and No Mercy but that's about as far as I ventured. I had most of their music in my iTunes library but I never really touched it. After scrolling through episodes of Eric Nam's After School Club I found an episode featuring B.A.P so I thought what the hell, I like some of their songs so why not watch. After absolutely falling for them as people especially Daehyun *wink wink* I went straight back into my music and starting listening to First Sensibility. 'First Sensibility' is they boys' first ever full length album and most mature sounding for that matter. The album is light and fun certainly not as hardcore as 'Warrior' or any of their earlier tracks, but it's a refreshing change and iv'e been enjoying listening to this album throughout November.

Bad Gays Club 

'Bad Gays Club' is a mini series on YouTube starring many popular gay youtubers including Miles Jai, Kingsley and Davey Wavey. The series seems to be a mock of a reality type of show in which all the youtubers live in a house together. The series is absolutely hilarious and so clever. Each episode runs for about 5-10 minutes and they are all equally entertaining. If you need a bit of a laugh I would highly recommend this series as it is my favorite series/videos on the entirety of YouTube. 

Watch it here: 

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air 

I usually like to keep a short 20 minute sitcom recorded on my Foxtel for something quick to watch in the mornings while i'm eating my breakfast. I had Full House on series link for a while, but as time progressed it became corny and painful to watch, needless to say I grew out of that one quickly. 111Greats had advertised they were going to start showing 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' and a few friends of mine watched it and enjoyed it so I thought it might make a suitable replacement for 'Full House' The show follows Philadelphia teenager Will Smith (and yes Will Smith is played by the actual Will Smith) who gets into a fight and is then sent to live with his wealthy relatives in Bel-Air to stay out of trouble. The show is light, funny and actually has a lovable protagonist for a change. So far i'm really enjoying the series and i'm keen to see more.

CL

A little random but I though why not include a human favorite? My months human favorite is none other than k-pop goddess, CL from 2NE1. 2NE1 is by far my favorite Korean girl group and of course CL is my bias not just from 2NE1, but out of every female artist from Korea. I was starting to watch interviews featuring 2NE1 and I really began to resonate with CL as of late. I love everything that CL stands for, In Korea, plastic surgery is very common for not only female artists but male artists to undertake, CL's refusal to partake in altering herself for the business is something I really admire. CL promotes confidence within women through her solo music as well as within 2NE1 which I think is really important. CL discusses how she wants to be a "confident" icon that represents women and I think she's doing a damn good job. CL's longing to not keep herself in a box, break the norm and push herself to her limits is another among many amazing qualities she has. CL truly is the baddest female. 

There’s always a message in our songs. we want to let everyone know that there are people who sing about the power of women. We’re not saying to throw away one’s femininity, but to know that we’re not all delicate just because we’re women.

GD X TAEYANG - GOOD BOY M/V Review

The release of G-DRAGON and TAEYANG's collaboration with 'GOOD BOY' was an incredibly highly anticipated project as it is hyping up for the release of new BIGBANG music. Scrolling through the YouTube comments I was quite shocked at the amount of problems people had with the track itself and the music video.

The dancers in the video were not Korean, nor of any Asian decent for the most part, most of the dancers appeared to be American. Reading through the comments many people felt as though this was to connect with the American commercial market. Personally, I do not see an issue with using dancers that are not from your native country, it shows diversity. Would it be bad if BIGBANG wanted to break into the American market? Well that's debatable.

As well as this, many people felt the dancers in the video weren't up to YG Entertainment 'standards' was the dancing amazing? no, was it bad? no.

Because YG advertised 'GOOD BOY' as a hip-hop project many people felt let down by the track. Agreeable, GOOD BOY more than anything sounds like a dance or club track. This disappointed many people in the comments as they were not getting the track they'd hoped for. Although this is misleading, I actually really liked GOOD BOY.

Personally, I actually really enjoyed GOOD BOY even though it wasn't the hip-hop track YG had proclaimed it would be.

Straight away you either love or hate G-DRAGON's musical aesthetics, he is definitely not one for everyone. Although I love GD, some of his music is a little far out even for me. With GOOD BOY I feel GD wrote a very fun, dancy type of song, with a beat that's easy to move to.

The music video itself wasn't anything out of the ordinary or anything risqué but it was still incredibly fun to watch, what not with GD's glowing hair and all. The music video was full of fun fluorescent lighting, dancing and all that good stuff.

Whenever TAEYANG and G-DRAGON get together for a colab they're always great, GOOD BOY was no exception.

Death Note Review

If you watch anime, you've probably seen Death Note. If you have friends or family who watch anime you've probably heard of Death Note.

The plot trails incredibly intelligent teenager Light Yagami, who stumbles upon a peculiar notebook that he soon realizes has the power to kill people, simply by writing their name in the book. Light soon uses the power of the 'Death Note' to cleanse the world of criminals and re instate himself as the 'God' of the new world free of impure people. To the world he is known as 'Kira'

During Light's crusade, he finds himself being perused by quirky, genius detective 'L'. To create an alibi for himself, Light joins the Japanese task force who are in pursuit of Kira, along with his father who is the chief as well as L.  

Light's true identity is known to few, one being Misa Amane. Misa, a famous, love-struck model who worships Light and his persona as Kira. Misa gains Death Note of her own and decides to track down Kira to help in his quest for a purer world and to thank him for killing the man who murdered her parents. Misa becomes a valuable asset to Light, as she traded half her lifespan for the Death God eyes, meaning she can see anybody's name and lifespan just by looking at them, except someone who is in possession of a Death Note.

Because of how much hype Death Note had I was expecting this series to be amazing. A few episodes in I was hooked, The series was clever and intriguing. From episode one to about eighteen, I was absolutely flawed by how gripping the series was. I found myself not being able to put my laptop down and telling myself "just one more episode" at 3AM.

A few friends warned me as time went on the series started going downhill, and well they weren't wrong. After around half way I found it becoming a little bit repetitive and draining, plus the integration of lots of new characters so late in the series was sort of off putting. I then didn't have the urge to continually watch. You know how sometimes you really love a show to begin with but then you sort of loose interest and you feel obliged to watch? Death Note was like that for me,

However, in places it did spark my interest and pick up, slowly buy surely.Death Note was clever and concise with plot twists wherever you looked. Overall I did really enjoy watching Death Note and I wasn't entirely let down and I can see where the hype came from. Death Note wasn't my all time favorite anime but I thoroughly enjoyed watching.

Rating:  ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆