Saturday Photo...

 ...and a little bit of BTS, er, I mean, A LOT of BTS!

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by PAM

'Home, Sweet Home' at last!

Finally, I am back into the 'swing of things' - fully recovered from jetlag, eating some of my favorite Filipino delicacies that I missed while away from home, enjoying our little 'urban garden' with our beloved but camera-shy Lab, Bono, and just being my 'bakya' self.  

I have been working regular hours, too... although still working from home as I do not have a physical office yet.  As I mentioned in my previous post, I am starting a new and more challenging job at the University.  Of course, I am quite anxious... but I am not letting anxiety beat optimism.  So, everyday, I commit.  Everyday, I do something to ensure a win over anxiety.  Everyday, I do something 'small'... 'crawling' my way to getting 'in the zone'.  I try to pick the 'low-hanging fruits', filling my 'basket of confidence' with them.  At the end of each day, I try to 'look at' my basket... and admire my 'little pieces of ripe fruits'... and I get excited!  

I haven't been brisk walking/running yet, though.  It's a shame because that is my sure-fire stress-buster!  Ahh... I'd love very much to get my new running shoes on 'break-in'... but it's been raining here in Metro-Manila, and I am not exactly thrilled about running on wet pavement.  So, to avoid stress, I try to still play simple online games everyday... after work, and while on a short break.  I choose games that sharpen the mind... targeted at getting the mind to be more strategic; sometimes with a little competition to get the adrenaline pump going, and always on a 'fight mode' over anxiety and pessimism!  So, yep, we're good!

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Feel Good = BTS + Pied Piper

And because we're good, let's go and feel 'super good'!  How?  Well, with the help of our ultra-awesome friends, of course: BTS!  Alright, what do we listen to today?  Hmmm... I think I'd like to listen to "Pied Piper" today for this post... although, I listen to this song, at least, five times a day - no kidding - I love it!  I love the melody, and the way the singing and wrapping mix in a non-linear progression. At some point, the rap line drops to intercept the beautiful singing of the vocal line, or move from behind to blend with the singing... in another, they go hand-in-hand as they build towards the chorus of the song... and as they ride the chorus wave, they circle the vocal line as the vocal line circle each other, too, until it was impossible to recognize where all the lovely sound is coming from... and yet, the blend is so, so beautiful!  Perfect, in fact!  They make our hearts beat on double time, triple time, quadruple time... and then one of them (or, was it all of them?) declared, "I'm taking over you!"  And, that was it, they just sent us flying!  And, the rhythm section puts a beautiful 'lace' around the vocal-rap/vocal-vocal blend, and it just makes the BTS voices explode in a beautifully sounding song that leaves you wanting for more and more... and more!  And this is why, when you listen to this song, it has to be on repeat... trust me!  In their live performances of this song, one can concentrate in the beauty of the song and the singing, just like the boys themselves can concentrate in pouring their souls into the song, because the choreography is simple enough.  

I remember, when I heard this song for the first time, I realized that 'the Bangtan boys' have become 'grown-ups' - they sounded grown-up, they sang with grown-up emotions... and there's sexiness in the way the vocal line projected and focused their voices to sound like they were directly talking to each of their listeners... they sounded very up-close, and very, very personal.  The rap line did not rap with their usual 'muscular rapping'.  Instead, there was caress in the softness of their voices... in Tagalog, we call it 'lambing'.  We say, 'may lambing'... sweet - very sweet, indeed.  And when SUGA raps with 'lambing', ya know you gotta hear it, yeah?  YEAH, for sure!

So, yeah, today is a "Pied Piper" day.  But, I think I want to see them perform it live.  So, here they are...

"Come here, I'm your paradise...

follow the sound of the pipe... follow this song... 

it's a bit dangerous...

I'm here to save you, I'm here to ruin you..."

So, whether you want to be 'saved' or be 'ruined', these young men are your 'wing men'!  Tae is on fire in this song - on fire! Did you hear me?  I said, ON FIRE! I won't say more, otherwise, uhm, it'd be unwise! For sure, I'd make a fool of myself... if I haven't already, that is. Haha... And Jin is a revelation - you just want to revel over his voice and admire the emotions that he revealed in the sound of his singing with that matching gaze that melts us like... uhm, like 'buttah'.  And then just cry because it's too much!  When Jimin said he is "cutie, sexy, lovely", he was not lying!  This song proves that he is all that... and more!  He just did it again here... the swag!  How does he do it - cutie, sexy, lovely with a swag??  It's not mathematically solvable, I tell ya! But, who's solving when everyone has passed out from listening and watching our Jimin?  JK... ah, JK!  When I saw them perform this song the first time, I realized that 'the kid' has grown, and he is g.o.r.g.e.o.u.s!  He matched Tae and Jin's romantic singing - note for note, and Jimin's seductive singing - note for note and sideway glance for sideway glance... but keeping his limitless voice range on steady display - experimenting, mixing it up... and succeeding with vocal ferocity.  The result? KILLER!  Did you survive?  No?  At least you tried.  Here's a purple heart for your courage, ARMY! 💜

And the rap line... man, do we really need to talk about the rap line... 'cause I am barely breathing here!  Yes? Alright then... RM is not fair.  He knows we admire how he strings those brilliant words with his 'fantabulous' rap voice... but to string something coy, and then throw us a fingers heart and a be-dimpled smile with a wink, too?!  Aw, man, how in the world is that fair to all the girls who wish to be his Mom's daughter-in-law?  It beats me!  Go figure because I can't! And, speaking of in-laws and marriage and all that... Yoongi... tsk, argh!  "Maybe I'm a bit dangerous..." was what our little genius said.  Uh, yeah, tell us something we don't know, Min Yoongi!  If you must know, we have been hanging on dear life here because... seriously, who can survive that rapping? Like, RM, no fair, Yoongi!  And then, his royal awesomeness, J-Hope, who quadrupled the power of the rhythm section with his raspy voice and well-timed improvisation, mocked us with, "you can't escape, never!"  And we just surrendered because we know he is right! Right? Right!  Uhm, wait, are we even attempting to escape? No, right?  Right again!  Haha...

If you must know, I am laughing out loud in the middle of the night while writing this post.  But that is BTS, they are a good company in this life... they make us laugh, cry, dance, sing, think... they just make us feel good - so, so good!  With "Pied Piper", they just proved that a song and the performance can be ooh-lala sexy without using obscenities and/or showing flesh. This is good time... BTS music is good time! And we thank God for these seven wonderful souls.  

Alright, anxiety, crushed!  Optimism is victorious once again!  So, let's go!   

         

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Photo credit:  All the photos featured in this post belong to me.  I took and processed them for the purpose of this Blog.  They may not be used for another purpose.

Video credit:  The owners of the videos featured in this post are indicated in the video themselves.  Thanks, YouTube, for the video link.

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