Review: MBLAQ–“Cry”

MBLAQ’s music video would have been so much better with the addition of a pirate ship.


Did you like the song?
Today by request is MBLAQ’s “Cry.” I’m a relatively new fan of MBLAQ, really only hopping aboard the A+ bandwagon with the release of their absolutely gorgeous song “Mona Lisa.” Unfortunately, I don’t like “Cry” as much, mainly because I’m just generally not a fan of slower R&B songs. But I was impressed by how well the concept fit the song: they’re crying, so there’s a big focus on water imagery in the video and drip-drop, bubbling sound effects in the song. There’s also an interesting tambourine or other bell effect that really emulates raindrops falling.



MBLAQ make a splash (…too much?).
What was your favorite part of the song?
I liked the buildup to the chorus; it was one of the most powerful moments of the song.

Does the English make you want to rip your eardrums out?
Time is too slow for Thunder, baby, lol. The English in this song is really good! The “you make me cry” parts and Mir’s rap are all fine. :)

Seungho, G.O, Joon, Thunder, and Mir.
Did you like the video?
At first I kind of didn’t like this video, but after the underwater sequences I did a complete 180 and really started to enjoy and appreciate it. My problem was the guys seemed just so depressed and emotionally broken that it was almost comical at first. The (above-water) crying scenes were a bit much for me in the beginning. I mean, I’m all for men showing their softer sides, and I am definitely for men proving that crying is very healthy and natural—but at the same time, I didn’t much like seeing anybody that sad on camera, regardless of gender and regardless of how good their acting is. And to see onstage crying in an idol song was very strange.

But then I realized that it was strange because I’d fallen into a pattern of expecting idols to be 100% on their game and putting on fake smiles all the time, and that’s not realistic or fair or even healthy, either. So my final verdict is: although the crying in the rain is odd at first, it’s actually rather a brave and unusual artistic choice. I do appreciate MBLAQ attempting to show that it’s okay for guys to show their feelings when they’re upset.

Was there a storyline? If so, did it make sense?
There’s not really a story; it’s more of an interpretive danceee—okay, I’ll let you in on the super-sekrit story of MBLAQ’s “Cry.” So our five heroes are living in the Land of Obsidian, where there has been no life or vegetation in months. Their crops have failed; their people are dying.

The Land of Obsidian is a cold, harsh mistress.
So they do the only thing they can think of—they make an offering to the rain gods in the form of an interpretive dance. Well, it turns out that the rain gods are actually ALIENS from a DISTANT WORLD! They arrive in their brightly lit spaceship of hope and hover over the Land of Obsidian.

Close encounters of the Rain kind (haha, I am so punny today).
Our heroes are so overcome with awe at the splendour that they fall to their knees in gratitude and then dance for the alien gods’ pleasure.

They are overcome with hope for the future.
The boys dream of the riches of water they will have if the aliens are pleased—so much water they could fully immerse themselves. Finally, their dreams come true, and—overcome by the awesomeness of their rain dance—the aliens open their spaceship provisions and shower our heroes with an amount of water unimaginable, beyond even their wildest dreams. They weep, for they have indeed saved their people.

And there was much rejoicing. The End.
Was the dance cool and distinctive?
OH HELLS YES. I don’t know if anybody could recreate what MBLAQ have done here. They’re rolling and sliding on the floor, they’re interpretive dancing on the stage, they’re dancing in rain and in puddles, they’re interpretive dancing underwater…it’s amazing and looks totally gorgeous with those flowing clothes.

Awesome underwater shoot is awesome.
Do the members look good?
Everybody is in heavy eyeliner, and everybody is wearing military/pirate/steampunk-esque stuff with serial killer black gloves. But, unsurprisingly, everybody looks awesome.

Which member stood out the most?
I’m personally a fan of Mir, but I think Thunder stole the show here. He just looks really good with blond hair and heavy eyeliner, especially underwater [insert electrocution pun here].

Thunder
Full disclosure, though: to my boyfriend’s displeasure every Halloween, I tend to think almost all guys look good in eyeliner, and especially guys in Kpop.

Oh, who am I kidding; there’s no way I can give this to anything but Joon’s four-second-long lip wipe. Joon, why you be making me nearly pull out a timer to find out how long you’re wiping your lip for?!


You should probably see a doctor to get that drool problem checked out.
Do you like it enough to buy the song?
Nope, sorry, MBLAQ. To win my vote, you should stick to faster songs. And considering how popular you were in Bulgaria with “Mona Lisa”—number one on their charts for over a month!—you should include accordion in more of your songs. (Yesss, I approve of this accordion trend.)

Any ending thoughts?
Does anybody else think G.O looks weird without his trademark facial hair? I miss it. He looked really cool and distinguished with it.

Boyfriend’s one-liner:
“This song was so emo that the only reason their clothes were all cut up was that they weren’t allowed to cut themselves.”

Congratulations to BEAST and 2NE1 for winning Best Artist and Best Album (respectively) at the Melon Music Awards! Also, I hope all you Kpop fans in America had a good Thanksgiving with lots of turkey. Please comment, subscribe and request a review if you’d like. :)