I've been 'swimming' against the current in the 'turbulent waters' of work for the past three weeks or so, and I am very, very (very, very, very...) tired! As the 'water' is new, and I've never swam here before - in fact, no one has ever done it before - I am getting all whipped by the unforgiving current! Dang! All my (aging) braincells are exhausted, and they are quitting on me. I feel like my brain functions are on the brink on either 'work paralysis' or 'sit down protest'. They refuse to process anything that's work-related. And, so, I'm here... in my safe haven where I can have little respite... and nudge my imagination towards anything that's beautiful... and not work-related! But before I can do that, I need to be injected with pure energy as my tank has been completely zapped, exhausted, emptied. I 'need saving'! And who else can deliver energy by the megajoules in an instant but the phenomenal lifesavers... BTS? 💜 Ah, thank God for these wonderful souls and their music!
...within this pitch black darkness, you are shining so brightly.
Give me your hand save me, save me..."🎝
Ah, that felt good, huh? 💜🙏 I like this "Tiny Desk" format because it's possible to listen to their voices clearly. They all did great in "Save Me". Their voices sounded crisp... that SUGA fast verse, hyped by all the guys, sending the notes to a mini explosion by JK's surprising power hyping (5:51-6:04 min mark) is worth 10,000 megajoules of energy; the notes rolled on J-Hope's lap (mark 6:05 min), and he 'dribbled' the notes beautifully with a pretty jam with JK (6:15 mark); the handsome 'Kim duo' in the vocal line, Tae and Jin, nailed their jam (4:55 - 5:22 min mark) - lovely. They all sang with emotions, too, but with that show of camaraderie that is always happiness to see.
This is one of my favorite live renditions of "Dynamite" because, among others, the 'raspy' quality of JK's voice is quite prominent here. My fave is how his voice transitioned from rhythmic to raspy to falsetto in one seamless go (2:34 - 2:46 min mark) - remarkable! So hard to believe... but it's JK - his talent in singing is limitless. Everyone did well though. Loved that Jimin-JK-Jin-Tae jam in "Spring Day", too (9:18 - 10:10 min mark). Too beautiful! It's like watching a doubles tennis match between Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. In their jam towards the end of the song (11:07 - 12:52 min mark), JK's raspy voice was a thing that sends you to the clouds... and Tae sang from the clouds itself - that hits different, and he knows it, too. But that J-Hope-JK jam (10:12 - 10:30 min mark) is just goosebumps-inducing! And SUGA's jam with Jimin (10:48 - 11:05 min mark) can be your only companion to the moon and back, and you'd feel heavenly.
In the whole set, everyone can see the irreplaceable role that Jimin plays in the performance. His energy is given, and it's always awesome. But, as I said before, and I'll say it again here, his unique voice timbre and singing style, truly brings balance to the all-male sound of the group. When he jams with any of the members, especially with the rap line, the contrast brings out the features of the other members' voices. He brings harmony in the BTS sound. It's like seeing a black-and-white photograph slowly getting colors until the images totally come alive and jump at ya! That's Jiminssi for ya - pure awesomeness! 💜
While we're at it, let's continue feeling good, and recovering from all the stress in the past days. Here's a shot from the (not-so-distant) past - all fun and just very good performances. Let's go!
♫"Spread, spread my wings...
wings are made to fly..."🎜
Ahh... there is SO MUCH that can be said about that set - all great and incredible such as JK's spot-on pitch - all the time, SUGA's verse at 6:48 - 7:11 min mark, punctuated by RM's baritone and J-Hope's energy; and the whole rap line jam at 6:28 - 7:49 min mark. I can go on and on, and on, and on. But I have to say that, when I think about this performance, one thing stands out in my mind by a few Megajoules of energy: RM's verse at 1:14 - 1:53 min mark. All mega rapping talent served up in his prominent baritone and loads of charm from our fantabulous leader there - unforgettable! 💜
Do you feel like you're flying now? Yes? Me, too! Kudos to the 'wind beneath our wings' - these seven lovely souls, sending us good vibes from the soulful Seoul!
Alright, time to 'get out of the water' for a while... and 'fly'! All the best, ARMY!
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Video credit: The owners of the videos featured in this post are indicated in the video themselves: BangtanTV and NPR Music - thanks for the loan of the videos. Thanks, YouTube, for the video links.
