Simple Joys

 A little vignette about my heartwarming day:

I had my remaining wisdom teeth removed yesterday, and today I'm feeling much better and jobwork was light so decided I should go out and get some soft serve before the weekend crowds—except I guess the place I intended to go to (inside a supermarket) already had insane Friday crowds?! So I gave up there, did a search for what other soft serve places were nearby, and ended up getting this black sesame soft serve along with yummy taiyaki that I nibbled at slowly in teeny baby bites!

Usually whenever I get treats by myself these days, I eat sitting in my car or while driving home, but today... the weather was so perfect (we're clear of smoky skies right now!! though I hear the air gets worse again in a few days qq) and this outdoor plaza was really nice with open space and standing-height tables (am avoiding sitting in public as much as I can), so I just chilled out there while nibbling! I can't remember my last time doing something like that.

At the other end of the long table were two ladies who had the cutest 4 month old pooch called Elvis who looked like a little teddy bear 🥺!! I never spoke to them but it was easy to eavesdrop on the endless stream of people who stopped by to inquire about their pup, petted him, took pictures. Luckily the owners were super open to all of this attention and conversation—they were super friendly and so was Elvis who hopped around a lot! aaa what a cutie

The peak of all this conversation though was a family with a 5 year old girl who loudly declared to everyone that since her dad is allergic to cats, she's going to get a puppy!!! She has to get a puppy!! Then she screamed when Elvis licked something off the ground HAHAHA.

I had just stopped there to slowly eat my ice cream alone—at the time the area was completely empty—expecting to feel extremely awkward and self conscious, but I ended up smiling and laughing at all the things that were going on around me... I felt safe, the sky was blue, the air was nice. It was really nice—this sort of pleasantness I haven't experienced in a long time. It made me think that I don't pay attention to these sorts of simple joys of life often enough.

Then I went home and decided I wanted to go on a short walk to deliver a package that came to us but likely was meant for the house that's one digit off (we've had a few confused packages before but I've never done a delivery like this) and my mom decided to come with me since she speaks their household language which I don't—but... I think she had an ulterior motive as she kept expressing her admiration for the fruit tree in front of their house... to me and my dad in our home, to me while walking there, to the friendly person who answered the door and confirmed it was their package........ then we walked home with both of our hands literally spilling with freshly picked fruit. That made me smile too.

Lovelyz ✨ Obliviate

A highlight of the past few weeks is that my favorite kpop group Lovelyz made their long awaited comeback, their first since Beautiful Days back in May of last year—which many fans were a bit disappointed in because they felt that the group wasted the perfect opportunity to change up their concept after the lukewarm reception of Lost N Found; so this comeback was really highly anticipated in a lot of aspects ;u;

I personally like all of the concepts and musical styles they've done from the cute bubblegum schoolgirls to the flowery healing goddesses and I could definitely consume those forever TT but it's been clear for a while that the members themselves are tired of the general public thinking that they lack the versatility and they're itching to branch out with their title tracks, so it's really satisfying seeing them slay this new era and being recognized for it. 💗 None of their actual fans are surprised that they can pull off this reversal though lol; they've clearly shown this potential on smaller stages.

Their new song is co-written by one of my biases Ryu Sujeong (!!) whom I believe came up with the idea of basing it on a spell/incantation and she chose Obliviate (used in Harry Potter by Hermoine to wipe away her existence in her family's lives/memories) and it's about wanting to forget about someone who's caused heartbreak and painful memories. Aside from being a fan of the magical theme, my favorite thing is how the lyrics in the bridge—"All the petals that bloomed in my heart are gone—" are a callback to Lovelyz' most iconic song which goes, "Ah-choo! Flowers must be blooming in my heart!" hehe.

The members have grown so well into confident, beautiful, charismatic young women. 😭 Most of them look more comfortable in their own skin than ever, unapologetically glowing throughout the promotions, like they KNOW exactly what they're serving and are owning it. 💕

Their last MV was noticeably lower budget (for the competitive landscape of kpop MVs...) so I'm pretty pleased with what they put into this MV with all of the sets and making it artsy fartsy. ;u; I describe it as "Harry Potter meets Lacy Blindfolds meets Fairytale-Gone-Dark meets Art Museum meets Widow-who-prob-murdered-her-rich-husband 🔥🔥"

I wish I knew better terms to explain it but I love the musical progression in the song—the instrumental is so interesting and layered (def I think a standout quality about Lovelyz' discography in general is that it never feels musically cheap or empty) and the way it builds is satisfying. Did not expect them to put so much power into the prechorus! And then the chorus gets super funky with a prominent bassline that feels signature to a lot of Lovelyz music. And THE KEY CHANGE WAS INSAAANE the first few times I heard it omg I think the unexpected twists and turns make the song really refreshing. LIKE WHAT is happening with the chords at 3:18 IT BLOWS MY MIND.

And even though it's a big concept change, I appreciate that there's still plenty that ties this into Lovelyz' distinct sound—the sentimentality that they do best, the melodicness, the prominent bass, embracing some retro vibes. I AM, HOWEVER, a little tiny teeny bit disappointed that they're now probably diverging from the ✨story✨ that their main title tracks have been telling all these years... Copied and pasted this from my previous post about Lovelyz:

Candy Jelly Love --- Crush
Hi~ --- Confession
Ah-Choo --- Friendzoned
Destiny --- Jealousy
WoW! --- Distance
Now, We --- FINALLY A MUTUAL LOVE!!!
Twinkle --- Exploring the relationship
That Day --- Break-up
Lost N Found --- Loneliness
Beautiful Days --- Reminiscence

So now it would be....... Forgetting the pain? Or it kind of feels like a grudge? Erasure? It's technically still in line with them getting over romantic feelings, but the last installment was about looking back on things sweetly so it doesn't feel like a natural progression. Welp 🤷‍♀️ the story was nice while it lasted for 6 years!!

~✨~✨~

In my opinion, there are two really standout b-sides on this mini-album (called "Unforgettable")!

"Memories" is A SUPER INTERESTING SONG... There's plenty of Lovelyz' sentimentality, sweet melancholy, and dreaminess—BUT ALSO.... REGGAE?????? And the choruses are upbeat with synths that are totally reminiscent of magical girl/Sailor Moon vibes! And then at the end it's retro old-tape-that's-slightly-off-tune city pop.

"Worry Doll" is an incredibly comforting song T____T about wanting to hear out the worries in your heart, share the painful things together, and quietly stroke your hair as you sleep. 💗💗

And the instrumental is too good... It's too good... Acoustic guitar at first, but then it builds into pop-rock with some strings and flutters of piano, and there's even an unexpected electric guitar solo, and then ends with just acoustic guitar again and soothing vocals.

~✨~✨~

Finally... ack. Lovelyz has been posting a few TikToks of what they're calling the #ObliviateChallenge and a lovelinus friend (one of the ones I met the last time I saw Lovelyz perform in LA!) suggested that I do it....... Was on the fence about it but ended up doing it last weekend. I was ready to try my first social distanced outdoor gathering with friends and it felt like such a special occasion that I started putting on makeup for it—then we postponed on account of the suddenly hazardous air quality caused by the heatwave and fires ^^;; so yeah I tried to dance and filmed it and the air quality still continues to be shitty sigh.

can't believe i installed TikTok for this but i tried the #ObliviateChallenge, as suggested by @/iono_hiro !!
Lovelyz won their first trophy for this song last night, i'm so proud 😭✨#LOVELYZ_OBLIVIATE #오블리비아테 #오블리비아테챌린지 #러블리즈 pic.twitter.com/GpKSAQFLe0

— Eva ❖ CODEX // Gemini (@waterpixieva) September 9, 2020