Friday, May 11, 2012

First Take: Nell with The Day Before


Korean rock band Nell is a rarity in the world of Korean music because they have a solid fanbase and has had it for years (over a decade!) now. And it's not just the fans they had in the late 90s, early 2000s that love them. Many people do, whether old or new. It's not really strange, because they have music like The Day Before. Filled with sorrow yet eerily soothing, this song showcases the awesomeness that is Nell.

The song came out over a month ago and in terms of music timeline, this song is somewhat too old to review. But like many, many songs that I choose to showcase here, this song just couldn't get out of my mind. I'm not very familiar with Nell themselves, and I wouldn't call myself their new fan, but this song is just too hard to miss. Plus the eye candy in the video doesn't hurt either.


Because this is an old-ish song, I was able to get my hands on translations here. And what beautiful lyrics they are. I'm pretty sure they're even more beautiful in Korean. If you read the lyrics by itself, I guess the scenes of a break up or a lover that's gone away is the image that you will get. The feeling of longing, wanting to get them back, wishing it never happened. The soft, eerie music blends so well with Kim Jong-wan's sorrowful voice. One minute it soothes you, the next will make you cry.

Although love will come to mind, the video shows otherwise. A popular interpretation is a depressed poet played by Lee Min-ki who is getting his last interview, by Song Jae-rim, before he takes his own life in the form of clear liquid. Whether the two are lovers, no one will know, except the director I guess. But what we do know is that the video reflects the song so well. The performances by the two actors are just perfect. Even if you didn't know what the song is about or what the video is trying to come across, they just draw you in and tell their own story however you choose to interpret it. Plus it's not too bad they're really hot. And Lee Min-ki plays the perfect tortured artist. Maybe he is like that in real life?

As for the rest of the album, I'm not quite excited about. Maybe because it's not my type or I just haven't embraced it as much as I should. But this song, it's just great. I know it will make me sad, especially during the climax, but I just keep coming back. It may not be everyone's cup of coffee. The song is quite slow and the overall tone sad. But it's really worth a listen. The perfect amount of sad that won't make me sob like a baby.

5 comments:

  1. I really like your interpretation of this MV. Most people say its about a friend who goes back to the place, where his friend committed suicide and videoed it, to re-live what their last conversation would have been. I don't know which one I like better! Such a beautiful song, but unlike you it makes me extremely sad!

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    1. I think that's the true beauty of the video in that it's completely open for interpretation. That interpretation of yours is quite interesting too! Although quite creepy, don't you think? No one knows the exact roles of these two people but we do know that the ending of the story is not a happy one. Thank you for coming by :D

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  2. here's a comment that i found on one of the english subbed videos of this MV. i think this one makes the most sense and it makes the video very heart-throbbing as well :-) check this out!

    comment by misangnim
    "one of the other vids had a convincing take on it; so the two guys are friends and one committed suicide, and took a video of it. The other guy was not there when this happened. He later finds the video and watches it, imagining their last moments if he had been there for his friend. I think this make sense becuz 1. the guy looks very sad about the poisoning but does not (cannot) stop him. 2. at the end of the video, the guy who committed suicide isn't there anymore because the footage ended."

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    1. That's a very interesting take! I haven't really thought about that. Thanks for sharing :)

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  3. I do like your interpritation of it as well as the ones in the comments. I personally had a mix of all 3. And I would really love to add this to my library, however I weep everytime I watch or hear it now. Beautifully sad song and even more beautiful MV that was well directed.

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