Flush of Thoughts: B.A.P 1004 (Angel) Music Video Rundown

Note: Images and screenshots belong to their respective owners. I repeat, NOT MY SCREENSHOTS AND EDITS EVERYONE.

Okay, so it's a bit of an understatement that to say that I literally had no idea on what to do while watching the latest music video of B.A.P  I watched it in McDonald's because conveniently, I have very supportive and kind-hearted classmates. I have no idea how much they'll still be able to bottle up my spazz fests. 

I decided to do another post like this because, being a communication major, it sort of gets me in the zone of criticizing everything and anything about anything and everything. Kpop, no matter how much I love it, is no exception.

I'm gonna do some marketing with you guys and will only link the teaser. Yes, I want these boys to get the views that they deserve, so deal with it. Nyaha.

Jongup (He finally got decent parts!)

Zelo (Top photo only. Damn, his noona fans might be crying now.)

Himchan (The concept suits him well)

Yongjae (His acting was daebak)

Daehyun (Gorgeous)

Yongguk (Yes. Run to me.)

ON THE SONG: Lovely. I love how the beginning was all guitar acoustic and suddenly they went BOOM! just like their debut actually. 

There are tons of fansites saying that B.A.P had decided to go with this "new" concept because if they don't do well in the next promotions, then there are chances that they may disband. Other fans say that the song is not B.A.P material, saying that the song is not their usual style and they are doing a big risk in simply attempting to do a more soul-filled approach.

May I just say that, during their Crash or Stop It promotions, did anyone ever complain that their taking on a cute concept was a risk? Did anyone complain about how their choreography wasn't the usual badass feel like Warrior or Power? Did B.A.P have an image problem? I'll tell you what their image is in this industry: ADAPTABILITY. Not only did they pull off this concept, which is reminiscent to what many other Korean bands have done, they made it THEIRS. Yongguk has participated in the production of this album, that being said, B.A.P has not only maintained their usual masculine persona, but they also have added another aspect to which they had to adapt to, to make for a better presentation to their fans.

ON THE STORY + SYMBOLISMS: Tons of perspectives were being played out in the whole video. Well, if you consider six perspectives as "tons". Basically the video had revolved around the fact that Daehyun was trying to forget about his lady lover.

So he touches that very vintage looking film player and starts reminiscing. Buuuuuuuuuut, notice how, when it goes into Himchan's point of view, it start's getting rather soft around the edges, literally. My take? Himchan is a personification of what Daehyun's thinking of. Meaning? Daehyun, is in fact, the main character of the whole video. Actually, every one of the members were soft around the edges. Kudos to Daehyun!

On another angle, we notice how Yongguk had been running through a desert and arrives at what looks like a dinosaur's skeleton. I didn't find any screenshots, but after going into a bird's eye view angle, it's actually a skeleton of some over-sized cow.

Now, I'm pretty sure you remember seeing cartoons when a character goes into a desert and see a skull with horns on the sand. The meaning behind that dates way back in Native American beliefs. That skull is either from a bull or buffalo, an animal depicted to be strong-willed and brave by the Natives. It doesn't back down, so it's used to symbolize how much love a person has for their family. So the fact that Yongguk stopped at this skeleton may mean that, as another one of Daehyun's personas, he can't just forget about the girl/angel. 

In other contexts though, the skull may symbolize an end of a journey. Get it? Death? End? Basically it symbolized that the place Yongguk had stepped on would be the end of the road for him.

Next, we head to the mini replica of St. Patrick's Cathedral that Yongguk dug up from the ground. To be honest, I am quite lost with that symbolism. But after reading the history of this cathedral, I can say that it saw rather tough times. Finances, material, and many more problems lead to the construction of it in 20 years. Perhaps this symbol means that Daehyun still continues to strive for his angel? I really can't say.

Now we  go to Youngjae. He was, apparently, in a maze of mirrors. Simple. Daehyun basically sees the angel EVERYWHERE despite the fact that he wants to forget. He ends up punching the mirror and getting hurt because that's what he's been trying to hold in all along: the pain of always seeing her despite her absence.

Now we have Zelo (top photo) and Jongup's (bottom photo) scenarios. In Zelo's case, I'm guessing that he symbolizes the early days of Daehyun's relationship with his angel. He basically looks like he got the best date scenes. Come to think of it, he's the only one with scenes that started off good then BOOM,  KISS SCE- I MEAN, EXPLOSION. The explosion may then go for the idea that Daehyun's emotions had suddenly went kaboom. Seeing Zelo's expressions, it would mean that it was the girl who decided to part with Daehyun's. And his world sort of exploded.

Jongup's turn! His was rather easy. He didn't need to act that much and just look mad. In front of him was a wall with wings etched onto it. He starts pounding on it until he creates a gaping hole. That hole may symbolize the part missing in Daehyun's heart. The idea that Jongup kept pounding into it may show how much Daehyun was trying to forget. But alas, in that hole was a light, a light emitted by his angel. This may then bring us to Youngjae's situation.

Now last, but not the least, we have Himchan's scenes. he went about trying to shoot his reflection when in fact, he just wanted to die himself as portrayed by the mirror. As much as Himchan had wanted to kill himself, he couldn't do it because, in fact, he's just angry at himself for feeling that/this way. 

Can I just say this? I hate how they did the reflection bit here. It DOES NOT look like Himchan is looking at himself and it is way too obvious that it's just a photo green-screened onto those scenes. I was hoping that 

All in all, Deahyun basically rules the MV with his five personas filling in for his thoughts. CHEESECAKE POWER!

On another note, the editing? DAEBAK. I'm a big fan of monochrome and I love how they did the colos splash effects in Yongguk's parts. The video was just so vibrant and... HNNNNNNNG. Don't get me started!

ON THE CHOREOGRAPHY: DANG THAT INTRO DANCE BY ZELO AND JONGUP. Are they even younger than me? It makes me feel both insecure and amazed that they're younger than me (1994 here!). 

Other than Jongup and Zelo's perfected dance moves, the whole choreography was really, should I say... soulful? I have never seen Yongguk dance with all those emotions. AND HE WAS AT THE BACK. Their choreography would be nothing without all those emotional relapses and charismatic expressions. Pure daebak-ness.

ON THE WARDROBE: Black and white clothing conquers the video. But after watching the behind the scenes videos, some of them actually wearing rather aristocratic colored pieces as well. They mention that the style of their clothing can be defined as "Sexy Dandy". To be honest, I think that the wardrobe in this MV/concept can be described as chic. I see a lot of fur and texture present in this concept and it really doesn't look like that those clothes were made for dancing. This adds plus points to it actually.

Overall? As much as I love B.A.P, that mirror scene with Himchan killed my mood. However, I love these boys, so I'll just go with clapping and cheering that they get a NO. 1 with this song and heaven knows what'll happen while I'm watching their live performances.

Oh, don't forget to be remember of this blog/site! Just head to the bottom of the page and click "Join my site", then click Google. To end this post, here's a derp screenshot from their MV. Nyahaha.

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