Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Review: Ram–“Deceived by Love”



Ram is deceived by love in her new music video.


Did you like the song?
I generally don’t much care for ballads, but this one was lovely (and short!). It had a great, dramatic opening with a full orchestra, and the song musically kept my interest.

What was your favorite part of the song?
Other than the very theatrical opening, I liked this crescendo and every time Ram sang “nega ottokhe.” It’s so pretty. For such a short song (just 2 minutes and 25 seconds) it has lots of interesting parts!

Does the English make you want to rip your eardrums out?
These ballads don’t seem to have much (or any) English. Perhaps they’re not trying to reach an international audience with the ballads as much as the faster-paced songs. It could also be that lesser-known artists aren’t trying to compete on an international stage until they firmly build their Korean base. No fun! :) Anyway, a problem I am having here is picking an English title for the Hangul 사랑에 속아. Should it be "Crossed in Love"? "Deceived by Love"? "Tricked by Love"? "Falling in Love"? I went with the second one, "Deceived by Love," because I thought it made the most sense, but I honestly don't know which is the most accurate translation. People who know Korean, I'd love your thoughts on this!

Did you like the video?
It’s okay, but the concept has been done before and better. The way the couple’s hardcore fighting segues into passionate kissing reminded me strongly of Eminem’s “Love the Way You Lie” (feat. Rihanna) and to a lesser extent Bang Yong Guk’s “I Remember” (feat. BEAST’s Yoseob). However, unlike in those videos, where the actors just really went for the kissing scenes (and sold me on their authenticity), here the actors seemed to be holding back a bit, slightly too gentle for the passion that was in the fighting, when it really calls for a kind of kiss that leaves you bleeding!

Ram Deceived By Love threesome

Ram, actor Byeon Geun Hyeok, and actress Han So Yeong

Was there a storyline? If so, did it make sense?
A woman looks back on the disintegration of her marriage. There was an interesting color scheme in this video, where I think the blue-greyscale were the unhappy/fight scenes and the happier scenes were colored in sepia. A good illustration of this is in this scene, where they’re somewhat okay and it’s sepia, then he slams her against a wall and it’s tinged blue, but when the fight turns into romantic passion, it returns to sepia.

Ram Deceived By Love colors romantic scene

This puts a new spin on rose-tinted glasses.

Was the dance cool and distinctive?
No dance here other than the choreographed slaps and punches. Yeah, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a music video where the girl punches a guy and then he hits her back (even though I know it’s unfortunately prevalent in real life).

Do the members look good?
If I’m not mistaken, there are three people in this MV: Ram (who sings) and actress and actor Han So Yeong and Byeon Geun Hyeok. I have to say I’m not a fan of Geun Hyeok’s hairstyle, and anyway I think it’s the girls who steal the show: both are great actresses with good range here.

Ram Tricked By Love actors

Han So Yeong and Byeon Geun Hyeok

Which member stood out the most?
Ram (which is a relief). Her acting is so convincing, and I also love her eye makeup and her hair spread out on the pillow.

Ram Tricked By Love

So pretty!

Do you like it enough to buy the song?
I seriously considered it, but in the end, I don’t think so. Despite this, I do really like the song, I just tend to only buy Kpop songs I can dance to.

Any ending thoughts?
Ram is a rookie solo artist, and I think this song will be good for her career. I definitely like it more than other ballads.

Boyfriend’s one-liner:
“She rips his wife-beater, then she’s surprised when she gets beaten?”

Ram Tricked By Love wifebeater

You don’t rip the shirt.

Thanks for reading! Please subscribe and leave your comments below. Also feel free to request a review. By the way, I made an album for keeping track of group members’ names as I learn them, so check it out if you want to learn with me! We update Monday-Friday. :)

3 comments:

  1. Oh, nice about grey/blue and sepia thingie. I didn't notice when I watched it, but then again, I only watched it once and not even sure I managed to see the whole of it. I usually press the play button and go do whatever I've been doing, and listen in another tab.

    You don't speak Korean??? I thought you did! I was even going to ask you if you know how to translate the title of this song 'cos "I love it" and "Even now" are too different for me to be able to figure it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=okkmwCvdMf8

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  2. @painless-j

    I know, I totally fail. I have a friend in Korea and am attempting to learn as much Korean as I can, but even that is the romanization; I don't know the Hangul at all. So yeah, total Westerner here. :(

    That song! I'm eventually going to review it, and I have it down as "I Like," but I have no idea. Please let me know if you are able to find out...

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  3. @painless-j

    Just wanted to let you know I still haven't found a good translation for the title of this song. Because of this, I'm going to go with the translation "I Like It," not just "I Like," as that makes more sense to me. (I'll post review it on Monday.) :D

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