Veteran choujimi viewers may recognize that this is a re-mastered version of a video I posted last October! The original video was completely blocked by Gloria Gaynor’s distribution company, so I completely remade the video with more insights/speculation about why the sample may have been intentionally used!
I NEED you to make a video diving deeper into IVE's narcissistic concept! There is so much more that is hidden underneath the flashy colors and glitters of their MVs. Eleven to I Am are all refernces to Greek Mythology (Pandora's Jar/Box, Narcissus and Echo, Icarus in that order) they used greek mythology to tell a story of a girl who is aware in her selfishness and self-importance but then suddenly switch it up in their IVE MINE EP where they ditched the greek costumes and went for the Christian themes, hence the space theme in Either Way which is a reference to Genesis the literal creation of the universe. Off The Record is a fun coming-of-age movie spin on The Garden of Eden and Baddie is a cat-ified Tower of Babel (with its focus on media a.k.a miscommunication like in the original story.) Christianity is supposed to be all about loving others and selflessness, which the narrator in IVE's discography seemingly struggles with always asking for things before loving others i.e. forcing the listener to share deep dark secrets in Off The Record. Lastly, they started creating their own fairytales with IVE SWITCH with the tigers in HEYA which is probably their most in-your-face story. On the other hand, Accendio shows a comedic metaphor of choosing to a have a frozen heart (Gaeul hiding the heart-shaped wand in the fridge) to protect themselves. There is sooo much under the surface with IVE. And with their history of cheeky storytelling, there is no such thing as "looking to deep into it" when it comes to their transformative folklore concepts.
I also find it interesting how rei and gaeul talk over the sample in the second post-chorus. its like the narrator is lowkey aware of what the sample means and is plugging her ears going lalalalala I can't hear you. I mean the rap is the first time the word love is fully spelled out in the song, so you could interpret it as the narrator ignoring the obvious consequences of rushing into a relationship that the sample implies, by only focusing on the love that comes before the heartbreak.
After like weirdly reminds me about love bomb from fromis_9 The main lyrics are talking about the hopeful start of a fairytale relationship meanwhile their instrumentals are almost betraying them, as if waving a warning flag lol
I really agree about Love Bomb! Especially the instrumental in the last chorus, it’s such sad-sounding song for what’s essentially about love - I have a script that I want to make about it one day!
@pumpglowinghydrationboost ya, but pledis is the one in charge of management of the girls, not hybe. Hybe essentially helps out with budget and gets a cut of the profit but the songs selected, promotions done etc are pledis' job
I’m so happy IVE spelt it out for me, I’m dyslexic so they’re the real ones 💯 -Ok on a more serious note- 5:24 - 5:48 Maybe, this is the connection to My Satisfaction as the Bside. For the longest time I didn’t understand My Satisfaction as the Bside to After Like. This was especially troubling after I AM happened (it’s like same text different font in my eyes idk), but your topic (spelling it out for me haha) sparked the thought. The Sample’s emotion of heartbreak and picking oneself up after, the unknown of whether the narrator is understanding of love despite spelling it out for the Person of Interest, and then finally, the choice of oneself a la Love Dive. They pose the question, and they hear the response in the form of some banger violin. What do they do after like? They preserve themself, and don’t let the other side get their satisfaction, because after all, it’s (na na na na na) *My Satisfaction*. Oh IVE, you funky Cat Witch Tiger Cupid things.
IVE debuted THREE YEARS AGO? it honestly feels like last year. edit: I actually started to like the song after your explanation. can we send you songs we dislike so you "try" to convince us otherwise. like in a lighthearted way 😂
@@choujimi oh my. out of the top of my head. nct dream smoothie, new jeans supernatural. and a really interesting take would be on jihyos solo debut and why it did not have the same "effect" as nayeons debut (?) *strictly going on about this cause of few comments and the overall mv count (if mv numbers even are a thing anymore, since some say jyp stopped putting the mvs into ads) tbh I partly know the answer to that. she full on jyp-style sang that entire song. I usually enjoy her vocals but she is too breathy imo - for the entire duration of the song.
I think ive in general explores the concepts of love, both romantic and for yourself- in a really interesting way 11 was about someone loving you as you are After like about questioning next steps in a relationship Love dive about loving yourself Off the record night feels like such a continuation of love dive in that sense too? Like these cupids who live up in the clouds came down to earth and are now experiencing all sorts of emotions in love Either way explores the difference in perception you have about yourself vs what others think of you And baddie is essentially the fuck you im me confidence one has after getting over the self doubt in either way Switch album strays away from the love narrative while still building on ideas from their old narratives its so fun Heya obv has the folklore connection but i feel like its like a sequel to baddie in the sense of feeling powerful in who you are And accendio obv has a magical girl concept and it feels like a thematic sequel to what if the cupids come to earth idea
I kinda disagree on your thougts ob SWITCH. If anything, it is the continuation of all of Ive's themes of love. The entire thesis of the EP was "Would it be easier to live and thrive with a frozen heart?" if you listen to the album backwards it reveals the real story of the album, hence the title SWITCH. Reset, Wow, and Ice Queen all have the narrators of the songs be aware of their "self-important attitude" (lyrics from WOW) and how meeting someone that is the complete opposite of cold-hearted made them change. Accendio and Heya is where the album switches perspectives, we no longer listen to the story of the Ice Queens but the Tigers who are willing to break the ice that trapped the hearts of IVE. So, if anything this album is the pinnacle of IVE's concept and themes and is not detached from it.
@skrrtskrrt4681 ooh that's interesting! Since switch is fairy recent, i haven't had the time to go through the entire album yet besides the tt but that's such a cool way to continue the concept
As somewhat of a sidenote, Gaeul's iconic line reminds me a bit of the melody of Wolves by Marshmello and Selena Gomez which is pretty classic 2010s depressive pop song, which makes me interpret After Like as a lot more desparate and pleading than I think others do. I think it's interesting how people's different musical experiences colour melodies differently.
It was interesting to watch this evaluation of the single and the incorporation of the sampled track. Art is always subjective and I find myself settling on a completely different theory of what the sample means to the song. In the original track, the lyrics speak about trauma, recovery and moving forward, then the strings come in and give a sense of uplift. Similarly, I find their influence uplifting in After Like, almost like they inspire us to forget pain, look forward, have hope and anticipate a different outcome. Rather than see them as jaded, I see them as optimistic, similar to every time we lose ourselves to new love and fall “head over heels” Either way I think the song is a great title track and I’m happy to see this generation of K-pop recognize eras other than Y2K. Thanks for the reaction!
also something interesting I noticed was yujin's heart scene which is a scene from marilyn monroe's movie singing "diamonds are a girl's best friend", and it's essentially about choosing material things over men's affections.
I'm not fond of "After Like." I don't like a lot of disco and other retro styled songs, so this was never going to be a favorite of mine. But I do appreciate how fun it is, it's generally a good and well-composed song, just not one that I like. However there is something about After Like that captures the excitement of a first love, it's flirty and ditzy and romantic but apprehensive. I dunno. I can appreciate what this song does without being its fan.
I have never really like after like just listening to the song itself just was not my taste I wasn't feeling the message but this video gave me a never perspective and new found appreciation for the song
Funnily enough as a Dutchie I know a version of I will survive that is closer in sound to the sample used than the original. This version of the song is made as a football song and therefore I associate after like with victory and thus a happy ending
I did a mashup of AFTER LIKE with MUSE's "Map of the Problematique" come check it out.. it fits way better than the off-key sample of "Supreme".. I mean "I Will Survive" ever did lol
